New Xbox game releases for March 2021: What's new from Bethesda, Game Pass, Games With Gold and EA Play?
Xbox players won't be short of games this month, but some titles are leaving Game Pass.
As 2021 trundles on, many of us are looking for new games to play. Microsoft's membership schemes for Xbox players are serving up lots of new experiences this month, including a huge pile of Bethesda games.
Microsoft has acquired Bethesda now, and Xbox players are already starting to see the benefit of adding such a huge gaming company to the Xbox family.
On top of that, the Games With Gold perk for Xbox Live members continues to deliver a collection of free games every month, while the new releases from Microsoft's first-party studios tend to appear on Xbox Game Pass on their day of release. And that's without mentioning the entire EA Play library, which was added to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate package last year.
Whether you're an Ultimate member or you only pay for Xbox Live, you'll want to know what's coming to the multiple Xbox clubs this month, especially if you've already played all the best Xbox games on the market. Keep on reading as we break it all down for you.
- Buy three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from Amazon
- Buy three months of Xbox Game Pass from CDKeys
- Buy 12 months Xbox Live Gold Membership with CDKeys
What's new on Xbox Game Pass in March 2021?
To celebrate the fact that Microsoft has bought ZeniMax Media and Bethesda, an exciting Xbox Wire blog post has confirmed that 20 Bethesda games are joining Xbox Game Pass on 12th March 2021. Here's the list:
- Dishonored Definitive Edition (Console, PC, Cloud)
- Dishonored 2 (Console, PC, Cloud)
- DOOM (1993) (Console, PC, Cloud)
- DOOM II (Console, PC, Cloud)
- DOOM 3 (Console, PC, Cloud)
- DOOM 64 (Console, PC, Cloud)
- DOOM Eternal (Console, PC, Cloud)
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Console, PC)
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Console, PC)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition (Console, PC, Cloud)
- The Elder Scrolls Online (Cloud, Console)
- The Evil Within (Console, PC, Cloud)
- Fallout 4 (Console, PC, Cloud)
- Fallout 76 (Console, PC, Cloud)
- Fallout: New Vegas (Console)
- Prey (Console, PC, Cloud)
- RAGE 2 (Console, PC, Cloud)
- Wolfenstein: The New Order (Console, PC, Cloud)
- Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (Console, PC, Cloud)
- Wolfenstein: Youngblood (Console, PC, Cloud)
And those aren't the only new additions to the Xbox Game Pass library this month! Here are some more:
- Football Manager 21 joined Game Pass on 4th March (PC)
- Football Manager 21 Xbox Edition joined Game Pass on 4th March (Console, PC)
- NBA 2K21 joined Game Pass on 4th March (Cloud, Console)
- Undertale joined Game Pass on 16th March (Cloud, Console, PC)
- Empire of Sin arrives on 18th March (Cloud, Console, PC)
- Nier: Automata arrives on 18th March (PC)
- Torchlight III arrives on 18th March (PC)
- Genesis Noir arrives on 25th March (Console, PC)
- Octopath Traveller arrives on 25th March (Console, PC)
- Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - Ultimate Edition arrives on 25th March (PC)
- Supraland arrives on 25th March (PC)
- Yakuza 6: Song of the Life arrives on 25th March (Cloud, Console, PC)
- Narita Boy arrives on 30th March (Cloud, Console, PC)
- Outriders arrives on 1st April (Cloud, Console)
Which games are leaving Xbox Game Pass soon?
Microsoft giveth and Microsoft taketh way, which is a long-winded way of saying that some games will be dropping out of the Xbox Game Pass library in the near future. The Xbox Wire blog recently told us that these games are leaving the service on 31st March:
- Hyperdot (Console, PC)
- Journey to the Savage Planet (Console)
- Machinarium (PC)
What's new for Xbox players on EA Play in March 2021 and beyond?
The entire library of EA Play games was added to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate last year, and there are some exciting additions coming in the near future. These upcoming releases have been confirmed for EA Play members via Xbox Game Pass:
- Madden 21 became available on 2nd March (Console)
- Star Wars Squadrons arrives on 18th March (Console)
- NHL 21 will be available in April, on an unconfirmed date (Console)
What are the new Games With Gold in March 2021?
Microsoft revealed in an official Xbox Wire blog post that four games will be coming to Xbox Live as part of the Games With Gold perk. They are Warface: Breakout, Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse, Metal Slug 3 and Port Royale 3. These are the dates on which you'll be able to claim them:
- Warface: Breakout is available from 1st March to 31st March
- Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse will be available from 16th March to 15th April
- Metal Slug 3 is available from 1st March 1 to 15th March
- Port Royale 3 will be available from 16th March 16 to 31st March
What other games and updates come to Xbox consoles in March 2021?
Of course you won't get every single game as part of a membership club, even if you pay top dollar for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. There will always be games that are sold separately, and with that in mind, these are some of the key dates for Xbox members to look out for this month:
- Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition came to Xbox Series X on 4th March
- Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time gets its Xbox Series X upgrade on 12th March
- Marvel's Avengers gets its Xbox Series X upgrade, and Hawkeye DLC, on 17th March
- Balan Wonderworld arrives on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on 26th March - Pre-order from Amazon here
- It Takes Two arrives on Xbox One and Xbox Series X on 26th March - Pre-order from GAME here
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 get their Xbox Series X upgrade on 26th March
- For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.
What are the Xbox Game Pass quests for March 2021?
Microsoft also keeps Xbox players busy with Xbox Game Pass quests, a series of challenges which you can complete to earn reward points. The March 2021 Xbox Game Pass quests have been revealed, and this is what they are:
Xbox Game Pass Daily Quests for March 2021
These are the Xbox Game Pass daily quests which are currently running, and they're both pretty easy to achieve:
- Play Game Pass: Play any Game Pass game (5 reward points)
- Log in to the Game Pass Mobile App (5 reward points)
Xbox Game Pass Weekly Quests for March 2021
The following weekly quests are running from 2nd March to 9th March. It's worth noting that the Battlefield 1 quest requires an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
- Earn an Achievement in any Game Pass game (10 reward points)
- Complete 4 Daily Quests Complete this week (10 reward points)
- Earn Your Way: Unlock 3 achievements or play 3 different Game Pass games (10 reward points)
- Battlefield 1: Be in the best squad 1 time (50 reward points each time, up to a maximum of 200 reward points)
- Desperados III: Play smart if you want to succeed (25 reward points, earned by the opening the game)
Xbox Game Pass Monthly Quests for March 2021
From 2nd March to 5th April, these are the Xbox Game Pass monthly quests that should keep completionists pretty busy:
- Game Pass Adventurer: Play 10 different Game Pass games (25 reward points)
- Quest Rookie: Complete 4 weekly quests this month (10 reward points)
- Quest Apprentice: Complete 8 weekly quests this month (25 reward points)
- Quest Dedication: Complete 12 daily quests and 12 weekly quests (100 reward points)
- Quest Completionist: Complete 45 daily quests and 15 weekly quests (1000 reward points)
- Game Pass Games On the Go: Install 5 games using the Game Pass mobile app (25 reward points)
- Game Pass Explorer: Play 4 different Game Pass games (10 reward points)
- We Happy Few: Kill 2 enemies (75 reward points)
- Injustice 2: Complete 10 Matches (75 reward points)
- Shadow Warrior 2: Get 10,000 Money (75 reward points)
- NieR:Automata: Complete one Objective below (75 reward points)
- Complete 2% Intel in NieR:Automata
- Subjugate 2 Enemies in NieR:Automata
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Authors
Rob Leane is the Gaming Editor at Radio Times, overseeing our coverage of the biggest games on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, mobile and VR. Rob works across our website, social media accounts and video channels, as well as producing our weekly gaming newsletter. He has previously worked at Den of Geek, Stealth Optional and Dennis Publishing.