Get ready, gamers! 2025 is shaping up to be the year Microsoft finally delivers on its long-held promises to flood the Xbox platform with a consistent stream of major game releases. For years, Xbox leaders have been telling us this, but is this the year they finally deliver?
Back in 2019, then-head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, told IGN they wanted to release a high-quality game into Game Pass roughly every three months. Fast forward to 2023, and Booty, now the head of games at Microsoft, shared with The Fourth Curtain podcast that the company aimed for a 'big game, a new release...something significant, going out four times a year.' He even added, 'It feels like we're getting there.'
And guess what? This year, they've seemingly done it.
By the close of 2025, Microsoft's extensive network of game studios, bolstered by acquisitions over the past half-decade, will have unleashed the most extensive lineup of games in Xbox history. We're talking about a veritable feast for gamers!
This impressive roster includes major titles like Avowed in winter, Doom: The Dark Ages in spring, Gears of War: Reloaded in summer, and The Outer Worlds 2 in the fall. But that's not all! There are also smaller, more experimental games like South of Midnight and Keeper, alongside blockbusters such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. And let's not forget the elaborate, premium-priced remakes like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and polished old-school compilations like Retro Classics.
This surge in output has significantly boosted the number of new Microsoft-published games available to subscribers of the top tier of its Game Pass subscription service. As the data shows, Microsoft's video game output in 2025 has truly exploded, mirroring the rapid expansion of its development studios. They bought the studios; now, those studios are releasing games.
But here's where it gets controversial... While 2025 is a banner year for Microsoft game releases, it's also been a year marked by significant challenges. There have been widely reported layoffs, studio closures, cancelled projects, and price hikes.
Microsoft is, for now, one of the most prolific game publishers in the industry. Looking closer reveals the kind of publisher they've become and where their priorities lie.
To me, four key things stand out. What do you think? Are you excited about Microsoft's gaming future, or do the recent challenges give you pause? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
