One of the brand-new, day one Xbox Game Pass games scheduled to launch in the second half of July 2022 has now been pushed back.
One of the main selling points of Xbox Game Pass is its day one games. Every month, Xbox Game Pass subscribers are treated to brand-new, day one experiences that they can play immediately, which gives the service incredible value. July 2022 has seen a number of day one Xbox Game Pass games, but one such title that was scheduled to release at the end of the month has now been pushed back.
Originally, the new Xbox Game Pass games for July 2022 were set to include Sam Barlow’s Immortality, which was pegged for a July 26 release date. Unfortunately for Xbox Game Pass subscribers that were looking forward to playing Immortality this month, the game’s release date has been delayed to August 30. It will still be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one, but fans will just have to wait a little longer to get their hands on it.
Sam Barlow made the announcement about Immortality‘s delay on his official Twitter account. In the announcement, Barlow explained why the decision was made to push Immortality back a month, stating that it was done to make the game “as polished as possible.” Barlow described the delay as a “necessary evil,” though many fans responded to the tweet with support for Barlow and Half Mermaid Productions.
For those unfamiliar with Barlow’s work, he makes narrative-driven adventure games that use live-action footage, not unlike the FMV games from the 90s. But what makes Barlow’s games stand out from old-school FMV titles is the high caliber acting and writing, with Barlow winning multiple awards for his titles over the years. 2015’s Her Story was especially well-received by the gaming community, though 2019’s Telling Lies earned mostly positive reviews as well.
The success of games like Her Story and Telling Lies is why many fans are eagerly anticipating Immortality. And while they may be bummed out that they’ll now have to wait an extra month to play the game, at least this way it will be a more polished experience than it would have been had it been rushed out the door to meet its previously-announced July 26 release date.
The good news is that there should still be new Xbox Game Pass games to check out in the second half of July 2022, even with Immortality delayed. Microsoft has yet to announce all the new Xbox Game Pass games coming in the second half of July, but fans do know that narrative-driven game As Dusk Falls is launching July 19, so they have that day one game to look forward to at least.
