GTA 5 removed from Game Pass on April 15 (AGAIN)

Again and AGAIN, Grand Theft Auto V has been removed from Xbox Game Pass, this time on April 15, 2026.

However, the thing is, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME! GTA 5 has already been removed and brought back multiple times before... over and over again... That. Is. Crazy.
This has literally been going in circles for years.......

There are a couple of reasons why this keeps happening, one of them is that Game Pass works on temporary contracts. Which basically means Microsoft pays for a game to be there for a certain period of time, after that they either renew it or the game leaves,
and GTA 5 is a massive game so it’s expensive to keep it there all the time.

If you are playing through Game Pass, once the game leaves you can’t play it anymore unless you already bought it before.
If nothing else, they at least give a discount before the game disappears.

There is another reason why they remove it.
Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive probably don’t want GTA to always be cheaply available. It’s still selling and it’s one of the most profitable games ever, so there’s no reason for it to always be available for “free”.
And since GTA 6 is coming, it’s possible they are increasing the value of the GTA brand or making space for marketing.

If we had to guess, GTA 5 is a premium game, and that’s why it doesn’t make sense to keep it permanently on a subscription.
But keep in mind, THERE IS A BIG CHANCE IT WILL COME BACK AGAIN IN A YEAR OR TWO! (because this keeps happening all the time.............)