Is It Worth Buying an Xbox in 2024?

As we end what was supposed to be Microsoft’s first big Xbox year in a while, there are questions (some fairly trolly) about the future of the brand. And besides that, the green team are making it easier than ever to play their games without needing to buy a console. So should you buy their box?

The Xbox Series X remains a fantastic console. The Series S is a brilliant cheap entry into this generation’s devices for those that aren’t bothered by 4K. The addition of Game Pass makes both devices a bargain. That’s especially true after Microsoft’s recently completed purchase of Activision. All those games will be coming to Game Pass in the next 12 months, and that’s going to be hard to ignore.

On top of that, there’s a whole host of content on the way. Xbox has more than 35 studios working away at dozens upon dozens of games, including new games from Bethesda and Activision. They have released a number of first party titles this year including Starfield, Hi-Fi Rush, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends, Age of Empires II and 4, and Redfall. Ghostwire Tokyo saw an Xbox release too. And obviously Diablo 4 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 would have been big first party releases going forward.

I don’t want to say that’s a sustainable blueprint for Xbox years going forward… I very much doubt it is. But if that’s what they’re aiming for, it’s hard to worry to much about the cadence of games.

Quality is a different topic. This is an interesting set of games that got mixed reaction, flew under the radar or – frankly – was whatever Redfall ended up being.

Xbox Games

Microsoft release a decent variety of titles. All of them are worth checking out, especially if you have Game Pass.  But none fall into the “must play” collection that tend to default towards niches already carved out by Sony and Nintendo. If you want to be part of the hype cycle around those types of games, you’re better off looking at those other manufacturers.

There aren’t many firm release dates for the coming year, but you can expect to get your hands on Avowed, Hellblade 2, Flight Simulator 2024, Age of Mythology, Towerborne and Ara: History Untold. There’s also bound to be a few more surprises as the year unfolds. We know there’s a laundry list of exclusives cooking, such as Fable and South of Midnight, but we don’t know where they sit in terms of release yet.

Of course, the biggest exclusive is Game Pass. All of these games and more will be available at the push of a button to subscribers.

Is It Worth It?

If you needed one console recommendation going into Christmas, I would say buy an Xbox. Game Pass is fantastic, the games available will be brilliant and things are only going to get better. Xbox is all in on the games. They’re not going anywhere.

That said, there’s not a lot in it. If you specifically want PlayStation games or Nintendo games, those are only available elsewhere. And if you have the money, PC will give you the best of all worlds.

But in isolation, and for someone that just wants either powerful (Series X) or cheap (Series S), these consoles are your best bet.