Sequel to Strategy Game Skips Xbox Game Pass

SteamWorld Heist 2's publisher has corrected an earlier announcement: the game will not be launching on Xbox Game Pass, contrary to previous marketing materials. The turn-based strategy title, a sequel to the acclaimed 2015 release, will still debut on August 8th across multiple platforms.

The initial Game Pass inclusion, featured in the April trailer, was attributed to an unintentional error by the PR team, Fortyseven. Subsequent social media posts mentioning Game Pass availability have since been removed. This clarifies the situation following initial confusion surrounding the game's availability on the subscription service.

SteamWorld Heist 2 will be released on August 8th for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The game's unique 2D tactical shooting gameplay, controlling robot squads in turn-based combat, remains a key selling point.

This situation mirrors a recent incident with Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance, where a similar Game Pass listing error was attributed to a template mistake.

While disappointing for some Xbox Game Pass subscribers, the service still offers a strong selection of SteamWorld titles, including the recently added SteamWorld Dig and SteamWorld Dig 2, along with last year's day-one release of SteamWorld Build. Furthermore, Xbox Game Pass boasts a robust July lineup with six confirmed day-one releases, offering diverse gaming experiences to compensate for the absence of SteamWorld Heist 2.