Every month, Microsoft adds and removes games from its Xbox Game Pass subscription service. The number of new games added to Xbox Game Pass almost always exceeds the number of games removed, and October 2021 is no exception to that rule. Microsoft has already added a handful of games to Xbox Game Pass for the month of October, and it has yet to even reveal the full slate of titles that will be added this month.
Microsoft reveals the new Xbox Game Pass games in batches. Typically, an announcement is made at the beginning of the month that highlights the new Xbox Game Pass games coming within the next 15 days or so. Then when the middle of the month comes, Microsoft reveals the next set of Xbox Game Pass games. Because of this, subscribers still don't have a clear picture of everything they can expect to come and go in October, but we do know a good chunk of them.
Here are all the games confirmed to be coming and leaving Xbox Game Pass in October 2021 so far. Please note that Microsoft will likely reveal another batch of games coming and going in the days ahead, so Xbox Game Pass subscribers should keep that in mind.
New Xbox Game Pass Games October 2021 List
- Phoenix Point (Console) - October 1
- Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (Console/PC/Cloud) - October 5
- The Procession to Calvary (Console/PC/Cloud) - October 7
- Visage (Console/PC/Cloud) - October 7
- Back 4 Blood (Console/PC/Cloud) - October 12
- Destiny 2: Beyond Light (PC) - October 12
- Ring of Pain (Console/PC/Cloud) - October 14
- The Riftbreaker (Console/PC/Cloud) - October 14
- The Good Life (Console/PC/Cloud) - October 15
- Moonglow Bay (Console/PC/Cloud) - October 26
- Age of Empires 4 (PC) - October 28
At the time of this writing, Microsoft has already added four new games to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service in October. It started the month out with the addition of turn-based strategy game Phoenix Point, which was made by the creator of the original X-COM. Then on October 5, Microsoft added Totally Accurate Battle Simulator to the lineup. October 7 saw the addition of The Procession to Calvary as well as horror game Visage, with the latter being a smart pick for the Halloween season.
October 12 will see Back 4 Blood come to Xbox Game Pass. Subscribers also have Ring of Pain to look forward to, along with day one Xbox Game Pass games The Riftbreaker and The Good Life, with the latter being the latest game from Swery. And while Microsoft has not revealed the full lineup of Xbox Game Pass games coming in the second half of October, subscribers already know of at least two games that they can expect to hit the service.
The first is Moonglow Bay, an interesting indie fishing game that was originally supposed to launch earlier this month. The Moonglow Bay release date was pushed back at the last minute, and so now it's arriving on October 26, but it will still be a day one Xbox Game Pass game when it launches. Then on October 28, Xbox Game Pass subscribers on PC can look forward to day one game Age of Empires 4, the latest entry in the beloved real-time strategy franchise.
The majority of the new games coming to Xbox Game Pass in October are available across console, Cloud, and PC, though Age of Empires 4 is an example of a game that's only coming to Xbox Game Pass on PC. Xbox Game Pass subscribers on PC can also look forward to the addition of Destiny 2: Beyond Light and its other expansions when they're added on October 12.
Xbox Game Pass Games Leaving October 2021 List
- Gonner2 (Console/PC)
- Heave Ho (PC)
- Katana Zero (Console/PC)
- ScourgeBringer (Console/PC)
- Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition (Console/PC)
- The Swords of Ditto: Momo's Curse (PC)
When it comes to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft almost always adds more games than it removes, and that's already true for October. Compared to the 11 new Xbox Game Pass games for October 2021 that we know about, Microsoft has only announced six games that are leaving Xbox Game Pass come October 15. The games leaving Xbox Game Pass on October 15 mainly consist of indie titles with the exception of Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, which is a large-scale JRPG set in the Tales of... franchise.
Out of the games leaving Xbox Game Pass in October 2021, one of the most highly-rated is Katana Zero. Katana Zero is a unique 2D action game with a rewind gimmick. The goal is for players to kill everyone on the screen without getting hit, and the game will rewind to the beginning of the area every time players fail. This adds an interesting puzzle element and luckily Katana Zero is pretty short, so anyone interested in playing it while it's still available on Xbox Game Pass definitely has time to do so.