Xbox Game Pass adds 2 premium and 3 basic games

Xbox Game Pass added five more titles across its two lower tiers, with the Essential library receiving three games and the Premium catalog receiving two. While more titles are set to arrive for Premium subscribers later in December, today's update likely represents the final additions to the basic Xbox Game Pass tier for 2025.

New premium titles are Monster Train 2 and Spray paint simulatorwhich are part of PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from the second half of May 2025. Monster Train 2 launched on May 21 with Spray paint simulator after eight days. Both were the first additions to the subscription service.

Monster Train 2 and Spray Paint Simulator are coming to Xbox Game Pass Premium after a 6-month delay

Xbox Game Pass Premium subscribers received Spray paint simulator and Monster Train 2 around midnight local time on December 3rd. A six-month delay between Ultimate and Premium tier releases usually indicates one-year licenses, meaning both of these titles could leave Xbox Game Pass in May or June 2026. The sample size is still small (the Standard/Premium tier without Day One games is only 15 months old), but as of September 2024, most of these titles have been moved to Tier One releases for a long time when only Day One releases were intended. in service after (much) more than a year.

3 more titles are now available on Xbox Game Pass Essential

The December 3 catalog update also brought three new titles to Xbox Game Pass Essential: Stellaris, World War Z: Aftermathand Medieval dynasty. Unlike the Premium tier additions, these games are unlikely to leave Microsoft's subscription service in the near future. Since Xbox Game Pass Core replaced Xbox Live Gold in September 2023, the $9.99-a-month tier — renamed XGP Essential this October — has only gotten new games without removing any. While Microsoft has stated that the core library will not remain permanent, titles added to this core tier are generally expected to remain on the service for more than a year.

Following today's update, the list of Xbox Game Pass Essential additions for 2025 now includes 10 titles, starting with Batman: Arkham Knight, Monster Sanctuaryand Tunicwhich joined the fold in late March. No further additions to the Essential-tier catalog are expected until Spring 2026.

All games added to Xbox Game Pass Core/Essential in 2025

1. Batman: Arkham Knight (March 26)

2. Monster Sanctuary (March 26)

3. Tunic (March 26)

4. Cities: Skylines – Remastered (October 1)

5. Disney Dreamlight Valley (October 1)

6. Hades (October 1)

7. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (October 1)

8. Medieval Dynasty (December 3)

9. Stellaris (December 3)

10. World War Z: Aftermath (December 3)

What's next for Xbox Game Pass

Eight more titles have been confirmed to be coming to at least one tier of Microsoft's subscription service by the end of the month. The December 2025 lineup includes six Xbox Game Pass Ultimate titles, from Routine on December 4 to Mortal Kombat 1 December 10th. The remaining two are premium tier additions: 33 Immortals and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Xbox Game Pass release calendar (officially confirmed dates only)

Microsoft's latest announcement suggests that Xbox Game Pass may not have a Wave 2 lineup for December 2025. A similar pattern occurred last year, although the official December 2024 lineup announcement was extended to January, which is not the case this time. As a result, predicting the next key service date is more difficult than usual. In a typical month, a Wave 2 reveal would be expected around December 16, which is the third Tuesday of the month. But with no such update expected, the next announcement about the Xbox Game Pass lineup may not arrive until early January 2026.