Xbox Game Pass adds AAA horror games with "very positive" reviews

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard has returned to Xbox Game Pass and is now playable at three of its membership levels. This is the 14th and final catalog addition for March 2026 and the 52nd Xbox Game Pass release so far this year.

Resident Evil 7 marked a course correction for Capcom's long-running survival horror series following the underwhelming reception of its sixth main entry from 2012. Originally released for PC and consoles in January 2017, Biohazard debuted to generally favorable reviews, as reflected in its “Mighty” rating on OpenCritic, based on 175 reviews with an average rating of 86 and a 91% recommendation rating. Player response was equally strong, as evidenced by the game's 4.6-star rating on the Xbox Store and 93.94% positive user reviews on Steam as of the end of March 2026. Both its critical reception and fans have helped cement Biohazards reputation as one of the highest rated Resident Evil games of all time.

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Xbox Game Pass Game Get $40 extra content for free

An Xbox Game Pass staple available on all tiers of the service, including Essential, will receive $40 worth of extra content in Spring 2026.

Resident Evil 7 joins Xbox Game Pass after four years

The critically acclaimed survival horror game was added back to Microsoft's subscription service earlier today, March 31. The catalog update comes exactly three years and 10 months after Resident Evil 7 first left Xbox Game Pass after a 20-month run as part of its library. A lot has changed since then, most notably Game Pass which split from two to four levels. Resident Evil 7 is available in three of them: Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass, and just skips the entry-level Essential tier.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

Biohazard joins Microsoft's content library just two months after Xbox Game Pass was added Resident Evil Village at the end of January 2026. Separately, Capcom's remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis are both still available to subscribers, as has been the case since early 2024.

All Resident Evil games are currently available on Xbox Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass first spring 2026 wave is just around the corner

Dominik Bošnjak / GameRant | Credits: Stoic / Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft

The first launch wave of Xbox Game Pass Spring 2026 is scheduled to begin on April 2 with Barbie Horse Trails, which continues with Final Fantasy 4 Pixel Remaster on April 7. Square Enix's JRPG is expected to arrive on the same day that Microsoft formally reveals the entire Wave 1 Xbox Game Pass lineup for April 2026. Based on the company's usual cadence, the upcoming roadmap will likely include releases from April 7 to 21. It is therefore expected to include Replaced, Hades 2and Vampire Crawlersall of which had previously been announced for that two-week window.

Xbox Game Pass Release Calendar starting March 31, 2026

🗓	Game	Minimum level	X1	XSXS	Cloud	PC	Hand held	Notes
March 31	🆕Resident Evil 7: Biohazard	Premium	🎮	🎮	☁	💻	❌	Returning title; latest available during the period September 2020–May 2022.
Apr. 2	Barbie horse trails	Premium	🎮	🎮	☁	💻	🔋
Apr. 2	Clair Obscur: Expedition 33	Premium	❌	🎮	☁	💻	🔋	Available on PC GP and XGP Ultimate since April 2025.
Apr. 7	Final Fantasy 4	Premium	❌	🎮	☁	💻	❌
April 14	Replaced	Final	❌	🎮	☁	💻	❌	Day one release.
April 14	Hades 2	Final	❌	🎮	☁	💻	❌	Day One (Series X/S) release.
April 21	Vampire Crawlers	Final	❌	🎮	☁	💻	❌	Day one release.
Apr 23	Oven	Final	❌	🎮	☁	💻	🔋	Day one release.
April 28	Aphelion	Final	❌	🎮	☁	💻	❌	Day one release.
May 19	Forza Horizon 6	Final	❌	🎮	☁	💻	❌	Day one release.
July 13	Go up to zero	Final	❌	🎮	☁	💻	❌	Day one release.
Aug. 4	The Beast of Reincarnation	Final	❌	🎮	☁	💻	❌	Day one release.
Aug. 14	Grave seasons	Final	❌	🎮	☁	💻	❌	Day one release.

An additional 27 Xbox Game Pass titles previously announced for 2026 are currently awaiting release dates.

In the first quarter of 2026, Xbox Game Pass added 52 titles and removed 25, for a net catalog gain of 27 games. That's a 350% improvement over the same period a year earlier, when 45 departures and 35 additions resulted in a net loss of 10 titles. The comparison is somewhat skewed by the fact that Q1 2025 was easily the quietest part of last year, with Game Pass more than doubling its quarterly addition rate over the following nine months. If the service follows a similar pattern in 2026, it's currently on track to add around 376 titles this year, which would mark a 74% year-over-year increase.