Game Pass Loses 5 Games April 15, Gains Forza 6

Five games are leaving Xbox Game Pass on April 15, which is this Tuesday. That's not a lot of runway, so if any of them have been sitting in your queue, now is the time.

Microsoft hasn't made a loud announcement about the departures, which is par for the course. Game Pass removals tend to get a quiet notice buried in the monthly update rather than anything resembling a proper heads-up. The service added Vampire Crawlers and Hades 2 recently, which softens the blow slightly, and Tiny Bookshop landed on Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass just today if you want something low-stakes to fill the gap. But losing five titles at once is still a net negative for the week, and the lack of fanfare around removals continues to be one of the more frustrating habits of how Microsoft runs the service.

What's Actually Coming Makes Up For It

The reason this month's shuffle is worth paying attention to is what's on the horizon for May. Forza Horizon 6 lands on May 19 across Series X|S, PC, and Cloud, and this is Xbox's first major AAA release of the year. The setting is Japan, with over 550 cars and the usual Horizon festival structure built around it. To be fair, the Horizon formula hasn't changed dramatically since Forza Horizon 4, but the series has earned that consistency. Japan is a genuinely exciting location choice after the UK, Mexico, and Australia, and if Playground Games gives it the same level of environmental detail they brought to those maps, May 19 is going to be a good day for racing fans.

Also confirmed for May is Mixtape on May 7, a narrative adventure set to a soundtrack featuring Joy Division, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Smashing Pumpkins, and more. The premise, three friends on one last night out, is simple, but the music lineup alone has my attention. Call of the Elder Gods follows on May 12, a Lovecraftian puzzle adventure and sequel to Call of the Sea. The original was a quiet gem that didn't get nearly enough coverage, and honestly, a narrative puzzle game with actual Lovecraftian horror rather than just the aesthetic is exactly the kind of thing that tends to get overlooked until someone stumbles onto it six months later.

Then there's Subnautica 2, listed for May but without a confirmed date. The source material from Pure Xbox is clear that this one could slip, so treat it as a tentative addition rather than a locked release. The original Subnautica and Below Zero both had long Early Access runs, so a delay wouldn't be surprising. What matters is that it's targeting Game Pass day one, which, credit where it's due, is exactly how a subscription service should work.

The real question is whether five departures on April 15 will sting depending on which specific titles are leaving. Microsoft still hasn't made it standard practice to give those games a proper spotlight before they go, and that's a habit worth calling out. You paid for the subscription; you deserve to know what you're losing with more than a few days' notice. Forza Horizon 6 on day one is a genuine statement of intent for Game Pass in 2026. The removals are a reminder that the library is always rented, never owned.

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