While November has been a quieter month for Xbox Game Pass, this week saw three games launch on Xbox to the benefit of Game Pass subscribers. One is the latest entry in Microsoft’s longest-running video game series, another is the long-awaited sequel to a supernatural horror cult classic, and the last one is a popular fantasy MMO that has finally made its way to Xbox Series X/S with bonuses for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. If you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription, but aren’t sure what you should be playing this weekend, these are the three most obvious choices.
Before Microsoft started releasing video game consoles, it made flight simulators. This storied hardcore flying simulation franchise is getting a new entry this year, aptly named Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The latest entry in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series builds upon the strong foundation of its revival in 2020. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 not only sees improved environmental simulation, visuals, and physics, but lots of new content as well. There are now missions where players can participate in aerial firefighting, search and research, and more. While the appeal of simulators like this one is someone niche, those looking for a new flight simulator will adore this game.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
The original Stalker is a cult classic supernatural first-person shooter from GSC Game World where players fight to survive in the dangerous Exclusion Zone around Chornobyl. A sequel was first teased in 2010, but that version of Stalker 2 was eventually shelved before the project was revived years later. GSC Game World has been dedicated to working on Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl since then, but its release has been delayed multiple times, mainly due to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. It’s satisfying to finally be at the end of the long, tumultuous road of Stalker 2’s development, though the final product is, understandably, a mess. The current version is loaded with bugs and performance issues, but GSC Game World is working quickly to address those problems and we’re already seeing improvements over what we we tested in our Stalker 2 review.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
This week also contained the long-awaited release of Genshin Impact on Xbox. Genshin Impact is an extremely popular fantasy RPG that combines the open-world design and gameplay of games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with the gacha-driven hero-earning mechanics of mobile games. It has captivated fans on PC, PlayStation, and mobile for years and can now be played on Xbox Series X/S. While Genshin Impact is free to play, its developers promise that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will receive reoccurring in-game rewards if they connect their Xbox profile to their Hoyoverse account and play Genshin Impact via Xbox Cloud Gaming. It’s worth downloading for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, even if you’re already playing it on another platform.
Genshin Impact is free on Xbox Series X/S with bonuses for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. It’s also on PC, PS4, PS5, iOS, and Android.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.