Shack Chat: What is your dream Xbox Series X launch title?

With a new Xbox console launching at the end of the year, and the Xbox Games Showcase happening on July 23, now is the best time to get in some ideas for your dream Xbox Series X launch titles. Whether it's a sequel to your favorite Xbox 360 game, a reboot of a long-forgotten OG Xbox title, or a brand new IP by your favorite developer, we want to hear about it. Here are our picks for what launch titles we'd love to see on the Xbox Series X.

Question: What is your dream Xbox Series X launch title?

A New Banjo-Kazooie Game - Asif Khan, Inventor of Shacknews E4

I wish Rare wasn’t so busy kicking butt with Sea of Thieves that they could take a trip down memory lane to a forgotten IP over at Microsoft. A new Banjo-Kazooie game is what the world needs right now. I miss the days of exploring 3D worlds with the loveable bird and bear duo. While the most recent 2008 entry stunk up the joint, I feel like this is the time to showcase the power of the Series X console with a flagship platformer game. Sony has already shown off Ratchet and Clank 4, and we have seen some footage of Crash Bandicoot 4, so I would say it’s about time for a new Banjo-Kazooie game to be announced for the Xbox Series X.

Killer Instinct 2 - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Editor and Arbiter main

It really is pretty remarkable to think about how much the first Killer Instinct reboot was put behind the 8 ball. It got mired in Microsoft's awful marketing push for the Xbox One, it got lambasted by the fighting game community for being an Xbox exclusive to the point that it was booed vociferously by the EVO audience, and it had a developer turnover in the middle of its first year of existence. And yet, Killer Instinct 2 is my dream launch title and I don't think I'm alone on that one. In fact, I know I'm not alone on that, given that YouTubers like Maximilian Christiansen (a.k.a. Maximilian Dood) have been vocal about their desire to see Killer Instinct make a comeback.

That's because Iron Galaxy has done no wrong since they were handed the reins of the first game. They came up with creative characters, a diverse cast, really cool guest fighters (like Halo's Arbiter and Battletoads' Rash), and built upon the foundation of what Double Helix had put together. These guys know what makes a good, balanced, and fun fighting game and I'd love to see them get a shot at KI2 and get in on the ground floor this time around. Let them try for a Supreme Victory.

Crackdown 4 - Blake Morse, Can’t quit the Crackdown

Look, listen, hear me out on this. Okay, Crackdown 3 came and went and it was, to most people, not a great experience. But this isn’t about what the vocal minority wants, this is my dream Xbox Series X launch title, and I want Crackdown to get another shot at redemption. They could basically do all the cool stuff I thought they’d do with 3 and I’d be fine with it. Hell, they could make a “Crackdown 3: We’re Really Sorry Edition” and that would probably be enough to satiate me. Also, for the record, let’s not forget who almost convinced everyone at Shacknews that 3 was the Xbox exclusive GOTY in 2019.

Monster Truck/Motocross/Midtown Madness 2K20 - Chris Jarrard, Doing it in the air

Microsoft is always not being cool and refusing to bring back the big guns for a new generation. If I had my way, the Xbox Series X launch would feature a new release that offered re-imagined versions of these PC gaming classics in a single package with full online support, livery editing, vehicle destruction, and ragdoll physics. 

In a perfect world, the original developers would be brought in, but that may be easier said than done more than twenty years after these games released. Midtown Madness developer Angel Studios eventually became Rockstar San Diego (of Red Dead Redemption fame), Monster Truck Madness developer Terminal Reality went to heaven at the end of the Xbox 360 console generation, and Motocross Madness developer Rainbow Studios have been iterating on the same basic design for multiple publishers to this day. I hope my dreams can come true, because these games are dope.

Blinx the Time Sweeper - Sam Chandler, Cat Mascot

I had originally started out writing about Fable, but I quickly realized that there is a wealth of fantastic franchises that existed back on the OG Xbox. Blinx the Time Sweeper was one such franchise, and although it wasn’t the most well-received, it is something incredibly unique and a genre Xbox doesn’t really have.

For those not in the know, Blinx has players taking control of a cat that controls time using a vacuum cleaner called a Sweeper. By collecting crystals, players can pause, fast-forward, rewind, and record themselves for the purpose of solving time-based puzzles.

There’s plenty of platforming and puzzles to be found in Blinx, and given the right love and care, it could be Xbox’s answer to a Mario-like experience.

Of course, there are a myriad of other Xbox games and franchises I’d love to see on the Xbox Series X. Among them are Perfect Dark, Fable, Voodoo Vince, Jet Set Radio Future, MechAssault, Phantom Crash, the list goes on. Xbox has a wealth of IPs at its disposal. 

Fuzion Frenzy - Donovan Erskine, Contributing Editor

I’d love for Xbox to bring back their party series in full force for the Series X. I think of mini games like Twisted System and Sumo and how awesome they would be with modern technology. With all of the fancy new advantages of the Series X, Microsoft could breathe new life into the long dormant Fusion Frenzy franchise. If it’s a success, boom. Microsoft has another big first party series on its hands. If it underperforms, oh well, nobody was really checking for the Fusion Frenzy franchise anyway.

Rock Band 5 - Brittany Vincent, Senior Editor

Nothing came to me off the top of my head, but given that I play Rock Band 4 on Xbox One weekly, I would love to see Rock Band 5 finally announced. I know it won't be, because no one cares to make music games anymore and people don't know how to have fun, but it would certainly warm my heart to have an updated version of Rock Band on a next-gen platform. I'd like to bring all my 500 pieces of DLC over and have far fewer loading times. Even though   I use it as a karaoke game or split duties with a guitar player usually or trade off, it's an important staple in my gaming diet and it deserves a next-gen title. 

Sunset Overdrive 2 - Bill Lavoy, Eater of Worlds

Honestly, one of my fondest memories from the Xbox One was playing Sunset Overdrive. It’s one of the first games I played on the Xbox One (after the original Titanfall), and I had a blast from start to finish. It might not be a system seller, but I’d be more than jazzed to know that when I purchased my Xbox Series X, Sunset Overdrive 2 was waiting for me to jump in.

Jet Set Radio Future - Josh Hawkins, Guides Guy

There are a ton of great games I’d love to see make the jump from the OG library to the Xbox Series X and chief among them is Jet Set Radio Future. While I’m always excited about new IPs, and always sad to see them vanish before release (looking at you Scalebound), I don’t think any game has ever come close to hitting the same notes that Jet Set Radio Future did when it release back in 2002.

In fact, the idea of a game based around inline skating might seem silly to anyone who didn’t play Jet Set Radio Future, but I assure you it’s a lot cooler than it probably sounds. In Jet Set Radio Future, players had to skate around the world performing different tricks, tagging areas of the city with graffiti to claim them for their group, all while having the time of their lives skating it up in a futuristic Tokyo setting. It was a fantastic game and one that we’ve yet to see get any kind of love since the OG Xbox.

The Xbox Series X would be a perfect opportunity to bring the franchise back to the forefront of gaming and give younger gamers a chance to explore one of the best Xbox classics around.

Crimson Skies - TJ Denzer, flying around at the speed of News

Crimson Skies is a fascinating universe to me. In a world where the United States was broken up by a number of factors, the highways and road systems fell into disuse as air travel and technology became key to transportation across the country. There have been quite a few games in the Crimson Skies universe, but not a video game since 2003 with the excellent Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge.

There isn't exactly a lack of flight sim or combat games in this era, but I still feel like Crimson Skies is too good of an IP to leave alone. It could be done as your standard arcade combat game or PvP competitive game as the previous ones were, or they could get even more crazy with it. I would love to see a Crimson Skies MMO where we take on the role of a freelancer in this universe building up and maintaining our plane and rep in any given region, taking on more and more dangerous jobs, fighting off pirates in the uncontrollered areas of the airways, and waging full-fledged blimp-filled aerial dog fights and battles against other player factions. The Crimson Skies universe has the foundation for that, and yet it goes unfulfilled.

There are likely plenty of other IPs that will continue to get the rub on the Xbox Series X before Crimson Skies. New Halos and Fables are fine and dandy, but with as much opportunity as there is in the Crimson Skies canon and the sheer amount of gaming tech advancement since 2003, I feel it absolutely has to have a new game some year soon. Why not now?

Ninja Gaiden - David L. Craddock, long reads editor

Remaster, remake, reboot--I don’t care how series protagonist and Dead or Alive corkscrew-suplexing badass Ryu Hayabusa gets back to hacking and slashing, I just want him back. 2004’s Ninja Gaiden remains my favorite exclusive on the OG Xbox. Ryu’s graced other platforms since then, and I’d support another multiplatform venture. But as someone who reveled in mastering one of the era’s toughest games, I’d prefer to wield an Xbox controller while my old buddy Ryu wields his sword.

Banjo-Kazooie - Steve Tyminski, Contributing Editor

What is my ideal Xbox Series X launch title? It feels like an ideal time for the next, Banjo-Kazooie game to release. Usually consoles need decent games to help get said console to the masses and Banjo-Kazooie would do just that for the new Xbox. However, with Banjo-Kazooie getting into Super Smash Bros on the Switch, it does give a little bit of hope that we might get that Banjo game on Nintendo systems. The classic music and feel would give players nostalgia as well as open their wallets for whatever developer/console it’s on.

All this talk of Xbox sequels and reboots is getting us excited for what's in store for us in the Xbox Games Showcase on July 23. Make sure you keep it locked to Shacknews as we'll be covering the event and all the games that get announced. Perhaps even a title from this list will make an appearance. What's your dream Xbox Series X launch title? Let us know in the Chatty thread!

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.