With Starfield and Redfall’s delay, why Xbox should add Gotham Knights as day one release on the Game Pass

With its October release, Gotham Knights might be a knight in shining armor for Xbox and Game Pass based on yesterday's events. Starfield and Redfall are two of the most anticipated games to be released towards the end of 2022.

As announced by Bethesda, both titles have now been shifted to 2023, citing production demands and more. While this might not be that big of a deal, it could potentially harm the growth of the Xbox Game Pass in the long run.

The rental service from Xbox offers a vast library of both first and third-party games available to subscribers for a low fee. Different games are added to the Xbox Game Pass from time to time.

While older titles are added at random, the icing on the cake comes from day one releases. When a game is added as a day one release, players can access it the day it releases worldwide. Gotham Knights could provide the gaming giants with the perfect opportunity to mitigate the gap left by the delay of the two other titles in discussion.

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Gotham Knights' day one release can fill the vacuum created on Xbox Game Pass by Starfield and Redfall

The importance of the service to Microsoft and Xbox is well documented, as both Satya Nadella and Phil Spencer have spoken about its potential. The service, since its launch, has steadily grown, with more than 20 million active users at the moment.

It won't be rocket science to understand the importance of day one releases as far as the Xbox Game Pass is concerned. The service witnesses regular day one releases, but there's a difference between indie and AAA titles. Starfield and Redfall are both major titles that would have been available on day one on the Xbox Game Pass.

With the two games now being pushed back to early 2023, the scenario suddenly looks barren for Xbox and its service. Essentially, no major releases are supposed to arrive on the service during the holidays. Moreover, there are no first-party titles slated for a release this year.

This could be quite detrimental to the growth of the service as some might think that the required value won't be there.

Xbox could look towards Gotham Knights as a stop-gap solution to counter it. The superhero game won't be the only AAA game coming out in 2022, but certain factors make it a better choice than others.

For starters, Gotham Knights is slated to be released on October 25, close to the earlier release dates of Redfall and Starfield. Secondly, this won't be the first time that a game that has been published by Warner Bros. Interactive will potentially be entering the service as a day one release. Earlier, in late 2021, Back 4 Blood was added to the Xbox Game Pass at the date of its release.

Most importantly, it's important to consider the effect that any new game can have on Xbox Game Pass' potential growth. Gotham Knights is a heavily anticipated superhero game that many fans want to get their hands on.

If Xbox adds a game that players don't really want, it will do very little to grow its service. However, adding a hotly wanted game will do the opposite as fans will look to get the service just to play the game.

Xbox is looking towards a very barren 2022 with no major titles on the horizon. Whether the gaming giants have backup plans to mitigate the problems will be a matter of the future. Whichever the case might be, getting Gotham Knights on day one on the Xbox Game Pass could be the statement fans want to hear.