Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Adds Day-One Game From Award-Winning Studio

The Alters has joined the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate content catalog. This day-one title is the seventh new addition to Microsoft’s subscription service in June 2025 and the 68th Xbox Game Pass Ultimate release since the start of the year.

The Alters is a sci-fi survival game made by 11 Bit Studios, a Polish developer with several highly acclaimed titles to its name. The Warsaw-based company made a name for itself with This War of Mine, a 2014 survival strategy game that won over 100 awards. Since then, the studio launched the Victorian city builder Frostpunk and its sequel in 2018 and 2024, respectively. Both were met with a highly favorable response from fans and critics alike, with Frostpunk 2 even winning the Best Sim / Strategy Game honor at The Game Awards 2024.

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The Alters Review

The Alters is a cerebral, thought-provoking, and beefy story-driven survival game, and undoubtedly 11 Bit Studios’ magnum opus.

Following several The Alters delays, the latest title from the award-winning studio has at last launched for PC, consoles, and Xbox Game Pass this Friday, June 13. Looking at its early critical reception, The Alters is the highest-rated day-one addition to Microsoft’s content catalog in several months. It presently holds a “Mighty” rating on OpenCritic, with an average score of 86 and a 93% reviewer recommendation rate. The last day-one Xbox Game Pass release that scored better was Blue Prince, which debuted on April 10 with an 89 average rating on OpenCritic.

New and Upcoming Xbox Game Pass Games

The Alters casts players as Jan Dolski, a space miner who finds himself on a highly inhospitable planet. On a constant run from the sunrise and its lethal radiation, Dolski uses a material known as Rapidium to create alternate versions of himself by looking at his past and envisioning different choices he might have made. In doing so, he can effectively enlist the help of a botanist, technician, scientist, and many other cloned experts. These titular “Alters” won’t necessarily get along with one another, making managing their wants and needs an important part of the gameplay loop, which also influences The Alters‘ storytelling. On top of that, the game features base building, presented from a 2D perspective in a manner reminiscent of XCOM and Fallout Shelter.

When Will The Alters Reach Xbox Game Pass Standard?

Since it’s a day-one title, The Alters is currently available only to PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. Based on Microsoft’s typical release patterns, 11 Bit Studios’ newest title may be added to the XGP Standard catalog between December 2025 and June 2026. If Microsoft only licensed it for one year—which is a fairly typical length of an Xbox Game Pass stint for third-party titles—The Alters is more likely to join the XGP Standard library closer to the beginning of that window.