[July 4, 2025 | Earthtechy Gaming News Desk]
If you thought Xbox was quiet in 2024, think again—2025 has officially kicked off the boldest era of Xbox Series X to date. With Microsoft doubling down on next-gen exclusives, first-party showcases, and Game Pass drops that feel like full-on E3 reveals every month, this year isn’t just about games—it’s about redefining what the Xbox platform can deliver.
From long-awaited sequels and genre-defining reboots to daring new IPs and indie surprises, 2025 is shaping up to be an unforgettable ride. And it’s not just hype—between back-to-back reveals at the Xbox Games Showcase, strategic Game Pass launches, and cross-play enhancements, Xbox is playing the long game with a clear vision: build an ecosystem that keeps players hooked for years to come.
This isn’t just another year of iterative updates. Microsoft is doing something we haven’t seen at this scale before:
Whether you’re here for cinematic storytelling, lightning-fast FPS combat, or just cozy crafting with friends, 2025–2026 will shape how Xbox defines itself in the next console generation.
So let’s break down what’s coming, what to play first, what’s on Game Pass, and what titles could steal the whole show.
🗓 Release Date: July 11, 2025
🎮 Developer: Iron Galaxy Studios
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes (Day One)
Skaters, get ready to drop back into the golden age of grind combos and boom-bap bangers. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is more than a nostalgia trip—it’s a full-scale rebuild of two of the most influential arcade sports games ever made.
Iron Galaxy Studios went beyond simple upscaling here. With new skaters joining the old-school lineup, unlockable parks inspired by modern locations, and buttery-smooth 120 FPS performance on Xbox Series X, this is the definitive version of Pro Skater for a new generation.
The best part? It hits Game Pass on day one. So whether you’re chasing S-K-A-T-E letters or lining up 2-minute score attacks online, you’ve got no reason not to roll in.
Earthtechy Take:
“This is more than a remaster. It’s a love letter to arcade sports culture—and it rides like a dream.”
🗓 Release Date: July 18, 2025
🎮 Developer: Bandai Namco Studios
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
What happens when Pac-Man goes full cyber-noir action RPG? Shadow Labyrinth is your answer. This genre-bending platformer reimagines the iconic yellow hero as PUCK—a floating, sentient orb who fuses with “Swordsman No. 8” to hack, slash, and consume enemies in a dystopian city built on corporate ruin.
Inspired by side-scrollers like Katana ZERO and Dead Cells, Shadow Labyrinth plays fast and hits hard. Levels are tight and brutal, featuring environmental puzzles, momentum-based combat, and a “devour-to-upgrade” mechanic that makes each kill feel consequential.
You’ll also explore moral decisions through dialogue choices and cryptic memory echoes, hinting at a deeper story lurking under its digital surface.
Why You Should Care:
- Fusion gameplay with real-time transformation
- Combines platforming, beat ’em up, and cyberpunk storytelling
- Secret unlockables tied to skill-based exploration
🗓 Release Date: July 24, 2025
🎮 Developer: Tripwire Interactive
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
The king of over-the-top zombie FPS chaos is back—and it’s gorier than ever. Killing Floor 3 drops you into relentless waves of mutated ZEDs with full control over your loadout, perks, and weapon mods.
New this year: a narrative campaign mode. Yep, it’s no longer just endless horde arenas. Players will progress through a series of survival ops with contextual dialogue, light story arcs, and even stealth-based moments in between the bullet-fueled madness.
Gunplay feels heavier than in previous entries, and a new “Adrenaline Rush” mechanic rewards aggressive risk-taking with slow-motion moments that help clutch a team revival or devastating takedown.
Earthtechy Take:
“Killing Floor 3 dials the chaos to 11 but still rewards smart team strategy. Co-op perfection.”
🗓 Release Date: July 24, 2025
🎮 Developer: Leenzee Games
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
If Sekiro and The Witcher 3 had a gothic baby, you’d get Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. This dark fantasy action-RPG takes place in a cursed Ming Dynasty, where corruption spreads through the land like a disease—and you’re the pirate warrior tasked with confronting it.
At the heart of the game is soulslike melee combat: deliberate, punishing, and beautiful to behold. Feather-based abilities add an original twist, allowing you to summon spectral blades, float across ravines, or blind enemies mid-fight. But it’s not just flashy combat that’s drawing attention.
The story is told through ancient manuscripts, flashback vignettes, and whispered clues from a growing infection inside your own character. It’s slow-burn storytelling, layered with choices that affect how NPCs, regions, and the ending respond to you.
Earthtechy Verdict:
“Every encounter matters. It’s punishing, sure—but it’s also some of the most beautiful pain you’ll enjoy on Xbox this year.”
🗓 Release Date: July 29, 2025
🎮 Developer: Wētā Workshop
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
There’s no ring to destroy this time. Just a roast to prepare. Tales of the Shire is a Middle-earth slice-of-life RPG that dials the stakes way down—and the cozy vibes way up.
Set in Bywater, this life sim lets you play as a custom hobbit building a life filled with farming, fishing, cooking, and hosting village gatherings. Time passes slowly, friendships bloom naturally, and your choices shape the flow of local events. Think Animal Crossing meets Stardew Valley, but sprinkled with Tolkien’s charm.
From mushroom-picking in the woods to planning a perfect evening feast, Tales of the Shire reminds us that not all heroes wield swords—some carry soup.
Cozy Feature:
Seasonal events dynamically shift town life. Watch Bywater come alive with festivals, snowfalls, and second breakfasts.
🗓 Release Date: July 29, 2025
🎮 Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
Obsidian wasn’t content with just giving us The Outer Worlds 2. No, they’ve also been quietly working on Grounded 2—and it’s bigger, bolder, and full of bugs in the best way.
This time, the backyard is only the beginning. Players venture into a full park, complete with creeks, abandoned picnic spots, and yes—rideable buggies. With new crafting systems, AI companion options, and weather-based challenges, Grounded 2 feels like a sandbox survival game polished to near-perfection.
One eerie twist? A strange voice begins following your journey. It whispers from the roots. It hints at secrets far bigger than ants and aphids. And it’s watching.
Earthtechy Insight:
“Grounded 2 takes an already brilliant concept and turns it into a full-scale survival epic with lore, mobility, and mystery.”
🗓 Release Date: Summer 2025 (TBD July–Aug)
🎮 Developer: Reikon Games
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Hyper Unit Aska has a simple mission: infiltrate Moebius Station and rescue the last surviving humans. But in Metal Eden, nothing goes as planned.
This kinetic sci-fi FPS blends Doom Eternal–style combat with Control’s eerie world-building. Your arsenal evolves mid-mission using real-time modular upgrades, allowing you to convert rifles into flamethrowers or grenades into shockwave blasts. Meanwhile, narrative choices unlock different bosses, endings, and even weapon paths.
Visually stunning, brutally paced, and emotionally heavy, Metal Eden is that under-the-radar sleeper hit that hardcore shooter fans should absolutely not miss.
Why It’s Special:
Custom loadouts + alternate timeline reveals = massive replay value.
🗓 Release Date: September 12, 2025
🎮 Developer: Gearbox Software
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Get ready to lock, load, and loot across the stars—Borderlands 4 is officially leaving Pandora behind. This time, you’ll explore a brand-new solar system packed with alien biomes, vaults, cults, and chaos. The cel-shaded style is still here, but with a huge visual leap forward thanks to Unreal Engine 5, showcasing jaw-dropping particle effects, deep shadows, and destructible environments.
Gameplay-wise, expect all the signature features: wild character classes, procedurally generated weapons, and a killer soundtrack. But what’s new is its multi-threaded narrative, where co-op players make simultaneous decisions that can shape entire planets differently for each playthrough.
Earthtechy Take:
“If this delivers on its promise of ‘multiverse mayhem,’ it could be the boldest Borderlands since BL2.”
🗓 Release Date: September 25, 2025
🎮 Developer: SEGA
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Speed gets a fresh coat of chaos in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. This isn’t just another kart racer—SEGA has woven a reality-bending twist into the core gameplay. Each lap pulls racers through classic Sonic zones, from Green Hill to Chemical Plant to Babylon Gardens, in real-time.
What’s more, the roster features a crossover lineup beyond Sonic staples. Expect Persona’s Joker, Yakuza’s Ichiban, and even rumors of a Bayonetta cameo.
Vehicle customization is deep, with hoverboards, roadsters, and sea gliders all available. And the game’s wildest addition? Track-altering items that “portal jump” parts of the map to different dimensions mid-race.
Earthtechy Highlight:
“Think Mario Kart 8 Deluxe meets Wipeout, wrapped in a SEGA fever dream. This could be the sleeper hit of the season.”
🗓 Release Date: October 2, 2025
🎮 Developer: Supermassive Games
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
The creators of Until Dawn and The Quarry are heading to space—and you’ll want to bring a flashlight. Directive 8020 is a survival horror narrative experience set aboard a distant colony ship where something… alien is taking on human forms.
You’ll play from multiple perspectives as the ship’s AI becomes unreliable, the crew begins to turn on each other, and the entity mimicking them closes in. Expect tension-soaked corridors, limited inventory, and terrifying quick-time decisions that can kill—or save—entire characters.
Built with Unreal Engine 5, this game is a visual powerhouse. Add in cross-platform cloud saves, ray-traced lighting, and dual-mode story paths (cinematic or survival) and you’ve got a Halloween contender for Game of the Year.
Earthtechy Verdict:
“Aliens meets The Dark Pictures Anthology. If this doesn’t give you trust issues, nothing will.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA September 2025
🎮 Developer: Beethoven & Dinosaur
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
Set in the late ’90s, Mixtape is part skateboarding sim, part coming-of-age drama, and entirely drenched in nostalgia. Players relive high school memories through tracks from iconic bands like Pixies, Blur, and The Smashing Pumpkins—all while skateboarding through dream-like levels.
It’s not about tricks or scores. It’s about emotion. Each “track” transports you into a semi-playable memory—first heartbreak, first rebellion, first taste of freedom. Visuals are lo-fi surreal, blending Life is Strange vibes with Sable-style cel-shading.
Earthtechy Insight:
“It’s a playable concept album—and if you ever carried a Walkman or wrote lyrics in a notebook, this one will hit you hard.”
🗓 Release Date: October 10, 2025
🎮 Developer: Supermassive Games
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
New developer, new duo, same dread. Little Nightmares 3 brings the franchise back to its twisted, oversized world—this time with online co-op. You play as Low or Alone, two kids navigating a decaying dreamscape called The Spiral.
Puzzles are designed for cooperation, enemies react differently based on which character you’re playing, and the themes hit harder than ever. You’re not just escaping monsters—you’re dealing with fear, trauma, and the loss of identity in a world that refuses to let you rest.
Earthtechy Take:
“We’re calling it now: LN3 is going to end up on every horror GOTY list.”
🗓 Release Date: October 10, 2025
🎮 Developer: Engine Software BV
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
To accompany the third installment, the original Little Nightmares is getting a full remaster—4K visuals, 60 FPS, improved AI, ray-traced reflections, and reworked checkpoints.
It’s the same Six and the same Maw… but the horror feels deeper, sharper, and more intimate in this enhanced reimagining.
🧠 Earthtechy Suggestion:
“Play this before diving into LN3—especially if you’ve never experienced the original. It’s creepy perfection.”
🗓 Release Date: October 17, 2025
🎮 Developer: Double Fine
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
In this surreal third-person puzzle adventure, you play as a walking, sentient lighthouse. Yep—you read that right.
From the mind of Double Fine (Psychonauts), Keeper takes place on a crumbling island haunted by silence, shadows, and memory. With no dialogue and no text, players must piece together the story through environmental clues, surreal puzzles, and a companion seabird that reacts to your emotions.
It’s minimalist. It’s bizarre. And it’s unlike anything else this year.
Earthtechy Praise:
“More art installation than video game—but a moving, memorable one. If you loved Journey or INSIDE, this is your jam.”
🗓 Release Date: October 21, 2025
🎮 Developer: Frontier Developments
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Dinosaur park sims just hit a new tier. Jurassic World Evolution 3 adds dynamic ecosystems, family behaviors (T-Rex families!), and biome-specific mutation options. Players will have to balance genetics, security, and guest experience while Jeff Goldblum returns as Dr. Ian Malcolm to narrate your successes—or scold your disasters.
The most impressive feature? Real-time seasonal changes that impact dinosaur behavior, park maintenance, and disease outbreaks.
Earthtechy Tip:
“Don’t just build a dino zoo. Build an ecosystem—or nature will take the wheel.”
🗓 Release Date: October 21, 2025
🎮 Developers: Team Ninja, PlatinumGames
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
The legendary Ninja Gaiden franchise returns with brutal, stylish action. This time, you play primarily as Yakumo, a rookie ninja with shadowy origins, while Ryu Hayabusa returns in a mentor/anti-hero role.
Combat is fast, gory, and combo-heavy, and difficulty modes include “Cinematic” for casual fans and “Path of the Shinobi” for masochists.
Expect multi-stage boss fights, teleport counters, and wall-running sword duels that’ll leave you breathless.
Earthtechy Quote:
“This is Sekiro on speed. Miss one parry, and you’re toast.”
🗓 Release Date: October 29, 2025
🎮 Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
The sleeper hit RPG is back—and this time it’s bigger, funnier, and more player-driven than ever. Set on Arcadia, a fractured colony obsessed with “skip-drive” tech, The Outer Worlds 2 lets you explore multiple planets, recruit new companions, and shape politics through diplomacy or destruction.
Your choices aren’t just about good or evil. They impact trade, tech access, and even what factions rise to power.
The new skill system also lets you “redefine” your backstory mid-game, which can unlock secret quests and alternate dialogue routes. Oh, and Obsidian promises four unique endings based on how deep you explore Arcadia’s secrets.
Earthtechy Forecast:
“If you love Mass Effect or Fallout: New Vegas, this is your game of the year. Period.”
🎮 Developer: Squanch Games
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
Strap in for more guns that talk back—High on Life 2 is back with even weirder humor, faster combat, and first-person skateboarding. Yes, you heard that right.
While the original was a surprise hit thanks to its Rick-and-Morty-style writing, this sequel leans hard into momentum-based movement. The world design encourages zipping, wall-riding, and parkour while your “bio-weapons” yell insults and occasionally question your life choices.
Squanch Games has also added a dialogue wheel that impacts branching storylines and character loyalty—because even your weapons might betray you if they get bored.
Earthtechy Take:
“Think of it as Doom Eternal meets Jet Set Radio, sprinkled with nihilistic slapstick.”
🎮 Developer: inXile Entertainment
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
From the studio behind Wasteland 3 comes Clockwork Revolution, a steampunk first-person RPG that gives off serious BioShock Infinite vibes—only with heavier emphasis on cause-and-effect mechanics.
You play as a time-manipulating rebel exploring the city of Avalon, where every action ripples through history. Destroy a corrupt inventor in the past, and you may return to find their invention never existed… or worse, it was perfected by someone else.
The game encourages experimenting with timelines—there’s no “golden path.” Instead, you build your own version of Avalon through time travel, social engineering, and full-on guns-blazing uprisings.
Earthtechy Highlight:
“This is Xbox’s first serious shot at a Dishonored + BioShock hybrid. And from what we’ve seen? It’s got the chops.”
🎮 Developer: Digital Sun
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
If you loved juggling dungeons by day and running a cozy fantasy shop by night, Moonlighter 2 is your next obsession. This sequel keeps the roguelike action-RPG formula but adds layered city-building elements, new biomes, and NPC management.
You’re stranded in a forgotten coastal village called Tresna, and it’s up to you to rebuild both your shop and the community. Dungeon runs now affect shop upgrades, resource supply chains, and even unlock hidden bosses or markets.
Also new: a morality system that changes how the town evolves depending on whether you cut corners, exploit labor, or treat your patrons well.
Earthtechy Forecast:
“Part action, part capitalism, all charm. This could be 2025’s most addictive indie.”
🎮 Developer: Pearl Abyss
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
From the makers of Black Desert Online comes this single-player-first, open-world action RPG set in the war-torn continent of Pywel. Crimson Desert blends brutal combat, cinematic story beats, and seamless exploration into one gorgeously grim fantasy epic.
Combat is weighty and combo-driven, reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, but with more verticality. One minute you’re grappling onto a rooftop to escape bounty hunters, the next you’re dragging your enemies through fire with a rune-infused chain.
Story trailers hint at dynamic NPC relationships, territorial wars, and shifting alliances as you decide whether to become a mercenary hero… or a tyrant.
Earthtechy Take:
“We’re getting The Witcher 3 meets Elden Ring vibes here—and that’s not a comparison we throw around lightly.”
🎮 Developer: Chucklefish
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Life sim meets magic school RPG. Witchbrook has been in development for years, and it’s finally (almost) here. Set in the seaside town of Mossport, you play as a new student at Witchbrook College—balancing your magical studies with potion brewing, fishing, gardening, and falling in love.
The visuals are stunning pixel art with dynamic lighting and weather effects. Days follow a real-time schedule, and characters have full routines, secrets, and personal quests to uncover. The real magic? Every action—who you talk to, where you go, how you behave—affects your reputation and story path.
Earthtechy Opinion:
“Imagine Stardew Valley + Harry Potter, but you’re the star of the story. Cozy gamers, rejoice.”
🎮 Developer: Sad Cat Studios
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Set in an alternate version of 1980s America, Replaced is a 2.5D action platformer with pixel-perfect art and moody, synth-heavy vibes. You play as Reach—an AI trapped inside a human body—trying to survive in a dystopian world where organs are currency and memories are hacked.
The world design is gritty and cinematic, filled with shadowy alleys, flashing neon, and narrative branches tied to your morality and physical condition.
Combat is precise, rhythm-based, and brutal, with parries and timed dodges playing a central role. But what really sells the game is its visual storytelling—every frame looks like a moving piece of retro-future artwork.
Earthtechy Praise:
“This could be 2025’s indie breakout hit. Think Blade Runner meets Dead Cells—and it hits different.”
🎮 Developer: Unknown Worlds
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
The deep-sea survival sim is back—this time with co-op multiplayer, new alien biomes, and actual base invasions. Subnautica 2 expands on everything fans loved while introducing above-ground environments, new vehicles, and an actual storyline from the jump.
The early access build shows improvements to AI behavior, better weather systems (yes, tsunamis are a thing), and a redesigned oxygen system that links to real-time vitals. Plus, there’s a mysterious new faction watching your every move from above the waves.
Earthtechy Insight:
“Fear the deep. Then explore it with friends. It’s terrifying—and unforgettable.”
🎮 Developer: Bloober Team
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
Fresh off their Silent Hill 2 remake, Bloober Team is delivering another dose of sci-fi body horror. Cronos: The New Dawn takes place on a derelict spacecraft overrun by sentient mutations. You’re not just fighting—you’re decaying.
Gameplay mixes third-person gunplay with resource crafting, light stealth, and environmental puzzles. Expect Dead Space-style tension, jump-scares that mess with your mind, and moral dilemmas involving infected survivors who beg you for mercy.
Earthtechy Warning:
“Turn off the lights. Put on headphones. And prepare to question your sanity.”
🗓 Release Date: February 27, 2026
🎮 Developer: Capcom
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Let’s just say it—Resident Evil: Requiem might become the defining survival horror game of the decade.
As the ninth mainline entry, this new installment aims to conclude the Ethan Winters storyline while opening a new chapter in RE lore. Powered by the upgraded RE Engine X, Requiem features full-body dismemberment physics, ray-traced environmental deformation (yes, rooms get destroyed in real-time), and deeply reactive AI that remembers how you play.
This time, you’re navigating a ruined European city where cult activity and bioterrorism merge into a single global threat. Stealth plays a larger role, with players needing to outsmart rather than outgun certain enemies. Multiple playable characters and branching outcomes based on choices add serious replay value.
Earthtechy Take:
“If RE Village was a thrill ride, Requiem is psychological warfare. Survival horror reimagined.”
🗓 Release Date: May 26, 2026
🎮 Developer: Rockstar Games
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Finally. Grand Theft Auto VI is almost here—and it’s rewriting the open-world rulebook all over again.
Set in modern-day Vice City, this installment follows Lucia, a Latina anti-hero entangled in crime, loyalty, and family ties. Unlike previous entries, GTA 6 features a dual-protagonist system that dynamically shifts between Lucia and her partner during missions. But the biggest innovation? World persistence. If you blow up a store, that damage might still be visible days later. Rob a bank? Expect law enforcement to recognize your vehicle model and driving behavior across neighborhoods.
The game reportedly includes a reactive economy, hurricanes, and a real-time social media system that NPCs use to comment on your actions.
Earthtechy Prediction:
“This isn’t just another GTA. It’s Rockstar’s answer to modern roleplay and immersive sim design. And it will dominate 2026.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA 2026
🎮 Developer: Playground Games
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
The whimsical fantasy RPG series is finally back, and Playground Games (Forza Horizon) is in charge. The result? A tongue-in-cheek yet visually stunning open world filled with talking vegetables, fart jokes, moral dilemmas, and sword-swinging glory.
Fable 4 reportedly leans into choice-driven storytelling with far deeper consequences than past entries. Choose to help a villager today, and you might find yourself invited to their wedding—or haunted by their enemies—hours later. Weapon evolution, town-building mechanics, and classless progression make for a sandbox RPG that’s truly yours.
And yes, Richard Ayoade is confirmed as a wizardly antagonist who literally knows he’s in a video game.
Earthtechy Insight:
“Fable 4 is shaping up to be equal parts satire, fantasy, and emotional gut-punch. We couldn’t ask for more.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA 2026
🎮 Developer: The Coalition
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
Rather than pushing forward, Gears of War: E-Day rewinds the clock. Set 14 years before the original game, this prequel explores the first brutal days of the Locust Emergence. You’ll step into the younger boots of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago as they witness the fall of humanity’s cities and the birth of COG resistance.
E-Day focuses on survival over brute force. Ammo is scarce. Civilians are everywhere. And the world is collapsing in real-time. Expect an emotional campaign and more horror than ever before, wrapped in the stunning fidelity of Unreal Engine 5.
Earthtechy Note:
“Think The Last of Us pacing with Gears combat. This prequel could hit very differently.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA 2026
🎮 Developer: Skydance Media
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Set during World War II, Marvel 1943 teams up Captain America and T’Chaka (Black Panther’s father) in Nazi-occupied Paris as they battle Hydra’s growing threat. This is not a button-masher brawler—it’s a cinematic, character-driven adventure with stealth, puzzle-solving, and a dual-narrative format.
You’ll switch between four playable characters across intertwining arcs: Cap, T’Chaka, a Howling Commando, and a Wakandan spy. And yes, the team behind this includes Amy Hennig (Uncharted, Legacy of Kain), so expect deep writing and clever environmental storytelling.
🛡 Earthtechy Preview:
“The tone is Uncharted meets Wolfenstein—grounded, bold, and full of emotional weight. Superhero fans, don’t miss this.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA 2026
🎮 Developer: IO Interactive
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
James Bond is back—but this isn’t your typical shaken-not-stirred tale. First Light serves as a reboot origin story, casting players as a young Bond earning his license to kill for the first time.
Built by the team behind Hitman, the gameplay emphasizes stealth, gadgetry, and sandbox-level design. Missions span global locations like a Monaco casino, an underground Berlin bunker, and a cybernetic data fortress in the Arctic.
Fans can expect dynamic disguises, branching mission paths, and a “Trust Meter” that determines whether allies betray you or not. And yes—Bond will be voiced by a fresh actor, rumored to be from HBO’s Industry.
Earthtechy Take:
“Think Hitman meets Splinter Cell, but with an actual emotional arc. This could be Bond’s best game since GoldenEye.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA 2026
🎮 Developer: Kojima Productions
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
A game? A film? A dream? OD is Hideo Kojima’s “interactive psychological horror experiment” developed exclusively for Xbox in partnership with Jordan Peele.
Described as “a playable fear threshold test,” OD uses facial scanning, real-time voice recognition, and dynamic camera angles that react to how scared you are. No UI. No HUD. Just you and your own panic.
Starring Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, and Udo Kier, the game’s story revolves around three dreamers trapped in a shared nightmare that threatens to bleed into the real world.
Earthtechy Warning:
“You thought PT was disturbing? OD is designed to study your fear—and amplify it.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA 2026
🎮 Developer: Team Meat / Sluggerfly
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
One of the most iconic rage-platformers makes its brutal leap into 3D. Super Meat Boy 3D retains its masochistic precision level design—complete with spinning saws, meat-grinders, and pixel-perfect jumps—but adds depth, literally.
Players can now move across three axes in cube-based arenas, dodge layered traps, and even tackle vertical wall-runs. The game also introduces “3D mutators” — levels with shifting gravity, deforming terrain, or forced camera angles that test your perception as much as your timing.
Earthtechy Comment:
“It’s everything you love and hate about Meat Boy, now with more depth (and more deaths).”
🗓 Release Date: TBA 2026
🎮 Developer: Bandai Namco
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Code Vein 2 builds on the cult status of the original “anime Soulslike” with tighter combat, a deeper class system, and a brand-new post-apocalyptic setting scarred by interdimensional rifts.
You’ll play as a Revenant Hunter tasked with tracking down corrupted bloodline users while unraveling ancient secrets. With over 12 distinct weapon archetypes and co-op summons available mid-battle, this entry is more flexible and explosive than ever.
Expect stylish boss designs, heartbreaking NPC arcs, and those classic bonfire checkpoint mechanics—but now with flashier finishers and combo chains.
Earthtechy Vibe Check:
“Gothic bloodborne energy meets JRPG drama. Code Vein fans are in for a feast.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA 2026
🎮 Developer: Cubit Studios
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Ever wondered what Halo would look like from an ant’s perspective? Infinitesimals delivers exactly that—a third-person shooter where you play as 2mm-tall aliens stranded on a mysterious Earth-like planet.
Combat is high-octane with jetpacks, grappling hooks, and mounted insects serving as vehicles. Environmental scale is the main feature: blades of grass become forests, and frogs are apex predators.
Story missions take place across human-sized ruins, including rusted circuit boards, empty cereal boxes, and abandoned water guns that now house factions at war.
Earthtechy Reaction:
“Visually brilliant, mechanically fresh, and weird in all the right ways. Infinitesimals is one to watch.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA 2026
🎮 Developer: Cold Symmetry
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
The dark, meditative Soulslike returns with Mortal Shell 2. This time, the game leans heavily into open-world territory, letting players explore twisted biomes connected by grotesque temples and fog-drenched valleys.
The shell system is back—allowing players to inhabit fallen warriors with unique skills—but now includes Shell Corruption: an evolution mechanic where your host’s abilities mutate based on your combat style, creating hybrid class builds over time.
Expect heavy parries, fatal stabs, and a lore system that rewards patient exploration. The devs say this game “doesn’t tell a story—it buries it.”
Earthtechy Quote:
“For fans of Dark Souls who want it slower, stranger, and more existential.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA 2026
🎮 Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
The most mysterious Assassin’s Creed game to date, Hexe ditches parkour cities for dense 16th-century European forests—during the Witch Trials. You play as a female assassin wrongly accused of witchcraft, hiding from both the Templars and superstitious villagers.
Gameplay is darker and stealth-focused. No mini-map. No HUD. Just instinct, signs, and ritual tools. Rumors suggest real-time spellcrafting using nature-based relics and puzzle-solving that connects historical events to mythical folklore.
🕯 Earthtechy Theory:
“Hexe might finally deliver the Assassin’s Creed horror crossover fans have wanted since Unity’s haunted DLC.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA
🎮 Developer: BioWare
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
It’s back. Mass Effect 5 is in active development and is confirmed to follow up the events of the original trilogy—not Andromeda. The teaser trailer features Liara, the N7 insignia, and the ruined Citadel—all signs that Shepard’s legacy still matters.
BioWare has remained tight-lipped on gameplay, but leaks suggest squad management, paragon/renegade morality systems, and galaxy exploration are making a full return. Unreal Engine 5 ensures massive planets, branching quests, and emotional depth across hundreds of hours.
Earthtechy Outlook:
“It’s going to be years before we see it—but Mass Effect is coming home. And we’ll be ready.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA
🎮 Developer: Saber Interactive
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
Set immediately after the 1993 film, Jurassic Park: Survival is a single-player, narrative-focused action game where you play as Dr. Maya Joshi, an InGen scientist trapped on Isla Nublar after the evacuation.
Stealth and survival are key. You’ll sneak past Velociraptors, explore abandoned facilities, and decipher logs left by the original crew. Puzzles and exploration feel similar to Alien: Isolation, with sandbox-style navigation and dino AI that adapts to your tactics.
Earthtechy Thoughts:
“This could be the most grounded and terrifying Jurassic Park game ever made.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA
🎮 Developer: Studio Zevere
📦 Game Pass: ✅ Yes
In this turn-based, surreal RPG, you play as Thalia, a comatose woman battling anxiety and depression through distorted dreamscapes. Heavily inspired by Earthbound and Undertale, the game features monochrome aesthetics, deeply personal storytelling, and charm-based character progression.
Combat is emotion-based, with moves like “Reassure,” “Overthink,” or “Disconnect,” and each party member has an internal conflict that you must help resolve to unlock their full potential.
🧠 Earthtechy Reflection:
“It’s not about saving the world—it’s about saving yourself. A must-play for fans of narrative-driven indies.”
🗓 Release Date: TBA
🎮 Developer: Eclipse Glow Games
📦 Game Pass: ❓ Unconfirmed
London is burning—again. In Tides of Annihilation, you play as Gwendolyn, the last survivor of a city overtaken by Lovecraftian forces. This hack-and-slash fantasy epic combines Soulslike combat with fast-paced traversal and city-scale boss fights.
You’ll craft weapons using dream-ink, upgrade your armor via metaphysical contracts, and team up with spirit familiars that evolve as you level up.
Earthtechy Praise:
“Dark fantasy, British mythology, and pure gameplay adrenaline. A brutal beauty.”
Here’s a handy breakdown of confirmed release dates:
| Month | Game | Developer | Game Pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 | Iron Galaxy | ✅ Yes |
| July 2025 | Shadow Labyrinth | Bandai Namco | ❓ |
| July 2025 | Killing Floor 3 | Tripwire | ❓ |
| July 2025 | Wuchang: Fallen Feathers | Leenzee | ✅ Yes |
| July 2025 | Tales of the Shire | Wētā Workshop | ❓ |
| July 2025 | Grounded 2 | Obsidian | ✅ Yes |
| Aug 2025 | Mafia: The Old Country | Hangar 13 | ❓ |
| Aug 2025 | Dying Light: The Beast | Techland | ❓ |
| Aug 2025 | Gears of War: Reloaded | The Coalition | ✅ Yes |
| Oct 2025 | The Outer Worlds 2 | Obsidian | ✅ Yes |
| Feb 2026 | Resident Evil: Requiem | Capcom | ❓ |
| May 2026 | GTA 6 | Rockstar | ❓ |
(And many more in the full Earthtechy game tracker database)
From long-awaited returns like Fable 4 and Mass Effect 5, to genre-twisting surprises like Shadow Labyrinth and Keeper, Xbox is entering a golden age of creative risk and technical mastery.
Whether you’re a Game Pass purist, an RPG fanatic, or just love that rush of discovering your next favorite title, 2025 and 2026 are stacking up to be legendary.
We’ve spent weeks diving deep into every trailer, dev log, and playable demo to bring you the most up-to-date and human-reviewed guide to Xbox’s future—and we’ll keep updating it as more games emerge.
Your Turn:
What game are you most hyped for? Drop your favorites in the comments or tag us on social using #earthtechy so we can feature your picks in the next update!
[July 4, 2025 | Earthtechy Gaming News Desk] If you’ve ever dreamt of becoming the…
[July 3, 2025 | Earthtechy Gaming News Desk] If you’re ready to dive into one…
[July 3, 2025 | Earthtechy Gaming News Desk] If you're into fast-paced, competitive FPS action…
[July 3, 2025 | Earthtechy Gaming News Desk] If you’ve ever played jump rope as…
[July 2, 2025 | Earthtechy Gaming News Desk] If you're anything like me, you've probably…
[July 2, 2025 | Earthtechy Gaming News Desk] If you’re a Roblox fan and haven’t…