Xbox Game Pass gets over 50 new games in one fell swoop

Xbox has just announced that a wide variety of retro games are now available on Game Pass. The platform for these titles is called Antstream Arcade and features original classic games with slight enhancements. These are not remasters, so they are designed to offer the classic experience with some modern features.

Which games are included in Xbox Retro Classics?

The initial launch lineup includes over 50 games from the 1980s and 1990s. Among them are well-known classics like Commando, Pitfall, Mech Warrior 2, Decathlon, Grand Prix, Kaboom and 31st Century Combat. The city-building game Caesar 2, numerous adventures such as Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist from Leisure Suit Larry creator Al Lowe, Sierra's Police Quest and Willi Beamish and The Dagger Of Amon Ra are also included. This choice of titles is just the beginning and will soon be expanded, primarily with games from Activision and Blizzard Entertainment.

This means the list includes titles from the 8-bit era as well as PC games from the CD-ROM era. Xbox states that these retro classics represent another pillar of their commitment to preserving old games and backward compatibility. The titles are included in all Game Pass tiers (the announcement doesn't specify if Game Pass Core is excluded, as it only refers to Game Pass in general) and can be played on PC, Xbox Series X and S, and via xCloud.

These retro games also come with community challenges, challenge modes and leaderboards for comparing scores with other players. Saving the game will be possible at any time, which is a new feature for many of these titles. Additionally, there will be games that support local couch co-op, such as Boxing, Baseball, Checkers, Dragster, and Tennis, as well as titles with asynchronous multiplayer matches.