It’s a Sprint: Games Leaving Game Pass October 15th 2025 Edition
Cocoon by Geometric Interactive and Annapurna Interactive
Now that we’re officially in Q4, I’ve been thinking about the current state of the Game of the Year race in a more concrete way. True that it’s never far from my thoughts, but with Geoff Keighley announcing the nominations for his big show in about six weeks, we’re in the final countdown.
I imagine the current landscape looks something like this:
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Hades II
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Donkey Kong Bananza
And the final spot belongs to either Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Blue Prince, Ghost of Yotei, Monster Hunter, Split Fiction, or Metroid Prime 4 (the latter might not even be eligible depending on when certain outlets do their awards). If we’re talking about Keighley’s show specifically, it’ll be Split Fiction.
How does this compare to your personal list? My main takeaway is I have a crushing amount of catch-up to do. I have accepted that I probably won’t get to Hades II this year (and I’m not happy about it) and I won’t even flirt with the idea of running through Kingdom Come on a deadline–but considering its early release window, it probably has less of a shot of making the final ballot, anyway.
Here is everything currently scheduled to leave Games Pass in Mid-October.
Cocoon
Metacritic Score: 88
Playtime estimate according to HowLongToBeat: 5-5.5 hours
Donut County
Metacritic Score: 75
Playtime estimate according to HowLongToBeat: 2-2.5 hours
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed
Metacritic Score: 66
Playtime estimate according to HowLongToBeat: 12-16 hours
Core Keeper
Metacritic Score: 85
Playtime estimate according to HowLongToBeat: 34.5-133 hours
Donut County has a similar vibe to Katamari Damacy. You play as a sinkhole–it’s awesome and you should check it out.
Some changes are coming to Game Pass including a price increase. I haven’t fully digested it yet, so I’ll probably talk about it more during the next “It’s a Sprint” in two weeks.
Why is continuing to be alive so expensive?
As for site updates, it was/is/and will be a more hectic week than usual at Tactical Reload. I wrapped up my coverage of the Horror Game Awards Halloween showcase last night. Picking through over a hundred games takes time, who knew? I’m also working on a review, but I signed up for a game jam today, so it’ll probably go live next week.
Happy October! Thanks for sticking with me.