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If you find yourself turning on your Xbox Series S or X to play a game only to discover you can't play it, there may be a valid reason. It's a good idea to take a closer look at the game to see if there are any symbols or icons on it. If you notice a triangle with an exclamation point on the game's thumbnail, it's possible that this symbol appearing the result of an Xbox bug. If that's the case, Xbox recommends restarting your system. But, generally, the triangle with an exclamation point means the game is not playable for you because you haven't purchased it.
You may be thinking that you actually have bought the game, used game sharing or played it through Xbox Game Pass. If the latter is true, you'll want to check and see if the game is still on Game Pass. Xbox adds and removes games from Game Pass periodically, so ensure that it's actually still available. If it's not, you can keep an eye out in case it's added again in the future. If you know you do own the game and the badge still shows up after a restart, you will need to make sure you are signed into the account that purchased it. Once you're signed into the right account or you've purchased the game, the icon should go away and you can play it.
How to get rid of the warning sign next to Xbox games
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If you want to see whether any other of your games have the badge in question, you can customize your home screen, one of a number of things you didn't know your Xbox Series X could do, and select the games that include the icon. With this filter on, only games with the triangle badge will be listed on your home screen. Turn the filter back off to return to your full library.
The Xbox update that added the triangle and exclamation mark badge was part of a test by Xbox done in 2022. A post by Engineering Lead at Xbox Eden Marie states the badge was introduced alongside a handful of others that better inform players of errors they can encounter when playing Xbox games. The landscape of Xbox is changing as the company has gone through a major shift. Leadership is hoping to better connect with players to get feedback on new ideas like how the next Xbox console could change gaming.