Up Next

We’re in an unusual timeline when the headline of the month is a LEGO game. But that’s the one we’re in, as LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga wipes the floor with pretty much every game that’s coming out in April 2022. We can already hear the clattering of plastic studs. 

We were wrong to dismiss the best Xbox games releasing in March 2022. There’s Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, which is unusual in the sense that it’s a full game inspired by some DLC. And that’s without mentioning a new Final Fantasy game, Elex II and some tasty indie games and sequels. Maybe Elden Ring has some competition after all.

If there’s a theme this February, it’s Xbox games that got shunted out of 2021. Elden Ring, Dying Light 2: Stay Human and Life is Strange: Remastered Collection have all been kicked down the road at least twice. 2021’s loss is 2022’s gain.

We need to own up. In any other month, only a few of these would have made it onto an Up Next. It’s the nature of December: a month that’s far too late to maximise those holiday profits. We only get to include Halo Infinite because, you suspect, Microsoft wanted to make sure it had just enough time in the oven to bake. Those grunts were looking particularly doughy. But don’t reach for the remote: it means that we can give some air to fascinating indies.

We’re heading into that post-E3, pre-silly season lull. So, what will be the indie darling of July 2021? Some strong bets include Last Stop and Eldest Souls, which might sound like FromSoftware did a collaboration with, um, FromSoftware. The biggest studios are taking advantage of the AAA wasteland too. Microsoft Flight Simulator gets unceremoniously crammed onto an Xbox, while the F1 series receives its latest iteration in the form of F1 2021

Forget all those too-big-to-fail AAA games, blending together to become a flavourless broth of open worlds and 100-hour campaigns. It’s the next tier down where the real juice is: where you’ll find the wacky high concepts, the left-field experiences, the bad voiceovers. We’re not afraid to say it: we love the AA game. Yes, it’s our way of saying that there’s no real blockbuster releasing in June 2021. Welcome to the quiet before the E3 storm. This is the month for niche re-releases, unexpected sequels, weirdo indies and abstract RPGs.

In the run up to the Xbox Series X, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Phil Spencer would kick off the boots, put his good slippers on and have a well-deserved rest. But no! The Xbox One is absolutely pumping the hits out. The ‘Holiday Season’ is ramping up, and the big hitters are in the process of arriving. FIFA, Watch Dogs: Legion, a Star Wars game - they’re all here, vying for the Christmas Number One spot (which will be FIFA, unless 2020 pulls another fast one). It is also October, which means Halloween. Expect a few games on the list to shamble about in your peripheral vision, readying a jump-scare. But it’s not all blockbusters and spinechillers: there’s a few stylish indies there too.

There may well be a massive push on the digital gaming front, with physical media fast becoming a bit of a rarity, but whilst that is all well and good for the smaller titles, the bigger more established names still feel that a retail release, alongside their digital launch, is the way to go.  With a busy few months behind us, we now start to enter the slowdown of game releases prior to things kicking on again later in the year. But what Xbox One games will be dropping on to store shelves throughout May 2018? How do this lot sound?

Time flies when you are gaming and 2017 is now just a distant memory. But the time for reminiscing is over - join us as we look ahead to the month of January and the Xbox One retail releases that 2018 is bringing to ease us into the new year.

We’ve made it through the madness of the last few months, played a whole ton of games and picked up enough Gamerscore to sink a small ship. But here we are in December and yet more games are being released into the Xbox world. It must be said that the past months of October and November this is not, and there are only a few titles hitting physical stores throughout the month, but any new Xbox One game is a good thing in our eyes and you should be gearing up to check out the following.

It seems rather strange to be saying this but 2017 is fast coming to a close. Before we start to party the night away and usher in 2018 though, the Xbox Games With Gold scheme has got one last surprise up its sleeve - four free games being gifted to all Xbox One and Xbox 360 players. But hot on the heels of November’s offerings that delivered so much (or at least three of the four did), can the free titles being given away during the month of December match up to the quality, or are we being sent a few duds that refuse to let us go out with a bang? We take a look at the good, the tempters and the, well, ugly.

October may now be over and the whole ton of new Xbox One games that it delivered will no doubt be tiding us over for many months yet, but November is now here, and whilst it doesn't quite live up to the madness of the month preceding it, it really isn't there far off - besides we've got a host of Xbox One X enhancements to look forward to! Yes, get your wallets ready as there are a number of new Xbox One and Xbox One X titles lining up for a release onto store shelves over the next few weeks. But what are they? We take a look.

Oh October. How we love the fact you bring numerous games into our lives. But why oh why do you have to deliver so many at one time? I mean, we're not made of money are we? But hey, should you be a gamer who is looking for a new game, then October 2017 is quite possibly your best bet... ever! With a whole host of games arriving on your Xbox One console over the next few weeks, it's a great time to be a gamer. Perhaps it's not a great time to look at your bank balance though as the following Xbox One titles will all be arriving on store shelves near you, with the temptation of a purchase rather massive. 

It's September and the video gaming world is kicking fully into action with a whole host of new games arriving on Xbox One in the next month... and beyond. In fact, it's a very busy time with both digital and physical copies arriving on a fairly regular basis, tempting the opening of wallets and seeing your cash leave your bank account faster than you can put it in there. But which Xbox One games will be appearing on stores near you throughout September 2017? Well, this lot for starters!

The quiet month of July is now behind us and once more the video gaming industry is ready to build the hype for a whole host of new games once more. August may not officially kick off the madness that comes with September and October, but this one still has a number of titles well worth getting excited about. From racers to open-world affairs, and a bit of everything in between, check out the games which will be appearing in stores near you throughout the month of August 2017.