High On Life sets Xbox Game Pass records with ‘biggest 2022 launch’

Squanch Games’ silly sci-fi shooter High On Life is not only the most popular game on Game Pass right now, it’s the biggest Game Pass release of 2022 Microsoft claims that this is the most significant third-party game pass launch ever. These are just two of the many records. It’s High on Life is also the “biggest single-player game launch on Game Pass ever,” based on “the number of hours played in the first five days of release,” Microsoft says.

As of Monday, Squanch Games’ new Xbox and Windows PC release was the most popular game on Game Pass, outpacing other titles on the service like Lego Star WarsThe Skywalker Saga, Minecraft, FIFA 22, Forza Horizon 5, Rainbow Six SiegeAnd Halo InfiniteBoth on PC and console. That’s an impressive feat for a game independently published through Microsoft’s ID@Xbox program, but there are a few reasons that help explain why It’s High on LifeWe have set many new records.

One It’s High on Life is not available on competing platforms — there’s no Nintendo Switch or PlayStation version of the game. It’s a de facto Microsoft exclusive. It’s High on LifeAlso, it dropped in the traditionally slow month of December when new games were few and far between. This meant that there was little competition.

Game Pass hasn’t seen many AAA marquee releases in 2022; the delays of Arkane’s Redfall and Bethesda’s Starfield to 2023 meant that Microsoft’s lineup for this year was thin compared to the next, when games like Forza Motorsport, Minecraft LegendsAnd STALKER 2Game Pass is also available. You can also join Game Pass. It’s High on Life — which comes with a built-in audience, thanks to Squanch Games founder Justin Roiland’s work on Rick and Morty — gets the chance to stand out and set records in this environment.

It is a great help. It’s High on LifeIt is an excellent game, and has decent shooting. The first-person gameplay draws some inspiration from Metroid Prime. Whether Roiland’s brand of humor aligns with yours is another story. But it’s the perfect example of a Game Pass game, as Polygon’s Ryan Gilliam noted in a recent Sub Gems column:

The Highest in Life is a game that will either make you cringe so hard that you turn it off in the first 10 minutes, or laugh your ass off all the way to the game’s first boss. Game Pass allows you to choose between two outcomes. Either you’ll find a new game that you’re excited to see through to the end, or you’ll delete it off your hard drive forever and never think about it again — no harm, no foul.

It’s High on LifeIt is available on Windows PC and Xbox One. Both Xbox Game Pass (PC Game Pass) and Xbox Game Pass ($9.99 per month). EA Play Access is included in PC Game Pass, giving you access to 70 more games for your PC. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, at $14.99 per month, gives subscribers access to everything — the PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass libraries, EA Play on both console and PC — as well as Xbox Live Gold membership, which is needed for online multiplayer.