Whether you’re looking for games to keep an eye out for when they come to Xbox Game Pass or just want to know which games are coming to your console of choice, we’ve gathered all the best games to look forward to onXbox Series X|Sin 2025.

There’s a real mix of games coming to Xbox in 2025, from the highly-anticipated strategy game Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 to a new entry inthe Assassin’s Creed series, Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Here’s what our editorial staff are most looking forward to on Xbox Series X|S in 2025. (Spoiler - there’s a few of us excited about Fable…)

Key Art for South of Midnight.

Updated on July 30, 2025 by Rebecca Phillips:Xbox has an exciting year ahead. We’ve updated this article to include our self-publishing writers' most anticipated Xbox games for 2025.

While I could repeatedly remind everyone that my most anticipated game of 2025 is Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, I figured it was best to show a little range. What better way to do that than by highlighting a new title that has caught my eye.

Fable title text with a city in the background.

We haven’t seen too much of this new action adventure from Compulsion Games (Contrast, We Happy Few), but what we have seen has definitely piqued my interest. Sold as a “dark modern folktake”, protagonist Hazel finds themselves dealing with all things magical, mythical, and monstrous, and I’m here for it.

There are some games that I can’t wait to play in 2025 because I know I’m going to love them. There are some games that I can’t wait to play in 2025 because I’m not sure if they’ll even be any good. Fable, impossibly, is both.

A girl looking over her should in South of Midnight’s game cover.

So long as we all agree not to count The Journey as a real thing, I love all the Fable games, and this year’sThank Goodness You’re Here proved silly British humour still has a placein video games. Fable will be daft and I’ll have a great time with it. But after so many years away, developmental turmoil, and the collective burden of expectations weighing ever heavier on each passing Xbox release, it feels like Fable has a mighty big point to prove.

If even half of the games that Xbox claims are coming in 2025 actually arrive next year, it has a heck of a good lineup. While I have my doubts about Fable and Gears of War: Judgement Day actually landing, there’s one game I’m both more confident in and incredibly excited about - South of Midnight.

Two characters holding a sword in Fable.

I wasn’t super hot on Compulsion Games’ last title, We Happy Few, but South of Midnight looks to scratch my third-person action adventure itch witha beautiful stop motion-esque art style, interesting Southern setting, and charming cast of characters. Let’s just hope it doesn’t get the Hi-Fi Rush treatment…

I grew up on Fable. It was, funnily enough, one of my earliest introductions to RPGs when I had actually started developing a taste of my own, and it set the benchmark for me on what a good blend of humour and fantasy could be. Plus, it felt wonderful to actually be able to own a home. That’s the real fantasy here.

Doom The Dark Ages title on the ground with a ball and chain.

For the latest Fable, I don’t really know how I feel about it. The landscape has changed so much since Fable 3, and the uniquely bizarre elements of Fable are what made it stand out in the first place. I loved getting to be an evil landlord, I adored being able to just randomly start a family. There’s nothing like Fable except Fable, so I really hope the new Fable feels like the old Fable. I need some genuinely good humour in a game again.

My youngest son has fully entered an era of rabidly consuming first-person shooters. After being forced to play Fortnite, Valorant, and worse, Call of Duty over the past year I’ve been biding my time and waiting my turn. In 2025, my moment will come.

Character fighting enemies in the forest in Fable.

Doom: The Dark Ages will hit shelves, ready to serve as his introduction to one of the very best FPS protagonists that has ever wielded a gun. None of this battle royale nonsense. I’m just looking for fast-paced action, guns and gore, and if Doom doesn’t deliver I’ll be very disappointed.

Some games resonate with us because they’re relatable or hold some nostalgic place in our hearts. However, Fable’s most notable achievement has been finding the space to do both, telling a fantasy tale that hones in on decisions that can shape the world around you.

Four characters from Lost Records Bloom & Rage.

Blend this serious concept with the off-the-wall, tongue-in-cheek absurdity that you’d expect from a Monty Python skit, and you have Fable’s essence. While we await the newest entry that’s been waiting in the wings for over ten years, all we can do is hope with stars in our eyes that this reboot returns us to the Fable formula we grew to love over a decade ago.

The original Life is Strange remains my favorite game in that particular series and one of my favorite narrative adventure games ever. Not only does Lost Records: Bloom And Rage share a developer with the original LiS, but I get a similar vibe from the trailer. It seems to have that same mix of wholesomeness and darkness.

Two characters looking over a dark city with red lights from Gears Of War E-Day.

It is unclear whether the developers can balance those elements as well as they did in Max Claufield and Chloe Price’s first adventure. However, the Gamescom trailer was enough to make me intrigued by the title.

While it is possible we won’t even see Gears of War: E-Day until 2026 at the earliest, I am still optimistic it might hit late next year, automatically making it my most anticipated Xbox title by a mile. I love Marcus and Dominic’s story so much and cannot wait to see where it all began.

Gears is a very special series to me for many reasons, and these two characters are the primary reason for that. I’m also confident they’re going to nail the multiplayer, which will undoubtedly eat up all my free time, especially if it has a Horde mode!