Here's a look at the best Xbox One games you can currently buy in 2017.
It's always good to keep track of the best games and look back down the road that got us here. Here's a list of the best Xbox One games, by genre. We'll update the list again later in the year to reflect newer releases.
- Must Play
- Multiplayer Shooter
- Campaign Shooter
- Racer
- Open World
- Graphic Adventure
- Horror
- Role-playing
- Kinect
- For Kids
- Action Adventure
- Puzzler
- Survival
- Co-op
- Strategy & Simulation
- Platformer
- Sports
- Fighting
- Backwards Compatible
Must play
The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3 is one of the most acclaimed games ever made, taking place in a huge open-world densely packed with incentives to explore, secrets to uncover and stories to unravel. The Witcher 3 is as action-packed as they come, interweaved with a darkly mature plot, choice and consequences, and a virtual world teeming with life. The Witcher 3 is completely unmissable.
Bottom line: The Witcher 3 is the most essential must-play Xbox One game of this generation for its value, depth, and sheer quality.
Best Multiplayer Shooter
Battlefield 1
Battlefield 1 exploded onto the scene and performed the rare feat of delivering on its massive hype campaign. Battlefield 1 takes place in WW1, a rare setting for a modern shooter, but DICE has recaptured the sobering horror of the world's first industrial-scale war with grace and respect. Battlefield 1 is the most beautiful online shooter on Xbox One, taking place across gargantuan open-world maps with fully destructible environments and terrain.
Bottom line: Battlefield 1 is a full-blown masterpiece worthy of placement among the industry's all-time greatest shooters. Unmissable.
Best Campaign Shooter
Prey
Prey is a reimagining of a classic Xbox 360 shooter series, built by the minds behind Dishonored. Prey takes a place as the best campaign shooter on Xbox One for its painstakingly detailed levels, amazing story, thoughtful and rewarding combat, and engrossing atmospherics.
Taking place aboard the Talos I space station in an alternative history, as Morgan Yu, you must navigate a space colony infested with Typhon aliens that have escaped containment. Is this just a standard alien shooter? or is there a darker conspiracy at play here...? (It's the latter).
Bottom line: Prey has some of the best game design in recent memory, and is thoroughly unmissable for fans of games like Bioshock, Deus Ex, and Dead Space.
Best racer
Forza Horizon 3
Forza Horizon 3 delivers the most cohesive racing experience on the Xbox One. With hundreds of cars and a dynamic open world, the game amalgamates the finest components of its predecessors into a refined and invigorating package. Putting unparalleled customization and possibility in the hands of the player, Forza Horizon 3 is a perfection of the racing genre.
Bottom line: Packed with a strong roster of cars, a living world, and endless possibilities; Forza Horizon 3 is Microsoft's ultimate racing experience.
Open world
Fallout 4
Fallout 4 is the latest installment in Bethesda's post-apocalyptic RPG series, and it is quite arguably the best open world game available on Xbox One. With its rich RPG systems, improved shooting mechanics, deep settlement construction engine and console-exclusive Xbox One mods, you'll struggle to see everything Fallout 4 has to offer.
Bottom line: Fallout 4 is a rich and rewarding open-world game that provides potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay.
Graphic Adventure
Life is Strange
Life is Strange took the world by storm a couple of years back for its dramatic tale of friendship and high-school intrigue finished with a healthy dose of the supernatural. Life is Strange follows a murder conspiracy in a small town, calling on inspiration from the likes of the X-Files and Twin Peaks. It's one of the most moving stories available on Xbox One today, and it's one game everyone should experience.
Bottom line: Life is Strange is an unmissable story-driven adventure game that gives the greatest TV mysteries a run for their money.
Horror
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Resident Evil suffered a decline in recent years, but the seventh installment sent it screaming back to the top of the pile.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard rekindles the magic that made the franchise so great, delivering an explorative adventure that is as terrifying as it is brutally violent. Key hunting, ammo scavenging, and puzzle solving return in this bone-chilling game that easily reclaims the series throne as horror royalty.
Bottom line: Resident Evil 7 is the quintessential horror experience for Xbox One, and it has to be experienced by all horror fans.
RPG
Torment: Tides of Numenera
As we've showcased the hybrid RPG The Witcher 3 as the overall "Must Play" Xbox One title so far, but Dragon Age Inquisition's RPG mechanics are more typical of the classic genre. Before The Witcher 3 launched, BioWare dropped the latest installment in the Dragon Age franchise: Inquisition. Its branching narrative, diverse, tactical combat, character customization, class progression and consequence-driven plot edges other RPGs into second place.
Bottom line: Dragon Age Inquisition is the most expansive in the series, making it a must-play for any Xbox One RPG fan.
Kinect
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die
Dark Dreams Don't Die or "D4" for short, is a wild and wacky Kinect adventure from the creator of the cult classic Deadly Premonition. Utilizing intuitive, responsive and highly interactive (but optional) Kinect controls, players guide Detective David Young through a mysterious time-travel adventure to save his beloved from death.
Bottom line: D4 is a high-quality Kinect title that more than makes a case for the neglected peripheral. Hidetaka Suehiro's unique style accentuates every level of play, making D4 an experience you won't soon forget.
For kids
Minecraft
Did you expect anything else?! Minecraft is a phenomenon that led Microsoft to drop billions to secure the franchise back in 2014. Since launch, the game has grown far beyond its humble Java beginnings, spawning several large updates, and even an educational version. Minecraft will also begin exposing its code soon, allowing users to create their own add-ons with tools as simple as Notepad and MS Paint.
Bottom line: For an entire generation of youngsters, Minecraft will be among the first games they truly loved. Minecraft continues to be a runaway success story, likely here to stay.
Action Adventure
Quantum Break
Action-Adventure is a broad genre that encompasses all sorts of titles that don't quite fit into a more specific category. Quantum Break isn't quite a shooter, as the majority of your combat hinges on the heavy use of time-warping powers that spew gorgeous special effects across every surface, and the fabric of reality itself. Quantum Break is one of the only titles on Xbox One that utilizes live-action cutscenes, which play out like high-quality modern TV show episodes in between levels.
Bottom line: Visceral combat, breath-taking visuals and Remedy's signature unique story-telling make Quantum Break our unmissable Action-Adventure Xbox One title.
Puzzler
INSIDE
INSIDE is among the most critically acclaimed games on Xbox One for its meticulously polished gameplay, ravenously dark plot and fiendish puzzles that are just as likely to warp your mind as the game's shocking ending.
Bottom line: INSIDE is from the creators of LIMBO, and is every bit as haunting. This is one game everybody on Xbox One has to experience.
Survival
The Flame in the Flood
The Flame in the Flood is the product of a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign from former developers of Bioshock. The Flame in the Flood is a survival roguelite with an emphasis on treacherous river traveling. Guide Scout and her trusty canine companion Aesop on a dangerous survival trek in a post-societal America.
Bottom line: The Flame in the Flood tasks even the hardiest survival fans with careful management of resources, health and more, and it also has one of the greatest video game soundtracks ever.
Co-op
Divinity: Original Sin
Divinity Original Sin is a turn-based RPG with old-school sensibilities. It is also the number one co-op experience available on Xbox One. Playable both online and offline in split-screen, Divinity Original Sin allows two players to experience the game's dangerous medieval world and partake in satisfyingly tactical turn-based RPG battles. Both characters can even participate in the game's light-hearted conversations and even disagree on different decisions, often leading to hilarious consequences.
Bottom line: Exploring a CRPG world in co-op is as close to the real Dungeons and Dragons you can get on Xbox One, putting Divinity: Original Sin at the top of the pile.
Strategy & Simulation
Halo Wars 2
Halo Wars 2 proves that real-time strategy is not only viable on console but desirable. The talented folks at 343i and Creative Assembly crafted a wonderful package in Halo Wars 2 that offers something for everyone.
From its engaging campaign, to its fast-paced Blitz PvP mode and classic, competitive multiplayer modes, Halo Wars 2 features an incredible wealth of content that easily earns itself a spot as the top strategy game for Xbox One.
Bottom line: Halo Wars 2 casts away its "spinoff" moniker with ease. Make no mistake, this is one of the best Halo games ever released.
Platformer
Ori and the Blind Forest
Ori and the Blind Forest is the greatest platformer in an entire generation, and it's available exclusively on Xbox One and Windows 10. Guide the impossibly cute Ori through a gorgeous hand-drawn world complete with extremely challenging platforming and a beautifully woven story.
Bottom line: Ori and the Blind Forest is a moving, rewarding and beautiful game every Xbox owner should experience.
Sports
Rocket League
Rocket League combines high-octane cart racing with physics-based soccer rules to create something truly addictive. Two teams of up to four cars must race to score as many goals as possible in a set time limit, literally driving the ball into the opposing team's goal. Boost, rocket jump and drive on the arena walls — all tactics are valid in Rocket League.
Bottom line: Rocket League is a great value purchase for sports fans of all kinds. Constant free updates help keep the game fresh, thanks to its cosmetic micro-transactions.
Fighting
Killer Instinct
Pioneering Xbox Play Anywhere, Killer Instinct was the first title that allowed your purchases to roam between Xbox One and Windows 10. Killer Instinct is a revival of Rare's classic fighter from the 90s. The combo-heavy fighting game enjoys an active player base with several large seasonal updates. If you're an Xbox One owner into fighting games, you probably own this game already.
Bottom line: Killer Instinct has a large roster, a maddeningly addictive combat engine and some of the best network infrastructure seen in the genre.
Backwards compatible
Red Dead Redemption
News that Red Dead Redemption was being tested for backward compatibility sent sales of the game skyrocketing earlier in 2016. The game launched a few months later to a riotous celebration and proved that the Xbox 360 game had aged incredibly well. Guide John Marston through a disappearing Wild West in what is easily the greatest cowboy game ever made, from the creators of Grand Theft Auto.
Bottom line: Red Dead Redemption is one of the best open world games ever made. Everyone must play.
Best overall
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
In closing, The Witcher 3 remains the best game available on Xbox One overall. Its attention to detail, excellent writing, enchanting visuals, and polished gameplay systems make it a joy to play start to finish. CD Projekt RED are an example to be followed for every other major player in the industry.
Bottom line: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an open-world action RPG that has to be experienced to be believed.
One more thing: CD Projekt RED are hard at work on Cyberpunk 2077, an action RPG set in a noir sci-fi universe. If it's anywhere near the quality of The Witcher 3, we're in for a treat.
Your turn
There are hundreds of great Xbox One games out there, far too many to list in a single place. Are there any games or categories you think we missed? What are your favorite games? Any winners we listed that you'd remove?
Updated June 13, 2017: We have updated this list to reflect the fact Prey is the best campaign shooter you can play on Xbox One in 2017.
Reader comments
Best Xbox One Games of 2017
Too bad Jez was a complete jerk on Twitter and I lost 100% respect for him...BEYOND jerk passing BS
Wow,For an article titled Xbox games of 2017,There sure are a lot of games here not released in 2017
I was kinda hoping that there were gonna be some killer games from Microsoft. I mean PlayStation have God Of War, Detroit, Horizon, Uncharted etc. They are really good games. Microsoft needs a game in the Uncharted class of things. A Ryse 2 would have been good, Crimson Sky would also be good. How about another Counkers Bad Fur Day? A better Perfect Dark? Smt come on MS your falling off.
Hi Jez, love the list and am going to check out a few I haven't played.
One comment: RPG title and description don't match. Tides of Numeria with Dragon Age description.
Been hearing nothing but good things about Ori, it looks like it is on sale for the next couple of days, so I picked it up! Thanks for the list!
So happy Life is Strange made this list! I played the free episode to check it out and love it!
Trying to found a cheap Xbox one game that is fun to play all I play is sports and fighting games thanks
Colora
It still says dragon age under the RPG category that you changed to Torment: Tides of Numenera.
He needs to correct it and take Dragon Age Inquisition back
It's the best RPG released on XB1
I don't know... TToN sounds like the ultimate RPG.
missing category: jrpg. sad.
Potato 🍠
Dark Souls 3 and Titanfall 2 should be on this list. Really.
I agree on Titanfall 2
I agree with Titanfall 2 and Wildlands needs to be added under co-op, it has to be the best game i have played with a buddy.
great to see POLISH game as number ONE :) Witcher 3 is one of the best games of all time
XCOM 2 is still one of my favorites. I have played through it a few times and want to do it again.
Why is "Torment: Tides of Numenera" listed but the description is actually for Dragon age Inquisition???
Thank you for that question.
...the hottest band in the land. Kiss!
Still find the games on Xbox disappointing :( I want to love the games but currently there are significantly better games on PS4 and PC.
Firewatch, Inside, Ori and the Blind Forest are some of my favourites. Fallout 4 is really low frame rate for me.
I have to agree with Xbox One games been disapointing. I still have 2x more games on the Orignal Xbox then the 360 and One combined. Games like Halo, KoToR, Fusion Frenzy, MechAssault and Off Road Racing, wore out our BIG FAT controllers. My Daughter loved Kameo on the 360 and Dragon Age, and now Withcher 3. So really, other then Witcher 3, there has not been a game to use that has been memorable. We had hope for Scalebound (dead), and what about Crackdown 3?????
I still play more Xbox360 games than PS4 and Xbox One games combined. Just so much more games that were fun to play last gen than this gen so far. This far into it's life cycle you would think they would have more by now, but not even close.
Red dead is An amazing game.
I have to agree that Titanfall 2 is incredible, I have been a fan since TF1, and the 2nd is only better. Can't wait for the latest update. I will give BF1 a try this year, it looks awesome, I played BF4 for a while and it was ok. I liked the reactive landscape it made for a realistic feel.
I too am a fan of the Titanfall series. Trust me, BF1 will not disappoint. Give it a shot and you too will be hooked.
Sorry, but BF1 is overrated to the extreme. It is a game that has no rewards for the grind, and grind is the perfect way to describe the level progression in the game. The signle player game is ok at best, but boring and easy to forget.
Where is TitanFall 2? The BEST... BEST single player shooter out there right now. Near Perfect multiplayer action and FREE, unlike the 60 bones for BF1.. FREEEEEEEE DLC that is coming.
Agree. Worst game of 2017 for me. Such a boring snipe fest, or vehicle fps game. Detail is great but its a game not a sim so i dont want people 2mm tall to fight with/against.
Boring grind
where is Titanfall2?
I'll make the argument all day that the rebooted King's Quest is the best graphical adventure, though I can understand placing Life Is Strange up top. However, I think the game by The Odd Gentlemen is leaps and bounds above the TellTale Games that are out there, even the best ones.
Would give Rise of the Tomb Raider the nod in its category and Bioshock is a better campaign shooter than Doom - so are both Gears games on the X1.
Inside and Ori and the Blind Forest are quite deserving. Both are spectacular.
Good list, though. Only duisappointment was no mention of King's Quest, even as a runner up. Found it to be better than Wolf Among Us.
Only reason is I haven't played it, but I'll check it out. Comments are on for suggestions too! :D
If I could only stop playing Battlefield 1 I'd have a chance to check out other games.
Sunset Overdrive is also a great game. Lots of fun, not too serious and some great mechanics. Maybe not the best game out there, but overall I think its a game that everyone should have in their collection.
What's the best backwards compatible game for the PS4? :P
None. Because its not need in order to sell their console. PS3 player would buy PS4 for its exclusive. The reason why MS bother with backward compatibility is due to not having a compelling Xbox One exclusive titles that would move their Xbox One off the shelve.
Backward compatibility is lots of work for them to move from a Power PC to x86, this surprise even Sony. A great move nevertheless so that they could encourage spoilt Xbox 360 console owner to buy Xbox One in order to play their remaining Xbox 360 library.
You actually make a good point. I was once a diehard Sony Fanboy and I switched to XB1 because of lack of exclusives and less content being made available the way it was with my PS3 as well as less features. Many of the games exclusive to PS4 have been HD remasters or remakes of existing games (last of us, FFVII, Crash bandicoot) and ones that aren't i haven't really cared for (Blood borne, Nier Automatia) I've been VERY pleased with the content on XB1, and BC was actually a great feature for me because I never had a 360 to begin with.
"Battlefield 1 has knocked Halo 5 off the top spot for Best Online Shooter".
Veto!
What no overwatch
I am a Huge fan of the Division and Titanfall 2
There is no way Dragon Age Inquisition is a better RPG than Witcher 3. This list needs to be rethought.
DAI feels more like a roleplaying game than The Witcher 3, TW3 edges into action adventure territory too much to beat DAI in that category imo, even though I feel like TW3 is a better game overall.
If Just Cause 3 came out in 2016 (I think it did) it should've at least had a runner-up mention in the Free Roam category.
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Agreed, putting that in!
Thanks for responding and I'm happy to see we agree! Great job on the article btw. Nailed everything else on the head.
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It's too bad that Microsoft got rid of split screen multiplayer in Halo 5. There are a lot of people who played local matches in older games.
Hopefully we get a patch that allows it down the road...or maybe on Scorpio...
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Not going to happen. The console can barely handle the game with one player on a console (as evidenced by the need for a varied resolution). People are going to have to wait for the next game.
I have one of two complaints here. How did Destiny not make any of the runner up lists? Or, if it truly is a best of 2016, then keep it to games released in 2016. *cough* halo 5 *cough*.
Yeah I'll give you that actually, adding Destiny to best multiplayer runner ups.
Destiny was over-hyped crap. Bungie is a shadow of its former self. Activision ruined a great developer.
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Yeah, Bungie's split from Halo was a major problem for the developer and the franchise. Now, both are much worse than when they were together.
I don't know: I think Halo Reach already demonstrated that Bungie was past its prime--it just was nowhere near as good as Halos 1-3 and pretty much lead to the death of Halo on the competitive scene. I think 343i has shown a lot of promise. They made the best Halo campaign in Halo 4 and the best Halo multiplayer in Halo 5. If they can put two-and-two together for Halo 6, I won't be missing "old Bungie Halo" at all.
I really liked Reach. I though ODST was their misstep, where as I thought the campaign of Reach was a strong point. I didn't like the campaign of Halo 3 either, as the ending was too much of a copy-paste from the first's. I thought Halo 4's campaign was so-so, with the end being a total pile of crap, and then they killed the Didact between Halo 4 and Halo 5, a decent character who got replaced by a total throwaway in Warden Eternal.
I still believe Halo 5 is a trainwreck, too. Every time my friend and I play, we get 2-3 matches in, then start asking why we even bother. The matchmaking is terrible at making balanced games--having the two of us at Diamond/Platinum (depending on the month) facing 1-2 Onyx players with regularity is atrocious. The map balance is really poor. The Ground Pound and Spartan Charge were horrible additions. Maps are way too short, meaning it's incredibly easy to get spawn killed (even on a large-ish map like Coliseum). Weapon balance is fine, and the core of the movement mechanics are solid (though the aiming is a bit inconsistent), but the maps just ruin anything good about the game.
Oh, then you have Warzone. It's a total RNG throwaway because it's all about which team's 8 millionth bullet clips the bullet sponge boss at the right time (another example of where Warden is trash as an enemy). Firefight is unbearably easy, as it's just flopping about without a care in the world, callign in a Scorpion for Round 5, and taking the easy win (making it an endless wave mode like it was offline originally would be much better).
343 is like everything else within Microsoft--good ideas with marvelously bad execution.
"I think 343i has shown a lot of promise. They made the best Halo campaign in Halo 4 and the best Halo multiplayer in Halo 5."
That's just your opinion. Halo 4 and 5 have the worst metacritic scores between the main Halo games in the franchise. Even Halo: Reach was at 91.
Halo CE: 97
Halo 2: 95
Halo 3: 94
343i
Halo 4: 87
Halo MCC: 85
Halo 5: 84
I mean, I can't pretend I have any interest in Metacritic scores over my own opinions. You can't put the GTA V score high enough to make me like it, for example. That said, I have to agree that it's his opinion. IMO, the very worst Halo content is 100% ODST for me (ignoring Halo Wars, which I never played). However, Halo 5's campaign is also abhorrent and its multiplayer is barely above that. Halo 4 was the third-best campaign to me...at best. Its multiplayer was probably near the top for me though.
Destiny was a poor game. It has improved but there are other better online games. Elite Dangerous is one. Also me and my friends personally love fh3 online.
I'm guessing it's because Destiny repeatedly got panned by every major review outlet.
If the title is "The Best Xbox One Games of 2016" then shouldn't the games actually be released in 2016?
Agreed, I came here to make the same point. I thought the article was going to be about what the best games OF 2016 are. Not the best games released on the Xbox One from release onwards.
The article is "of 2016", we'll be updating it in the future too. I agree the wording isn't clear.
Then "The Best Xbox One Games So Far" or something like that would be appropriate. The wording as it is now isn't unclear, it's incorrect.
Edit: If you want to include the year, maybe "The Best Games on Xbox One in 2016".
I'm not trying to be a jerk. It's a good list. Just not what you expect when you see that headline.
Nah I know, cheers for feedback
"Fallout 4 is arguably the best open world" on the X1? In a world where Witcher 3 exists? Haha, what a joke.
Picked it purely cus of the amount of features in Fallout 4, pile on mods and base construction, and you can pretty much ignore questing and just enjoy the open world. Witcher 3 is a better game over all, but Fallout 4's open world is better. Persistent, more interior locations to explore, etc.
both are fantastic, which I personally put over 120 hours into each (haven't done dlc) good problem to have.
The Witcher 3 faaar better than Fallout 4!!!!
Great list! Man I need more time to play!!
Great list to look up for first X1S buyers
There are so many great Kinect games on Xbox One: Fantasia, D4, Fru, Dance Central Spotlight, Fruit Ninja Kinect 2, Kung-fu for Kinect, Blue Estate, Kinect Sports Rivals, Xbox Fitness, etc. It's a shame Microsoft Studios hasn't released a Kinect game in over two years.
Agree,.
Bit weird to put the old D4 game as best Kinect title. I'd put the recent Fru and the older Kinect Sports Rivals over that game. Also Squid Hero was pretty decent.
Great list. Haven't played doom yet. The witcher 3 is good, but Imo best overall game definitely is FH3 so far. Halo 5 is also Imo better than The Witcher 3. But that's why opinions are great.
Can't disagree with The Witcher 3. Amazing game all around.
Azure powers Halo's Online Mode? Never knew.
Haven't played Evil within, looks like itd be good
It's a great game. The first couple of chapters were a bit dry and then the game opens up.
Depends on what you like. Me, I couldn't stand it. They didn't provide you with a challenge by giving you good game mechanics, they did it with terrible ones like not telling you anything (meaning you rinse and repeat with bosses to learn weaknesses that aren't bad to overcome). The A.I. generally isn't impressive (generic enemies don't really roam, they're in small, easily timed patrol paths). The story was quite nonsensical the entire time I played (about 5 chapters).
I was looking to enjoy a horror game, a genre I've never played much of. However, they completely obliterated the core of it (survival) with their mechanics. You HAVE to die to figure out fights, basically, and once they made dying a core mechanic of the gameplay (and something that didn't really penalize you), the veil of horror was lifted and tossed aside.
What you then get is a game with a buncch of gore and not a whole lot else.
Completely agree with the list.
You still have just shy of 3 months left in the year... pretty much a whole quarter. Isn't a bit early for a "best of 2016" list?
First sentence: "2016 isn't over yet, but here's a look back at the best games released so far, right before the fall-winter games rush."
We can and do also amend articles as information changes.