Xbox has crowned its standout titles of 2025, and the list reads like a who’s who of gaming’s biggest hits—and a few quiet standouts. For the second year running, the Xbox Excellence Awards spotlighted 55 games across four key metrics: Store Rating, Player Engagement, Daily Active Users, and Units Sold. While blockbusters like Battlefield 6* and Helldivers 2 dominated sales, the awards reveal a fragmented landscape where no single title ruled them all.
The absence of a universal top performer is striking. Even Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Borderlands 4—the only games to appear in three categories—missed one each (Player Engagement for Black Ops 7, Store Rating for Borderlands). The data suggests a year where engagement and sales often traveled in separate lanes.
The Winners by Category
Breaking down the awards
- Store Rating: ARC Raiders, Crime Scene Cleaner, Dynasty Warriors: Origins, Elden Ring Nightreign, EA Sports College Football 26, Fantasy Life I, Final Fantasy XV, Forza Horizon 5, Grounded 2, Helldivers 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Like a Dragon: Pirate, Lies of P: Overture, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Marvel VS. Capcom Fighting Collection, Monster Hunter Wilds, NBA 2K26, Oblivion Remastered, Poppy Playtime Chapter 4, Rematch, Satisfactory, The First Berserker: Khazan, WWE 2K25
- Player Engagement: Battlefield 6, Borderlands 4, DOOM: The Dark Ages, EA Sports FC 26, Elden Ring Nightreign, Final Fantasy Tactics, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto V, Helldivers 2, MLB The Show 25, Minecraft, NBA 2K26, PGA Tour 2K25, Ready or Not, Roblox, Rocket League, Silent Hill 2, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
- Daily Active Users: ARC Raiders, Battlefield 6, Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles 2, EA Sports Madden NFL 26, Elden Ring Nightreign, Fantasy Life I, Farm Together 2, Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Like a Dragon: Pirate, Marvel Rivals, Minami Lane, Monster Hunter Wilds, NHL 26, Rust, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
- Units Sold: ARC Raiders, Battlefield 6, Borderlands 4, Elden Ring Nightreign, Elden Ring Nightreign, Final Fantasy XV, Forza Horizon 5, Grand Theft Auto V, Helldivers 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, MLB The Show 25, Monster Hunter Wilds, NBA 2K26, Oblivion Remastered, PGA Tour 2K25, The First Berserker: Khazan
Who Missed Out?
The list omits a few expected names. Fortnite and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7—both perennial favorites—appear only in Player Engagement and Daily Active Users, respectively, despite their cultural footprint. Meanwhile, GTA V and Minecraft secured spots in multiple categories but never topped the Units Sold leaderboard, hinting at a market where longevity doesn’t always equal volume.
One standout is Hollow Knight: Silksong, which earned a place in both Store Rating and Units Sold—a rare dual achievement for an indie title. Its inclusion underscores how niche gems can punch above their weight when critics and players align.
What It Means for Xbox’s Strategy
The awards reflect a platform prioritizing both breadth and depth. While Helldivers 2 and ARC Raiders led sales, Silksong and Crime Scene Cleaner proved that smaller, high-quality experiences still resonate. For Xbox, this suggests a dual focus: sustaining its AAA catalog while nurturing the indie and mid-tier titles that drive long-term engagement.
With no single game dominating across all metrics, the data implies a year where player behavior became more segmented—some titles thrived in daily play, others in one-time purchases, and a few in critical acclaim. The challenge for 2026? Balancing that fragmentation without letting any category fall entirely behind.
Availability for these titles varies, but most remain on Xbox Game Pass or as standalone purchases. Pricing ranges from $29.99 (Crime Scene Cleaner) to $69.99 (Elden Ring Nightreign), with many exclusives like Silksong and ARC Raiders* offering Game Pass integration.
