Gravhounds launches Monday on Game Pass in early access

Gravhounds launches Monday, Nov. 2, in Game Preview on Xbox Series X|S and on PC through Xbox, and it joins Xbox Game Pass on day one. Game Preview is Xbox's label for early access, so the game ships while still in development. Xbox has not said which Game Pass tiers include it.

The game is an action-building co-op for one to four players. The crew are bioengineered dogs hired for dangerous industrial jobs: they drop onto hostile planets, set up a base and defend it, then head out with as much loot as they can carry before the local wildlife catches up. The longer they stay, the greater the danger and the better the reward.

At the center is the Grav Beam, a tool that grabs, moves and throws objects, enemies and resources. It pairs with turrets, generators and fabricators linked by pipes, and with a thruster rig for jumping and hovering. Reward pods hand out random weapons and upgrades mid-run.

Octopus Panic is an independent studio of seven people, co-founded by Josh Holmes, with veterans of Halo, Battlefield and Star Wars. "We started Octopus Panic to get small again," the team wrote when it revealed the game on Aug. 27. A demo has been up on the Xbox store since Sept. 25.

On Steam, the game is listed as early access with the same date and an estimated run of about six months, possibly longer. Neither Steam nor the Xbox store shows a price yet, and the Steam page warns that it is expected to rise during early access.

PC requirements

Game Pass has more coming that week: PIT OF GOBLIN and Football Manager 27 in PC early access on Tuesday, Nov. 3, VOID/BREAKER on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School on Thursday, Nov. 5.