Game: Fakin’ It XL
Developer: Jackbox Games
Publisher: Jackbox Games
Genre: Social Deduction Party Game
Released: November 12, 2026
Price: $8.99
Platform: PC (Steam, Epic), Switch, PlayStation, Xbox
🕵️ How we reviewed it: on PC, via Steam. It’s only been out a couple of days, so we’ve also drawn on two recorded group sessions, one remote and one in person (including Jackbox’s own launch stream), plus what early players are saying.
🎭 Know this first: this is Fakin’ It, rebuilt. Fakin’ It XL is a standalone, family-friendly take on the fan favorite from The Jackbox Party Pack 3, built on the newer structure of the adults-only Fakin’ It All Night Long but with the risqué content removed. It now supports 8 players, adds a proper remote play mode and two new round types, and costs $8.99. Only one person needs to own it, and everyone else plays on a phone, tablet or any web browser.
🤥 One of You Is Lying
Everyone gets a simple instruction on their phone, like “raise your hand if you’ve ever pretended to like a gift you hated.” Everyone, that is, except the Faker, who never gets the prompt and has to blend in like they know exactly what’s going on.
Once the real prompt is revealed, the group grills each other to sniff out the liar, while the Faker lies through their teeth and shifts the blame. Survive three rounds of interrogation without getting caught, and you walk away with a mountain of points.
Good, (mostly) clean, lying fun, now for the whole group chat.
We covered Fakin’ It XL when it was announced as a standalone release for November 12, and it’s arrived as the definitive version of one of Jackbox’s funniest games. The core is untouched: a bluffing game where the best moments come from watching your friends squirm as they try to justify a suspicious answer. What’s new makes it far easier to play, with bigger lobbies, a remote mode built for Discord and video calls, and a few clever round tweaks. For a lot more Jackbox, our Jackbox Party Pack 12 review covers the latest pack.
Our verdict: “Fakin’ It XL is a masterclass in bluffing chaos that works brilliantly for both couch and remote gatherings.”
The Round Types
Each game, players take turns picking a category, and every category asks you to respond in a different way. That’s exactly where the Faker gets into trouble.
✋ Hands of Truth
Raise your hand, or don’t. The Faker has to guess which way the room is going.
🔢 Number Pressure
Hold up fingers for a number, like how many hours it takes you to clean your whole home.
👉 You Gotta Point
Point at the player who fits the prompt, like who’d die first in a Godzilla attack.
😬 Emojional Damage
New: answer with an emoji. One of the fastest ways to spot a Faker who’s taking a wild guess.
Finally, Fakin’ It Over Discord
📞 Remote Play Changes Everything
The original Fakin’ It was one of the few Jackbox games you really had to play in the same room, since it relied on physically raising hands and pointing at people. XL fixes that. At the start of each game, you choose whether you’re playing in the room or remotely over a stream or video call, and you get round types tailored to that setup. In remote play, your avatar does the pointing and gesturing for you on screen.
It’s the feature players are happiest about. Several early players named remote play as the best addition, from playing with friends abroad to running games with Twitch chat. One player who’d played the original in person even found the remote version less stressful than having to avoid eye contact across a table.
Bigger Lobbies, Smarter Rounds
👥 Eight Players and a Better Final Round
The jump from six to eight players is a big deal for a game that gets funnier with more suspects. Several players called out the bigger lobbies specifically, with one saying six-player lobbies always felt too small.
The final round, “Text You Up,” has smart tweaks too. Everyone types answers to three questions, and the Faker gets slightly different ones. The Faker only finds out they’re the Faker after answering, which keeps everyone’s answers honest. One player loved that all three answers are now shown on screen and that it’s a little easier for the Faker to blend in. The new Thumb Luck category, three quick thumbs-up-or-down calls in a row, is also a fun change of pace. There are also small quality-of-life touches, like an on-screen count of how many players have locked in their votes.
Clean Fun, on Purpose
Fakin’ It All Night Long was the adults-only version that came with Jackbox’s Naughty Pack, and XL deliberately goes the other way. Several early players were happy to finally get the All Night Long structure and remote play without the risqué content, with one calling it “OG Fakin’ It. Just better.” The prompts stay silly, weird and occasionally very personal, which is what makes the game work. It’s rated T for Teen, so it’s a great fit for mixed groups and family game nights.
Where It Stumbles
⚠️ A Few Tells1. Repeat prompts. In one session we saw, a group got the same prompt twice within about half an hour. A bigger prompt pool would help, and one player is already asking for player-made questions.
2. Few settings. One player would like a toggle for unanimous voting, to keep things closer to the original rules.
3. Small input quirks. In Jackbox’s own launch stream, one player had trouble submitting an emoji until they switched from their phone’s emoji keyboard to the in-game one. In another session, a player found the number options didn’t include the answer they wanted.
4. Art nitpick. One player thought a robot character holding up three fingers looked a little odd.
📱 Easy to Get Everyone In
Like every Jackbox game, only the host needs to own it. Everyone else joins using a phone, tablet or any device with a web browser. It has full controller support, and on Steam it supports Remote Play Together.
Things to Know
📋 Before You Buy
• $8.99 · also in The Jackbox Holiday Bundle (with Party Pack 12) and The Jackbox Backpack Bundle (with Party Pack 12 and Trivia Murder Party 3)
• PC (Steam, Epic), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox
• Up to 8 players · in-room or remote mode · rated T for Teen
• 10 achievements · Steam Cloud · English only
• Minimum: Windows 10, 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo, 4 GB RAM, broadband connection
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good
The Bad
The Ugly
Remote PlayFinally works over Discord and calls.
Repeat PromptsThe pool can run dry quickly.
Your FriendsTurns out they’re great liars.
8 PlayersMore suspects, more chaos.
Few SettingsNo unanimous-vote toggle.
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Smarter Final RoundThe Faker finds out after answering.
Input QuirksEmoji and number pickers can trip you up.
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$8.99A bargain for game night.
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The Verdict
Fakin’ It XL takes one of Jackbox’s all-time great party games and fixes almost everything that held it back. Eight-player lobbies mean more people can get in on the paranoia, the remote mode finally makes it work for online friend groups, and the new round types and final-round tweaks keep things fresh for veterans of the original.
It’s still the same game at heart, and the prompt pool could be bigger. If you’ve already worn out All Night Long, there’s less here that’s truly new. But for most groups, this is the best way to play Fakin’ It.
The honest read: if your friend group plays Jackbox, especially online, buy it. At $8.99, it’s one of the best-value party games you can get.
I'm a passionate gamer and video game enthusiast. I find immense joy in creating detailed and insightful video game reviews, diving deep into different adventures anytime I can manage. But if there's one thing that truly gets my heart racing, it's the thrill of surviving zombie-infested landscapes. Join me on my gaming journey as I explore and share my thoughts on the undead-filled worlds of gaming! 🎮🧟♂️
