Microsoft has worked hard to add additional bonuses and services to Xbox Game Pass in an effort to keep existing members subscribed as well as bring in new business. One of the biggest moves Microsoft made in regards to Xbox Game Pass was combining the service with EA Play, which opened the floodgates for a ton of Electronic Arts-published games. And of course, this included many of EA’s popular sports titles as well.
Before EA Play joined Game Pass, it was a separate service that Xbox fans had to pay for. Now all of the EA Play games are available to Game Pass subscribers at no extra cost, along with the additional benefits that come from EA Play. EA Play’s addition to Game Pass is huge for sports games fans, as it means that they now have access to some of the highest-rated sports games of the generation. The service has some other high quality sports games as well, like Microsoft’s Forza racing series, though EA is definitely leading the charge when it comes to sports games on Xbox Game Pass.
Here are five great sports games to play on Xbox Game Pass.
One of the most consistent annual sports franchises has to be FIFA from EA Sports. While FIFA 21 reviews were less than stellar, previous entries in the series earned critical acclaim, with FIFA 18 being the highest-rated game in the series available on Xbox Game Pass. If one has played any FIFA game, they know what to expect from FIFA 18, though this version of the long-running sports franchise takes great advantage of the Frostbite 3 engine and features a great deal of polish when compared to some other games in the series.
FIFA 18 is also notable for including the second iteration of the Journey mode. For the uninitiated, the FIFA games started adding story modes called The Journey, with this one picking up where the previous entry left off. While most fans will likely want to spend their time with FIFA 18 playing multiplayer, this at least gives those who enjoy single player stories something to do.
Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport franchise is arguably at the top of the heap when it comes to racing games, as the various entries that released on the Xbox One have earned widespread critical acclaim. Those wanting a more arcadey experience can check out the open world Forza Horizon games through Xbox Game Pass as well, but those wanting a more grounded experience that focuses on racing instead of destruction should look no further than Forza Motorsport 7.
A feature-rich racing game that will keep enthusiasts entertained for hours on end, Forza Motorsport 7 has stellar visuals and won numerous awards when it launched back in 2017. Turn 10 Studios has been given a little more time to develop the new Forza Motosport game for Xbox Series X, so it will be exciting to see if the next game in the long-running franchise manages to live up to the high bar set by Motorsport 7.
Like FIFA, the most recent Madden NFL game wasn’t exactly a hit with fans. Madden NFL 21 earned middling reviews and was generally considered a disappointment, despite EA’s efforts to make up for it with post-launch updates. With Madden NFL 21 failing to live up to expectations, fans of the football franchise may find themselves turning to older entries in the series to get their fix, and one of their best options on Xbox Game Pass is easily Madden NFL 17.
Madden NFL 17 didn’t make any sweeping changes to the tried and true Madden formula, but it did include a revamped Franchise Mode that was well-received by fans. A lack of changes or improvements to Franchise is one of the main criticisms aimed at Madden NFL 21, so Madden NFL 17 can be a reminder of the higher-quality Franchise Mode experiences from yesteryear. A generally well-rounded football experience, Madden NFL 17 is one of the best Madden games to have released this past generation.
At the EA Play event this past summer, EA managed to generate quite a bit of buzz with the announcement that the long-awaited Skate 4 is in development. Details on what exactly Skate 4 will entail weren’t revealed, but hopefully more information comes sooner rather than later. In the meantime, fans of the Skate franchise may want to revisit the older games in the series while they wait for the new entry, and luckily, Xbox Game Pass makes that pretty easy.
Skate 3 is available to play on Xbox Game Pass, thanks to the Xbox One’s backward compatibility with Xbox 360 games. Skate 3 was well-received by critics at the time of its release, with critics praising it for sticking to a more challenging simulation gameplay style as opposed to the over-the-top nature of the Tony Hawk games. Some criticism was aimed at the game for not changing enough when compared to Skate 2, but that hardly matters unless one is playing the titles back to back.
Snowboarding video games may be in short supply when compared to other sports, but there are still plenty of them to choose from. Possibly the most well-known snowboarding game franchise is SSX, with a slew of highly-rated SSX games releasing during the sixth generation of games. The SSX series then seemingly disappeared before EA Sports brought it back with the critically-acclaimed SSX reboot in 2012.
The SSX reboot delivered exactly what fans of the franchise would want, earning high praise for its fun factor, and was a sales success for EA. It’s a bit odd that the SSX series has been dormant for nearly a decade now after the launch of the SSX reboot in 2012, but hopefully snowboarding fans get a new entry in the series sooner rather than later. While they wait, they can check out 2012’s SSX through Xbox Game Pass.
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