Grand Theft Auto V returns to Xbox Game Pass and it’s coming to the cloud

By Giovanni Colantonio Updated June 14, 2021

Microsoft revealed its next round of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in April. The biggest announcement is the return of Grand Theft Auto V, which will be available on Microsoft’s cloud gaming service.

Grand Theft Auto V was previously available on Xbox Game Pass until it was removed from the service in May 2020. At the time, Microsoft switched it out for Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2, which has since left the Game Pass catalog.

Games are coming. this is us telling you about them https://t.co/Y9j4eT5RXS pic.twitter.com/Cl78CBvdvb

— Xbox Game Pass (@XboxGamePass) April 6, 2021

GTAV returns to Xbox Game Pass on April 8. It will be available for console subscribers, but not on the PC version of the service. The open world game is also coming to Microsoft’s cloud streaming service. It’ll be playable on Android devices, though the service is expected to launch on iOS sometime this spring.

Other notable additions include Zombie Army 4: Dead War, which is also free for PS Plus subscribers this month. It comes to PC, console, and cloud on April 8.

A pair of Disney games, Disneyland Adventures and Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure, hit the cloud on April 8. Indie games Rain on Your Parade and Pathway are joining the service on April 15. NHL 21 comes to consoles on April 12 via EA Play. Finally, the previously announced MLB The Show 21 hits consoles and the cloud on its launch day, April 2o.

The update is more notable for what’s leaving Game Pass than what’s joining it. Game Pass loses 10 titles in April, though most of those are EA sports games. Five Madden games will disappear from the service on April 16, as will two NHL games. A trio of indies, including the standout tactics game Wargroove, depart on April 15.

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Giovanni Colantonio

Section Editor, Gaming

Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…

Gaming

Grand Theft Auto V makes its surprise return to Xbox Game Pass today

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Xbox Game Pass is kicking off July with a major surprise, as Grand Theft Auto V has returned to the service. Rockstar's sales juggernaut leads an otherwise light month for Game Pass, which brings Capcom's Exoprimal as a day-one launch.

This isn't the first time that Grand Theft Auto V has been on Game Pass. It was previously on the service circa 2021 but removed from it that August. Rockstar has a history of putting its games on Game Pass for a brief window before pulling it, as it also did with Red Dead Redemption 2.

Gaming

One of my favorite 2022 games just came to Xbox Game Pass, and you need to try it

Arcade cabinets stand in a room in Arcade Paradise.

When I think back to 2022, there are a ton of critically acclaimed games that stick with me. Naturally, I spent countless hours adventuring through the Lands Between in Elden Ring. Splatoon 3 and Vampire Survivors ate up my entire summer, while I still think about Pentiment and Immortality months later. There's one lesser-known game, though, that was a go-to I kept coming back to throughout the year despite the fact that it wasn't talked about nearly as much as any of those games.

That would be Arcade Paradise, a quiet 2022 standout that's now available on Xbox Game Pass today. Developed by Nosebleed Interactive, it's a unique simulation game that balances 90s nostalgia with a thoughtful look at the line between hobby and work. If you spent any time during your youth hanging around arcades, you'll want to give it a try while it's on Game Pass.

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Xbox Game Pass adds one of 2022’s best racing games this month

A man leans against a car in Need for Speed Unbound.

Microsoft has revealed that games that will be coming to Xbox Game Pass throughout the rest of June and even into early July. While the list lacks any major exclusives or first-party games, a solid racing game from 2022 and some intriguing indies make it an interesting batch. Thankfully, the losses the service will suffer at the end of the month aren't too bad either.
The most notable game to hit Xbox Game Pass Ultimate during the back half of June will be Need for Speed Unbound. Coming to the service via its EA Play connection, this is a solid racing game that I gave a three-and-a-half-star review last year. At the time, I said it was "a surprisingly entertaining racer in a year that hasn’t seen much racing game excitement since Gran Turismo 7." On the indie side of things, The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales will be a day one Xbox Game Pass release on June 22. It's an isometric adventure game where the main gimmick is that players can enter the worlds of books they come across.
Former PlayStation console exclusive F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch will also come to Xbox Series X/S via Xbox Game Pass on June 27. This is the full list of titles you can expect to come to the subscription service between today and July 5.

Need for Speed Unbound -- June 22
The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales -- June 22
Bramble: The Mountain King -- June 27
F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch -- June 27
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town -- June 29
Arcade Paradise -- July 3
Sword and Fairy: Together Forever -- July 5