Xbox Game Pass Gets GOTY Contender For Free Starting March 12

1 day ago 12

Published Mar 8, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT

Bruno Yonezawa is a Gaming Senior Writer for Screen Rant. He's been practicing professional journalism for over 10 years, and is also a communications specialist. He's played games all his life and turned that passionate hobby into a passionate career, in an industry where he's worked as a writer, editor, analyst, and more.

Xbox Game Pass is going to receive a GOTY contender as a free title in its Premium catalog starting on March 12, which will be a huge boon for members of that specific tier. Microsoft recently announced the new titles arriving for the subscription service this month. After a few rumors, it was confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 will join Xbox Game Pass on March 10, for example, but another change to the catalog is worth noticing.

As seen on the official post made by Microsoft on Xbox Wire, a series of new games are being added to the catalog as part of the first wave of additions in March. Among them is Hollow Knight: Silksong, which joins Xbox Game Pass in an unexpected way. Members of the Ultimate and PC Game Pass tiers may find it strange that a game that is currently available is being announced as a new addition, but there is a fair reason for it to be featured in the post.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Getting An Xbox Game Pass Update

The Metroidvania Joins The Premium Tier

Silksong hornet standing with a defeated boss next to her

According to the official announcement, Hollow Knight: Silksong is getting an upgrade of sorts within the subscription service. Silksong is available on Xbox Game Pass via the Ultimate and PC Game Pass tiers, but it is now being added to the Premium catalog as well. This means that members of that tier will finally be able to download and play the critically acclaimed metroidvania for free.

As a day-one release last year, Silksong was added exclusively to the Ultimate and PC Game Pass tiers, which are those that feature day-one games. Something similar happened with the Avowed update on Xbox Game Pass in February – the game was a day-one release on the service in early 2025 and, nearly a year later, it was made available for Premium members, too. The difference here is that Premium members only had to wait six months since Silksong’s release to play it.

March Is A Busy Month For Xbox Game Pass

Several Games Join The Catalog This Month

Hollow Knight Silksong Hornet dodging Abyssal Blade Storm attack from Lost Lace boss

With the announcement of the first wave of additions, one can already ascertain that this month will be great. The Xbox Game Pass additions in March 2026 also include Cyberpunk 2077, as was previously mentioned, as well as EA Sports F1 25, to a T, and more.

Members of the Ultimate and PC Game Pass tiers will also gain access to Planet of Lana 2 as a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass. Of course, this is only the first batch of games planned to join the service’s multiple catalogs this month, and the second wave should be announced in a few weeks.

Aside from March being a huge month for the subscription service, there’s already a lot in store for the future. Later this year, the Ultimate catalog will receive Fable and Forza Horizon 6 as day-one releases, as well as Beast of Reincarnation. There’s a lot to look out for with Xbox Game Pass in 2026, so be sure to play what you can when you can.