Hades II officially launched today on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, ending a six-month wait after the game reached its full v1.0 launch on PC, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 on September 25, 2025 — itself following an Early Access period on PC that began on May 6, 2024. The game is also available day one on Xbox Game Pass across Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass tiers — and via Xbox Cloud Gaming — meaning millions of subscribers can jump in right now at no extra cost.
For anyone who has been watching from the sidelines while PC and Nintendo players raved about it, today is the day to find out what all the noise has been about.
What Is Hades II and Why Does It Matter
Hades II is the first-ever sequel from Supergiant Games, the studio behind the original Hades — a game that swept Game of the Year awards in 2020 and became one of the most influential roguelikes ever made. The original set a new standard for the genre by combining precise combat, a deep upgrade system, and a fully voiced cast of mythological characters whose relationships evolved with every run.
The sequel had an almost impossible task: build on something that already felt complete. By most accounts it has succeeded. When Hades II reached its full v1.0 launch on PC, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 on September 25, 2025, it became the best-reviewed game of 2025 according to both Metacritic and OpenCritic. That is the version PlayStation and Xbox players are getting today — not a launch-day build, but the fully patched, most complete version of the game that exists.
Price and Platform Availability
Before jumping in, here is a full breakdown of where you can play and what it costs:
PlayStation 5 — Available as a full purchase on the PS5 store. No PS Plus day-one inclusion. Check the PlayStation Store directly for current pricing before purchasing.
Xbox Series X|S — Available as a full purchase or through Xbox Game Pass. The game is included across Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass at no extra cost. It is also playable via Xbox Cloud Gaming, meaning you can stream it on mobile, tablet, or browser without downloading it to a console. Check the Microsoft Store directly for current standalone purchase pricing.
PC (Steam and Epic Games Store) — Available as a standalone purchase at $29.99 on Steam.
Cross-save note: Cross-save is supported across PC (Steam and Epic Games Store) and Nintendo platforms (Switch and Switch 2). According to Supergiant’s FAQ, players can transfer save data between PC/Mac and Nintendo consoles through an in-game menu. The limitation is that PlayStation 5 and Xbox do not join this cross-save pool. If you have been playing on PC or Switch and plan to continue on PS5 or Xbox, your progress will not carry over to those platforms.
What Has Changed From the Original
The biggest shift is in who you play as. Where the original Hades put you in control of Zagreus, the son of Hades escaping the Underworld, the sequel follows Melinoë — Zagreus’ long-lost sister and the Princess of the Underworld. The objective has changed too. Instead of escaping, Melinoë is fighting upward through a larger mythic world to defeat Chronos, the Titan of Time.
Combat feels familiar but plays differently. Melinoë uses longer dashes and a sprint where Zagreus relied on shorter bursts. Her ranged attack is an AOE ability that traps nearby enemies rather than a simple long-range cast. These changes are small on paper but shift how every run flows, particularly in how you position yourself during tougher encounters.
The world is significantly larger. Hades II features more biomes than the original, each with distinct visual styles, enemy types, and environmental hazards. The mythic world now stretches in multiple directions rather than a single upward path, giving runs more structural variety than before.
The upgrade system has expanded. There are now Boons available from more than a dozen Olympian gods including Apollo, Hephaestus, and others who didn’t appear in the original. The combination possibilities are wider than anything in the first game, and the meta-progression system — built around the Altar of Ashes — adds a layer of permanent unlocks that compounds over time.
Animal Familiars replace the Companions system. In the original, you could unlock Companions — special attacks tied to specific characters. Hades II replaces this with Animal Familiars, small creatures that follow Melinoë throughout each run. Each Familiar has its own passive ability, buffing Melinoë in different ways depending on which one accompanies her. Some provide combat boosts, others offer utility like reducing cooldowns or highlighting hidden items. They also react to events during a run, making them feel like actual companions rather than just stat bonuses.
Gathering adds a new layer between runs. Using Tools of the Unseen, Melinoë can gather reagents from the environment during runs. These materials feed into crafting and upgrade systems back at camp, giving players something to optimize beyond just combat builds.
What the Xbox and PS5 Versions Include
Supergiant confirmed that PS5 and Xbox Series X support up to 120 frames per second. Performance on Xbox Series S has not been separately confirmed by Supergiant at time of publication. Both versions include all post-launch patches that shipped on PC, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 since September 2025, along with bonus content and quality-of-life improvements developed in the months since.
For Xbox players, Hades II is an Xbox Play Anywhere title — a single purchase covers both Xbox console and PC. It is also streamable via Xbox Cloud Gaming with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, requiring no download at all.
Is It Worth Playing If You Have Not Played the Original
Yes, but playing the original first will make the sequel richer. The story of Hades II directly follows events from the first game, and many characters Melinoë encounters are ones players will recognize from Zagreus’ journey. The emotional weight of certain story moments lands harder with that context.
That said, the sequel is designed to be accessible without prior knowledge. If you are a Game Pass subscriber who has never touched Hades, the original is also available on Game Pass — playing both in order is the ideal entry point into the franchise.
Development Timeline
- May 6, 2024 — Early Access launch on PC
- September 25, 2025 — Full v1.0 launch on PC, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2
- March 26, 2026 — Xbox and PS5 release confirmed for April 14
- April 14, 2026 — Full launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud Gaming
Hades II is not a reinvention. If you bounced off the original’s roguelike structure — the repetition, the incremental progress, the runs that end just when they’re getting good — the sequel will not convert you. It is more of what made Hades great, expanded and refined rather than reimagined.
But if that description sounds appealing, there has never been a better time to jump in. The game is available right now on Game Pass, it runs at up to 120fps on PS5 and Xbox Series X, and it arrives with every update and improvement Supergiant has released since the v1.0 launch. Xbox and PS5 players are not getting a lesser version — they are getting the best one. Just go in knowing that if you are starting fresh on PS5 or Xbox, your progress will not carry over from any saves built on PC or Nintendo platforms.