Microsoft has confirmed that another batch of games are set to leave Xbox Game Pass, and one in particular has caused some frustration among subscribers: Stalker 2.
GSC Game World’s Stalker 2 launched last year as an Xbox exclusive with support from Microsoft. While it’s not a video game published by Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft played a key role in marketing it ahead of its much-delayed November 2024 release date. It even collaborated with a Ukrainian studio on a 90-minute documentary that revealed the difficulties the game’s developers faced in the face of a full-scale Russian invasion.
As confirmed by the Xbox app, Stalker 2 will leave Game Pass on November 16, 2025, along with four other games detailed below.
Games leaving Xbox Game Pass on November 16, 2025:
The most uproar was caused by the departure of Stalker 2 – some Game Pass subscribers criticized the move a year after its launch and just before the game launched on PlayStation 5 on November 20.
“Microsoft supported GSC through all the delays and even invasions, so it’s surprising they weren’t able to secure a better deal.” said Redditor JBishie. “I think it’s a matter of principle: the game was incomplete at launch and is only now starting to look like a finished product, and yet it’s being removed from the service just as the 1.7 update is approaching, and with the PS5 launch imminent, the timing looks particularly bad.”
Indeed, the fact that Stalker 2 was released first on Xbox and PC, with several issues that have only now been fixed ahead of the PS5 launch, is highlighted by those who believe the game should remain on Game Pass for some time.
“It’s been a year, which is a pretty standard time for non-MiS games” – said VickyCriesALot. “I’m not sure why this is such a shock to people, like it’s unprecedented. Lmao.”
“Because the game got to a decent state that year?” davepars77 countered. “It’s going to take another year to get everything in order, let alone the DLC. It’s an Early Access product, not a finished product, so now is a great time to rip it off the service.”
“I think it’s a really bad precedent for a game to stay on Game Pass for less time than we had to wait for it to launch, on top of waiting MONTHS for patch after patch to become playable” – he complained.
“It’s bad that Stalker is leaving” added by @Matty_Cs_World. “It was good, but basically released with a lot of bugs. I don’t like that the premium subscription is only used as a beta testing area for developers. I wanted to get back into the game. But I think that ship has sailed.”
Xbox game series tier list
Xbox game series tier list
“Xbox must stop funding unfinished early access games, mainly for day one titles available on Game Pass” said Minute-Use-8489. “Two games that come to mind, Stalker 2 and Payday 3, turned out to be very unfinished, and it took them a year to fix and update each game, and when their content was removed from Game Pass, it seems like cheating imo.”
It’s worth noting that most of the games on this list will be available at least 20% off until they leave Xbox Game Pass in early November.
It doesn’t facilitate that Microsoft recently caused significant backlash by increasing the price of Game Pass. For Ultimate, the price has increased by as much as 50% to $29.99 per month. That’s an extra $120 a year. To justify the price raise, Microsoft increased the first day of the year releases to 75 and added Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics for the first time ever. There are also improvements to the streaming quality of Xbox Cloud games.
As for Stalker 2 on PS5, it launches on Sony’s console with full support for DualSense controller features, including feedback and adaptive triggers. Work is also underway on further technical improvements to PS5 Pro.
Wesley is the news director at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
