Updated

Updated · Pure Xbox · Aug 15

Xbox Staff Share August 15-16 Gaming Plans, Highlighting 007 First Light and Baldur's Gate 3

Updated

Updated · Pure Xbox · Aug 15

Xbox Staff Share August 15-16 Gaming Plans, Highlighting 007 First Light and Baldur's Gate 3

Q: With major titles leaving Game Pass today, what hidden gems are joining the lineup to keep subscribers hooked this weekend?

The key hidden gems arriving on Game Pass as several titles depart today are **Date Everything!**, **Ball x Pit**, **Mio: Memories in Orbit**, **Sandustry**, and **Bounty Star**, with **Grounded 2** and **Cricket 26** adding broader appeal for the weekend. For players looking beyond the headline names, **Date Everything!** stands out as the most unusual addition. It is a fully voiced sandbox dating sim built around turning household objects and concepts into characters, and it joins on **August 11** for Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass. **Ball x Pit**, added **August 12**, is another strong under-the-radar pick: a fast, chaotic roguelite that mixes brick-breaking combat with base building and progression. Among the quieter additions, **Mio: Memories in Orbit** offers a visually striking metroidvania experience, while **Sandustry** is aimed at players who enjoy automation and resource-management games on PC. **Bounty Star**, available from **August 11**, blends mech combat with farming and base building, making it one of the more distinctive genre mashups in the batch. There are also a few other arrivals worth noting this weekend. **Heretic + Hexen** and **Beast of Reincarnation** are already available, while **Monsters Are Coming!** and **PowerWash Simulator 2** add more niche variety. That gives subscribers a meaningful set of replacements as **Menace**, **Atlas Fallen**, **Aliens: Fireteam Elite**, and **Firewatch** leave the service on **August 15**.

Q: Will the exclusive Horde skin from the current Gears: E-Day beta permanently carry over to the full game release?

Yes. If you unlock the Horde skin during the current Gears of War: E-Day beta, it is intended to carry over permanently to the full game at launch. The official beta FAQ says open beta rewards “will unlock for use in the Open Beta and later be in your inventory at launch.” One of those rewards is the Epic Blast Damage Mags character skin, earned by reaching Player Level 20. Other beta cosmetics, including the Crush the Bug weapon skin set, banner, emblem, icon, plus the Open Beta Medal and First in the Fight title, are also slated to transfer. What does not carry over is general beta progression. Reporting around the beta makes clear that player levels, class progression, and similar progress can carry between the two beta weekends, but they reset for the full release on October 6. The exception is the reward items earned through beta challenges. So if the “exclusive Horde skin” Craig Reid was referring to is one of the beta reward cosmetics, it should be waiting in your inventory when the full game launches, provided you unlocked it during the beta.

1 articles · Updated · Pure Xbox · Aug 15

August 15-16 weekend plans from Xbox staff center on a mix of new releases and backlog games, with Madden NFL 27, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, Wild Blue Skies and Duskfade among this week's options.
Craig Reid aims to finish 007 First Light before Monday, while also chasing an unlockable Horde skin in the Gears: E-Day beta before it closes.
Reid also plans more Waterpark Simulator, calling the co-op management game a favorite light weekend escape with his wife.
Fraser Gilbert has returned to Baldur's Gate 3 via Xbox Play Anywhere on PC and says it runs well on the ROG Xbox Ally X, even in Performance mode.
Gilbert is also testing Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Planet Coaster 2 and possibly Kynseed, as the feature invites readers to share their own weekend gaming lineup.

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Pure Xbox5d ago

Staff Writers Share Weekend Gaming Plans (August 15-16)

How much of Xbox's casual staff roundup is genuine gaming passion versus a calculated push for their Play Anywhere ecosystem?

With major titles leaving Game Pass today, what hidden gems are joining the lineup to keep subscribers hooked this weekend?

Will the exclusive Horde skin from the current Gears: E-Day beta permanently carry over to the full game release?

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1 total

Pure Xbox5d ago

Staff Writers Share Weekend Gaming Plans (August 15-16)

Xbox Staff Share August 15-16 Gaming Plans, Highlighting 007 First Light and Baldur's Gate 3

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