Gears of War: E-Day launched on Xbox Series X|S last week, and the numbers surrounding it have called into question whether the day-one Game Pass model is sustainable anymore, or if it ever was at all. While sales numbers tell a different story, the sheer amount of people who played E-Day last week might convince Xbox that putting new games on its subscription service is still an idea.
True Achievements has shared rankings of the most successful launches on Game Pass so far in 2026, along with the top 40 most-played games on Xbox during E-Day’s launch week. It compiles those rankings by pulling data from more than 3.1 million active Xbox accounts, so while the charts might not be official, they’re as close to the real thing as you’ll find.
According to that data, E-Day enjoyed the second biggest Game Pass launch of the year, with Forza Horizon 6 the only title that managed to outdo it. Unsurprising considering the juggernaut Forza has become. Despite falling short of Forza, finishing second means E-Day had a bigger Game Pass launch than Halo: Campaign Evolved and Minecraft Dungeons 2, two Xbox-owned properties most would rank...
