by Matt Booty, Head of Xbox Game Studios

This has been a remarkable year for Team Xbox and for you, our fans. We welcomed Bethesda to the family, announced a new slate of games together in June, and launched Psychonauts 2 and Microsoft Flight Simulator, two of the highest-rated games of the year, into Xbox Game Pass. Twenty-five million players have now joined us in Sea of Thieves and your passion for Series X-shaped appliances has made the “Mini Fridge” a real thing. Our players are at the heart of everything we do and we couldn’t be more thankful for your incredible support.

Now, just weeks before the Xbox 20^th anniversary in November, we’re excited to kick-off three epic months of back-to-back blockbuster game launches in Game Pass:

• The Age of Empires franchise has been a major part of Microsoft’s gaming legacy for 24 years and the Oct. 28 launch of Age of Empires IV will be our biggest yet, bringing the evolved real-time strategy game to a new generation on Steam and Game Pass for PC on day one.
• Minecraft will join Game Pass for PC on Nov. 2, followed by new Minecraft Dungeons Seasonal Adventures in December, and Caves & Cliffs: Part II later this year.
• On Nov. 9, gaming’s premier racing franchise returns when Forza Horizon 5’s open-world adventure in Mexico speeds into Xbox Game Pass. Our biggest Forza Horizon ever and winner of the Most Anticipated Game of E3 award, Forza Horizon 5 will launch simultaneously on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC and Steam, and Game Pass including console, PC and Cloud Gaming (beta).
• Microsoft Flight Simulator: Game of the Year Edition launches Nov. 18 as a free update for existing players, including Game Pass members, with five new aircrafts, eight new airports, new Discovery Flights and tutorials, and highly requested community features like DX12 support. Microsoft Flight Simulator will also release the exciting Reno Air Races, which features the fastest motorsport on Earth will also be available on Nov. 18.
• The Master Chief returns on Dec. 8 with Halo Infinite. This is the Halo we imagined 20 years ago, finally come to life in the largest Halo game we have ever made. Halo Infinite will be available in Game Pass when it launches across Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Game Pass Ultimate members will also receive monthly multiplayer bonuses as part of the Perks program.

Our teams have also been expanding on the games you love. These last few months you explored Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs Part 1, Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life, State of Decay 2: Homecoming, Grounded: Hot and Hazy, and last week’s Halo: The Master Chief Collection Season 8. We’re honoured that millions of you continue to play in these worlds together.

Over the past two decades, the Xbox community has made gaming a place of joy, inspiration, education, and social connection. Games build bridges and forge bonds between friends and family, as well as give people new ways to connect.

We invite you to join us on Nov. 16 to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of Xbox and Halo with a fun, digital broadcast for fans around the globe. While we won’t announce any new games, this anniversary broadcast will be a special look back at 20 years of Xbox. We’ll share more details soon, so stay tuned.

We’ve been hard at work to deliver three months of back-to-back game launches. And while we hope you’ll join us in celebrating 20 years of Xbox history, know that we’re hard at work on the road ahead and what’s to come in the next 20 years.