13 January 2026

Xbox Game Pass Adds Its First AAA Game of 2026

By newsgame

Star Wars Outlaws is available across two Xbox Game Pass tiers beginning today, January 13. This is the first AAA title to join the subscription service in 2026, as well as the fourth overall Xbox Game Pass addition since the turn of the year.

First released in August 2024, Star Wars Outlaws is an open-world action-adventure developed by Ubisoft subsidiary Massive Entertainment. Unlike many previous Star Wars titles, it was designed as a scoundrel fantasy rather than a Jedi power trip. The game stars Kay Vess, a streetwise thief and smuggler determined to hustle her way to a better future for herself and Nix, her adorable Merqaal companion who serves as both a pet and a scout. Star Wars Outlaws launched to generally favorable reviews, as reflected in its average score of 75 on OpenCritic. Clunky stealth sections and technical issues were among the most frequently cited complaints among reviewers.

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Star Wars Outlaws Now Available on Two Xbox Game Pass Tiers

Approximately 16 months after its original release, Star Wars Outlaws was added to Xbox Game Pass, joining Microsoft’s subscription service on Tuesday, January 13. Although not a day-one release, the big-budget open-world title is not included in Xbox Game Pass Premium and instead requires a PC- or Ultimate-tier subscription to access. While this approach is uncommon for new additions to the service, it is not without precedent, particularly for Ubisoft titles. For example, The Crew Motorfest was also added exclusively to the higher tiers of Xbox Game Pass in November 2025 despite being over two years old by that point.

While Star Wars Outlaws underperformed sales expectations, it was recognized as a notable evolution of Ubisoft’s open-world formula, earning praise for reducing some highly repetitive activities such as tower unlocks in favor of more condensed and varied content. Further mixing things up is a multi-factored reputation system that requires players to carefully manage relationships, as nearly every faction quest increases Kay’s standing with one group while diminishing her reputation with another. While its main story doesn’t overstay its welcome and its sidequest distribution is somewhat subdued, Star Wars Outlaws still offers up to 70 hours of playtime for completionists.

Upcoming Xbox Game Pass Games with Confirmed Release Dates

Date	Game	Game Pass Tier(s)	Platform(s)	Notes
Jan 13	Star Wars Outlaws	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S
Jan 15	My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery	Ultimate, PC, Premium	Cloud, Console, Handheld, PC
Jan 20	MIO: Memories in Orbit	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, Handheld, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.
Jan 20	Resident Evil Village	Ultimate, PC, Premium	Cloud, Console, PC
Jan 22	Nova Roma	Ultimate, PC	PC	Day-one release.
Feb 5	Menace	Ultimate, PC	PC	Game Preview; day-one release.
Feb 13	High on Life 2	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.
Feb 26	Towerborne	Premium	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one 1.0 release. Available in Game Preview on XGP Ultimate and PC GP since April 2025.
Mar 12	Replaced	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.

Three more titles are already confirmed to be coming to Xbox Game Pass in January 2026, beginning with My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery on January 15. Resident Evil Village and the day-one release of MIO: Memories in Orbit are then set to follow five days later. January 20 is also the date when Microsoft is expected to formally announce the second wave of the January 2026 Xbox Game Pass lineup.

In the meantime, five games are leaving the service on January 15, including the critically acclaimed action platformer Neon White. These departures will offset all the net gains made to the Xbox Game Pass content catalog during the first half of January. The second half of the month may see Xbox Game Pass additions outpace monthly removals, which is a frequent occurrence at the beginning of every year. For example, in January 2025, the latter half of the month saw more than twice as many new titles (nine compared to four) added to Xbox Game Pass than the first half.