Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription service has been in the news a lot lately, and now, it's back again for a more normal reason: There are more games on the way across October.
This month is pretty notable in that there's not just one, but three Xbox first-party games on the way, with a couple of them launching in just a couple of weeks. Ninja Gaiden 4 has been developed by PlatinumGames with oversight from Team Ninja, while Xbox Game Studios is publishing the title.
I went hands-on with Ninja Gaiden 4 at PlatinumGames' office in Tokyo, and it's looking like it'll be a fantastic experience.
Meanwhile, fans of smaller games should keep an eye out for Double Fine's Keeper, a story about a lighthouse and a bird on an adventure without any spoken dialogue.
As a reminder, the recent Xbox Game Pass shake-up brought new naming schemes, with "Core" now "Essential," and "Standard" now "Premium."
Here are all the games coming out in the first few weeks of October 2025:
October 8, 2025
- Supermarket Simulator (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox Cloud, Windows PC) - Ultimate, Premium, PC
October 9, 2025
- Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Editions (Windows PC) - Ultimate, Premium, PC
October 14, 2025
- The Casting of Frank Stone (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Cloud, Windows PC) - Ultimate, Premium, PC
October 15, 2025
- Ball x Pit (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox Cloud, Windows PC) - Ultimate, PC
- The Grinch: Christmas Adventures (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox Cloud, Windows PC) - Ultimate, Premium, PC
- Eternal Strands (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Cloud, Windows PC) - Premium
- He Is Coming (Windows PC) - Premium
- Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Cloud, Windows PC) - Premium
October 16, 2025
- Pax Dei (Windows PC) - Ultimate, Premium, PC
October 17, 2025
- Keeper (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Cloud, Windows PC) - Ultimate, PC
October 21, 2025
- Evil West (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox Cloud, Windows PC) - Ultimate, Premium, PC
- Ninja Gaiden 4 (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Cloud, Windows PC) - Ultimate, PC
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass on October 15, 2025?
As always, there are a couple of games departing the service soon, meaning you'll need to buy them in order to keep playing them. You get a discount for buying games that are in Xbox Game Pass, so act quickly and you'll save some money:
- Cocoon
- Core Keeper
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutants Unleashed
A great month for Xbox first-party, but snag Cocoon before it disappears
I strongly recommend that you buy Cocoon before it leaves Xbox Game Pass. One of the senior staff members who worked on Limbo and Inside at Playdead helmed this game, and it's a fantastic puzzle experience that pulls some truly mind-bending stuff.
Otherwise, the big focus is clearly on the new games this month, though I will say Premium subscribers are getting a good influx of games that previously hit the Ultimate and PC tiers.
Subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and play day one Xbox games whichever way you'd like, on Xbox consoles, PC, or even through the Cloud on a wide range of devices. Going with this tier means you never miss out on anything coming to the service.
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