The number of high-quality games being added to the Xbox Series X grows day by day. However, a lot of these games are due to increasing backward compatibility and games that come and go from Game Pass. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some awesome new games for this powerful system.

In this post, we’re going to help you figure out the best 9 games you can add to your Xbox Series X/S Library today for some next-gen fun!

9) Forza Horizon 5

Forza and Xbox go hand-in-hand since the very first system in the 2000s. And both have come a long way since those days, with Forza Horizon 5 leading the pack when it comes to open-world driving sims. This time around, we’re hitting the streets and backroads of beautiful Mexico. And thanks to the new powerful hardware, everything runs smooth as butter. As you expect, Forza still puts a heavy emphasis on realism and the graphics and mechanics of this one hold true to that premise. 

8) Red Dead Redemption 2

Sure, you can play Red Dead Redemption 2 on plenty of other consoles and PC– but it feels right at home on the Xbox Series X. The SSD means you can spend more time playing this beautiful, fun game instead of waiting for things to load. And it takes full advantage of Quick Resume, meaning you can seamlessly swap between games with a few button taps. There’s also Red Dead Online, which is essentially GTA Online in the Old West. With the amazing single-player campaign and endless hours of online play, it easily makes one of the best games for the Xbox.

7) Microsoft Flight Simulator

You used to need an expensive high-end PC if you wanted to play Microsoft Flight Simulator. Now, it’s available on the Xbox, meaning you can take the skies and live out your dreams of being a pilot without ever needing to get off your couch. The graphics are amazing, and we’d wager it’s good enough to teach you all you need to know to land a plane in an emergency situation– though we still recommend you leave it to the true experts. If you fantasize about flying planes, then this definitely needs to be in your Xbox Series X Library.

6) Gears Tactics

Gears Tactics takes everything we love about Gears 5 and hits it with a shiny coat of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It’s a strategy game that features all the characters and weapons from the Gears series. It’s not unheard of for a shooter game to switch genres to RTS. Halo did it with Halo Wars some years ago. Here’s a pro tip for getting wins in Gears Tactics. You want to focus on getting the most amount of kills in every turn instead relying heavily on sly maneuvers. 

5) Gears 5

Since we’re on the subject, Gears 5 is a return to form even if they’ve dropped the Wars from the title. Taking a note from the movie industry, many of the cutscenes are filled with high-octane action and explosions. It also sprinkles in some horror elements to give the series a fresh feel. While it takes a different approach from the rest of the series– a new protagonist and story– a lot of what we loved about the old games is back and they did away with the things fans complained about. All of this makes for a solid game that’s both gorgeous to look at and fun to play. 

4) Halo Infinite

There’s no denying the last few Halo games were… Well, not that good. However, like Gears 5, Halo Infinite is a return to form for the series. We think it’s all because of the newest mechanic: the grappling hook. This adds a new level of mobility that shakes up the Halo formula while keeping all of the things that fans have come to expect. And similar to many games in this new generation, Halo Infinite takes an open-world approach where you can tackle missions and side quests in whatever order you like.  

3) Resident Evil Village

Although Resident Evil conjures the idea of Playstation, Village feels right at home on the Xbox. Riding high off the success of Resident Evil 7 and the REmakes, Village brings us back into the world of bio-weapons where we fight off werewolves, vampires, and other creatures of the night. This time around, there’s more focus on gunplay and action. And the story will have you hooked and it takes wild turns at every act. Oh, and there’s Lady Dimitrescu and we love Lady Dimitrescu.

2) Ori and the Will of the Wisps

After the massive success of Ori and the Blind Forest, the Will of the Wisps cranks everything about the first game up to 100. It’s an open-world 2D platformer, where you get to decide how you progress through the game. The game’s visuals and music scores are stunning, captivating, and unique. And the gameplay is extremely solid. What’s even better is that you can play the game on Xbox’s Game Pass. So really, you don’t have any excuse to not try out this amazing game.

1) Hitman 3

Wrapping up the World of Assassination trilogy, Hitman 3 is the swan song for the series and incorporates everything the developers learned from the previous games. It gives you multiple ways to approach missions and the graphics are absolutely beautiful. The only bad thing about the game is that it’s short with only 6 missions. However, the variety of weapons and things to do means you can still replay it over and over again to try to come up with fun and wacky ways to complete the game.

These are our favorite games on the Xbox Series X/S, but there are still plenty of games to choose from. Have you played any of these? Know any awesome games we missed? Let us know! And be sure to check out our blogs about all things video games, anime, and CBD!