Huge Game Pass April wave

Microsoft just turned April into one of the busiest Xbox Game Pass months in a long time. Xbox announced a first-wave lineup on April 7 with big names like Hades II, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Replaced, Kiln, and Vampire Crawlers, plus a stack of smaller releases spread through the month. (news.xbox.com) The count depends on who is doing it. Xbox’s own April 7 post lists the first wave, while outlets like Kotaku counted 17 incoming games across the month, which is why headlines are calling this a huge April wave instead of a normal refresh. (kotaku.com) (news.xbox.com) The headline grabber is Hades II, because it is arriving on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on April 14 the same day it joins Game Pass. Supergiant’s sequel had already been available on personal computer and Mac, so this is the moment console subscribers on Xbox finally get in. (engadget.com) (kotaku.com) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the other attention magnet, because it brings one of Activision’s biggest recent shooters into the subscription library. Xbox’s announcement says it includes the campaign, multiplayer, and Special Ops, which makes it one of the month’s most recognizable additions for mainstream players. (news.xbox.com) The rest of the slate shows how Microsoft uses Game Pass to mix blockbuster games with day-one experiments. Replaced lands April 14, Vampire Crawlers follows on April 21, Kiln arrives April 23, and Aphelion closes out the month on April 28. (news.xbox.com) (techwiser.com) That mix matters because Game Pass works less like a store shelf and more like a rotating buffet. A giant shooter like Modern Warfare pulls in casual subscribers, while smaller games like Tiny Bookshop or Kiln get a shot at players who might never have paid for them outright. (news.xbox.com) April’s wave also comes with a deadline. Five games are currently set to leave Xbox Game Pass on April 15: Ashen, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Grand Theft Auto V, My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery, and Terra Invicta. (gamespot.com) (purexbox.com) Grand Theft Auto V is the most eye-catching exit, because it is one of the service’s biggest evergreen games and it leaves across console, personal computer, and cloud. If you were treating it like a permanent part of the library, April 15 is the date that assumption breaks. (purexbox.com) (gamespot.com) Microsoft usually softens that blow with member discounts before removal. Pure Xbox reports that the departing titles are discounted by at least 20 percent before they leave, with some getting deeper cuts during the Xbox Spring Sale 2026. (purexbox.com) There is a second clock running in parallel, and it is separate from Game Pass. Five Xbox titles are being delisted from the Xbox Store in April and May, which means they are disappearing from sale entirely rather than just leaving the subscription catalog. (purexbox.com) That distinction matters because a Game Pass removal still leaves you the option to buy the game later, while a store delisting can close the storefront door altogether. Pure Xbox says the delisting list includes Beast Quest, Battlefield Hardline’s Standard Edition, and Pinball FX3, with some dates stretching from April 9 through early May. (purexbox.com) So April on Xbox is running in two directions at once. Roughly 17 new Game Pass arrivals are giving subscribers more to sample, while five Game Pass exits and five store delistings are putting expiration dates on older games at the exact same time. (kotaku.com) (gamespot.com) (purexbox.com) For subscribers, the practical reading is simple. Hades II and Modern Warfare are the reasons to look at Game Pass this week, and Grand Theft Auto V plus any delisted Xbox Store titles are the reasons to check what might vanish before you get to them. (engadget.com) (gamespot.com) (purexbox.com)