Best Games on Game Pass: Co-op, RPG and Day-One Picks

Game Pass is huge, messy, and constantly rotating, so the real question is not what is on it but what is worth your evening. This guide pulls the best games on Game Pass into clear buckets: by genre, by group size, and by which tier you actually need. Skim the at-a-glance box, grab a pick, go play.

Last updated: June 7, 2026.

Prices checked: June 2026. Sources: Steam, Epic, publisher pages and partner stores. We refresh prices and sale notes regularly.

Best picks at a glance

• Best day-one drop: Forza Horizon 6 (open-world racing, no extra cost on launch day)
• Best RPG: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (with Persona 5 Royal close behind)
• Best solo skill game: Hades II
• Best platformer/metroidvania: Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Best for 2 players: It Takes Two
• Best for 3-4 players: Subnautica 2 or Grounded 2
• Best for big groups: Sea of Thieves and Halo Infinite
• Best couch co-op: Stardew Valley (split-screen up to four)
• Best cross-platform: Sea of Thieves (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Cloud, crossplay)
• Best cheap way in: PC Game Pass at 13.99 a month
• Best comfort sim: Microsoft Flight Simulator

Quick list

Entry cost below means either Day-one (needs Ultimate or PC Game Pass at launch) or Catalog (usually available across the paid tiers). Tier placement rotates, so confirm on xbox.com before you subscribe.

Best by genre

Racing and open world Forza Horizon 6 is the headline here. It dropped onto Game Pass on launch day in 2026, and it is the rare racing game that works for both wheel-clutchers and people who just want to drive somewhere pretty. If you prefer your open world on foot, Starfield and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora cover the explore-a-huge-map itch, while Skyrim remains the go-to fantasy sandbox. Want to take any of these on the move? Many run beautifully on handhelds via cloud, and we track which titles play nicest on Steam Deck.

RPG This is where Game Pass quietly destroys the competition. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a turn-based standout with a story worth finishing, Persona 5 Royal returns in June as a stylish 100-hour binge, and Diablo IV scratches the loot-and-numbers itch. For deeper genre breakdowns and where each one ranks, see our RPG hub.

Action and platformer Hades II is the easy recommendation for anyone who wants a game they can pick up for twenty minutes and feel good about. Hollow Knight: Silksong is enormous and demanding in the best way, and Hi-Fi Rush is pure joy if you like rhythm and combat in the same blender. More picks live in our action hub.

Horror-leaning Game Pass is light on pure horror, but Lies of P brings the dread with its gothic, hostile world, and it scratches a similar nerve to the souls greats. If you specifically want scares, check our horror hub for what is currently streaming and what to buy instead.

Sim and strategy Microsoft Flight Simulator is the calmest thing on the service, Age of Empires IV is a friendly door into real-time strategy, and Stardew Valley is the cozy sim that eats whole weekends.

Best by group size

Best for 2 players It Takes Two is the clear winner. It is built from the ground up for exactly two people, every level introduces a new idea, and the Friend's Pass means your partner can join even without their own subscription. No padding, no busywork.

Best for 3-4 players Subnautica 2 added four-player co-op and is available in Game Preview to Ultimate and PC Game Pass members, so a small group can explore the deep together. Grounded 2 is the backyard survival pick for the same size party, and Diablo IV scales to a four-player loot session. Sea of Thieves also caps a galleon crew at four, which is the sweet spot for chaos.

Best for 5+ players For bigger gangs, Halo Infinite multiplayer is free and scales to large team modes, and Sea of Thieves servers put multiple crews on the same map, which is where the real stories happen. Age of Empires IV supports large skirmish lobbies if your group prefers brains over reflexes.

Best couch co-op Stardew Valley supports local split-screen for up to four, which makes it the easiest couch pick on the service. It Takes Two also plays in split-screen on one machine. Game Pass is thinner on true local party games, though, so for the classic sofa-mayhem nights we point people to a few titles worth owning outright, listed in the adjacent picks below.

Best cross-platform

Microsoft has been steadily shipping its games beyond Xbox, which matters if your friends are scattered across systems. Sea of Thieves is the standout: it runs on PC, Xbox and PlayStation with crossplay, so a mixed crew can sail together. Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle have also reached other platforms. Within the Game Pass family itself, PC, Xbox and Cloud share most of the library, and crossplay in Diablo IV, Halo Infinite and Forza means your platform rarely keeps you out of a lobby.

Honourable / adjacent picks

These are not on Game Pass right now (or they fill a gap the service leaves open), but each does one thing so well it is worth owning. We compare prices for all of them across Steam, Eneba, Kinguin, GOG and more, so you buy at the lowest sticker.

• Duck Game: the couch party game Game Pass is missing. Fast, funny, lethal, best with a crowd.
• Stick Fight: The Game: chaotic local and online brawling for groups who like to laugh and lose friends.
• Untitled Goose Game: a tiny, perfect stealth-comedy if you want something light and self-contained.
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (GOTY): love Skyrim on Game Pass? The older entry is a cheap, deep follow-up.
• Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game and ATOM RPG: classic and modern takes on the isometric post-apocalypse RPG, both bargain-bin priced.
• Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced: four-player looter-shooter co-op if the Game Pass shooter rotation runs dry.
• LEGO Batman: The Videogame: easygoing two-player co-op for younger players or relaxed evenings.
• There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension: a clever, funny puzzle-adventure for a single quiet weekend.

Fancy something that costs nothing at all? Our giveaways tracker lists games that are free to keep right now.

FAQ

Which Game Pass tier do I actually need for these games? Day-one first-party releases like Forza Horizon 6, Hades II and Subnautica 2 require Ultimate or PC Game Pass. Most catalog classics (Skyrim, Hi-Fi Rush, Persona 5 Royal) appear across the paid tiers, including the cheaper Essential and Premium plans. Tier placement rotates, so check the game page on xbox.com before subscribing.

Is PC Game Pass or Ultimate the better deal? If you only play on a PC or laptop and do not need cloud or console multiplayer, PC Game Pass at 13.99 a month is the value pick and still includes EA Play. Ultimate at 22.99 adds cloud streaming, console day-one access and multiplayer perks. Pick by where and how you play, not by which number is bigger.

Is Game Pass worth it if I only play a few hours a month? Probably not. If you log under ten hours a month, a subscription mostly bleeds money between sessions. You may be better off buying one or two games you truly want and watching for sales in our deals and Steam sale tracker.

What are the best co-op games on Game Pass right now? It Takes Two for two players, Subnautica 2 and Grounded 2 for small groups, and Sea of Thieves plus Halo Infinite for bigger sessions. Diablo IV is the flexible one that works at any party size up to four.

Are these games on PlayStation or Switch too? Some are. Microsoft now ships several of its titles widely, so Sea of Thieves, Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle have reached other systems. Game Pass itself spans PC, Xbox and Cloud.

Can I play Game Pass games on Steam Deck? Yes, through cloud streaming, and a growing number of catalog titles run well that way. We keep a list of Steam Deck friendly games if you want to know what holds up on a handheld.

Why does the Game Pass library keep changing? Licensed third-party games rotate in and out as deals expire, while most first-party titles stay. That is exactly why we recommend playing a shortlist quickly rather than saving everything for later.

Do I keep the games if I cancel? No. Game Pass is access, not ownership. If a game becomes a regular for you, buy it outright so it survives any cancellation. We compare buy-to-own prices across stores in our full catalog.

The bottom line

Game Pass earns its keep when you treat it like a tasting menu: subscribe, blitz a shortlist (Forza Horizon 6, Clair Obscur, Hades II, It Takes Two), then decide what is worth owning forever. For the couch-party staples the service skips, and for any classic you want to keep, compare real prices first.

Start with the deals worth owning below, dig into the full catalog, and watch the current deals so you never overpay.

Alex, Scout Team