Xbox Game Pass April 2026 Wave 2: Kiln, Aphelion, Final Fantasy V Join 10-Game Lineup

Microsoft announced the second wave of Xbox Game Pass additions for April 2026 on April 20, bringing 10 new titles to the subscription service between April 21 and May 5. The headliners are two day-one releases: Kiln, a pottery power-fantasy game described as celebrating both creativity and destruction, arrives April 23 on Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass; and Aphelion, a third-person sci-fi adventure from Don't Nod (known for Life is Strange), launches April 28 as a day-one Game Pass title across the same platforms. Both are available simultaneously with their retail releases, continuing Microsoft's strategy of debuting new titles directly into the subscription service. Xbox Wire confirmed the lineup on April 20, 2026.

Also joining the lineup is the Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster, the 2021 remaster of Square Enix's classic JRPG, which arrives on Game Pass on May 5 for Ultimate, Premium, and PC tiers. Trepang2, an action-shooter game, is also confirmed for the wave alongside Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era and several other titles rounding out the 10-game batch. OpenCritic noted that the full Wave 2 lineup represents a broad range of genres, from cozy-adjacent titles like Little Rocket Lab to high-action games like Trepang2, reinforcing Game Pass's approach of offering something for every subscriber type within each content drop.

The April 2026 Wave 2 announcement follows a strong Wave 1 that brought Hades II to Xbox and PlayStation on April 14 as a major Game Pass day-one addition — the roguelike's console debut after its initial PC and Nintendo Switch release. With Aphelion, Kiln, and Final Fantasy V in Wave 2, April 2026 is shaping up as one of the stronger Game Pass months of the year in terms of day-one new IP. Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred also launches April 28, though it is not included in Game Pass and requires separate purchase. The overall April content push underscores Microsoft's continued investment in Game Pass as its primary consumer value proposition heading into the summer game release period.