Pick One: Which Is The Best Xbox Game Studios Release Of The Past Two Years?

Whilst Flight Sim is a niche game, I think the poll shows it is broadly appreciated as a quality product (as opposed to the mixed reactions towards more mainstream games, such as Halo and Forza).

Really enjoying the full release of Grounded, I don't tend to play crafting style games, but the premise of it is really interesting, and it's been good to see how it's changed through its early access

I bought the series X as my first fully-meant-to-be-played-a-lot xbox after only owning the original xbox for a very brief period of time. Bought it with the intention to play halo, fable and gears but I fully fell in love with the Forza Horizon series after playing 5 at launch. Played through 1, 3, 4, 5 and both expansions of 4 now so my vote definitely went to FH5.

Forza 5, the only true big AAA they have managed in 2 whole long years.
The silence on the big 3 by the end of June 2023 is mysterious, unless they are going go advertising and publicity crazy at the very beginning of 2023, bam wham there you go there’s the big 3 gameplay there the release dates are before the end of June 2023.
That’s what Xbox needs that what game pass needs, have some of that gamers.
If they do I will pass out and eat my words of badness.

That is just not a very good list.
I would maybe vote for Psychonauts 2, but not because it's a AAA release, it's just that the rest is worse..

Probably the Grounded full release for me. I absolutely love that game. Forza Horizon 5 was also a banger.

Forza Horizon I think is the best game that MS Studios developed so far this generation. But, I give high marks to franchises I feel are fresh and different. Therefore my nod goes to Psychonauts 2. I never played the first Psychonauts so to me, it is a fresh and different take on platforms and really enjoyed it!

I went with Gears Tactics. Zero expectations, never played the genre, but actually had alot of fun

For me it's psychonaughts 2, That game was a absolute joy to play..

Halo Infinite, Psychonaughts and Grounded are the best games of this list. Forza Horizon was great fun too, but only for a few weeks.

Gears Tactics. Great game. Can’t recommend it enough.

gears tactics and if you count Xbox/Bethesda then deathloop

Forza Horizon 5 without a doubt. That game is a ton of fun to play and it’s gorgeous to boot.

Forza H 5 then Flight Sim. Not a great deal to choose from to be fair.

I enjoyed Psychonauts 2 more than the rest of the games. Super creative and fun. I can’t wait to see what Double Fine is cooking up next.

Psychonauts 2 or Grounded 1.0. It’s a toss up.

I am a huge huge Forza fan, but honestly it’s Psychonauts 2.

The one I played the most is Forza Horizon 5 but I would hesitate to call it best.

It's essentially FH4 with more sun and sand. While that's ok it does quickly become a bit stale.

After that initial couple of months I have barely played it apart from a few days when the hot wheels DLC dropped.

I don't expect I will play it again until the next DLC arrive.

Hence my reluctance to say it's a "best" it's just the one I played the most.

Wow. Is that it? Come on Microsoft you can do better than that.

@darkswabber I tried 3 but didn't like the open world free rome idea. I know as a kid I would have loved it but not now I haven't got time to go ratching for my next race.

Forza Horizon 5 for me, wasn't a fan of racing games but FH5 changed that. The open world design and and graphics were spot on.

I did try halo infinite but because I didn't play all the other halo's I didn't really enjoy it, and the open world design was boring and just looked all the same.

I do plan on playing psychonauts 2 eventually but need to play the first game first, or is it not necessary?

Has to be Psychonauts 2 for me. Was my GOTY for 2021. Talk about good writing and level design.

Think i only got throw one of these games due to the poor quality and lack of enjoyment

I'd have to go for Gears Tactics, it was somewhat close between that and FH5 but the latter's focus on Festival Playlist (i.e. the live service element) brings it down.

I miss the times of FH3 where instead of the Festival Playlist existing, the base experience was a lot more packed and permanent.

While I think Forza is amazing, and I didn't get around to Grounded yet, the game I absolutely had the best experience with was As Dusk Falls.

Flight sim,Grounded, Halo infinite, Forza 5. Great games I played with my friends and family. Main reason I bought the Xbox was for flight sim.

Hi there fellow gamers,
Since I haven´t played Halo Infinite, but have played all the other ones so I´m kinda excited for when I play it eventualy, my vote has to go go to Forza Horizon 5.
I only played FH4 on my PC and it was and still is great fun.
The only thing that kinda bothers me on FH4 is that I can´t drive on the "right" side of the road 😜
Jokes asside, I do think the Forza Horizon Games have been of great value, not only for those who don´t like racing sims, but also for those who enjoy the fun of the free roam driving experience. For those of us who enjoy driving in real life, being able to do so in a exotic location with a super car is quite a fun experience indeed.
Can´t wait to play the new Forza Motorsport game as well.
Cheers, stay safe, stay warm and happy gaming to us all

Any reason Wasteland 3, Deathloop, Ghostwire and Minecraft Dungeons are not in the list? Think they all are within the last 2 years and are all GamePass Studios, unless we not counting Bethesda as an Xbox Studio yet for some reason?

I'd say Flight Simulator is the most impressive software, but Forza Horizon 5 is the best overall game.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 not that much to choose from is there🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 what a joke

@Cikajovazmaj the list is outright sad, i voted for Psychonauts because its a fantastic game, but it isn't even exclusive lol

Age of Empires IV has been great fun. Relic’s management/balance of everything has been top notch. Red Bull Wololo was incredible.

Psychonauts, Gears Tactics, Forza 5 have all been great fun

This article really hits home how few releases there have actually been in the past 2 years

Forza Horizon 5 which is legitimately an awesome game. But what this poll really tells me is MS has got to do a better job on the first party front and it has to start soon. With all the studios it has been buying up since 2018 there is no excuse for this not to be a much better list.

I love Psychonauts 2, Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite. For me personally, it’s Halo Infinite. I love shooters, and enjoyed the campaign tremendously. The Multiplayer has taken a lot of my time as well. Forza Horizon 5 is a fantastic game in its own right and is right there nipping at Halo’s heels.

Probably FH5 for me.
But after a few months you realise they peaked with FH4, and the pop in or 30fps choice on series X meant I had to play it more on pc to play at higher frame rate.
I genuinely thought Halo was laughably bad for the huge AAA showpiece it was suppossed to be, and Ive never bought a console to play a flight sim, so that doest earn kudos in this house.
Psyconaughts 2 however was a good title, it may not be platform exclusive, but it was real class.
The fact we have so little to consider is the issue here and 2023 cant come soon enough to change this narrative. Im looking forward to a much better showing next year.

@Tharsman Wasteland 3 and Minecraft Dungeons were over 2 years ago (August 2020 and May 2020 respectively). The only ones missing from the list that did release since Series X|S launch are the Bethesda ones (Deathloop PS5 and Series X|S, Ghostwire Tokyo PS5, Quake Remastered).

I’ve spent many more hours than I’m comfortable admitting playing Grounded since the 1.0 release. I’d dabbled in it during early access, but I’m amazed at how much they’ve expanded the garden area and all the new creatures and building options.
I’m a bit of a sucker for base-building too so it’s been great going from a wee tent to three-storey mansion containing a tower with zip-lines to all the other parts of the garden. Good times!

I’m in the minority here, but I just don’t understand the love for FH5. Yes it looks amazing, but it’s just menus full of to-do lists 🙄

The most current-gen are Microsoft Flight Simulator and Forza Horizon 5. The best surprises could be Grounded and Psychonauts 2. More high-quality titles: Halo Infinite, Gears Tactics, Deathloop, As Dusk Falls...

If I had to choose just one from this list, I'd choose Halo Infinite as "the best", in spite of the troubled development.

Personally, Halo Infinite for me, and this is even more amplified now that there is cooperative play in the campaign. I’ve been going through it with my best friend and it’s incredible. We grew up playing Combat Evolved together when we were kids and Infinite has evoked those same emotions. I’m really impressed with the Winter update. It’s a shame it wasn’t released from the get go, but it is what it is.

the list is good for 2020 ...but 2021 was bad for xbox 1st party...GP was the only shining star for Xbox this year but they HAVE TO MAKE 2023 "THE YEAR" we need starfield to be great..we need redfall to be great and we need Forza Motosport to be great....and even this isn't enough!! stalker 2 and a surprising game like avowed should be in 2023 ..
You need all of this just to start "competing' with sony, and despite what happens to ABK buy Asobo !!! you need a 3rd party cinematic game for your system and asobo got the talent !
xbox need 4 or 5 1st party or 3rd party exclusives a year with 2 of them being excellent quality to catch up to sony

I loved Psychonauts 2

Easily Psychonauts 2 for me. One of the best games i've played for a while now and my GOTY for last year. Looking forward to hearing what Double Fine will be bringing next but doubt it'll be Psychonauts 3 which is a shame but i'm sure whatever they bring will be worth a look