Microsoft confirms one of the new games coming to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service in August 2023.

Microsoft has confirmed that Celeste, one of the highest-rated games of all time, is coming back to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service on August 1. This announcement came packaged with the confirmation of the rest of the new games coming to Xbox Game Pass in July 2023.

First Microsoft added Techtonica, The Cave, and Toem to Xbox Game Pass on July 18, then it confirmed five more titles that will be joining the service in July 2023. This includes Maquette on July 19, Figment 2: Creed Valley on July 20, The Wandering Village on July 20, Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem on July 25, and Venba on July 31. Microsoft also unexpectedly gave fans a tease as to what they can expect from the new Xbox Game Pass games for August 2023 by confirming that Celeste will be available on the cloud, Xbox consoles, and PC beginning August 1.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the game, Celeste is an award-winning indie platformer known for its stiff challenge and engaging narrative. It earned widespread acclaim at the time of its release in 2018, with many pointing to it as one of the absolute best games released that year – which is saying a lot considering it shared 2018 with titles like God of War and Red Dead Redemption 2. Anyone that has yet to play Celeste should certainly consider giving it a shot when it returns to the Xbox Game Pass service on August 1 to see if it lives up to the hype for them.

As some may recall, this isn’t the first time that Celeste has been a part of Xbox Game Pass. Unfortunately for fans of the indie hit, Celeste was removed from Xbox Game Pass back in 2021. It’s making its comeback to Xbox Game Pass two years later, and assuming it works like other Game Pass games, fans can expect it to be available on the service for at least a year after it’s added to the lineup. This should give Xbox Game Pass subscribers more than enough time to play through the beloved game for themselves.

Celeste is a rare example of a game being removed from Xbox Game Pass and the rejoining the lineup later on. However, it’s the second game to do so in as many months. Microsoft brought Grand Theft Auto 5 back to Xbox Game Pass just a couple of weeks ago, with it too having previously been available on the service.

BY DALTON COOPER for gamerant.com