Xbox Game Pass is losing some of its best RPGs and strategy games today

Xbox Game Pass will lose five titles later today, with the May 31 departures including some of the highest-rated RPGs and strategy games in the service's library. Despite these impending removals, May 2026 was still a significant net positive for the Xbox Game Pass catalog, which added significantly more titles than it lost in the previous month.

The next wave of departures is headlined by Metaphor: ReFantazioone of 2024's most acclaimed titles originally added to Xbox Game Pass in May 2025. The Atlus-developed game has an average score of 93 on OpenCritic, making it the highest-rated JRPG on Microsoft's subscription service. Metaphor: ReFantazio was widely praised for combining Persona's time-management loop and social connections with Shin Megami Tenseis battle into a fast-paced experience with a very memorable story.

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Xbox Game Pass adds 2 Day-One games ending May 2026

Xbox Game Pass rounds out the lineup for May 2026 with two more Day 1 titles, for a total of 18 releases since the start of the month.

Xbox Game Pass loses its top-rated JRPG and more today

Two days after its one-year anniversary on the job, Metaphor: ReFantazio is scheduled to leave Xbox Game Pass later today. It will depart alongside four other titles, including another beloved Atlus JRPG, Persona 4 Golden. Against the storm, Spray paint simulatorand Crypt guardian also leaving Xbox Game Pass as part of the catalog rotation on May 31st.

All Xbox Game Pass games are leaving today

Game	Genre	Added	Stint Duration*	OpenCritic Avg.	How long to beat
Against the storm	Strategy	December 2023	2 years, 5 months	89	86–252 hours
Crypt guardian	Metroidvania	June 2025	11 months	83	9–13 hours
Metaphor: ReFantazio	RPG	May 2025	1 year	93	65–109 hours
Persona 4 Golden	RPG	August 2025	9 months	88	67–134 hours
Spray paint simulator	Job Sim	May 2025	1 year	71	8–12 hours

Against the storm is another title from this batch that is definitely among the highest-rated games on the service, as highlighted by its average score of 89 on OpenCritic. Developed by Polish studio Eremite Games and originally released in December 2023 after two years of early access, the game built a cult following by placing a roguelite twist on the city-building gameplay loop, making its sessions significantly faster than the average example of the genre. Thanks to that and a distinctly dark fantasy setting realized through a vivid painting art style, Against the storm has developed a reputation as one of the most inventive and addictive strategy games of the 2020s, making the upcoming removal a significant loss for Microsoft's city builder catalog. Fans of the genre can take some solace in the fact that Xbox Game Pass recently added another highly rated city builder Nova Roma.

Xbox Game Pass 2026 Stats: Monthly Catalog Changes

Dominik Bošnjak / Game Rant | Source images: Xbox, Wishfully / Thunderful Publishing

📅	Added	Removed	Net	Year change
January	18	12	+6 games	+5
Feb	20	5	+15 games	+23
Mar	14	8	+6 games	+14
April	18	14	+4 games	+4
May	18	10	+8 games	+1

The “Added” column only shows brand new games, ignoring situations such as existing titles being added to the XGP Premium tier.

Xbox Game Pass already lost five titles on May 15, meaning the upcoming rotation will double its monthly list of removals. Still, the service has added 18 games since May 1 and will thus end the month with eight more titles than it lost. That's a marginal improvement over May 2025, when its content catalog gained 17 games while losing 10 others.

Rearrange the cases in the correct US release order.

Light (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)

The next Xbox Game Pass library update is scheduled for June 2nd, then Jurassic Park World 3 and Final Fantasy 6 arrive. The Wave 1 lineup for June 2026 is also likely to be formally confirmed on that day, with June 1 the second most likely candidate, based on Microsoft's recent practice.