Xbox Game Pass adds Day-One games that turn the Vampire Survivors Formula on its head

1 The Xbox Game Pass the library expands yet again, this time with a first version called Go up to zero. This is the third title to join the subscription service in July 2026 and the 111th Xbox Game Pass release of 2026.

Developed and published by Krafton subsidiary Flyway Games, Go up to zero is a single-player action-roguelike RPG clearly influenced by the survival-like subgenre, which steadily grew in popularity in the first half of the 2020s. The colorful gameplay challenges players to battle swarms of enemies while rapidly upgrading their weapons, equipment, and character stats while running. Classic roguelike premise aside, Go up to zero turns the Survivor-like formula on its head by asking players not to hold out as long as possible, but to go as far as they can with only 30 seconds on the clock and hostilities all around. While that goal itself is unconventional enough to give the game a distinct identity, Go up to zeros experiments with timers do not end there.

Ascend to Zero turns time into a weapon and general resource

Go up to zero is available on Xbox Game Pass starting in the early morning hours Eastern on July 13, after joining the day and date of service with the PC and Xbox Series X/S version. Its initial launch continues a year-long pattern of Microsoft's content catalog embracing the survival-like genre with a steady influx of new titles, a trend dating back to Vampire Survivor itself joining Xbox Game Pass in 2022. That's not to say Flyway Games is interested in retreading old ground here; Go up to zero is about as distinctive as a bullet heaven game can be, largely due to its gameplay loop that treats time as a resource that players can spend to advance, interrupt to, e.g. freeze enemies, and even recover by defeating powerful enemies.

The result is a more aggressive gameplay loop than just circling an arena until a fixed timer runs out. Each run rewards players for finding the fastest route to the top, collecting XP, gear and tech chips, and choosing the right moment to pause the battlefield. Six playable avatars provide variety through distinct growth profiles and special abilities. To support its 30-second structure, the game uses an extreme progression curve that can propel a character from level 1 to hundreds of thousands in a single run. This design does Go up to zero exceptionally fast-paced, with action escalating faster than in even the most hectic Survivor-style titles available on Xbox Game Pass and beyond.

All upcoming Xbox Game Pass games with fixed release dates

The July 2026 Xbox Game Pass lineup has seven scheduled Wave 1 additions remaining Go up to zero. PBA Pro Bowling 2026 arriving on July 14, followed by Quarantine Zone: The Last Check on July 15, Mavrix by Matt Jones on July 16, FixForce and Joint piercer on July 17 and The Planet Crafter and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 on the 21st.

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As usual, the second monthly wave of Xbox Game Pass releases will be formally announced a little after the halfway point of the month. Specifically, Microsoft has favored the third Tuesday of the month for such reveals of late, so if that pattern holds, July 21 will be the day the company formalized the Wave 2 Xbox Game Pass content roadmap.