Play these 3 games before they leave Xbox Game Pass this weekend (August 23-25)

By Tomas Franzese Published August 23, 2024

While Xbox Game Pass is still getting plenty of new games, some titles do leave the service every 15 days. At the end of August, we’re losing some particularly good ones. If you’re a fan of sports games, fighting games, or narrative-driven first-person shooters, then you’ll want to play at least one of these games this weekend.

Don’t fret that these games are leaving Xbox Game Pass, though. Xbox will be releasing Age of Mythology: Retold, Ara: History Untold, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Towerborne, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Xbox Game Pass this fall.

With stunning visuals and a weird sense of humor, Atomic Heart is quite memorable. It’s a BioShock-like first-person shooter in which players explore a postapocalyptic Russian dystopia an fight all sorts of mechanical and biological monstrosities along the way. Players have some pretty wild weapons and abilities at their disposal, so combat is quite entertaining and flashy. You also have the benefit of playing with a year-and-a-half worth of updates now, so technical issues have been resolved, and the Trapped in Limbo and Annihilation Instinct DLC are there to provide even more content once you beat the game. Atomic Heart leaves Xbox Game Pass on August 31. After that, you’ll need to buy it on PC, PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series X/S.

While not quite as well-known as Street Fighter or Tekken, the Guilty Gear series has a die-hard fan base that adores it. Guilty Gear Strive is the most recent, and best, game in the series. It sports the complex depth you’d expect from a 2D fighting game if that’s what you’re here for, but its visuals are also excellent. Arc System Works built upon the visual style it established with Dragon Ball FighterZ, making Guilty Gear Strive really feel like a playable anime. It’s still actively getting updates, too; Lucy from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is coming to the game next year. Play a few matches before it leaves Xbox Game Pass, and you’ll probably get hooked. Guilty Gear Strive leaves Xbox Game Pass on August 31, but it will be available afterwards on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

NBA 2K25 will launch on September 6, so 2K is pulling NBA 2K24 from Xbox Game Pass just before that. At this point, Visual Concepts’ basketball game series needs little introduction, as it’s one of the best sports games out there. The on-the-court gameplay is quite refined at this point, with NBA 2K24’s particular improvements being cross-platform play and improved animations. If you enjoy this annual sports game series, but have been playing its latest via Microsoft’s subscription service, definitely get some more games in this weekend. Like the other games I’ve mentioned, NBA 2K24 leaves Xbox Game Pass on August 31. After that, you’ll need to buy it on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, or Nintendo Switch. There’s also an Arcade Edition available via Apple Arcade.