Xbox Series X|S in 2022: Game Pass, Bethesda exclusives and much more

(Image credit: Microsoft)

published 1 January 2022

The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in 2022 are going to start the year pretty much the way 2021 ended, with Game Pass leaving Sony in the dirt and Xbox Series X stock shortages leaving would-be buyers bereft.

If you’re one of those gamers our Xbox Series X restock tracker will help you steer clear of the scammers, and we should see more Xbox Series X stock as the year progresses and the global semiconductor shortage starts to end.

To say we’re excited about the Xbox Series X|S in 2022 would be an understatement. There are some brilliant new games coming to Game Pass the same day they go to retail, and there are lots of new franchises and old friends coming your way in the coming months. That means it’s a good time to invest in some Xbox Series X|S expandable storage. You’re going to need it.

Xbox Series X|S in 2022: an updated Xbox Series S

Despite the ongoing semiconductor shortage, Microsoft is expected to unveil an updated Xbox Series S this year with a higher-specification AMD Zen APU, which leakers claim will be up to 50% faster than the current model. The leaks also suggest that instead of replacing the Xbox Series S it’ll sit above it as the middle of three models; the current Xbox Series S will get a price cut to make Xbox gaming more affordable and get more people onto Game Pass.

Xbox Series X|S in 2022: what’s coming to Game Pass in 2022?

With Sony reportedly planning its own Game Pass rival for 2022, we expect to see some seriously good games on Xbox Game Pass in 2022. Like this year’s Halo Infinite, Bethesda’s Starfield will be a day-one Xbox Game Pass release in November as will Arkane’s Redfall in the Summer.

The long-anticipated S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 hits Game Pass in the spring, as does snowboarding game Shredders and the extremely exciting Elden Ring, which comes from a collaboration between Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaka and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin. And those are just the titles we know about so far: expect many more in the coming months.

Xbox Series X|S in 2022: the biggest games from Star Trek to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

The best Xbox games slated for 2022 come in two categories: the ones with release dates and the ones without. Let’s start with the first category, in which you’ll find Rainbow Six Extraction (January); Dying Light 2, RumbleVerse, Shredders and Elden Ring (February); Borderlands spin-off Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and the revitalised GTA 5 and GTA Online (March).

In April we’ll see S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Star Trek Resurgence; and into summer we’ll be playing Arkane’s new shooter Redfall and the rebooted Saint’s Row, expected in August.

As the nights start drawing in it’l be a perfect time to play Bethesda’s brand new Starfield (November), and the year finishes with the latest SEGA Sonic adventure, Sonic Frontiers.

Xbox Series X|S in 2022: more 2022 games with launch dates tbc

That’s the scheduled games. Now for the to-be-confirmed, the definitely-2022 ones that haven’t announced their launch dates yet. It’s an impressive list that includes Marvel’s Midnight Suns, an XCom-style strategy game; Gotham Knights, an open world RPG; Open Roads, an emotional journey from the team behind Gone Home and Takoma; The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, a stealth action adventure; A Plague Tale: Requiem, which we imagine will be light on the LOL count; and a new sci-fi adventure called Somerville that looks sinister and spooky.

There’s also The Callisto Protocol, a survival horror set on Jupiter’s moon that looks very much like the successor to Dead Space, and Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, a chaotic beat-em-up.

Xbox Series X|S in 2022: must-have Xbox accessories

We’ve already mentioned the need for more Xbox storage, and there are plenty of other accessories that can take your Xbox gaming experience to the next level. We’ve put together guides and deal trackers for the best gaming monitors, the best gaming TVs, the best gaming chairs and the best gaming headsets. It’s definitely worth checking out these guides and seeing if you can bag a bargain in the New Year sales.

We’ve also created an explainer on HDMI 2.1 and why it’s worth looking for a TV that has it, especially if you have or plan to buy an Xbox Series X.

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).