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Xbox Series X and S launch lineup is a long list of optimised titles

New tactics.

Wesley Yin-Poole avatar
News by Wesley Yin-Poole Former Editor-in-Chief
Updated on
128 comments

Microsoft has revealed the games it will release with Xbox Series X and S on 10th November 2020.

These games are optimised for the new consoles, Microsoft said, and are in addition to the thousands of backwards compatible games available at launch.

Also of note: the games making use of Microsoft's Smart Delivery are labelled. (These games include free next-gen upgrades.)

  • Assassins 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)
Cover image for YouTube videoLet's Play Xbox Series X - First Hands On Xbox Series X Gameplay!
Watch on YouTube

There are some notable absentees from this list. I thought Halo: The Master Chief Collection might have enjoyed the optimised treatment - perhaps this will come later. Another title I thought might have made launch in optimised form but hasn't is Destiny 2. Destiny 2 goes optimised for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on 8th December. Xbox console launch exclusive The Medium comes out 10th December.

Cover image for YouTube videoThe Medium - Release Date Reveal
Watch on YouTube

It's also worth noting this isn't a console launch lineup in the traditional sense, with no first-party Xbox Series X or S exclusives. Gears Tactics is perhaps the closest to that, but it's been out on PC for months now. All the games on the list will also be available on platforms other than the Xbox Series X or S. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given Microsoft's push towards Xbox Game Pass subscriptions over exclusives.

Anything take your fancy?

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