There are so many phenomenal sports games out there that it can often be difficult to choose just which one to thrash your buddy at. Whether it's a licensed sports video game or an RPG about balls throwing balls at one another, sports games really do come in all shapes and sizes.

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So, it’s fortunate then that Xbox Game Pass has a whole slew of sports games to add to your backlog — an even longer backlog, wooo! Whether you want to play casually with some friends or get competitive and sink all your free time into it, these sports games on Xbox Game Pass are worth your time.

Updated January 30, 2023 by Amanda Hurych: The Xbox Game Pass library is one that constantly evolves, with titles coming and going as the months go by. It's been a fair bit since this article was last updated, so we've adjusted several of the entries, removing and adding more, to reflect the games that have been removed and added to Xbox's premier subscription service. Read on if you want to know what amazing sports games have been added to Game Pass!

Some of these titles are available on EA Play through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

9 Golf With Your Friends

Golf With Your Friends - Forest Map Windmill - Spinning Barrel

While Golf with Your Friends does not win any points in the realism category, it does capture the hilarity and frustration of going through a mini-golf course with your buddies. You and a crew of friends can adorn your golf balls with a variety of effects, hats, and colors and then attempt to tackle a series of courses, each of which range from comfortingly mundane to wildly zany.

Originally developed on PC, the game has been ported to consoles with a satisfying degree of success. Gently tapping your ball into a hole or wholeheartedly swinging at it both control well. And nothing quite beats the feeling of getting a hole in one on a course that made your jaw drop when you first considered the impossibility of its geometry.

8 Dirt Rally 2.0

A Volkswagen Polo R Supercar drifts along the terrain in Dirt Rally 2.0

Perhaps even more so than Dirt 5, Dirt Rally 2.0 captures the struggle and exhilaration of driving in a rally. It's been a few years since it was released, but you'll find that the driving still holds up incredibly well, and the tracks are as gorgeous as they've always been.

As with any rally racing game worth its salt, Dirt Rally 2.0 comes with a fantastic selection of cars to pick from, leaning hard into the variety of vehicles. You could, if you so choose, race an aged beauty against a sleek, modern monstrosity.

7 F1 2021

a shot of the formula 1 car Alpine against a blue background with green streaks running through it and the game's logo beneath it

You’d be surprised at how many racing games there are on Xbox Game Pass. It’s as if Phil Spencer himself saw the umpteen different games where you race shiny cars down concrete tracks and said, “Nah, definitely another one”. So, you’d absolutely be forgiven for not knowing which one to start with.

If you’re looking for a racing game with realistic driving mechanics and that is more centered around rules and regulations - so, a sport basically - then look no further than F1 2021. Expertly taking the glorious and surprisingly engaging sport of Formula 1 and cramming it into a video game format, F1 2021 truly is the best racing sports game on Xbox Game Pass.

6 Cricket 22

a wide angle shot overlooking a stadium with a cricket match happening in the middle from behind a large crowd of people

Do you think that cricket is a slow sport that wouldn’t transition well to a video game format? Well, think again as Cricket 22 is packed full of explosions, fishing mini-games, and of course various sized enemies to whack with your cricket bat. Okay, so none of that is true - how fun would that game be though - but Cricket 22 is nevertheless an exciting and fantastic cricket game.

Cricket 22 manages to take the very best parts of cricket and translate them into fun and exhilarating gameplay. It speeds up the occasionally slow sport with player-focused campaigns and mechanics. If you love cricket, then you’ll absolutely fall in love with Cricket 22. It may not have the big budget of other sports-based titles, but what it lacks in snazzy graphics, it more than makes up for with quality and charm.

5 UFC 4

UFC 4 boxers standing in the ring, facing each other

If whacking a ball with a bat isn’t quite your thing, then perhaps you’d consider picking up the tranquil and serene sport of mixed martial arts. Just kidding - this absolutely brutal sport involves taking your opponent down by whatever means necessary. Or, you know, by kicking, punching and grappling.

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UFC 4 is by far the best in the series despite its somewhat stagnant visuals. The core combat is as gripping and thrillingly visceral as ever, and the focus on arcadey gameplay ensures it remains the most accessible entry. If you want an action-packed sports title on Xbox Game Pass, you can’t go wrong with UFC 4.

4 FIFA 21

promotional image for FIFA 21 featuring Kylian Mbappé screaming on the front with the game's logo and EA Sports logo beneath him

Okay, so it didn’t seem right to not include FIFA. Sure, it’s easy to rag on this series for its somewhat repetitive entries, but FIFA is a staple sports series for a reason. Its gameplay gets more and more refined with each entry and its outstanding visuals bring its enormous roster of players to life. It has come a long way since the arcade days when kicking a ball from your goal would see it land in a whole other country.

As the majority of the EA lineup of somewhat middling titles, are all available on Xbox Game Pass, it is a no-brainer to try out FIFA 21 if you’re at all into sports games or football. The only game that could supersede this is its sequel and inevitable 50-odd more that’ll come out in the next year or so.

3 Football Manager 2023

Split image of Football Manager 2023 promotional images

Whereas most sports games tend to put you in the shoes of the players, Football Manager 2023 takes a different approach. Why not be every player simultaneously? Don’t worry, you won’t be controlling an amorphous blob of flesh and leather. Instead, you’ll be managing your very own football team in this incredibly intricate managing sim.

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While Football Manager 2023 certainly doesn’t introduce any huge innovations compared to its predecessors, its fine-tuning of the series’ core mechanics ultimately makes it the most engaging Football Manager game available. If you feel like sinking hundreds of hours into a sports title, you should give Football Manager 2023 a try.

2 Fight Night Champion

Muhammad Ali (left) takes on Mike Tyson (right) in Fight Night Champion

If you want to punch a person so hard that their teeth fall out, then Fight Night Champion is perfect for you. Despite being an Xbox 360 title, Fight Night Champion is easily one of the best boxing games ever made. Its polished combat, character customisation and compelling story mode make this an engaging and enjoyable experience from start to finish.

With no other Fight Night games being made any time soon and no entertaining boxing games on Game Pass, it would seem that Fight Night Champion is your only choice. However, frankly, even if there were other boxing games around, we’d still only want Fight Night Champion on the platform.

1 Skate 3

Skate 3 promotional image featuring a skateboard with the number 3 on it, a city in the background and various skaters pointing at the board

While the Tony Hawk line of skateboarding games may be the most well-known and established ones out there, the Skate series certainly tried its hardest. The third in the series proved to be one of the most comprehensive skating experiences on console, offering a ton of customisation options, large open environments and a gripping-enough narrative to tie it all together.

While it's a shame that Skate 4 wasn’t made sooner - unfortunately letting the series fade into obscurity - Skate 3 lives on via Xbox Game Pass. If you’re looking for an excellent skateboarding title to pass the time, then you can’t do any better than Skate 3.

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