FromSoftware's Dark Souls trilogy aren't available on the Game Pass. The same goes for its best-selling title, Elden Ring. But, it's not for the lack of effort.
While the industry-leading subscription subscription service boasts a plethora of Soulsborne titles, including Lies of P, it failed to secure the First Flame that started it all.
Now, according to a leaked email by Phil Spencer, the Xbox head tried.
As Sony bookended its year with the release of Gran Turismo 7, Horizon: Forbidden West, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and God of War: Ragnarok, among others, Microsoft found itself without an answer last year. Starfield's year-long delay meant that Xbox had to rely on the strength of third-party releases to strengthen its Game Pass offerings, which worried Spencer.
In the said email, Spencer described the situation as having left a "huge hole" in Xbox's lineup after setting a "very high bar in 2021 on quality and pacing of content" while citing a "failure" in the Xbox's "planning and production execution." Although Spencer was aware that Xbox could eventually dig itself out of the said hole, he did try to suggest a potential solution.