Xbox: twenty-four eagerly awaited games coming in 2024

Xbox series 10. Microsoft is steadily moving towards online-only games (Microsoft)
Xbox series 10. Microsoft is steadily moving towards online-only games (Microsoft)

Xbox is riding high into 2024 as the exclusives continue to flow after a strong end to last year.

In the coming months, first-party releases Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and Avowed will try to meet the high bar set by recent hits Starfield and Hi-Fi Rush. Further down the line, a new Call of Duty: Black Ops game is on the horizon following Microsoft’s fraught acquisition of franchise owner Activision Blizzard.

Big changes may also be afoot at Xbox. In the latest sign of its shift to digital-only gaming, Microsoft recently gutted Xbox’s physical games department as part of sweeping layoffs in its video game division. Furthermore, a diskless Xbox Series X console is expected to land this year. That’s great news for those who already make all of their purchases online — less so for fans of the dying art of the trade-in.

Distribution concerns aside, the good news for players is that there are many great titles on the way. We’ve listed some of the top Xbox games of 2024 below — and picked out some highlights coming soon.

Notable Xbox games set to be released in 2024

  • Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (February 2)

  • Persona 3 Reload (February 2)

  • Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (February 13)

  • Skull and Bones (February 16)

  • WWE 2K24 (March 8)

  • Dragon’s Dogma 2 (March 22)

  • Sand Land (April 25)

  • Final Fantasy XIV (spring)

  • Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (May 21)

  • Destiny 2: The Final Shape (June 4)

  • Visions of Mana (summer)

  • Stalker 2 (September 5)

  • Space Marine 2 (September 9)

  • Avowed (autumn)

  • Ara: History Untold (autumn)

  • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (TBA)

  • Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (TBA)

  • Starfield: Shattered Space (TBA)

  • Clockwork Revolution (TBA)

  • Star Wars Outlaws (TBA)

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops (TBA)

  • Assassin’s Creed Red (TBA)

  • MS Flight Simulator 2024 (TBA)

  • Towerborne (TBA)

February

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (Rocksteady)
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (Rocksteady)

In February, two long-awaited titles that have been beset with their issues will be released. Firstly, DC’s merry band of antiheroes will hunt down Batman’s supergroup in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Although critics panned the game’s generic action and empty open world in limited previews, gamers will be able to make their minds up on February 2.

Elsewhere, Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones is finally surfacing after years spent in development hell. Is it just a diluted Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag or the best game about pirates since Sea of Thieves? We’ll find out when the game releases on February 16.

March

Dragon's Dogma 2 (Capcom)
Dragon's Dogma 2 (Capcom)

Dragon’s Dogma 2 could be the next must-have RPG when it lands on March 22. With an enormous open world that’s four times the size of the previous game’s map; massive battles with mystical enemies; and a unique take on exploration that provides you with a cast of allies to act as your guides, Capcom’s fantasy sequel has all the makings of a classic.

May

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory)
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory)

May marks the release of the first big Xbox exclusive of 2024 in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. The UK’s very own Ninja Theory is promising more fearsome action and amped-up cinematics in this sequel, which delves into Celtic warrior Senua’s psyche again. With so many bloated games on players’ dockets, it’s good to know that Hellblade 2 will take around only eight hours to complete.

June

Destiny 2 (Bungie)
Destiny 2 (Bungie)

Destiny 2’s light and darkness saga will come to a head with The Final Shape. The latest expansion will whisk players to a new “linear” destination called the Pale Heart. There, they’ll take on a new enemy unit known as the Subjugators, who deal in stasis and strand powers. Developer Bungie will show off more gameplay footage from The Final Shape in April. With the game’s player numbers recently said to have dropped, the expansion could be make or break for the looter-shooter.

September

Stalker 2 (GSC Game World)
Stalker 2 (GSC Game World)

To say Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl has been a long time coming would be a massive understatement. The survival shooter was expected to launch in 2012 but was hit with numerous delays. To make matters worse, its Ukrainian developer has had to deal with Russia’s invasion and resulting cyber attacks. At this stage, it’s a miracle the game is even seeing the light of day. As for what you can expect, think ultra-realistic, gritty gunplay with a big dollop of gruesome horror. Just make sure you pack a Geiger counter and torch.

Autumn

Avowed (Obsidian)
Avowed (Obsidian)

Avowed has all the ingredients to be the best Xbox exclusive of the year. It comes from esteemed developer Obsidian, the company behind acclaimed sci-fi game The Outer Worlds and Game Pass hit Grounded; features a unique-looking mix of magic, shooting, and melee combat; and a first-person style that evokes Skyrim. Autumn can’t come fast enough.

TBA

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be on Game Pass on day one (MachineGames)
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be on Game Pass on day one (MachineGames)

At this early stage of the year, many exciting games don’t have concrete release dates yet.

They include Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a first-person adventure game from the studio behind the recent Wolfenstein entries — who know a thing or two about punch-ups with Nazis. History buffs will also like the look of Ara: History Untold, which is essentially Microsoft’s take on Civilization.

In addition, there’s chatter that the next Call of Duty: Black Ops game will take players back to the events of the Gulf War when it arrives — supposedly this autumn.

If that wasn’t enough, DLCs for two blockbusters are also expected this year. Firstly, Starfield: Shattered Space is a paid-for expansion that will beckon players back to Bethesda’s galactic adventure game with more story content, locations, gear, and more. Plus, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree could pick up things after the first game’s main events, with a bigger role for demi-god Miquella.