Xbox Game Pass August Wave 1: Gears E-Day Beta, Beast of Reincarnation, and More

A Big Beta and a Surprising New Game Freak Title

Xbox Game Pass is making some noise to start August. According to Xbox Wire, the first wave of August additions includes an early access open beta for Gears of War: E-Day, a brand-new action RPG from Game Freak, the restored classic shooters Heretic + Hexen, and several other titles arriving throughout the month. The announcement was posted August 4 by Megan Spurr, Senior Community Lead for Xbox Game Pass.

The headliner, at least for Gears fans, is clear. The Gears of War: E-Day Early Access Open Beta kicks off August 6 for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers. The beta introduces Horde Siege, a new PvE mode the team describes as an evolved version of the franchise’s beloved co-op wave survival format. Per the Xbox Wire post, Horde Siege is “built for larger maps, more players, and bigger battles.” For longtime fans of the franchise’s Horde mode, that sounds like a meaningful expansion of a formula that has anchored the series for years.

Game Freak Steps Outside Its Comfort Zone

Perhaps the most surprising name on the list is Beast of Reincarnation, a day-one Game Pass title from Game Freak. Yes, that Game Freak. The studio best known for the Pokemon series is shipping something quite different here. According to Xbox Wire, Beast of Reincarnation is an action RPG that fuses real-time and turn-based combat, set in what the listing calls a “beautiful yet harsh world.” The game is framed around the journey of two characters, Emma and Koo, with the description teasing that question of what awaits them at the end.

Game Freak releasing a new IP on day one through Xbox Game Pass is a notable moment. The studio does not have a long history with Xbox platforms, which makes Beast of Reincarnation one of the more unexpected additions in recent memory. It is available now on Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC.

The Rest of the Wave

Also available starting August 4, Heretic + Hexen arrives as part of Game Pass Premium, while also joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. The Xbox Wire post describes this as “the definitive re-release of two dark spell-casting shooters that shaped the genre,” featuring expanded accessibility options and broader platform and language support. For players who missed these titles the first time around, or want to revisit them with modern conveniences, the timing is solid.

Looking ahead in the month, the wave also includes Cricket 26 and Date Everything!, though specific arrival dates for those titles were not detailed in the initial announcement. The post’s opening line references grabbing your bat for Cricket 26 and your “Dateviators” for Date Everything!, suggesting both are near-term additions to the catalog.

What This Wave Signals

The August Wave 1 lineup reflects a few different things Xbox Game Pass has been doing well lately. There is the obvious tentpole in the Gears E-Day beta, a first-party draw that gives subscribers a reason to stay engaged with an upcoming release. Then there is the genuine surprise of Beast of Reincarnation, a third-party day-one debut from a studio whose prior work has essentially never appeared on Xbox hardware in a meaningful way.

For subscribers who have been watching the catalog, the combination of a nostalgia play in Heretic + Hexen, a fresh IP from an unexpected developer, and a beta for one of Xbox’s flagship franchises makes this a busier-than-average wave. Whether Beast of Reincarnation turns out to be Game Freak’s most ambitious experiment in years or a modest side project, having it land on Game Pass day one means a lot of players will actually find out.