Xbox Game Pass is Adding 4 More Retro Games Soon
Xbox confirmed in its December 2025 Update that four games are being added to Retro Classics, a service that’s only available with an Xbox Game Pass subscription. But unlike many Game Pass-exclusive services that Xbox currently offers, Retro Classics can be enjoyed by those on all tiers of Xbox Game Pass, from Essential all the way up to Ultimate.
Launched in May of this year, Retro Classics is a service provided by Xbox in collaboration with Antstream Arcade that offers a plethora of emulated retro games originally developed and/or published by Activision and Blizzard. As of November 2025, there were 95 games on Xbox Game Pass’ Retro Classics service, including titles like the Amiga’s Caesar, the Atari 2600’s Chopper Command, and the PlayStation’s MechWarrior 2.
Xbox Game Pass Adds Four Games to Retro Classics Collection
In the Xbox December 2025 Update, four more games were confirmed to be coming to Xbox Game Pass’ Retro Classics collection, bringing the total number of available titles to 99. These are the four new games heading to Retro Classics this month:
- Codename: Iceman
- Plaque Attack
- Police Quest 2
- Space Shuttle
Retro Classics December 2025 Game Codename: Iceman Explained
Originally released in March 1990 for the MS-DOS and Amiga, Codename: Iceman is an early graphic adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line/Entertainment. Set behind the backdrop of a near-future political conspiracy between the United States and the Soviet Union, Codename: Iceman sees players assume the role of Naval officer Johnny Westland, who must be commanded through the use of text prompts. Codename: Iceman doesn’t have a strong legacy, but its lengthy submarine sequence and divisive procedural gameplay elements are often the things people will say they remember all these years later, not necessarily for the right reasons.
Retro Classics December 2025 Game Plaque Attack Explained
Released all the way back in 1983 for the Atari 2600, Plaque Attack is a very simple Activision-made game that has players controlling a tube of toothpaste as it defends a set of teeth against incoming foods. Plaque Attack is essentially a Space Invaders clone in terms of gameplay, with players firing spurts of toothpaste to eliminate the waves of burgers and fries that fall atop the teeth at the top and bottom of the screen. In true retro fashion, Plaque Attack is a score-focused game that only ends when the player is left without any teeth remaining.
Retro Classics December 2025 Game Police Quest 2 Explained
The follow-up to Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel, which was added to Xbox Game Pass’ Retro Classics service back in May, Police Quest II: The Vengeance was originally released in November 1988 for the MS-DOS and Amiga. Much like Codename: Iceman, Police Quest 2 was developed by Sierra On-Line and used its SCI engine as the basis of its graphic adventure gameplay. In Police Quest 2, players assume the role of American Detective Sonny Bonds, who’s on the hunt for Jessie Bains, an escaped convict the original game’s designers based on a real-life criminal who was on the run during the 1980s. As Bonds, players investigate crime scenes, examine evidence, and apprehend criminals, all using the game’s classic text parser interface.
Retro Classics December 2025 Game Space Shuttle Explained
The last game added to Xbox Game Pass’ Retro Classics service in December 2025, Space Shuttle: A Journey Into Space is another Activision-developed title also made for the Atari 2600, as well as the Commodore 64, the ZX Spectrum, and the Atari 8-Bit. This 1983 game is a surprisingly hardcore space flight simulator where players control each vital phase of a spaceship’s launch and return to Earth.
Source: Xbox