Xbox Game Pass adds its first AAA game of 2026

Star Wars Outlaws is available in two Xbox Game Pass tiers starting today, January 13. It's the first AAA title to join the subscription service in 2026, and the fourth addition to Xbox Game Pass overall since the turn of the year.

First released in August 2024, Star Wars Outlaws is an open-world action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft subsidiary Massive Entertainment. Unlike many previous Star Wars titles, it was designed as a villainous fantasy rather than a Jedi power trip. The game stars Kay Vess, a street thief and smuggler, determined to fight her way to a better future for herself and Nix, her adorable companion Merqaal, who serves as both a pet and a scout. Star Wars Outlaws it launched to generally favorable reviews, as reflected in its average score of 75 on OpenCritic. Clunky stealth sections and technical issues were among the most frequently cited complaints from reviewers.

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Star Wars Outlaws is now available on two levels of Xbox Game Pass

Approximately 16 months after the original release, Star Wars Outlaws was added to Xbox Game Pass and joined Microsoft's subscription service on Tuesday, January 13. Although not a Day 1 release, the big-budget open-world title isn't part of Xbox Game Pass Premium and instead requires a PC or Ultimate subscription for access. While this approach is unusual for new additions to the service, it's not without precedent, especially for Ubisoft titles. For example, Crew Motorfest it was also added exclusively to higher tiers of Xbox Game Pass in November 2025, despite being over two years old at the time.

While Star Wars Outlaws fell short of sales expectations, it was hailed as a notable evolution of Ubisoft's open-world formula, earning praise for cutting back on some highly repetitive activities like unlocking turrets in favor of more condensed and varied content. Mixing things up further is a multi-factor reputation system that requires players to carefully manage relationships, as almost every faction quest raises Kay's standing with one group and lowers her reputation with another. While its main story doesn't overstay its welcome and its distribution of side quests is somewhat muted, Star Wars Outlaws still offers up to 70 hours of game time to complete.

Upcoming Xbox Game Pass games with confirmed release dates

Date	Game	Game Pass Level(s).	Platforms	Comment
January 13th	Star Wars Outlaws	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S
January 15th	My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery	Ultimate, PC, Premium	Cloud, console, handheld, PC
January 20th	MIO: Memories in Orbit	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, Handheld, PC, Series X/S	First day release.
January 20th	Resident Evil Village	Ultimate, PC, Premium	Cloud, console, PC
January 22	Nova Roma	Ultimate, PC	pc	First day release.
February 5th	Threat	Ultimate, PC	pc	Game Preview; first day of release.
February 13	High on Life 2	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	First day release.
February 26	Towerborne	Insurance premium	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	First release 1.0. Available in Game Preview on XGP Ultimate and PC GP from April 2025.
March 12	Exchanged	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	First day release.

Three more titles are already confirmed to be coming to Xbox Game Pass in January 2026, starting with My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery on January 15. Resident Evil Village and the first day of release MIO: Memories in Orbit they will follow five days later. January 20 is also the date Microsoft is expected to formally announce the second wave of the Xbox Game Pass lineup for January 2026.

Meanwhile, five games will leave the service on January 15, including a critically acclaimed action-platformer Neon white. These exits will offset all net gains from the Xbox Game Pass content catalog during the first half of January. The second half of the month may see Xbox Game Pass additions overtake monthly removals, a common occurrence at the start of each year. For example, in January 2025, more than twice as many new titles were added to Xbox Game Pass in the second half of the month (nine versus four) than in the first half.