Xbox Game Pass Losing Some Of Its Best RPGs and Strategy Games Today

Xbox Game Pass is set to lose five titles later today, with the May 31 departures including some of the highest-rated RPGs and strategy games in the service’s library. Despite these imminent removals, May 2026 was still a significant net positive for the Xbox Game Pass catalog, which added substantially more titles than it lost over the past month.

The next wave of departures is headlined by Metaphor: ReFantazio, one of 2024’s most acclaimed titles that was originally added to Xbox Game Pass in May 2025. The Atlus-developed game holds a 93 average score on OpenCritic, which makes it the highest-rated JRPG on Microsoft’s subscription service. Metaphor: ReFantazio received widespread praise for combining Persona’s time-management loop and social links with Shin Megami Tensei‘s combat into a tightly paced experience with a highly memorable storyline.

Xbox Game Pass Adds 2 Day-One Games to Close Out May 2026

Xbox Game Pass rounds out the May 2026 lineup with two more day-one titles, for a total of 18 releases since the beginning of the month.

Xbox Game Pass Losing Its Highest-Rated JRPG and More Today

Two days after its first anniversary on the service, Metaphor: ReFantazio is scheduled to leave Xbox Game Pass later today. It will depart alongside four other titles, including another beloved Atlus JRPG, Persona 4 Golden. Against the Storm, Spray Paint Simulator, and Crypt Custodian are also leaving Xbox Game Pass as part of the May 31 catalog rotation.

All Xbox Game Pass Games Leaving Today

Game	Genre	Added	Stint Duration*	OpenCritic Avg.	How Long To Beat
Against the Storm	Strategy	Dec 2023	2 years, 5 months	89	86–252 hours
Crypt Custodian	Metroidvania	Jun 2025	11 months	83	9–13 hours
Metaphor: ReFantazio	RPG	May 2025	1 year	93	65–109 hours
Persona 4 Golden	RPG	Aug 2025	9 months	88	67–134 hours
Spray Paint Simulator	Job Sim	May 2025	1 year	71	8–12 hours

Against the Storm is another title from this batch that is decidedly among the highest-rated games on the service, as underscored by its 89 average score on OpenCritic. Developed by Polish studio Eremite Games and originally released in December 2023 after two years of early access, the game built a cult following by placing a roguelite twist on the city-building gameplay loop, making its sessions significantly faster than the average example of the genre. Thanks to that and a distinctive dark fantasy setting realized through a vibrant painterly art style, Against the Storm has developed a reputation as one of the most inventive and addictive strategy games of the 2020s, making its upcoming removal a significant loss for Microsoft’s city-builder catalog. Fans of the genre can take some solace in the fact that Xbox Game Pass recently added another highly rated city builder in Nova Roma.

Xbox Game Pass 2026 Stats: Monthly Catalog Changes

Dominik Bošnjak / Game Rant | Source images: Xbox, Wishfully / Thunderful Publishing

📅	Added	Removed	Net	YoY Change
Jan	18	12	+6 games	+5
Feb	20	5	+15 games	+23
Mar	14	8	+6 games	+14
Apr	18	14	+4 games	+4
May	18	10	+8 games	+1

The “Added” column reflects only brand-new games, ignoring situations like existing titles being added to the XGP Premium tier.

Xbox Game Pass already lost five titles on May 15, meaning the upcoming rotation will double its monthly list of removals. Nevertheless, the service has added 18 games since May 1 and will thus end the month with eight more titles than it lost. That marks a marginal improvement compared with May 2025, when its content catalog received 17 games while losing 10 others.

Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.

Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)

The next Xbox Game Pass library update is scheduled for June 2, when Jurassic Park World 3 and Final Fantasy 6 arrive. The Wave 1 lineup for June 2026 is also likely to be formally confirmed that day, with June 1 being the second-likeliest candidate, based on Microsoft’s recent practices.