Dead Island 2 surprise launches on Xbox Game Pass

Surprise! Dead Island 2 has popped up as part of the Xbox Game Pass subscription, despite not being listed by Microsoft when it revealed a list of late February Xbox Game Pass titles earlier this week.

Dead Island 2 publisher Plaion has now confirmed the news, though in a blog post noted the game was “for Ultimate members”. [UPDATE: Plaion has now confirmed to Eurogamer this was an error, and is available on console for Ultimate and standard Console subscribers.] Users have noted that the game’s PC version was not added to Game Pass for PC.

The unexpected addition to Game Pass follows a free weekend of access to Dead Island 2 via Xbox’s “Free Play Days” promotion last week.

Dead Island 2 originally launched last April and sold 2m copies in its first month. Publishing parent company Embracer said the game had beaten internal expectations, though has not provided further detail on sales since.

“A straightforwardly accomplished zombie action-RPG that doesn’t quite make the most of its Californian setting,” Edwin Evans-Thirlwell wrote, giving the game a lukewarm three stars in Eurogamer’s Dead Island 2 review.

For a full list of everything else available on Microsoft’s subscription service, look no further than Eurogamer’s Xbox Game Pass guide.