PC Game Pass Adds the Most Wishlisted Game on Steam

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate adds a highly anticipated day-one game that has been wishlisted by over 3 million Steam users ahead of its debut.

Highlights

• Manor Lords is now available via PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
• The much-anticipated city builder became Steam's most wishlisted game in the run-up to its early access launch.
• Manor Lords mixes real-time battles with realistic and historically accurate fiefdom management.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has added Manor Lords to its thriving content library. This is the fifth day-one release on Microsoft's subscription service in April 2024, as well as the 56th title to reach Xbox Game Pass Ultimate since the turn of the year.

Developed by Polish studio Slavic Magic, Manor Lords is a feature-packed strategy game that tasks players with growing and developing medieval fiefs. While largely envisioned as a city builder, it also incorporates real-time tactical battles into its gameplay loop. Its micromanagement elements emphasize historical accuracy and realism, offering features like a burgage plot system, half a dozen forms of 14th-century taxation, and environmental effects of civilization expansion. E.g., not rotating crops will degrade soil fertility, while most wildlife like deer will naturally migrate away from civilization.

This distinct premise has helped Manor Lords become the most-wishlisted game on Steam in the run-up to its release, with over 3 million people adding it to their wishlists ahead of its April 26 debut. Aside from Steam, Slavic Magic's latest title is now also available via Xbox Game Pass. Although the studio has plans to port it to consoles, this early access release is limited to PC. Microsoft's subscribers hence need a PC Game Pass or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership to play Manor Lords for the time being.

Xbox Game Pass Games in April 2024

Slavic Magic previously said its plan is for Manor Lords to remain an early access title for approximately one year, depending on how its development progresses. The Steam version of the city builder is currently identical to the one available to PC Game Pass members as part of Microsoft's Game Preview program. But given how the two use different executable files, it is possible that the updates for the Game Pass version of Manor Lords will slightly lag behind their Steam counterparts. This is nothing out of the ordinary for early access titles available on both platforms; Palworld is one well-known example of an Xbox Game Pass game that normally gets updated after its Steam version.

Manor Lords is the 15th title to hit Xbox Game Pass in April 2024. The service is scheduled to add one more game by month's end, with Magic Design Studios' roguelike Have a Nice Death being set to reach its content catalog on April 30. Although surprise releases are never out of the question, they do seem to be less likely in the coming days, not least because one such unexpected debut just happened on April 25, when Xbox Game Pass Ultimate added Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

$15 at Amazon$17 at Xbox