It is now less than a month until the launch of both the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, bringing with them the next generation of Xbox hardware for gamers to enjoy.
We already know a lot about the consoles themselves, but a console is worthless if there’s nothing to play. So which games will be available for the Xbox Series X and S on November 10?
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The Xbox Series X doesn’t have exclusives in the traditional sense. While the PS5 will have games that are only available on the PS5 console at launch, Microsoft has opted for a different approach. Instead games that will be available on Xbox Series X will also be available on Xbox One and One X. Just without all the fancier stuff like ray tracing, boosted graphics, and so on.
So really what we’re talking about which games have been optimized for the new consoles. As in, playing on an Xbox Series X (or S) will be different than if you played on the Xbox One and One X.
Smart Delivery
Smart delivery is a pretty nifty feature that’s designed to stop you having to buy games more than once. Think of it like an evolution of Xbox’s Play Anywhere, which let you play certain games on Xbox One and PC without having to buy two copies of the game.
So instead of asking you to shell out an extra $60 for a Series X game you already purchased for Xbox One, you’ll be able to play it on your new console as if that was the system you initially bought it for. There’s nothing extra to purchase, you just download or install the game and straight-up get an upgrade
But it’s not just about upgrading the graphics and shortening load times, because Smart Delivery also transfers your save data so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
Which games have smart delivery?
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Borderlands 3
- Cuisine Royale
- Dead by Daylight
- DIRT 5
- The Falconeer
- Forza Horizon 4
- Gears 5
- Gears Tactics
- Grounded
- Maneater
- Manifold Garden
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Planet Coaster
- Sea of Thieves
- Tetris Effect: Connected
- The Touryst
- War Thunder
- Watch Dogs: legion
- WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon
- Yes, Your Grace
Game Pass
As with smart delivery, it doesn’t really matter which console you have, but this time it’s about keeping an active subscription rather than purchasing individual titles. So here are all the games optimized for Xbox Series X/S that will be available to download as part of the Game Pass service on day one.
All optimized titles available on launch day also include Smart Delivery, this is just a different way to obtain them.
Which games will be on Game Pass?
- Dead by Daylight
- Forza Horizon 4
- Gears 5
- Gears Tactics
- Grounded
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Sea of Thieves
- Tetris Effect: Connected
- The Touryst
The Rest
The thing about both Smart Delivery and Game Pass is that it’s up to the developers and publishers whether they want to be involved, so not all games are going to take advantage of Microsoft’s initiatives. So here are all the Xbox Series X/S optimized titles that you’ll either have to buy, or buy again if you already own a copy for Xbox One.
- Bright Memory 1.0
- Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition
- Enlisted*
- Evergate
- Fortnite*
- NBA 2K21
- Observer: System Redux
- Warhammer: Chaosbane Slayer Edition
*These games are already free to play, so they didn’t need to be part of Game Pass or include Smart Delivery anyway.
Which games are backwards compatible?
We can’t list all these games here, because there are literally thousands of them. But the rule is that any game that can be played on Xbox One – whether it was released for Xbox, Xbox 360, or Xbox One – will be playable on the Series X and S through backwards compatibility. Doesn’t matter if it’s on disc, a digital download, or available on Game Pass, they are ready to go.
But those games will play exactly as they did on the Xbox One, and haven’t had any of their features optimized for the new consoles. So don’t expect to be playing Blinx: the Time Sweeper in 4K HDR.
