XP Boost - 8th December

Welcome back to XP Drop, your weekly roundup of everything happening across PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and PC.

The first week of December has been anything but sleepy: we’ve had massive DLC drops, a long-awaited Metroid return, huge RPG launches, and fresh updates to Game Pass, PS Plus, Switch Online and Steam. Let’s dive in.

New Releases & Big News

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Switch & Switch 2)

After years of restarts and rumours, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond finally arrived on 4 December for both Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.

• Story sends Samus Aran to the new planet Viewros, with the long-teased rival Sylux now front and centre and experimenting with Metroids.

• Gameplay sticks to the first-person Metroidvania formula: tight lock-on shooting, dense interconnected biomes, scanning, puzzles and backtracking.

• New psychic abilities let Samus manipulate the environment and fire a steerable, time-freezing beam, opening up fresh puzzle and combat routes.

On Switch 2, previews highlight sharper image quality and steadier performance, positioning Prime 4 as one of the key “this is why you upgrade” titles heading into 2026.

Elden Ring: Nightreign The Forsaken Hollows (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)

FromSoftware’s follow-up expansion finally landed on 4 December. Picking up after the base game, it shifts the formula with a more focused, run-based structure. You’re dropped into Limveld, a region locked in a three-day cycle where corruption ramps up the longer you stay. Each “run” gets harder, forcing you to balance exploration, risk and extraction.

Highlights:

• Run-based structure: Plays almost like a soulslike roguelite – push deeper into corrupted zones, then bail out before enemies become overwhelming.

• Squad play: You choose from multiple Nightfarers (distinct classes) and can build co-op parties around roles, abilities and crowd control.

• Progression: Shorter, more intense sessions feed into longer-term builds and gear, rewarding repeated runs rather than one enormous open-world sweep.

Early impressions from press and players are strong: combat is classic Elden Ring (precise, punishing, deeply satisfying), and the tighter structure is appealing to players who bounced off the sprawl of the base game.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Switch / Switch 2, PC)

Marvel Cosmic Invasion kicked off the month on 1 December, delivering a modernised arcade beat-’em-up built around a 15-character Marvel roster.

Highlights:

• Roster variety: From Spider-Man and She-Hulk to Rocket and Wolverine, each hero has a distinct kit – web control, grapples, traps, rushdown pressure, etc.

• Old-school energy: Side-scrolling brawler structure, tag mechanics, juggle potential, specials and supers – but tuned for modern online co-op and couch play.

• Platform reach: Launching across Steam, Nintendo Switch / Switch 2, PlayStation and Xbox gives it a wide audience heading into the holidays.

Think TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge meets a cosmic Annihilation-era storyline – it’s built to be a crowd-pleaser for Marvel fans and co-op brawler players alike.

Other notable launches this week

December’s first week has also been stacked with mid-to-big tier releases across platforms:

• Blood: Refreshed Supply – full remaster of Monolith’s cult 1997 shooter with 4K support, remastered cutscenes and 42 levels of FPS carnage (PC, PS5/PS4, Xbox, Switch).

• Let It Die: Inferno – a new run-based sequel mixing melee-heavy action, procedural floors and PvEvP extraction (PS5 & PC).

• Octopath Traveler 0 – prequel HD-2D JRPG with a custom protagonist, town-rebuilding mechanics and 8-character party battles (PC, PS5/PS4, Xbox, Switch/Switch 2).

• Routine – long-awaited sci-fi horror finally arriving on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC, including day-one on Game Pass.

Put together, it’s a surprisingly dense week: a marquee FromSoft expansion, a big new Metroid, a Marvel brawler, and a strong slate of JRPG and horror launches.

PlayStation Update

PS Plus Monthly Games – December 2025 now live

Sony’s PlayStation Plus December Monthly Games are now available to claim, giving PS4 and PS5 players a solid spread for the holiday season. Line-ups reported this week include:

• LEGO Horizon Adventures – family-friendly spin-off of Horizon, great for co-op and younger players.

• Killing Floor 3 – co-op horde shooter for players wanting something bloodier.

• The Outlast Trials / Synduality: Echo of Ada / Neon White (availability varies by region and tier) – mixing horror, sci-fi and speed-running FPS puzzle design.

All are claimable through early January, and several will likely see a spike in streaming and social chatter over the next couple of weeks.

Gran Turismo 7 – Power Pack DLC & SPEC III update

Racing fans on PS5 and PS4 got a substantial Gran Turismo 7 refresh on 4 December. Polyphony Digital rolled out:

• Power Pack DLC (paid add-on): a bundle of new cars and performance options.

• SPEC III update (v1.64) – a free patch adding new tracks, extra vehicles and handling tweaks for all GT7 owners.

For PS5 specifically, GT7 remains one of the best showcases for DualSense haptics, 4K/60 performance and PS VR2 – so this update is a nice end-of-year boost to one of Sony’s evergreen titles.

SOL Shogunate announced for PS5

On 4 December, Sony used the PlayStation Blog to unveil SOL Shogunate, a “samurai space opera” action RPG coming to PS5.

Details so far:

• Sci-fi setting fused with feudal Japanese aesthetics.

• Focus on melee combat, narrative choices and large-scale battles.

• Positioned as a stylish, AA-plus title – the kind that often finds a loyal fanbase on PS5.

Announcing new 2026 titles now helps Sony frame “what’s next” as 2025’s release slate winds down.

Xbox Update

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Game Pass record breaker

Microsoft confirmed this week that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is officially the biggest new third-party launch on Xbox Game Pass in 2025, based on unique players in the first 30 days.

Key points:

• The turn-based French-surrealist RPG has outperformed every other third-party Game Pass debut this year.

• Sandfall Interactive’s director directly credited Game Pass with “lowering the barrier of entry” for a genre that usually feels niche to more action-oriented players.

• Combined with its Golden Joystick wins last week, Expedition 33 is now firmly one of 2025’s flagship Game Pass success stories.

Xbox Game Pass – December wave & losses

Microsoft also detailed and updated the final December 2025 Game Pass wave:

• Coming in:

  • Mortal Kombat 1 – joins the service in December, giving subscribers a high-profile fighter to pair with Black Ops 7.

  • Routine – launches day-one on Game Pass for console and PC on 4 December.

  • Additional titles across Essential, PC and Ultimate tiers round out the month.

• Leaving in December:

  • A new batch of five Games Pass titles has been confirmed to leave the service across mid- and late-December, including one of the month’s bigger AAA exits: Mortal Kombat 11. Still Wakes the Deep and Wildfrost will rotate out on 15 December, while Carrion and Hell Let Loose depart on 31 December. Outlets are already advising subscribers to finish or purchase anything they want to keep before these games disappear from the library.

The pattern remains the same: Game Pass continues to be about breadth + discovery, but the constant churn means players have to keep one eye on the “Leaving Soon” tab.

Nintendo Update

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond headlines an early-December surge

As noted above, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond arriving on 4 December is the big Nintendo story this week. For Switch and Switch 2 owners, it:

• Caps off the year with a genuine system-seller for both platforms.

• Leverages Switch 2’s additional power for better performance and visual clarity while still running on original Switch hardware.

• Extends Nintendo’s strong 2025 run of first-party tentpoles (Pokémon Legends: Z-A earlier in the year, Mario Kart World at launch, now Prime 4 in December).

Expect it to dominate eShop charts and physical sales data in the coming weeks.

Switch 2 ecosystem – December release slate

Nintendo’s December schedule remains busy across both systems:

• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (Switch 2) – futuristic racer launching 4 December digitaly, expanding Sonic’s presence on the new hardware.

• Nicktoons & the Dice of Destiny (Switch 2) – party / brawler hybrid landing 5 December.

• Football Manager 26 (Switch 2) and Farming Simulator: Signature Edition – giving the handheld crowd more management and sim options.

• Multi-platform titles like Octopath Traveler 0 and Marvel Cosmic Invasion also hit Switch and Switch 2 this week, reinforcing Nintendo’s place in the multi-platform conversation.

While there’s no huge new system firmware this week, coverage continues to highlight how well Switch 2’s back-compat and cross-gen library are working in practice – especially for players upgrading from original Switch to the new hardware.

PC / Steam & Cloud Gaming Update

MMOs go big: EverQuest & LOTRO expansions land

PC MMO fans quietly had one of the biggest weeks of the month:

• EverQuest – The Shattering of Ro launched its latest expansion, bringing new zones, raids and progression for one of PC gaming’s longest-running MMOs.

• The Lord of the Rings Online – Kingdoms of Harad went live on 3 December, adding new regions in the south of Middle-earth, an extended level cap and fresh storylines built around Harad’s cultures and conflicts.

Both updates show that classic subscription / buy-to-play MMOs are still evolving in 2025, even as extraction shooters and battle royales steal the spotlight.

Steam – December releases, sales wrap-up & charts

On the broader PC side, Steam’s first December week has been about new releases plus the tail-end of sale season:

• The Steam Autumn / Black Friday Sale officially wrapped on 4 December, after nearly two weeks of aggressive discounts across AAAs and indies.

• Top new PC releases for early December include Blood: Refreshed Supply, Let It Die: Inferno, Elden Ring: Nightreign, Routine and Octopath Traveler 0, many of which launched simultaneously on Steam and consoles.

• SteamDB’s early-December Top Sellers charts show hardware like Steam Deck alongside ARPGs, shooters and strategy titles vying for the top slots as players spend their holiday budgets.

Epic Games Store & bundles

Outside of Steam:

• The Epic Games Store kicked off its December run of free games, continuing the platform’s long-running strategy of weekly giveaways to keep PC players in its ecosystem.

• Humble Bundle launched a new Sniper Elite-focused bundle in early December, adding more low-cost ways for PC players to bulk up their backlogs.

The upshot: even in a quieter news week, PC remains the most crowded and discounted space, with multiple stores competing for attention via sales, freebies and bundles.

TL;DR

• Elden Ring: Nightreign landed on 4 December, bringing a run-based, squad-focused expansion to FromSoft’s hit on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

• Marvel Cosmic Invasion and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond headlined a busy launch slate, giving Marvel fans a new co-op brawler and Nintendo players a long-awaited Prime sequel on Switch and Switch 2.

• On PlayStation, December’s PS Plus Monthly Games (including LEGO Horizon Adventures and Killing Floor 3) went live, while Gran Turismo 7’s Power Pack DLC and SPEC III update delivered fresh cars, tracks and handling tweaks.

• On Xbox, Microsoft confirmed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is Game Pass’s biggest third-party launch of 2025, while December’s final Game Pass wave adds titles like Mortal Kombat 1 and Routine and confirms another batch of departures.

• Nintendo rode the launch of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and a stacked December release list on Switch/Switch 2, keeping both platforms busy without major new system firmware.

• On PC, long-running MMOs EverQuest and The Lord of the Rings Online dropped big new expansions, Steam’s Autumn sale wrapped, and early-December releases (Blood: Refreshed Supply, Let It Die: Inferno, Octopath Traveler 0, Routine) kept libraries growing across Steam, Epic and beyond.