Knockout City will be available on Xbox Game Pass, EA Play at launch

Electronic Arts has announced that upcoming multiplayer title Knockout City will launch day-and-date on its EA Play subscription service -- and, by extension, Xbox Game Pass.

The game, developed by Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit creator Velan Studios, throws players into cartoonish dodgeball matches and is due for release across PC and all consoles on May 21.

In a blog post, the publisher announced it will also be available to subscribers of EA Play from day one. This is a rarity for the service, which primarily features back catalogue games and time-limited trials of its latest releases.

Due to EA Play's inclusion in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the upper tier of Microsoft's own subscription offering, Knockout City will also be available from day one on that service.

Again, this is unusual; while Microsoft's first-party games and selected independent titles have launched day-and-date on Game Pass, little to no titles from AAA publishers have done so.

It's worth noting Knockout City is not a top tier EA title. For those wishing to purchase it individually, the game will only cost $19.99 -- no doubt with plans to monetise the customisation options in what is shaping up to be a live service game with ongoing updates and expansions.

EA also announced a Deluxe Edition, with a selection of said customisations. It will cost $29.98 when combined with the standard edition, but EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers need only pay the $9.99 extra.

EA Play Pro subscribers will get the Deluxe Edition at no extra cost.

We spoke to Guha Bala, co-founder of Velan Studios, during this month's GI Live: Online conference, in which he told us the story of the journey from the Bala brothers previous studio Vicarious Visions to making Knockout City.

You can watch the full interview here.