By Sagar V. Mankar 
Xbox has unveiled its 2024 Excellence Awards, offering a unique spotlight on the year’s most remarkable video games. Unlike traditional gaming awards that focus solely on critical acclaim, Xbox has created a more comprehensive approach to recognizing outstanding titles across four distinctive categories. Announced through Xbox Wire, these awards celebrate games that excelled in categories like player reviews, engagement, daily active users, and sales.
Titles like Persona 3 Reload, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, and Fortnite are among those celebrated. Meanwhile, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 stood out by earning recognition across multiple categories, demonstrating its widespread appeal.
The awards also spotlight games like Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and EA Sports FC 25, showcasing the diversity in genres and player preferences.
Categories and Selection Criteria
- Store Rating: Recognizes games with the highest ratings on Microsoft and Xbox stores. To qualify, a game must have a minimum of 500 player reviews, ensuring broad feedback.
- Player Engagement: Highlights games that achieved the highest average playtime per player during the first six weeks after release, showcasing their ability to keep players hooked.
- Daily Active Users: Includes games that maintained a significant number of active players throughout 2024. This category also recognizes older titles that received meaningful updates, such as Bethesda Game Studios’ Fallout 4.
- Units Sold: Focuses on the best-selling games across Xbox and Microsoft stores, reflecting their commercial success.
All-Winners:
Store Rating
- Balatro
- Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
- Botany Manor
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Little Kitty, Big City
- Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP
- Metaphor ReFantazio
- Nobody Wants to Die
- Persona 3 Reload
- Poppy Playtime: Chapter 1, 2, 3
- Return to Grace
- Rounds
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
- Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
- Sonic X Shadow Generations
- Still Wakes the Deep
- The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
- The Outlast Trials
- Unicorn Overlord
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Player Engagement
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Dragon’s Dogma 2
- EA Sports College Football 25
- EA Sports FC 25
- F1 Manager 24
- Farming Simulator 25
- Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail
- House Flipper 2
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Metaphor ReFantazio
- MLB The Show 24
- NBA 2K25
- New World: Aeternum
- NHL 25
- Path of Exile 2
- Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
- Skull and Bones
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
- WWE WK24
Daily Active Users
- Apex Legends
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Dead Island 2
- Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred
- EA Sports College Football 25
- EA Sports FC 25
- Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
- Fallout 4
- Fortnite
- Forza Horizon 5
- Grand Theft Auto Online
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Marvel Rivals
- Minecraft
- MLB The Show 24
- Palworld
- Roblox
- Rocket League
- Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Units Sold
- 7 Days to Die
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero
- Dragon’s Dogma 2
- EA Sports College Football 25
- EA Sports FC 25
- EA Sports Madden NFL 25
- Farming Simulator 25
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
- MLB The Show 24
- NBA 2K25
- NHL 25
- Palworld
- Phasmophobia
- Star Wars Outlaws
- The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
- WWE 2K24
Note: The list doesn’t order in terms of quantity or numerically like a “top-downloaded games” list, but rather alphabetically.
Developers behind these celebrated games will soon receive physical trophies as a token of appreciation. Xbox has also curated a special store page where players can explore and purchase these award-winning titles.
Looking Ahead
With a strong 2024 behind them, Xbox Game Studios is gearing up for an exciting 2025. Major first-party titles like Avowed (February 18), South of Midnight (April 8), and Doom: The Dark Ages (May 15) are set to launch. Third-party contributions, including Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Ninja Gaiden 4, will further enrich the gaming landscape.