Xbox Game Pass is adding and dropping these games in July

*Nervously looks at this month’s bandwidth cap*

As easy as it is to fixate on what’s new in the Xbox Game Pass catalog for July 2019, it’s just as important to take note of which games are leaving the service soon. It’s a bit of a give-and-take.

This month, Game Pass touts headliners like Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Dead Rising 4, and Blazing Chrome on Xbox One – to say nothing of a killer PC-only lineup featuring Undertale and Timespinner – but on the flip side, we’ll need to wish a fond farewell to titles like Warhammer: Vermintide 2.

What’s new for Xbox Game Pass

• Middle-earth: Shadow of War (July 4) (Xbox One + PC)
• My Time at Portia (July 4) (Xbox One + PC)
• Undertale (July 4) (PC)
• Blazing Chrome (July 11) (Xbox One + PC)
• Dead Rising 4 (July 11) (Xbox One + PC)
• LEGO City Undercover (July 11) (Xbox One)
• Timespinner (July 11) (PC)
• Unavowed (July 11) (PC)
• Night Call (July 17) (PC)
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (July 18) (Xbox One)
• The Banner Saga 3 (July 18) (Xbox One + PC)
• For the King (July 25) (PC)
• Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition (July 25) (Xbox One + PC)
• Resident Evil 4 (July 25) (Xbox One)
• Gears 5 Versus mode technical test (July 26–29) (Xbox One + PC)

What’s leaving Xbox Game Pass

• Aftercharge (July 9)
• Warhammer Vermintide 2 (July 10)
• LEGO Movie: The Videogame (July 16)
• Dandara (July 31)
• Dead Rising 2 (July 31)
• Hitman Season 1 (July 31)
• Metal Slug XX (July 31)
• Defense Grid: The Awakening (July 31)
• Hexic 2 (July 31)
• Iron Brigade (July 31)

Circling back on that Gears 5 tidbit for a second, Microsoft says that “all current Xbox Game Pass members” will receive access to the Versus technical test in July, so there aren’t any extra hoops.

What’s looking good? I’m happy about my decision to check out My Time at Portia “when I get to it,” which, as it turns out, is going to be this weekend. I heard too many complaints to be in any sort of rush to play the crafting-life sim, but I will absolutely make the effort to download it through Game Pass.

I’m also very into the idea of Blazing Chrome, a run-and-gun in the same vein as Contra: Hard Corps. But before I over-commit, I need to make sure I can tear myself away from SSX 3. To be clear, it’s not included in Game Pass – it’s just taking up literally all of my time on Xbox One. What a banger.