By Jacob Miller | Nov 06, 2026
How It Works
Free Play Days splits its selection into two groups. Free for All games need only an Xbox console, while Free with Xbox Game Pass games require a subscription. The Game Pass picks are temporary freebies, not permanent additions to the library. The easiest way to find them is to search the Microsoft Store on a console or visit the subscriptions tab.
The two Free for All games are Crime Boss: Rockay City and Anno 117. Ixion is also available as a 2-hour free trial. The games that need Game Pass are Payday 3, Nowhere Prophet, Ball x Pit, Deceive Inc and Age of Wonders 4.
The Free for All Games
Crime Boss: Rockay City is a first-person shooter that mixes organized crime, heists and territory management in a fictional, 1990s-inspired Florida city, which isn't all that unlike GTA 6's Vice City. Players take the role of Travis Baker, a criminal trying to become the new kingpin after the previous crime boss dies. The cast includes Michael Madsen, Chuck Norris, Danny Trejo and Vanilla Ice. Gameplay centers on planning robberies, stealing valuables, recruiting crew members and fighting rival gangs. The single-player campaign has roguelike elements, and up to four players can team up on heists in co-op. It released on June 18, 2024 from developer INGAME Studios and publisher 505 Games, with an Xbox Metascore of 52.
Anno 117: Pax Romana is a city-building strategy game from Ubisoft that takes players back to the Roman Empire in 117 AD. As a governor, you build settlements, set up trade routes, manage resources and balance the needs of different social classes while expanding your influence. Diplomacy, military conflict, naval battles and political decisions shape each province's future. It launched on November 13, 2025 from Ubisoft Mainz, takes about 12 to 15 hours to finish the campaign, and has an Xbox Metascore of 81.
The Game Pass Picks and Trial
Ixion, the 2-hour trial, is a sci-fi space colony simulator. The Tiqqun space station doubles as a city you must keep running while searching for a new home for humanity. Keeping the crew fed and the hull intact is a constant balancing act, especially when you depend on what expeditions bring back.
Payday 3 sees the Payday gang come out of retirement for co-op heists across New York City. A job can begin with your crew slipping past guards and end with everyone hauling bags of cash through a police assault.
Nowhere Prophet is a single-player roguelike deckbuilder in which every follower is a card, and losing one for good can change how you approach the rest of a run. Convoys cross a post-apocalyptic wasteland as you recruit allies and fight turn-based battles on a grid.
Ball x Pit takes the ricochet shots of a brick breaker and uses them against waves of monsters, letting you fuse balls to combine their effects. It is easily one of the most surprising and best games of 2025.
Deceive Inc is a multiplayer spy game where the guard walking past you could be another player in disguise, possibly after the same vault. Gadgets and disguises help you get close to the prize, but you still have to escape with it while rival agents try to intercept you.
Age of Wonders 4 is a turn-based tactical 4X strategy game where you design a fantasy faction from scratch and reshape it with magical research over the campaign. You expand your empire and deal with rival rulers on the world map, while army clashes play out in turn-based tactical battles.
