High on Life is a massive hit on Xbox Game Pass, sets multiple records

An unsuspecting game has topped several of Xbox Game Pass services' stats. Microsoft today revealed that High On Life, the Squanch Games-developed first-person shooter that launched day-one on Game Pass, has beaten several records to become a huge hit on its subscription services, confirming what the popularity charts of Xbox and PC Game Pass have been showing off all week.

On Xbox Game Pass, High On Life has managed to take the crown of being the biggest launch of 2022, the biggest third-party game launch of all time, as well as the biggest single-player only game launch on the service since its debut. All this has been measured using how many hours players have pumped into the title in the first five days after launch.

"This was our first time launching a game with Game Pass," said Squanch Games studio director and COO Mike Fridley. “We’ve been blown away by the response from the players who have made us the most popular game on Game Pass right now. When Squanch Games was first created, it was to make the games we wanted to play – and Game Pass is helping us reach the players that want to play those games too."

It is extremely interesting to see an indie title, especially being a new IP, beating out so many other high-profile third-party releases that have appeared on Game Pass over the years.

Coming from Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland, High On Life may have just secured a healthy relationship with Xbox with this success. In my review of the game I gave it an 8.5/10. I found the humor to be fantastic and the gameplay mechanics much deeper and more interesting than what they first appear to be.