The best fighting games for Xbox Series X

The Xbox Series X has some exciting new fighting games planned for the future. Developers at Capcom announced that Street Fighter 6 should hit shelves sometime in 2023. Meanwhile, devs on the Tekken 8 team said the game was only “in the development stage.” While a summer 2023 release is possible, we’ll have to wait in see. But if you’re itching to unleash some crushing combos and visceral finishers, here’s a list of the best fighting games for Xbox Seris X.

Mortal Kombat 11 set a new mark for visuals and nuanced combat, combining some of the best parts of previous titles for buttery-smooth gameplay, a relatively easy learning curve for new players, and tons of fun options for customizing (kustomizing?) both your character and their move sets depending on how you want to play. The game modes in 11 are also a ton of fun. The story mode is back and flashier than ever with lots of timeline hijinks, there’s a tower mode for all kinds of challenges and reward options to help you progress, and the Krypt gives you hundreds of various items to unlock as you win points and unlock a whole island of secrets. MK11 is also one of the only fighting titles to be optimized for the Series X (other studios aren’t as interested in Series X optimization or are waiting for future titles to do so). That means it benefits from the 4K, 60 frames per second quality, which in turn benefits competitive players looking to improve their reaction times.

Read our full Mortal Kombat 11 review

The King of Fighters XV

Platforms PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

Genre Fighting

Developer SNK Corporation

Publisher Koch Media, SNK Corporation

Release February 17, 2022

If you want to stay on top of the latest fighting games for the Xbox Series X, make sure to put King of Fighters 15 on your list. It’s not quite out yet, but the game will launch on February 17 with complete Series X optimization. It’s also set to be a particularly massive sequel for the series, combining heroes from all sagas for 39 confirmed characters. It will also bring back 3v3 Team Battles along with a new version of the MAX Mode and a new technique called Shatter Strike to make battles more interesting … plus a major netcode upgrade to help online tournaments work better. With so many reasons to check this game out, it’s an easy recommendation for Series X owners.

Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition

Platforms Xbox One

Genre Fighting

Developer Code Mystics

Publisher Xbox Game Studios

Release September 20, 2016

When Killer Instinct first hit Game Pass, most of it was locked behind paywalls, and fans weren’t exactly pleased with the execution. But the Definitive Edition is the perfect anecdote if you’ve been missing all your favorite monsters: It includes all 26 characters in the game, 60 fps support that makes it a great companion title for the Series X, and Xbox Play Anywhere support to help keep the community strong for those who love online combat. Get your fix of intense combo building and creature features with no downsides!

Brawlhalla

Platforms PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Genre Fighting, Platform, Indie, Arcade

Developer Blue Mammoth Games

Publisher Blue Mammoth Games, Ubisoft

Release April 30, 2014

Brawhalla has been around for quite a while, but that’s what makes it special: It’s a unique platform fighter that supports up to eight players online or locally, an excellent option for those who like to duel things out Smash-style while navigating platforms. It’s unique because of its rotating roster, switching which nine characters (many from popular franchises) are available to play any given week, keeping things fresh and interesting. Plus, it’s totally free to download and try even if you aren’t on Game Pass!

Tekken 7

Platforms PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Arcade

Genre Fighting

Developer Bandai Namco Studios

Publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment

Release February 18, 2015

Tekken demands a lot from its players and rewards them with incredible, god-like move sets once a character has been mastered. Tekken 7 is a particularly good example of this thanks to its gorgeous graphics, which make pulling off just the right moves even more satisfying. The story is also particularly strong this time, and cool modes like Treasure Battle allow you to gather cosmetics as you go. If you’ve been missing snappy fist-to-fist fighting with 3D movement in your life, Tekken 7 will fill that gap and then some.

SoulCalibur VI

Platforms PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Genre Fighting

Developer Project Soul

Publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment

Release October 18, 2018

Soulcalibur takes the “eternally retold” part of its slogan very seriously with the sixth entry in the series, which completely reboots the storyline, rewinding it all the way back to when many of the events of the previous games hadn’t happened (and might never happen). Fans broadly agreed that the change was an enormous improvement — the excellent new gameplay also helped, featuring a couple of new systems along with the many flashy weapon moves that players enjoy. The 3D movement in the game is also some of the best available if you really like navigating an arena. Along with the RPG story mode, there’s a character timeline to explore and a full roster to experiment with, along with guest characters like Geralt of Rivia and 2B! If you prefer fighting with weapons and like lots of entertaining moves without the need to memorize long combo chains, this may be a perfect fit.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Platforms PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Genre Fighting

Developer Arc System Works

Publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment

Release January 26, 2018

FighterZ remains king of the anime fighting genre, perfect for those who love building up to enormous attacks based on Dragon Ball moves, with a roster of everyone’s favorite characters to pick from. There’s a ton of fun to be had here, from the six-player Party mode to 3v3 tag games for carefully planning out your team to maximum effect. If there’s no such thing as an attack that’s too big or over the top, you’ll want to dash into the frenetic FighterZ gameplay ASAP.

The best fighting games for Xbox Series X

Further reading

Editors' Recommendations