While we continue to wait and see if Microsoft announces its revival of Goldeneye 64 or not, there’s still a lot we could take away from the company’s recent Xbox Showcase, which aired yesterday.
For about 90 or so minutes, we saw a load of awesome stuff, including announcements for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV that we covered in separate news pieces. But we couldn’t help but highlight five of the biggest takeaways from Microsoft’s event, not particularly ranked but still incredible all the same.
Join us now as we look back at the five raddest announcements to come out of the showcase!
Starfield, Duh
Even though it’s delayed to 2023, Starfield looks to be one of the most ambitious games that Bethesda has ever worked on. Todd Howard himself walks us through the extensive gameplay demo, featuring space combat, awesome first-person shooting, and all sorts of customization. It looks pretty awesome, and should make for a great addition to Game Pass when it arrives sometime in the first half of the new year!
At Last, Persona!
Not since the days of the Yakuza games coming to Game Pass have we been so excited to see a Japanese franchise debut on Xbox. But Persona will make a big splash over the next few months, with Persona 5 Royal arriving this October, and Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden arriving later on. All three of these are highly respected hits, and will no doubt make for key additions to the Game Pass program. Now, about the earlier games…
At Last, Silksong!
We were wondering what had happened to Team Cherry’s long-awaited follow-up to the classic Metroidvania adventure Hollow Knight – and now we have our answer. Several minutes of new Silksong gameplay made its debut, along with the announcement that the game would come out sometime over the next year. Hopefully we’ll see it in time for Christmas, but, for now, we’ll savor the fact that the game still exists and is still as highly anticipated as ever. We can’t wait!
Forza, Forza, Forza
Okay, this is a little bit of a cheat since there are two reveals we can’t get enough of here. Still, it’s enough to leave racing fans wanting more!
First up is Turn 10 Studios’ long-awaited reboot of Forza Motorsport, which arrives in early 2023. Looking absolutely stellar and lifelike, this racing game packs a ton of detail, along with gameplay that all classes of drivers can easily adapt to. Throw in intense multiplayer and a ton of options and you’ll keep coming back for more. Also, those lighting effects!
Meanwhile, Forza Horizon 5 will get a fun new expansion this July with Hot Wheels, featuring a bevy of new tracks and challenges to overcome, as well as wintery new conditions that you’ll have to be good and ready for. This should be a fun way to breeze through the summer as you wait for Microsoft’s next racing monster to arrive!
Minecraft Goes To the Next Level
Meanwhile, an all-new Minecraft experience is set to debut in 2023, taking the blocky series in a bold new direction – action and strategy. Featuring lovely visuals, fun gameplay, and hours of addictive strategies to overcome, Legends looks to be the biggest Minecraft chapter to date. Hopefully it’ll have no problem bringing in new players alongside the classic game lovers.
Bonus: Hooray, Kojima!
Finally, as a little bonus for our favorites list, we’re happy to report that Hideo Kojima is working with Microsoft on a new title for Xbox!
The company noted, "Xbox Game Studios & Kojima Productions are partnering to create a video game for Xbox like no one has ever experienced before, leveraging the cloud. Hideo Kojima is one of the most innovative minds in our industry, and we can’t wait to share what our teams will create."
It’s rumored to be some kind of horror game, but we’ll wait to see what officially gets unveiled in the months ahead.
What were your favorite moments during the Xbox Showcase? Let us know in the comments!
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