The Best Xbox Game Every Year 2001 - 2024

With heads of the Xbox brand laser-focused on building the value of Game Pass as a one-stop shop since its release in June 2017, Xbox One’s roster of 2018 exclusives was almost non-existent. Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2 and even Sea of Thieves all launched to tepid results.

However, over time the clear winner of that trio has not only risen up as one of the best games of it's year across the but also done so as one of the best examples of live service done right.

Sea of Thieves’ biggest draws have always been its social aspects and freedom, allowing teams of players to board their custom ships and follow their hearts. There’s treasure to be found, other pirates to battle and monsters in the deep to flee from. Each moment of tension, panic and loss makes every shared success at discovery or victory that much sweeter.

It's Rare's commitment to quality that turned the game around, even going so far as to secure license deals with Secret of Monkey Island and Pirates of the Caribbean for beefy stories that fit so joyfully into the tapestry of the Devil's Shroud.

Sea of Thieves launched as a very pretty game with that distinctive Rare charm but nothing beyond the surface. In one of gaming’s greatest redemption arcs, it slowly became one of the most rewarding online games still active today, proving its worth to the 30,000 players it still retains six years later.