Xbox Game Pass Adds Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy on Day One, and Loses The Witcher 3 Remastered
Microsoft has published the second wave of August additions to Xbox Game Pass, and the one that matters most is Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, which joins the service on 27 August — the same day it goes on sale everywhere else. Asobo Studio's prequel is a Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass title, playable on Xbox Series X|S, PC, cloud and handheld devices. It is not on the cheaper Game Pass Premium tier.
Eleven titles are involved in this wave across nine dates, and five games leave the service on 31 August. One of the departures is The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt – Remastered Edition, so anyone part-way through it has under two weeks to finish or buy it.
Every game in the Xbox Game Pass August wave 2 lineup
Dates below are the day each title becomes playable. Where a game is listed on Premium as well as Ultimate, the cheaper tier gets it at the same time, not later.
- 18 August — Egging On (Premium, Ultimate, PC Game Pass; cloud, Xbox Series X|S, handheld, PC)
- 19 August — Vapor World: Over the Mind, in Game Preview (Ultimate, PC Game Pass; cloud, console, PC)
- 19 August — BlazBlue Entropy Effect X (Premium, Ultimate, PC Game Pass; cloud, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
- 19 August — Relooted (Premium, Ultimate, PC Game Pass; cloud, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
- 19 August — Starsand Island (Premium, Ultimate, PC Game Pass; cloud, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
- 25 August — Aerial_Knight's DropShot (Premium, Ultimate, PC Game Pass; cloud, Xbox Series X|S, handheld, PC)
- 25 August — Blood Dungeon (Ultimate, PC Game Pass; cloud, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
- 27 August — Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy (Ultimate, PC Game Pass; cloud, Xbox Series X|S, handheld, PC)
- 31 August — Young Suns (Premium, Ultimate, PC Game Pass; cloud, console, PC)
- 1 September — Shelldiver (Premium, Ultimate, PC Game Pass; cloud, console, PC)
Two entries are not games at all. Once Human gets a set of in-game benefits on 25 August, and World of Tanks Modern Armor gets a bundle with XP rewards on 1 September. Both are available on every Game Pass tier, including Essential, because they are perks attached to free-to-play titles rather than library additions.
Which tier do you actually need
The split matters more than it used to. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Vapor World and Blood Dungeon require Ultimate on console; Premium subscribers do not get them. Everything else on the console list is on Premium too.
On PC there is no such split — every title in this wave is on PC Game Pass. Three of them are marked for handheld play as well: Egging On, Aerial_Knight's DropShot and Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy.
Resonance is set roughly 15 years before A Plague Tale: Requiem and follows Sophia, a character series players already know from the second game. It launches simultaneously on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, so the Game Pass listing is a day-one add rather than a later arrival.
What leaves Game Pass on 31 August
Five titles rotate out at the end of the month: Another Crab's Treasure, I Am Your Beast, Neon Abyss, One Lonely Outpost, and The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt – Remastered Edition. NBA 2K26 follows on 6 September.
Save files stay on your console or in the cloud after a game leaves, so buying it later picks up where you stopped. Subscribers get a discount on departing titles while they are still in the catalogue, which is worth using before the 31st rather than after. This wave follows the removals earlier in the month covered in our round-up of the four games that left Game Pass on 15 August.
If you are weighing what else is worth installing on a Series X this month, the Gears of War: E-Day open beta is running for everyone, and ARC Raiders update 1.42.0 is out with a fresh event. For anyone playing away from the console, our list of Android games with proper gamepad support covers what pairs cleanly with an Xbox controller.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy on Game Pass?
Yes. It joins Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on 27 August, the same day it launches at retail, so it is a day-one addition. It is playable on Xbox Series X|S, PC, cloud and supported handhelds. It is not included with Game Pass Premium.
What is leaving Xbox Game Pass on 31 August?
Another Crab's Treasure, I Am Your Beast, Neon Abyss, One Lonely Outpost and The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt - Remastered Edition all leave on 31 August. NBA 2K26 leaves separately on 6 September. Your save files remain if you buy a game later.
Do Game Pass Premium subscribers get every game in this wave?
No. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Vapor World: Over the Mind and Blood Dungeon are Ultimate-only on console. Premium subscribers get the other console titles on the same dates as Ultimate, with no delay.
Which of these games work on a handheld?
Three titles are listed for handheld play: Egging On from 18 August, Aerial_Knight's DropShot from 25 August and Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy from 27 August. The rest are limited to console, PC and cloud streaming.
Are the Once Human and World of Tanks entries full games?
No, they are in-game perks rather than library additions. Once Human gets in-game benefits on 25 August and World of Tanks Modern Armor gets a bundle with XP rewards on 1 September. Both are available on every tier, including Game Pass Essential, since the underlying games are free to play.
