With all the new AAA and first-party games arriving on Xbox Game Pass lately, it can be easy to overlook some of the indie or lesser-known titles that are also added each month. For every major day-one release on Game Pass, there are others that are essentially stealth dropped onto the subscription service. That’s certainly the case with this latest free game, which has become one of the biggest hits on Game Pass for 2026, despite only releasing earlier this week.

You’d be forgiven if you missed that a game called Escape the Backrooms was added to Game Pass recently. It didn’t get a whole lot of fanfare ahead of time, and most Xbox users’ attention might’ve been on the Fable reboot delay that was announced, or the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday. Either way, subscribers have latched onto Escape the Backrooms, which is already a huge hit on Game Pass this year.

“Escape the Backrooms is a major hit for Xbox Game Pass in 2026,” reads the original post on Reddit. It goes on to show the Top 10 games for 2026 on Game Pass so far (via True Achievements), which includes some major AAA titles like Forza Horizon 6 (at #1), Cyberpunk 2077 (at #9), and NBA 2K26 (at #3). It also includes some recently released games like Subnautica 2 (at #2).

Escape the Backrooms is already at #7, which is pretty impressive. First, because the game is less than a week old and was quietly dropped on Game Pass without much fanfare. Secondly, because this list is for ALL games on Xbox Game Pass in 2026. It’s June, and somehow, Escape the Backrooms has broken the Top 10 in its first week. It’s the only game on the list to be that fresh.

As one user noted, the timing couldn’t be more perfect. The new Backrooms movie is in theaters now, and it’s already a commercial success. It’s also a critical success, with reviews for Backrooms being pretty impressive, along with high audience scores. Kane Parsons’ YouYube series was already a viral hit before that. All of this, of course, factors into the surprising success of Escape the Backrooms.

While it’s not an official adaptation of the movie, it is heavily inspired by the web series. Fans of the series and movie should see plenty of familiar things in Escape the Backrooms. And, if you’re coming home from the theater after watching the Backrooms movie, it’s a great way to keep the terror going. If you have Xbox Game Pass, you can play it at no additional cost right now, which is a nice bonus.