The best Game Pass games to play first in 2026

The new year is upon us, and it’ll bring with it dozens of exciting games we’re looking forward to. While the usually quiet month of January is actually packed with new releases in 2026, the beginning of the year is also a great time to clear out some of the backlog, especially if games on that backlog are set to leave Game Pass.

With this week’s recommendations, we want to spotlight three games that are leaving Xbox Game Pass on Jan. 15.

Neon White

Some games are so unique that they can’t really be replicated. That’s the case with Neon White, the genre-smashing action game from Angel Matrix. It’s a first-person shooter. It’s a speed-based parkour platformer. It’s a card game. Somehow, all of those things are compatible in a stylistically memorable game about sinners slaying demons for a chance to get into Heaven. The goal of each level is to kill demons and quickly navigate to the end of the stage. To do that, you pick up gun cards that can be played to shoot enemies. But those cards also can be discarded instead to trigger a platforming move, like a double jump. Mastering a level is all about knowing when to kill and when to move, creating a one-of-a-kind action game that I’ve yet to see any game even attempt to copy. —Giovanni Colantonio

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn

“No rest ’til dawn!” is the tagline for Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, but I, for one, will not rest until more people have played this damn good game. Flintlock is a third-person action game that is officially described as “Souls-lite”; its melee combat is heavy-hitting and parry-focused, and its bosses hit just as hard. Though it’s challenging, Flintlock is nowhere near as butt-kicking as a FromSoftware joint. In it, you play as a soldier, accompanied by a god, who sets out to defeat the army of the dead and kill the world’s vengeful gods before they kill you. Magic and gunfire blend seamlessly well in Flintlock, creating a unique setting and world that sets it apart from other Souslikes. —Austin Manchester

The Ascent

For those who deeply miss Deus Ex (hi), Neon Giant’s No Law was one of the unsung announcements out of the 2025 Game Awards. It’s a ways off (No Law doesn’t have a release date or even window), but you can check out the studio’s cyberpunk bona fides in The Ascent before it leaves Game Pass. It’s a messy mix of genres — part twin-stick shooter, part RPG, part Diablo-style loot fest — that doesn’t always coalesce. But the vibes. The vibes! The Ascent draws on a wide range of dystopian fiction to create its richly realized cyberpunk future. Also the co-op is pretty enjoyable. —Ari Notis