Xbox Game Pass May 2026 Games: Complete Wave 1 and 2 List

Xbox Game Pass added 26 May-dated games across its two official May 2026 waves when the later-confirmed Motorslice entry is included. Nine of those games were explicitly announced as day-one releases. The library also lost five games on May 15 and another five on May 31.

This page is a historical archive, not a “coming soon” post. Dates below describe what Xbox announced and delivered during May 2026, with the May 6 correction to Wildgate incorporated. Game Pass catalogs can change after an announcement, so use the current new and coming Game Pass list when deciding what you can install today.

Xbox Game Pass May 2026 at a glance

Xbox published Wave 1 on May 5 and Wave 2 on May 19. The first post covered most additions from May 5 through May 14 and previewed Forza Horizon 6 for May 19. The second confirmed that launch, then covered the rest of May through May 28. It also previewed two June 2 additions, which are not counted as May games here.

The total uses unique game-and-date entries, so Forza Horizon 6 is counted once even though it appeared in both waves. It includes Motorslice, which Xbox listed on May 19 under “In Case You Missed It” with a May 5 date. It excludes the April 30 inKonbini recap, the June 2 previews, ordinary game updates, and free-to-play in-game benefits. For another month-by-month view, open the Game Pass release calendar.

Complete May 2026 Game Pass additions

The tables preserve the platform and plan wording from Xbox’s May announcements. “Console” means Xbox consoles supported by that game, while “Xbox Series X|S” is narrower. “Handheld” was Xbox’s marker for titles optimized for supported Windows gaming handhelds; it was not a separate subscription plan.

A few entries were tier expansions rather than brand-new releases. When Xbox said a game was “now with Premium; joining Ultimate and PC Game Pass,” it meant Premium members already had access while Ultimate and PC subscribers gained it on the listed date. Check the current Game Pass plan comparison before treating these historical plan labels as present-day entitlements.

May 5–14 additions from Wave 1

Wave 1 mixed older catalog arrivals with new launches and tier movements. The two Game Preview labels mattered: Descenders Next and Subnautica 2 were works in active development rather than promises of a finished 1.0 experience. Subnautica 2 still counted as day one because Xbox explicitly described its Game Preview launch that way.

Motorslice appears in date order even though Xbox did not mention it until Wave 2. Wildgate uses the corrected platform line from the May 6 editor’s note: Cloud and Xbox Series X|S only at that point, with PC said to be coming later.

May 19–28 additions from Wave 2

May 20 was the busiest single date in Wave 2, but most of its five additions were catalog or tier expansions. The later stretch supplied four fresh launches across different styles: the action-heavy Luna Abyss, deckbuilding RPG Echo Generation 2, cooperative physics game Crashout Crew, and short bug-collecting game Kabuto Park.

Xbox also announced Final Fantasy VI and Jurassic World Evolution 3 in Wave 2, both dated June 2. They belong to June’s release record, not this May table. That distinction is useful when comparing this archive with a live calendar, because Xbox waves often cross month boundaries.

The nine day-one Game Pass releases in May 2026

“Day one” meant the game entered the specified Game Pass plans on its public launch or Game Preview launch date. Xbox applied that label to nine May releases: Mixtape, Outbound, Call of the Elder Gods, Subnautica 2, Forza Horizon 6, Luna Abyss, Echo Generation 2, Crashout Crew, and Kabuto Park.

The group was unusually broad. Racing players received Forza Horizon 6; survival fans got the early build of Subnautica 2; narrative players had Mixtape and Call of the Elder Gods; and co-op groups could choose the off-grid building of Outbound or warehouse chaos in Crashout Crew. The day-one label did not mean every plan was included: most of these launches were limited to Ultimate and PC Game Pass in Xbox’s announcement.

Forza timing: the standard Game Pass launch was May 19. Paid Premium Edition or Premium Upgrade early access began May 15, four days earlier. A Game Pass subscription by itself did not turn May 15 into the subscription release date.

Xbox did not attach the day-one label to every unfamiliar name in the waves, so this archive does not guess. For example, Black Jacket and Motorslice may have felt like fresh discoveries, but they remain “no explicit label” in the table because the official May posts did not call them day-one additions.

Games that left Game Pass in May 2026

Ten games left the subscription library in two equal batches. These were completed May departures, not titles that are “leaving soon” now. Every game below was listed for Cloud, Console, and PC in the relevant Xbox Wire post.

The May 31 batch was especially notable for two long RPGs, Metaphor: ReFantazio and Persona 4 Golden. Their removal ended subscription access, but leaving Game Pass did not itself mean a game was removed from the Microsoft Store. Players who bought a game kept access under the normal ownership and licensing rules; only the subscription entitlement ended.

Xbox promoted a member purchase discount before both deadlines, but that was time-sensitive advice. This archive does not promise the same discount now. For active deadlines and a practical finish-or-buy decision, use the current Game Pass leaving-soon tracker.

Corrections, boundary dates, and what this archive does not claim

The most important correction concerns Wildgate. Xbox added an editor’s note on May 6 clarifying that the immediate Game Pass availability was Cloud and console only. PC was planned for a later date. That correction is why the table does not repeat the broader Cloud/Console/PC wording that appeared around some early coverage.

Month boundaries create another common source of inflated totals. Wave 1 mentioned inKonbini: One Store. Many Stories, but its date was April 30. Wave 2 mentioned Final Fantasy VI and Jurassic World Evolution 3, but both were dated June 2. All three are useful context for the announcements, yet none is a May-dated addition.

The two May 26 in-game benefits were also separate from the paid catalog list. Microsoft Jewel and World of Tanks: Heat were free-to-play games with benefits called out for subscribers. Counting those benefit rows as ordinary Game Pass additions would blur the difference between receiving a game license through the catalog and receiving extras in a game anyone can download.

Finally, this article records Xbox’s plan and platform labels at announcement time. It does not claim all 26 games are still included, available in every country, or supported on the same devices today. Catalog rights, editions, cloud support, and plan placement can change. Use the live catalog pages for a present-tense availability decision.

May 2026 Game Pass FAQ

How many games were added to Game Pass in May 2026?
There were 26 unique May-dated additions in the two official waves when the later-confirmed May 5 arrival of Motorslice is included. The count excludes April 30, June 2, update, and free-to-play benefit entries.

Which May 2026 Game Pass games were day one?
The nine explicitly labeled day-one releases were Mixtape, Outbound, Call of the Elder Gods, Subnautica 2, Forza Horizon 6, Luna Abyss, Echo Generation 2, Crashout Crew, and Kabuto Park.

Was Forza Horizon 6 on Game Pass on day one?
Yes. It launched in Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on May 19, 2026. The separately sold early-access entitlement began May 15.

What left Xbox Game Pass on May 31, 2026?
Against the Storm, Crypt Custodian, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Persona 4 Golden, and Spray Paint Simulator left on May 31.

Where can I check what is available now?
Use the live new-games tracker and Game Pass calendar. Those pages are better suited to a current install decision than a historical monthly announcement.