After a successful exhibition at this year's Tokyo Game Show, it's clearer than ever that Xbox is increasingly looking to appeal to the Japanese and Asian market. Microsoft has traditionally succeeded more in the West with Sony and Nintendo dominating other markets, but Xbox is pushing harder than ever.
This continued effort shows no signs of slowing, with the vastly popular JRPG sequel Octopath Traveler 2 looking set to land day-one on Xbox Game Pass, when its period of console exclusivity on Nintendo Switch ends next year.
It's a sign not only of Game Pass' might in making games accessible to wider audiences, but also of how seriously Microsoft is seeking to penetrate the Asian market. With the company's Activision merger seemingly in its final stages, too, it's an exciting time to play Xbox.
Will you play Octopath Traveler 2 when it releases on Game Pass in 2024?
The news of Octopath Traveler 2's Game Pass release comes thanks to an Xbox Wire interview with Sarah Bond, the Corporate Vice President at Xbox.
In the interview, the Xbox Wire Japan interviewer confirms in a question to Bond that Octopath Traveler 2 will join Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name in landing on Game Pass. The former title is confirmed to be a day-one Game Pass release, though Octopath Traveler 2 initially launched on Switch in February 2023.
While there isn't a confirmed release date yet, we anticipate it'll be around February 2024, a year after Octopath Traveler 2 first launched. That would make sense, given the assumption that Nintendo tied the game to a one-year console exclusivity contract.
"Game Pass enables creators to reach players who may otherwise have not known about the game, or been able to afford to buy every single game out there," Bond says in the article. That certainly seems to be the aim here: to extend Octopath Traveler 2's exposure to the entire Game Pass subscriber base.
This news comes amid fresh revelations in Microsoft's acquisition of Call of Duty publisher Activision. Last week the deal was finally provisionally approved by UK regulators, which was the last major hurdle before the deal could theoretically close.
On top of that, a fresh leak suggests existing Call of Duty games will arrive on Game Pass soon, making it a better time than ever to be subscribed.