Xbox is once again giving players several opportunities to try new games for free this weekend through its ongoing Free Play Days promotion. The latest lineup runs from October 8 through October 11 and includes a mixture of full-game access and timed trials, with some titles available to everyone and others requiring an Xbox Game Pass subscription. This Weekend’s Xbox game selection also covers a wide range of genres, giving players plenty of options before the promotion ends.
Free Play Days has become a regular part of the Xbox ecosystem, with the selection changing every Thursday and often covering several different genres. Some weeks focus on games available to all Xbox players, while others reserve certain titles for Game Pass subscribers or offer limited trials. The October 8 lineup follows that familiar approach, giving players a mixture of full weekend access and timed opportunities to try several newer releases.
Xbox Free Play Days List (October 8-October 11)
This week’s Xbox Free Play Days lineup, available until October 11, includes Screamer and Family Man, which are available to Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and Essential subscribers, while 2025’s best multiplayer game ARC Raiders is available to all Xbox members without a Game Pass subscription. Players can also try High On Life 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and Little Nightmares III through timed trials, while Rogue Waters offers a two-hour trial. The promotion gives players a chance to sample everything from multiplayer action and horror to tactical gameplay before deciding whether to purchase anything.
The easiest way to claim these games is to navigate to the Xbox Store, search the game, and download from its store page.
- Screamer (Xbox Game Pass Required)
- Family Man (Xbox Game Pass Required)
- Arc Raiders (Free for All)
- High on Life 2 (Free for All – Timed Trial)
- STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl (Free for All – Timed Trial)
- Little Nightmares 3 (Free for All – Timed Trial)
- Rogue Waters (Free for All – Timed Trial)
Xbox is also offering discounts for players who decide they want to keep some of these games after the Free Play Days period ends. ARC Raiders is 50% off, Screamer is 60% off, Family Man is 85% off, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is 30% off, and Rogue Waters is 75% off during the promotion. With access ending on October 11, Xbox players have only a few days to check out this week’s selection and decide which games are worth adding to their libraries later on. To help with that, additional details—including HLTB, reviews, and links—are included below each description.
Scratch & Peek
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Xbox Free Play Days – Screamer (Xbox Game Pass)
Screamer combines arcade racing, vehicular combat, and 90s anime-inspired aesthetics into a futuristic competition where every race is also a fight. Players choose from five teams and a roster of drivers, with each vehicle featuring its own design and unique ability. The game’s ECHO technology lets cars use Boost, Strike, and Shield abilities to overtake opponents or knock them off the track, while Overdrive turns races into even more chaotic battles. Alongside its story-driven campaign, Screamer features multiple game modes, Team Races, online multiplayer, and split-screen play, giving the high-speed racing game plenty of ways to compete.
- Original Release Date: March 26, 2026
- Genre: Racing
- Developer: Milestone
- Publisher: Plaion
- Metascore (Xbox): 75, Generally Favorable
- How Long to Beat: 11 hours
- Xbox Store Link: Play Screamer Free on Xbox
Xbox Free Play Days – Family Man (Xbox Game Pass Required)
Family Man puts players in the uncomfortable position of trying to keep a family together while owing money to the mob. The story-led RPG gives players three weeks to repay their debt, forcing them to decide whether to earn money through legitimate work or take increasingly questionable jobs for faster cash. Those choices affect more than the protagonist’s bank account, with decisions shaping the neighborhood and potentially strengthening or destroying relationships with a spouse and child. Players can explore Riverport, complete dozens of missions, unlock perks, and pursue different endings based on how they handle their increasingly difficult situation.
- Original Release Date: May 22, 2020
- Genre: Story-Led RPG
- Developer: Broken Bear Games
- Publisher: No More Robots
- Metascore (Xbox): N/A (75% Mostly Positive on Steam)
- How Long to Beat: 4 hours
- Xbox Store Link: Play Family Man for Free on Xbox
Xbox Free Play Days – Arc Raiders (Free for All, No Limits)
ARC Raiders is a third-person extraction multiplayer game set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has been driven underground by deadly machines known as ARC. Players take on the role of Raiders who venture to the surface to scavenge valuable resources, fight hostile machines, and compete against other players who are after the same loot. Every expedition comes with the risk of losing hard-earned equipment, making decisions about when to fight, explore, or extract an important part of the experience. With customizable gear, dynamic environments, and both solo and squad-based play, ARC Raiders turns each trip to the surface into a high-risk battle for survival.
- Original Release Date: October 30, 2025
- Genre: Extraction Shooter
- Developer: Embark Studios
- Publisher: Embark Studios
- Metascore (Xbox): 88, Generally Favorable
- How Long to Beat: 40ish hours for core missions, easy to put 100+ in
- Xbox Store Link: Play ARC Raiders for Free on Xbox
Find all 10 pairs
Find all 10 pairs
Regular Cover ArtClean Cover Art
Xbox Free Play Days – High on Life 2 (Free for All, Timed Trial)
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Image via GameRant; Source: Squanch Games, Inc. -
Image via GameRant; Source: Squanch Games, Inc. -
Image via GameRant: Source: Squanch Games, Inc.
High on Life 2 brings back the bizarre humor, talking weapons, and over-the-top first-person shooting of the original game while adding a new way to move through its alien worlds. After a mysterious figure puts a bounty on the protagonist’s sister, players are pulled into another intergalactic conspiracy involving an evil pharmaceutical corporation intent on putting a price on human life. Combat once again revolves around an arsenal of talking alien guns, but High On Life 2 adds a skateboard that lets players grind and kickflip through its environments. The single-player adventure also sends players to strange locations including an alien convention, a human zoo, and a futuristic cruise liner.
- Original Release Date: February 13, 2026
- Genre: First-Person Shooter
- Developer: Squanch Games
- Publisher: Squanch Games
- Metascore (Xbox): 75, Generally Favorable
- How Long to Beat: 12 hours
- Xbox Store Link: Play High on Life 2 on Xbox
Xbox Free Play Days – STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl (Free for All, Timed Trial)
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Image via GameRant; Source: GSC Game World
The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone becomes a massive open-world survival game setting in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, where exploration can be just as dangerous as the gunfights waiting around the next corner. Playing as a stalker, players venture through a hostile landscape filled with mutants, rival factions, deadly anomalies, and valuable resources to scavenge. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 combines first-person shooting with RPG systems, nonlinear exploration, choices that matter, and a story with multiple possible outcomes.
- Original Release Date: November 20, 2024
- Genre: open-world survival game
- Developer: GSC Game World
- Publisher: GSC Game World
- Metascore (Xbox): 73, Mixed or average
- How Long to Beat: 40 hours
- Xbox Store Link: Play Stalker 2 Free on Xbox
Xbox Free Play Days – Little Nightmares 3 (Free for All, Timed Trial)
Little Nightmares 3 sends two young friends, Low and Alone, into another unsettling journey through the mysterious world of Nowhere. The pair must work together to solve environmental puzzles, sneak through dangerous areas, overcome massive obstacles, and survive the strange creatures lurking around them. Low carries a bow while Alone uses a wrench, giving each character different abilities that are needed to progress through the nightmare. Little Nightmares 3 can be played alone or in co-op: the former with an AI companion or cooperatively with another player online, making teamwork an important part of its atmospheric horror adventure.
- Original Release Date: October 10, 2025
- Genre: Puzzle Platformer
- Developer: Supermassive Games
- Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Metascore (Xbox): 72, Average or Mixed
- How Long to Beat: 6 hours
- Xbox Store Link: Play Little Nightmares 3 Free on Xbox
Xbox Free Play Days – Rogue Waters (Free for All, Timed Trial)
Rogue Waters mixes piracy, turn-based tactical combat, and roguelite progression into a journey across constantly changing seas. Players take control of Captain Cutter, recruiting and developing a crew while sailing toward a confrontation with the immortal Captain Blackbone. Each run creates new encounters, with naval battles allowing players to target enemy ship modules before boarding and fighting crews directly. Crew members come from six different classes and can gain permanent upgrades between runs, while mythical creatures such as the Kraken, Mermaid, and Giant Snail can be summoned during boarding battles. The result is a pirate RPG built around tactical decisions, procedural exploration, and the steady process of making each new run stronger than the last.
- Original Release Date: September 30, 2024
- Genre: Tactical Turn-Based Roguelite Pirate Game
- Developer: Ice Code Games
- Publisher: Tripwire Presents
- Metascore (Xbox): N/A (83, Generally Favorable on PC)
- How Long to Beat: 16 hours
- Xbox Store Link: Play Rogue Waters Free on Xbox
Source: Official Xbox Wire
