Following May’s Xbox digital presentation that highlighted all the third-party software arriving on the Series X, today saw Microsoft give us a good look at Halo Infinite, Psychonauts 2 and plenty more first-party exclusive titles as part of the Xbox Games Showcase. There was a pre-show beforehand where various interesting indies were announced, but it was here where the platform-holder was given a chance to prove why you should be picking up an Xbox Series X later this year.
Below you’ll find every major announcement made during the Xbox Games Showcase presentation, making it easy for you to stay up to date with all the watercooler content worth knowing. The actual showcase ran for almost a full hour, so by reading this post you’ll be saving yourself some time while keeping yourself informed. Let’s look at all of today’s new confirmed announcements:
Halo Infinite kicks off the show with new cinematic trailer + demo
Halo Infinite had been the one game Xbox had constantly been touting ahead of the Xbox Games Showcase, so it was nice to see them get this anticipation out of the way quickly by giving us a look at the game by way of a new cinematic trailer. This then led into a demo which showcased the first ever display of actual gameplay from the game.
Master Chief and his companion crashed down on a mysterious new Halo ring, before the man himself left the ship to scout ahead and clear out any lingering Banished. A previous teaser trailer had revealed that these Halo Wars 2 enemies would be making a comeback for this game, though now we know they’ll play a key part of the story – at least towards the beginning of the game. The demo demonstrated first-person gameplay as well as some vehicle stuff, instantly being evocative of the original game’s general mood and style of play.
The extended demo also confirmed Master Chief’s new grappling ability, which can be used to pull objects and enemies towards you. This may have been shown in the game’s key art just yesterday, but it was still good to see this in action. The roughly 10-minute long demo culminated in a classic Halo shootout before The Chief confronted Halo Infinite’s new big bad in holographic form. “Set a fire in your heart Spartan,” he bellowed. Cut to title card. Halo Infinite will launch in Holiday 2020.
Watch the gameplay reveal trailer below:
A horrific new look at State of Decay 3
Thinks got incredibly atmospheric briefly thanks to a new trailer for State of Decay 3, the latest instalment in Xbox’s first-party survival horror stealth series. Not an ounce of gameplay was shown for it, but you have to imagine that it’ll look and play a lot like State of Decay 2. That’s not a bad thing, though.
The next Forza Motorsport game officially announced
After months of rampant speculation, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer finally teed-up and announced that a new Forza Motorsport game from Turn10 studios is indeed a thing, and will be harnessing the full power of Xbox Series X to look and play better than ever. Interestingly the game was simply titled “Forza Motorsport” with no 8 at the end. Could this be a reboot? No other details were given.
Rare gives us a fresh look at their upcoming game, Everwild
It’s crazy to think that Sea of Thieves was first released in 2016. Since that time, the much-beloved developer had been chained to the sea-fairing pilot simulator, offering plenty of free updates and support for its many fans. Today’s Xbox Games Showcase, however, saw the studio give players a much closer look at the rather-beautiful looking Everwild, which was first announced bac in XO10 and seemingly delves into the tribal side of things. It will provide an untamed and natural world to explore.
Another look at new episodic game, Tell Me Why
Tell Me Why is an original episodic adventure game that looks very Life is Strange-esque in style. It was first announced back in XO19 but it was revealed that the first chapter will launch soon. Fans of all things cinematic and intriguing will want to check this out.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps getting Series X specific version
Moon Studios had already dazzled us earlier this year with the release of Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Xbox One. However, developer Moon Studios announced at the show that it was currently working on a version of the game specifically for the Xbox Series X, boosting the immersion by using premium audio tech and additional visual flair. It wasn’t a new game, but it’s nice to know that this already beautiful game will look and play even more spectacularly on Xbox Series X.
Peril on Gorgan is new DLC for The Outer Worlds
If you’re someone who enjoyed the Fallout games, you’ll likely have played The Outer Worlds when it first released late last year. The Xbox Games Showcase debuted new DLC footage from the upcoming Peril on Gorgan expansion. It looks just as zany as you’d expect, and will arrive soon on September 9th. This will serve as the first of two planned story packs.
Obsidan Entertainment is working on a new large-scale Fantasy RPG: Avowed
Players had been wondering if Obsidian would be turning their RPG expertise to a new classic-style RG similar to their work on Elder Scrolls and Fallout. It turns out that they are, as revealed in the new cinematic trailer for Avowed. The trailer was only brief but the narration and visuals were appropriately epic. It’s an Xbox exclusive. Set in the fantasy world of Yora, it’s quite clearly a way for Obsidian to once again beat Bethesda at their own game.
Jack Black is in Psychonauts 2, because of course he is
Despite being radio silent for almost an entire year, the Xbox Games Showcase gave us another good look at the crazy world of Psychonauts 2. The new musical trailer also confirmed that Jack Black, who had previously worked with Double Fine on Brutal Legend, would be starring in the game. The whole trailer was very psychedelic, with Black singing a very groovy backing track as we got to see more of the gameplay. It’s exactly the kind of tone and feel you’d expect from this cult classic 3D platformer.
World Premiere: STALKER 2 is announced
Seemingly set within the toxic setting of Chernoybl, STALKER 2 was officially announced at the Xbox Games Showcase as a world premiere and an Xbox exclusive. The cinematic trailer shown was very evocative, featuring bottled mutant babies and some seriously disturbing imagery. It had been a while since the previous STALKER game, so this was nice to see.
Warhammer DarkTide appears to be a first-person shooter, coming 2021
Keeping up the mysterious vibes was the reveal that a new game set in the Warhammer universe would be arriving some time in 2021. Subtitled DarkTide, it appears to be a horror-infused first-person shooter. Expect lots of space marines!
A new game from SteamWorld creators Image & Form announced
The SteamWorld franchise is one of my personal favourites, but it would appear that developer Image & Form will be leaving the 2D cartoon style behind in favour of a mysterious 3D platformer called The Gunk. The trailer featured a squat protagonist equipped with a metal hand. Need we say more?
The Medium debuts its simultaneous split-screen gameplay
Remember when A Way Out let you play through a Prison break-style scenario while having two players play in split-screen at once? X is a game that also rides off this unique concept, being a delectably dark third-person horror game that will you and a friend experience two sides of the same world together. It was previously announced, but this marked our first time seeing gameplay for this Xbox console launch exlclusive.
Xbox caps off the show with a look at its new Fable game
We had heard constant rumblings that a new game set in the Fable fantasy universe would be coming tyo Series X. What we didn't expect, however, was that the game would be coming from developer Playground Games, the team behind the high-speed Forza Horizon series. All we got was a brief cinematic trailer, but the tone of the universe seems to be as whacky and British as ever. It's simply called "Fable" for the time being.
