Recent big-name additions to Xbox Game Pass have resulted in another surge of new players

Alinea Analytics, for those unfamiliar, is a data analytics company focused on the gaming industry. It provides insight into everything from sales performance to player engagement.

This week, it has published a closer look at Xbox Game Pass, highlighting just how powerful the service can be when it comes to getting players to try new games.

The firm analyzed some major additions from last month, including: Star Wars: Outlaws, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, and Death Stranding. All three joined recently, so how are they performing? Things are looking good.

Game Pass delivers a major player boost

It’s no secret that Game Pass drives players to try new games.

What people have questioned, though, is just how much of a difference it really makes. If Alinea Analytics is right, the impact is quite significant.

According to the firm, Star Wars: Outlaws saw the biggest boost. Around 595,000 players checked it out across PC, console, and cloud, with 100,000 jumping in on day one alone.

Considering the game’s underwhelming launch, it’s encouraging to see so many players willing to give it a shot through Game Pass.

Next up is Warhammer: Space Marine 2. This is one I’ve personally been playing with friends thanks to Game Pass, so seeing 544,000 players dive in across PC, console, and cloud isn’t surprising.

Before joining the service, the game had already surpassed 1 million sales on Xbox, according to Alinea Analytics. It was also maintaining roughly 30,000 daily active users, showing it already had a solid base.

The data also highlights an interesting overlap. About 57% of Space Marine 2 players had previously played Gears 5, which tells you a lot about the kind of audience it’s attracting.

Close behind those two is Death Stranding Director's Cut, bringing in 512,000 new players. Then there’s Resident Evil Village, which saw around 500,000 total players jump in and also gained Xbox Play Anywhere support at the same time.

For Village, Alinea Analytics mentions that the game performed even better on PlayStation Plus Extra, where it reached 852,000 players after being added on the same day. Of course, PlayStation does have a larger install base, which likely played a role in that difference.

Lastly, Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, the 2D retro-inspired title that was added into Game Pass last month as well, saw 102,000 players check it out.

I must admit I'm surprised by some of the games here that saw a spike, mainly Star Wars: Outlaws, but more people checking out games is never a bad thing.

Passing it over to you!

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