Xbox Series X Launch Games Confirmed by Microsoft

After much speculation, Microsoft has finally released the full list of games that will be optimized for Xbox Series X/S when the console launches on November 10.

“When you power on your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S on November 10, you will be greeted by the largest launch lineup in Xbox history,” says Will Tuttle, Xbox Wire Editor in Chief. “Games like Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Watch Dogs: Legion, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Gears Tactics, and Tetris Effect: Connected will be some of the much-anticipated next-gen games you can play on day one. The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will launch with 30 new games playable day one, 20 of them with Smart Delivery that are upgraded automatically and thousands of backward compatible titles across four generations.”

Here is the current list of optimized Xbox Series X/S launch games:

• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Smart Delivery)
• Borderlands 3 (Smart Delivery)
• Bright Memory 1.0
• Cuisine Royale (Smart Delivery)
• Dead by Daylight (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
• Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition
• DIRT 5 (Smart Delivery)
• Enlisted
• Evergate
• The Falconeer (Smart Delivery)
• Fortnite
• Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
• Gears 5 (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
• Gears Tactics (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
• Grounded (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
• King Oddball (Smart Delivery)
• Maneater (Smart Delivery)
• Manifold Garden (Smart Delivery)
• NBA 2K21
• Observer: System Redux
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
• Planet Coaster (Smart Delivery)
• Sea of Thieves (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
• Tetris Effect: Connected (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
• The Touryst (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
• War Thunder (Smart Delivery)
• Warhammer: Chaosbane Slayer Edition
• Watch Dogs: Legion (Smart Delivery)
• WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship (Smart Delivery)
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Smart Delivery)
• Yes, Your Grace (Smart Delivery)

Given that this upcoming console generation is a bit different than most, we should probably clarify what optimized means in this instance.

Basically, the games you see above are all designed for the Xbox Series X/S. That means that they’ve all been developed with next-gen technology in mind in some way. While not all of these titles were developed exclusively for next-gen consoles, even those available on current-gen platforms will look better and support certain next-gen features.

The important thing to keep in mind is that this list doesn’t include all of the backward compatible games that will be available for Xbox Series X/S on launch day. It also doesn’t include the backward compatible games that will be enhanced by the next-gen consoles in some way (which, as we talked about previously, includes quite a few games).

Ultimately, the Xbox Series X will not feature quite as many next-gen exclusives as the PS5 at launch. As we’ve mentioned elsewhere, though, the draw of the Xbox Series X/S in its earliest days will really be about its backward compatibility capabilities, Game Pass, and the promise of what’s to come.