Happy Games Day (if you’re reading this one the 20th…)!
Gamers, both casual and hardcore, are usually looking forward to the next big game. Over the past few years, there have been plenty of great games from AAA to indie titles and everything in between.
With both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 releasing in time for the next holiday season, it really is going to be a big year for gaming and gamers. Our friends over at Xbox have compiled a list of games to watch for in 2020, and trust me, a lot of these were already on our radar. While some of these are Xbox exclusives, including a bunch like Microsoft Flight Simulator and Gears Tactics launching on Xbox Game Pass the day they release, many of the titles on this list will be available on other systems as well.
Without further ado, let’s check out some of the games to watch for in 2020!
12 Minutes
Studio: Annapurna Interactive
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC
12 Minutes is a real-time top-down interactive thriller with an accessible click and drag interface. What should be a romantic evening with your wife turns into a nightmare when a police detective breaks into your home, accuses your wife of murder and beats you to death, only for you to find yourself immediately returned to the exact moment you opened the front door, stuck in a TWELVE-MINUTE time loop, doomed to relive the same terror again and again, unless you can find a way to use the knowledge of what’s coming to change the outcome and break the loop.
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
Studio: Tantalus Media, World’s Edge
Availability: Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass, Steam
Immerse yourself in the award-winning strategy experience, remastered for 2020 with all-new 4K Ultra HD graphics, new sounds and more. Command mighty European powers looking to explore new lands in the New World, or jump eastward to Asia and determine the outcome of its struggles for power.
Battletoads
Studio: Rare, Dlala Studios
Availability: Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass
Rare and DLaLa Studios are bringing the beloved brawler to Xbox with a unique animation style, wild side-scrolling action and team-focused gameplay that’s perfect for couch co-op.
Bleeding Edge
Studio: Ninja Theory
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass, Steam
Bleeding Edge is a brand-new 4v4 brawler that combines 3rd person action combat with online team multiplayer. Bleeding Edge features a diverse roster of fighters with a mix of ranged and melee combat styles as well as moment to moment gameplay that is all about combos, dodging, timing, dexterity and good teamwork to secure the win! “Bleeding Edge” will launch on March 24, 2020 on Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Steam and with Xbox Game Pass.
CrossfireX
Studio: Smilegate Entertainment
Availability: Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass
Coming first to console on Xbox One in 2020 with unique content for Xbox Game pass members, CrossfireX is an all-new, free-to-play instalment of the world’s most-played PC gaming franchise, Crossfire. Built from the ground up, CrossfireX delivers a wide variety of high-quality FPS experiences, with new multiplayer maps and modes from developer Smilegate Entertainment, and an all-new single-player campaign developed in partnership with Remedy Entertainment.
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
Studio: Studio MDHR
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Nintendo Switch
In Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, Cuphead and Mugman are joined by Ms. Chalice for a DLC add-on adventure on a brand-new island! With new weapons, new charms, and Ms. Chalice’s brand-new abilities, take on a new cast of multi-faceted, screen-filling bosses to assist Chef Saltbaker in Cuphead’s final challenging quest.
Cyberpunk 2077
Studio: CD PROJEKT RED
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, PlayStation 4, Google Stadia, Steam
Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure story set in Night City, a megalopolis obsessed with power, glamour and body modification. You play as V, a mercenary outlaw going after a one-of-a-kind implant that is the key to immortality. You can customize your character’s cyberware, skillset and playstyle, and explore a vast city where the choices you make shape the story and the world around you.
DOOM Eternal
Studio: ID Software
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Steam
As the DOOM Slayer you return to find Earth has suffered a demonic invasion. Discover the Slayer’s origins and his enduring mission to RAZE HELL. Experience the ultimate combination of speed and power as you battle your way across dimensions with the next leap in push-forward, first-person combat.
Drake Hollow
Studio: The Molasses Flood
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass
Explore a blighted world with your friends. Gather supplies, battle savage creatures, and build villages to protect the local innocent vegetable folks known as Drakes.
Gears Tactics
Studio: The Coalition, Splash Damage
Availability: Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta), Steam
Gears Tactics is the fast-paced, turn-based strategy game set 12 years before the first Gears of War. Cities on the planet Sera are beginning to fall to the monstrous threat rising from underground – the Locust Horde. With the government in disarray, a squad of survivors emerge as humanity’s last hope. Play as Gabe Diaz, recruiting, equipping and commanding your squads on a desperate mission to hunt down the relentless and powerful leader of the Locust army: Ukkon, the evil mastermind who makes monsters. Against all odds and fighting for survival, outsmart your enemy in uniquely brutal, turn-based tactical combat. Experience the intensity of one of the most acclaimed video game sagas in an exciting new way.
Grounded
Studio: Obsidian Entertainment
Availability: Xbox Game Preview, Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass, Steam Early Access
In Grounded, players are shrunken to the size of an ant and tasked with surviving in the unique micro-world of a suburban backyard. This harsh and dangerous landscape can be navigated solo or with up to three additional players in co-operative multiplayer, working together to progress through story missions or exploring the intricately detailed game world. Players must gather, craft and build bases with everyday objects found within the yard, searching for life-saving resources, while living alongside peaceful and giant hostile insects, all fighting to survive. Launching in Xbox Game Preview with Xbox Game Pass, Grounded will evolve and change based on community feedback to enhance player experiences.
Halo Infinite
Studio: 343 Industries
Availability: Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass
The Master Chief returns in 2020 when Halo Infinite releases globally with Xbox Series X. This next chapter in 343 Industries’ legendary Halo franchise invites players to join the venerable Master Chief on an all-new adventure as he faces new threats and gains new allies on a mysterious Halo ring. Halo Infinite is powered by the studio’s next-generation Slipspace Engine.
Kingdom Hearts III Remind
Studio: Square Enix
Availability: Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Determined to rescue Kairi, Sora travels to the Keyblade Graveyard a short time before the final battle was to take place. Lacking a corporeal form, he traces the hearts of the seven guardians of light. Through experiencing their personal battles firsthand, Sora is about to discover truths that he has never before imagined.
Last Stop
Studio: Variable State
Availability: Xbox One
Last Stop is a single-player third-person adventure set in present day London, where you play as three separate characters whose worlds collide in the midst of a supernatural crisis. Last Stop is an anthology connecting three stories in one, centered on secret lives, the ties that bind, and how magic can be found in the mundane.
Marvel’s Avengers
Studio: Square Enix
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, PlayStation 4, Google Stadia
Marvel’s Avengers begins at A-Day, where Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, and Thor are unveiling a hi-tech Avengers Headquarters in San Francisco — including the reveal of their own helicarrier powered by an experimental energy source. The celebration turns deadly when a catastrophic accident results in massive devastation. Blamed for the tragedy, the Avengers disband. Five years later, with all Super Heroes outlawed and the world in peril, the only hope is to reassemble Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Studio: Asobo Studio
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta)
Microsoft Flight Simulator is the next generation of one of the most beloved simulation franchises and is specifically designed for flight simulation fans through a focus on the authenticity of flying and visually stunning environments. From light planes to wide-body jets, players can create their own flight plan and fly anywhere on the planet in highly detailed aircraft. Players can experience an incredibly realistic world in day or night and face realistic, challenging weather conditions.
Minecraft Dungeons
Studio: Mojang
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Minecraft Dungeons is an all-new action-adventure game set in the Minecraft universe that will be launching in April 2020. Created in the classic dungeon crawler style, Minecraft Dungeons takes players on an epic quest full of new characters and environments to discover with single player or in co-op multiplayer for up to four players – including couch co-op.
Minecraft Earth
Studio: Mojang
Availability: iOS, Android
Discover a new dimension of Minecraft as you create, explore, and survive in the real world. Join a community of builders and explorers spanning the planet, collect resources for your builds, craft in augmented reality and then place them at life-size. You can even team up with others for adventures! Minecraft Earth early access continues into 2020 and looks toward new features and experiences in the spring.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Studio: Moon Studios
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass, Steam
Available March 11, Ori and the Will of the Wisps will have you embark on an all-new adventure in a vast, exotic world where you’ll encounter towering enemies and challenging puzzles on your quest to unravel Ori’s destiny.
Psychonauts 2
Studio: Double Fine Productions
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass
Razputin Aquato, trained acrobat and powerful young psychic, has realized his lifelong dream of joining the international psychic espionage organization known as the Psychonauts! But these psychic super spies are in trouble. Their leader hasn’t been the same since he was kidnapped, and what’s worse, there’s a mole hiding in headquarters. Raz must use his powers to stop the mole before they execute their secret plan–to bring the murderous psychic villain, Maligula, back from the dead!
Rust
Studio: Facepunch Studios
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, PlayStation 4, Steam
The only aim in Rust is to survive. To do this you will need to overcome struggles such as hunger, thirst and cold. Build a fire. Build a shelter. Kill animals for meat. Protect yourself from other players, and kill them for meat. Create alliances with other players and form a town. Do whatever it takes to survive.
Tell Me Why
Studio: DONTNOD Entertainment
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass, Steam
Tell Me Why is a new Xbox Game Studios exclusive game from DONTNOD Entertainment, the studio who created the beloved and award-winning franchise Life is Strange. With a true-to-life story and authentic characters, Tell Me Why embodies Xbox’s Gaming for Everyone values to help create an inclusive gaming experience. Tell Me Why is a single-player narrative adventure game with a story unfolding across three chapters.
The Artful Escape
Studio: Beethoven and Dinosaur
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Apple Arcade
On the eve of his first performance, Francis Vendetti battles with the legacy of a dead folk legend and the cosmic wanderings of his own imagination. Francis, a teenage guitar prodigy, sets out on a psychedelic, multidimensional journey to inspire his stage persona.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
Studio: Hardsuit Labs
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, PlayStation 4, Steam
Sired in an act of vampire terrorism, your existence ignites the war for Seattle’s blood trade. Enter uneasy alliances with the creatures who control the city and uncover the sprawling conspiracy which plunged Seattle into a bloody civil war between powerful vampire factions. You and your unique disciplines are a weapon in our forward-driving, fast-moving, melee-focused combat system. Your power will grow as you advance, but remember to uphold the Masquerade and guard your humanity… or face the consequences.
Wasteland 3
Studio: inXile entertainment, Deep Silver
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 4, Steam
Wasteland 3 is a post-apocalyptic RPG from inXile entertainment, featuring challenging tactical combat, hours of exploration, and a deep, reactive story full of twists, turns, and brutal ethical decisions. Play in single-player or co-op as you customize your squad with perks and abilities geared to your playstyle, and customize your vehicle—the Kodiak—turning it into a hardened war beast. Saving Colorado isn’t going to be easy, but Arizona is counting on you, so… don’t screw it up.
West of Dead
Studio: Raw Fury
Availability: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Steam
Purgatory, Wyoming, 1888. A place of gun smoke and darkness, sin and damnation, wendigos and witches. Step into the boots of the dead man William Mason (voiced by Ron Perlman) in this fast-paced twin-stick shooter. Dodge behind cover as you try to outgun your enemies in the unknown procedurally generated hunting grounds. The Wild West has never been this dark.
Of course, there are plenty more games due out next year for whatever your system of choice is. What games are you looking forward to in 2020? Are you going to be picking up the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Facebook, or MeWe.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
