An awesome Roguelite beat 'em up I never thought would come to Xbox has proved me wrong — with a release date confirmed for Xbox Game Pass

March's first batch of new Xbox Game Pass titles is stacked with heavy hitters like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, South of Midnight, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Disco Elysium, Resident Evil 7: biohazard, and more.

Yet out of all these titles, the game I'm happily shocked to see the most is Absolum, a side-scrolling beat 'em up released in 2025 for PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, and Nintendo Switch.

People loved it, but unfortunately, Xbox fans were left out as it never launched on Xbox platforms during its release date. However, with this latest announcement, Xbox fans can finally experience this gritty, roguelite beat 'em up when it finally launches on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Game Pass on March 25, 2026.

For those who want to know more about this game, here's a quick summary: Absolum follows a group of 4 outcast heroes fighting to free the once peaceful land of Talamh from the tyrannical rule of the Sun King, Azra.

You will travel through gorgeously hand-drawn 2D landscapes, master an insanely in-depth combat system, and battle hordes of ever-increasingly challenging enemies and bosses.

What makes Absolum special is that it incorporates Roguelite elements to keep gameplay fresh, like retaining experience and currency upon death to make future runs easier, acquiring randomized abilities, spells, and items per run, branching paths leading to secret areas and bosses, and more.

I can't wait to finally play Absolum with my Xbox friends in online co-op

Absolum | Launch Trailer - YouTube

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As a lover of 2D beat 'em ups like Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, Absolum looks awesome.

Its combat system, dark fantasy setting, and even mechanics like rideable mounts give me so many nostalgic memories of the classic 1990s SEGA beat 'em up, Golden Axe.

Yet despite that, I never played it due to being swamped with work at the time of its release and not being able to play it with my friends since it didn't come to Xbox.

Now that it's finally coming to Xbox, it's time to see just what this game did to earn so much love from the community and perhaps relive some 1990s arcade beat 'em up nostalgia along the way, since it's unlikely we'll ever see a new Golden Axe from SEGA any time soon.

Then again, we did eventually get Streets of Rage 4 after decades of waiting, so who knows?

🗨️ Over to you

Are you looking forward to playing Absolum on Xbox? Are there any beat 'em ups you would like to see added to Xbox Game Pass?

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