Missing Games on Game Pass Standard: MW3, Diablo 4, and More
Xbox Game Pass Standard: The Missing Games and Confusion
Xbox has finally rolled out Game Pass Standard, a new middle-tier subscription service that offers access to online multiplayer and a library of hundreds of games. But, as expected, not all games are created equal. While some notable blockbusters like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Diablo IV, and Starfield are missing from the Standard tier, others have raised more questions than answers.
What’s the Difference Between Game Pass Standard and Game Pass Ultimate?
The main difference between Game Pass Standard and Game Pass Ultimate is the availability of day-one additions to the library. Game Pass Standard won’t include certain games until up to 12 months later or even longer, while Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass PC will get them at launch. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, for instance, will only be part of Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass PC when it launches on October 25.
What’s Missing from Game Pass Standard?
A list of existing libraries for each tier reveals other discrepancies for games that already came to the service. Modern Warfare 3, added last month, is notably absent, as is Diablo IV, added in the spring with a new expansion, Vessel of Hatred, coming October 8. Valorant, Riot Games’ hero shooter, is free-to-play but locks certain characters behind a paywall. The Game Pass version that unlocks them all for free is part of Ultimate but not Standard.
Smaller Games Missing Too
There are some smaller day-and-date games missing as well. Flintlock, the colonial-era Soulslike, came to Game Pass in July but isn’t included in Standard’s library. Another Crab’s Treasure, the cartoony Soulslike that joined in April, is also absent. Still Wakes The Deep, the horror walking sim that arrived in June, is also missing. It seems like a lot of recent day-one Game Pass releases, including Microsoft’s own Age of Mythology Retold, won’t be hitting Standard anytime soon, despite arriving on the service before the split was official.
When Will We See These Games?
That’s the most confusing part of all. For now, there doesn’t seem to be one standard approach, with all releases being staggered by the same number of months. Even for Microsoft’s own first-party releases, it seems like their arrival on Standard will happen when it happens. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, for example, might not hit Game Pass Standard until it first arrives on PS5 in the spring.
The Bottom Line
Microsoft has officially rolled out Game Pass Standard, but the missing games and unclear rollout schedule have raised more questions than answers. We’ll have to wait and see when these games and others make it to the middle tier.
