Ten new Xbox games land today, and three of them won’t cost Game Pass members a penny

Neon roguelike chaos, a brain-bending time loop and a very nostalgic road trip lead a surprisingly packed Thursday on Xbox.

Thursdays are usually a fairly gentle affair on the Xbox Store. Not this week. Ten games arrive on Xbox today, and three of them are day one additions to Game Pass, which makes 8 October one of the better days this autumn to be a subscriber. Throw in a horror revival with a famous name attached and a Twin Peaks-flavoured mystery that’s already getting glowing reviews, and there’s a lot to get through.

Here’s everything that’s out today, starting with the ones you can play for nothing if you already pay for Game Pass.

The Game Pass day one trio

Neon Abyss 2

If you lost an embarrassing number of hours to the original Neon Abyss back in 2020, brace yourself. The sequel is out today on Xbox Series X|S, PC and cloud, and it’s in Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass from day one.

It’s the same loud, colourful run ‘n’ gun formula, just bigger. Expect explosive firefights, more ways to fight, and the item synergies that made the first game so moreish, where two odd pickups combine into something gloriously broken. The game has been in early access on PC since July 2025, and it now supports chaotic four-player co-op, so you can drag three friends into the madness. Of the three Game Pass arrivals, this is the one we’d download first.

Echo Weaver

This one is for anyone who loved Outer Wilds and wished it had more platforming. Echo Weaver is a time-looping Metroidvania where progress comes from what you know rather than the upgrades you collect. You play the last Weaver, using anomalies that bend time and everything you’ve learned on previous loops to break the cycle for good.

Its developers have cheekily called it a “metroidBRAINia”, and honestly, we like that a lot. It’s on Xbox Series X|S, PC and cloud, and it’s included in Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from today.

Forever Ago

Forever Ago has been a long time coming. It was first shown off back in 2020, so it’s lovely to see Annapurna finally get it out of the door. It’s a gentle, single-player road trip adventure. You travel to scenic spots, snap photos with your camera, meet new characters and slowly build up a group of friends.

After a week of roguelikes and horror, this feels like the palate cleanser. It’s out on Xbox, PC and cloud, and you’ll find it in Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

The best of the rest

Silver Pines

Not on Game Pass, but possibly the most interesting release of the day. Silver Pines is a narrative side-scroller from Team17 that wears its David Lynch influence proudly. You play private investigator Red Walker, who heads to a half-abandoned town to find a missing musician called Eddie Velvet. Naturally, things get very strange very quickly, and the case turns into a nightmarish spiral.

Early reviews have been really strong, and that Twin Peaks quirkiness is exactly our kind of weird. It’s out now on Xbox Series X|S, PC and cloud. If you only buy one game from today’s list, we’d make it this one.

Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival

Pinhead fans, your moment has arrived. Hellraiser: Revival is a new chapter in the cult horror series, built as a first-person action horror survival game. Its timing is perfect, landing a few weeks before Halloween, and it’s out on Xbox Series X|S, PC and cloud. It isn’t on Game Pass, so you’ll need to buy it outright. Licensed horror games have a patchy track record, so we’d keep an eye out for reviews before committing.

Everything else out today

Five more games arrive on Xbox today, and a couple of them are rather charming:

• Deck of Haunts puts you in charge of a malevolent haunted house with whispering walls. Playing the villain for once is a fun twist.
• Gear.Club Unlimited 3 is the latest in the arcade racing series, and the first to add Japan’s asphalt roads and the French Mediterranean coast. As far as we’re concerned, a Riviera road trip is never a bad idea.
• MyPOPGOES is a short resource management game in which you look after a very needy weasel called Popgoes. It comes with a bonus collection of minigames.
• QUByte Classics: Thunder Hoop Collection bundles the 1992 original with its 1994 sequel, Thunder Hoop Strikes Back, for a proper hit of retro platforming.
• Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnoughts is one for the strategy crowd. You design your own warships, then take them into battle with a seriously in-depth naval combat model.
  
  

Our take

Three day one Game Pass additions on a single Thursday is a strong showing. Neon Abyss 2 and Echo Weaver alone could keep you busy for most of October without you spending another penny. If you’re happy to pay, though, Silver Pines is the one that’s really got our attention.

Whatever you pick, it’s a cracking start to spooky season.