Xbox Game Pass is losing STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl and four other titles later today, November 15. More than half of the upcoming departures have already drawn complaints on social media, frustrating some subscribers due to various circumstances surrounding their Xbox Game Pass removals.
Microsoft’s subscription service typically pulls titles from its catalog in the middle and at the end of each month. This most recently happened on October 31, when Xbox Game Pass lost one of its highest-rated titles, Return to Monkey Island, together with Jusant and Metal Slug Tactics. Five more games are now set to follow.
Xbox Game Pass Removing STALKER 2, FM24, Blacksmith Master, and More
The November 15 Xbox Game Pass departures include STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Frostpunk, and Football Manager 2024, as well as Spirittea and Blacksmith Master. Based on Microsoft's usual patterns, these five titles are most likely to be removed around midnight local time. None are realistically beatable in a single day, and more than half have drawn recent fan complaints following the announcement of their Xbox Game Pass removal date. The reasons for the criticism vary significantly from game to game.
All Xbox Game Pass Games Leaving Today, November 15
|
Game |
Added |
OpenCritic Avg. Score |
How Long To Beat |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Nov 2024 |
74 |
36–134 hours |
|
|
Nov 2023 |
83 |
138–453 hours |
|
|
Jan 2020 |
86 |
10–56 hours |
|
|
Nov 2023 |
76 |
30–62 hours |
|
|
Sep 2025 |
N/A |
13–25 hours |
Why STALKER 2's Xbox Game Pass Departure Is Frustrating Some Fans
In the case of STALKER 2, GSC Game World's immersive sim was a day-one Xbox Game Pass title, but one that launched in a troubled state, with a plethora of game-breaking bugs and technical issues. Over the past year, the Ukrainian developer delivered multiple major patches aimed at resolving these problems and addressing fan feedback by, e.g., adding night vision and a functional version of STALKER 2's A-Life system. Additional updates are expected in the coming months, but Xbox Game Pass users won't be able to enjoy them, frustrating some, particularly those who waited to play until the game was more polished. "Stalker [2] never got patched enough for me to be able to play it," one fan wrote on Reddit, while another compared the game's year-long Game Pass availability to early access, despite it being marketed as a finished product.
Why Football Manager 2024 Is Leaving Game Pass at an Unfortunate Time
Unlike STALKER 2, Football Manager 2024 has offered a relatively smooth experience since launch. The issue with its upcoming removal is more meta in nature: last year’s Football Manager 25 was canceled, while the recently released Football Manager 26 had a disastrous launch, facing review bombing and public criticism—even from sponsored streamers, such as popular South Korean content creator Han Dong-Suk, who publicly abandoned the game within days of its arrival. FM24 remains the only widely praised Football Manager title currently available on Xbox Game Pass, making its removal a point of frustration for fans disappointed by FM26.
The Curious Case of Blacksmith Master's Xbox Game Pass Stint
The third and final November 15 Xbox Game Pass removal that's frustrating some subscribers is Blacksmith Master. While the fantasy smithing simulator doesn’t have as large a following as Football Manager or STALKER, its early access version only arrived on Xbox Game Pass in September 2025. A two-month stay is unusually short for any title on the service, prompting some social media users to argue that Blacksmith Master is being removed before they had a fair chance to try it. Publisher Hooded Horse has not provided an official explanation for the title's unexpectedly brief Game Pass stint.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 75 /100 Critics Rec: 64%
- Released
- November 20, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
- Developer(s)
- GSC Game World
- Publisher(s)
- GSC Game World
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter, Open-World, Post-Apocalyptic, Survival
Sources: BleakCountry / Reddit, noobhunterd / Reddit, Vansterss / Reddit