Cities: Skylines joins Xbox Game Pass next month

By Asher Madan
last updated

Xbox Game Pass is getting one of the best city-building simulators on Xbox One in April.

Cities: Skylines should be joining Xbox Game Pass in April 2018. This was revealed on today's "Inside Xbox" episode and later confirmed by Microsoft on Twitter. However, seven other games are also joining the service next month. Unfortunately, only one of these titles was revealed today during the show.

Usually new Xbox Game Pass titles are available for download at the beginning of each month and Cities: Skylines shouldn't be any different. Membership costs $9.99 each month so be sure to check it out if you want a Netflix-style subscription for games on Xbox One.

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Management games, such as SimCity, are often very complex. Not only are you managing the game itself, but also the various overlapping menus that govern the game. As such, the preferred input method has been mouse and keyboard.

Cities: Skylines has proven that controllers can be a worthy input method for this type of game. It has set the standard for city-building games for years to come, as EA famously flubbed SimCity's 2013 version, forcing users to participate in an awful online experience that would go on to kill the franchise almost entirely.

In our review, we were "resoundingly impressed with how well the control schemes have translated to a controller, and it gives me hope that we could one day see more complex management-type games hit Xbox One, now that Cities: Skylines has shown us the way forward."

Keep an eye on WindowsCentral.com/Gaming for all the latest in Xbox and Windows 10 gaming, accessories, news, and reviews!

Asher Madan
Asher Madan

Asher Madan handles gaming news for Windows Central. Before joining Windows Central in 2017, Asher worked for a number of different gaming outlets. He has a background in medical science and is passionate about all forms of entertainment, cooking, and antiquing.

6 Comments
  • So happy to see this. I've been holding out hoping it would make it's way over to gamepass
  • Already bought it, but yaay 😁
  • Have it on PC but will probably download. Also EA really did drop the ball with Sim City.
  • I'm hoping more of the titles on Game Pass wind up being Play Anywhere as well. This one isn't if memory serves :/
  • Honestly. Whether a few internet users don't like it this is the future. A Netflix style service for games. And MS are going to be way out in front with this. In a few years this will be a big deal and the gaming scene will adapt to it the same way Movies did. Because MS implementation allows you to download and play locally eliminating bandwidth issues. Until they are ready.
  • Nah. The only ones hyping game pass happen to be MS/XB "fans". Many of them were pushing for kinect, DRM, 24hour check,... Now they are supporting renting games... MS are trying hard on the "service". But there are major difference between this and netflix.