Crackdown 3 was supposed to launch many months ago, but was pushed back to February 15 to polish up the experience. Luckily, it's available right now through the Microsoft Store. You can buy it for $60, or you can grab it with Xbox Game Pass, for $10 a month.
Crackdown 3 is split into two different downloads and supports Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox One X. The campaign is separate from the "Wrecking Zone" multiplayer mode. The campaign doesn't feature the cloud-powered destruction, so you'll have to battle other players if you want a taste of that.
According to a report by GamesIndustry, despite launching with heavy-hitters like Metro Exodus, the title has managed to beat them all and was one of the most-played games at launch. It only lost out to free-to-play games like Apex Legends and Fortnite. You can read an excerpt from the article below.
While its physical launch sales were somewhat disappointing... there is data to suggest Crackdown 3 has still been a hit on Xbox One. TrueAchievements has released its latest weekly chart of the platform's most played games, which shows Crackdown 3 was the third most popular title of the week. It was only surpassed by Apex Legends and Fortnite, in terms of the number... that played it, and both of those are free-to-play... it's the single-player campaign specifically that reached No. 3 in the charts. The multiplayer... placed much lower at No. 22. TrueAchievements' chart is calculated by scanning user accounts... more than half a million... for which games they have played in the previous week... It's worth emphasising that these are games actively played, not just ones where achievements have been unlocked... Metro Exodus was only the 32nd most-played game of the week, while Far Cry New Dawn was 37th. Both were beaten by the beta for Black Desert... and... Jump Force didn't even place.
The success of Crackdown 3 can be attributed to Xbox Game Pass, because reviews weren't positive at all. In our review, we said, "Crackdown 3 just doesn't meet contemporary standards as a premium $60 title, with dated visuals, thin gameplay features, and an under-delivered story. There are too many open world superhero-style games that simply do it better. That said, it's not a bad game, by any means."
Hopefully Crackdown 3 will see continued success in the coming months as more gamers join Xbox Game Pass. According to Microsoft's Executive Vice President of Gaming Phil Spencer, the subscription service already numbers millions of members.
Your every day sandbox
Crackdown 3 is a decent sandbox experience that falls short of modern standards, but as an Xbox Game Pass title, it offers some good mindless fun.
