Xbox Series X|S and Game Pass: Five exclusive games to watch in 2025

Microsoft’s updated slate of first-party games coming between late 2024 and next year offers a glimpse into the future of the Xbox ecosystem. For the Green Cross community, 2025 is set to be a year of interactive experiences, available exclusively on Xbox Series X|S and Game Pass.

As evidenced by the many announcements at the Xbox Games Showcase in June, the lineup of titles coming to PC, Xbox, and Game Pass over the coming months is set to be particularly busy. That’s especially true given the sheer number of AAA titles, such as Gears of War E-Day and State of Decay 3, which still don’t have release dates at the time of writing.

Granted

Obsidian Entertainment’s ambitious new role-playing adventure is the first major Xbox exclusive coming in 2025. The title will take us to the Pillars of Eternity dimension and promises to deliver an imaginative experience full of surprises, with fast-paced gameplay and a story as deep as any other project from Microsoft’s California subsidiary.

With Avowed, Obsidian returns to its first love of RPGs and does so by satisfying the tastes and needs of an audience that has never been so varied, as evidenced by the ability to switch between first- and third-person perspectives at any time during the game. The latest build spotted at GamesCom 2024 allows us to look with confidence at the work the Irvine team has been doing in anticipation of Avowed’s launch, expected on February 18, 2025 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Game Pass.

Fable

Fans of RPG adventures are also eagerly awaiting the launch of Fable, the new Playground Games installment in Peter Molyneux’s historical series. Judging by the spectacular Unreal Engine 5-style scenes seen during the Xbox Showcase in the summer, the efforts of the English subsidiary of Xbox Game Studios are aimed at bringing us a fully ‘next-gen’ experience on screen, with magical and melee combat enhanced by hyper-realistic animations.

To make things even more interesting, there should be a plot that is steeped in the biting humor that has always characterized this IP. Hopefully, this aspect will fuel the progression system based on the moral choices made by our alter ego, with dialogues that have unpredictable outcomes and stories that are as branching as the forests of Albion.

South of midnight

2025 will also be the year of South of Midnight, the new third-person action game designed by the digital forges of Compulsion Games. The latest project from the authors of We Happy Few borrows the fairytale atmosphere of fantasy RPGs most beloved by the general public and places them in the atypical context of an alternative version of Louisiana.

Amid stop-motion cinematics and skill-building platforming sessions, the “mythological” New Orleans that the Compulsion team has imagined promises to set the stage for an adventure that’s as immediate as it is deep, with twists and turns and a cast of supporting characters so atypical that they include enormous, intelligent catfish and gigantic crocodiles.

Replace

Replaced’s delay to 2025 adds to an already massive slate of games coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Game Pass next year. If nothing else, the additional development time Sad Cat needs to realize this creative vision will give the Belarusian studio more time to deepen the content and the experience of playing in this alternate version of ‘80s America.

In Sad Cat’s cyberpunk odyssey, we are challenged to help the artificial intelligence REACH reunite with its kind. But not before taking on the criminal gangs that dominate the slums of Phoenix. To do so, we must master a combat system inspired by the Batman Arkham series.

Clockwork Revolution

Clear hints about Clockwork Revolution’s 2025 release, shared by a voice actor, give us hope that inXile’s new steampunk title will come out late next year at the latest.

The latest interactive effort from the team that follows Brian Fargo aims to bring a breath of fresh air and originality to the first-person role-playing adventure genre, all by utilizing time travel and complex RPG dynamics that can be experienced by jumping from one era to another. According to inXile studios, every action taken in the different timelines will profoundly impact every aspect of the gameplay and plot, influencing the course of events in ways that Fargo itself describes as “extreme and incredible.”

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