The popular indie RPG dungeon crawler Hades was revealed to be coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass this summer during the E3 2021 Xbox & Bethesda Games showcase. The indie title, developed by Supergiant Games, allows players to take on a brutal, combat-driven adventure through the different levels of the underworld as the protagonist Zagreus, searching for answers about his past. Before the E3 announcement, Hades was only playable on the Nintendo Switch and PC.
Hades released for the PC in 2018, but took the dungeon crawler genre by storm with its release to the Nintendo Switch during the fall of 2020. Players must slowly build their skills via numerous attempts through the randomly generated dungeons of the underworld, collecting Darkness to level permanent skills, as well as other currencies to purchase weapon upgrades or NPC favors. During each dungeon attempt, Zagreus will have the ability to earn and use temporary buffs from the Olympian gods aiding his escape from the underworld, but these reset when the player dies inside the dungeon.
While there have been rumors about Hades releasing on the Xbox and PlayStation, nothing was certain until the announcements made at E3 2021. Hades will be available on the Xbox Game Pass starting August 13, for anyone subscribed to the service to play. Xbox Game Pass costs 14.99 USD a month and offers players access to numerous eligible games. However, for those uninterested in a subscription, it is likely the game will be available for 25 USD upon release, the same price as the Steam and Nintendo stores. It was also announced on PlayStation’s Twitter that Hades will be available to purchase and play on both PlayStation 4 and 5 on August 13.
Hades Will Not Release For Xbox Game Pass With DLC
Despite hopes from fans of Hades, it doesn’t appear Supergiant Games has any intention of releasing DLC for the game. The developer, also responsible for popular titles like Pyre and Bastion, doesn’t have a history of adding onto finished games, choosing instead to move onto different projects. While Hades has earned numerous awards, including “Game of the Year” at the Dice Awards 2021, it is unlikely the successes will encourage the developers to take another look at the story, or potentially add to it in the future.
The addition of Hades to the available games on the Xbox Games Pass isn’t the only reason to consider signing up for a subscription. A number of titles announced during the E3 2021 Xbox and Bethesda Showcase will be available on Xbox Game Pass upon release. This includes highly anticipated games like Starfield, Halo Infinite, and Forza Horizon 5. However, many of these launch dates are still fairly far in the future, so fans will have plenty of time to enjoy Hades on the Xbox console while waiting for these releases.
