Xbox Game Pass Adds New Day One Game in Early Access Today

19.03.2024 - 09:33 / gamerant.com / Xbox Game Pass / Pam K Ferdinand / Indie Games

Xbox Game Pass has added another day one game, Lightyear Frontier,which is launching in early access on March 19. Developed by Frame Break, the indie game combines farming sim with mech gameplay, and adventurers can explore the colorful open world of Lightyear Frontier solo or co-op with up to three friends. Players will use their mech’s machine gun to plant seeds or equip it with a chainsaw to gather resources while establishing a homestead on a distant planet.

Because the game launches on Xbox Game Pass on March 19, there aren’t many reviews out for it yet. The few available so far have given Lightyear Frontier primarily positive reviews, with many citing its relaxing gameplay loop that focuses on preserving the environment rather than wreaking havoc. And the game’s early access status, while somewhat limiting what players can currently experience, is an encouraging promise of more good things to come.

Now, Lightyear Frontier has launched as a day one title on Xbox Game Pass, but it’s available to purchase for Xbox Series X/S and PC for $24.99 as well. There is also a Steam version with a demo available for those who might be interested to check out the game before taking the plunge.

Developer Frame Break already has a roadmap available to give players an idea of what’s planned for the game in the future. Coming shortly after the early access release, Lightyear Frontier will receive some quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes along with improvements for accessibility. But there are at least two “mega updates” on the horizon as well. The first will introduce a neighbor friendship system and allow players to keep animal on their homesteads, while the second expands the world and story and is also intended to answer some inevitable questions about the game’s lore.

Lightyear Frontier is meant to provide a low stress experience, so there is no combat or dangerous predators. Similarly to No Man’s Sky, a major premise of the game is giving players the opportunity to explore an alien planet and uncover ancient secrets, but in Frame Break’s release, gamers will use the once deadly capabilities of a mech to build a thriving farm while also cleaning up the pollution threatening the environment.

Lightyear Frontier sits at about the halfway point of games planned for release on Xbox Game Pass in March. Along with the mech farming sim by Frame Brake, MLB The Show 24 is also joining the catalog of titles available on the subscription service on March 19. And a number of other games are coming towards the end of the month, including Diablo 4 and a free upgrade to The Last Case of Benedict Fox: Definitive Edition.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft's flagship game subscription service that offers