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We’re four years into the current Xbox Series X|S generation, and in 2024, it was business mostly as usual for Microsoft’s console brand. While the biggest news this year related to Xbox was a new focus on bringing several of its first-party games to PS5 and Nintendo Switch, Xbox also saw an evolution of its Game Pass subscription service and an option for users of the Ultimate tier to stream select games they own. On top of a marketing push designed to remind people that they technically don’t need the console to play Xbox games, 2024 shaped up to be a year of diversification for Microsoft’s gaming ecosystem.
What of the games then? This was a pretty strong year overall, as the Xbox library was bolstered with first-party games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Third-party games like Neon White and Final Fantasy 14 only added to the appeal of sitting down for a night of gaming on an Xbox console, and with Game Pass having numerous day-one releases, you’d find yourself spoiled for choice on what you could download and play, especially when one of those options was Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
GameSpot sister Metacritic has crunched the numbers on the best-reviewed Xbox games of the year–as of December 5–and if you’re interested, you can check them all out in the list below. There were a few obvious winners here, as well as several surprises that you can read about. Be sure to also check out our running lists of the best Xbox Series X|S games and best Xbox Game Pass games to play right now.
More Best Of 2024: