A Plague Tale: Requiem (Xbox Series X|S)

The follow-up to 2019's rather excellent A Plague Tale: Innocence, Requiem takes our returning heroes, Amicia and Hugo, to pastures new as the pair head southwards, taking in brand new regions and vibrant cities. Of course, as soon as they've found new environs in which to settle, trouble rears its head once more with Hugo's powers reawakening and the action kicking off all over again. If the first game is anything to go by, we're expecting brutal, breath-taking supernatural elements here all wrapped up in a heart-wrenching story.

  • Release Date: TBC 2022
  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Xbox Series X|S)

Ubisoft's second bite at the Avatar cherry, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is set to be a first-person open world experience set in parts of the planet Pandora that didn't feature in the 2009 movie (that was 12 years ago?!?).

Details are still pretty light on the ground here but with Massive Entertainment - who worked on Far Cry 3 - at the helm, we at least have a dev in charge with strong experience in open world games set in vibrant, lush locations. We'll no doubt find out more about this one as release approaches, but for now we reckon the fascinating world of Pandora alongside the strong backstory and lore provided by the original movie could prove to be a potent mix. Here's hoping!

  • Release Date: TBC 2022
  • Xbox Game Pass: No

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake (Xbox Series X|S)

The original really did set a new bar for action adventure games when it first released, utilising fancy pants time manipulation elements which were way head of the curve back in 2003. The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake aims to bring that original adventure bang up to modern standards with an updated graphics engine, controls and voice acting to deliver a slick new experience for a whole new generation of gamers. We are ready and waiting to get back to some princely parkour action.

  • Release Date: TBC 2022
  • Xbox Game Pass? No

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This is really three games in one! Resident Evils 2, 3 and 7 are all getting Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S upgrades in 2022, and they're all free if you own the original versions for Xbox One. Save data carries across as well, so you're all set if you want to bring your progress to the new editions. So, what's new about them? Features include ray tracing, higher frame rates and 3D audio support, but that's pretty much all we know so far. In any case, it's great to see these classic Resident Evil games getting updated even further for the next generation.

  • Release Date: TBC 2022
  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Return To Monkey Island (Xbox Series X|S)

Alright, so we know this hasn't been officially announced for Xbox yet, but it seems very likely it'll be heading to the platform at some point (if not at launch), and we're just too excited not to include it! Return To Monkey Island will mark Ron Gilbert's triumphant return to the series, and will follow on from the first and second games in terms of its narrative. Details are few and far between at the moment, but surprisingly we've got confirmation that it will indeed be releasing in 2022, so it should be gracing our Xbox consoles by the end of this year.

  • Release Date: TBC 2022
  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Xbox Series X|S)

We've known of the existence of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 since all the way back in 2019 but, even in light of a six minute gameplay trailer at this year's Game Awards, we're still not really in possession of many facts regarding what it's all about.

That recent gameplay trailer is certainly dark and gritty, Senua's psychosis is still present and correct and there's definitely more that a hint of Vikings about the whole thing, but we don't know anything about the direction of the narrative just yet. What we do know, though, is that it looks absolutely spectacular, with amazing facial animations and jaw-dropping environmental art work. It also looks quite a bit darker in tone to the original game which, let's face, wasn't exactly a Disney adventure.

We're looking forward to seeing how this one shapes up before its planned release, and while there's no guarantee we'll be seeing it in 2022, we're keeping our fingers crossed that it might launch in the 2022 holiday season.

  • Release Date: TBC (Hopefully 2022!)
  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (Xbox Series X|S)

Set before the events of both Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum sees players take control of the sneaky little thief as he follows his destiny and attempts to get his hands on his precious. The game will, apparently, fill in lots of backstory on the character and adventures of Gollum and players will utilise his agility and sneaking skills in order to successfully stealth their way through areas packed full of foes and obstacles.

There's gonna be stealth kills here too, with creativity essential to manoeuvring through levels, as well as an interesting split personality mechanic which sees your decisions and actions affect Gollum's mindset. We're looking forward to checking out more on this one as the months tick on towards its release sometime this year.

  • Release Date: TBC 2022
  • Xbox Game Pass? TBC

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen (Xbox Series X|S)

The Witcher 3 is undoubtedly one of the very best video game experiences there is, one of the greatest RPGs of all time, and we are chomping at the bit over here to get back to its world once this snazzy next-gen upgrades lands. Expect ray-tracing, upgraded textures, improved loading times, all new volumetric and lighting effects and, fingers crossed, all previously released DLC thrown in for good measure. We cannot wait!

  • Release Date: TBC 2022
  • Xbox Game Pass? No, but it's a free update for owners of the base game

And that's it for our look at just some of what's headed our way in 2022. See anything you particularly like the look of or know of something we should have had on there? As always, let us know in the comments!