The day many Xbox fans had been anticipating finally took place as Microsoft held its long awaitedGames Showcase event on July 23. As expected,Halo: Infinitewas a major part of the experience, demoing campaign gameplay with Master Chief exploring a new Halo ring, fighting familiar aliens, and using a new grapple hook to move around the map. The long rumoredFablewas also shown in a CG only trailer, the next genForza Motorsportwas also teased, as well as the multiple projects from Obsidian Entertainment.
Surprisingly, a few studios were not present, though it’s likely that they’ll make an appearance at a later date. Microsoft confirmed it has more digital events planned in 2020, so it hasn’t exhausted everything planned for theXbox Series X.
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With 15 first party studios under itsXbox Game Studios umbrella, here is the complete list of what each studio is currently working on for the Xbox Series X.
343 Industries
After years of teases, 343 finally showed off actual gameplay forHalo: Infinite. The demo gameplay showed Master Chief infiltrating a new Halo ring, fighting some familiar alien enemies, and racing around a large open landscape in the Warthog off-road vehicle. The gameplay seemed to evoke a feeling of nostalgia, looking similar to some classic areas from the first game, even with new andmodern features built in like the grappling hookand drop wall equipment.
The game is still on track for a holiday 2020 release for both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X, utilizing the Smart Delivery system for those who want to upgrade down the road.
The Coalition
Having just come off releasing arguably the biggestGears of Wargame yet withGears 5, it’s unclear what the studio is currently working on. Naturally,Gears 5is going to be ported to the Xbox Series X, so it can be assumed that the studio is currently working on feature enhancements and upgrades for the title to be ready for the console’s launch.
Gears Tactics, a join collaboration between Splash Damage and The Coalition, is also getting upgraded to 4k and 60 frames per second as well. Outside of enhancing already available titles and keepingGears 5updated with new content, it’s unknown what direction The Coalition may be heading in for its next major title.Gears 6seems like a no-brainer, but only time will tell.
Obsidian Entertainment
Arguably one of the busiest studios on this list and likely a big reason why Microsoft made the decision to purchase it in the first place is Obsidian Entertainment. Following the launch of theFalloutinspired experience known asThe Outer Worldslast year, the studio revealed the first of two planned expansions calledPeril on Gorgon. In addition to a new planet and narrative, the trailer showed off new weapons and a level cap increase by 3.
Naturally, the upcoming survival title Grounded was also shown off through a humorous new trailer which even had asurprising shout out toCyberpunk 2077.Players can shrink down and survive starting on July 28.
The last surprise Obsidian had to share is a new trailer for its next big RPG title. IfThe Outer Worldswas Obsidian’s take on theFalloutfranchise, thenAvowedlooks to be its version ofThe Elder Scrolls. The medieval style fantasy world showcased castles, bows, skeletons, and even a dual wielding protagonist using a sword and some sort of magic.
Rare
Rare currently has a number of projects in development at the moment, with the first being aSea of Thievesport to the Xbox Series X. LikeGears 5, the open sea pirate adventure is going to be optimized for the new console this holiday season, though Microsoft isn’t giving any details as to what that actual means. So far, the company has simply said thatSea of Thieveswill take advantage of the advanced hardware inside the Xbox Series X.
Outside of that, Rare revealed a new trailer for its anticipated new title,Everwild. The trailershowed off a vibrant and colorful world, focusing on nature, magic, and the animals that players will be able to recruit and overcome tasks. One theme that the trailer seemed to convey is a sense of tranquility and beauty. Fans can expect to see plenty more from this one in the months leading up to its 2021 launch. While it wasn’t at the show, Rare is also assisting development on the upcomingBattletaodsgame, currently with Dlala Studios.
Playground Games
The other big UK based developer finally confirmed a lot of rumors and theories during the Xbox Games Showcase by showing off aCG trailer for the fan favoriteFablefranchise. Taking over for the shuttered Lionhead Studios,Fablelikely isn’t too far out of the studios wheelhouse, even though fans largely know it for the well receivedForza Horizonseries of games. The studio is made up of plenty of veteran developers, many of which came over from Lionhead Studios, so the transition from racing to RPG should be more seamless than people think.
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of official details available surrounding the new game, though Microsoft did confirm that thisFablewill be a new beginning for the franchise so fans shouldn’t expectFable 4or a continuation of that game’s narrative.
Compulsion Games
Unfortunately, Compulsion Games did not showcase anything at the Microsoft showcase, leaving fans wondering as to what its next game actual might be. With the studio currently hiring for its next big thing and all post launch content wrapped up forWe Happy Few, the studio appears to be focused on something completely new.
Double Fine
The Tim Schafer led studio is all hands on deck forPsychonauts 2, a game which has really benefited from Microsoft’s support. Recently, Schafer admitted that had Microsoft not come along to purchase the studio, numerous features and segmentswould have had to have been cut from the gameto prevent it from going over budget. With Microsoft now backing the studio, the game will be able to reach its full potential.
At the July 23 showcase, Double Fine revealed it had again partnered with Jack Black, showing a scene where Black sings during a really trippy segment of gameplay. While it was nice seeing the game being shown off again, the studio also dropped some unfortunate news by confirming the game suffered another delay, this time into 2021.
The Initiative
One of the bigger Microsoft owned studios to skip out on the event was The Initiative. Created in the heart of Santa Monica, California, The Initiative is a studio made up of tons of industry veterans including its head, Darrell Gallagher. In addition toHalo: Infinite, more than a few fans expected to finally get an update on what the veteran studio has been crafting, especially after numerousreports indicated the studio would be there. However, it wasn’t meant to be and players will have to wait a bit longer to hear from them.
Whatever the studio is working on, it does appear to be in a playable state as Phil Spencer has previously commented on the work the team has been doing andposted a picture of himself play testing the game.
InXile Entertainment
Although not at the show, InXile Entertainment is quickly approaching the launch date for its upcoming tactical RPG,Wasteland 3. In fact, anew trailer was shown off earlier this monthat the Future Games Show, giving fans a bit more story as to what they’re doing in the frozen wastes of future Colorado.
Ninja Theory
In addition to post-launch content for its character brawlerBleeding Edge, Ninja Theory is hard at work onSenua’s Saga: Hellblade 2for the Xbox Series X. Unfortunately, the Xbox Games Showcase revealed little about the upcoming action game outside of the impressive reveal trailer back from the 2019 Game Awards. Ninja Theory did post a new developer diary, revealing thegame’s location is set in Iceland, though not much more was said about the Unreal Engine 5 title.
Outside of that, Ninja Theory also has the mysteriousProject: Mara, a game it announced back in January. The title goes further to explore the real-world and grounded representation of mental terror based on first hand accounts and in-depth research. Not much is known about the game outside of the promises that it’s going to be an experimental title attempting toshowcase a new storytelling medium for games.
Mojang Studios
Another studio largely absent from the July 23 festivities, Mojang recently launched its dungeon crawler inspired titleMinecraft Dungeons. The studio is continuing to put out new updates and expansions for the game, like the recentJungle Awakens expansion. Ray Tracing is another major next gen feature, one that Mojang has shown off inMinecraft, so it’s highly likely that the studio is hard at work getting that ready for the eventual launch of the Xbox Series X.
World’s Edge
In charge of theAge of Empiresreal time strategy series, the recently created World’s Edge studio is headed up by Shannon Loftis. As the caretaker of the franchise, World’s Edge is in charge of partnerships and allAge of Empiresrelated projects such asAge of Empires 4, which is currently being developed by Relic Entertainment. Other partners include Tantalus Media and Forgotten Empires, two studios who helped createAge of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Loftis has hinted that there are even more partnerships the studio isn’t talking about just yet.
As it stands, World’s Edge has no plans to take the series back internally, instead serving more as a resource, sharing assets, design work, and more with the numerous developers.
Turn 10
As expected, Turn 10 is hard at work on the next generation version of the popularForza Motorsportseries. Simply titledForza Motorsport, thenew trailer shown at the Games Showcasehighlights the work that the studio has put into the new game. Turn 10 has already stated that its developers are putting the new tech to work for this latest entry in order to make the most realistic driving experience ever for the series.
Without a launch date, it appears that fans will be waiting a bit longer to get their hands on this one.
Last, but certainly not least, is Undead Labs who confirmed in abrutal new trailer thatState of Decay 3is coming to the Xbox Series X. The trailer was entirely CG, so not much is known about the project, though fans are likely hoping this latest entry performs a bit better than its predecessor did. Rumors have already started circulating thatState of Decay 3will finally be a true open world, complete with day night cycle and core survival mechanics.
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