April is barely half done and Microsoft has already started filling out next month's Xbox Game Pass calendar. Four games are confirmed for May 2026 so far, and the headliner alone makes this one of the strongest single-month lineups the service has had all year.
The headliner that changes the month
Forza Horizon 6 lands on May 19, available across Series X|S, PC, and Cloud. This is Xbox's first major first-party AAA release of 2026, set across Japan with over 550 cars and a Horizon Festival framing that takes players from tourist to racing legend. The key here is that it arrives day one on Game Pass, which has become the standard expectation for Xbox first-party titles but still lands differently when the game in question is this big. Forza Horizon 5 spent years as one of the most-played games on the service, and its sequel carrying that same day-one access is a significant draw for subscribers.
The rest of May's confirmed lineup
The month actually opens with Mixtape on May 7. It's a narrative adventure about three friends spending one last night together, playing through memories set to a soundtrack featuring Joy Division, The Smashing Pumpkins, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Iggy Pop, and more. The premise is compact and emotional, which puts it squarely in the category of Game Pass titles that quietly become word-of-mouth favorites.
Five days later, on May 12, Call of the Elder Gods arrives as the follow-up to Out of the Blue's 2020 puzzle adventure Call of the Sea. This one leans into Lovecraftian horror, sending players to the far corners of the Earth to uncover ancient horrors in what the developer describes as a narrative puzzle adventure. Fans of the original have been waiting a while for this.
Then there's Subnautica 2, listed for May but without a specific date attached. The open-water survival sequel supports both solo and co-op play across new alien biomes, and it's the kind of title that could easily slip to a later window. Worth watching, but you'll want to treat that May window as tentative until Unknown Worlds pins down a firm date.
What the full picture looks like right now
These four games sit alongside a still-unfinished April lineup that includes Hades 2 and additional titles yet to be announced. Microsoft typically reveals more Game Pass additions as the month approaches, so this list will grow.
For a service that sometimes leans on third-party catalog fills between first-party releases, having Forza Horizon 6 as an anchor gives May real weight. The surrounding titles cover narrative adventure, horror puzzle, and survival genres, which is a genuinely varied spread even before the rest of the month gets filled in.
Keep an eye on the latest gaming news as Microsoft confirms more titles ahead of May, and check out latest reviews when Forza Horizon 6 coverage starts rolling in closer to launch.
