Xbox Game Pass users are rinsing through their free games backlog before GTA 6

With the release of Grand Theft Auto VI being just around the corner, gamers are preparing to dedicate weeks or months of their lives in experiencing everything the game has to offer.

Generational releases such as the ones that Rockstar Games makes usually has a massive hold over players, so many are hoping to clear the shorter games in their backlog ahead of time.

Xbox Game Pass subscribers in particular have taken this as an opportunity to clear their backlogs of all the short games that are sitting on the service.

Over on Reddit, Xbox Game Pass users have been sharing their game recommendations for anyone who wants to play through a short five to 10 hour before playing GTA VI.

"I have Game Pass for a couple more weeks, so I'm looking to find something that I can finish by the time GTA VI releases (10 days from now)," asks Reddit user Fiber_Optic_Cable.

"I've fallen in love with The Seance of Blake Manor. It's an investigation game, super intriguing and well made," reads one reply to the post.

"Hellblade and Hellblade 2 are each five to six hours," reads another comment underneath the same thread.

"I was in the same boat. I did Aphelion. Thought it would last me. I did it in three days. Now doing the new Plague Tale and hoping it lasts," a third comment reads.

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Short games we'd recommend to fill the next week

If you're looking for short games to fill in your time over the next week and a bit before Rockstar releases Grand Theft Auto VI, we can also shout out a few shorter experiences that are worth playing.

If you want to play a game that's like GTA, there are a few decent alternatives. Mafia 2 and Sleeping Dogs are great examples, both of them offering open-world sandbox gameplay but won't take you a million years to finish.

On the other hand, perhaps you'd want something a bit more action-oriented. Any of the Doom games are pretty short, being around 10 hours each to clear the main story, and are incredibly fun if you want something a little mindless to play. They're all available on Game Pass, too.

Meanwhile, there are a few games from earlier this year which are pretty short that we'd like to shout out. If you're a fan of racing games, Forza Horizon 6 has been a good distraction for many people. It's similar to GTA VI in the sense that you're driving around, but the fact it's a racing game means you can pretty much just dip in-and-out for the next week and play a few races without committing too much time to it.

Nevertheless, whatever it is you end up going with, it's definitely now or never to clear up your backlog before Grand Theft Auto VI launches on November 19, 2026.

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