The 2022 lineup for Xbox Game Pass is pretty bare when it comes to exclusive Xbox games. January 2022 has largely featured multi-platform games for Xbox Game Pass, and while there are some major releases like Rainbow Six Extraction coming to Game Pass as day one titles, some fans may be more interested in exclusives. It's possible that there are new Xbox exclusives waiting in the wings that will come to Game Pass within the next six months, but if not, the second half of the year should make up for it.
Microsoft likes to reveal new Xbox Game Pass games one month at a time, and so it will be quite awhile before fans know everything that's coming to Game Pass in the second half of 2022. However, it's highly likely that current PS5 console exclusive Deathloop will make the jump, as it's an Xbox-published game that will be free to release for other consoles starting in late September. And not only that, but Bethesda has confirmed that the Starfield release date is November 11, and it's confident that the date will be met.
Recently, Xbox console exclusive STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl was hit with a big release date delay that pushed it from April of this year all the way to December 8. While this is disappointing for Xbox Game Pass subscribers who were looking forward to playing STALKER 2 in April, it does go a long way in making the end of 2022 especially stacked for Xbox Game Pass - assuming that there are no further delays, that is.
STALKER 2 is one of the first Xbox Series X console exclusive games, meaning that fans will need Microsoft's next-generation console or a PC to play it. Starfield is the same story, meaning the end of 2022 is when Microsoft is really going to start using Xbox Game Pass to start pushing the Xbox Series S and X consoles as must-haves for Xbox gamers. Microsoft already discontinued the Xbox One some time ago, so it's definitely time for fans to make the jump to the new hardware.
On top of all this, there are also rumors that Xbox console exclusive Redfall could get delayed to holiday 2022. Right now the co-op vampire shooter game from celebrated developer Arkane is scheduled to launch in the summer, but if the rumors are true, then it would also help make the end of 2022 huge for Xbox Game Pass.
Time will tell how the rest of 2022 looks for Xbox Game Pass, but for now subscribers can check out the new Xbox Game Pass games for January 2022.