If you’re a subscriber to Xbox Game Pass, you should probably be aware that there are six games leaving the service soon — meaning this Christmas break is your last chance to get stuck in and play them.
It’s the nature of Xbox Game Pass to add and remove games from the service, of course, and just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean that approach has suddenly changed. That’d be lovely, but it simply doesn’t work like that.
Xbox Game Pass Is Losing Six Games
Smoke ’em if you got ’em
On December 31, Xbox gamers will be losing six games from Game Pass. Some are great, some are fine, and some I can’t even pretend to have an opinion about because I’ve never played them.
Here are the games leaving Game Pass on December 31:
- BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (Cloud, Console, and PC) – A 2D crossover fighting game that is, in many ways, basically Smash Bros for weebs. I mean that in a positive way, I should stress. I’m not trying to diss anyone.
- Close to the Sun (Cloud, Console, and PC) – A steampunk indie walking sim that has more than a little bit of BioShock in its DNA.
- Humankind (Cloud, Console, and PC) – A historical strategy game that allows you to bring together over 60 cultures throughout history to build a super empire.
- Lego 2K Drive (Cloud and Console) – A bright, colourful racing game where everything is made of Lego. Genuinely great fun, and an easy one to reccommend.
- McPixel 3 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – A point-and-click adventure game with a wonderfully sardonic sense of humour. It is very, very stupid, and well worth your time.
- Party Animals (Cloud and Console) – A fun, chaotic party game that’s kind of like Mario Party meets Gang Beasts. You will fall out with friends over this one.
It’s Up To You Where To Start
Make sure you choose the right games for you
Obviously you won’t be able to get the most out of all six games in the next week, so you need to work out the best place to start and go from there. I personally would give a firm recommendation to Lego 2K Drive and McPixel 3. Oh, and Party Animals could be a lot of fun with friends and family over Christmas if you’re after some multiplayer silliness.
So that’s how we’ll be ending Xbox Game Pass in 2025. Fortunately, 2026 already looks set to offer an absolutely stacked lineup too, so there’ll always be something new to get stuck into.
- Number of Devices Concurrently
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Standard subscription plan allows two accounts playing at once, with four accounts playing at once on Friends & Family plan
- Highest Resolution
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1440p streaming
- Number of Accounts
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~35 million subscribers
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Xbox Series X|S, PC, ROG Xbox Ally, Android, iOS, Samsung & LG TVs, Meta Quest, Web Browser
- Price Per Month
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Essential $9.99 | Premium $14.99 | Ultimate $29.99
- Price per year
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12-month membership codes only available at certain retailers