I wrote in Januarythat this might finally,finallybe Xbox’s year. The last few years have seen major Xbox exclusives fail, console sales trailing, and studio layoffs and closures, but so far in 2025 Xbox has been acting more as a publisher and a Game Pass provider than a console manufacturer, and it seems to be working in its favour.
Game Pass Is Bangin’ Right Now
Let’s get the most recent stuff out of the way: as you’ve no doubt heard by now,Bethesdahas justshadow dropped Oblivion Remastered, and it’s onGame Pass. This was always going to be wildly popular. You could tell from how people were reacting to the leaks, but that potential has since been proven bya stellar performance on Steam– the remaster has had the year’s second-biggest launch for a single-player game, and itshadow dropped on a random Tuesday. This game being free on Game Pass is a big get for Xbox.
On its own, this wouldn’t be a huge deal, since one game alone doesn’t make a subscription service worth the money. But Xbox has been making Game Pass increasingly worth its price over the last few months. While many of the games on its slate are launching on other platforms on day one, the new games coming to the service have been pretty great.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33has just launched to critical acclaim, which was no surprise to me considering my colleagues had been singing its praises all month. Like, really, nobody has shut up about it for weeks.South of Midnight, while drawing criticism for its repetitive gameplay, has been praised by many for its storytelling and themes, as well asits beautiful visual style.
Avowedwasn’t revolutionary by any means, but it was a solid and tightly executed RPG that reviewed well and seemed to resonate with players. And last December’sIndiana Jones and the Great Circlewas a surprise hit, one that many (me included) say would’ve been in the running for GOTY if it hadn’t been launched so late in the year (it’s technically eligible for The Game Awards this year, though the odds are against it with so many 2025 games and recency bias).
Xbox Could Solidify One Of Its Best Years In A Long Time
And there’s more to come. I’m not stupid enough to make the mistake of passing judgment on games that haven’t launched yet, butDoom: The Dark Ages,The Outer Worlds 2, andFableare all highly anticipated games that could solidify Xbox as a publisher of excellent games if they stick the landing.
Sure, Fable’sbeen delayed into next year, which mucks up the company’s release schedule a little bit, but Oblivion filling that gap means that the service gets another huge RPG in its place to give players something to do while waiting for the next big release. Game Pass has a solid enough pace of releases this year that the service is actually worth shelling out for, and the games are good enough to warrant the time and money.
