Everspace 2 is now on Xbox Game Pass, four more games coming in August 2023

The space combat RPG is a day-one release on Microsoft's subscription service

Sci-fi shooter Everspace 2 is the latest game to join Xbox Game Pass on the day of its release for consoles, and Microsoft has announced the full lineup of titles that are coming to the subscription service in the second half of August 2023.

Everspace 2 is a spaceship shooter game with RPG elements. You pilot a spaceship, explore space and other planets, combat other spaceships, loot resources, and craft upgrades to your ship. It's a sequel to 2017 spaceship roguelike Everspace and offers a 20-30h story with quite a few side quests. 

The game is heavy on RPG mechanics with various classes, random loot, skills, and talents, and is often described as "Diablo but in a spaceship". There are puzzles to solve, secrets to discover and a big open world to explore with your ship.

Games coming to Xbox Game Pass in late August 2023

After Everspace 2, Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be getting four other games in the coming weeks. We already knew about most of these, and two of them are day-one releases. Here's the list:

• Firewatch – August 17
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – August 18
• Sea of Stars – August 29
• Gris – September 5

All four games will be available to play at no additional cost for Game Pass subscribers on consoles, PC, and via cloud gaming.

Firewatch - August 17

Campo Santo / Panic

Firewatch was removed from Game Pass a while ago, and now the celebrated story-driven mystery game is making a comeback into the service's library on August 17. You play as Henry, who escapes his messy life to become a fire lookout at Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming. The game has been praised for its narrative which does more with less, its memorable voice acting, and its treatment of serious themes like voluntary seclusion.

Texas Chain Saw Massacre - August 18 (Day One)

Gun Interactive

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is coming to Xbox Game Pass as another day-one release on August 18. It's based on the iconic 1974 horror movie which spawned a long-lasting franchise.

Sea of Stars - August 29 (Day One)

Sabotage Studio

Sea of Stars is yet another game immediately coming to Xbox Game Pass on its release date, August 29. It is a cute-looking pixel art RPG, in the vein of old-school classics like Illusion of Gaia, Chrono Trigger and the early Final Fantasy games.

Gris - September 5

Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital

Lastly, Gris is a platform adventure indie from Spanish studio Nomada Games. The game launched back in 2018. You play as a young girl named Gris who is lost in her own world after a painful experience shakes her life. Gris is coming to Xbox Game Pass on September 5, 2023.

That's the full lineup of games coming to Game Pass in the second half of August. If you've missed it, a Quake 2 remaster released on Game Pass too. Previously added games on the service this month include:

• Celeste
• A Short Hike
• Broforce Forever
• Limbo
• Airborne Kingdom

Games leaving Xbox Game Pass on August 31

Microsoft has also announced that five games will be leaving Xbox Game Pass on August 31. These are:

• Black Desert
• Commandos 3 – HD Remaster
• Immortality
• Nuclear Throne
• Surgeon Simulator 2
• Tinykin