Microsoft shared and then retracted an early announcement of a critically-acclaimed RPG coming to Xbox Game Pass, while another Zelda-inspired game to similarly positive reviews is now available on the service.

Apparently, Microsoft announced ahead of time that Tales of Arise is coming to Xbox Game Pass! The early reveal, which was immediately taken down, was part of the announcement of the next wave of Game Pass titles, which are scheduled to arrive on the service sometime in February.

With this, Microsoft reiterated that the culinary-themed roguelite PlateUp will soon be included in the subscription catalog.

The company also revealed half a dozen more titles coming in February.

Microsoft says Tales of Arise is coming “soon.”

What caught the attention of some fans, however, was the mention of Tales of Arise in the title of the announcement, which initially appeared on Xbox Wire. Although the title was immediately changed, a cached version of the February 6 post confirms that Microsoft did indeed mention Bandai Namco’s action RPG in the upcoming article, as initially spotted by Reddit user baiisun.

The latest instalment of the nearly three-decade-old Tales franchise was released in September 2021 for PC and non-Nintendo consoles.

Tales of Arise received widespread critical acclaim. This is also supported by the fact that the Metacritic Metascore currently ranges between 82 and 87 (out of 100), depending on the platform. Likewise, the Steam version of the RPG currently boasts “Very Positive” reviews. Plus, based on nearly 24,000 user reviews. After receiving mixed reviews on the matter, Bandai Namco decided to continue supporting the game with DLCs. The last of these, Beyond The Dawn, was released in November 2023.

Now that Tales of Arise is seemingly complete content-wise, it might be time to raise the game’s profile. They could potentially help DLC sales by adding it to a service like Xbox Game Pass. The latter is estimated to have exceeded 33 million subscribers by the end of 2023. We do not yet know whether this will actually be the case. But this slide from Microsoft certainly seems like a vital sign that one of the best JRPGs on the Xbox consoles could soon be coming to Game Pass.

Has a 2D Zelda clone arrived on Xbox Game Pass?!

The Xbox Game Pass library has expanded with Anuchard. The latest title to arrive on the service expands the selection of Zelda-like 2D action RPGs.

New to Xbox Game Pass on February 6 is the latest release from Indonesian developer stellarNull, which has a relatively diverse portfolio of PC and mobile games, from platformers and shoot-em-ups to puzzlers and life simulators.

This time, stellarNull delivered an action RPG in the spirit of the classic The Legend of Zelda games. In it, players will be tasked with saving the titular kingdom of Anuchard. They must defeat the five fallen guardians who once guarded the residents. But since then, for unknown reasons, they have turned against them…

Anuchard arrived on Game Pass just three months before its second release anniversary. Its release in 2022 was met with above-average reviews by critics. Fans of 2D action RPGs were also quite optimistic about it. The Steam version of the game currently boasts “Very Positive” ratings based on dozens of user reviews. If you look at the reasoning behind these reviews, several people said that they liked Anuchard for its exciting setting, varied side quests, and a wide variety of upgrades.

In addition to older Zelda games, the title has also been compared to Terranigma, the iconic 1995 SNES ARPG from the now-defunct Japanese studio Quintet.

With a roughly nine-hour campaign, Anuchard offers good value for money even at its full retail price of $15. As such, Microsoft subscribers who enjoy playing 2D action RPGs won’t have to think twice about giving it a try now that Xbox Game Pass is temporarily free…

Source: Reddit, TrueAchievements

Tales of Arise on Gamepass soon?
byu/baiisun inGamingLeaksAndRumours