What arrived and who can play it
Microsoft's Xbox Wire roundup from November 3 lists Thronefall for Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld and PC on November 11, with Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass access. The same roundup lists Hope in the City for Cloud, Xbox Series X|S and PC. It is available through Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, and it is labelled "available on day one."
| Game | Platforms (per Xbox Wire) | Game Pass tiers |
|---|---|---|
| Hope in the City | Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, PC | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Thronefall | Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, PC | Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass |
Independent coverage matches this. TrueAchievements lists Hope in the City for Ultimate and PC Game Pass, and Thronefall for Premium, Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Practical takeaway: Premium subscribers get Thronefall but not Hope in the City, based on Microsoft's own listing. Xbox Wire's note says the "Handheld" label marks games optimized for handheld play.
Hope in the City: a mystery solved with a sketchbook
Xbox Wire describes the game as a narrative mystery adventure. The player is Hope Song, a 17-year-old aspiring artist in Shenyang, Northeast China. She comes home to a ransacked apartment and missing parents.
Creative director Judith Cheung wrote an Xbox Wire feature on November 5 about how the investigation works.
- Hope has no detective's authority, so she records observations in a notebook.
- According to Cheung, players can combine any two thoughts to see what connects. Successful combinations become insights and breakthroughs that unlock new dialogue, locations and leads.
- The notebook contains more than 100 hand-drawn illustrations by artist Calista Antonio.
- Cheung says every combination of thoughts gets its own written response, even when it doesn't advance the case.
That feature supports the mechanic GameRant describes, in which deductions open up new dialogue, locations and leads. The developer's own project page calls the game a non-linear mystery.
PC details (from the Steam listing):
- Xbox's roundup puts the release at November 11, and the Steam page gives the same date. Steam lists Lofty Sky Entertainment as developer, with Lofty Sky and NAGA Games as publishers.
- The listed price is $19.99. Steam showed an introductory 10% discount, which brings it to $17.99 and runs until November 25.
- English has full audio. Korean, Simplified Chinese, Japanese and Traditional Chinese are listed for interface and subtitles.
- Minimum specs are modest: Windows 7 (64-bit), an i7 2600K, 4 GB of RAM, a GTX 560 and 3 GB of storage. Recommended is Windows 10 (64-bit), an i5 10400F, 8 GB of RAM, a GTX 1060 and 10 GB of storage.
- The Steam page itself notes that the Steam client now supports only Windows 10 and later, which is worth keeping in mind next to that Windows 7 minimum.
These are Steam-listing details. They don't automatically apply to the Xbox or Game Pass PC version.
Thronefall: new to Xbox, not new to the world
Microsoft describes Thronefall as a minimalist strategy game. You build a kingdom by day and defend it by night. You balance economy and defense by fortifying walls and recruiting troops, and you also fight attackers yourself.
The story is easy to misframe. T3 reports the game launches for Xbox Series X and Series S on November 11 and debuts on Game Pass the same day. That makes it a day-one Xbox release, not a brand-new game. GameRant says it debuted on PC in 2023 and later reached Switch (2024) and mobile (2025). Treat that history as GameRant's account. Tonight's Play describes it differently, saying the game came to PC in Early Access in 2023 and released fully on PC and Switch in 2024.
One point of confusion: GameRant's own game-info panel lists a release date of October 11, 2024. That matches the full launch and not the 2023 Early Access debut.
A note on the review scores
GameRant cites an OpenCritic average of 84 with a 90% recommendation rate. Tonight's Play shows 86 and 100% on the same aggregator. I couldn't confirm which snapshot is current, and aggregator numbers shift as reviews are added. I'd read this as "well reviewed" and not as a firm ranking among 2023's best games.
Tonight's Play's critical summary pairs praise for the game's simplicity with a few complaints:
- Fixed building spots, which some critics found limiting.
- A difficulty spike at the final boss.
- A short overall runtime, with one outlet finishing in about eight hours.
Tonight's Play also notes a paid expansion, Craaghelm, is arriving alongside the Xbox release. A WindowsForum report notes that Xbox's announcement does not confirm the Craaghelm DLC is included with Game Pass. Assume it's separate unless Microsoft says otherwise.
What to do if you're a subscriber
- Check your plan. Premium covers Thronefall only. Ultimate and PC Game Pass cover both.
- Look for the games under your Game Pass library on console or the Xbox app on PC.
- If you're on PC, check whether you want the Game Pass version or the Steam purchase. The two are separate routes with separate details.
- On handheld, only Thronefall carries Microsoft's handheld-optimized label.
The bottom line
November 11 delivers one new narrative mystery on Ultimate and PC Game Pass, plus a well-regarded strategy game opening up to Xbox players across three tiers. Microsoft's roundup is the source to trust for tiers and platforms. Third-party scores and release-history claims are useful context, but they vary between sources.