A new year in gaming brings with it excitement of what’s to come, whether its that highly anticipated title you’ve been waiting on for months, or the surprise of the unknown becoming a beloved game you enjoy for a long time after that. For a few years now Xbox uses the Developer_Direct as a way to build up excitement for the oncoming year. 2026 celebrates the 25th anniversary of Xbox and with that Microsoft gaming is promising quite the slew of releases. But before we get to that in a few weeks, we have the first drop of releases to Xbox Game Pass in 2026. Seeing major third party titles such as Capcom’s Resident Evil Village and Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws along with a prized indie title Mio: Memories in Orbit as well.
Mio: Memories in Orbit is the lone day one release in this wave of titles. This indie Metroidvania is developed by french studio Douze Dixièmes and published by Focus Entertainment. Players take control of the small robot Mio tasked to explore the decaying world and investigate why the vessel has suddenly been abandoned. During the journey, Mio unlocks abilities that are not only used in exploration but also in combat against enemies and bosses scattered throughout the environment. Unravel the story of the vessel and what happened to its Pearls when the game releases on January 20 for Xbox, PC, PlayStation 5, and both Switch consoles.
Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws comes to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate as part of Ubisoft + Classics and sees Kay Vess traverse a multitude of environments using a combination of Stealth and cover shooting. The game has seen quite a number of updates since it released in late summer of 2024 after it faced a much maligned launch. So anyone trying it out on Xbox Game Pass is perhaps playing the best version of the game.
Mio: Memories in Orbit and Star Wars Outlaws Head to Xbox Game Pass in Wave 1
Here’s the full list of what’s coming to Xbox Game Pass in Wave 1 of January 2026….
Little Nightmares: Enhanced Edition (January 6 for PC, Cloud & Xbox Series X|S) (Available on PC Game Pass, Ultimate & Premium)
Brews & Bastards (January 6 for PC, Cloud & Xbox Series X|S) (Available on PC Game Pass, Ultimate & Premium)
Atomfall (January 7 for PC, Cloud, & Console) (Now on Premium)
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die (January 7 for PC, Cloud, & Xbox Series X|S) (Now on Premium)
Rematch (January 7 for PC, Cloud, & Xbox Series X|S) (Now on Premium)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition (January 7 for PC, Cloud, & Xbox Series X|S) (Now on Premium)
Final Fantasy 1: Pixel Remastered Version (January 8 for PC, Cloud, & Console) (Available on PC Game Pass, Ultimate & Premium)
Star Wars Outlaws (Ubisoft + Classics) (January 13 for PC, Cloud & Xbox Series X|S) (Available on PC Game Pass & Ultimate Only)
My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery (January 15 for PC, Cloud & Console) (Available on PC Game Pass, Ultimate & Premium)
Mio: Memories in Orbit (Day One Release) (January 20 for PC, Cloud, Xbox Series X|S) (Available on PC Game Pass & Ultimate Only)
Resident Evil Village (January 20 for PC, Cloud, Xbox Series X|S) (Available on PC Game Pass & Ultimate Only)
