Microsoft is constantly adding new content to Xbox Game Pass, but like other streaming services, sometimes content is removed as well. Luckily for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, content is usually added more than it is removed, and that is the case with the service in February 2021, as only four games are being removed from the service this month.
Three games are being removed for Xbox Game Pass subscribers on console, while one is being removed for PC players. The first batch of games will be removed on February 15, when de Blob and Ninja Gaiden 2 are removed for console players, and World of Horror is removed on PC. For those unfamiliar with the games, de Blob is a well-received platformer that first launched in 2008 before being ported to Xbox One in 2017. Ninja Gaiden 2, meanwhile, is a critically-acclaimed action game released by Team Ninja in 2008.
The other game being removed from Xbox Game Pass in February will leave the service on February 16. Shadows of the Damned, a third-person shooter game inspired by Resident Evil 4 and developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, is available on Game Pass through the EA Play service. Typically games don't leave EA Play, but Shadows of the Damned is a unique case because it is actually getting de-listed. Needless to say, anyone that wants to play Shadows of the Damned digitally on their Xbox consoles will want to make it a point to do so between now and February 16.
It hasn't been specified why Shadows of the Damned is getting de-listed, but fans of the game may have seen the writing on the wall. Previously, Shadows of the Damned disappeared from the Microsoft Store entirely before being quietly added back, so it seems as though its de-listing has been in the works for some time now. Until EA offers further explanation, though, all fans can do is speculate as to why the game is being de-listed.
In the meantime, there are many more new Xbox Game Pass games for February 2021. This includes some brand new titles like the social deduction game Project Winter, as well as classic games like Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age. The latter is part of Xbox's plan to add more Final Fantasy games to Game Pass, with it joining the likes of Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 9.
Meanwhile, Xbox Game Pass has teased the return of a major game, so subscribers should have plenty to look forward to in the months ahead, despite some games being removed from the service this month.