Skip to main content

Microsoft's brilliant Xbox Games Showcase teased the best line-up in years - if you can wait to play it

Coming in 2024.

After a shaky start to 2023, Microsoft's Xbox and Starfield showcase double header was a confident and compelling menu for the next couple of years - and a welcome distraction from the smoke still wafting from the kitchen.

Expectations were, perhaps, a little low - while the bar set by Sony with its own showcase was even lower. For some starved fans, any glimpse of Fable would likely have been considered enough of a win. For everyone else, well, we knew we were getting an hour of Starfield - and that was likely going to be just fine.

As it was, Microsoft smashed out the best games reveal event we've seen in years - and finally brought life to a lacklustre not-E3 week overall. Nearly every announcement was an exclusive or brand-new title getting its reveal on Microsoft's virtual stage. More importantly, nearly every announcement was something that looked interesting enough to play. Even the rare moments where things dragged were a far cry from the sponsorships and unvarnished advertising we all sat through last week, during self-appointed E3 replacement Summer Game Fest's livestream. It was a thoroughly entertaining and rousing spectacle.

Fable looks lovely but lacks a window for launch.Watch on YouTube

An eye-catching "in-game footage" look at the new Fable provided pitch-perfect humour from Richard Ayoade, followed by the stylish South of Midnight from Compulsion, the World Premiere of Ubisoft Massive's Star Wars adventure (seemingly inhabiting the Force Ghost of Amy Hennig's Ragtag), and then a reveal for 33 Immortals, the next project from Thunder Lotus, the studio behind the wonderful and moving Spiritfarer.

Up next was Persona, dulled a bit by the leaks, but then Avowed which looked intriguing enough, followed by the entertaining Flight Simulator 2024 - aka the one where Microsoft actually patches in a regular video game. Then there was a look at Hellblade 2, a new Like A Dragon, Towerborne and Clockwork Revolution... And of course, the vast majority of these will either be included in Game Pass at launch or be full console exclusives - and so in Game Pass as well.

It's just a shame that none of those are out this year.

Where Sony failed to provide a solid roadmap of PlayStation releases after Spider-Man 2 in October, Xbox ripped the cap off its content pipeline and showered us with promises - though almost all with a 2024 date attached. Even Hellblade 2, announced back in 2019, is set for next year. Fable, perhaps ominously, did not get a placeholder year at all.

2023, then, will remain the domain of Starfield and Forza Motorsport, alongside some notable game expansions. Of course, Starfield will be huge, and its showing was bewildering enough in detail that I now need to just sit down and play it and see if it can possibly be as good as Todd Howard would have me believe. I've never gelled with Bethesda role-players, but this seems to have borrowed from every sci-fi game I do like (hello, neon Mass Effect nightclub!) that it seems impossible not to give it a try.

Tonight's showing of the new Forza Motorsport, while one of Xbox's biggest brands, couldn't really shake the fact it looks less fun than Forza Horizon. All of which left 2023 to the joyous announcement of a proper Monkey Island and Sea of Thieves crossover - something which brought genuine cheers here at Eurogamer - as well as CD Projekt's multiplatform Cyberpunk 2077 expansion Phantom Liberty.

With Starfield looking like it can hold up to the weight of expectation around its release, this isn't a bad offering for the rest of 2023 when you include the third-party games Sony snaffled for its show and Microsoft subsequent crowed were also on Xbox. Still, it was a surprise to see Xbox suddenly celebrating the beginning of this year as a major turning point. "We had some gaps last year, but I think we've turned the corner coming into 2023," Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty said, at a post-livestream media event in Los Angeles attended by Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell. "[I] feel very good about launching Hi-Fi Rush, we have Minecraft Legends out there which is doing well, we have Age of Empires continuing to come to console... and then as we saw today, this fall we have Forza Motorsport and Starfield. Then when we get into 2024, it really kicks into gear."

It's an interesting way to describe what has in reality been a tumultuous six months for Microsoft so far, with production issues and blame thrown around the launch of Redfall, the soap opera of Xbox trying to buy Activision Blizzard, and the fact PlayStation 5 sales have skyrocketed, giving Xbox's archrival an unassailable lead. In the same discussion, Xbox boss Phil Spencer put a rosier spin on Xbox's fortunes by comparing Xbox Series X/S to Microsoft's own past console efforts, while admitting the Activision Blizzard takeover bid had taken up "focus".

The closest anyone got to mentioning the impact of Redfall during that discussion was in a telling moment where Matt Booty mentioned the upcoming Clockwork Revolution from InXile, which he proudly noted was one of a crop of new announcements from Xbox today that had been dreamt up entirely after Microsoft's acquisition - the suggestion being that these were titles Microsoft could take full credit for, without any other baggage attached. Redfall, of course, had been in the works beforehand - and Microsoft has suggested it should have been more hands-on to correct issues after onboarding developer Arkane (while still being hands-on enough to squash plans for a PlayStation release).

Still, whether it's accurate to apply that promise of a bright future for Xbox games from the start of 2023 or not, the Xbox Games Showcase and Bethesda Direct contained that feeling throughout: in trailer after trailer that promised great things were coming, in message after message that pledged said great things for the all-important Game Pass. Stick with Xbox, Microsoft was saying, and we have so much in store - but mostly in 2024, and beyond.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com