After months of anticipation, Microsoft has finally unveiled footage of games running natively on the Xbox Series X. So far, the results look like a subtle improvement. Halo Infinite, the big game of the day, was mostly an incremental upgrade in terms of raw visual fidelity. It did run at a silky smooth 60 FPS, though, and that’s far more important.
Without dawdling around too much, we’re going to jump right into the recap here. A lot was revealed today and the future is looking bright for Xbox gamers. Game Pass subscribers are also going to be flush with games for the next few years.
Microsoft didn’t mess around with this showcase and kicked things off with footage of Halo Infinite. As I said above, it doesn’t look dramatically different from a visual standpoint but was running at 60 FPS. That’s a huge plus for anyone upgrading later this year.
Far too early in development to really say much else, Microsoft announced that State of Decay 3 would be happening in the future. It seems to be a Series X exclusive, but we aren’t certain just yet. The setting has changed, at least.
Turn10 was up next to show off footage of Forza Motorsport running on the Xbox Series X. The announcer promised this would be a full 4K resolution output with ray-tracing capabilities and 60 FPS playback, but we’ll need to wait and see. The visuals were impressive, to say the least.
Rare Games surprised everyone by revealing a trailer for Everwild, some kind of fancy looking nature game. It’s hard to tell exactly what this is, but I’m guessing it will be an open-world survival game with a cel-shaded art style. It certainly looks pleasant on the eyes, but we’ll need to wait for more information.
DONTNOD is back with another episodic adventure game in Tell Me Why. There’s a lot of story info in the trailer above, but the most pertinent bit you’ll want to know is that the game’s first chapter is launching on August 27. It will be available via Game Pass.
Moon Studios took a quick aside to announce that Ori and the Will of the Wisps would be getting optimized for Xbox Series X later this year. It will supposedly run at 4K resolution and 120 FPS. Those that already own the game will be able to upgrade via Xbox Smart Delivery.
Obsidian Entertainment kicked off its segment of the Games Showcase by releasing a trailer for The Outer Worlds’ new DLC pack, Peril on Gorgon. It is being co-developed by Private Division and will be hitting Xbox first.
Without much delay, the Showcase quickly went into Grounded, a survival game from Obsidian that we already knew about. It was a very tongue-in-cheek thing and poked fun at Cyberpunk 2077 being a “bigger” game.
Lastly, Obsidian assured longtime fans that it wasn’t giving up on RPGs. Avowed will be a new first-person RPG in a similar style to The Outer Worlds and Elder Scrolls that is primed to be an Xbox Series X exclusive.
I don’t have that much to say about As Dusk Falls. It’s a very intriguing title, but we didn’t get a lick of gameplay to dig into. It will be heading to PC and Xbox, though.
DoubleFine brought a new, short trailer for Psychonauts 2 that showcased a song by Jack Black of Tenacious D fame. The footage was clearly running on Series X, but Psychonauts 2 was already in a solid place at E3 last year.
If you had any doubt that Destiny 2 wouldn’t come to the Series X, Bungie was quick to prove you wrong. Not only will its MMO-lite shooter be headed to the platform, but the game will be added to Xbox Game Pass in September. A specific Series X version will also launch at a later date.
A true surprise of the showcase, STALKER 2 was finally confirmed as more than just a running gag. GSC Game Worlds will be creating this next installment exclusively for PC and Xbox consoles. It will even be available on Game Pass!
There’s a new Warhammer co-op game in town and it seems okay. Our quick look at Warhammer 40,000: Darktide was a bit melodramatic, but it could capture the same essence as Vermintide in the 40,000 universe. That’s neat.
A new multiplayer-focused edition of Tetris Effect called Connected will be headed to Xbox One, Series X, and PC this holiday season. You’ll be able to play it on Xbox Game Pass, which is a tremendous bonus. Don’t sleep on this game!
Image & Form Games, known primarily for the SteamWorld series, revealed Gunk during the showcase today. There wasn’t much gameplay to speak of, but this is looking to be an evolution of what the studio has achieved in its indie hit.
The Medium might have been the most exciting thing at the Xbox Games Showcase today. Pegged as a psychological horror title, The Medium will be rendering two simultaneous realities that players can explore. That’s a very interesting concept and something I don’t believe has been done before.
Sega briefly showed off a new expansion for Phantasy Star Online 2 called New Genesis. This new content will be landing in the MMO in 2021.
The long hinted at CrossfireX from Remedy Entertainment was given a full-blown trailer that showed off the multiplayer focus of this shooter. It could possibly be set in the same world as Control, but it’s certainly a departure for the company.
Last but not least, Microsoft capped off its July showcase with a teaser for a new Fable game. It will be headed to the Xbox Series X and PC in the future, but there wasn’t much else said beyond that.
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