At the core of our mission to spread the love of gaming and build a connected community lies our commitment to delivering amazing games to players everywhere. More screens than ever are now essentially Xbox devices, showcasing a captivating lineup of games crafted by exceptionally creative developers around the globe. These teams are masters at delivering gaming experiences that stay with us, inspiring and captivating players of all ages. To express our gratitude to these creative individuals and to highlight the games that captured players’ hearts in 2024, we’re thrilled to announce the winners of the 2024 Xbox Excellence Awards.
With over a thousand new games debuting annually across Xbox consoles, PCs, and the cloud, you might think choosing winners would involve just picking a judging panel. However, the Excellence Awards hinge on how you, the players, have connected with Xbox over the last year. We’ve focused on four key categories that reflect your enthusiasm, engagement, and affection for these titles. Here are the categories:
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Store Rating: This includes the highest-rated games in our stores from 2024, each boasting at least 500 reviews.
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Player Engagement: We look at games with impressive average playtime per player during their first six weeks.
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Daily Active Users: This category highlights games, expansions, or major updates with the most active users on a single day in 2024. You might spot titles not released in 2024 because they received notable updates last year.
- Units Sold: Top-performing content based on sales across Xbox and Microsoft stores.
This final list showcases a variety of titles crafted by development teams ranging from small groups to massive studios located in 15 different nations around the world. Below, you’ll find the games named under each category, presented alphabetically.
| Store Rating | Player Engagement | Daily Active Users | Units Sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balatro | Dragon Age: The Veilguard | Apex Legends | 7 Days to Die |
| Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden | Dragon’s Dogma 2 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 | Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora |
| Botany Manor | EA Sports College Football 25 | Dead Island 2 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 |
| Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth | EA Sports FC 25 | Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred | Dragon Age: The Veilguard |
| Little Kitty, Big City | F1 Manager 2024 | EA Sports College Football 25 | Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero |
| Lollipop Chainsaw RePop | Farming Simulator 25 | EA Sports FC 25 | Dragon’s Dogma 2 |
| Metaphor: ReFantazio | Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail | Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree | EA Sports College Football 25 |
| Nobody Wants to Die | House Flipper 2 | Fallout 4 | EA Sports FC 25 |
| Persona 3 Reload | Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth | Fortnite | EA Sports Madden NFL 25 |
| Poppy Playtime: Chapter 1, 2, 3 | Metaphor: ReFantazio | Forza Horizon 5 | Farming Simulator 25 |
| Return to Grace | MLB The Show 24 | Grand Theft Auto Online | Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 |
| Rounds | NBA 2K25 | Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | MLB The Show 24 |
| Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II | New World: Aeternum | Marvel Rivals | NBA 2K25 |
| Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance | NHL 25 | Minecraft | NHL 25 |
| Sonic x Shadow Generations | Path of Exile 2 | MLB The Show 24 | Palworld |
| Still Wakes the Deep | Phasmophobia | The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria | Skull and Bones |
| Roblox | Star Wars Outlaws | The Outlast Trials | Star Wars Outlaws |
| Rocket League | The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria | Unicorn Overlord | Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl | Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 | WWE 2K24 | Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege |
The developers and publishers will soon be receiving their well-deserved trophies, so keep an eye out for their celebratory moments! If you’re thinking about experiencing the magic behind these award-winning titles, dive into our curated selection of games that have been honored with a 2024 Xbox Excellence Award, available now on the Xbox Store.
