Battletoads (Xbox One)

Rare's Battletoads made its long-awaited reappearance on Xbox One, Series X and Series S back in 2020 (developed by Dlala Studios), and it ended up proving a hilarious and highly enjoyable Xbox exclusive that lived up to our expectations. In our review, we praised it as "a hugely entertaining experience and well worth your time."

The good news for newcomers to the series is that it's far more accessible than the Battletoads in the Rare Replay collection, so players of all skill levels will feel right at home here. If you like a good side-scrolling beat ‘em up game, it's definitely worth giving it a try and the best bit is that it's included with Xbox Game Pass at no extra charge.

  • Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Dead Rising 3 (Xbox One)

More than a decade since its Xbox One launch day release, Dead Rising 3 remains an Xbox console exclusive - which is still odd to think about to this day! Capcom's open world zombie-slaying franchise has taken a break since Dead Rising 4, and we reckon the third entry is still up there with the best this franchise has to offer.

Sticking with the series' unique timer mechanic but opening things up significantly, Dead Rising 3 introduced the world of Los Perdidos to Xbox fans back in 2013, and it's still an absolute romp. Make no mistake this isn't a post-apocalyptic game that takes itself seriously - Dead Rising 3 is big, bombastic and downright silly, and we still think crafting crazy machines to take down hordes of the undead is incredibly fun in 2026.

  • Xbox Game Pass? No

Gears of War 3 (Xbox 360)

We've already got a few Gears games in this list but Gears of War 3 is arguably the best of the bunch, especially if you're playing on Xbox Series X|S. Epic's finale to the original Gears trilogy runs at 1440p / 60FPS on modern Xbox consoles - and it still feels like a contemporary game in 2026.

Of course, it goes without saying that the entire original trilogy is still super fun from a campaign perspective, but Gears 3 holds up from top-to-bottom. Campaign, Horde, Beast, multiplayer - all of the game's core modes are fantastic fun and the multiplayer remains populated more than a decade later. The Coalition has done a great job with the series since, but this is still the best Gears game and more-than earns its spot on our best Xbox exclusives list.

  • Xbox Game Pass: Yes

And that's it for our list of the very best Xbox exclusives. Have we missed your favourite, or is there a particular game you think should have been included that isn't? Make sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments!