Blasting off a busy final week of the month, Xbox players are getting a fresh wave of games today, January 26, 2026, headlined by the launch of free-to-play raid shooter Highguard on Xbox Series X|S and PC. Today’s drops set the tone for a stacked week of releases running through January 30, giving fans of competitive shooters, RPGs, and indie curios plenty of reasons to fire up their consoles.
Highguard Is Out Today On Xbox
The big story today is Highguard, the debut title from Wildlight Studio, a team comprised of veterans who previously worked on Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Call of Duty. Positioned as a 3v3 PvP raid shooter, Highguard has players take on the role of Wardens, arcane gunslingers fighting over a mythical continent packed with high-value objectives, loot, and enemies.
Highguard launches as a free-to-play experience, lowering the barrier for Xbox players who want to jump in and try its blend of competitive shooting and raid-style objectives. Early hands-on coverage highlights how the game mixes precise gunplay, movement-driven combat, and team-based tactics, aiming squarely at fans of high-skill shooters who enjoy intense, small-squad showdowns.
For Xbox, Highguard arriving day-and-date with other platforms and backed by high-profile shooter talent gives the platform another marquee, “live” title to sit alongside its existing multiplayer staples. As a free-to-play release, it also has strong potential to build a community quickly, especially if Wildlight can sustain it with a steady drip of new content, balance updates, and seasonal events.
Today’s Releases Kick Off A Packed Week
While Highguard is the main attraction launching on January 26, it’s not arriving in a vacuum; it’s the opening salvo in a week where 20-plus new games are hitting Xbox between January 26 and 30. Microsoft’s own “Next Week on Xbox” roundup highlights Highguard as the headline release for today, then teases a cascade of titles landing over the following days, including new Game Pass additions and notable sequels.
Xbox’s weekly slate format means today’s drop effectively sets the mood for the rest of the week. If you’re a player who likes to plan your gaming time, this is the moment to pencil in which launches you’re going to prioritize: Highguard today, then RPGs, roguelites, sports-likes, and strategy titles stacking up as the days roll on.
Although today’s focus is Highguard, it’s worth calling out what’s queued behind it later this week so readers understand how today’s launch fits into a bigger picture. According to Microsoft’s official schedule, more than 20 games are on the way across Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC between now and January 30. Among them are:
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Rightfully, Beary Arms – A bullet-hell roguelite with deceptively cute visuals, coming January 27 and optimized for Xbox Series X|S.
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Speedball – A no-holds-barred futuristic arena sport game bringing fast-paced top-down matches to Xbox Series X|S and PC on January 27.
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Drop Duchy – Complete Edition – A strategy-focused release arriving January 28 with Xbox Series X|S optimization and Xbox Play Anywhere support.
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Code Vein II – A major RPG sequel scheduled for later in the week, launching on Xbox Series X|S and PC on January 30.
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Front Mission 3: Remake – A reimagined take on the classic tactical mech RPG landing on Xbox on January 30.
This wider slate matters because it turns today’s Highguard launch into the opener for a mini “January finale” event for Xbox. If you’re on Game Pass, some of these titles also intersect with Microsoft’s January Wave 2 lineup, which includes heavy hitters like Death Stranding Director’s Cut and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II later in the month.
January Game Pass Context For Today’s Players
Even though Highguard itself is free-to-play rather than a Game Pass exclusive, it’s landing right as January’s Game Pass Wave 2 hits its stride. Microsoft’s latest subscription update confirmed titles like Death Stranding Director’s Cut, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, and The Talos Principle 2 joining the catalog across console and PC toward the end of the month.
That means a typical Xbox owner today has two big decisions to make:
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Do you dive into Highguard and commit to learning a brand-new competitive shooter?
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Or do you lean harder into Game Pass and spend your time with narrative-heavy or single-player titles joining the service?
For many players, the answer will be “both”—dabbling in Highguard with friends for nightly sessions while using Game Pass to work through a backlog of January’s story-driven releases. From an ecosystem perspective, today’s Highguard launch is another proof point that Xbox is trying to balance multiplayer longevity with subscription depth.
Why Today’s Xbox Releases Matter
Today’s releases matter on a few levels. First, Highguard gives Xbox another live-service style title at a time when 2026’s competitive calendar is getting crowded with new shooters and returning franchises. Launching early in the year lets Wildlight learn, iterate, and grow its game ahead of the traditionally packed holiday season.
Second, the sheer volume of games arriving this week reinforces Xbox’s positioning as a platform with consistent, weekly drops—rather than sporadic bursts of big launches. Even if not every title is a blockbuster, the combined lineup offers something for just about everyone: arena sports, roguelite bullet hells, tactical RPG remakes, and big-name sequels all share shelf space on the Store.
Finally, for players who follow Xbox as an ecosystem, today is a reminder to keep an eye not only on Game Pass announcements, but also on free-to-play and third-party launches that can become sleeper hits. Games like Highguard often live or die by early community adoption, and Xbox’s large multiplayer audience gives it a strong shot at building momentum if word-of-mouth is positive.
How To Get Started Today
If you’re ready to jump in on January 26, getting started is straightforward:
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Search for Highguard in the Xbox Store on your console or Xbox app on PC, then download it for free.
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Make sure your Xbox Series X|S is updated so you get the best performance the developers intended.
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If you’re on Game Pass, use the “Coming Soon” and “Recently Added” rows to line up what you’ll play next after trying today’s releases, including later-in-the-week drops like Code Vein II and any January Wave 2 additions you haven’t touched yet.
With Highguard’s launch, a flood of new titles hitting over the next four days, and Game Pass rounding out the month with heavyweight additions, January 26 is more than just another Monday on the Xbox calendar. Don’t forget to check out Blizzard Showcase 2026 Kicks Off With “The Next Chapter.” It’s the start of a sprint to close out January strong—and a preview of how aggressive Xbox plans to be with new games and experiences as 2026 ramps up.
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