Xbox Game Pass Reveals October 2025 Wave 1 Lineup Amid Price Hike
- Sagar Mankar
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Microsoft has unveiled the first wave of Xbox Game Pass titles for October 2025, following last week's controversial 50% price increase for the Ultimate tier.
Xbox Game Pass October 2025 Lineup
The new lineup includes several high-profile launches and genre-diverse additions. Whether you’re into action RPGs, horror thrillers, or simulation games, there’s something for nearly every type of player.
The month’s biggest additions are Double Fine’s Keeper, the highly anticipated Ninja Gaiden 4, and a day-one launch of Ball x Pit. Microsoft has divided the releases across Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and the new Game Pass Premium tier.
Below is the complete breakdown of titles joining the library this month, along with where each is available:
October 8
Supermarket Simulator (Cloud, Console, PC) — Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
October 9
Baldur’s Gate & Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Editions (PC) — Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
October 14
The Casting of Frank Stone (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S) — Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
October 15
Ball x Pit (Day One Release) (Cloud, Console, PC) — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
The Grinch: Christmas Adventures (Cloud, Console, PC) — Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
Eternal Strands (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S) — Now with Game Pass Premium
He Is Coming (Game Preview) (PC) — Now with Game Pass Premium
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S) — Now with Game Pass Premium
October 16
Pax Dei (PC) — Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
October 17
Keeper (Day One Release) (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S) — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
October 21
Evil West (Cloud, Console, PC) — Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
Ninja Gaiden 4 (Day One Release) (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S) — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Some Highlights
Supermarket Simulator is a first-person simulation game developed by RockGame S.A., where players manage their own grocery store from a small startup to a massive shopping empire. Core gameplay involves stocking shelves with products, setting prices, hiring staff to handle tasks like cleaning and security, dealing with shoplifters, and designing store layouts to optimize customer flow and profits.
The Casting of Frank Stone is a single-player interactive drama horror game from Supermassive Games, set in the Dead by Daylight universe and spanning timelines from 1963 to modern day. Players guide a group of amateur filmmakers uncovering a cosmic mystery tied to the enigmatic Frank Stone, making choices that branch the narrative, solve puzzles, and determine survival outcomes in quick-time events and exploration segments.
Ball x Pit is a 2D action roguelite developed by Kenny Sun, blending brick-breaking mechanics with survival elements in a fantasy pit of endless monsters. It features arcade-style ball upgrades, base-building strategy, and high replayability through permadeath and evolving abilities.
The Grinch: Christmas Adventures is a family-friendly 2.5D platformer from Casual Brothers, based on Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Players control the Grinch and his dog Max in co-op mode to sabotage holiday festivities in Whoville by freezing objects with snowballs, swinging on ropes, and solving light puzzles across whimsical levels.
Eternal Strands is a third-person action-adventure game from Yellow Brick Games (co-founded by ex-Dragon Age director), focusing on physics-based combat, elemental magic, and climbing-based exploration, drawing inspiration from Shadow of the Colossus, Dragon’s Dogma, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom. It's praised for its innovative magic system but critiqued for uneven melee and writing.
He Is Coming is an early access roguelite RPG auto-battler from indie developer Chronocle, set in an apocalyptic world where players assemble a party of heroes to fight demon hordes. Gameplay involves strategic item collection and fusion for build-crafting, automated turn-based battles against the Demon King, and run-based progression with meta-upgrades, drawing from genres like Slay the Spire but with a darker, artifact-hunting twist. On Steam, it currently holds a “Very Positive” rating.
Ninja Gaiden II Black is a remastered edition of the 2008 action game from Team Ninja, featuring Ryu Hayabusa's brutal campaign against fiends in a demon-infested world. It delivers high-octane hack-and-slash combat with fluid combos, wall-running, and gore-heavy finishers, now enhanced with improved visuals, bug fixes, and accessibility options like adjustable difficulty. The "Black" version adds challenge missions and deeper mechanics, making it a definitive play for fans of punishing, skill-based ninja action.
Pax Dei is a social sandbox MMO from Mainframe Industries, built on Unreal Engine 5, where players shape a medieval-inspired world through cooperative building, crafting, and guild warfare. Inspired by EVE Online's player-driven economy, it features persistent servers with myths, ghosts, and magic, allowing home construction, resource gathering, and large-scale PvP or PvE events in vast, photorealistic landscapes.
Keeper is a surreal, wordless adventure from Double Fine Productions, following an anthropomorphic lighthouse and its seabird companion on a dreamlike journey across shifting realms. You navigate physics-based puzzles, explore ever-changing environments, and uncover a poignant story through environmental storytelling and fluid platforming. Revealed at Xbox Games Showcase 2025, it blends whimsy with emotional depth, emphasizing exploration over combat in a handcrafted, artistic world.
Evil West is a third-person hack-and-slash action game from Flying Wild Hog, set in a supernatural Wild West where you control vampire hunter Jesse Rentier. Armed with gauntlets, revolvers, and electric powers, you battle hordes of monsters in visceral, gore-filled combat across linear levels, upgrading gear and perks for explosive finishers. It's a straightforward, arcade-style shooter with co-op potential, praised for satisfying action but a simple story.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is the latest entry in Team Ninja's hardcore action series, set in a dystopian future Tokyo ravaged by the Dark Dragon's "Rain of Darkrot." As Ryu Hayabusa, you engage in precise, combo-heavy swordplay against demonic foes, with new mechanics like customizable difficulty, training modes, and environmental interactions. It builds on the series' punishing legacy with video explainers for techniques and a focus on accessibility while retaining brutal challenge options.
Games Leaving Game Pass in October
A few notable titles will also be leaving Game Pass on October 15, including:
Cocoon
Core Keeper
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed
Subscribers can purchase these games at a 20% discount before they leave the library.
Game Pass Pricing and Regional Delays
The Game Pass Ultimate price increase officially went into effect on October 1 for new users, while existing subscribers will see the change from November 4. However, Microsoft has delayed the price hike in several countries, including Germany, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, Poland, and India, citing “local regulatory requirements.”
Kari Perez, Head of Xbox Communications, stated:
“Current subscribers in certain countries will continue renewing at their existing price for now, in line with local requirements. We’ll provide advance notice before adjustments take effect.”
Unfortunately, U.S. and U.K. subscribers aren’t exempt from the change, meaning they’ll be paying the full $29.99 rate going forward.