Xbox is turning 25 years old in a matter of months, and while there have been many leadership changes with Microsoft Gaming recently, 2026 is overall a time for Xbox developers and fans alike to reflect on the brand.
For 25 years, the Xbox and its numerous consoles have helped shape 21st century gaming with several industry impacts and innovations, such as the multimedia franchise juggernaut Halo, the motion sensor Kinect, and even the revolutionary subscription service Xbox Game Pass.
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Despite recent financial and hardware hurdles, the Xbox brand is still looked back on fondly for being home to platforms that fostered countless childhood memories, especially for those who grew up on the original Xbox and Xbox 360.
Xbox hardware itself has been highly celebrated over the years, but there are many games released during the original Xbox era that impacted not only Xbox and the greater gaming landscape, but other media realms and mediums as well.
10
Star Wars: Republic Commando
The Tactical Side of Star Wars
Several fantastic Star Wars games were released during the era of the original Xbox, with a few even being released as Xbox exclusives. One of the best was the tactical FPS game, Star Wars: Republic Commando.
Set throughout the Clones Wars, Republic Commando follows the four-man Republic Clone Commando team Delta Squad as they’re sent out to complete highly dangerous, priority one missions that most Clone Troopers and even Jedi couldn’t complete on their own.
Republic Commando was one of the best FPS games released during the sixth console generation as it featured intense gameplay against Battle Droids, Geonosians, and Trandoshans alike while featuring some of the best squad mechanics ever seen in gaming with the player-character Boss able to order his squadmates to move position and complete various tasks.
These squad-based mechanics and relationships went on to inspire numerous other games, books, and shows, with RC specifically being used as a source of inspiration for the fireteams in Halo 5: Guardians, albeit to a far less successful degree.
9
MechAssault
The Launch of Xbox Live
One of the most innovative creations that debuted on the original Xbox was Xbox Live, one of the first online multiplayer gaming services designed for home consoles, and one of the first games to successfully show the potential of online console multiplayer was MechAssault.
A spinoff of the multimedia BattleTech franchise, MechAssault launched that same day as the launch of Xbox Live in November 2002 and set the groundwork for most online lobbies and matchmaking systems seen in console multiplayer games today, such as Quick Matches and the ability to host and invite friends to online games.
MechAssault was additionally one of the first console games to receive DLC throughout 2003 in the form of new maps, game types, and even new types of mechs to pilot, such as the fast light mech Raven and the active camouflage-capable heavy mech Loki.
Even though MechAssault never received any sequels on succeeding Xbox consoles, it’s still looked back on fondly by many for showcasing how fun online console multiplayer can be, especially when playing in massive, destructive mechs.
8
Unreal Championship
A Precursor to Gears of War
Developer | Epic Games |
|---|---|
Platforms | Xbox |
Release Date | 2002 |
MechAssault wasn’t the only online console multiplayer game to launch the same day as Xbox Live, however, as it was joined by another popular multiplayer game, Unreal Championship.
The first Unreal game to be designed for a console release, Unreal Championship was a fast-paced, Doom-like FPS game centered around bulky, gun-wielding Champions fighting it out in various matches against other players or CPUs, such as Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag.
Beyond being the first Unreal game designed specifically for consoles, Unreal Championship is impactful for numerous reasons, including being the first console game to receive a downloadable patch and being the start of Epic Games’ long relationship with the Xbox.
Many other Unreal games would be released for the Xbox and Xbox 360, but one game that was developed alongside Championship was Unreal Warfare, which eventually evolved into Gears of War as Epic saw audiences shift more towards story-focused games, becoming the second most popular Xbox-exclusive franchise.
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7
Ninja Gaiden
Popularizing Hardcore Difficulty
Similar to Unreal Championship, other video game franchises saw new life on the original Xbox, with a perfect example being 2004’s Ninja Gaiden reboot.
Unlike the 2D side-scrolling hack and slash Ninja Gaiden games released in arcades and on Nintendo consoles, 2004’s Ninja Gaiden is a far more visceral and realistic hack and slash game, with the game being portrayed from a third-person perspective similar to Devil May Cry.
Here, players embody the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as he sets out to achieve vengeance for the destruction of his village by raiding ninjas and monsters alike.
What makes Ninja Gaiden impactful is how it popularized difficult to master gameplay similar to later Dark Souls games, as Ryu only has a few abilities and weapons to use, requiring patience and mastery of skills Ryu has to complete the game.
6
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
A Precursor to Assassin’s Creed
Ninja Gaiden wasn’t the only long-running video game franchise to be successfully rebooted on the original Xbox as the primarily PC-based Prince of Persia series saw renewed life and earned a fond legacy with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
The Sands of Time follows the titular Prince as he and the Princess of India, Farah, strive to save the people of Azad with the Dagger of Time after they’re accidentally turned into monsters by the Sands of Time.
The story of The Sands of Time is what made it really standout was its platforming and vertical gameplay, as the Prince can seamlessly wall-run, climb objects, make great leaps, and reverse time using the Dagger to redo fatal mistakes or to repeat platforming attempts.
Sands of Time‘s world and gameplay would go on to spawn several sequels, but its arguably most important legacy was Assassin’s Creed, as Ubisoft originally designed AC as a Sands of Time spinoff called Prince of Persia: Assassins before evolving into its own wildly successful IP.
5
Halo: Combat Evolved
Xbox’s Flagship Franchise
Of course, what is a list about the original Xbox without mentioning Halo: Combat Evolved, the launch game that nearly hurled the console into widespread success single-handedly?
Halo alone caused many veteran gamers and new players alike to try out and later purchase an Xbox thanks to its rich universe, intuitive enemy, weapon and vehicle designs, and easy-to-play gameplay.
CE proved that consoles can not only be home to exceptional FPS titles in terms of gameplay, but showcased how FPS games can feature cinematic narratives with players following Master Chief and Cortana on their quest to save humanity from the villainous alien Covenant and the mysteries hidden within the Halo ring itself.
Halo skyrocketed Xbox to be a worthy player in the video game console industry and even led many other developers and publishers to create their own similar games, unofficially called Halo Killers, though none were truly able to dethrone Xbox’s flagship franchise.
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Bringing Tamriel to Home Consoles
For a while in the gaming industry, successful RPGs were thought to only be found on PCs or created by Japanese studios, but Bethesda proved both norms wrong when they released The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind exclusively on the original Xbox in 2002.
The first Bethesda Game Studios and Elder Scrolls title to be released on a console, Morrowind was a first and third-person RPG set in the coastal province of Morrowind in the fantasy continent of Tamriel and follows a customizable player-character as they explore the region and strive to defeat the oppressive Dagoth Ur.
While Morrowind‘s visuals and gameplay are a bit dated today, it proved that western developers can create enthralling RPGs for home consoles and proved that the Xbox can be home to many excellent RPG titles.
Morrowind additionally established Bethesda Game Studios’ long relationship with Xbox, with the developer now being an official part of Microsoft Gaming, and set the precedent for other Bethesda games to launch on consoles to widespread critical acclaim as seen with other Elder Scrolls entries and the Fallout series.
3
Fable
A Comedic Side to RPGs
While Morrowind proved that western RPGs can be successful on the Xbox, Big Blue Box Studios showed how western RPGs don’t all have to be doom and gloom with the 2004 third-person RPG Fable.
Similar to Morrowind, Fable is set in a medieval fantasy world called Albion and follows a player character simply called a Hero from their adolescence to adulthood as they strive to become a member of the famous Heroes’ Guild and seek to find those responsible for the abduction of his family.
What made Fable standout among other RPGs at the time was how the player’s choices impacted the world around them and the player-character themselves, for if players chose to mostly commit evil acts, they’ll eventually grow devilish horns.
Fable was additionally notable for showcasing a greater emphasis on player control and comedy, as players can often go around farting on people, playing pranks on townsfolk, and even get married or acquire businesses, mechanics that would be greatly expanded upon in future Fable titles.
2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
BioWare’s Old Republic Masterpiece
Fable and Morrowind were both spectacular RPGs in their own right, but one RPG proved to be so influential to gaming, books, films, and shows, that it’s still regarded today as being one of the greatest games of time, with that game being 2003’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
The Old Republic in Star Wars had been a pre-established concept for many years before KOTOR‘s release, having been depicted mostly in novels and comics, but KOTOR was the first time the Old Republic was thoroughly explored in a video game format.
Here, players embody an amnesiac character set thousands of years before the Star Wars films as they get caught up in a war between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire and strive to defeat Darth Malak before he uses the Star Forge to dominate the galaxy.
While KOTOR features a rather outdated round-based system for combat, its writing and dialogue were superb, featuring one of the greatest twists in not just Star Wars but in all of gaming, which went on to inspire countless Old Republic sequels and spinoffs and launch BioWare to great new heights for it to produce brand-new RPGs such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
1
Halo 2
The Birth of Modern FPS Multiplayer
Halo: Combat Evolved was the game that got the majority of gamers to purchase an Xbox, but it was Halo 2 that made millions of people die-hard and loyal fans of the Xbox.
Halo 2 was one of the most anticipated gaming sequels of all-time as it not only perfectly built off of the events of CE, seeing the Covenant invade Earth, but it also revolutionized FPS multiplayer with easy-to-understand matchmaking systems with Xbox Live that are still used as the backbone for many online games today.
Halo 2 became the most popular console multiplayer game for years until it was eventually dethroned by the first Gears of War, but during that time, it further helped establish console-based major league gaming tournaments.
Aside from its multiplayer innovations, Halo 2 improved upon CE in several ways, such as the ability to hijack vehicles, the ability to dual-wield weapons, and the option to play as the alien Elites in both campaign and multiplayer, which not only proved to be a fan-favorite mechanic, but was the source of arguably Halo‘s best story with that of the redemptive Arbiter.
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