Xbox Game Pass October 2026 Games: Battlefield 6 and Valor Mortis Lead 9 New Arrivals — Full List With Dates
Nine games in, nine games out — October’s first Game Pass wave is headlined by a blockbuster shooter arriving with its new season.
Xbox’s first Game Pass wave of October 2026 is one of the strongest in recent memory. Announced on October 7, the wave adds nine games between October 8 and October 16, led by Battlefield 6 arriving on October 13, the same day its big Season 5 update launches. Seven of the nine are day-one releases, meaning subscribers can play them the moment they launch.
Here is the complete list, what each game is, which subscription tier you need, and which games are leaving the service on October 15.
The Full October Wave 1 List
| Game | Date | Tiers |
|---|---|---|
| Echo Weaver | October 8 | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Forever Ago | October 8 | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Neon Abyss 2 | October 8 | Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass |
| Battlefield 6 | October 13 | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Deep Dish Dungeon | October 13 | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Valor Mortis | October 13 | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Bluey's Happy Snaps | October 15 | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Chained Beasts | October 15 | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Beyond These Stars | October 16 | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
All dates come from Microsoft’s official Xbox Wire announcement. Note the tier pattern: eight of the nine games require Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass. Only Neon Abyss 2 is also available on Game Pass Premium, reflecting Microsoft’s current policy of reserving day-one releases for its higher tiers.
Spotlight: Battlefield 6 Arrives With Season 5
The headline addition is Battlefield 6, which joined Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on October 13. One important correction to the rumors that circulated beforehand: this is not a day-one launch. Battlefield 6 originally released in 2025, so it joins as a catalog addition. The timing is still perfect, because October 13 is also the launch date of Season 5.
Season 5 kicks off the game’s second year with two new battlefields: a destructible Las Vegas map built around casinos, rooftops, and city streets, and an Area 51-inspired military complex mixing open desert combat with underground tunnels. The season also adds new weapons, vehicles, platoons, multiplayer leaderboards, and a ranked battle royale mode throughout the season.
Because Battlefield 6 is an EA title, Game Pass Ultimate subscribers get EA Play benefits: an EA Play Deployment Pack, a Season 5 EA Play Pack, recurring seasonal rewards, and 10% off eligible EA digital purchases.
Spotlight: Valor Mortis, the Day-One Soulslike
The other major October 13 release is Valor Mortis, and this one genuinely is day-one. Developed by One More Level, the studio behind Ghostrunner, it is a first-person Soulslike set in a supernatural version of Napoleonic Europe. You play as William, a resurrected soldier from Napoleon’s army, fighting corrupted soldiers and monsters with melee weapons, firearms, and supernatural abilities.
First-person Soulslikes are rare, which makes this the most interesting new release of the wave for genre fans. It launches directly into Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, so subscribers can try a brand-new IP on release day without buying it.
The Day-One Indies
The rest of the wave is unusually heavy on day-one games from smaller studios:
- Echo Weaver (October 8). A knowledge-driven metroidvania built around a time loop. Progress comes from understanding the world and manipulating time anomalies, not just from upgrades.
- Forever Ago (October 8). A quiet single-player road-trip adventure. You play as Alfred, heading north after a personal tragedy, exploring, photographing, and meeting strangers along the way.
- Neon Abyss 2 (October 8). A colorful roguelike action platformer set in a pixelated cyberpunk world. The only game in this wave also on Game Pass Premium.
- Deep Dish Dungeon (October 13). A survival exploration game mixing crafting and metroidvania-style progression inside a hand-built dungeon, with solo play and online co-op.
- Bluey’s Happy Snaps (October 15). A photography adventure based on the animated series, with solo and local two-player support. The family-friendly pick of the wave.
- Chained Beasts (October 15). A one-to-four-player co-op gladiator roguelike where players are physically chained together and must use their chains, the arena, and teamwork to survive.
- Beyond These Stars (October 16). A PC-only city builder where you build a civilization on the back of Kewa, a gigantic space whale, managing supply chains and alien relations.
As one breakdown of the wave noted, the lineup covers shooters, Soulslikes, co-op roguelikes, narrative adventures, and even a city builder on the back of a space whale, an unusually wide spread for a single wave.
Which Game Pass Tier Do You Need?
Game Pass now has several tiers, and the October wave shows how they differ:
- Game Pass Ultimate gets everything in this wave, including cloud gaming.
- PC Game Pass gets everything in this wave for PC players.
- Game Pass Premium gets only Neon Abyss 2 from this wave. Day-one releases now go only to Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
If you are mainly interested in day-one launches, Ultimate or PC Game Pass is the tier that matters. Premium subscribers mostly get older catalog additions.
Games Leaving Game Pass on October 15
New additions always come with departures. Nine games leave the service on October 15, and two of the biggest names should concern anyone with an unfinished save file:
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Crime Scene Cleaner
- Donut County
- Evil West
- Nova Roma
- Pacific Drive
- Superball
- The Casting of Frank Stone
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was one of 2025’s most acclaimed releases, so if it is sitting unfinished in your library, the clock is ticking. Games usually leave at the end of the listed day.
What About Wave 2?
Game Pass typically announces two waves per month. This batch only covers October 8 to 16, so a second wave covering the rest of the month should follow. Wave 2 may bring more day-one releases, though that is not guaranteed. As CBR’s coverage of the announcement noted, even without more day-one drops, more catalog additions are certain.
Nine games: Echo Weaver, Forever Ago, and Neon Abyss 2 (October 8); Battlefield 6, Deep Dish Dungeon, and Valor Mortis (October 13); Bluey’s Happy Snaps and Chained Beasts (October 15); and Beyond These Stars (October 16). Seven of the nine are day-one releases.
No. Battlefield 6 originally launched in 2025, so it joins as a catalog addition. It arrived on October 13, 2026, the same day its Season 5 update launched, for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers.
Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass covers all nine games in Wave 1. Game Pass Premium only gets Neon Abyss 2 from this wave, since day-one releases are now reserved for the higher tiers.
Valor Mortis is a first-person Soulslike from One More Level, the studio behind Ghostrunner. Set in a supernatural version of Napoleonic Europe, you play a resurrected soldier fighting monsters with melee weapons, firearms, and supernatural powers. It launched day-one into Game Pass on October 13.
Nine games leave on October 15: A Plague Tale: Requiem, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Crime Scene Cleaner, Donut County, Evil West, Nova Roma, Pacific Drive, Superball, and The Casting of Frank Stone.
Microsoft has not announced it yet. Game Pass waves usually come in two parts per month, so Wave 2 covering the rest of October should be announced soon.
