Cyberpunk 2077, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Planet of Lana 2 headline one of Game Pass’s strongest waves in years. Here’s where to start and how to prioritize your playtime.
Microsoft has turned March 2026’s first Xbox Game Pass wave into a mini-event, lining up a mix of prestige RPGs, long-awaited sequels, and a day-one indie hit. For most subscribers, this is the sort of month that can feel overwhelming. There are too many good options and only so many evenings.
This guide focuses on the four games that define the wave: Cyberpunk 2077, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf. Each section breaks down what you’re getting on Game Pass, who the game is for, where to start, and how to realistically slot it into your March schedule.
Cyberpunk 2077 on Game Pass: The Redemption Tour
Cyberpunk 2077 finally arrives on Xbox Game Pass for Cloud and Console on March 10, and it is not the same game that stumbled out in 2020. The version landing in Game Pass is the fully patched, Update 2.0-era Night City, with redesigned skill trees, overhauled police and combat systems, and years of UI and stability fixes.
You play as V, a mercenary in a dense, vertical open world where quests often blur the line between main and side content. Night City is built for grazing. You can lose an entire evening just following one fixer’s contracts or chasing a single questline tied to a character you like.
Where to start in Cyberpunk 2077
When you boot Cyberpunk 2077 on Game Pass, resist the urge to min-max or hoover up every icon on the map. The game is at its best when you treat it as a character driven RPG rather than a checklist shooter.
Pick a lifepath that matches the fantasy you want. Nomad is ideal if you like a slower burn that eases you into Night City. Corpo is perfect for players who want immediate corporate intrigue. Street Kid puts you in the thick of the city’s underbelly from the first scene. The differences mostly affect early flavor and dialogue, so you are not locking yourself out of builds.
Spend your first few hours sticking to the critical path until the title card rolls and the city fully opens. After that, prioritize the main questlines with Jackie, Judy, Panam, and River over random gigs. These arcs are where the writing and choice-consequence design shine and where you will see why the game’s reputation has shifted so much since launch.
If you only have a handful of evenings this month, think in arcs rather than completion. Clearing a full companion storyline or pushing to one ending route is a better March goal than trying to see every district.
How high to prioritize Cyberpunk 2077 this month
For Game Pass subscribers, Cyberpunk 2077 is the big swing of the month. It is hundreds of hours deep if you want it to be, but even a focused run still pushes 30 to 50 hours. Treat it as your long term background game for March and April.
If your backlog is already bursting, make Cyberpunk your anchor title that you drip feed between shorter games. Jump in for one to two hour story sessions, then rotate to something lighter like Planet of Lana 2 as a palate cleanser.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2: Historically Hardcore
Already available on Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, and PC for Game Pass, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 continues Warhorse Studios’ grounded medieval RPG series. Instead of power fantasy, it aims for simulation. You are still Henry, still very mortal, and still forced to respect the realities of armor, stamina, and social standing in 15th century Bohemia.
Combat is methodical and punishing if you button mash. Skills grow through use, NPCs remember what you wear and how you behave, and systems like hunger and sleep quietly pressure you into planning ahead.
Where to start in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
If you never touched the first game, you can still start here. The sequel spends time reestablishing who Henry is and what his role is in the ongoing political mess. You will miss a few callbacks, but the core appeal remains the same: slow burn role play in a believable world.
Resist the temptation to fast travel everywhere. Walk or ride between towns for your first few sessions to soak in how the world flows. The game has a lot of unmarked micro stories in the countryside and on the road, and these early moments do more to sell the fantasy than rushing main quests.
For character growth, focus first on basic survival skills. Improve your reading, learn alchemy, and take archery seriously. Melee combat opens up as your stats climb, but you will have an easier March if you treat early fights as dangerous and sometimes optional rather than as XP farms.
How high to prioritize Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 this month
This is the crunchiest RPG in the March wave and the one that demands the most adjustment if you are used to more streamlined design. If the idea of planning your meals and gear for a single quest sounds stressful, you may want to sample it but not commit fully right away.
On the other hand, if you bounced off Cyberpunk’s cyberpunk spectacle or prefer grounded, historical role play, Kingdom Come 2 should jump straight to the top of your list. It is a deep time sink, so expect it to compete directly with Cyberpunk for long term attention. Realistically, most players will have room for only one of these two in March.
Hollow Knight: Silksong on Game Pass: The Wait Is Over
Hollow Knight: Silksong finally joins Xbox Game Pass on March 12 across Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC, with Premium tier access complementing its Ultimate and PC Game Pass presence. For many subscribers, this is the headliner even beyond Cyberpunk, simply because of how long the wait has been.
You play as Hornet in a brand new kingdom that flips the structure of the original. Silksong is more vertical, faster, and more focused on mobility and momentum. The precision platforming and punishing boss fights remain, but there is a heavier emphasis on aggressive play, with mechanics that reward staying on the front foot instead of turtling.
Where to start in Hollow Knight: Silksong
If you are new to the series, you can begin with Silksong. The story connects to Hollow Knight, but it is written to stand on its own. You will appreciate certain character beats more if you know the original, yet the core loop of explore, die, learn, and overcome works either way.
In your first hours, concentrate on learning Hornet’s movement options. Practice chaining jumps, dashes, and air control in safe spaces before pushing deeper into hostile areas. Silksong quickly expects you to treat traversal like a combat tool rather than just a way to get from A to B.
Stick to one region until you have thoroughly learned its layout and boss patterns, instead of constantly pushing into new biomes the moment you find a path. The game is less overwhelming when you tackle it as a sequence of conquered spaces.
How high to prioritize Hollow Knight: Silksong this month
Silksong is the ideal counterweight to the gigantic RPGs in this wave. Sessions are naturally modular. You can log in, fight a boss or two, open up a new shortcut, and log off feeling like you made progress.
If you only have a few hours a week, Silksong is arguably the best primary pick of the month. It respects your time but punishes sloppy play, giving you a steady sense of mastery without requiring a massive scheduling commitment.
If you are planning a big Cyberpunk or Kingdom Come run, slot Silksong in as your high focus, shorter session option for nights when you want a challenge but do not want to track forty questlines.
Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf: The Day-One Palette Cleanser
Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf lands on Game Pass as a day-one release on March 5 for Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, Handheld, and PC. The original Planet of Lana was a beautifully animated sci fi puzzle platformer with a gentle pace and strong environmental storytelling. Children of the Leaf builds on that foundation with a wider scope and more intricate companion based puzzles.
Once again, you guide Lana and her companion through lush, painterly environments, solving light platforming puzzles that rely on timing, observation, and subtle communication between characters. It is not a twitchy action game so much as a carefully paced journey.
Where to start in Planet of Lana 2
You do not need to replay or finish the first Planet of Lana to enjoy the sequel, but if you skipped it you may want to read a quick plot summary or watch a recap video to ground yourself before jumping in on March 5.
When you start playing, take advantage of Game Pass’s cloud option to try the game on different screens. Planet of Lana’s slow pace and clear visuals make it perfect for handheld or streaming on a tablet or phone, where you can chip away at puzzles in shorter bursts.
Approach the opening chapters without rushing to “beat” it. Spend time absorbing the environmental detail and audio design. The platforming is usually forgiving, so this is one of the few games in the wave that works as a truly relaxing evening option.
How high to prioritize Planet of Lana 2 this month
Planet of Lana 2 is compact compared to the rest of the wave. You can likely finish it in a handful of sessions, which makes it a smart early month priority.
Clear it in the first week of March while you are still spinning up your long term commitments. Doing so gives you a complete, satisfying story while freeing up mental space for Cyberpunk, Kingdom Come, or Silksong later in the month.
How to structure your March Game Pass time
With four heavy hitters hitting a single wave, the real challenge is not finding something great to play, it is avoiding burnout. You can make this line up work for almost any schedule if you think in terms of roles.
For players with lots of time, pair one sprawling RPG with one skill focused game and one shorter narrative experience. Cyberpunk or Kingdom Come as your primary, Silksong as your precision side project, and Planet of Lana 2 as a weekend finisher is a clean, satisfying spread that makes full use of Game Pass.
If you only have a few nights a week, invert that approach. Make Silksong your mainstay, Planet of Lana 2 your first completion, and treat Cyberpunk or Kingdom Come as long term side projects to chip away at rather than games you expect to finish this month.
Above all, remember that Game Pass is a subscription, not a checklist. The headline of March 2026’s first wave is choice. Cyberpunk 2077’s redemption arc, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s demanding historical immersion, Hollow Knight: Silksong’s razor sharp platforming, and Planet of Lana 2’s gentle puzzles all serve different moods. Pick the one that fits the kind of March you want, and let the rest wait until you are ready to give them the attention they deserve.