Avowed (Xbox Series X|S)

A brand new Obsidian RPG set in the Pillars of Eternity universe with lots of flashy magic-based combat and a clever branching narrative? Excuse us while we just quickly change our trousers.

Avowed was first announced back in 2020, but it wasn't until 2023's Summer Games Fest that we got a decent look at what's on the way here and it's fair to say it's got us suitably aroused. It's been described as Obsidian's Skyrim, y'know, that game we've all bought 100 times, so we're prepping ourselves for sleepless nights when the gates to Eora finally open later this year.

  • Release Date? TBC 2024
  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Dead Static Drive (Xbox Series X|S)

As much as a "horror survival adventure" sort of just describes the average day for most folk in the year of our lord 2024, we're fairly confident that Reuben's Dead Static Drive will be much more enjoyable that existing in reality right now.

If you've checked out the trailers for this one you'll have noted that slick AF art style, you'll have breathed in the thick GTA-meets-Cthulhu atmosphere, and are now fully ready to do donuts in a smashed up cop car as a Lovecraftian apocalypse erupts all around you. We. Cannot. Wait.

  • Release Date: TBC 2024
  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (Xbox Series X|S)

We've been patiently waiting on this one for a while now as it's yet another title that also appeared on our 2023 list of incoming games. Delays are all part of the deal though, and our enthusiasm for Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn remains undimmed by the extra time being put into polishing it to perfection.

Described as "a new action-RPG open-world adventure", one that happens to be developed by the very talented team behind the excellent Ashen, everything we've seen so far suggests your exploration of the City of Dawn and its many secrets is going to be one to look out for when it finally, actually arrives on Xbox Game Pass.

  • Release Date: TBC 2024
  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Hollow Knight: Silksong (Xbox Series X|S)

Hollow Knight is a very special game and we can wait - we can wait forever if that's what it takes - to get our hands on Team Cherry's next adventure, but hopefully it's not far away now!

Yep, we're still waiting for Hollow Knight: Silksong (no stress, guys), but with its Game Pass reveal trailer dropping all the way back in June of 2022 at the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, we're now fully convinced we're finally gonna get our hands on this one in 2024, just as we were in 2023. LOL EMOJI.

A sequel to one of the greatest Metroidvanias of all time, Silksong has got big boots to fill, but we're confident Princess Hornet's acrobatic adventures in a brand new kingdom full of misty moors, coral forests and shining citadels will more than live up to our expectations. Fingers crossed we'll be diving into this one very, very soon.

  • Release Date: TBC 2024
  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Xbox Series X|S)

Many Xbox fans have been looking forward to Bethesda's Indiana Jones and the Great Circle over the past few years, but when it was announced that it'd be releasing in 2024, it took a lot of us by surprise! Whether developer MachineGames manages to stick to that window or not, we'll definitely be playing this one sooner rather than later.

And that's fantastic news, as the game is shaping up to be another must-play first-person adventure from the team behind the Wolfenstein series, as evidenced in its first reveal trailer back at the Xbox Developer Direct. If there's one month that you don't want your Xbox Game Pass subscription to run out in 2024, it'll be when this comes out!

  • Release Date: TBC 2024
  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Little Nightmares III (Xbox Series X|S)

Little Nightmares III continues Supermassive Games' superlative series with another slick slice of spooky...stuff.

Following the adventures of Low and Alone as they search for a way out of The Nowhere (we've all been there, let's face it), you can face your childhood fears with a friend in co-op or enjoy this game's incredible atmosphere and environmental storytelling solo. It all looks fantastic from what we've seen of the puzzles and action so far, and we can't wait to turn out the lights, pop in our earbuds and disappear into this one when it lands sometime this year.

  • Release Date: TBC 2024
  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Metaphor: Refantazio (Xbox Series X|S)

A brand new game from Atlus' brand new Studio Zero, Metaphor: Refantazio is the next project from the creative team behind the Persona series, so you better sit up straight or we'll bash your mind palace in.

Everything we've seen so far of this one looks absolutely incredible, in all honesty. The bananas reveal trailer showcases action and style that P5 fans will immediately recognise, but Refantazio also looks like something entirely different as much as there are obvious mechanical carry-overs.

We don't even want to know too much about this one quite frankly, we know it's going to be a stunner, we know we're gonna spend triple digits of time stuck in it, so let's just do the best we can to pass the the time quickly until it arrives, yeah?

  • Release Date: TBC 2024
  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (Xbox Series X|S)

Another one?! Yep, after waiting a lifetime for Microsoft Flight Simulator to return, we finally got a brand new - and absolutely stunning - entry in the series back in 2020. We can't say we were expecting another one quite so soon, but hey, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is already winging its way to us and we're actually quite a bit more excited than we thought we'd be.

You see, this time around Asobo is focused on bringing a more cohesive and compelling structure to their phenomenal base game, giving us a career-style mission mode that offers airborne firefighting, air search and rescue, helicopter cargo hook transport, air ambulance, cropdusting, mountain rescue, skydiving, aerial crane construction and more. With refined controls and even better visuals (is that possible?) also in the mix, we reckon it's safe to assume this one's gonna be rolling in accolades come launch day.

  • Release Date: TBC 2024
  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Nirvana Noir (Xbox Series X|S)

Feral Cat Den's Genesis Noir was one of our favourite games of 2021. A slick, stylish and super clever point & click adventure, it's one of the smartest examples of the genre we've played in a long, long while.

In standalone follow-up Nirvana Noir, we're asked the question; did No Man travel through a dying universe to prevent the death of his lover or did he stop the affair before the fatal gunshot was fired? Playing as No Man, you must explore the truth and confront the consequences of past decisions as your world branches into two reflected realities, Black Rapture and Constant Testament.

It had our attention the moment it was announced, but after checking out the fantastically stylish trailer, we are now 100% officially excited to jump into this one in...well....sometime soon.

  • Release Date: TBC 2024
  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Pragmata (Xbox Series X|S)

Capcom's mysterious sci-fi effort, Pragmata, was first revealed in a short teaser all the way back in 2020, with the game's official Twitter account listing it as a 2022 release for a time, before a later trailer marked it to arrive in 2023.

Yep, there's been much confusion surrounding this one, and with very little still known beyond what we can gleen from its rather haunting trailer, everything is still a bit up in the air. However, we can't help but get excited by anything new from Capcom and that trailer, with its photorealistic graphics, futuristic astronaut and little girl who seems to be imbued with strange powers...well...it's all a bit Death Stranding vibes at the moment and we can't wait to get our hands on it. Are they returning to a dead earth on data-collecting missions? Is it a digital recreation of New York inside the moon? Are they dead? Are they dreaming? Can you feed a digital cat? How do you ride a horse? We'll find out all of the answers in 2024.

  • Release Date: TBC 2024
  • Xbox Game Pass? No