New PlayStation Game Officially Third Best Xbox Series X Game in 2026

Right now, the third-best game on Xbox Series X, so far this year, is a PlayStation game. What makes this more surprising is the fact that the PlayStation game on Series X only has an 84 on Metacritic, a solid score, but a score that should not make it the third-highest-rated Xbox Series X game in 2026. This highlights a much larger problem with the Xbox Series X right now, which is that, so far, a majority of the best games released do not have Xbox Series X versions. Some are PC exclusives, while others are Switch and PS5 exclusives. Some are multi-platform, but multi-platform does not include Xbox Series X.

The highest-rated Xbox Series X game of 2026 is Capcom’s Resident Evil Requiem. The second-highest-rated Xbox Series X game of 2026 is Capcom’s Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. And then third is PlayStation’s Marathon. Now, there is an important distinction to make, which is ranked by the review scores specifically for the Xbox Series X versions. Most games are multi-platform, and they may have higher scores on another platform, but a lower score on Xbox Series X or no score at all. If you factor this in, it’s the eighth highest-rated Xbox Series X game of 2026, because the PS5 version has the most reviews, and this version has an 81 on Metacritic. No matter how you filter and organize the review scores, though, Marathon is one of the highest-rated Xbox Series X games of 2026, and PlayStation ranks higher than Xbox Game Studios.

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A Familiar Face for Xbox Fans

What makes Marathon more than just a PlayStation game for Xbox fans is the fact it is a Bungie game. Bungie, for those who do not know, was once owned by Xbox and was the creator of the Halo series, which it helmed until it left Xbox and handed the series over to 343 Industries/Halo Studios with Halo 4.

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Xbox Store Finally Gets Feature PlayStation Store Users Have Been Enjoying for Awhile

Those on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S who are interested in reuniting with Bungie via Marathon will need to fork over $40 for the first-person shooter extraction game. So far, on the Xbox Store, the PlayStation game has a 4/5 star rating after more than 1,100 user reviews.

Come the end of the year, Marathon will be nowhere near the highest-rated Xbox Series X games, but right now it is, and it highlights a problem for the Xbox console: you have to be on other platforms to keep many of the best games any given year.

All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or, alternatively, hop over to the ComicBook Forum and discuss there.