Slime Rancher 2, a highly anticipated sequel to the popular life simulator that first released in 2016, finally has a launch date: Sept. 22.
The Slime Rancher sequel puts players back in control of Beatrix LeBeau, this time on a journey to a new location called Rainbow Island. It doesn’t shy away from repeating the gameplay formula that was so successful in the first title, instead expanding on its core loop with a multitude of new Slimes to find and collect as well as a new home—the Conservatory—to invest harvestable resources and newbucks into.
But unlike its predecessor, Slime Rancher 2 is also an Xbox timed exclusive. The original Slime Rancher was available on Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4, but release dates for its sequel on both consoles remain set to an unknown point in the future. The exclusivity deal with Xbox raises another important question as well. Will Slime Rancher 2 launch on Game Pass day one?
Will Slime Rancher 2 be on Xbox Game Pass?
The answer is yes. As confirmed in a blog post by Game Pass Community Lead Megan Spurr today, Slime Rancher 2 is one of the 10 games that will be arriving to the Game Pass catalog in the program’s second wave of September additions. When it releases on Sept. 22, it will also launch on the subscription service simultaneously across Xbox Series X|S, PC, and the Cloud. It’s a perfect opportunity to dive into the new world without needing to spend a single extra dollar.
Like the original Slime Rancher, Slime Rancher 2‘s initial release date is tagged as early access on Steam and a game preview on Xbox. When explaining the decision, developers Monomi Park said they hope to repeat the same success that early access brought them throughout 2016 with Slime Rancher before the official full release in 2017.
