Xbox Game Pass July 2026: Every New Game, the Tiers, and What's Leaving
Xbox Game Pass’s July 2026 line-up has a heavyweight at the top: Halo: Campaign Evolved, the Unreal Engine 5 remake of the original Halo, lands day one on July 28. Around it is a steady run of day-one indies and a couple of catalog drops — and eight games leaving on June 30. Here’s everything confirmed so far, which tier you actually need, and what’s on the way out. (Microsoft adds games in waves, so the official “July Wave 1” list — due around July 7 — will add more.)
What new games are coming to Game Pass in July 2026?
| Game | Date | Day one? | Tiers | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 | Jul 2 | No (catalog) | Premium, Ultimate, PC | Cloud, Console, PC |
| Winds of Arcana: Ruination | Jul 6 | No (catalog) | Ultimate, Premium, PC | Cloud, Console, PC |
| Ascend to Zero | Jul 13 | Yes | Ultimate, PC | Cloud, PC, Series X|S |
| Fogpiercer | Jul 17 | Yes | PC Game Pass | PC |
| The Planet Crafter | Jul 21 | Yes (console debut) | Ultimate, PC | Cloud, PC, Series X|S |
| Halo: Campaign Evolved | Jul 28 | Yes | Ultimate, PC | Cloud, PC, Series X|S |
That’s the confirmed list as of late June; expect Microsoft’s official July wave (around July 7) to add several more day-one titles before the month is out.
The headline: Halo: Campaign Evolved
The big one is Halo: Campaign Evolved on July 28 — a full Unreal Engine 5 remake of 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved, with a new three-mission prequel called Operation: METEORITE. It’s in day one on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass at no extra cost, and — notably — it’s the first Halo game ever to also launch on PlayStation 5.
Not a subscriber? It’s $49.99 / £49.99 (Standard), with Premium ($69.99 / £69.99) and a $199.99 Collector’s Edition; Premium and Collector’s buyers get early access from July 23.
Which Game Pass tier do you need?
The catch with day-one games like Halo is that they’re only on Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Here’s the 2026 line-up after April’s price cut:
| Tier | Price (US / UK) | Day-one new games? | Plays on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | $9.99 / £6.99 | No | Console (Series X|S), PC, cloud |
| Premium | $14.99 / £10.99 | No — first-party within ~1 year | Console (Series X|S), PC, cloud |
| PC Game Pass | $13.99 / £10.99 | Yes (on PC) | PC only |
| Ultimate | $22.99 / £16.99 | Yes | Console (Series X|S), PC, cloud, handhelds |
In April 2026 Microsoft cut prices, dropping Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99 (£19.99 to £16.99) and PC Game Pass from $16.49 to $13.99 — a partial rollback of the steep October 2025 hike. Essential and Premium were unchanged. The short version: if you want the new releases the day they launch, you need Ultimate (everything) or PC Game Pass (PC only).
What’s leaving Xbox Game Pass on June 30?
Eight games drop out at the end of June, so these are your last chance:
- Mecha Break
- Payday 2 (console)
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
- Slay the Spire
- Ultimate Chicken Horse
- Unpacking
- Volcano Princess
Game Pass members get at least 20% off any of them in the store if you’d like to buy and keep one before it goes. Microsoft hasn’t yet announced the later-July departures.
Is Game Pass worth it in July 2026?
If you’ll play Halo on day one and dip into the day-one indies (Ascend to Zero, The Planet Crafter, Fogpiercer), Ultimate or PC Game Pass pays for itself quickly — a single new release often costs more than a month’s subscription. If you mostly play older catalog games, the cheaper Premium or Essential tiers cover you, just without the day-one drops.
Prefer to own your games outright? The year’s biggest release isn’t on Game Pass — see our GTA 6 pre-order guide — and PC players chasing cheap games can check the Steam Summer Sale 2026.