Microsoft has aired their summer gaming showcase. Streamed online due to the ongoing global pandemic, the presentation showcased some eagerly anticipated titles, along with some announcements of new projects from the company’s various studios and partners.
Opening the showcase was a first look at the gameplay from Halo Infinite. Focusing on Master Chief, the gameplay demo featured a look at some of the environments that will be fully explorable along with the new combat with the Banished. Set in a new Halo ring – which, according to developers 343 Studios, is larger than the previous two games combined – the game’s campaign will be locked at 60fps in order to optimise the power of the Xbox Series X.
Halo Infinite is currently scheduled for a Holiday 2020 release on Xbox Series X, Windows 10, Xbox One and Game Pass.
Along with the in-depth look, there were a number of games and new content announced during the showcase:
- State of Decay 3 was confirmed with a tense trailer of a lone survivor hunting in the forest,
- Turn 10 Studios announced that the next Forza Motorsport is currently in development with an in-engine footage trailer,
- Everwild is the next game coming from Rare where players take on the role of an “Eternal” to build a bond with nature,
- Tell Me Why from Dontnod Entertainment sees players take on dual roles as twins Tyler and Alyson as they look to deal with the events of their pasts,
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps will receive a host of enhancements as part of an update to prepare for the launch of Xbox Series X,
- The first DLC for The Outer Worlds, entitled Peril on Gorgon will launch on September 9, with Game Pass members receiving a discount,
- Co-op survival game Grounded, featuring players as tiny humans surviving in grassland against insects, will be heading into Early Access on July 28,
- Set in the fantasy world of Eora, Avowed is Obsidian Entertainment’s new RPG project,
- As Dusk Falls is an interactive drama from INTERIOR/NIGHT Studios which will focus on how the fallout of a hostage situation has long-lasting impacts on two very different families,
- Ninja Theory will release a series of development diaries on their YouTube channel, including from their scouting trip to Iceland – the setting of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2.
Fans also got a look at a new Psyconaughts trailer, the reveal of S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 – which will be coming to console for the first time – as well as the announcement of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and Tetris Effect: Connected – a new multiplayer experience enhanced for Xbox Series X.
Among the announcements from other studios were Bloober Team’s new reality splitting mystery thriller The Medium, puzzle-solving and exploration driven adventure The Gunk from Image and Form, along with Smilegate Entertainment announcing that multiplayer shooter Crossfire X will be coming to console in 2020, with a campaign story being added by the team from Remedy. 2021 will see the launch of Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, featuring a new world, a new story and new enemies.
The showcase also included details on Destiny 2 coming to Xbox Game Pass in November. Subscribers will have access to all standard editions of all DLC released so far. This will also include the upcoming Destiny 2: Beyond Light expansion when it goes live in November. Game Pass members who upgrade to an Xbox Series X will receive all the DLC in their enhanced versions, with 4K/60fps support.
The showcase ended with the announcement that a future showcase will be coming later in the year with updates from the rest of Microsoft’s development studios and updates on upcoming releases. There was also the announcement that a Fable game is indeed in development at Playground Games, ending months of speculation about the future of the beloved fantasy RPG series.
Full information about all the games in the showcase can be found on the Xbox website. Watch the showcase in full below.
Words by Megan Roxburgh