Xbox and Square Enix announced that the upcoming looter shooter from People Can Fly, Outriders, will be playable on Xbox Game Pass. Coming to Xbox Game Pass for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S on April 1st, 2021.
This was originally teased via an email regarding an anomaly occurring, which members of the Outriders community quickly put together. This is a big deal in so many ways. Those who were already looking forward to the Xbox game can now play it for much cheaper with Xbox Game Pass. While others who weren’t completely sold can now give the game a try without paying for the full game. It’s a win/win.
While this news has been positive, this has frustrated members of the PC gaming community as Outriders is only coming to Xbox Game Pass for consoles. At least for now, If you want to play Outriders for PC, you’ll have to do so via Steam or the Epic Game Store, as it won’t be available in the Windows Store and therefore not available via Xbox Game Pass for PC.
As to why that is, I created a video that I feel explains the reasoning, but it comes down to this; game versions. A game to be added to the Windows Store has to be ported from x32 or x64 to a UWP (Universal Windows Platform) title. This means People Can Fly would have to work on yet another version of the game. And seeing how they’re trying to get Outriders up and running for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS4, PS5, Stadia, and PC, I don’t see how they’d have the time. It doesn’t mean we wouldn’t see it later, but it does mean we won’t see it at launch.
As for myself, I was already invested in the game. I’ve clocked over 30 hours in the demo, and I’ve already taken off time from work to dive in on day one. Maybe I’ll see you online.
Outriders releases on April 1st, 2021 and will be available on Xbox Game Pass for $9.99 a month or $14.99 with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which gives you access to Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass for console and PC. And with today’s news, it just goes to show yet again that the service is easily one of the best deals in gaming today.
Source: Xbox
