Xbox Games Showcase at the Summer Game Fest

Microsoft just had a big Xbox showcase event at Summer Game Fest. Was it any good?

It's an odd time for video games. On one hand, there are better, and more games than ever. But there is also a huge problem in the industry that is made very clear by the sheer number of mass layoffs and big studio closures. Microsoft has been at the forefront of these problems as they try to find footing with their all in bet on Gamepass as the future of gaming. We've seen significant studio closures in the form of Arkane Austin, creators of Dishonored, Prey, and Deathloop. Even Tango Gameworks, who released one of Xbox's best performing games of 2023, were just closed. Is anybody safe?

That said, Xbox just showcased everything they have in the works for the next year or two at Summer Game Fest. Are they turning it around? Well, my answer would be a maybe. I was definitely surprised with how much stuff they showed off here.

Starting out with some decent footage of Black Ops 6(saving the bulk of it for it's own separate direct, right afterwards), moving right into Doom: The Dark Ages, the next installment in the Doom franchise. This got me super excited once I realized what it was. Doomguy with a double barreled shotgun, a shield, fighting magical creatures and orcs and shit? Hell yes. 

They also showed off a cinematic for the next Dragon Age game, the first gameplay for this years upcoming Assassin's Creed Shadows. State of Decay 3, Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater all also made an appearance. It's important to note that, as far as I'm aware, all of these games we've brought up so far are not Xbox / PC exclusives, but are going to be on Gamepass day one. They seem to be really banking on that. Hopefully it works out for them.

For Xbox exclusives(or so I assume), we saw more of the next Fable, which looks pretty cool so far. Another trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle(mostly cinematics, but some decent looking gameplay as well. It's hard to tell what this game is going to be). Their biggest announcement by far was Gears of War E-Day. No doubt one of their biggest franchises, and fans have been waiting for more since 2019. All we saw was a cinematic, but at least we know it's coming. 

There were a bunch more games announced and shown off here, but these were the biggest deals in my opinion. Definitely some cool new IPs like South of Midnight, the swampy setting third person action game, with animation similar to the likes of TMNT Mutant Mayhem and Into the Spider-Verse. Really cool stuff.

Oh yeah, content updates and/or expansions were announced for Starfield, Fallout 76, Sea of Thieves, and Diablo IV. Most notably the addition of community content in Starfield, and an absolutely brutal cinematic for Diablo IV's first expansion.

With the lack of PlayStation first party games slated for release in the next year or so(I'm not complaining, I still have a big backlog anyways), this felt pretty big for Xbox. I was starting to worry that they weren't bringing anything to the table, but this is a start. 

Will I need an Xbox Series next to my PS5 and Nintendo Switch in the near future? All I'm saying is there's a chance! 

Thanks for reading this far. This is my first blog post and I'm just trying something new, mostly for myself. I love video games, but I never really get to talk about them like this, so I'm excited for this new outlet. 

If you want more info on these games, or to hear about the ones I didn't really bring up, Xbox actually made a great page on their news site detailing them all. Check it out! 

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/06/09/xbox-games-showcase-2024-recap-everything-announced/

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