Xbox turns 25 on November 15, 2026. Here are the six Game Pass games arriving Nov. 10–12, the eight classics joining Game Pass Essential on the anniversary, the 13 games leaving, and what else Xbox has planned.
Xbox turns 25 on November 15, 2026. Here are the six Game Pass games arriving Nov. 10–12, the eight classics joining Game Pass Essential on the anniversary, the 13 games leaving, and what else Xbox has planned.
Stacey
Xbox turns 25 on Sunday, November 15, 2026, and Game Pass is marking the week with at least 14 new additions. Six games arrive between Tuesday, November 10 and Thursday, November 12, then eight Xbox classics, including Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark and both Viva Piñata games, join the Game Pass Essential library on the anniversary itself. Here is the full schedule, which tier each game needs, what leaves the service the same day, and what else Microsoft has planned for the birthday.
The dates come from Microsoft’s Xbox Wire Game Pass November 2026 wave 1 post, which notes that release dates can change. Pure Xbox points out that Microsoft could still add surprise games during the anniversary week, so treat this as the confirmed list so far.
Xbox Wire lists six games for the first half of the week. Four are labeled “available on day one with Xbox Game Pass,” meaning they launch on the service the same day they go on sale.
| Date | Game | Platforms | Game Pass tiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 10 | Football Manager 27 Console | Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, PC | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Nov. 10 | Warhammer Survivors | Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, PC | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Nov. 10 | Tanuki: Pon’s Summer | Cloud, Console, PC | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Nov. 11 | Hope in the City | Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, PC | Ultimate, PC Game Pass |
| Nov. 11 | Thronefall | Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, PC | Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass |
| Nov. 12 | John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando | Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, PC | Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass |
Football Manager 27 has been on PC Game Pass since November 3; the November 10 date is for the console and cloud version. Warhammer Survivors is an officially licensed “bullet-heaven” action game from Auroch Digital, made in partnership with poncle, the developer of Vampire Survivors. Tanuki: Pon’s Summer puts you on a BMX as a tanuki who delivers packages and takes odd jobs to repair a shrine before a summer festival.
Hope in the City is a mystery adventure about a 17-year-old artist investigating her parents’ disappearance by turning sketches into evidence. Thronefall is a minimalist strategy game where you build a kingdom by day and defend it by night. John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is a four-player co-op shooter against zombie hordes, and it is the only one of the six, alongside Thronefall, that also lands in the cheaper Premium tier.
If you mainly play through the cloud on a phone, TV or handheld, every game on this list is marked for Xbox Cloud Gaming. Our look at how cloud gaming is changing the way people play explains why that matters for players without a console.
The headline of the anniversary is a batch of eight older Xbox games added to Game Pass Essential, the entry-level tier, on November 15. Because Essential is the lowest tier, these games should be available to Premium and Ultimate members as well.
Six of the eight are Rare games that were previously bundled in the Rare Replay collection. Their arrival in Essential means players on the cheapest plan can now try them without buying them separately. Only Halo: Spartan Assault is listed for PC.
The same Xbox Wire post lists 13 games that leave the Game Pass library on the anniversary. If you are partway through any of them, finish up or buy them before Sunday:
GoldenEye 007 is the notable one: it leaves on the same day another Rare shooter, Perfect Dark, joins Essential. Xbox Wire’s post encourages members to “save on these games now before they leave Game Pass.”
The original Xbox launched in North America on November 15, 2001, and Microsoft has been running a year-long “25 years of play” celebration. According to Xbox Wire’s August anniversary update, it includes:
The Xbox FanFest Tour also ends this week. Its final stop is at the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle on Thursday, November 12, which Xbox Wire describes as an anniversary-week celebration with hands-on gameplay, Xbox history and artifacts, trivia and an Xbox Gear pop-up shop. Entry was through sweepstakes that closed on October 11, so it is not open to walk-up visitors.
It depends on what you want to play. If you are mostly interested in the retro Rare games, Game Pass Essential is enough for the November 15 batch. Football Manager 27, Warhammer Survivors, Tanuki and Hope in the City require Ultimate on console or PC Game Pass on Windows. Thronefall and Toxic Commando are in Premium as well.
It is also a crowded week for console owners in general. The GTA 6 pre-load begins November 10 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and the file is large, so plan your storage before you queue up new Game Pass downloads. Xbox players coming over from PC may also want to check out World of Warcraft: Forever, which Blizzard says is the biggest launch in the MMO’s history.
Sunday, November 15, 2026. The original Xbox launched in North America on November 15, 2001.
No, not according to Xbox Wire. Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark and the other Essential additions are listed for console and cloud only. Halo: Spartan Assault is the only one also listed for PC.
Possibly. Microsoft has not announced any, but Pure Xbox notes that more could be added during the week. We will update this article if Xbox confirms anything new.
Sign in to your Xbox account on a console, a PC or the Xbox mobile app. Xbox says the badge is available through the end of 2026 and can be displayed on your profile.
Sources: Xbox Wire (Nov. 3, Oct. 5 and Aug. 24, 2026) and Pure Xbox (Nov. 8, 2026). Release dates are subject to change by Microsoft.
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