In a plot twist no one saw coming, a couple of surprise gems have parachuted onto the Xbox Game Pass roster for January 2026, including a shiny remaster of one of 2017’s indie darlings, because who doesn’t love a walk down memory lane in pixelated form? Grab those controllers, folks, because it’s about to get wild!
Little Nightmares: The Spooky Reunion
First up, prepare to hop back into the terrifyingly delightful world of Little Nightmares: Enhanced Edition. This horror side-scroller is now up for grabs on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and even the cloud. Who knew that facing your fears could come in 4K glory at 60fps? Not to mention the ray-traced lighting that adds an extra layer of creepy ambiance. Nothing says, “Oh, I’m not scared,” quite like new visual effects that make shadows seem like they jump out right at you!
A Soggy Adventure with Brews & Bastards
The second surprise is a dungeon crawler that’s guaranteed to leave players giggling (or at least snorting): Brews & Bastards. Now available on all modern platforms, this gem encourages players to pick their poison—figuratively and literally—by choosing from a merry band of tipsy heroes on a quest to recover the notorious Brew Stone. Spoiler alert: there are drunken demons involved. Because let’s face it; nothing says “joy” quite like sloshing through hordes of inebriated fiends!
What’s Brewing for January?
Aside from these delightful surprises, the regular January lineup includes MIO: Memories in Orbit and Nova Roma, making their arrival on January 20 and 22, respectively. Just in case players were worried there wouldn’t be enough options to procrastinate with.
More Games Brewing in the Background
Update: Keep ‘Em Coming!
Just when it seemed like the surprises had come to a halt, the gaming gods were kind enough to drop more titles into the upcoming lineup. Buckle up for some goodies hitting the servers:
- Atomfall (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) – January 7 – gliding in smoothly with Game Pass Premium, because what’s life without a little premium fluff?
- Lost in Random: The Eternal Die (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – January 7 – rolling into position with Game Pass Premium.
- Rematch (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 7 – ready to rumble, featuring Game Pass Premium, of course!
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 7 – now even more master-crafted with Game Pass Premium.
- Final Fantasy (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) – January 8 – a must-have for every RPG enthusiast, and yes, it’s got all the premium trimmings.
- Star Wars Outlaws (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 13 – May the Force be ever in your favor, with Game Pass Ultimate.
- My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) – January 15 – proving that mysteries can be colorful and sparkly, with Game Pass Ultimate.
- Resident Evil Village (Cloud, Console, and PC) – January 20 – just in time for another round of tense exploration, bundled with Game Pass Ultimate.
- Mio: Memories in Orbit (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 20 – circling back to nostalgia, more premium goodness!
The Price Tag Surprise
And speaking of premium experiences, Microsoft’s decision to crank up the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate recently might raise a few eyebrows or cause some pockets to groan. The Ultimate subscription now tiptoes around the $29.99/£22.99 mark (up from the previous, more wallet-friendly $19.99/£14.99). Of course, new perks such as the Fortnite Crew and the Ubisoft+ Classics collection are firmly tucked into this pricier package, making it feel like perhaps, just maybe, it’s worth the stretch.
For PC gamers, hang onto those wallets a little tighter—the price for PC Game Pass has now upped its monthly subscription fee to a hair-raising $16.49/£13.49. But at least the gaming initiation rituals can continue uninterrupted!
