Tom Phillips
Guest
Microsoft has announced Wave 2 of the Xbox Game Pass August 2025 lineup, which includes Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Gears of War: Reloaded, Persona 4 Golden, and more.
As revealed in a post on Xbox Wire, Blacksmith Master (Game Preview) is available today, August 19, for PC via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. This early access game allows you to manage your own medieval smithy, smelt resources into everything from swords to cooking pots, then fund upgrades to your forge.
Also available today is roguelite FPS Void/Breaker for PC, via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
On August 20, Goat Simulator Remaster joins Game Pass Standard, allowing you to do all sorts of things with goats (and also all sorts of other animals), now with shinier visuals and lots of DLC included.
The same day sees the beloved Persona 4 Golden arrive on Xbox Game Pass (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X/S) for Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers.
August 21 brings the day one launch via Game Pass of Herdling, the indie adventure where you take charge of a group of beasts that look rather like the banthas from Star Wars. Expect lots of dangers and obstacles to overcome in an alpine environment, rather than Tatooine.
The end of August brings the month's two biggest Game Pass additions, beginning with the day one launch of Gears of War: Reloaded on August 26 (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X/S) for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers. This is the polished-up vrsion of the classic first Gears game, now with all post-launch content, multiplayer maps and cosmetics included.
Finally, on August 28, Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X/S) joins Microsoft's subscription service for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members. Last year's blockbuster fantasy RPG proved divisive among fans, and arrives on Game Pass after previously appearing quickly after launch in PlayStation Plus, back in March.
Xbox Game Pass Wave 2 August 2025 lineup:
- Blacksmith Master (Game Preview) (PC) – August 19
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass - Void/Breaker (PC) – August 19
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass - Goat Simulator Remastered (Xbox Series X/S) – August 20
Now with Game Pass Standard - Persona 4 Golden (Cloud, Console, and PC) – August 20
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard - Herdling (Cloud, Console, and PC) – August 21
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass - Gears of War: Reloaded (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X/S) – August 26
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass - Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X/S) – August 28
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
As ever, as Microsoft giveth, so it taketh away. Here are the titles set to leave Game Pass this month. Members can get a 20% discount to keep the games in their library.
Games leaving Xbox Game Pass on August 31:
- Ben 10 Power Trip (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Borderlands 3 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Paw Patrol Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Sea of Stars (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- This War of Mine: Final Cut (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social