Xbox Game Pass is getting tons of new games following Black Ops 6 success

By Carli Velocci Published November 4, 2024

A cockpit view in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. — Microsoft

We know a lot of you are playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Xbox right now, but the company just announced some games coming to Xbox Game Pass — specifically the Game Pass Standard tier — in the first half of November.

The biggest game coming to the service (and we mean that literally) is Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Xbox and developers Asobo Studio previously reported that it will have a smaller install size than its predecessor — 127GB versus 157GB — but it’ll also require 64GB of RAM. All of this is to help stream immense detail to the player as they fly around the world. Asobo says helped it to increase “the detail of its virtual environment by a factor of 4,000.” Alongside the hyperrealistic graphics is a new career mode where you go through training and missions to become a pilot and a challenge mode where you compete against other pilots. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is coming to Game Pass at launch on November 19.

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If you’re a StarCraft fan, you’ll also want to check out StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft II: Campaign Collection through PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate, which brings the classic single-player campaigns to the service. You can still play the multiplayer through Battle.net, but this gives new players the chance to hop in.

Neither Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 or the StarCraft remasters will be on Game Pass Standard just yet, but this first wave of November titles is going to pump up that tier. Indies like the over-the-top Turnip Boy Robs a Bank and the handmade Harold Halibut are hitting Standard on November 6.

Of course, if you still want to play more Black Ops 6, the Nuketown multiplayer map, which is modeled after the classic map from Call of Duty: Black Ops, is now available. You can also buy the Vault Edition Upgrade for the season 1 battle pass, an operator pack, and more weapons.

You can check out the full list of additions below:

Metal Slug Tactics (Cloud, Console, and PC) – November 5 for Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
StarCraft: Remastered (PC) – November 5 for Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
StarCraft II: Campaign Collection (PC) – November 5 for Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Go Mecha Ball (Console) – November 6 on Game Pass Standard
Harold Halibut (Xbox Series X|S) – November 6 on Game Pass Standard
The Rewinder (Console) – November 6 on Game Pass Standard
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (Console) – November 6 on Game Pass Standard
Goat Simulator Remastered (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – November 7 for Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – November 19 for Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

DLC and Game updates

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Nuketown Multiplayer Map
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Vault Edition Upgrade
No Man’s Sky: The Cursed Expedition
Sea of Stars: Dawn of Equinox

Game Pass Ultimate perks

EA Sports UFC 4: 1600 UFC Points

Leaving on November 15

Dicey Dungeons (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Dungeons 4 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Goat Simulator (PC)
Like a Dragon: Ishin! (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Like a Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Persona 5 Tactica (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Somerville (Cloud, Console, and PC)

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Contributor, Games

Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

Gaming

3 new Xbox Game Pass games to play this weekend (November 8-10)

An alien in armor with a light sword standing in front of a space ship window with a planet in the background.

This is a good week for strategy game fans subscribed to Xbox Game Pass because November's first new additions to the service all fall within that genre. Two of them are real-time strategy game classics from Blizzard Entertainment, and the other is a strategic take on an arcade classic. If you're playing on a console, these additions may not mean as much to you, but for Game Pass subscribers with access to a PC, these recently added strategy game games are well worth your time.
StarCraft: Remastered
StarCraft Remastered Announcement

The original StarCraft is a monumental release for Blizzard Entertainment. It gave the studio a third pillar franchise alongside Warcraft and Diablo, was one of the first major esports games, and set a standard that most RTS games after it have tried to follow. In 2017, Blizzard released StarCraft: Remastered, updating the classics' visuals, audio, and online features; that's the version of StarCraft that has come to Xbox Game Pass. While there are more approachable RTS games nowadays, PC gamers should check out the original StarCraft if they've never played it before to better understand the foundational building blocks of the RTS genre.

Gaming

The fastest ways to gain XP in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Kill Order gameplay in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Ever since Modern Warfare, Call of Duty fans have been obsessed with finding every tip and trick they can to level up faster. Now that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has arrived with a refreshed Prestige system, the drive to grind levels is again at an all-time high. While everything you do does earn you XP, they are not all created equal. Just like picking your Wildcards or Perks, earning XP as fast as possible takes a bit of thought and planning. If there's a piece of equipment you have your eye on at a high level, or just want to grind through some Prestige ranks as fast as possible, here are the fastest ways to grind XP in Black Ops 6.
Do your dailies

We'll get the most obvious tip out of the way first. Daily challenges are back and work just as they always have. Every 24 hours you will be given a handful of small optional tasks to complete for a heap of bonus XP. These can be things like getting Scorestreak kills, getting Point Blank Kills, and getting kills with a specific weapon type. Most daily challenges are worth 2,500 XP, which is already a nice bonus, but there is also a fourth one that can be worth between 3,000 and 5,000 additional XP. Each day you log on, you should prioritize your daily challenges.
Tailor your loadout and play the objective

Computing

The best PC settings for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty Black Ops 6.

Call of Duty Black Ops 6 is the latest in a long line of high-paced shooters, and like its predecessors, it brings with it not only a new campaign and multiplayer features but enhanced graphics too. Although upgrading your graphics card or processor is always a great way to boost performance in new and demanding games, you can also have a big impact by adjusting its settings to the best ones for you and your PC.

However, even if you’re the most competitive player, you won’t want to just turn all the settings off to maximize your frame rate. You still need clarity to make out your opponents at distance, and what’s the point of playing the latest Call of Duty, if you can’t enjoy some of its new visual flair?