Game Service Roundup – March 2023

Hey everyone! This is a round up of the games entering and leaving a variety of Game Services throughout the month, as well as free game giveaways that have been available throughout.

I like to try to keep track of what is coming and going in the world of game subscriptions but it is hard to find a singular place that does that, so I thought I would give it a go myself. I am going to trial it for a couple of months and see how it feels, whether I would like to add things and so on. Having it all in one place means that you can scroll to see if anything catches your eye, or you can Ctrl+F to whichever service it is that interests you.

Disclaimer: Sometimes dates aren’t announced and surprises are thrown in. I will do my best to make sure the information is as accurate as possible!

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s subscription service for PlayStation consoles. The service is split into three tiers. ‘Essential’, ‘Extra’ and ‘Premium’.

PS Plus Essential

‘PlayStation Plus Essential’ is the cheapest tier. This is the tier that is closest to what PS Plus used to be. When you are subscribed, you get access to playing games online and instant access to the PS Plus collection*. Additionally, Essential offers 3 monthly games**. If you claim them during that month then they are yours to play for as long as you have a PS Plus Essential subscription. If you drop your subscription then you will lose access, but they will still be on your account ready for the next time you subscribe. The monthly games get revealed on the final Wednesday of every month. They are then made available to add to your library and play on the first Tuesday, replacing the previous months games. The games offered occasionally vary by region.
* PS5 Only.
** Occasionally there will be more or less.

⚠ The PS Plus Collection ends in May. If you have any tier of PS Plus and a PS5 then make sure to add the games to your library before it’s too late. As far as I can see, they have taken all traces of the collection from the PlayStation website already so you may have to manually search for each game. Please do take a look because there are many worthwhile games on there.
Here is a list of the games that you need to add to your library before May if you haven’t already –

March PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 7th March 2023 – Monday 3rd April 2023

Battlefield 2042 (PS5/PS4)
Code Vein (PS4)
Minecraft Dungeons (PS4)

April PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 4th April 2023

Meet Your Maker (PS5/PS4)
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5/PS4)
Tails of Iron (PS5/PS4)

PS Plus Extra/Premium

‘PlayStation Plus Extra’ and ‘PlayStation Plus Premium’ are the next two tiers of PS Plus above Essential. They include everything that you get with Essential plus other benefits.
PlayStation Plus Extra – Extra is the middle tier and allows you access to a catalogue of games, available to play on your console. New games get added to the service part way through each month and stay for an unknown amount of time. Games also leave regularly and it isn’t always communicated well so it is worth checking when you are deciding what to play.
PlayStation Plus Premium – Premium is the most expensive tier. As well as giving you access to the Extra catalogue, it also has it’s own benefits. There is an extended catalogue available as Premium also includes ‘Classics’ – a seperate collection of games from older generations. In addition, game trials and cloud streaming are some more benefits to this tier.
You can find a full breakdown of the benefits here.

March 2023 PS Plus Extra Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 21st

Ghostwire: Tokyo (PS5)
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (PS5)
Haven (PS5/PS4)
Immortals: Fenyx Rising (PS5/PS4)
Life is Strange: True Colors (PS5/PS4)
Tchia (PS5/PS4)
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction (PS5/PS4)
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (PS4)
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (PS4)
Life is Strange 2 (PS4)
NEO: The World Ends With Us (PS4)
RAGE 2 (PS4)
Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (PS4)
Untitled Goose Game (PS4)

March 2023 PS Plus Premium Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 21st

Ridge Racer Type 4 (PS1)
Ape Escape 2 (PSP)
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (PSP)

Games that left PS Plus Extra/Premium in March 2023

WWE 2K22
Danger Zone
Dungeons
Ghost of a Tale
Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5
Override 2: Super Mech League
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Velocibox
Victor Vran Overkill Edition

Games leaving PS Plus Extra/Premium in April 2023 | Dates Vary

2Dark
428: Shibuya Scramble (EU Only)
Croixleur Sigma
Gabbuchi
Marvel Puzzle Quest: Dark Reign
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
Steins;Gate Elite (EU Only)
The Caligula Effect: Overdose
The Wonderful 101: Remastered
Zanki Zero: Last Beginning (EU Only)

Game Pass is Microsoft’s game subscription service. It is split into three different types. ‘PC’, ‘Console’, and ‘Ultimate’. I will currently only be covering ‘Game Pass for PC’.

Game Pass For PC

Game Pass for PC and for Console are seperate subscriptions but are very similar, they just work on different machines. They have their own slightly different catalogues but function the same. Game Pass grants you access to a library of games on your platform of choice. They are then available for you to play as for as long as you have a subscription or as long as they are on the service.
Game Pass Ultimate combines the two, allowing your account access to the service on both PC and Console, along with more perks including XBOX Live Gold.
You can find a full breakdown of the differences here.

March 2023 Game Pass for PC Additions

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Guilty Gear -Strive-
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – The Prince’s Edition
Infinite Guitars

April 2023 Announced Game Pass for PC Additions | Available from various dates

Tuesday 4th April – Goat Simulator
Tuesday 4th April – Loop Hero
Wednesday 12th April – Ghostwire: Tokyo
Tuesday 18th April – Minecraft Legends
Thursday 20th April – Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly

Games that left Game Pass for PC in March 2023

Wednesday 1st March – Alien: Isolation
Wednesday 1st March – Crown Trick
Wednesday 1st March – Dragon Ball FighterZ
Wednesday 1st March – FAR: Changing Tides
Wednesday 1st March – Lightning Returns: FFXIII
Wednesday 1st March – Madden NFL 21
Wednesday 1st March – Octopath Traveler
Thursday 16th March – Goat Simulator
Thursday 16th March – Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
Thursday 16th March – Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Thursday 16th March – Paradise Killer
Thursday 16th March – Undertale
Thursday 16th March – Young Souls
Thursday 16th March – Zero Escape: The Nonary Games

Games leaving Game Pass for PC in April 2023 | 1st & 16th of the Month

Saturday 1st April – Cluster Truck
Saturday 1st April – Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
Saturday 1st April – Kracken Academy
Saturday 1st April – A Memoir Blue
Saturday 1st April – Chinatown Detective Agency
Sunday 16th April – The Riftbreaker
Sunday 16th April – Panzer Corps 2
Sunday 16th April – The Long Dark
Sunday 16th April – Life is Strange: True Colors
Sunday 16th April – The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos
Sunday 16th April – Moonglow Bay
Sunday 16th April – Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction

A lot of people do not realise that included in an Amazon Prime subscription is access to Prime Gaming. Not only does this get you a free subscription to a streamer of your choice on Twitch, they also give away free weekly games and other perks. The difference with this service is that often the games are for different launchers. Some are for Amazon Games, but they also give codes for Epic Games, GOG and more. The best part? As far as I can tell – you get to continue playing the games you have claimed after your subscription has ended.
You can claim your games here.

Amazon Prime Games | March 2023 | Weekly on Thursdays

Thursday 2nd March – Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition (Amazon Games)
Thursday 9th March – Adios (Amazon Games)
Thursday 9th March – I Am Fish (Amazon Games)
Thursday 16th March – Faraway 3: Arctic Escape (Amazon Games)
Thursday 23rd March – Book of Demons (Amazon Games)
Thursday 23rd March – Peaky Blinders: Mastermind (Amazon Games)
Thursday 30th March – City Legends: Trapped in Mirror – Collector’s Edition (Legacy Games)

Amazon Prime Games | Announced for April 2023

Thursday 6th April – Wolfenstein: The New Order
Thursday 6th April – Ninja Commando
Thursday 6th April – Art of Fighting 3
Thursday 13th April – The Beast Inside
Thursday 13th April – Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
Thursday 13th April – Crossed Swords
Thursday 13th April – Ghost Pilots
Thursday 20th April – Beholder 2
Thursday 20th April – Terraformers
Thursday 20th April – Metal Slug 4
Thursday 20th April – Ninja Masters
Thursday 27th April – Looking for Aliens
Thursday 27th April – Grime
Thursday 27th April – Sengoku
Thursday 27th April – Magician Lord

Ever since its inception, the Epic Game Store has offered free games to all. All you need is an account. Every Thursday at 4pm UTC at least one title will be set to ‘free’ and next weeks game/s will be revealed. All you have to do is log in and add it to your library while it is free if you would like to play it in the future. If you miss the window then there is nothing that you can do but you have a whole week to do it. Unlike the services above, you do not need a subscription to claim these games.
You can check out the Epic Game Store here.

Free Epic Games | March 2023 | Must claim in the timeframe

Duskers (February 23rd – March 2nd)
Rise of Industry (March 2nd – March 9th)
Call of the Sea (March 9th – March 16th)
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War (March 16th – March 23rd)
Chess Ultra (March 23rd – March 30th)
World of Warships – Starter Pack: Ishizuchi (March 23rh – March 30th)
Tunche (March 30th – April 6th)
The Silent Age (March 30th – April 6th)

Free Epic Games | Announced for April 2023*

Blazing Sails (April 6th – April 13th)
Dying Light Enhanced Edition (April 6th – April 13th)

*These games are announced one week in advance so you will need to check on the Epic Store weekly if you don’t want to miss out. Alternatively, I do always try to post them in my discord server.

I may add new sections as I go but for now, this section is for any other give-aways or notable deals that I come across in the given month. Most of these will have been and gone already but it is interesting to see what games have been given.

GOG Giveaways | March 2023

Lorelai
Neurodeck: Psychological Deckbuilder
Deep Sky Derelicts

Steam Giveaways | March 2023

Figment

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