Vampire Crawlers, MySims, VOID/BREAKER 1.0, and 13 Departures: Microsoft Reveals Game Pass Wave 1 Lineup

November is officially kicking into high gear for Xbox subscribers. Through an official announcement published this November 3 on Xbox Wire, Microsoft has pulled back the curtain on the first wave of titles joining Xbox Game Pass in November 2026. The first half of the month is packed: 14 games (spanning 15 calendar entries with the separate PC and Console launches of Football Manager 27), six day-one launches led by Warhammer Survivors and open-world puzzle sequel Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School, eight retro classics for the Game Pass Essential tier, fresh in-game benefits (including telekinetic new Valorant Agent Hush and The First Descendant's Legacy Bundle), plus 13 games leaving the service on November 15.

Warhammer Survivors, Escape Academy 2, and TANUKI Lead the Day-One Lineup

The undisputed headliner of this first wave drops on November 10, 2026 as a day-one release. Developed by UK studio Auroch Digital (Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun) in direct partnership with Games Workshop and poncle (the creators of Vampire Survivors), Warhammer Survivors brings fast-paced bullet-heaven roguelite action into both the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar universes. Iconic champions (including Malum Caedo and Neave Blacktalon), enemy factions, and devastating weapons handcrafted in animated pixel art let players mow down endless hordes across Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Handheld-optimized devices.

Before that galactic slaughter begins, co-op puzzle fans can jump into Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School on November 5. Coin Crew Games evolves its formula into the very first open-world escape room game, playable entirely in two-player online or local split-screen co-op. If you are aiming for 100% completion as soon as the campus gates open, our complete Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School trophy and 1,000G achievement guide already breaks down every requirement spoiler-free.

November 10 also brings the day-one launch of TANUKI: Pon's Summer, casting you as BMX mail-delivery raccoon Pon with just one month to restore the local shrine before the Tanuki Festival while working as a sushi chef, tending the local bar, and entering sumo matches. Strategy and sports fans get a double dose of management: while Football Manager 27 is live today (November 3) on PC, Football Manager 2027 Console hits Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on November 10. Rounding out the day-one slate on November 11 is mystery adventure Hope in the City, where 17-year-old artist Hope Song returns to a ransacked apartment after her parents vanish and turns her sketches into investigative evidence.

Vampire Crawlers, VOID/BREAKER 1.0, MySims, and Aphelion

Beyond the day-one launches, Microsoft is expanding its subscription tiers throughout the month alongside the major blockbusters tracked in our November 2026 video game release calendar:

• Pit of Goblin kicks things off today, November 3 (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC - Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass), with online co-op horror where scrappy goblins scavenge trap-filled dungeons to feed the Goblin King-Queen.
• On November 4, turn-based card-driven roguelite blobber Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors expands to Game Pass Premium (joining Ultimate and PC Game Pass), while adrenaline-fueled roguelite FPS VOID/BREAKER hits its full Version 1.0 release on Xbox Series X|S and Cloud Gaming.
• November 5 brings four-player co-op sim Firefighting Simulator: Ignite alongside MySims: Cozy Bundle (packaging retro re-releases of MySims and MySims Kingdom on Cloud, Console, and PC via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass).
• Week two follows up with minimalist kingdom-defense strategy hit Thronefall (November 11) and four-player zombie swarm shooter John Carpenter's Toxic Commando (November 12).
• Finally, on November 17, Don't Nod's third-person sci-fi adventure Aphelion - created in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) following astronauts Ariane and Thomas on a frozen planet - joins Game Pass Premium alongside Paw Patrol: Dino World. Xbox also highlights that four-player bio-engineered space-dog extraction co-op game Gravhounds (Game Preview) is available now.

Full Schedule: Xbox Game Pass November 2026 Wave 1 Additions

Official Xbox Note: Titles listed with a "Handheld" designation are specifically optimized for handheld gaming PCs and portable devices.

8 Rare & Xbox Classics Joining Game Pass Essential on November 15

Alongside the newest releases, Microsoft is expanding the entry-level Game Pass Essential library on November 15, 2026 with eight classic Xbox Games Studios and Rare titles: Banjo-Kazooie (Cloud and Console), Banjo-Tooie (Cloud and Console), Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Cloud and Console), Gears of War: Judgment (Cloud and Console), Halo: Spartan Assault (Cloud, Console, and PC), Perfect Dark (Cloud and Console), Viva Piñata (Cloud and Console), and Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (Cloud and Console).

Game Updates & In-Game Benefits: New Valorant Agent Hush, League of Legends, and The First Descendant

The official Xbox Wire announcement also details major game updates and In-Game Benefits included for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, Essential, and PC Game Pass members during the first half of November:

• Valorant (Console and PC - Available Now): Game Pass subscribers unlock immediate access to all agents, including the brand-new Chinese operative Hush. Using telekinesis to close classified cases, Hush redirects enemy combat utility in midair to disrupt and displace the opposing team before suspending targets helplessly in the air for the finishing blow.
• League of Legends (PC - Available Now): The new ARAM Mayhem: Journey to Stardom season brings together Riot's fan-favorite virtual music groups (K/DA, True Damage, Heartsteel, and Pentakill) with group missions and powerful new augments to unlock.
• Microsoft Sudoku (PC - November 10): Subscribers enjoy ad-free play, double XP across all game modes, and extra Coins in Daily Challenges across six difficulty levels (with mobile perks included for Ultimate members).
• The First Descendant - Legacy Bundle (Console and PC - November 17): Celebrating Season 4 Episode 2 "Legacy", subscribers can claim an exclusive bundle featuring a Back Attachment, Spray, 10 paints (including Matte Jelly Blue, Gloss Dolphin Gray, and Metal Matte Peach Purge), Gold, Kuiper Shards, Crystallization Catalysts, and EXP boosts.

Check Availability for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on Amazon→

All 13 Games Leaving Xbox Game Pass on November 15, 2026

As always, fresh additions mean several titles are rotating out. Alongside Football Manager 26 departing on November 10, 13 games are leaving the Game Pass library on November 15, 2026 (with the standard 20% membership discount available for players who want to keep them permanently before they exit):

• 1000xResist (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Barbie Horse Trails (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Firefighting Simulator - The Squad (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• GoldenEye 007 (Cloud and Console)
• Great God Grove (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Moonlighter (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Pigeon Simulator (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Police Simulator: Patrol Officers (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Relic Hunters Legend (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Total Chaos (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Winter Burrow (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Wreckfest (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Written by Chaya "Chayane"

🧠 Deep Learning AI & Dev 🗽 New York & Montreal

Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.

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