Mixtape will drop on Xbox Game Pass on May 7, 2026, a new trailer has confirmed. The past year was a big one for Microsoft’s gaming subscription services, and so far, 2026 is shaping up to have its fair share of heavy hitters, too, and one of these much-anticipated releases will be here in just a few months. After a delay in 2025, day one Xbox Game Pass title Mixtape has set its eyes on a May release.
Annapurna Interactive first revealed Mixtape at the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, with its retro coming-of-age vibe drawing immediate comparisons to Stranger Things and The Goonies. Early looks at the game show a soundtrack filled to the brim with nostalgic hits from the likes of The Smashing Pumpkins and Joy Division and a heartfelt narrative about friends embarking on their last moments as high schoolers before going to college. It seemed like a title that could have the makings of something special, and now fans have confirmation that they won’t need to wait long to try it out for themselves.
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Mixtape Will Release on Xbox Game Pass on May 7
A brief trailer released on March 3 revealed that Mixtape will come out on May 7 of this year. While the game was originally supposed to come out sometime in 2025, developer Beethoven & Dinosaur announced Mixtape would be delayed to 2026 in November of that year, although the specific date was uncertain at that point. Now, that mystery has cleared up, with the game joining the ranks of an already strong May 2026 Xbox Game Pass lineup.
While there are plenty of AAA games in the pipeline for Xbox this year, it sounds like fans won’t want to miss this indie title. Following last year’s Xbox Games Showcase, former Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer gave Mixtape a special shoutout, highlighting the game’s music and an apparent close relationship between Xbox and Mixtape‘s creative team. While Spencer did not reveal much about the title, he did hint that he might’ve seen more of the game than fans had and praised the game for “nailing” its soundtrack. So far, the trailers haven’t given away too much of the gameplay, either, but they have shown off a mix of dreamlike sequences and more grounded, real-world bits of the teenage experience like skateboarding, hitting baseballs, and TP-ing a house.
Whatever is in store, Mixtape looks like an enticing mix of music, unique visuals, and a nostalgic narrative. It could also give fans of Annapurna-published titles something to look forward to after Neon White left Xbox Game Pass earlier this year. Beethoven & Dinosaur’s first game, The Artful Escape, was also a day one Xbox Game Pass release back in 2021 before leaving the platform the next year. So, anyone who tried out that debut title should also mark May 7 on their calendars, especially considering how Mixtape seems to be carrying over the same love for music as The Artful Escape.
Mixtape isn’t the only noteworthy title set for a May 2026 release. The much-anticipated 007 First Light will come out on May 27 following a short delay, and Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will follow on May 29. The latter two may not be day one Xbox Game Pass titles like Mixtape, but there is still a lot on the docket for this May. Not even a quarter of the way through the year, and 2026 is already looking like a big one for game releases, so it’s a good time to make the most of an Xbox Game Pass subscription.
