Xbox's October 15-18 Free Play Days includes a three-hour The Alters trial for all players, with no Game Pass membership required. NBA 2K27, Crusader Kings III, Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop, Soccer Story and Ravenswatch are the membership offers. NBA 2K27 starts later, on October 16 at 12:00 PDT (19:00 UTC).
Start with the trial you can actually access
Xbox Wire's announcement separates the offers by membership. The five member games need Game Pass Ultimate, Premium or Essential. The Alters is listed separately as a three-hour trial open to all players during the weekend window. Check that distinction before paying for a subscription just to try it.
Keep the weekend dates and the play allowance in mind. October 15-18 tells you when the trial is offered. Three hours tells you the limit of The Alters trial. An available weekend is not a promise of unrestricted play for every title in the promotion.
NBA 2K27 has its own start time. If you try to access it before noon PDT on October 16, the other games being available does not mean the basketball trial has started too. The announcement gives a later start for that one game, while the weekend's other member offers begin October 15.
What The Alters lets you try
The Xbox Store page describes a single-player survival game built around Jan Dolski and alternate versions of his life. You manage a mobile base on a hostile planet, gathering resources and looking after a crew whose members have different skills and personal needs.
It is a useful trial if you want to find out whether that mixture of resource management and character decisions suits you. The premise asks you to consider which alternative lives might help the expedition survive. Give yourself a quiet session to see how those choices affect the crew.
The Steam listing provides another official description of the game and its PC requirements. Those requirements describe the PC version, not a promise that this Xbox weekend offer is available on every store. Use the Xbox promotion and your console's listing to check the trial entitlement.
Find the correct install option on Xbox
Follow the game links in the announcement or look for the Free Play Days collection in the Xbox Store's subscription area. Sign in with the account that holds the eligible membership when choosing one of the member games. Inspect the edition and trial label before starting a download.
A normal purchase price can appear beside a promotion. Choose the trial or eligible install option and check the edition before confirming. If you do choose to buy, read the final price and regional conditions separately. Discounts can differ by title and region.
Xbox Store: The AltersCheck the trial option and supported devices on your regional store.↗Leave enough time for installation before your planned session. A weekend deadline can arrive while a large download is still running. Xbox's announcement does not give one universal final clock time for all six offers, so the on-console promotion is the place to check the precise availability shown to your account.
Decide whether to continue after the weekend
Use the trial to decide whether you want to keep playing. Write down which title you actually enjoyed and compare its ongoing access options after playing. A subscription library, a temporary weekend promotion and a bought copy have different terms, even when the same install remains on your console.
For The Alters, consider whether you enjoyed managing the crew as much as exploring the planet. The trailer shows the setting; your three-hour session lets you judge whether you enjoy the decisions. Keep the trial's time limit in mind when deciding how much of that session to spend exploring menus.
Our Xbox release roundup covers new games separately from this temporary access window. The October PS Plus catalog is useful if you are comparing subscriptions across consoles, but its dates and access rules do not apply to Xbox's weekend event.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Game Pass to try The Alters?
Xbox says the three-hour trial is available to all players during October 15-18, without Game Pass.
When does NBA 2K27 Free Play Days start?
October 16 at 12:00 PDT, which is 19:00 UTC.
Which Game Pass tiers qualify for the five member games?
The announcement lists Ultimate, Premium and Essential.
Are the games free to keep?
This is temporary trial access. Check purchase or subscription terms if you want to keep playing afterward.
