Best games to play on Xbox Game Pass in January 2024

Xbox Game Pass remains a prominent value-for-money gaming service subscription, even in 2024. Against a small monthly fee, readers can gain access to a wide library of games — including day-one releases. These titles cover various genres, making it quite complicated to pick the best of what is available in Microsoft’s gaming service.

A list of the best games available on Game Pass can be found below, divided into categories denoting major genres. Keep in mind that this list denotes games available as of January 2024.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author’s opinions.

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Best open-world games to play on Xbox Game Pass

Open world titles include the likes of Starfield and No Man's Sky, offering players unparalleled freedom in traversing through massive game maps, encouraging them to experiment as much as possible:

• Starfield
• No Man’s Sky
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
• Valheim
• Minecraft
• Skyrim
• Watch Dogs 2
• Sea of Thieves
• Fallout: New Vegas

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Best action-adventure games to play on Xbox Game Pass

Action-adventure covers quite a broad section of games, encompassing elements from multiple genres in many cases. Regardless, these titles offer cinematic set pieces and impressive campaigns in common:

• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• Rise of the Tomb Raider
• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Batman: Arkham Knight
• Middle-earth: Shadow of War
• Yakuza 0
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Hi-Fi Rush
• Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name

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Best indie games to play on Xbox Game Pass

Also known as independent video games, the indie genre includes titles created by small development teams, usually 1-4 people. Game Pass houses a wide library of impressive indies in addition to its usual AAA games catalog:

• Hollow Knight
• Rollerdrome
• Cocoon
• Darkest Dungeon
• Inside
• Vampire Survivors
• Stardew Valley
• Among Us

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Best horror games to play on Xbox Game Pass

Game Pass also has a healthy selection of horror titles to choose from. These games range from AAA blockbusters to surprise indie hits, each offering spine-tingling campaigns:

• Amnesia Collection
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
• Soma
• Dead Space (2023 remake)
• Prey
• Dead Space 2
• Doom 3

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Best shooter games to play on Xbox Game Pass

The best shooter games on Game Pass include both first-person and third-person options, each offering blood-pumping, adrenaline-fuelled campaigns:

• Halo: Combat Evolved
• Halo: Reach
• Doom (2016)
• Remnant II
• Crysis
• Deathloop
• Gears of War 2
• Goldeneye 007
• Quake
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

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Best RPG games to play on Xbox Game Pass

Game Pass includes some of the best RPGs and JRPGs currently available in the market. These include first-party titles such as Starfield, among others:

• Starfield
• Yakuza: Like A Dragon
• Persona 5 Tactica
• Monster Hunter Rise
• Sea of Stars
• Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord
• Fable 2
• Mass Effect Legendary Edition
• The Outer Worlds

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Check out our Game Pass section on Sportskeeda for more news and updates.