Xbox Game Pass Adds Magical-Looking Day-One Game

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The story-focused adventure game Mixtape is now available for players with certain Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. This makes it the 25th game added to the service on its launch day in 2026, and the 76th game released on Xbox Game Pass so far this year.

Okay, so I just finished playing Mixtape, and it’s really cool. It’s made by this small studio, Beethoven and Dinosaur, and published by Annapurna Interactive. Basically, it’s a story about three high schoolers on the last night before they all go their separate ways. The whole game feels like flipping through old memories, and each one is sparked by a song on a mixtape – seriously, the music is key. This is the second game Beethoven and Dinosaur has put on Xbox Game Pass, following The Artful Escape, which was a really beautiful game that even won a BAFTA award a while back. It’s got that same artistic vibe, honestly.

Mixtape Joins Two Xbox Game Pass Tiers on Day One

The adventure game Mixtape launched on PC and consoles worldwide on May 7th at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. It’s available to play immediately with a PC Game Pass or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, as announced previously. Players with the standard Game Pass tier likely won’t have access to Mixtape until late 2026, based on how long it’s historically taken for new releases to become available on that tier since its introduction in September 2024.

Before stepping down, Phil Spencer publicly praised the game Mixtape as one of his favorite Xbox Game Pass titles. In June 2025, he specifically highlighted the excellent soundtrack created by Beethoven and Dinosaur, and commended Annapurna Interactive for their ongoing support of the service. Spencer retired in February 2026, with Asha Sharma, formerly head of Microsoft’s CoreAI Product division, taking over as CEO.

All Upcoming Xbox Game Pass Games with Confirmed Release Dates

Date Game Game Pass Tier(s) Platform(s) Notes
May 7 Mixtape Ultimate, PC Cloud, Handheld, PC, Series X/S Day-one release.
May 11 Outbound Ultimate, PC Cloud, PC, Series X/S Day-one release.
May 12 Call of the Elder Gods Ultimate, PC Cloud, PC, Series X/S Day-one release.
May 12 Black Jacket Ultimate, PC Cloud, Handheld, PC, Series X/S Day-one release.
May 14 Subnautica 2 Ultimate, PC Cloud, PC, Series X/S Game preview; day-one release.
May 14 DOOM: The Dark Ages Premium Cloud, Handheld, PC, Series X/S Available on XGP Ultimate and PC GP since May 2025.
May 19 Forza Horizon 6 Ultimate, PC Cloud, PC, Series X/S Day-one release.
May 21 Beastro Ultimate Series X/S Day-one release.
May 27 Echo Generation 2 Ultimate, PC Cloud, PC, Series X/S Day-one release.
May 28 Crashout Crew Ultimate, PC Cloud, PC, Series X/S Day-one release.
Jul 13 Ascend to Zero Ultimate, PC Cloud, PC, Series X/S Day-one release.
Aug 4 Beast of Reincarnation Ultimate, PC Cloud, PC, Series X/S Day-one release.
Aug 14 Grave Seasons Ultimate, PC Cloud, PC, Series X/S Day-one release.

In May 2026, Microsoft is adding several new titles to its content library, including Mixtape, which joins Final Fantasy 5, Ben 10: Power Trip, and Wildgate. More games are coming soon: the cooperative building game Outbound will be available on May 11, and both the deckbuilder Black Jacket and the adventure game Call of the Elder Gods will launch the following day. From May 14th, Xbox Game Pass will remove five games but also add two new ones.

The month’s exciting new releases begin on May 19th with the launch of Forza Horizon 6. We also expect to learn the official plans for May 2026’s second set of updates around that same date, as that’s when these types of announcements have typically been made in the past.

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2026-05-07 16:06