27 January 2026

Xbox Game Pass Adds 2023 Game with 89 Critic Score

By newsgame

The Talos Principle 2 is now available on Xbox Game Pass. This is the 14th addition to Microsoft’s subscription service in January 2026, with four more titles being set to join Xbox Game Pass before the end of the month.

The Talos Principle 2 is a first-person puzzler made by Croatian studio Croteam and published by Devolver Digital in November 2023. Like its predecessor, it tasks players with exploring a tropical setting filled with a wide variety of puzzles and obscure secrets, all the while asking some poignant philosophical questions. The premise resonated with many a reviewer, as seen in the game’s “Mighty” rating on OpenCritic, based on an average score of 89 and a 99% recommendation rate—placing it in the top 2% of all titles in the aggregator’s database. Purely going by average scores, The Talos Principle 2 is in the top 20 highest-rated games of 2023.

The Talos Principle 2 Joins 3 Xbox Game Pass Tiers

The critically acclaimed puzzler is now available on Xbox Game Pass, having joined the service in the early morning hours of January 27. Like most other titles that aren’t day-one releases, The Talos Principle 2 is available across every Game Pass tier except for Essential. This arrival marks the first time ever that XGP members can play the 2023 title as part of their subscriptions. Although the official Xbox Wire announcement of The Talos Principle 2 coming to Game Pass did not mention cloud support, that appears to have been an oversight, as the puzzler is streamable via Xbox Cloud Gaming. The game is expected to be part of Microsoft’s rotating content catalog for about 12 months, which is exactly how long the first Talos Principle stayed on Game Pass after reaching it in November 2019.

While its core puzzle mechanics differ significantly, The Talos Principle 2 is often recommended to fans of Portal for its steady stream of brain-teasing challenges presented from a first-person perspective, combined with a sci-fi setting and a touch of humor. Compared to its predecessor, the sequel adopts a markedly different tone, trading solitude for more prominent group dynamics. A typical playthrough lasts between 20 and 30 hours, though uncovering everything the game offers can take significantly longer, partly because The Talos Principle 2 has no shortage of highly obscure secrets.

Busy Days Are Ahead for Xbox Game Pass

Four more titles are coming to Xbox Game Pass in the dying days of January 2026. They are scheduled to arrive in pairs: Anno: Mutationem and Drop Duchy are coming on January 28, followed by MySims: Cozy Bundle and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 a day later.

All Upcoming Xbox Game Pass Games (Confirmed Release Dates Only)

Date	Game	Tier(s)	Platform(s)	Notes
Jan 27	The Talos Principle 2	Ultimate, Premium, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S
Jan 28	Anno: Mutationem	Ultimate, Premium, PC	Cloud, Console, PC
Jan 28	Drop Duchy	Ultimate, Premium, PC	Cloud, Console, PC
Jan 29	MySims: Cozy Bundle	Ultimate, PC	PC
Jan 29	Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II	Ultimate, Premium, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S
Feb 2	Indika	Ultimate, Premium, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S
Feb 3	Final Fantasy 2	Ultimate, Premium, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S
Feb 5	Menace	Ultimate, PC	PC	Game Preview; day-one release.
Feb 13	High on Life 2	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.
Feb 26	Towerborne	Premium	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one 1.0 release. Available in Game Preview on XGP Ultimate and PC GP since April 2025.
Mar 12	Replaced	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.
Mar 26	Nova Roma	Ultimate, PC	PC	Day-one release.
May 19	Forza Horizon 6	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.

Beyond that, Xbox Game Pass already has five confirmed titles for February 2026, as well as seven confirmed departures for January 31. The Wave 1 lineup for next month is likely to be formally announced on February 3, the day Final Fantasy 2 joins the service.