What’s coming to Xbox next week – dates, platforms, highlights

Microsoft has outlined what’s arriving on Xbox between December 1-5, covering Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC and Game Pass. The lineup mixes first-person horror, retro-inspired action, puzzlers, sims, and family-friendly platformers. Two titles arrive on Game Pass – Marvel Cosmic Invasion and Routine – while several releases carry Smart Delivery, Xbox Play Anywhere, or Optimized for Xbox Series X|S support. Below are the key beats, dates, and notable features, distilled from the official roundup.

Release timing and features are listed exactly as provided by publishers and may change. Platform notes are included where specified in the official posts.

Headliners and key details

Marvel Cosmic Invasion – December 1

Game Pass • Optimized for Xbox Series X|S • Xbox Play Anywhere

Tribute Games and Dotemu, in collaboration with Marvel Games, deliver a new beat ’em up built around dynamic combo-focused combat and pixel-art presentation across multiple planets. Co-op supports local and online play with drop-in/drop-out that adapts to party size.

Octopath Traveler 0 – December 3

Optimized for Xbox Series X|S • Xbox Play Anywhere

A fresh entry in the series returns with HD-2D visuals, the Path Actions system for roleplaying choices, and the Break and Boost battle mechanics. New systems include character creation and town building tied to restoring a hometown as the story unfolds across Orsterra.

Blood: Refreshed Supply – December 4

Optimized for Xbox Series X|S • Smart Delivery

An enhanced take on the cult classic follows Caleb, an undead gunslinger, as he rises against dark god Tchernobog and former lieutenants. The campaign centers on revenge-driven progression through occult set pieces and retro-inspired gunplay.

Routine – December 4

Game Pass • Optimized for Xbox Series X|S • Optimized for Handheld • Xbox Play Anywhere • Smart Delivery

A first-person sci-fi horror set on an abandoned lunar base built around an 1980s vision of the future. Exploration quickly pivots to survival when the base goes silent, pushing players forward against an AI foe that treats the protagonist as the primary threat.

Read also our article: Planet of Lana II maps Novo’s new factions and biomes, set for early 2026

I’m on Observation Duty 8 – December 5

Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

The latest in the anomaly-spotting horror series tasks players with monitoring surveillance feeds and reporting supernatural changes – from subtle environmental shifts to intruders – to survive each night. The new entry aims to be the most ambitious in the franchise, expanding its spot-the-difference formula.

Also arriving December 1-5

Below is a date-by-date rundown with core features and any official platform notes.

December 1

• Marvel Cosmic Invasion – Beat ’em up with local/online co-op and drop-in/drop-out (Game Pass; Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Xbox Play Anywhere).
• Crime Simulator – Stealth burglary solo or 4-player co-op; use lockpicks, sleeping gas, and force to complete timed jobs (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).
• Seven Days Until Morning – Survival on Pluto inside an aging emergency bunker during humanity’s collapse (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).

December 2

• Brok: The Bar Brawl – Challenge-driven brawler spinoff in a gritty bar setting with solo/co-op event-style encounters (Xbox Play Anywhere).
• Cute Bonfire – Tile-based puzzle game inside a fireplace; push charcoal to light bonfires across 30 levels (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).
• Elon and Friends: Winter Pack – A bundle containing: Elon and the Divine Proof, Green Soldiers Heroes, Extreme Bikers, Prison of Illusion, Super Snake Block DX, SHMUP Mania (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Smart Delivery; Windows versions optimized for handheld PCs).
• Sleep Awake – First-person psychedelic horror about insomnia in Earth’s last city; play as Katja, evading death cults and solving puzzles (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).
• Slimeboo – One-button platformer for younger players about guiding a lost slime across a tropical island (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Optimized for Handheld; Xbox Play Anywhere; Smart Delivery).

December 3

• Octopath Traveler 0 – HD-2D RPG with Path Actions, Break/Boost, and new character creation plus town building (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Xbox Play Anywhere).
• Caput Mortum – Short first-person horror inspired by retro dungeon crawlers; ascend a nightmare tower to probe forbidden knowledge (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).
• Dungeons and Ducklings – Roguelite “QuackMan” dungeon mazes; classic arcade movement with an attack button to break walls and enemies.
• Malachite: Temple of the Sun – Match-3 with adventure and endless modes; unlock power-ups and build a temple.
• Octo Curse – Action platformer about a pirate cursed into an octopus, spanning multiple biomes and a tower ascent.
• RoboHero – Sokoban-style puzzler with a sci-fi theme; an AI robot explores exoplanet Xeran (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).
• Winterlight – Where Silence Says it All – Narrative about a winter homecoming; player choices shape relationships and conversations in a coastal town (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Smart Delivery).
• Yakuza: Shadows of New York – Action-adventure starring Kaito Nakamura searching for a missing mentor in the city’s underbelly (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Xbox Play Anywhere; Smart Delivery).

December 4

• Blood: Refreshed Supply – Undead gunslinger Caleb’s revenge quest against Tchernobog (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Smart Delivery).
• Routine – First-person lunar-base horror with an ’80s-future aesthetic (Game Pass; Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Optimized for Handheld; Xbox Play Anywhere; Smart Delivery).
• Baseless – Planet-hopping shooter with 360° gravity; destroy enemies, rescue allies, and traverse a stylized galaxy (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).
• Detective – Rainy Night – Investigative horror as officer Iker Carmona checks into a roadside motel amid disappearances (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Xbox Play Anywhere).
• Finding America: The Heartland Collector’s Edition – Hidden object tour featuring locations like Mount Rushmore, jazz bars, and national parks, plus minigames.
• Mist: Evolution – RPG hybrid blending idle progression, real-time combat, and horror narrative; a father searches for his daughter amid alien corruption (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).
• The Phantom – Arcade beat-em-up across 14 levels; play as the Phantom or Diana Palmer against the Singh Brotherhood, with animal assists and hand-drawn 2D scenes (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).
• ReSetna – Action adventure across seven zones with seven bosses and a unique upgrade system about rescuing the last human remnants.
• Sacrifice For Sale – Narrative thriller about a hostage situation where players respond directly to characters to manipulate a cult (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).
• Sophie’s Animal Clinic – Mission Wildlife Park – Veterinary sim treating over 30 diseases across diverse animals with step-by-step care (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Smart Delivery).

December 5

• I’m on Observation Duty 8 – Surveillance horror focused on anomaly detection (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).
• Connect It! – Logic puzzler linking matching colors on a grid without crossing paths; 200+ handcrafted levels.
• M.A.U.S – Story centers on Dr. Cavor’s development of Mechanized Assault Unity 19 as Victoria faces a new threat (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Smart Delivery).
• Pixapple Adventures – Pixel platformer; collect stars to open portals across three worlds (Forest, Snow, Valley of Fear).
• Santa’s World – Christmas platformer; find three gifts per level, use snowballs against enemies across 2.5D stages.
• Security Booth: Director’s Cut – 1996-set guard-booth sim at Nova Nexus; verify license plates against an employee register and control gate access (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).
• Speed Factor – Old-school racer with pixelated visuals, adjustable difficulty and traction assist, and 50 tracks across five locations (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S; Smart Delivery).
• Stacky Dash – Arcade puzzler; slide to stack tiles, dodge hazards, use portals, and rescue animals to build a zoo (Xbox Play Anywhere).
• Tank Mechanic Simulator – Reinforced – Restore World War II tanks, armored cars, and SPGs; excavate battlefield finds and build a museum (Optimized for Xbox Series X|S).

Why it matters – a varied week with two Day-1 Game Pass drops

From co-op brawling in Marvel Cosmic Invasion to lunar horror in Routine, the first week of December spans big-name throwbacks and experimental indies. If you track platform features, several titles support Smart Delivery and Xbox Play Anywhere, and there are two Day-1 Game Pass additions. It’s a compact but diverse slate – useful whether you want a quick puzzler, a retro shooter refresh, or an RPG with new systems to explore.