Xbox Game Pass' recent absence ends in 2025 with a whimper instead of a bang

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Xbox Game Pass' presentation at The Game Awards 2025 gave players a look at some of the more popular games currently available on the platform without really touching on what the future holds, as none of the games announced at the show seem guaranteed to appear on the subscription service. Recent changes to Xbox Game Pass have drawn both positive and negative reactions, though the latter greatly outnumber the former, and neglecting to showcase any of its upcoming additions could be seen as a sign of tough times ahead in 2026.

Since its introduction in 2017, Xbox Game Pass has been one of the biggest selling points for Microsoft's consoles, offering access to hundreds of games for a monthly subscription fee. The service had an estimated 37 million users based on July data, and it remains a force to be reckoned with in 2025, as 15 games nominated for The Games Awards 2025 are currently available on Game Pass.

xbox game pass new games 2026

The four biggest Xbox Game Pass games of 2026 are just the tip of the iceberg

Four massive Xbox Game Pass games are already on deck for 2026, with many more games expected to join the service next year as well.

Upcoming games for Game Pass

  • Aphelion

  • Armatus

  • At the end of fate

  • Awaysis

  • The Beast of Reincarnation

  • Beastly

  • Clockwork Revolution

  • Crow worn

  • Darkwood 2

  • Densh attack!

  • Echo Generation 2

  • Erosion

  • Fable

  • Forza Horizon 6

  • Freestyle football 2

  • Gear of War: E-Day

  • High on Life 2

  • Threat

  • MIO: Memories in Orbit

  • Mixtape

  • Nirvana Noir

  • Nova Roma

  • Outgoing

  • Persona 4 Revival

  • Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf

  • Raji: Kaliyuga

  • Replaced

  • Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

  • Roadside research

  • Sledding game

  • Dexterity

  • Snap & Grab

  • Subnautica 2

  • Super Meat Boy 3D

  • TCG Card Shop Simulator

  • There are no ghosts at the Grand

  • Tropical 7

  • Vampire Crawlers

  • Vapor World

  • Wildekin

  • Witchbrook

Starting almost an hour into The Game Awards 2025's main show, a two-minute hype reel for Xbox Game Pass showcased several games on the subscription service. Played over Johnny Cash's “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky,” the hype reel follows a janitor as he makes his rounds through several rooms labeled with the names of top titles, and ends up in mayhem such as accidentally disabling the artificial gravity on a spaceship in The Outer Worlds 2shaking dirt blocks his broom outside Minecraftand holds up a still moving zombie hand to wave to a colleague in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. There are plenty of other references, including a general for Fall-out franchise, which includes a version of the cowboy song used in the video on Fallout 76s soundtrack.

Fallout 76 Adelaide's Lucky Ride by WreckitReneee 5-1 Adelaide's Lucky Ride by wreckitrenee

But aside from that video, Xbox Game Pass wasn't mentioned much during the show, which might be worrying for some subscribers. Additionally, while the hype reel showcased some featured games such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that were released as Day One games on Game Pass, very few of the specific games listed were created under Microsoft-owned brands, demonstrating the service's reliance on collaboration between third-party developers and publishers. There is an allusion to Grounded 2which is out in early access and is being developed by Microsoft-owned studio Obsidian Entertainment, and while Microsoft acquired Bethesda in 2021, it was well after the launch of Fallout 4 2015 and Fallout 76 during 2018.

expedition 33 part

While a slew of games have been added to Xbox Game Pass 2025, there are some indicators that could point to a troubled road ahead. The subscription service has received a lot of backlash from fans ever since an announcement in early October that the price of an Xbox Game Pass subscription would increase, with monthly fees for the Ultimate tier jumping roughly 50 percent to $29.99. While the announcement coincided with the arrival of nearly 50 new games, many of which were acquired through a partnership with Ubisoft+, fans were outraged by what they perceived as greedy actions at a time of financial hardship, and multiple sources have reported that the price change resulted in a slew of subscription cancellations.

mio memories in the orbital gaming world

Aside from the lack of attendance at The Game Awards, there are roughly 40 games already announced for Game Pass 2026 additions. These include two Day-1 games recently confirmed for Game Pass Ultimate in January, with MIO: Memories In Orbit arriving January 20 and Nova Roma coming on January 22nd, although the second title will be exclusively available on PC. Other big games subscribers can look forward to in 2026 include Fablethe Halo 1 remake, Forza Horizon 6and Gears of War: E-Day.

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