The best multiplayer games on the Xbox Series X

What list of multiplayer games would be complete without the latest in the biggest multiplayer shooter franchise of the past decade? If you’re a fan of FPS games, odds are you’ve played at least one Call of Duty game in the past, but there’s no denying how well the franchise has aged. Call of Duty: Vanguard is the latest installment from the war shooter and has all the bells and whistles you come to expect. There are a ton of competitive game modes to try out, with classics like Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, and Domination all making a return. The light RPG and progression systems of leveling up weapons, unlocking new attachments and perks, and rising through the ranks are as compelling as ever. Then there’s the new iteration of the Zombies mode, which can easily consume dozens of hours if you want to go deep into it. Call of Duty: Warzone is technically not part of Vanguard and is instead a standalone download, but it’s essentially the series’ ongoing battle royale mode. You can pick it up for free and essentially add this massive new mode to your COD experience. Battle royales have become the most popular form of multiplayer gaming in the last few years, so it wasn’t a big surprise when Activision released their own spin on the genre. What was surprising was just how well they pulled it off. If you want the rock-solid gunplay of the COD series mixed with the fast and frenetic chaos of a massive battle royale, Warzone is the way to go.

Fans of the Left 4 Dead games, rejoice. The studio that brought us the seminal co-op zombie shooter has returned with a brand new game that looks to be the spiritual sequel to the incredibly addicting zombie titles. Back 4 Blood is everything you’d want from an evolved Left 4 Dead title, plus a handful of new mechanics to spice things up round after round. You and three pals will team up to shoot and smash your way through hoards of the undead with various weapons, but you also have to pay attention to the new card system. You will bring in cards to buff yourself, but other cards will also make things more difficult in a variety of ways, so you never know what’s around the next corner.

There’s no genre of game more ubiquitous with multiplayer than fighting games. And if you’re looking for the best playing fighter on the Series X, there’s no better choice than Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate. This updated version of the game is packed with content. You get the base game, which has a celebrated story mode that is actually fantastic, plus both Kombat packs and the Aftermath expansion with even more story content. All told, you’re jumping into a game with a roster of 37 total characters, including some awesome cameo characters. Plus, on your Series X, you can enjoy all the blood and gore at 4K dynamic resolution, 120 fps goodness, and cross-play support.

One of the newer battle royale games on the market, Apex Legends came out of nowhere, almost literally, and immediately established itself as one of the heavy hitters for online games. Aside from also being free, which is always a huge bonus, Apex Legends carved out its own space in the genre by focusing on squads of three distinct characters working together with tight, tactical gunplay. Each character feels like they come from a hero shooter like Overwatch, but the game feel is something of a mix between the fluid movement of Titanfall 2 and the snappy responsiveness of a Call of Duty game, which all makes perfect sense considering the developers.