21 Best Xbox Series X/S Crime Games You Need To Play

While every story needs conflict to exist, different types of conflicts can fit different moods. Maybe you’re cool with intensive family drama and broad plots about saving the world. However, you might be in the market for narratives that explore the seedy underbelly of organized crime, regardless of the viewpoint. Even when these games veer off into the fantastical, crime drama stories always manage some sense of tangibility. Check out 20 of the best Xbox Series X/S crime games you can play right now.

#21 RoboCop: Rogue City

Platform: PC PS5 XSX|S
Release Date: November 02, 2023

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

When you’re a character like Robocop, you’re not thinking about things in terms of an RPG. However, that’s what RoboCop: Rogue City offers you as you play the game. You’ll start out with your trusty Auto-9 assault pistol but slowly grow your arsenal and abilities with each bad guy you vanquish.

The upgrades you get will be up to you to pick. Do you want to maximize your firepower? Do you wish to make Robocop a little more flexible so he can dodge enemy fire? Do you want to improve other skills to make you a more well-rounded crime fighter? A deep skill tree will let you choose your path, so make Robocop the best he can be!

#20 Empire of Sin

• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC

Empire of Sin is a story-driven strategy game developed by Romero Games. Yes, as in the John Romero who played a crucial role in the early years of first-person shooters at id Software, working on the likes of Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein 3D. While not the most successful genre transition for the development team, its prohibition-era setting and criminal empire management fit the bill for those seeking Xbox Series X/S crime games.

#19 Payday 2

• Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC

Payday 2 is the only game on this list that revolves exclusively around the idea of robbing locations like banks. If the idea of a full game similar in vein to Grand Theft Auto V‘s hesists intrigues you, you’re well served with Payday 2‘s four-player co-op action. While this list is about Xbox Series X/S crime games, we highly recommend the PC version if possible. This is due to a disparity in terms of content updates and developer support between consoles and PC. As of 2022, the PC version is still being supported with new content, marking nine years of content updates.

#18 Serial Cleaner

• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC

Serial Cleaner looks similar to games like Hotline Miami, but it’s actually very different. Rather than committing murder with no regard for anything, you’re tasked with cleaning up crime scenes. This isn’t as innocent as it sounds, however. Yourgoal is to make sure the mob you work for doesn’t get caught after a messy job. Stealth plays a crucial role, with cops often on the scene as you’re doing your due diligence. A sequel entitled Serial Cleaners is also in development with an expanded scope and budget.

#17 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition

• Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition compiles some of the industry’s most influential and highly regarded video games of all time. Certain aspects of the trilogy — such as combat — haven’t aged well. Despite this, many modern open worlds fail to leave the same impression as Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas. This collection is only held back by the quality of the remastering efforts. While patches have eliminated visual blemishes such as the distracting rain effect, the collection still falls short of what it could have been. With that said, if you can stomach the visuals and glitches, these are some of the best Xbox Series X/S crime games.

#16 Mafia 3

• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Mafia 3 isn’t the best Mafia game, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth playing. Most people criticized its repetitive open world structure, which was a direct response to people’s complaints over Mafia 2‘s lack of activities. While Hangar 13’s answer to those criticisms didn’t pan out, Mafia 3 hits the mark where it counts most for the series and for crime games — storytelling.

#15 Watch Dogs: Legion

• Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC

Watch Dogs: Legion is the most ambitious installment to date, with an expansive recruitment system. Set in a dystopian near future representation of London, the player fights back by amassing a legion of resistance memebers. Practically any NPC can join the fight to liberate London from a construction worker to a senile old lady. Each resistance member has a different set of traits, abilities, and animations which can offer varied approaches to missions.

#14 L.A. Noire

• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC

L.A. Noire is a big budget game with very little action or traditional gameplay, which made it stick out upon its initial 2011 release. As a detective, each chapter follows a different murder or crime which must be solved through gathering clues and speaking to witnesses. Facial expressions, often used as cues within real investigative work, is a core element to L.A. Noire‘s investigations. However, you can coast through most of the game pinning crimes on the wrong people with little consequence.

#13 A Way Out

• Platforms; Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Many games on this list place you in the role of villains or anti-heroes, but A Way Out forces you to co-operate with a partner in crime throughout. This co-operative focus leads to some inventive puzzle solving, chases, and action sequences. While its story isn’t the most compelling, you’ll find yourself attached to your co-op partner after everything you’ve been through. More than most entries on this list, it feels like a proper journey, especially when played with someone you’re close to.

#12 Yakuza Kiwami

• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Yakuza Kiwami is technically the first entry in the franchise despite chronologically taking place after Yakuza 0. This remake carries much of the same tropes, subject matter, and wacky humor you expect from Yakuza. It’s simply a bit unrefined. While Yakuza Kiwami is a fine game in its own right, its narrative, which remains largely unchanged from the PS2 original, doesn’t quite hit the heights the franchise would go on to reach. If anything, it does still have a captivating antagonist to keep you pushing through.

#11 Watch Dogs 2

• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Watch Dogs 2 expands upon its predecessor’s formula while injecting a much needed sense of personality. Aiden Pearce’s dry disposition became one of the original’s most common criticisms. With a more energetic cast that’s more immediately identifiable in a sea of triple-A games, Watch Dogs 2 is what Watch Dogs should have been in the first place.

#10 Sleeping Dogs

• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Sleeping Dogs has garnered a cult following over the years because of its combat. Unlike other open world titles, Sleeping Dogs‘ fist fights play out like classic 3D brawlers with a satisfying crunch to hits and environmental interactions aplenty. The game’s Definitive Edition even added additional objects throughout each encounter to speed up each encounter’s pacing and brutality. Its recreation of Hong Kong is also relatively uncommon in this space, making it feel fresh to navigate.

#9 Saints Row: The Third Remastered

• Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC

Saints Row: The Third is where over the top action and characters would inform the franchise’s identity moving forward. While some fans lament how ridiculous Saints Row IV and Gat Out of Hell became, Saints Row: The Third didn’t quite go that far. With The Third Street Saints now being a respected operation, there’s plenty of opportunity to wreak havoc. The impressive remastering effort makes all of the chaos that much more impactful. On top of the initial release, it offers a compelling Xbox Series X/S patch that further elevates the experience.

#8 Sherlock Holmes Chapter One

• Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC

Fans of Frogwares’ brand of investigative gameplay and respect to the source material will feel right at home with Sherlock Holmes Chapter One. As the first Sherlock Holmes title built with the Xbox Series X/S factored in its original development cycle, its open world is as realized as any location the developer has crafted to date. While a PlayStation 4 version exists, it required level design alterations to fit on the aging hardware. Combat is still a weak point, but there is an option to disable it for players that are only here for the sleuthing.

#7 Mafia Definitive Edition

• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

Mafia Definitive Edition is one of the most underrated remakes. It takes the original Mafia‘s already compelling narrative, meanwhile modernizing gameplay mechanics such as gunplay and vehicle handling. While certain controversial aspects of the original title have been removed, as with even the most successful remakes, Mafia Definitive Edition remains an excellent introduction into Mafia‘s gripping crime drama.

#6 Hotline Miami

• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, PC

Hotline Miami‘s fast-paced action and violence is backed by a soundtrack that almost works to trivialize the horrific acts committed by players. It’s combo-driven carnage does serve a purpose beyond simply being fun for the player. Underneath the surface, Hotline Miami offers an interesting introspection on violent media, communicated through one of the most violent modern pixel-art games.

#5 Judgment

• Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4

Introduced two years before the Yakuza series reinvented itself as a turn-based RPG, Judgment carries the torch left by its older sibling. While featuring a different cast of characters, its gameplay and themes remain largely unchanged from previous Yakuza titles. Crime drama still plays a major role in the proceedings, except you’re no longer an anti-hero that keeps finding himself dragged back into the world of organized crime. Rather, you play the role of a detective erring on the morally unambiguous side of justice, which offers a unique perspective to Ryu Ga Gotoku’s brand of storytelling.

#4 Yakuza Like a Dragon

• Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC

Yakuza Like a Dragon scores points for taking an established franchise formula, translating it into a different genre. In the shift from 3D real-time brawling to turn-based battles, nothing has been lost. If anything, the RPG elements make better use of the series’ wackiness. Luckily, it offers one of the most gripping crime drama narratives in the series, which is saying a lot considering its pedigree.

#3 Lost Judgment

• Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC

Lost Judgment is perhaps Ryu Ga Gotoku’s most accomplished drama-filled narrative to date. Its story includes depictions of suicide, bullying, and sexual assault, which will make some players uncomfortable. This heavy subject matter exists to challenge the realities of a judicial system that so often fails the victims. If you can stomach it, Lost Judgment tells an engaging story filled with the twists and turns you expect from a Ryu Ga Gotoku game. It also has the best real-time combat in a Dragon Engine title to date.

#2 Grand Theft Auto V

• Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC

Grand Theft Auto V continues to see the light of day two console generations later because it offers tons of content and levity. While the core narrative isn’t as complex or exciting as Grand Theft Auto IV, its script still steals the show. Even when the story feels like it’s in limbo, character interactions remain funny and interesting throughout. The story also introduced the heist mechanic, which would go on to become a major portion of Grand Theft Auto Online. The ray-tracing and 60 FPS modes also add quite a bit to an experience most of you have already played.

#1 Red Dead Redemption 2

• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

If video games were purely rated on a scale of immersion, Red Dead Redemption 2 could be the finest triple-a game ever created. Despite the criticisms levied at its unresponsive gameplay and slow pacing, Rockstar’s open world title is unabashedly concerned with creating a living, breathing setting. Minor details that practically every other company would discard becomes a focal point here, such as facial hair that grows in real-time and different NPC reactions depending on how clean Arthur is.