The second wave of Xbox Game Pass January 2025 games has now been confirmed. A total of 14 games, including Sniper Elite: Resistance and Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, will join various Game Pass tiers over the next two weeks. For more titles on the horizon in February and beyond, check out our list of upcoming Game Pass games.
Xbox Game Pass January 2025 wave two lineup includes Sniper Elite: Resistance
- The Xbox Game Pass wave two lineup for January 2025 brings 14 games to various tiers across the service
- Five day-one Game Pass titles are coming to Ultimate over the next two weeks
- A total of nine games are coming to Game Pass Standard
While January 2025’s first batch of new Game Pass titles didn’t have much new for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, this wave includes five day-one games for Ultimate (and nine in total). Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders, Eternal Strands, Sniper Elite: Resistance, Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, Far Cry New Dawn, Gigantic: Rampage Edition, Shady Part of Me, and Starbound are all coming to Ultimate soon.
Standard subscribers are also getting a bunch of good games, including some titles shared with the Ultimate tier. Far Cry New Dawn, Gigantic Rampage Edition, Shady Part of Me, Starbound, Flock, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, Magical Delicay, Tchia, and The Case of the Golden Idol will all soon be playable with Standard.
Here is the Xbox Game Pass January 2025 wave two lineup schedule:
Available today- Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Xbox Series X|S, Cloud, and PC)
January 22- Flock — Game Pass Standard (Console)
- Gigantic: Rampage Edition — Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Standard, PC Game Pass, (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess — Game Pass Standard (Console)
- Magical Delicacy — Game Pass Standard (Console)
- Tchia — Game Pass Standard (Console)
- The Case of the Golden Idol— Game Pass Standard (Console)
- Starbound — Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Standard (Console)
January 28- Eternal Strands— Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Xbox Series X|S, Cloud, and PC)
- Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Xbox Series X|S, Cloud, and PC)
January 29- Shady Part of Me — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, Cloud, and PC)
January 30- Sniper Elite: Resistance — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Cloud, Console, and PC)
January 31- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Xbox Series X|S, PC)
February 4- Far Cry New Dawn — Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Standard, PC Game Pass (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Sean —
Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
Heidi —
Flock
- The Flock achievements are a serene experience
- Joins Game Pass on: January 22
- Game Pass Tier: Game Pass Standard
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Flock is a soothing game — it’s all about soaring around a beautiful, colorful world and collecting wonderfully weird creatures for your herd.
You start off with hover-sheep, guiding them to pastures and using their wool for new hats and cardigans for your character, but you soon expand this herd with some beautiful and bizarre creatures. As you go, you add info about these rare beasties (if you can catch them, that is) to a compendium to build up your knowledge.
Flock is a multiplayer co-op game, so your friends can get in on the fun, or you can soar about solo.
Tom —
Gigantic: Rampage Edition
Offering a huge roster of heroes to master with unique upgradable abilities, Gigantic sees you partaking in team-based game modes in a team of up to four players, taking objectives and attempting to destroy the opposing team’s gigantic Guardian. With the new Rampage Edition, you can also dive into a new game mode, access cross-play, unlock new heroes, and more.
Gigantic: Rampage Edition joins Xbox Game Pass Standard, Ultimate, and PC for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.
Tom —
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Set on a Japanese mountain that has been invaded by demons, each level sees you clearing villages of the demonic presence as you make your way down the mountain. Each level sees you collecting resources, moving the princess, and strategically placing your troops and defenses during the day. Then, once the night comes around, portals open, and the demons spew out, giving you plenty of time to perform combos and unleash a barrage of pain on your enemy while defending the princess. You need to survive through the nights to eventually get the princess close enough to the gates to close them.
It’s gorgeous, fun, and continuously tempts you back for more. If you want to check it out for yourself, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess joins Xbox Game Pass Standard for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC later this month. Check it out!
Heidi —
Magical Delicacy
- Get cooking with the Magical Delicacy achievements
- Joins Game Pass on: January 22
- Game Pass Tier: Game Pass Standard
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Magical Delicacy sees Flora move to a new town to become a fully-fledged witch and cook meals and potions in her own shop.
Like all wholesome games, you start out with nothing much besides a bunch of debt and need to explore the town, collect ingredients, take orders, and begin cooking. On top of this, you have Metroidvania-lite elements to contend with; you’ll be finding new pathways and movement abilities and expanding your knowledge of the game’s map. On top of all this, you’ll also need to deal with the town’s magical undercurrents and its different covens.
If you like magic, cooking, or Metroidvanias, this will be one to check out.
Kes —
Tchia
- Sail you the magical islands and collect some Tchia achievements
- Joins Game Pass on: January 22
- Game Pass Tier: Game Pass Standard
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S
The one-time PS Plus day-one game is coming to Game Pass Standard! Tchia is a wild little indie game set on the open-world Candelonian Islands. With the ability to change her form, Tchia is a fun protagonist who brings the cutesy energy to life.
It’s much more sandbox than linear adventure, which means a whole load of fun for you. It does have a surprisingly mature tone as myth becomes reality, but the much more relaxing energy of sailing from island to island is a real vibe. I love Tchia!
Kes —
The Case of the Golden Idol
Underneath all that, I don’t think it’s worth speeding up the process on a three-hour completion. There are some fun puzzles to solve and, if you are anything like me, that[‘s a relaxing snack to digest between other massive games.
Heidi —
Starbound
- Make your own way with the Starbound achievements
- Joins Game Pass on: January 22
- Game Pass Tier: Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Standard
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Starbound is an open-world space/sandbox/survival game where you can do pretty much whatever you like. You set out into the universe with a starship and can, from that point, go wherever you fancy, whether you want to save that universe or disappear into it to explore far-off planets, build a home, craft, explore dungeons, farm, collect beasties, and more.
Starbound is already available with PC Game Pass and comes to Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass Standard on January 22.
Sean —
Eternal Strands
- Here are the Eternal Strands achievements
- Joins Game Pass on: January 28
- Game Pass Tier: Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC
Eternal Strands is a fantasy action-adventure title that has you fight towering creatures with powerful magical abilities and weapons to stop the world from crumbling. Playing as Brynn, a young Weaver armed with magical powers, you will explore the wilds and the capital city of Dynevron to uncover the mysteries of what happened in this lost land.
Sean —
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap
Sean —
Shady Part of Me
- Here are the Shady Part of Me achievements
- Joins Game Pass on: January 29
- Game Pass Tier: Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Standard, PC Game Pass
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Shady Part of Me is a puzzle platformer that will take you on "an emotional and poetic fable" that is filled with twists and surprises. As a little girl and her shadow, you will need to use light and shadow, switch between the realms of 2D and 3D, and rewind time to escape a world of nightmares.
According to estimates, unlocking all 16 Shady Part of Me achievements will take between six and eight hours, so this one looks to be a quick and easy completion. If you are going for the 1,000G, make sure you check out our Shady Part of Me walkthrough.
Sean —
Sniper Elite: Resistance
- The Sniper Elite Resistance achievements are currently missing behind enemy lines
- Joins Game Pass on: January 30
- Game Pass Tier: Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC
Playing as Special Operation Executive agent Harry Hawker (not Karl Fairburne this time!), Sniper Elite: Resistance whisks you off to the heart of occupied France to stop the nazis from building a new super weapon. If you’re familiar with the Sniper Elite series, you’ll know what to expect here: more long-range sniping with a gloriously gruesome X-ray kill cam and bucketloads of stealthy gameplay as you infiltrate enemy compounds on large maps. How you tackle each mission is up to you, but you will have multiple infiltration and extraction points to utilize, as well as an arsenal of authentic World War II weaponry to take out your targets with.
Currently, Sniper Elite 5 is included in Game Pass Ultimate, Standard, and PC Game Pass, so if you fancy some stealthy sniping action before January 30, give Sniper Elite 5 a go.
Sean —
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
The first game, Citizen Sleeper, is currently included in all Game Pass tiers (excluding Core), so you can play through the original before tackling the sequel.
Tom —
Far Cry New Dawn
- Here are the Far Cry New Dawn achievements
- Joins Game Pass on: February 4
- Game Pass Tier: Game Pass Standard, Ultimate, and PC Game Pass
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC
Far Cry New Dawn is a spin-off to fellow Game Pass open-world shooter Far Cry 5, and sees you return to Hope County, Montana 17 years after the events of the mainline game. Following a nuclear event called “the exchange,” the county has fallen into ruin and is plagued by bandits. We step into the shoes of a security captain who is helping a group of survivors attempt to rebuild their community in the aftermath of the devastating nuclear disaster.
If you’ve played any Far Cry game before, you’ll be well acquainted with New Dawn’s gameplay: exploring an open world, unlocking outposts, scavenging for supplies, and conducting many other map-clearing exercises. There is a cool base-building feature here, though, and a lighter RPG style that led to the heavier elements seen in Far Cry 6.
If you fancy checking out Far Cry New Dawn, it can be played on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC with an Xbox Game Pass Standard, Ultimate, or PC subscription.
For posterity, here are the games that joined Game Pass in the first half of January 2025:
Xbox Game Pass January 2025 wave one lineup
- The Xbox Game Pass lineup for January 2025 brings six games to various tiers across the service
- Four games are coming to Game Pass Standard on January 8
- The original Diablo is joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass for PC players
Microsoft is kicking off the new year with a bang for Game Pass Standard subscribers. Lightyear Frontier, My Time at Sandrock, Robin Hood - Sherwood Builders, and Rolling Hills: Make Sushi Make Friends, all of which are already included in the Ultimate tier, will join Game Pass Standard on January 8. For Ultimate subscribers, things are a little more muted, with just EA Sports UFC 5 and Diablo joining on January 14.
Things are looking a bit brighter for Ultimate subscribers towards the end of the month. Eternal Strands, Sniper Elite: Resistance, and Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector all join the service as day-one additions as January comes to a close.
Here is the Xbox Game Pass January 2025 wave one lineup schedule:
Available today- Road 96 — Game Pass Ultimate, Standard, PC (Cloud, Console, and PC)
January 8- Lightyear Frontier — Game Pass Standard (Xbox Series X|S)
- My Time at Sandrock — Game Pass Standard (Console)
- Robin Hood - Sherwood Builders— Game Pass Standard (Xbox Series X|S)
- Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends — Game Pass Standard (Console)
January 14- EA Sports UFC 5 — Game Pass Ultimate via EA Play (Xbox Series X|S and Cloud)
- Diablo — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (PC)
Sean —
Lightyear Frontier
Despite being in Game Preview, Lightyear Frontier does have an achievement list. According to estimates, it will take you around 20 hours to unlock all 45 Lightyear Frontier achievements.
Heidi —
Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends
That’s exactly what the game delivers, and it’s great fun. Making friends plays into the restaurant management bit and vice versa, so that we can improve relationships and our restaurant while zooming around the town of Rolling Hills to collect ingredients, solve problems, and live our best Sushi Bot life.
Estimates suggest unlocking the 12 Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends achievements will take between 12 and 15 hours.
Tom —
Robin Hood - Sherwood Builders
Set in 12th-Century England, Sherwood Builders takes us to Nottingham, where Robin Hood's band of outlaws is giving the Sheriff a headache. It's an open-world action-RPG with building elements, giving us the tools to craft a secret hideout village to use as a base as we travel the world to help Nottingham's locals.
Be aware that this is a big one, with 100 achievements attached to the base game. On your merry way to completion, you'll have a chance to dip your toes in all manner of activities, however, such as playing in archery tournaments, witnessing beheadings, watching hangings, and other family-friendly affairs. What a wild time, indeed.
Heidi —
My Time at Sandrock
- The My Time at Sandrock achievements will take you a good chunk of time
- Joins Game Pass on: January 8
- Game Pass Tier: Game Pass Standard
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
My Time at Sandrock, the sequel to the popular My Time at Portia, arrived for Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass last year and will soon join Game Pass Standard on January 8
Like the first game, it’s set in a post-apocalyptic world (but think less zombies and more adorableness) and sees you building up your Workshop. The sequel tasks you with restoring and defending the town, making friends with its locals, and diving into what is a pretty insane amount of content.
If you loved My Time at Portia, you’ll love this too, but it’s worth a try even if you didn’t get along with the first game since the sequel improves in a lot of areas. It has a hefty completion time of around 80-100 hours but offers enough charm and great content to keep you hooked for much longer.
Kes —
EA Sports UFC 5
- Get sweaty and spend 30 hours grappling with the EA Sports UFC 5 achievements
- Joins Game Pass on: January 14
- Game Pass Tier: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate via EA Play
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S and Cloud
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to video game form a few years ago with UFC 5. Looking better and sweatier than ever on Xbox Series X|S, this is a sports game with a huge divide between the critical reception of the game and some of the more hardcore fans of the combat sport.
With some tweaks to prior games, including a new submissions system, it looks cleaner and runs smoother than any other UFC game. However, it hasn’t exactly made any strides forward with some of the issues of old games like strike registration being a bit shoddy. Some technical fighting techniques remain missing — a thorn in the side of the hardcore players who want a more dense representation of the sport.
In any case, it looks pretty, and if you are a more casual fan of UFC, I think you’ll find a decent enough representation of the sport here. Plus, I think UFC 5 looks great graphically all these years later!
Tom —
Diablo
- The Diablo achievements are still locked in Hell
- Joins Game Pass on: January 14
- Game Pass Tier: Game Pass Ultimate and PC
- Platforms: PC
Released in 1997, the first Diablo was an absolute treat for action-RPG fans. Sure, it's aged a bit now, and it’s slower-paced than its modern sequels, but it's an exceptional game that should be played by anyone with a fleeting interest in the genre — some of my earliest gaming memories were forged in the fires of Blizzard's Hell.
Rocking the Warrior, Sorcerer, and Rogue classes, Diablo sees you delving through 16 randomly generated dungeons beneath the town of Tristram as you burrow ever closer to the gates of Hell. It's a ton of fun, throwing random quests, NPCs, gear, and enemies at you with each run and keeping the experience fresh.
Sadly, it seems unlikely that we'll get any achievements with this one, but if you have a PC and want to see where the series began, I highly recommend you boot up this cracking game.