Xbox Game Pass August-October Games Are a Feast of One Genre

The Xbox Game Pass service has proven to be a successful venture for Microsoft, with the catalog of games that it offers being ever-expanding. While Microsoft’s massive frequency of high-profile studio acquisitions has come with some controversies, it has allowed the gaming giant to feature an increasing selection of high-profile games on the service. Games like Wuchang: Fallen Feathers and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 recently dominated a lot of discussion around Game Pass, but the fresh titles do not stop there.

As always, fans have a fairly good overview of what the next few months are going to look like for Xbox Game Pass. Games like Grounded 2 and Ninja Gaiden 4 will soon make their way over to the service, but one genre in particular is set to have a concerted flurry of Xbox Game Pass additions from August to October. Through already-confirmed games and titles that are extremely likely to become day-one Game Pass additions, fans of shooters are in for a wild ride throughout the near future.

Gears of War: Reloaded Just Scratches the Surface of the Upcoming Xbox Game Pass Additions

Gears of War: Reloaded comes to Xbox Game Pass as a day-one release on August 26, being a faithful remaster of the 2006 debut game. Other than through Gears Tactics in 2020, fans have waited a very long time for some fresh content for the iconic franchise, with the upcoming remaster featuring the same high-octane experiences as the original game.

Alongside a remastered campaign experience, players will be able to dive into full cross-platform co-op and multiplayer, with Gears of War: Reloaded launching on PS5 and Windows. The original Gears of War is considered one of the most iconic third-person shooters of all time, with August 26 understandably being a huge day for shooter fans and Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

Gears of War: Reloaded

Released

August 26, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

Publisher(s)

Xbox Game Studios

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op, Online Multiplayer

Cross-Platform Play

Yes

Franchise

Gears of War

Number of Players

Single-player

The Outer Worlds 2 Offers the Other Side of the Shooter Genre Coin

The Outer Worlds 2 is another shooter title that will soon come to Xbox Game Pass, being expected to drop on October 29. Coming from Obsidian Entertainment, The Outer Worlds 2 is a sci-fi RPG with core skills, perks, and character traits, offering quite an in-depth level of gameplay. Contrasting the linearity of Gears of War: Reloaded, The Outer Worlds 2 will provide Xbox Game Pass subscribers with an expansive open world experience.

The Outer Worlds 2‘s gunplay is one particular area of reported improvement compared to its 2019 predecessor, with gunplay now being a much more responsive and stylish core aspect of the franchise. While Gears of War: Reloaded will reunite fans with a classic and entrenched gaming adventure, shooter fans will hopefully get their hands on a completely fresh experience when The Outer Worlds 2 comes to Game Pass in late October.

The Outer Worlds 2

Released

October 29, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language

Publisher(s)

Xbox Game Studios

Engine

Unreal Engine 5

Franchise

The Outer Worlds

Number of Players

Single-player

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is Likely to Take a Lot of Xbox Game Pass Spotlight Over the Coming Months

While unconfirmed, it seems extremely likely that the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches on Xbox Game Pass as a day-one title. Microsoft and Activision set a new precedent with 2024’s Black Ops 6 and its own immediate appearance in the Game Pass catalog, with it only seeming logical that this treatment will extend to the game’s successor.

Interestingly, Black Ops 7 features a co-op campaign, much like Gears of War: Reloaded. Black Ops 6 stands as the most successful Call of Duty launch in the franchise’s history, largely thanks to Xbox Game Pass, and Treyarch will be wanting to repeat this with its upcoming near-futuristic title. Black Ops 7 is expected to launch around October or November, adding another notch to the deeply exciting shooter experiences that will be coming to Xbox Game Pass in the near future.