Xbox Game Pass adds Red Dead Redemption 2, loses Grand Theft Auto V

By Tyler Treese Published April 25, 2023

Xbox Game Pass gets a significant shake-up to its Xbox One library as it swaps out Grand Theft Auto V for Red Dead Redemption 2 on May 7.

Recommended Videos

GTA V’s exit comes suddenly, as it was only added to the subscription service on January 3. Players will have two weeks to wrap up any dirty work that Trevor, Franklin, and Michael have to finish in Los Santos. Alternatively, they can purchase a copy of the game, which is still a top-selling title nearly seven years after release, to continue their Grand Theft Auto Online adventure. Game Pass members can get GTA V for 20% off, putting it at $24 for the base game. Premium bundles and Shark Cards for its multiplayer mode are similarly discounted.

Softening the blow of GTA V’s departure after just four months on Game Pass comes with the addition of Red Dead Redemption 2 on the same day. Players can explore the Wild West on horseback as troubled outlaw Arthur Morgan attempts to define his legacy. Xbox Live Gold or Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can play Red Dead Online as well, which allows players to carve out their own path with many lawful and illegal career opportunities.

Red Dead Redemption 2, which came out in October 2018, is the latest Rockstar release followed a month later by a beta of its online multiplayer mode. The full Red Dead Online experience came out in May 2019, and recent updates to the open-world action game include an in-depth photo mode and several story mode missions. Those that sold their copies after completing the game might want to jump back in to take on new bounty hunter tasks and its “To the Ends of the Earth” mission.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the latest high-profile game to join Xbox Game Pass, which includes over 200 Xbox One titles and all of Microsoft’s first-party offerings. A standard subscription for console or PC costs $10, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which bundles Xbox Live Gold, costs $15 a month. A single month of Ultimate is available for $1, but the price jumps back up after the discounted trial period ends.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

When not playing or writing about games, Tyler Treese serves as the Senior Editor at Wrestlezone. An experienced writer that…

Topics

Gaming

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s Stranded mission had me hooked for hours, yet left me wanting more

I spent hours sneaking through North Korea, scavenging supplies, and clearing outposts, and I’d happily do it all again.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Stranded mission gameplay

For years, Call of Duty’s campaign mode has used big, scripted set pieces to tell the overarching story amid all the adrenaline-pumping action. The 2023 Modern Warfare 3 tried to shake up the established formula by introducing a handful of short open combat missions, and I genuinely liked the idea, but the game's overall negative reception seeped into how those missions were received.

I feared the next iteration might abandon the idea because of the backlash, but I am glad it didn't. MW4’s “Stranded” mission uses the same approach, but instead of fragmenting it across the campaign, it puts it all in a single large-scale open-world mission.

Computing

The $1300 Acer Predator Atlas 8 handheld is finally US-bound, and its pre-orders are already sold out

Acer’s first gaming handheld to launch in the US arrives November 1 with Intel Arc G3 Extreme hardware.

Intel Arc G3 Extreme Hands On with Acer Predator Atlas 8

Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.

Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.

Computing

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2026) Review: Almost everything I want from a gaming laptop, except the price

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop

Quick Take

Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.