Xbox Series Games Holiday Gift Guide 2024
Our 2024 Xbox Series games holiday gift guide is full of recommendations for any kind of gamer, ensuring you can pick up the perfect gift this shopping season.
Posted a month ago
If you’re shopping for someone with an Xbox Series X/S this holiday season, Restart is here with our recommendations of some of the best games you can gift in 2024. All of these games were (or will be) released this year, meaning there’s less chance your recipient already owns them.
While you’re here, make sure to check out our holiday gift guides for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 games as well.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Great for: FPS fans, Zombies players, military enthusiasts
The latest game in Call of Duty’s Black Ops series, Black Ops 6 offers three major gameplay modes, with each one packing enough content to be a standalone game. The story mode picks up after the events of 2020’s Black Ops Cold War, while the multiplayer mode challenges players’ skills across a variety of maps and match types. Finally, Zombies asks players to work together to defeat the undead. New to Black Ops 6 is an “omnimovement” system that allows players to sprint, slide, and dive in any direction.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Release Date: October 25, 2024
Epic Mickey Rebrushed
©Purple Lamp, THQ Nordic / Restart
- Great for: Disney lovers, artists
An updated remake of the original Epic Mickey from 2010, Rebrushed takes players to Wasteland, the once charming home of “forgotten” Disney characters, which was turned dark and dangerous after Mickey Mouse inadvertently created a paint monster that went on a rampage.
Armed with a magic paintbrush, players will be able to help Mickey save Wasteland by using paint to restore missing objects, or make it even worse by using paint thinner to erase the environment, with their actions having a noteworthy effect on the story's progression. Learn more about the game’s painting and thinning mechanics in our review.
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed
Release Date: September 24, 2024
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Great for: Fans of fantasy books and films, RPG enthusiasts
Ten years after the last release in the Dragon Age franchise, The Veilguard brings the series back for longtime fans and newcomers to enjoy. Players follow Rook (a highly customizable protagonist) on their quest to save the world of Thedas after two gods are inadvertently released from their prison.
Players can recruit a unique ensemble of companions as they progress through the game’s story. Plus, combat features a helpful ability wheel for those who want to slow things down and strategically plan their next move. You can read even more about Dragon Age: The Veilguard in our review.
Star Wars Outlaws
©Ubisoft / Restart
- Great for: Star Wars fans, spy and stealth infiltration enthusiasts, explorers
The Star Wars franchise is full of epic fights between good and evil, but Outlaws offers a unique twist on the universe by allowing players to become an outlaw named Kay Vess, who will work her way to the top of the criminal food chain by allying with (and/or double-crossing) the galaxy’s biggest crime syndicates. This adventure game focuses just as much on stealth and strategy as it does on fast-paced shootouts, and players can upgrade Kay over time to improve her skills. Read more about Star Wars Outlaws in our review.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Great for: RPG enthusiasts, fans of political storylines, stylish anime enjoyers
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a stylish RPG that begins simply – players are challenged to save a kingdom’s prince from a curse – but over time grows into one of the best stories we’ve experienced in years.
Metaphor focuses heavily on political themes, as players will compete in a tournament for the throne, while the game’s varied cast of companion characters offer their own intriguing and touching storylines to uncover. Combat offers a mix between real-time and turn-based encounters, and there are multiple difficulty settings to choose from, ensuring everyone can enjoy this one. Check out our review of Metaphor: ReFantazio to learn more.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Release Date: October 11, 2024
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster
©Capcom / Restart
- Great for: Horror fans, zombie genre devotees, dark comedy fans
This stellar remake of the original Dead Rising challenges players to help photojournalist Frank West rescue survivors and defeat baddies in a shopping mall overrun with zombies. Players have 72 hours to uncover the truth of what caused the undead outbreak, but how they actually spend their time is up to them. Players can loot the mall’s stores for new clothing items and weapons, with experimentation being greatly encouraged. Learn more about this remaster in our review.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster (Digital)
Release Date: September 19, 2024
Digital Only
EA Sports College Football 25
- Great for: Sports lovers, college football fans
College Football 25 is EA’s first college football game in 11 years, and it makes up for its lengthy absence with a slew of content for players new and old, including multiple gameplay modes and a focus on realism and immersion (the game incorporates 180 school songs, 80,000 stadium photographs, and 10 animal mascots – phew!). See what we thought of the game in our review.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
©GSC Game World
- Great for: Horror enthusiasts, fans of shooters and/or the supernatural
This post-apocalyptic FPS drops players into the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, which is populated by mutated creatures and other threats following an explosion. As players explore the game’s massive open world, they can experience a story with branching paths that will lead to one of several different endings. Along the way, they can collect artifacts and modifiable weapons, as well as engage with a variety of survivor factions.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Release Date: November 20, 2024
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle
- Great for: History buffs, fans of the Indiana Jones films
Set between the events of The Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade films, this adventure game sees Indiana Jones embark on a grand adventure involving the Reich and “The Great Circle,” a metaphorical circle that can be drawn around the globe connecting key ancient locations.
Players can solve puzzles as they explore worldwide locations (like the Himalayan mountains), while combat allows them to defeat enemies with Indy’s whip, as well as both conventional and non-conventional weapons (like a rolling pin). Learn more about Indiana Jones and The Great Circle in our hands-off preview.
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle
Release Date: December 9, 2024
Planet Coaster 2
©Frontier Developments
- Great for: Amusement park enthusiasts, management simulation fans
The latest game in the Planet Coaster franchise allows players to build and manage amusement parks across multiple gameplay modes, and for the first time in the series, water slides are available as well. Planet Coaster 2 combines creative freedom with in-depth management systems, as players can freely design the parks of their dreams while also being required to keep an eye on their parks’ finances, staff, and more.
Still on the hunt for gaming gifts? Check out everything offered in our PS5 and Nintendo Switch guides!