Hope in the City, a narrative mystery about a teenage artist searching for her missing parents, launches on Xbox and Game Pass on Wednesday 11 November 2026. Here’s everything we know so far.
Hope in the City at a glance
- Release date: Wednesday 11 November 2026, 18:00 GMT (per the Microsoft Store)
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC (Xbox Play Anywhere) and cloud
- Game Pass: Day one in Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
- Price: £14.99 / $19.99 (pre-order and pre-install available now)
- Developer: Lofty Sky Games
- Publisher: Lofty Sky Games and NAGA Games
- Players: Single-player
- Achievements: 12, worth 1,000 Gamerscore
- Age rating: PEGI 7
Hope in the City is a narrative mystery game set in the Chinese city of Shenyang. It comes from Lofty Sky Games, the team behind Sky of Tides, which won Best in Play at GDC 2026, and the Annie Award-nominated Eternal Spring.
When is the Hope in the City release date?
Hope in the City launches on Wednesday 11 November 2026. Lofty Sky Games confirmed the date on X on 16 October, and the Microsoft Store listing gives a release time of 18:00 GMT.
You may have seen 10 November elsewhere. That was the date in Xbox’s Tokyo Game Show recap on Xbox Wire in September. The studio and the Store now both say 11 November, and Xbox Wire’s Game Pass post on 3 November lists it for 11 November too.
Is Hope in the City on Game Pass?
Yes. Lofty Sky Games says it’s coming to Game Pass on day one, and it’s in Xbox’s official “Coming to Game Pass” collection, so you’ll find it in Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass at launch, with cloud play listed too. It’s one of the narrative highlights in our Xbox Game Pass November 2026 line-up.
Read our news story: Hope in the City comes to Xbox Game Pass on 11 November.
How much is Hope in the City, and is it Play Anywhere?
You can pre-order and pre-install the game now on the Microsoft Store for £14.99 / $19.99. Pre-installing means Game Pass members can have it ready to go the moment it unlocks. It supports Xbox Play Anywhere, which the Store and the studio both confirm, so one purchase covers Xbox Series X|S and the Xbox PC app. Only one edition is listed.
What is Hope in the City about?
Hope Song is 17, and she thought the national exams were her biggest worry until she came home to a ransacked apartment and two missing parents. There’s no note, no warning and no answers, and she’s the only person willing to ask what really happened.
Hope isn’t a detective; she’s an artist. Lofty Sky says that’s “exactly what makes her dangerous to whoever’s hiding the truth”. You investigate through her eyes, spotting the details that don’t add up: a shadow in the wrong place, an object that shouldn’t be there, a lie in someone’s eyes.
How does the investigation work?
- Sketch what you see: clues are captured as sketches in Hope’s notebook, and they become your evidence.
- Insights: connect what you’ve seen into insights.
- Breakthroughs: push those insights until they crack open into breakthroughs and the picture of what happened starts to form.
The developer says the mystery grows “stranger and darker with every answer”.
Where is Hope in the City set?
Shenyang is pitched as a character in its own right, not just a backdrop. It’s rendered in a bold, stylised art style, and you can wander its streets, storefronts, neon signs and shadowed alleys. On the surface it’s ordinary home life with familiar streets and quiet neighbours, but Lofty Sky promises secrets buried beneath.
Does Hope in the City have achievements?
Yes. TrueAchievements lists 12 achievements worth 1,000 Gamerscore.
Is there a Hope in the City trailer?
Here’s the announcement trailer from Xbox:
Everything we know is in one place on our Hope in the City hub, and we’ll keep it updated through launch.
Last updated 5 November 2026.
