5 Games That Dominated Xbox Game Pass This Year

Xbox Game Pass is one of the most lucrative services out there, and every year, a handful of games dominate the service. If you own and regularly play on Xbox, it’s sort of hard not to have Game Pass. It’s linked to key parts of the ecosystem, but also essential for gaming on a budget. It’s particularly most valuable when it comes to playing any and all Xbox first-party titles at no extra cost at launch. Call of Duty has been a staple of the service for the last couple of years in particular, making itself super handy for those just wanting to dip their toes in or only wanting to try the campaign.

With that said, we rounded up a list of some of the most notable Xbox Game Pass releases of 2025. These are games that used the service to catapult themselves toward success, including one that even went on to win Game of the Year.

5) Rematch

Rematch was one of the few surprises of this list. It’s a soccer game, but it ironically pulls a bit more from something like Rocket League than it does actual soccer. It’s more arcade-y, leveraging absurd trick shots, smart team plays, and arena walls that you can use to strategically bounce the ball off of. Somewhat hilariously, it’s Rocket League without the cars. Rematch is a ton of fun and was one of the best games to debut on Xbox Game Pass this year. If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend it, especially with a group of friends.

4) Grounded 2

Grounded 2 was a massive surprise. The Obsidian survival game had been a huge hit since launching in 2022 and was updated quite frequently. Given the nature of live service games, no one really expected a sequel, but Obsidian surprised everyone by revealing Grounded 2 in June and then releasing it in July. Players benefited from it being available through Xbox Game Pass, allowing them to play it on day one for no extra cost.

3) The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

One of the all-time great shadowdrops happened earlier this year with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Bethesda’s iconic RPG was rumored for quite some time, but they never tipped their hand. Instead, they chose to announce and release it on the same day across Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. Xbox and PC users were able to take the most advantage of this as it was available through Xbox Game Pass immediately, allowing players to revisit or experience one of the best games of all time with a whole new coat of paint.

2) Hollow Knight: Silksong

Xbox made the right move by investing in Hollow Knight: Silksong early. In 2022, Xbox confirmed that the highly anticipated Metroidvania would be a day-one Xbox Game Pass title. However, it would take another three years for it to actually see the light of day. Once it did, it was showered in praise. It not only allowed longtime fans the opportunity to play it at no extra cost, but made it easy for new people to see what the hype was all about. It’s easily one of Xbox’s smartest plays for a day one Game Pass title and was likely highly lucrative for Team Cherry as well.

1) Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Another genius investment from Xbox was Clair Obsucr: Expedition 33. Microsoft saw the potential in this RPG ahead of its release and sealed the deal to make it a day one Xbox Game Pass title. While it likely would have still done well, it’s hard saying if it would’ve had the same level of success and word of mouth had the game not been so easily accessible through Xbox Game Pass. Although the game wasn’t developed by any in-house Xbox teams, Microsoft can probably take a very minor amount of credit for Expedition 33‘s sweep at The Game Awards. It was one of the most rewarding marketing decisions Expedition 33 had going for it.

First Two Xbox Game Pass Games Confirmed for January 2026