The first half of August will see a long list of games join Xbox Game Pass, as well as the Gears of War: E-Day open beta for Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscribers.
This early trial of E-Day will include the new Horde Siege PvE mode, which transports the series' traditional co-op wave survival offering to larger settings, and support for more players.
Elsewhere, today sees the day one arrival of Beast of Reincarnation, a brand new game from Pokémon developer Game Freak. Indie household object romance simulator Date Everything! turns up on August 11, meanwhile.
Sports fans get Cricket 26 on August 13, the same day that indie factory game Sandustry turns up in Game Preview. The full list of games, courtesy of Xbox Wire, is below.
Xbox Game Pass August 2026 Wave 1 lineup:
- Heretic + Hexen (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) – August 4, Now with Game Pass Premium; joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
- Beast of Reincarnation (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – August 4, Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
- Gears of War: E-Day Open Beta – Early Access starting August 6, Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
- Monsters are Coming! (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – August 6, now with Game Pass Premium; joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
- PowerWash Simulator 2 (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) – August 6, now with Game Pass Premium; joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
- Bounty Star (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) – August 11, now with Game Pass Premium; joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
- Date Everything! (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – August 11, Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
- Mio: Memories in Orbit (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – August 13, now with Game Pass Premium; joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
- Sandustry (Game Preview) (PC) – August 13, Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
- Egging On (Cloud Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – August 18, now with Game Pass Premium; joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
- Grounded 2 (Game Preview) (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – August 11, now with Game Pass Premium; joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
- Ball x Pit (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – August 12, now with Game Pass Premium; joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass
- Cricket 26 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – August 13, Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
As ever, whenever Microsoft giveth, so it taketh away. A number of games leave Game Pass this month. You can buy them at a discount while they’re still in the subscription service.
Leaving Xbox Game Pass August 15:
- Menace (Game Preview) (PC)
- Atlas Fallen (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Aliens: Fireteam Elite (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Firewatch (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
