Xbox Officially Makes 5 Games Completely Free Until October 18

Published Oct 16, 2026, 11:02 AM EDT

Bruno Yonezawa is a Gaming Senior Writer for Screen Rant. He's been practicing professional journalism for over 10 years, and is also a communications specialist. He's played games all his life and turned that passionate hobby into a passionate career, in an industry where he's worked as a writer, editor, analyst, and more.

Xbox is making five games completely free for its players, but if you want to check them out, you’ll have to move fast since the offer expires on October 18. Every so often, a few games are made available for free on Microsoft’s gaming platform. Through a subscription, members can get access to day-one releases on Xbox Game Pass, though these additions and the monthly arrivals in the catalog are far from being the only freebies given out by the company.

Now, five games are being made entirely free, but only for a limited time. According to an official post by Microsoft on Xbox Wire, five titles are becoming free until October 18, as part of the Free Play Days initiative. They are Crusader Kings III, Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop, Soccer Story, Ravenswatch, and NBA 2K27 Standard Edition. The trick here is that you’ll need to be an Xbox Game Pass member of any tier to gain access to these games for free.

This free weekend initiative for Xbox is not exactly new, as it happens nearly every week. However, these five games are new to the program, even if their free status will end on October 18. Crusader Kings III is a medieval grand strategy RPG that will have you control a growing dynasty over the ages. Meanwhile, Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop lives up to its title and has you drive licensed buses around the world.

Soccer Story is described as a “physics-driven” RPG that will have you and a magical soccer ball save the world. I’m particularly fond of Ravenswatch, one of the best action games from 2025. The title is a roguelike game centered around heroes from global folklore and legends, featuring Hades-like art style and gameplay, with its own DNA. Lastly, NBA 2K27 Standard Edition is the latest installment in the series for anyone who enjoys the genre.

The post on Xbox Wire does feature a sixth game, but the title isn’t becoming entirely free to play. Instead, The Alters has a free 3-hour trial available until October 18. Unlike the other freebies, no Xbox Game Pass membership is required to play this extended demo of the beloved survival game.

Meanwhile, over on Steam, you can get your hands on a few other games this weekend. From now until October 19, you can get your hands on free trials for Battlefield 6 and Stranded Deep. The former seems fairly suspect in its timing, given Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 becomes available from today in early access, but what's a little friendly competition between multi-billion dollar companies, right?

If you’re a member of Xbox Game Pass, be sure to take advantage of your monthly or annual fee and try playing any of the free titles this weekend. I highly recommend Ravenswatch, as I frequently play it with friends via cross-platform co-op. These are only the latest freebies for Xbox, so be sure to stay tuned for more games to try every week.

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