Xbox Game Pass is losing 7 games today, but there is good news

Seven titles leave Xbox Game Pass later today, bringing the total number of removals this month to 12, with the departures including several critically acclaimed releases. However, January 2026 has still been a significant net positive for the service, especially compared to Xbox Game Pass catalog changes from this time last year.

Like clockwork, Microsoft's subscription library shrinks every two weeks, at the end and in the middle of each month. In the latest example of this long-running trend, Xbox removed Game Pass Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, Neon whiteand three other titles on January 15. Seven more games are now set to follow.

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Several acclaimed titles are leaving Xbox Game Pass today

The January 31st Xbox Game Pass departures include Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, Starbound, Lonely Mountains: Snow Ridersand Cataclysm. All four are well-received titles boasting OpenCritic average scores in the 80s. Rounding out the list of removals at the end of January 2026 Orcs must die! Death trap, Paw Patrol Worldand Shadowy part of me. Based on Microsoft's typical content cadence, these seven games are expected to be removed from Xbox Game Pass around midnight on February 1st. Anyone playing them at that exact time will likely be given a short grace period to end their session, which is how such situations were handled in recent times.

Xbox Game Pass games end today, January 31st

All January 31st takedowns have been available on Xbox Game Pass since 2025, with most joining the service around 12 months ago. The only exceptions are Cataclysm and Paw Patrol Worldwhich were added – and in the case of the latter, re-added – in September 2025. Achievement hunters looking to increase their Gamerscore totals before these titles leave the service can still grab plenty of trophies in Paw Patrol World and Shadowy part of me. The latter was developed by Douze Dixièmes, a small French studio that recently released the critically acclaimed metroidvania MIO: Memories in Orbitwhich debuted on Xbox Game Pass as a day-one title on January 20.

Despite a dozen removals, January 2026 has been a net positive for Xbox Game Pass. The service added 18 new titles this month, resulting in a net change of +6 – at least for PC Game Pass and XGP Ultimate subscribers. One of the more unusual statistics from January 2026 concerns the average tenure of removed games, which is just 8.9 months. Most titles typically remain on the service for at least a year, but the seasonal addition of The Grinch: A Christmas Adventure and the short-lived times of The ascent, Paw Patrol Worldand Cataclysm has pulled down the monthly average.

Xbox Game Pass January 2026 statistics

• Games have been added: 18

  • To Ultimate: 18

  • To Premium: 16

    • 12 new ones + 4 that were already available on Ultimate

  • Handheld optimized: 4

  • Cloud supported: 13

• Games removed: 12

  • Average XGP time: ~9 months

  • Average OpenCritic score: 76

• Net change: +6 (Ultimate) / 4 (Premium)

The next confirmed Xbox Game Pass release is Indicatean adventure game from Odd Meter, scheduled to join the service on February 2nd. Classic JRPG Final Fantasy 2 will follow a day later, with early access SRPG Threat arriving on February 5th. By then, Microsoft will likely have officially announced the Wave 1 Xbox Game Pass lineup for February 2026. Based on the company's usual schedule, the reveal is expected to take place on February 3, a few hours after Final Fantasy 2 is added to the XGP directory.