Xbox Game Pass: Microsoft unveils surprising Day 1 addition

Microsoft is expanding the Xbox Game Pass lineup with a surprise new addition at short notice. The versatile game appears as a gaming subscription right when it is released and challenges players with difficult decisions.

Surprise replenishment for Game Pass

After Microsoft announced the new games in Game Pass for January 2026 this week, another announcement is now making gamers look forward to it. Because at short notice Xbox has announced that there will be further supplies. This is how you add another title to the service tomorrow, Monday, January 12, 2026, directly to its publication.

The Day 1 surprise game is about Quarantine Zone: The Last Check. The game from Devolver Digital complements the Game Pass with a dark mixture of simulation and strategy, thematically set in an oppressive, post-apocalyptic world. Like Xbox in one Post on X confirmed, the title will be available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. Since there is no implementation for consoles, the title can only be played on the PC. Quarantine Zone: The Last Check – Official Game Trailer

Zombie entry control

Quarantine Zone: The Last Check players take control of a makeshift border post that regulates access to one of the last safe zones in the midst of a global zombie epidemic. The basic game principle shows clear parallels to the indie success Papers, Please, but transfers the bureaucratic work into a scenario with immediate physical threat.

The main task is to check refugees, check papers for discrepancies and identify infected people using technical tools such as thermal scanners. Tracking down contraband is also part of everyday life at the barrier. Decisions must be made under constant time pressure that not only determine the fate of those seeking protection, but also the security of the entire zone.

Strategic base building

In addition to pure admission control, the game also requires classic management skills in order to maintain operations. Essential resources such as food for the guards, medicine and electricity for the scanners are scarce and must be managed strategically. Investments in infrastructure are also necessary to cope with the increasing rush. Should the situation escalate and infected people directly threaten the checkpoint, the game switches to a defensive phase in which players have to resort to automated guns and drones to hold the defensive lines.

As the game progresses, the base can be expanded modularly, which enables access to more precise analysis methods, but also increases operating costs. Interest in the title is already high before its official launch. One available on Steam Demo version has already collected over 3,500 reviews, around 89 percent of which are positive. The reviews often praise the oppressive atmosphere and the pressure to make morally questionable decisions.