Gears of War: E-Day Leads a Packed October for Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass has opened October with a heavy first wave, and the biggest name is Gears of War: E-Day, which is available now on cloud, console and PC. It's an Xbox console exclusive that leans into loud, bloody, over-the-top action. It arrives alongside Minecraft Dungeons 2, also live now. The sequel is more ambitious than the original, though it has a few rough edges that keep it from being a clean upgrade.

Two more new releases dropped on October 8. Echo Weaver is an adventure built around time as a limited resource, and it launched on day one. Forever Ago is a single-player road trip about redemption. Neon Abyss 2 also arrived that day.

The next big push comes on October 13. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers get Battlefield 6, the large-scale military shooter, along with Valor Mortis, a first-person soulslike set during the Napoleonic Wars. For a slower pace, Deep Dish Dungeon offers survival exploration with hand-built dungeons and metroidvania-style progression.

On October 15, the service adds Bluey's Happy Snaps, where players take photos of the Heeler family, and Chained Beasts, a co-op gladiator roguelike in which two fighters are tethered together and have to work as a team. The following day, October 16, Beyond These Stars arrives on PC only. In it, you build a city on the back of a space whale and learn to live alongside it while exploring the cosmos.

Subscribers should also note that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Evil West leave the service on October 15. If you want to play either one through Game Pass, you have only a few days left.