May 14 is going to be a big day for all Xbox Game Pass subscribers. This includes Ultimate subscribers, PC subscribers, and Premium subscribers. Firstly, the biggest day one Xbox Game Pass game of 2026, so far, is set to arrive. This will be limited to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers. In addition to this, there is something for Premium subscribers. Premium subscribers rarely get day one games, and this game is going to be no exception; however, a major game is being added to the Premium tier the same day that is currently exclusive to the PC and Ultimate tiers.
First, the day one game. On May 14, Subnautica 2 is set to release via early access. When it does, it will be available on PC and Xbox Series X, and available via PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the moment it does. There haven’t been really any noteworthy day one Xbox Game Pass games so far this year, so this is easily going to be the biggest so far, though, short-lived because Forza Horizon 6 is on the horizon. The other game, the Xbox Game Pass Premium addition, is DOOM: The Dark Ages, which has been available via Ultimate and PC tiers since its launch, but is only now coming to Premium about a year later.
Subnautica 2 is, as the name implies, a sequel to 2018’s Subnautica and the third game in the underwater survival series, as 2021’s Subnautica: Below Zero also exists. When it releases on May 7, it will be available only in early access. That said, there is still substantial anticipation for it, which isn’t surprising considering the first game sold millions of copies and was one of the bigger indie breakout hits of the late 2010s.
DOOM: The Dark Ages was released in 2025 by series developer id Software and publisher Bethesda, the latter of which is owned by Xbox, hence why the game was a day-one Xbox Game Pass game. As for the game, it is the eighth installment in the first-person shooter series that dates back to the 1990s. More specific than this, it is the third installment in the rebooted trilogy, which began with 2016’s DOOM and was then continued with 2020’s DOOM Eternal. Upon release, it garnered an 85 on Metacritic.
All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the conversations happening over on the ComicBook Forum.
