Xbox Game Pass holds well over four hundred games at any given moment, and the rotating library makes it the closest thing the gaming audience has to Netflix. Most of those games are not open-world, and a meaningful portion of the ones that are open-world are filler — empty maps, copy-paste outposts, or expired live-service husks.
We installed every open-world title currently on the service across console and PC and ranked the eleven worth your storage. The rest can sit in the catalog graveyard.
How We Ranked These
Open-world is a genre that promises freedom and frequently delivers a chore list. Our cull was simple — does the world reward you for wandering off the quest marker, and does the moment-to-moment movement feel like a game rather than a commute?
We weighted four things, with playtime and freshness as tiebreakers when scores landed close together.
Critic scores are pulled from Metacritic and OpenCritic as of May 2026, and availability is verified on the Game Pass storefront for US Ultimate as of the same date. Tier inclusion may shift if a game leaves the service — Game Pass turnover usually gives a notice window of two to three weeks.
The Eleven Worth Installing
| Rank | Game | Year | Metacritic | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forza Horizon 5 | 2021 | 92 | Pure driving freedom |
| 2 | Avowed | 2025 | 82 | Tight forty-hour fantasy |
| 3 | Starfield (Shattered Space) | 2023/24 | 83 | Sandbox sci-fi obsessives |
| 4 | Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | 2024 | 87 | Cinematic exploration |
| 5 | Diablo IV | 2023 | 86 | Loot-driven seasons |
| 6 | Sea of Thieves | 2018 | 81 | Co-op chaos |
| 7 | Grounded | 2022 | 83 | Survival-craft on a budget map |
| 8 | Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth | 2024 | 89 | Side-content addicts |
| 9 | Atomfall | 2025 | 78 | British folk-horror Fallout fans |
| 10 | Senua's Saga: Hellblade II | 2024 | 81 | Short, cinematic worlds |
| 11 | Palworld | 2024 | 77 | Survival-monster taming |
1. Forza Horizon 5 — Still the Benchmark
Forza Horizon 5 has been on Game Pass since launch day in November 2021, and it is still the most polished open-world experience on the service. The Mexico map is dense without ever feeling claustrophobic, and Playground's seasonal updates have kept the festival rotating long after most live-service games would have given up.
Driving feel is the deciding factor — every car in the roster has a distinct weight, and the world rewards you for veering off-road in a way that almost no other racer manages. Watch if you liked our take in our racing games roundup, because Horizon is the open-world cousin to those track-focused picks.
2. Avowed — Obsidian's Tight Sandbox
Avowed launched in early 2025 as Obsidian's response to the bloated open-world template, and it works precisely because it refuses to be a hundred-hour game. The Living Lands map is broken into four distinct regions, and each one is small enough to actually learn rather than skim with a fast-travel marker.
Combat is faster than Skyrim and more deliberate than Outer Worlds, with a wand-and-pistol loadout that earned an 82 on Metacritic and a much warmer reception from players. If you bounced off Starfield's empty planets, Avowed is the antidote.
3. Starfield — Better in 2026 Than at Launch
Starfield in 2026 is a different game than the one that landed in September 2023 to a divided reception. The Shattered Space expansion, the May 2024 city overhaul, and the long-awaited land vehicle have repaired most of the launch-window complaints about empty terrain.
It still is not for everyone — the loading screens between systems remain the single most-cited frustration in the player reviews. But for sandbox sci-fi fans willing to invest sixty hours, no other game on the service offers the same scope.
4. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
MachineGames built a hybrid open-world that gives you four large hub regions — Vatican City, Gizeh, Sukhothai, Himalayas — rather than one continuous map. Each hub plays like a tightly packed puzzle box, and the whip-and-fist combat is genuinely satisfying in a way licensed games rarely manage.
It earned an 87 on Metacritic and a Game Awards nomination, and it remains one of the strongest first-party launches Xbox has put on the service.
5. Diablo IV — Open-World Sanctuary
Diablo IV joined Game Pass in March 2024 and brought with it a genuinely open Sanctuary map that you can ride across without loading screens. Seasons reset every three months and rotate new mechanics, which makes it the closest thing on the service to a long-term loot habit.
It is not a traditional open-world in the Bethesda sense, but the world structure earns it a place on this list.
6. Sea of Thieves
Eight years in, Sea of Thieves is still the best argument for Game Pass as a co-op platform. The shared open ocean only really clicks with two to four friends, but when it does, no other open-world game on the service generates better stories.
7. Grounded
A backyard the size of a small town, scaled so a juice box becomes a landmark — Grounded is the cleverest map design on Game Pass. The 1.0 release in 2022 was followed by a steady drip of updates, and the survival-craft loop holds up better than most early-access alumni.
8. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Hawaii in Infinite Wealth is the most side-content-dense open hub Ryu Ga Gotoku has ever shipped. Sicko Mode minigames, dating apps, a Pokemon-Snap parody, and a full Animal-Crossing-style island sim — all wrapped around a turn-based RPG that earned an 89 on Metacritic.
9. Atomfall — British Folk-Horror Fallout
Rebellion's Atomfall dropped in March 2025 with a 1962 Cumbrian quarantine zone that plays like Fallout filtered through The Wicker Man. It is shorter than the games above it on this list — most players finish in twenty-five hours — but the atmosphere lingers.
If you love the dread-soaked corners of our horror movie rankings, Atomfall is the gaming equivalent.
10. Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Hellblade II is barely open-world — its zones are wide corridors with optional exploration — but the Iceland-shot vistas are the best-looking environments on any Xbox console. Eight hours, no padding, worth the install slot for the audio design alone.
11. Palworld
Palworld arrived as a meme and stayed as a genuinely competent survival-craft open-world. Game Pass added it day-one in January 2024, and the Sakurajima and Feybreak expansions have kept it relevant through 2026.
What Got Cut
How To Pick Your Next Install
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these games available on PC Game Pass too?
Every game on this list is available on PC Game Pass with the exception of a handful of cloud-streaming-only titles. Forza, Starfield, Avowed, Indiana Jones, Diablo IV, and Hellblade II all run natively on PC.
What about Red Dead Redemption 2 — isn't that on Game Pass?
Red Dead Redemption 2 has rotated on and off the service multiple times. As of May 2026 it is not currently in the library, which is why it did not make this ranking — we only score what you can install today.
Is Skyrim still on Game Pass?
Skyrim Anniversary Edition remains on Game Pass and is a defensible install if you have somehow never played it. We left it off the active ranking because Avowed scratches the same fantasy-exploration itch with 2025-era systems.
Which open-world game has the best co-op?
Sea of Thieves remains the strongest dedicated co-op open-world on the service, with Grounded a close second for smaller groups. Palworld supports up to four-player dedicated servers and is the best newer co-op pick.
How often does Game Pass remove open-world games?
Game Pass typically rotates eight to twelve titles in and out per month, with removal dates posted two to three weeks in advance on the storefront. First-party titles like Forza, Starfield, and Avowed are permanent and will not leave.
Final Verdict
Forza Horizon 5 holds the top of this list for the fifth year running, and that should tell you everything about how rare a truly great open-world game still is. Avowed and Starfield round out the top three for players who want fantasy depth or sci-fi scope respectively.
If you came here from our streaming rankings — the Prime action picks, the Hulu sci-fi cull, or the Netflix comedy list — Game Pass is the natural fourth subscription to evaluate the same way. Treat it like a streaming service, install three games, and rotate the rest. That is how the cull pays off.
