The past decade has been a renaissance for the horror video game genre, with the most damning proof being the huge success that was Resident Evil 7Resident Evil 7 returned horror's biggest franchise to its roots after a few action-oriented outings, delivering a game that not only earned critical acclaim, but now enjoys the distinction of being the best-selling Resident Evil game ever. Many other horror titles have found a great deal of success in the past decade as well, and it looks like that momentum is going to continue into the new generation of consoles.

Multiple horror game projects have been announced for next-generation consoles, with a number of them skipping current-gen platforms to support the new systems entirely. And one console in particular has gotten a number of high profile horror games announced for it: Microsoft's Xbox Series X.

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The Xbox Series X is struggling a bit right now thanks to the unfortunate Halo Infinite delay that saw its flagship game pushed out of its launch window, but the console may still be a worthwhile investment for horror enthusiasts. Here are all the biggest horror games that are coming to Xbox Series X in 2020 and beyond.

Multi-Platform Horror Games

xbox series x horror games

Most horror games happen to be from third-party developers and publishers, meaning that they are multi-platform releases that will come to more than just the Xbox Series X. A number of multi-platform horror games for PS5 and Xbox Series X have been announced so far, but the most high profile is easily Resident Evil 8. The followup to Resident Evil 7RE8 looks like it will be embracing the franchise's horror roots even further, with players exploring a creepy mountain village populated by all kinds of strange monsters and supernatural creatures. Utilizing the power of next-generation technology, Resident Evil 8 isn't being held back by current-gen ports, and is quite easily one of the most exciting horror games on the horizon.

Fans will have to wait until 2021 to get their hands on Resident Evil 8, but there's another multi-platform horror game coming to Xbox Series X that will be available to play much sooner. Bloober Team's Observer: System Redux is an enhanced port of the studio's well-received cyberpunk horror game that cranks up the graphical quality considerably. Observer: System Redux doesn't have a specific release date just yet, but it's expected to drop this holiday season and it wouldn't be surprising to see it end up as a launch title for the new systems.

And finally, horror fans can also look forward to titles like the open world game Dying Light 2 and the long-awaited horror RPG Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. It's unclear exactly when those particular multi-platform horror games will be available, but they should be out within the next couple of years. In the meantime, there will be many other smaller-scale indie horror projects released for both consoles as well.

Xbox Series X Console Exclusive Horror Games

why scorn is on xbox

While the Xbox Series X has a number of promising multi-platform horror games set to launch for it in 2020 and 2021, the real reason why it's shaping up to be such a strong console for horror games is because of its console exclusives. Microsoft's decision to do away with pure console exclusives means that these horror games will also be available on PC, but these titles will still be selling points for horror fans that prefer playing on console.

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Perhaps the most notable Xbox Series X console exclusive horror game is Bloober Team's The Medium. The latest project from the developers of the aforementioned Observer and 2019's Blair WitchThe Medium looks to be doing innovative things in the horror genre space, gameplay-wise. The Medium sees players take on the role of a psychic who is able to explore two dimensions simultaneously, which is a unique gameplay mechanic that the developers have claimed would be impossible to pull off on weaker hardware. This makes The Medium an especially exciting Xbox Series X game, and combined with the fact that it will be available for the console this holiday season, the game is shaping up to be one of the biggest Xbox Series X games of the year.

Another Xbox Series X console exclusive horror game in development is the bizarre Scorn, which is a first-person shooter that's definitely looking to gross players out with its shocking imagery. It will be joined by Martha is Dead, which is a World War 2-era horror game that is looking to feature photo-realistic graphics. Martha is Dead was originally announced for PlayStation 5, but it was recently confirmed that the game would be skipping PS5 in favor of being an Xbox Series X console exclusive instead. Not much else is known about it, but the latest Martha is Dead trailer had a rather gruesome scene of someone cutting the face off of a corpse and wearing it as their own, so it should definitely send chills down players' spines when it launches in 2021.

The games mentioned so far are expected to launch for Xbox Series X either at launch, in the launch window, or at some point in 2021. Looking even further ahead, though, Microsoft has announced State of Decay 3 for the Xbox Series X as well. The latest entry in the open world zombie game series, State of Decay 3 fans only have a cinematic trailer to go by, but it will definitely be interesting to see how the game turns out.

PS5 Will Have Great Horror, Too

quantum error ps5 exclusive xbox series x

The Xbox Series X is shaping up to be a great console for horror gaming enthusiasts, but that doesn't mean that the PlayStation 5 doesn't have exciting horror games to offer as well. Along with the aforementioned multi-platform games, PS5 fans can look forward to Quantum Error, which is a science-fiction horror game that appears to be taking inspiration from titles like Dead Space. Rumor has it that Sony also has a PS5 exclusive Silent Hill game in active development as well, and while that has yet to be confirmed, it has been leaked by reliable sources.

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