Xbox Free Play Days is live right now with six games up for grabs, and this is one of the better lineups the program has put together in a while. Metal Gear is headlining, Bleach fans have a full fighting game to sink their teeth into, there’s a co-op shooter for the squad, and For Honor is sitting there for anyone who’s never tried it. Here’s the complete breakdown of every game, when each one ends, whether you need Game Pass, and whether you can realistically finish it before the window closes.
Xbox Free Play Days: Full Game List, End Dates and Requirements
Before diving into each game, here’s the quick reference table of what requires Game Pass and what doesn’t:
- Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Version — Game Pass required | Ends July 27
- Metal Gear & Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake — Game Pass required | Ends July 26
- Tides of Tomorrow — Game Pass required | Ends July 26
- Bleach: Rebirth of Souls — Free for ALL (no Game Pass needed) | Ends July 26
- Killing Floor 3 — Free for ALL (no Game Pass needed) | Ends July 26
- For Honor — Free for ALL (no Game Pass needed) | Ends August 4
To access these, open the Xbox Store, search the game title, and hit either “Free Trial” or “Install, Included with Game Pass” depending on which category it falls into. Discounts on most of these are also live right now and expire when the Free Play Days window ends, so if any of them hook you, buy during the window.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Version (Game Pass Required)
This is the headliner. Metal Gear Solid originally launched in 1998 on PlayStation and was the game that pulled the Metal Gear franchise into 3D for the first time — and absolutely redefined what video game storytelling could look like in the process. The Master Collection Version brought it to modern consoles in October 2023 with resolution upgrades, control tweaks, and a handful of quality-of-life improvements. It’s not a full remake, but it’s the cleanest way to play it in 2026.
- Genre: Action-Adventure / Stealth
- Developer: Konami
- Metascore: 74 (Vol. 1)
- How long to beat: 5-6 hours for experienced players, up to 10 for newcomers — easily completable before the July 27 cutoff
- Discount:
$19.99→ $9.99 (50% off during Free Play Days)
Worth noting: the original MSX2 games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake are both bundled inside this Master Collection, so if you end up buying it to keep, you’re getting all three Metal Gear entries listed here in a single purchase.
Metal Gear & Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (Game Pass Required)
The originals. Metal Gear landed in 1987 and practically invented the stealth genre by flipping the standard action game formula — instead of fighting through enemies, you sneak past them. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake refined everything in 1990, introducing crouching, radar systems, sound-based enemy awareness, and tactical approaches that the series would refine for decades. Playing these now is a history lesson as much as a game, but a worthwhile one if you’ve never gone back to the roots.
- Genre: Action-Adventure / Stealth
- Developer: Konami
- How long to beat: Around 20 hours across both games — realistically you’ll get through one before the July 26 deadline, not both
- Discount: These are bundled inside the Master Collection, so no standalone price applies
Tides of Tomorrow (Game Pass Required)
From Digixart, the team behind Road 96, Tides of Tomorrow is a narrative adventure set on a water-covered planet called Elynd where the last pockets of humanity are barely holding on. You play as a Tidewalker exploring flooded cities and fractured communities, making choices that ripple outward and shape the planet’s fate. The big hook that sets it apart from most story games is its connected player world — like Elden Ring’s messages or Death Stranding’s ghost system, you can leave behind warnings and notes for other players that actually show up in their runs.
- Genre: Choice-Driven Adventure
- Developer: Digixart
- Metascore: 71
- How long to beat: 10-15 hours — doable before July 26 if you start today
- Discount:
$29.99→ $22.49 (25% off during Free Play Days)
Bleach: Rebirth of Souls (Free for All — No Game Pass Needed)
Bleach: Rebirth of Souls is the free-for-everyone highlight of this batch. It’s a 3D arena fighter built around the Bleach manga and anime, covering the story all the way through the Arrancar arc with iconic characters like Ichigo, Rukia, Byakuya, and Kenpachi all in the roster. The thing that makes it different from most anime fighters is its Konpaku system — breaking an opponent’s Konpaku bar can eliminate multiple health stocks at once, which creates wild momentum swings and comeback potential that keeps matches genuinely unpredictable.
- Genre: Anime Arena Fighter
- Developer: Tamsoft / Bandai Namco
- Metascore: 71
- How long to beat: Around 20 hours for the full story mode — it’s a lot of content for a fighter. You likely won’t finish it before July 26, but you’ll get a solid sense of whether it’s worth buying
- Discount:
$59.99→ $23.99 (60% off during Free Play Days)
That 60% discount is genuinely significant if you’re a Bleach fan on the fence. At $24, it’s very hard to argue against.
Killing Floor 3 (Free for All — No Game Pass Needed)
Killing Floor 3 is the co-op pick of the bunch. Up to six players drop into waves of bioengineered monsters called Zeds, working through increasingly brutal rounds before a boss encounter at the end. Each Specialist class has its own progression tree, and the arsenal of customizable weapons and gadgets gives squads a lot of room to experiment with different setups. It launched last July to a mixed reception — it’s a solid wave shooter but released somewhat undercooked — and has received patches since. As a free weekend with friends, it earns its time though.
- Genre: Co-Op First-Person Shooter
- Developer: Tripwire Interactive
- Metascore: 68
- How long to beat: 5-12 hours depending on playstyle — very doable before July 26
- Discount:
$39.99→ $19.99 (50% off during Free Play Days)
For Honor (Free for All — No Game Pass Needed)
For Honor is the long-runner of this batch, staying free all the way until August 4. Ubisoft’s medieval melee brawler pits Knights, Vikings, Samurai, Wu Lin, and Outlanders against each other using its signature Art of Battle system — directional attacks, feints, parries, and timing-based reads that give fights a fighting game feel without being a traditional fighting game. It launched back in 2017 and has had years of seasonal content, new heroes, and balance updates since. The player population is still alive, and the longer free window gives you plenty of time to dig into it.
- Genre: Multiplayer Action / Melee Combat
- Developer: Ubisoft
- Metascore: 78
- How long to beat: 6-8 hours for the campaign — very doable, and the multiplayer has basically no ceiling
- Discount: N/A
Which Games Are Worth Your Time This Weekend?
If you have Game Pass, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection is the obvious priority. It’s one of the best stealth games ever made, it’s short enough to complete before Sunday, and it’s half price if you want to keep it. Tides of Tomorrow is worth a few hours if you’re into narrative adventure games, especially with the connected-player hook.
If you don’t have Game Pass, Bleach: Rebirth of Souls at 60% off is the standout deal — that’s a legitimate anime fighter at impulse-buy pricing. For Honor with its August 4 deadline is the most relaxed option in the list, so there’s no rush on that one.
For more on what Xbox has been up to lately, check out the Xbox Backward Compatibility on PC launch that just happened alongside this and the full Xbox Game Pass July 2026 Wave 2 games lineup if you want to see what else is available on the service right now.
