Xbox Game Pass Adds Its first Game in May 2026

Xbox Game Pass users across three membership tiers can start playing Final Fantasy 5 as part of their subscriptions beginning today. The iconic JRPG marks the first catalog arrival in May 2026 and the 73rd Xbox Game Pass addition this year.

The Final Fantasy series has been enjoying renewed attention on Microsoft’s gaming service as of late, with one new installment added for subscribers each month. Most recently, Xbox Game Pass added Final Fantasy 4 on April 7.

Xbox Game Pass Is Losing at Least 5 Games on May 15

May 15 will see Xbox Game Pass lose at least five titles, including a game that was only added to the service three months ago.

Xbox Game Pass Adds Its 5th Final Fantasy Game in 5 Months

Continuing that trend, the fifth mainline Final Fantasy game joined the subscription service on the fifth day of the fifth month of 2026. As was the case with its four predecessors, the exact game version that’s now available to Xbox Game Pass members comes from Square Enix’s well-received Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series, originally introduced in 2021 and re-released as a collection two years later.

The Final Fantasy 5 Pixel Remaster is based on the 1992 original, meaning it lacks some content from the 2006 Game Boy Advance remake. While the omitted content is well-regarded among fans, the core game is largely unchanged, aside from having four fewer jobs. By far the biggest thing Xbox Game Pass players will miss out on is the Final Fantasy 5 remake’s extensive endgame.

Xbox Game Pass Next Releases

Date	Game	Game Pass Tier(s)	Platform(s)	Notes
May 5	Final Fantasy V	Ultimate, PC, Premium	Cloud, PC, Series X/S
May 12	Call of the Elder Gods	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.
May 14	Subnautica 2	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Game preview; day-one release.
May 19	Forza Horizon 6	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.
May 21	Beastro	Ultimate	Series X/S	Day-one release.
May 27	Echo Generation 2	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.
May 28	Crashout Crew	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.
Jul 13	Ascend to Zero	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.
Aug 4	Beast of Reincarnation	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.
Aug 14	Grave Seasons	Ultimate, PC	Cloud, PC, Series X/S	Day-one release.

Xbox Game Pass currently has eight more confirmed releases for May 2026. The upcoming arrivals include first-person adventure Call of the Elder Gods, the Game Preview version of Subnautica 2, cooking roguelite Beastro, deckbuilding RPG Echo Generation 2, and chaotic co-op driving game Crashout Crew. Forza Horizon 6, the next entry in Playground Games’ acclaimed open-world racing franchise, is also due to debut this month and can even be preloaded as of this writing. RV There Yet, a humorous co-op game about getting home after making some bad choices, is part of the May 2026 roadmap as well. However, the Nuggets Entertainment-developed title is still waiting for a firm release date.

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The full Xbox Game Pass Wave 1 lineup for May 2026 is expected to be announced soon, likely later today, around 3 p.m. ET. Besides formally outlining the next two weeks’ worth of content additions, the announcement is expected to confirm that Planet of Lana and at least four other titles are scheduled to leave the service on May 15, as previously indicated by the Xbox app.