Summary
- Xbox Game Pass offers a variety of FPS titles that cater to different playstyles and preferences.
- Some of these entries offer a unique team-based experience with strategic elements and immersive gameplay.
- Others provide more of an engrossing single-player FPS experience with enjoyable combat and quirky characters.
First-person shooters have long been one of the industry’s most popular genres, and little has changed concerning that over the years. It’s easy to see why — stepping into a first-person perspective and blasting your way to a good time is a classic recipe for success.
Xbox Game Pass: How To Subscribe And What Games Are Available
Xbox Game Pass packs a lot of value into its subscription model — here are all the details you need to know, from price to recently added games.
Luckily for subscribers, the Xbox Game Pass library is full to bursting with exciting FPS titles that take the genre to new places. From tactical shooter experiences to rather epic slow-motion puzzle shoot-outs, Xbox Game Pass has you covered. Read on if you want to discover your next favorite FPS game.
Don't yet have Xbox Game Pass?
High On Life
High on Life
- Released
- December 13, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- FPS
High on Life stands out from the other FPS offerings on Xbox Game Pass in more ways than one. Not only does it mix some platforming in with its more shooty-shooty features, but its humor is off the charts. Every weapon you hold in your hand, from melee-oriented sword-things to doughy guns with faces, speaks to you throughout your adventure. The zaniness of High on Life cannot be understated.
If you have a low tolerance for crude jokes, High on Life is definitely going to test your limits. But if you enjoy immersing yourself in classic Rick-and-Morty-esque laughs, this game was made for you. Not every first-person shooter game has to involve deathmatch; some just need to take you on a hilarious space-faring journey with a talking gun.
Doom: The Dark Ages
Look further down this list and you’ll find most of the Doom games already on here. And after playing through The Dark Ages, you’ll be happy to know it’s one hell of a good FPS game. (I’m sure that’s the first time you’ve heard that joke.)
Let’s address the elephant in the room. How does Dark Ages compare to 2016 and Eternal? In many ways, it’s not as good as previous entries in Bethesda’s take on the Doom series. However, being just shy of “superbly perfect” still makes Dark Ages stand out as a fantastic first-person shooter.
Doomguy is back, but this time with a kick-ass shield. As the Doom Slayer, you can raise your shield to block and parry demon attacks, and then blam-shoot and whump-bash them into oblivion. You can also use your shield as a zooming ram to close the gap between you and any enemy on the field. (It’s seriously a distance-eliminator on par with the Meat Hook from Eternal.) The story is epic and full of cool moments, though nothing too narratively gripping. That’s okay. We’re here to rip and tear anyways.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Released
- December 9, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
Uncover one of history’s greatest mysteries in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a first-person, single-player adventure set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. The year is 1937, sinister forces are scouring the globe for the secret to an ancient power connected to the Great Circle, and only one person can stop them - Indiana Jones™. You’ll become the legendary archaeologist in this cinematic action-adventure game from MachineGames, the award-winning studio behind the recent Wolfenstein series, and executive produced by Hall of Fame game designer Todd Howard.
YOU ARE INDIANA JONES
Live the adventure as Indy in a thrilling story full of exploration, immersive action, and intriguing puzzles. As the brilliant archaeologist – famed for his keen intellect, cunning resourcefulness, and trademark humor – you will travel the world in a race against enemy forces to discover the secrets to one of the greatest mysteries of all time.
A WORLD OF MYSTERY AWAITS
Travel from the halls of Marshall College to the heart of the Vatican, the pyramids of Egypt, the sunken temples of Sukhothai, and beyond. When a break-in in the dead of night ends in a confrontation with a mysterious colossal man, you must set out to discover the world-shattering secret behind the theft of a seemingly unimportant artifact. Forging new alliances and facing familiar enemies, you’ll engage with intriguing characters, use guile and wits to solve ancient riddles, and survive intense set-pieces.
WHIP-CRACKING ACTION
Indiana’s trademark whip remains at the heart of his gear and can be used to distract, disarm, and attack enemies. But the whip isn’t just a weapon, it’s Indy’s most valuable tool for navigating the environment. Swing over unsuspecting patrols and scale walls as you make your way through a striking world. Combine stealth infiltration, melee combat, and gunplay to combat the enemy threat and unravel the mystery.
THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY
Venture through a dynamic mix of linear, narrative-driven gameplay and open-area maps. Indulge your inner explorer and unearth a world of fascinating secrets, deadly traps,and fiendish puzzles, where anything could potentially hide the next piece of the mystery – or snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?
There are an assortment of FPS games on Xbox Game Pass; you would expect nothing less from the company that now owns Halo and Call of Duty. But if you’re looking for a first-person-shooting kind of experience that’s not necessarily a blueprint of one of these multiplayer games, we’ve got you covered. Separate from the stereotypical shooter experience, we’ve got the phenomenal, story-driven Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
It’s got puzzles and exploration up the wazoo, and the combat is hilariously satisfying. If your guns fail you, you can pick up improvised weapons to chuck at fascists or just throw down with your fists. You can also try stealthing if you want. But is Indiana Jones known for top-notch sneaking around? NO. He’s known for frequently getting caught and having to run and punch his way out of trouble. The Great Circle is a fantastic game and feels like the premier way to experience Indiana Jones’ glory at this point.
Call of Duty Black Ops 6
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Released
- October 25, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- FPS
Black Ops 6 is likely the first Call of Duty title in quite some time that manages to pack in high marks across the entirety of the experience. A strong single player campaign? Check. A multiplayer suite that maintains the series DNA while innovating enough to stay fresh and exciting? Double check. An addictive PvE horde mode to take on with buddies? Yep, triple check. Describing a contemporary Call of Duty title as “innovative” comes with a high set of expectations, but Black Ops 6 pulls it off with aplomb.
The campaign’s progression mechanics do well enough to keep it interesting, but its real strength is in the variation of mission types and design — yes, you’ll have plenty of classic gunfighty goodness, but wrap in a few “open-ended” stealth missions, a passable open world segment, and one particular twist that I won’t do you the disservice of spoiling, and you’ve got one remarkably solid experience on your hands.
The multiplayer, for the most part, packs in the nuts and bolts you’d expect from a CoD multiplayer affair, but it’s the tinkering they’ve done with the moment-to-moment gameplay mechanics that really make it sing. Black Ops has always been the more “movement-inclined” wing of the franchise, and Black Ops 6 moves the bar in that respect with its new “omni-directional” movement. All in all, Black Ops 6 is shaping up to be the franchise’s highest point over the past decade, and it’s worth hoping that trend continues.
Overwatch 2
Overwatch 2
- Released
- August 10, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
Microsoft is really flexing their acquisition muscle with this one — but if you’re looking to sate some intensely team-based multiplayer FPS action, then it’s hard to go wrong with one of the biggest modern multiplayer shooters.
In the event you’ve somehow missed out on the game’s near-decade of life up to this point, Overwatch 2 is essentially the sequel and replacement to the original Overwatch — it’s a competitive hero shooter. You pick from a hefty roster of heroes with unique weapons and special abilities and head into one of a variety of competitive 5v5 game modes to take on the opposing team. If you think along the lines of a streamlined, stylized, and faster-paced Team Fortress 2, then you’re in the neighborhood.
Overwatch (2) is generally well-loved for its diverse roster of highly stylized heroes and the unique playstyles attached to them — from classic support healers like the angelic Mercy to faster-paced, in-your-face damage dealers like Tracer or Genji, there’s a playstyle flavor available for practically any taste. It’s also got a booming competitive scene that it’s never too late to get into.
Doom + Doom II
Doom (1993)
- Released
- December 10, 1993
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter
We’ve managed to get our hands on touched-up official ports of the original Doom classics before — for the most part, they’re pretty barebones beyond some absolute minimums on QOL improvements, or some cherry-picked modding support. But this time? Bethesda and id Software weren’t messing around.
Doom + Doom II is packed to the brim with additional content and modernized features. It’s packaged with no fewer than five complete expansion packs from throughout the game’s history (including a brand new one by Nightdive Studios and MachineGames), a totally remastered OST, full modding support, and online multiplayer matchmaking, practically making this a full remaster. Oh, and if you’ve got the full paid version of Doom or Doom II on your account, you get this for free, whether you’re a Game Pass subscriber or not.
Putting this together was a labor of love for the folks at id Software, and that love definitely shows.
Immortals Of Aveum
Immortals of Aveum
- Released
- August 22, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- FPS
Immortals of Aveum is a sadly well-known game, recognized for flopping hard due to poor sales upon its release. However, despite this, the game itself is not bad at all. It’s actually an incredibly satisfying experience, and many speculate its poor sales had more to do with the triple-A giants that launched during the same release window, its exorbitant budget, and the risk of being a new IP. Its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass (through EA Play) makes it an enticing offering.
In Immortals, you step into a fantastical world where you play as Jak, an up-and-coming mage in a magical war that is tearing apart the different factions of Aveum. How then does this qualify Immortals of Aveum as a great FPS game? Well, it just absolutely nails “magical” shooting. Jak shoots different-colored magic from his fingertips, and while that is a juvenile description on my part, it’s heckin enjoyable combat.
Bright bolts and flashes of red, green, and blue magic fly across the screen accomplishing different things. (Each represents weapons like a shotgun, assault rifle, and sniper rifle.) And as you race through a battle, you’ll find yourself switching between each. So despite the fantasy-setting seasoning, the meat of Immortals of Aveum is an entertaining FPS game with a fun story. What more could you want?
Superhot
Superhot: Mind Control Delete
- Released
- December 7, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Action, First-Person Shooter
Superhot is an FPS experience like no other. You play as a geometric human figure engaging in a variety of shoot-outs against other geometric human figures. The notable difference between this game and others of its like is that time only moves when you do. Every step your character makes pushes time forward. If you stop moving, time stops and your enemies remain motionless.
This allows you to take stock of your position, dodge bullets, toss projectiles, and take cover at a measured pace. This slow take on the shooter genre makes Superhot feel more like a puzzle game, but witnessing your actions in real time after clearing a level makes you feel like a veritable bad-ass.
This won't feel like a typical FPS game, so don't necessarily go into it expecting twitch shooting or anything like that.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
- Released
- November 30, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Action, Science Fiction
Fatshark brought the signature cooperative horde-slaying formula it perfected with Vermintide into the 41st millennium with Darktide — and after nearly a year’s delay, it has managed to make its way to consoles. But considering the game’s teething problems upon launch on PC, it was well worth the wait.
Darktide puts you into the boots of one of four warriors drafted into the service of an Imperial Inquisitor attempting to uproot a particularly nasty band of cultists and traitors that have made a mess of Hive City Tertium. Choose between a mighty, tank-like Ogryn, a fanatical, melee-intensive Zealot, a sharpshooting Veteran trooper, or a Psyker wielding the dangerous, mystical energies of the warp, and after a bit of prologue, get right down to business taking on missions alongside three friends to slay horde after horde of Nurgle-worshipping cultists, plague zombies, and a host of deviously-designed special enemies.
The combat itself is best-in-class, with a wide selection of unlockable and upgradeable weapons available to each character — whether you get your kicks toasting traitors with a flamethrower, smashing through armored behemoths with a power-assisted maul, or slice-and-dicing heretics with a motorized chainsword, Darktide’s got a niche you’ll fall in love with time-and-time again.
Quake II
Quake 2
- Released
- December 9, 1997
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Violence, Language
- Genre(s)
- FPS
A single Quake game was never going to be enough for us. And now thanks to the surprise remastered release of Quake II, we’re just beginning to whet our appetite for phenomenal boomer shooters on Xbox Game Pass. And when we say phenomenal, we mean it in the literal sense of being a phenomenon. Though people widely cite Doom (1993) and the original Quake as being the forefathers of first-person shooters, Quake II did a lot to solidify the foundation for this juggernaut of a genre. And this remaster makes it so you can experience it in the best format possible.
Dive into a local multiplayer match with some friends or play through the co-op campaign, sprinting into the labyrinthine tunnels and colossal arenas of the Strogg city. It’s amazing how high Quake II’s fun factor remains after all these years, and you’re definitely missing out on a diamond of an FPS experience if you don’t give it a try at least once.