Summary
Xbox Game Passis losingHeadbangers: Rhythm Royaleand four other titles on October 31. These upcoming removals will bring the total number of October 2024Xbox Game Passdepartures to 10.
The XGP library typically shrinks every two weeks, in the middle and at the end of every month. This most recently happened on October 15, whenXbox Game Pass lost a handful of titles, includingF1 Manager 2023,Everspace 2, and the Game Preview version ofDyson Sphere Program.
Another five games will follow suit on October 31, when Microsoft’s subscription catalog will loseFrog Detective: The Entire Mystery,Headbangers: Rhythm Royale,Inkulinati,Lonely Mountains: Downhill, andMineko’s Night Market. This is a fairly varied list of titles in terms of time spent on the service, with its two shortest stints belonging toHeadbangers: Rhythm RoyaleandMineko’s Night Market,both of which reached Xbox Game Pass in October 2023. Meanwhile,Lonely Mountains: Downhillhas been part of Microsoft’s subscription library since October 2019 and will hence celebrate its fifth anniversary on the service just ahead of its removal.
78
4 hours
68
3.5 hours
79
8–16.5 hours
81
6–34 hours
17–37.5 hours
Aside from having the longest Xbox Game Pass stint,Lonely Mountains: Downhillis also the most critically acclaimed title from this upcoming wave of departures. Specifically, the mountain biking game boasts a “Strong” rating on OpenCritic, derived from an aggregate score of 81 and a 92% reviewer recommendation rate. It also has “Very Positive” user reviews on Steam, based on over 2,200 player impressions. As such, it has been a big boon to the selection ofhigh-quality indie titles on Xbox Game Passever since its day-one release on the service. Its sequel,Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders, is currently targeting a late 2024 launch, but it’s currently unclear whether it’s also planned to reach the XGP library.
As per usual, this upcoming batch of departures was announced alongside thenext wave of Xbox Game Pass releases, which includes eight titles in total. The first of those isSouth Park: The Fractured but Whole, Ubisoft’s critically acclaimed RPG that’s set to reach the service later today, October 16.MechWarrior 5: ClansandDonut Countywill then arrive a day later, whereasCall of Duty: Black Ops 6andWarzonewill debut on October 25.
Ashenand the PC version ofDead Island 2are scheduled to follow on the 29th and 31st of the month, respectively. The majority of the October 2024 Wave 2 lineup will be exclusively available via PC Game Pass and the Ultimate tier of the service, whereas XGP Standard members will only get access toDonut County,Ashen, andSouth Park: The Fractured but Whole.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft’s flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you may play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value propositions of the Xbox ecosystem to date.
