Xbox Game Pass is, once again, losing half a dozen unique games from third-party developers. One of the biggest gaming services on the market maintains a rotating selection of titles for all of its subscribers to play to their hearts' content, but the caveat is that they don't stick around in perpetuity, so it's generally a good idea to hop in quickly while they're around.
On the flip side of things, of course, Xbox Game Pass is always getting new games, so the situation works out to be very favorable for subscribers, provided they get around to playing whatever games they're interested in before they get taken off the service. The good news is that all Game Pass subscribers get a discount of at least 20% to purchase the featured games permanently before their removal from the service.
Xbox Game Pass subscribers will no longer have access to six unique games after June 30, 2023. These are DJ Max Respect V, Road 96, Matchpoint: Tennis Championships, Olija, Omori, and John Romero's own Empire of Sin. All of the aforementioned titles will be leaving both the console and the PC versions of Game Pass, which is a worthwhile distinction to make, as the two versions of the subscription don't fully correlate with one another.
Leaving Xbox Game Pass on June 30
- DJ Max Respect V
- Empire of Sin
- Matchpoint: Tennis Championships
- Omori
- Olija
- Road 96
Though the notion that Xbox Game Pass often loses games may appear disappointing at a glance, the fact of the matter is that Xbox maintains a healthy selection of genre offerings, and games are coming in and out of rotation all the time. Those who keep up with Game Pass, therefore, always have access to something new to play, even though this access is in fact only temporary.
Naturally, the good news is that Xbox's first-party games are a permanent fixture on Game Pass. Titles such as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, the sequel to one of 2020's best games, are always readily accessible and should stay available and playable for the foreseeable future. This is particularly notable with Bethesda offerings now that the company has once again showed off its open-world flagship, Starfield, as the space-faring RPG will launch early in September and be freely available for all Game Pass subscribers to enjoy.
Players interested in Game Pass ought to take note of the games confirmed via the Xbox Game Showcase, as they will inevitably make their way onto the service sooner or later. The fact that most of them will eventually rotate out of availability shouldn't be too big of a worry, as long as subscribers stay on top of the given roster of available titles and get around to playing all the games that interest them.