The purchase of one former Xbox Game Pass title has been disabled after its exit from the subscription service. Since its inception in 2017, Xbox Game Pass has offered quality content to those willing to pay for the respective fees. As support for the service continues to grow, Microsoft has continually engineered many deals to provide great games every month, including some of the best Indie Games available on Xbox and PC.While most of the games perpetually remain on the service, some titles are removed once their deal with Game Pass runs out. Such is the case with titles such as Spelunky 2, which have been removed from the subscription but remain available for purchase as a stand-alone. Deals with developers and publishers have a set expiration on the service, and some are available for a long time while a few stay for just a few months. However, a recent report indicates that one game may have been wholly de-listed on the Microsoft Store. In a tweet by user IdleSloth84_, they noted that the game Omori is not available for purchase following its departure from Xbox Game Pass on June 30. The psychological horror RPG enjoyed some decent success on the platform, so it comes as a minor surprise to many gamers. Xbox Support has since stated that the developer OMOCAT and Xbox have ended their partnership. In addition, IdleSloth84_ suggested that Xbox wanted to distance itself from OMOCAT due to a questionable t-shirt design implying completely inappropriate behavior.
While titles do come and go on Xbox Game Pass, the issue and situation involving OMOCAT might affect its eventual return to the platform. Nonetheless, this should serve as a lesson to developers to be careful in posting extensively risque content. While games like Grand Theft Auto 5 do border on adult and explicit territory, there are just some lines not meant to be crossed, especially because Omori is visually geared towards a younger audience.
Omori was a short but enjoyable game that was able to capture the hearts of many RPG aficionados due to its unique art style and design. Some fans would compare the game to gems such as Earthbound and Deltarune, further adding charm to the title. While it is unfortunate to have a game completely unavailable for play on a platform, the circumstances which have brought about the decision are totally understandable. Microsoft wanting to steer clear from a possible PR nightmare is a completely valid response.
Omori is still available on PC, Switch, PS4, and PS5.