Amazing games are at the heart of our mission to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet. Now, more screens than ever can be an Xbox, and those screens are lit up by the incredible portfolio of games brought to life by talented developers around the world. These teams create unforgettable gaming experiences that engage and inspire players of all ages. As a thank you to the creators of those games, and to shine a light on the games that players loved in 2024, today we’re announcing the recipients of the 2024 Xbox Excellence Awards.
With over a thousand games launching annually on Xbox consoles, PC and cloud, this could be a case of simply picking a panel to decide – but the Excellence Awards are all about how you engaged with Xbox over the last year. To assemble the list, we selected four key categories which are indicators of players’ passion, engagement, and love for these games. Those four categories are:
- Store Rating: Highest-rated content across our stores released in 2024, with a minimum of 500 ratings.
- Player Engagement: Games with the highest average hours per player within the first six weeks of release.
- Daily Active Users: Games, expansions, or major updates with the highest single-day active users in 2024. You may notice games that weren’t released in 2024 in this list – that’s because they got a significant update last year.
- Units Sold: Top-selling content across Xbox and Microsoft stores.
The final list represents a diverse collection of titles produced by studios comprised of anywhere from tens to thousands of developers, located in 15 different countries worldwide. You can find the titles for each category – listed alphabetically – below.
| 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 | Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance | Palworld | 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 |
| Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 | WWE 2K24 | Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege | WWE 2K24 |
Developers and publishers will receive their trophies shortly, so be on the lookout to see how they celebrate!
Thinking of joining the many players that helped these games become award winners? Take a look at our collection of games that have received an Xbox Excellence Award for 2024 on the Xbox Store.
