Best Games for Series X: Elevate Your Gaming with These Must-Play Titles
When you unbox your Xbox Series X, you’re not just holding a console — you’re unlocking the future of immersive, high-fidelity gaming. With its lightning-fast SSD, 4K resolution at 120fps, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing, Microsoft’s flagship system is built to deliver experiences that push the boundaries of what’s possible. But hardware alone doesn’t make magic — it’s the games that truly bring the machine to life. Whether you’re chasing adrenaline-pumping action, emotionally rich narratives, or competitive multiplayer thrills, selecting the best games for Series X is essential to maximize your investment.
In this guide, we spotlight titles that don’t just run well — they shine on Series X, leveraging its full potential to deliver buttery-smooth performance, jaw-dropping visuals, and gameplay that feels tailor-made for next-gen. These aren’t just popular games — they’re transformative experiences that redefine what console gaming can be.
Why Optimization Matters: More Than Just Resolution
It’s tempting to assume that any modern game will “work” on Series X — and technically, most do. But the best games for Series X go beyond compatibility. They’re rebuilt, remastered, or natively designed to exploit the console’s unique architecture. Think: near-instant load times, dynamic 4K textures, HDR lighting that reacts to your environment, and adaptive frame rates that never stutter.
Take Forza Horizon 5, for example. On Series X, this open-world racing masterpiece runs at a rock-solid 60fps in 4K, with ray-traced reflections glinting off every car hood as you tear through Mexico’s vibrant biomes. Trees sway in real-time weather, and AI traffic reacts intelligently — all without a single hiccup. This isn’t just a port; it’s an evolution.
Similarly, Halo Infinite’s campaign mode leverages the Series X’s power to render massive battlefields with zero pop-in, allowing Chief to leap across canyons while enemy dropships soar overhead — all in crisp, cinematic detail. Multiplayer? Sub-20ms input latency ensures your headshots land with pixel-perfect precision.
Narrative Powerhouses That Pull You In
If story-driven experiences are your jam, Series X delivers some of the most emotionally resonant titles of the generation. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice received a free “Ultimate” upgrade for Series X, enhancing its already haunting visuals with 4K textures and spatial audio that makes every whisper in Senua’s mind feel chillingly real. The game’s depiction of psychosis isn’t just artistic — it’s amplified by the console’s fidelity, making her journey through Norse hell feel terrifyingly intimate.
Then there’s Starfield, Bethesda’s long-awaited space epic. On Series X, it runs in Performance mode at 60fps with dynamic resolution scaling, letting you seamlessly transition from planetary exploration to zero-G dogfights without loading screens. The game’s 1,000+ planets aren’t just window dressing — each biome reacts to your ship’s thrusters, and NPC cities bustle with AI-driven life. It’s a living universe, rendered in stunning clarity.
Elden Ring also deserves special mention. While not an Xbox exclusive, its Series X version is arguably the definitive way to play. With consistent 60fps, enhanced draw distances, and faster asset streaming, you’ll spot distant castles before they fade into mist — and react to ambushes with split-second timing. The Lands Between have never felt so vast, nor so alive.
Multiplayer Mayhem: Where Competition Meets Polish
For those who thrive on competition, Series X transforms multiplayer titles into buttery-smooth arenas of precision. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III runs in 120Hz mode on compatible displays, giving you a tangible edge in firefights. The difference? Enemy movements feel predictable, recoil patterns become readable, and your inputs translate instantly — no more “lag-induced rage quits.”
Gears 5’s multiplayer suite, especially Escape mode, benefits massively from Series X’s architecture. Co-op teams can strategize in real-time thanks to zero-latency voice chat and seamless map transitions. Explosions render with HDR bloom, and Locust hordes swarm with no frame drops — even when the screen is pure chaos.
And let’s not forget Sea of Thieves. Rare’s pirate adventure received a Series X optimization pass that boosted resolution, added dynamic water reflections, and reduced load times to under 10 seconds. Sailing with friends has never felt this fluid — or this gorgeous — as sunsets paint the sky in real-time while you chase treasure across uncharted islands.
Hidden Gems and Indie Standouts
The best games for Series X aren’t all blockbusters. Indie developers are leveraging Microsoft’s ID@Xbox program to deliver polished, inventive experiences that punch above their weight. Tunic, a love letter to classic Zelda titles, runs at 4K/60fps with hand-drawn textures that pop in HDR. Its cryptic world and challenging combat feel perfectly tuned for Series X’s responsive controller and quick resume feature.
Hi-Fi RUSH, Tango Gameworks’ rhythm-action hybrid, is another standout. Its cel-shaded visuals sync flawlessly with its killer soundtrack, and Series X ensures every guitar strum and drum hit triggers with zero audio lag. Boss battles become dance-offs — and they’ve never felt this tight.
Even older titles get new life. Ori and the Will of the Wisps received a free Series X patch that unlocked 120fps gameplay — turning its already fluid platforming into