Hollow Knight: Silksong is the instant classic to play through Xbox Game Pass before Grand Theft Auto VI launches on November 19, 2026. Windows Central’s 2025 roundup describes Team Cherry’s sequel as an instant classic and a must-play for metroidvania fans, while Rockstar has scheduled GTA VI for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Why Hollow Knight: Silksong is the recommendation
Silksong is a demanding metroidvania built around exploration, ability-driven progression and repeated boss challenges. Its appeal is broader than difficulty alone: Windows Central highlights striking environmental art, a fantastic soundtrack, evocative storytelling and tight combat.
What makes the game stand out
- Exploration: The metroidvania structure rewards mapping interconnected areas and returning when new abilities open previously inaccessible routes.
- Combat: Fast, precise encounters make enemy patterns and movement part of the challenge.
- Presentation: Hand-crafted environments, music and environmental storytelling give each region a distinct identity.
- Challenge: Bosses and traversal demand persistence, so it is a poor fit if you want a relaxed, low-friction adventure.
What “free on Game Pass” actually means
Silksong’s Game Pass access is included with an active subscription; it is not a permanent free copy. Microsoft says the catalog and features vary by plan, region, platform and time. You can play while your subscription is active and while Silksong remains in the catalog. If either condition changes, you may need to buy the game to continue playing.
Current plan sizes
| Game Pass plan | Microsoft’s current library description | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Ultimate | 500+ games | Whether Silksong is included for your region and platform |
| PC Game Pass | 300+ games | PC availability and the title’s current catalog status |
| Premium | 200+ games | Plan-specific access and any feature limits |
| Essential | 50+ games | Whether the game is included on this tier at the time you check |
Those figures describe the size of each current library, not a guarantee that every listed game is available on every device. Microsoft also notes that games can be added or removed.
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#1 Best Overall
![Hollow Knight: Silksong Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51mOgOC8xEL._SL160_.jpg)
- Discover the fallen insect kingdom of Pharloom! Explore mossy grottos, gilded cities and misted moors as you ascend to the shining citadel at the top of the world.
- Engage in lethal acrobatic action! Wield a huge suite of deadly moves as you dance between foes in swift, beautiful combat.
- Craft powerful tools! Master an ever-expanding arsenal of weapons, traps, and mechanisms to vanquish your enemies and explore new heights.
- Solve shocking quests! Hunt down rare beasts and solve ancient mysteries to grant the wishes of the downtrodden and restore the kingdom’s hope.
- Face over 200 ferocious foes! Beasts and hunters, monsters and knights. Defeat them all with bravery and skill!
Check access before you start
- Open the Xbox app or your console’s Game Pass catalog for the account you intend to use.
- Search for Hollow Knight: Silksong and confirm that your active plan includes it on your chosen platform.
- Install and launch it while the subscription and catalog listing are both active.
- If the listing shows a purchase option instead of installation, check your plan, region and platform before assuming the game has left the service.
Silksong versus GTA VI: two very different ways to play
| Category | Hollow Knight: Silksong | Grand Theft Auto VI |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Metroidvania exploration with ability-gated routes and demanding boss encounters | Open-world crime adventure |
| Setting and tone | Stylized fantasy environments with atmospheric storytelling | Contemporary fictional Leonida, including Vice City |
| Core rhythm | Explore, learn enemy patterns, defeat bosses and unlock new paths | Move through a broad criminal story and an open world |
| Access discussed here | Game Pass catalog access or a separate purchase | Scheduled retail release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S |
| Timing | Play during its current Game Pass window | Scheduled for November 19, 2026 |
Why November 19, 2026 is the useful deadline
Rockstar’s official listing gives GTA VI a November 19, 2026 release date on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The game follows Jason and Lucia after an attempted score goes wrong, drawing them into a criminal conspiracy across Leonida and Vice City.
That date creates a practical reason to start Silksong now: you can use the months before Rockstar’s open-world release to focus on a compact, skill-intensive adventure rather than trying to begin both games at once. The comparison is about format and timing, not a claim that one game replaces the other.
Rank #2
- Hollow Knight: Silksong is the epic sequel to Hollow Knight, the award winning action-adventure.
- Journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of bugs and beasts and uncover secrets tied to your nature and your past.
Game Pass or buying Silksong?
Use Game Pass when flexibility matters
Subscription access makes sense if Silksong is already included in your plan and you expect to finish it while it remains available. It lowers the upfront cost and lets you sample the game without committing to ownership, but your access depends on the catalog and your subscription.
Buy it when you want lasting access
A separate purchase is the safer choice if you want to keep playing after leaving Game Pass, expect to take a long break, or simply want a permanent license. The Silksong coverage points readers toward Xbox Play Anywhere and an Amazon retail listing; search for the exact phrase “Hollow Knight: Silksong Xbox” and confirm the edition and platform before paying.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
![Hollow Knight - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nXCF+sf5L._SL160_.jpg)
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
- Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favorites and make your journey unique!
- An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
Rank #3
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Tightly tuned 2D controls. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
- Explore a vast interconnected world of forgotten highways, overgrown wilds and ruined cities.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!.Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favourites and make your journey unique!.An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation..
A sensible way to fit Silksong in before GTA VI
- Confirm the catalog entry: Check your Game Pass plan and platform rather than relying on an old inclusion list.
- Make a focused start: Give the opening areas enough uninterrupted time to learn movement and combat instead of rushing through them.
- Track difficult walls: When a boss or route stops progress, explore other connected areas and return with improved skills or abilities.
- Recheck availability if you pause: A long break can outlast a catalog window, so verify the listing before assuming your save remains playable through the subscription.
- Decide on ownership before November: If you are not finished and want uninterrupted access, purchase the game before your subscription or its catalog placement changes.
Who should play it now?
- Choose Silksong first if you enjoy exploration, difficult combat, boss learning and richly stylized worlds.
- Take the purchase route if permanent access matters more than the lowest short-term cost.
- Wait or sample cautiously if repeated failures and backtracking are likely to outweigh the appeal of its art, music and world.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
