Just over two months after their release, the PS5 and Xbox Series X / S continue to be some of the most desirable gadgets in the world. While it’s still very difficult to get your hands on a new console, those lucky enough to own one can enjoy something unprecedented in modern gaming history. For the first time, next-gen console owners can take their existing library — whether it’s physical, digital, or a mix of the two — and bring it to a next-gen platform.
That gives consumers unprecedented freedom in deciding where they want to play and what performance benefits are worthwhile enough to upgrade. And technologies like cross-platform play and now even cross-generation support will allow people to still play with their friends, even if they don’t upgrade to the latest gaming hardware.
Yes, both consoles arrived within seven years of the last generation of console hardware. And while it’s likely within the first year of both consoles’ lifespan that many of the hottest titles may launch on last- and current-gen simultaneously, there’s still a good chunk of games that will be exclusive titles playable only a PS5 or Xbox Series X / S.
Besides 4K, the solid-state drives, and other spec changes, Microsoft and Sony have pledged to support close to every title in the existing console platforms’ libraries. Every Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One game currently playable on existing Xbox One hardware (minus Kinect games) will be playable on the Series X / S, while Sony is supporting a “vast majority” of PS4 games, totaling more than 4,000 titles. With both consoles early into their lifespan, it’s easy for many to return to older games to help fill the gap in between long wait periods for more titles to be added to each console’s library.
This changes the calculus a bit with regard to buying a new console. No longer do you have to abandon what you were playing on your old device and start anew. And thanks to some genuinely consumer-friendly initiatives like Xbox Smart Delivery and similar upgrade programs, plenty of the games we own now or are planning to buy in the next couple of months will not only work on the new platforms, but in most cases, they’ll also come with free upgrades from the standard PS4 and Xbox One versions. Sony also introduced the PlayStation Plus Collection, a library of PS4 games available for free with its online subscription service.
That leaves us with one big issue: how do you know what new games are coming out for which platforms and when? There’s also the painstaking process of parsing whether a game company is giving out a free next-gen upgrade of a cross-gen title, charging a little extra, or releasing a next-gen-only game.
2021 is packed full of new releases and full optimizations of cross-gen games that should further pad out what’s available to play on your new system of choice. We’ve compiled the list below to help you understand every game coming out during the first year of the PS5 and Xbox Series X / S.
This excludes games without release dates that may have been previously announced — like Elder Scrolls VI and the Fable reboot, for example — and any games that were released for either console in 2020, including launch titles. We’ve also chosen only to list release dates for games where the publisher has chosen a concrete date with both day and month.
PS5 & Xbox Series X/S 2021 Release Schedule
| Game | Release Date | Xbox Series or PS5? | Cross-gen? | PC? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Release Date | Xbox Series or PS5? | Cross-gen? | PC? |
| MXGP 2020 | 01/14/2021 | PS5 only | No, PS5 exclusive | No |
| Hitman 3 | 01/20/2021 | Both | Free upgrade from digital | Yes |
| Ride 4 | 01/21/2021 | Both | No | No |
| Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy | 01/26/2021 | PS5 | No, PS5 exclusive | Yes |
| Cyber Shadow | 01/26/2021 | PS5 only | No, PS5 exclusive | Yes |
| The Medium | 1/28/2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| The Pedestrian | 1/29/2021 | PS5 only | No, PS5 exclusive | Yes |
| Control: Ultimate Edition | 02/02/2021 | Both | Yes, upgrade only with Ultimate Edition | Yes |
| Destruction AllStars | 02/02/2021 | PS5 only | No, PS5 exclusive | No |
| Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood | 02/04/2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Nioh Remastered – The Complete Edition | 02/05/2021 | PS5 only | No, PS5 exclusive | No |
| Nioh 2 Renastered – The Complete Edition | 02/05/2021 | PS5 only | No, PS5 exclusive | No |
| Little Nightmares 2 | 02/11/2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Yakuza: Like a Dragon | 03/02/2021 (PS5) | Available now on Xbox, PS5 on 03/02/2021 | Yes | Yes |
| Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 4 | 03/11/2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Samurai Spirits (aka Samurai Shodown) | 03/16/2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| It Takes Two | 03/26/2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Balan Wonderland | 03/26/2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Terminator: Resistance | 03/26/2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Disco Elysium: The Final Cut | 03/01/2021 (PS5) | PS5 on 03/031/2021; Xbox TBD | Yes | Yes |
| Kena: Bridge of Spirits | March 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Outriders | 04/01/2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Curse of the Sea Rats | 04/01/2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Guilty Gear Strive | 04/09/2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Returnal | 04/30/2021 | PS5 only | No, PS5 exclusive | No |
| Resident Evil Village | 05/07/2021 | Both | Yes, free upgrade | Yes |
| Hood: Outlaws & Legends | 05/10/2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Deathloop | 05/21/2021 | PS5 only | No, PS5 exclusive | Yes |
| Back 4 Blood | 06/22/2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Solar Ash | June 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Little Devil Inside | July 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Ghostwire: Tokyo | October 2021 | PS5 only | No | Yes |
| 12 Minutes | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| Adios | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Aragami 2 | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Blood Bowl 3 | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Braid: Anniversary Edition | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Bright Memory Infinite | 2021 | Xbox only | No, Xbox exclusive | Yes |
| Chernobylite | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Chivalry 2 | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Chorus | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Cris Tales | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| CrossfireX | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes, free upgrade | Yes |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2021 | Both | Yes, free upgrade | Yes |
| CYGNI: All Guns Blazing | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| DARQ: Complete Edition | 2021 | Both | Yes | No |
| Dawn of the Monsters | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Dead Static Drive | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| Doom Eternal | 2021 | Both | Yes, free upgrade | Yes |
| Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Echo Generation | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| EcxoMecha | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| Exo One | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Evil Dead: The Game | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Evil West | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Far Cry 6 | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch | 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach | 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Flea Madness | 2021 | Both | No | Yes |
| Ghostrunner | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| God of War: Ragnarok | 2021 | PS5 only | TBD | TBD |
| Goodbye Volcano High | 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Gotham Knights | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Grand Theft Auto V | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Gran Turismo 7 | 2021 | PS5 only | No | No |
| Graven | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Guilty Gear Strive | 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Halo Infinite | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| Heavenly Bodies | 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Hello Neighbor 2 | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| Hellpoint | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Horizon Forbidden West | 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Hood: Outlaws and Legends | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| In Sound Mind | 2021 | Both | No | Yes |
| Insurgency: Sandstorm | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Jett: The Far Shore | 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| King Arthur: Knight’s Tale | 2021 | Both | No | Yes |
| Lake | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Little Witch in the Woods | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Marvel’s Avengers | 2021 | Both | Yes, free upgrade | Yes |
| Metro Exodus | 2021 | Both | Yes, free upgrade | Yes |
| Microsoft Flight Simulator | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Mundaun | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Neptunia ReVerse | 2021 | PS5 | No | No |
| Oddworld: Soulstorm | 2021 | PS5 | Yes | Yes |
| Party Crasher Simulator | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| Praey for the Gods | 2021 | PS5 | Yes | Yes |
| Psychonauts 2 | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | 2021 | PS5 only | No, PS5 exclusive | No |
| Riders Republic | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| RPG Time | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| R-Type Final 2 | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Ruined King: A League of Legends Story | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Sable | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| Scarlet Nexus | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Scorn | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II | 2021 | Xbox only | TBD | Yes |
| She Dreams Elsewhere | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| Shredders | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Song of Iron | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| Stray | 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Subnautica / Subnautica: Below Zero | 2021 | Both | Yes, free upgrade | Yes |
| S.T.A.L.E.R. 2 | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Temtem | 2021 (Xbox) | PS5 and PC available now; Xbox in 2021 | Yes | Yes |
| The Artful Escape | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| The Ascent | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes, free upgrade | Yes |
| The Big Con | 2021 | Xbox only | No, Xbox exclusive | Yes |
| The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| The Elder Scrolls Online | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| The Gunk | 2021 | Xbox only | Yes | Yes |
| The Last Stop | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| The Wild at Heart | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 2021 | Both | Yes, free upgrade | Yes |
| Tribes of Midgard | 2021 | PS5 only | Yes | Yes |
| Tunic | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Unlimited Fishing Simulator 2 | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong | 2021 | Both | No | Yes |
| War Mongrels | 2021 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Warhammer 40,000: Darktide | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Way to the Woods | 2021 | Xbox only | No | Yes |
| Project Athia | January 2022 | PS5 only | No, PS5 exclusive | Yes |
| Ark 2 | 2022 | Xbox only | No, Xbox exclusive | Yes |
| Hogwarts Legacy | 2022 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League | 2022 | Both | TBD | Yes |
| The Callisto Protocol | 2022 | Both | No | Yes |
| The Lord of the Rings: Gollum | 2022 | Both | Yes | Yes |
| Pragmata | 2023 | Both | TBD | Yes |
Update November 4th, 2020, 12:35PM ET: Added that ARK: Survival Evolved recently released an Xbox Series X enhancement update that will be available to new console owners on launch day.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated Haven would be a PS5-only release and that War Thunder would be Xbox Series-only at launch. Those are incorrect; Haven is also coming to Xbox Series X and Xbox One and as part of Game Pass at launch, and War Thunderis slated for PS5 mid-November. We regret the errors.
Update January 15th, 2021, 5PM ET: Updated to add additional titles releasing in 2021 and update any games that may have been delayed into this year.