If you’ve been staring at the Xbox Game Pass library like it’s Netflix at 11 p.m.—endless scrolling, zero commitment—this weekend has a clean, high-impact answer: play the new heavy hitters that just landed, then sample what’s about to hit next week. Hades 2 is now on Game Pass and finally on Xbox Series X|S, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) just joined Game Pass tiers that matter, and Starfield has a major new update aimed squarely at one of its most-requested immersion upgrades.
Here’s what to boot up between April 17–19, why each pick is worth your time, and what’s coming immediately after if you finish early.
The weekend’s headline act: Hades 2 hits Game Pass (and Xbox)
Let’s not dance around it: Hades 2 is the kind of Game Pass drop that changes what your weekend looks like. It’s now available on Game Pass, and it also arrived on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X this week—meaning the floodgates are open for console players who weren’t already playing on PC or Nintendo platforms.
The hook is instantly compelling even if you never touched the first game. You’re not playing as Zagreus this time. You step into the role of Melinoë, his sister, and your mission is exactly the kind of mythic, personal stakes Supergiant thrives on: she’s fighting her way through the Underworld over and over to save Hades and the rest of her family, with Chronos looming as the brutal, repeat-run wall you’ll keep slamming into.
Mechanically, the pitch is pure Supergiant: tight combat, a constant drip-feed of build variety, and that “one more run” compulsion that turns a quick session into a 3 a.m. problem. Melinoë brings a witchy flavor to the arsenal with a variety of weapons, and the familiar Greek Gods return to hand out boons—along with more divine faces in the mix.
If you’re choosing one “new to Game Pass” game to anchor your weekend, this is it. Roguelikes live or die on feel, and this one is being talked about like the genre’s current gold standard for a reason.
Platforms mentioned in the announcement: Xbox Series X|S (new this week), plus other platforms noted elsewhere include Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and Windows PC.
Developer: Supergiant Games.
The “just one mission” trap: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) arrives on Game Pass
If you’ve been waiting for the Activision Blizzard era of Xbox to translate into genuinely meaningful Game Pass additions, this is a big one: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) from Infinity Ward is now on Xbox Game Pass.
What matters here is access. The game is available now on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass—skipping only the entry-level Essential tier. That tier split is important, because it’s a reminder of what modern Game Pass has become: not just “is it on the service,” but “which version of the service do you actually have?”
As a package, Modern Warfare (2019) is still one of the most significant Call of Duty releases of the last decade. It reviewed well at launch and was a blockbuster sales success. In the US, it was the best-selling game of 2019 (per NPD, now Circana), and it also ranked third in Europe’s best-selling games of 2019, behind only FIFA 20 and Grand Theft Auto V.
And yes, the campaign is the real weekend play here—especially if you’re the kind of Game Pass subscriber who bounces off the annual multiplayer grind but still loves a big-budget shooter story you can finish in a couple nights. The campaign was widely seen as a bright spot, delivering another globe-trotting Modern Warfare narrative while rebooting the subseries for a new era. It also brings back Captain John Price (recast with a new actor) and introduces Commander Farah Karim, played by Claudia Doumit (also known for Prime Video’s The Boys). Farah’s missions, in particular, were singled out as some of the campaign’s most memorable.
There’s also a very “Game Pass in 2026” angle here: subscribers get the entry-level version, the Digital Standard Edition, which is typically priced at $59.99 and includes the Tactical Knife and XRK Weapons Pack multiplayer items. You’re not getting a deluxe everything-bundle by default—this is access-first, upsell-later, and it’s worth knowing that going in.
One more key detail for franchise completionists: with this addition, the entire Modern Warfare reboot trilogy is now available on Game Pass.
Platforms/tier availability: Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass (Cloud/Console/PC availability is also listed for this drop).
Developer: Infinity Ward.
Publisher: Activision.
Typical price for the included edition: $59.99 (Digital Standard Edition).
The “give it another shot” pick: Starfield gets a major update
Starfield is the most complicated recommendation on this list—and that’s exactly why it belongs here.
Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG launched back in 2023, and it’s been a lightning rod ever since: massive ambition, unmistakable Bethesda DNA, and yes, plenty of Bethesda jank. But this month, Starfield received a big update explicitly aimed at addressing some of the criticism it took. The headline feature is a big one for immersion and flow: you can now fly between planets seamlessly.
That’s not a small tweak. It’s the kind of change that can reshape how the game feels minute-to-minute, especially for players who wanted space travel to feel more like a continuous journey rather than a stitched-together sequence of jumps and menus.
If you bounced off Starfield because the connective tissue between “cool moments” didn’t feel spacefaring enough, this weekend is the perfect time to reinstall and see whether that friction is finally easing. The main story is still described as a chase after mysterious MacGuffins, and nobody’s pretending it suddenly becomes a different RPG. But Starfield’s core appeal has always been freedom—wandering, poking around, and making your own pace in a huge sandbox. If seamless planet-to-planet flight makes that fantasy click harder, it’s a meaningful win.
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios (Bethesda is referenced as the DNA behind the experience).
Key update feature: seamless flight between planets.
A quick look ahead: what’s coming to Xbox (and Game Pass) next week
If you’re the kind of player who likes to plan your Game Pass time like a release calendar (respect), Microsoft’s “Next Week on Xbox” rundown for April 20–24 is stacked with smaller titles—and at least one Game Pass day-one release that could absolutely become the next “everyone’s talking about it” obsession.
Here are the Game Pass-relevant highlights and the ones worth watching even if you’re not sure they’re in the subscription lineup.
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors (April 21) — Game Pass
This is positioned as a spin-off from the creators of Vampire Survivors (Poncle). The twist is wild: it turns the “snowballing thrill” of Survivors into a turn-based, card-driven experience described as a “BLOBBER” with rogue-lite elements. It’s also tagged for Xbox Play Anywhere, and it’s Optimized for Xbox Series X|S, with Smart Delivery.
If you’ve ever wanted the dopamine of a Survivors run but with more tactical control and deck-building absurdity, this is the one to watch the moment it hits.
Kiln (April 23) — Game Pass, and it’s a Double Fine oddball in the best way
Double Fine Productions is bringing Kiln, described as a “pottery power-fantasy” that celebrates both creativity and destruction—making beautiful things, then smashing them to pieces. The hook is delightfully unhinged: sculpt your pot on a wheel, then take that ceramic creation into online arenas as the body you fight with.
It’s listed at $19.99 (with a $17.99 price shown as well), and it’s Optimized for Xbox Series X|S. There’s also a pre-order bonus pack (Warrior-Artist Decoration Pack) with glazes, stickers, and a pot lid attachment.
Even if you don’t care about cosmetics, the concept alone screams “streamable chaos,” and it’s exactly the kind of left-field Game Pass-friendly game that can pop off.
Other notable Xbox releases next week (not confirmed as Game Pass additions here)
Microsoft’s list also includes a ton of releases across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Xbox on PC—like Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch (April 20), Tides of Tomorrow (April 22), Until Then (April 23), and Sudden Strike 5 (April 23), among many others, with several prices listed. Not all of these are described as Game Pass titles in the lineup, so treat them as “coming to Xbox” rather than guaranteed subscription drops unless otherwise stated.
Why this weekend’s Game Pass lineup feels like a statement
This is one of those weekends where Game Pass feels less like a back-catalog buffet and more like a deliberate, modern subscription pitch: a prestige roguelike (Hades 2), a blockbuster shooter with mainstream pull (Modern Warfare 2019), and a flagship first-party RPG getting a meaningful systems-level upgrade (Starfield).
It also lands amid broader noise around Game Pass value. Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma has reportedly said Game Pass is “too expensive for players,” and an internal memo attributed to her frames Game Pass as “central” to Xbox’s value while acknowledging the current model “isn’t the final one.” There’s also reporting that she’s considering a new Game Pass tier focused only on first-party Microsoft-published games, and that the company has been exploring ways to make the service more flexible over time.
That context matters because it changes how you should read drops like Modern Warfare. Big third-party additions are the kind of thing that justify premium tiers—especially when Ultimate is now priced at $29.99 per month following the October introduction of the Essential/Premium/Ultimate tier structure. If Microsoft wants players to feel good about that price, weekends like this—where the “what do I play?” answer is immediate—are exactly the kind of momentum Game Pass needs.
What Remains Unknown
- Exact Game Pass availability details for Hades 2 beyond “now on Game Pass” (specific tier breakdown and cloud/PC/console entitlements haven’t been fully detailed here).
- Whether additional Call of Duty titles are imminent for Game Pass beyond Modern Warfare (2019); no official next drop has been announced in this set of updates.
- The rumored first-party-only Game Pass tier: name, pricing, launch timing, and final included library have not been officially confirmed.
- Starfield update scope beyond seamless planet-to-planet flight: other changes in the “big update” aren’t fully enumerated here.
