Xbox Game Pass Confirms Two December Freebies Including Day One Horror

Xbox Game Pass has already had two free games confirmed for December, with one of them being a highly-anticipated horror.

Xbox typically adds quite a few games to its Game Pass subscription each month, but we don’t always hear about them this early. Microsoft usually lets the month play out before announcing what will be coming the month after.

However, new Xbox Game Pass additions are sometimes announced months in advance, especially when they’re Day One additions. And that’s exactly what’s happening here.

Next month, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will add Routine and Dome Keeper to the subscription service as Day One titles.

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What are Routine and Dome Keeper?

Routine is an upcoming horror game that seems to be taking a page out of Alien: Isolation’s book.

It’s a first person sci-fi horror set on an abandoned lunar base designed with an 80s vision of the future. You explore sectors of this base, from abandoned malls to deteriorating living quarters, and must run, hide, or defend yourself against unknown threats.

Meanwhile, Dome Keeper is a roguelike action miner where you defend against waves of alien monsters.

You achieve this by digging for resources, collecting useful gadgets, and upgrading your equipment which should aid in your survival.

Dome Keeper was originally released for PC way back in 2022, but is now releasing on Xbox next month.

With it being a Day 1 release for Game Pass, what better time than to check it out?

We ought to remind you that Day One releases only come to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions, with the games being added to Game Pass Premium a little further down the line.

Aside from these two titles, I imagine there’ll be more Game Pass additions announced in due time. With next month being December as well, there will probably be a few treats to line up your Christmas holiday backlog.

As for this month, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate users have been able to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Winter Burrow, Dead Static Drive, Egging On, Pigeon Simulator, Whiskerwood.

Meanwhile, Voidtrain, Great God Grove, Relic Hunters Legend, and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris have come to Ultimate and Premium, while Sniper Elite: Resistance has hit Premium after previously being exclusive to Ultimate.