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The past two days have been incredibly eventful. On Monday, we celebrated the half-decade milestone of the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles with a tournament to determine the best first-party game of this hardware cycle. You were given eight PS5 games and eight Xbox Series X exclusives to compete against each other, culminating in a championship round where the leading contender from each platform would go head-to-head. We've witnessed some incredibly close calls in the first two rounds, particularly yesterday’s razor-thin votes. Now, it's time to crown the best PS5 and Xbox Series X games before the championship on Thursday.

The PS5 Side

On the PS5 side, we have the giant-slayer, Astro Bot. Perhaps it's expected considering that it won top honors at last year’s Game Awards, but its victory over God of War Ragnarök feels like a true upset. However, to reach the championship, it'll need to defeat the MVP of the PS5 generation: the acclaimed developer. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 had a smooth path to the semi-finals, defeating Ghost of Yōtei and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (another Insomniac game!) to secure a spot in the semi-finals. Can Spidey topple a home-grown Sony mascot, or is he destined to become a chibi cameo in the next Astro Bot game?

Xbox Series X Contenders

For Xbox Series X has been more exciting. Emerging victorious from a diverse lineup of contenders is Forza Horizon 5. It's a significant win for the racing adventure title already, demonstrating that a more specialized genre game deserves to be on the same pedestal as classic platformers and story-driven epics. Its last roadblock on the way to the championship is a major challenge, though. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has proven to be a crowd favorite, defeating critical darlings like Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush. Can it beat a larger-scale title from an well-known franchise that's synonymous with the Xbox brand? If anyone can pull that off, it's likely Indiana Jones.

Place your ballots to determine the best PS5 and Xbox Series X games of this era, and return on the next day to see which games will face off for the grand prize in the championship round!

Polling Timeline

• Round of 16: Monday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m. EST - Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 9 a.m. EST
• Quarter-finals: November 11, 11:00 AM Eastern - November 12, 9:00 AM Eastern
• Semi-final round: November 12, 11:00 AM Eastern - Thursday, Nov. 13 at 9 a.m. EST
• Final round: November 13, 11:00 AM Eastern - November 14, 9:00 AM Eastern
• Winner announced: Friday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. EST

Matchups

PS5 Division

Astro Bot versus Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Xbox Series X Bracket

Forza Horizon 5 vs. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Cast Your Votes