These are the huge games coming to Xbox Game Pass soon

This year has been a busy one for Xbox, and Game Pass subscribers have reaped the benefits in the form of many new titles to try out. Now, Microsoft has announced its major additions to Xbox Game Pass planned for the rest of the year, and they're pretty big hitters. First, Age of Empires IV will launch on Game Pass for PC (along with Steam) on October 28.

On November 2, your niece and nephew's favorite game Minecraft will launch on Game Pass for PC, and its “Caves & Cliffs: Part 2” DLC will come later this year. On November 9, Forza Horizon 5's Mexican odyssey begins, coming not only to PC, but also Xbox Series X and Xbox One. And let's not forget the Game of the Year edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator on November 18, which includes a free update complete with new aircraft, new airports, and DirectX 12 support.

Make the covenant — That's all just a prelude to the December 8 launch of Halo Infinite, arguably the biggest Xbox game of the year. As Microsoft has previously indicated, it will be available on Game Pass at launch, though it will not include the series' signature Forge mode or campaign co-op, which are two fairly significant omissions. And let's not forget that Infinite was originally supposed to come out over a year ago, in what was one of the more surprising game delays in recent memory.

Anniversary celebrations — Regardless of how you feel about any of these individual games, it's pretty clear that the Game Pass lineup is pretty crowded these days. This is all part of the 20th anniversary of Xbox (and Halo, apparently) celebration, which will be marked by an event at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET on November 15. It won’t include any new game announcements, so don't get too excited. Hopefully The Rock and Bill Gates will show up for a fun little reunion, though... but we’re not getting our hopes up. Bill’s been a bit distracted of late.