What's free, and for whom
Xbox Wire says Anno 117 and Crime Boss: Rockay City are free for all Xbox members to try from November 5 to November 8, with no Game Pass Ultimate, Premium or Essential membership required. That makes it a time-limited trial, not a giveaway. You don't keep the game afterward.
The rest of the lineup is for subscribers. PAYDAY 3, Nowhere Prophet, BALL x PIT, Deceive Inc and Age of Wonders 4 are available to Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members from Thursday, November 5, until Sunday, November 8. IXION gets only a 2-hour trial over the same dates.
The access tiers break down like this:
| Access type | Titles |
|---|---|
| Open to all Xbox members | Crime Boss: Rockay City, Anno 117: Pax Romana |
| Game Pass members only | PAYDAY 3, Nowhere Prophet, BALL x PIT, Deceive Inc, Age of Wonders 4 |
| Two-hour trial | IXION |
How to start playing
Xbox's instructions, as published on Xbox Wire:
- On console: open the Xbox Store and go to the Subscriptions tab. Scroll down to the Free Play Days collection. Xbox says this applies to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
- On the web: find each game's details page on Xbox.com. The link sends you to the Microsoft Store. You need to be signed in to see the install option.
- Check the listing for your hardware. The collection exists on both console generations, but that doesn't mean every title runs on both. Neowin's rundown tags Crime Boss: Rockay City with Xbox Series X|S. Confirm on the game's own page before you download.
The end time is murky
Xbox Wire gives November 8 as the end date and no hour. Other outlets fill the gap differently. Neowin says the full-access promotions end on Sunday, November 8, at 11:59 pm PT. That is Neowin's figure, not Xbox's. The Click notes that Ubisoft has its own Anno 117 free weekend running through November 9, which conflicts with the Xbox Wire end date. If you want to finish something, don't wait until Sunday night.
Is it a GTA alternative?
Not really, and the original GAMINGbible piece says as much. It describes the game as a heist title about taking on rival gangs and turf wars, where you choose a difficulty, create a boss, and play alone, with bots or with friends. Modes include single missions, co-op mini-campaigns in the story-driven Urban Legends mode, and a Shuffle mode that randomises missions. That's a heist shooter with a campaign, not an open-world sandbox. It has no free roaming, and the Miami-flavoured setting is where the GTA comparison ends.
Metacritic's page is blunt about this. One reviewer, IGN Italia, called it a Payday 2-style shooter set in a "GTA-style metropolitan setting". Another user complains that it isn't open world and that you can only pick missions from a location. GTA 6 fans looking for a stopgap should keep that in mind.
The "redemption" claim, in context
GAMINGbible says the game flopped at launch and has since improved. The numbers are real, but they cover different things:
- Critics: Metacritic lists a Metascore of 52 from 37 critic reviews. That's the PC entry. The same page shows Xbox Series X at 52 from five reviews and PS5 at 47 from nine.
- Steam players: The Steam page shows English-language reviews as "Mostly Positive", with 73% of 4,141 reviews positive. Recent reviews are 71% positive from 45 reviews in the last 30 days. That matches the "70%" GAMINGbible cites, though it's an English-language, Steam-only figure.
- Metacritic users: the user score is 4.6 ("Generally Unfavorable") from 164 ratings.
So player sentiment on Steam is decent, while Metacritic's critic and user scores are still weak. These snapshots change, and they don't prove that updates caused the shift. The Steam page does say the game has kept getting content, with a 2026 roadmap listed. The trial is a fair way to judge for yourself.
PC readers can't use this deal. The Free Play Days offer is for Xbox, and for this event the listings point to console. If you want the PC version, it's sold on Steam for $19.99, with system requirements that include a Windows 10 64-bit install, 16 GB RAM and a 90 GB install. Free Play Days doesn't cover it.
Keeping your progress and buying
Xbox says you can buy the game or other editions at a limited-time discount and keep playing, with the Gamerscore and achievements you earned during the event. For Anno 117, Xbox adds that progress from the trial is saved when you buy the game. Xbox's listing shows Crime Boss at $19.99, with a $4.99 offer beside it. Xbox warns that discounts and availability vary by title and region, so your price may differ.
Other listed offers in the same announcement include a 35% discount on the PAYDAY 3 base game through November 18, and Deceive Inc at $1.99, down from $19.99.
Bottom line
If you don't pay for Game Pass, this weekend gives you two free games to try: a co-op heist shooter and a Roman city-builder. Treat the "GTA alternative" label as marketing. Download early, check that the listing supports your console, and don't count on a late-Sunday cutoff.