Microsoft has announced the the first list of games being added to Xbox Game Pass since the service’s unpopular price hike news rolled out last week. It includes The Grinch: Christmas Adventures – Merry & Mischievous Edition, the update to a 2023 co-op holiday adventure that I’m sure fans have been waiting for.
The “festive platformer” has you searching for collectibles, snowboarding down Mount Crumpit, and even parachuting through Whoville. Apparently that was not enough to impress many of the only 27 people who reviewed the $40 Steam version. “This game is BAD!” wrote one. “Quite terrible all things considered,” wrote another. “The original game from the 90’s was a world play style game with objectives and missions…this is a game for a 5 year old.”
Don’t let that completely dissuade you from checking it out though! Here’s everything coming to the various, newly priced tiers of Game Pass in October 2025:
- Supermarket Simulator (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 8
Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass- Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Editions (PC) – October 9
Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass- The Casting of Frank Stone (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – October 14
Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass- Ball x Pit (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 15
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass- The Grinch: Christmas Adventures (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 15
Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass- Eternal Strands (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – October 15
Now with Game Pass Premium- He Is Coming (Game Preview) (PC) – October 15
Now with Game Pass Premium- Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – October 15
Now with Game Pass Premium- Pax Dei (PC) – October 16
Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass- Keeper (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – October 17
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass- Evil West (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 21
Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass- Ninja Gaiden 4 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – October 21
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
That is 12 games in total, and some of them are shaping up to be quite good, especially Ninja Gaiden 4. But it’s also worth noting that only three of these games require Game Pass Ultimate. The rest are all available with Game Pass Premium or Game Pass PC. This is the last batch hitting before the new $30-a-month price hits most Ultimate subscribers on November 4, so while Microsoft might be trying to win players over with a few surprises in November, this month is mostly what we expected it to be.
The three games leaving Game Pass on October 15 are Cocoon, Core Keeper, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed. Cocoon in particular is an outstanding puzzle adventure you can finish in just a couple of sittings. If you haven’t given it a try or already beaten it, I highly recommend checking it out in the next week before it’s gone.