Developers Outright Games and Casual Brothers have announced The Elf on the Shelf: Christmas Heroes, a new Christmas-themed family-friendly game. The Elf on the Shelf: Christmas Heroes is based on Lumistella Company's popular The Elf on the Shelf franchise, and is due out on October 17, 2025 for PS4, PS5, Switch, and Xbox platforms.
It may be summer in many parts of the world at the time of this writing, but the Christmas holidays are coming sooner than one might think. People everywhere will be gearing up to shop for Christmas gifts for their friends and loved ones, or making plans to settle down for a fun Christmas movie when the occasion arrives. In the gaming world, games launch Christmas-themed events or release holiday DLC to take advantage of the festive mood and iconic motifs. Occasionally, even fully Christmas-themed game releases are on the table to enjoy.
One such game will be The Elf on the Shelf: Christmas Heroes, which was just announced for release this October 17, 2025, on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Based on the well-known The Elf on the Shelf franchise, Christmas Heroes will put players in control of their very own Scout Elf (i.e. The titular shelf-sitting elf), ready to bring Christmas cheer and report back to Santa.
The Elf on the Shelf: Christmas Heroes Announced for October 17, 2025 Release Date
The Elf on the Shelf: Christmas Heroes takes the form of a 3D mascot game in the vein of the best classic 3D platformers, this time featuring a Scout Elf that players can customize themselves. Scout Elves can take on a variety of appearances and wear different outfits and accessories. They'll also be able to explore the environment, overcome platforming challenges, collect items, and play various minigames. Some of the minigames Scout Elves can engage in include maze navigation and even a variation on the classic card-based memory challenge.
Christmas Heroes is also being developed by Outright Games, which has a long track-record in family-friendly game development. Outright-developed hits like Barbie Project Friendship and Spongebob Squarepants: The Patrick Star Game have made impressive headway with younger players on services like Xbox Game Pass, as well as through boxed and digital sales.
The announcement of a Christmas-themed game in July might seem a bit early, but Christmas Heroes acknowledges that fact right in its own announcement trailer, showing one of the titular Scout Elves enjoying a beach holiday as a call to duty comes in. That being said, there's some virtue to a mid-year announcement. Timed to be available well ahead of the holiday shopping rush, The Elf on the Shelf: Christmas Heroes could be positioned to become a great family-friendly game to gift for Christmas.