High on Life is now the most popular title on Xbox Game Pass

High on Life currently stands as the most popular title on Xbox Game Pass, and according to Xbox, is 2022's biggest Game Pass launch. The sci-fi shooter from Squanch Games arrived on the subscription service last week, and has already shot up to the 'most played' spot on both PC and Xbox.

On both systems, it's presently beating out other popular third-party titles such as Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, FIFA 23, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. And more interestingly, it's more played than Microsoft's first-party titles such as Halo Infinite, Sea of Thieves, and Minecraft.

Xbox is using its stats based on hours of engagement within the game's first five days of release. By those same metrics, High on Life has had the biggest single-player only release in Game Pass history, and is the biggest third-party launch the service has ever had in its lifetime. 

"We’ve been blown away by the response from the players who have made us the most popular game on Game Pass right now," said Squanch COO Mike Fridley. 

"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.”

Coming out so close to the end of the year is definitely working out in High on Life's favor. The game's had a mixed critical reception overall, and launching day one on Game Pass for Xbox and PC means players are able to see what it's all about without worrying if they'll be losing much money in the process. 

High on Life's other big boast is that its guns all actively talk to the player character, who becomes a bounty hunter after being transported to space with their sister. That one of the guns is voiced by Squanch CEO Justin Roiland, who co-created the popular sci-fi series Rick & Morty, may be enticing people to check out the game.

The success of High on Life is good news for Squanch Games. Though this isn't the first game from the developer, the shooter may end up being its most popular title once all is said and done. 

Further, it gives Microsoft something to brag about going into 2023, since its first-party output for 2022 (that wasn't an update for an already released game) was effectively non-existent, save for Obsidian's Pentiment. 

Update: This post has been updated with additional metrics provided by Xbox.