"Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Expands with Two Games Spanning 27 Years"

Summary

• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is adding EA Sports UFC 5 and Diablo today.
• Released 27 years apart, these two titles conclude the XGP Wave 1 lineup for January 2025.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can dive into EA Sports UFC 5 and Diablo starting today, as these titles have been added to the service. These games represent the third and fourth additions to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for January 2025.

Diablo, the iconic hack-and-slash RPG, originally released in 1996, needs no introduction. On the other hand, EA Sports UFC 5, which launched in October 2023, is the latest in the long-standing series of mixed martial arts games by EA Sports.

Despite being released nearly 27 years apart, these two games are now united under Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, available as of January 14, 2025. While Microsoft typically aims to include multi-platform games, these additions are platform-specific: Diablo is exclusively available on PC, and EA Sports UFC 5 is playable on Xbox Series X/S or through Xbox Cloud Gaming for those with sufficient internet speeds.

Xbox Game Pass Now Offers Over a Dozen Activision Blizzard Titles

With the addition of Diablo, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate now boasts 13 Activision Blizzard titles, including the Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, each counted as three games. This marks nearly one new Activision Blizzard title per month since Microsoft's acquisition of the company in late 2023, indicating a rapid expansion of the catalog.

Upcoming Xbox Game Pass Games

EA Sports UFC 5 and Diablo mark the end of the first wave of January 2025 additions to Xbox Game Pass. The second wave of January's lineup is expected to be revealed soon, possibly on January 21, in line with Microsoft's tradition of announcing new releases on Tuesdays.

Further announcements regarding upcoming Xbox Game Pass titles may come before the month ends, with an Xbox Developer Direct set for January 23. This event will feature Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, South of Midnight, and Doom: The Dark Ages, all confirmed as day-one Xbox Game Pass Ultimate titles with a 2025 launch target. Before the next Xbox Developer Direct, six games, including Insurgency: Sandstorm and Those Who Remain, will be removed from the service on January 15.

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