Microsoft reveals the first 36 titles in the Xbox Game Pass Core library

Xbox Live Gold will be no more as of tomorrow, September 14. Replacing it is a new tier of Game Pass called Xbox Game Pass Core. It's a different offering to Games with Gold in that there will be a rotating library of a few dozen games, rather than you being able to claim some titles for your collection each month. Xbox has now revealed the initial list of Game Pass Core titles, but the choices may leave some players hoping for more.

The 36 titles you’ll be able to play through Game Pass Core on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S at the jump are:

• Among Us

• Astroneer

• Celeste

• Dead Cells

• Descenders

• Dishonored 2

• Doom Eternal Standard Edition

• Fable Anniversary

• Fallout 4

• Fallout 76

• Firewatch

• Forza Horizon 4 Standard Edition

• Gang Beasts

• Gears 5 Game of the Year Edition

• Golf with your Friends

• Grounded

• Halo 5: Guardians

• Halo Wars 2

• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

• Human Fall Flat

• Inside

• Limbo

• Ori & the Will of the Wisps

• Overcooked! 2

• Payday 2: Crimewave Edition

• Powerwash Simulator

• Psychonauts 2

• Slay the Spire

• Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition

• Stardew Valley

• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition

• Superliminal

• The Elder Scrolls Online

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

• Unpacking

• Vampire Survivors

There are more than a few great games on that list, from Vampire Survivors and Celeste to Doom Eternal and Dishonored 2. Game Pass Core might be worth $60 per year for those who haven’t played many of those before. But it’s hard to make the case that this is the most exciting selection Microsoft could have come up with for this base version of Game Pass. The company says it plans to update the list two or three times per year, so there may be a three- to six month wait until Microsoft refreshes the library. 

There are other features of Game Pass Core that could prompt people to subscribe or remain a member, most notably the fact the service is required to play many multiplayer games on Xbox. For instance, you won’t be able to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III with friends on your Xbox without at least a Game Pass Core membership.