Microsoft promised plenty of gameplay footage and other announcements at the latest Xbox Series X Games Showcase. And it wasted no time getting to the heart of the event with its first look at Halo Infinite gameplay footage. It then turned to other titles people have wanted to hear about, including Everwild and new RPG called Avowed.
The July Xbox event is focused on games, and Microsoft said it has no plans to share any hardware news, including the Xbox Series X’s launch date or price. The company will likely share those details in the coming months before the console goes on sale for the holiday 2020 season.
In addition to Halo Infinite gameplay footage, Microsoft’s event also played host to a new action game called Balan Wonderland from Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka. A variety of other games also debuted at the show.
Read on for all the biggest news from Microsoft’s latest Games Showcase.
The Xbox Games Showcase kicked off with a bang and the first look at Halo Infinite gameplay footage. It shows protagonist Master Chief in a crash landing saying he needs to stop The Banished. The footage featured familiar Halo look and feel and depicted Master Chief jumping into a warthog and taking down enemies.
As rumored, Master Chief now has a grappling hook on his left arm that allows him to latch on to enemies and objects around him. The gameplay footage showed him attaching to one enemy and using a melee attack to take the enemy down. The grappling hook can also be used to grab items and weapons strewn across the ground.
Microsoft once again decided against announcing Halo Infinite’s official launch date and said again it’ll be available this holiday season.
Microsoft ended its show with “one more thing:” Fable. Microsoft’s trailer was short and said nothing about the game when it would launch, and what to expect from its storyline, however, so all we know is that the game is coming.
Yuji Naka, the famed co-creator of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, unveiled a collaboration with Square-Enix called Balan Wonderland. The game, which will launch in spring 2021 on Xbox One and Xbox Series X, is an action title that will feature 80 distinct costumes that each provide players with different abilities. Gameplay footage showed a variety of characters taking on big bosses and other antagonists.
Balan Wonderland is the first game in 20 years that Naka and Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Naoto Ohshima have teamed on.
In another world premiere, Microsoft showcased how the next Forza title, called Forza Motorsport, will look on the Xbox Series X. The trailer showed a variety of flashy cars and characters, and Microsoft was quick to note that while it didn’t show gameplay footage, its trailer was generated by Xbox Series X hardware.
Microsoft followed its Halo Infinite unveiling with a trailer for State of Decay 3. It showed a character hunting an animal that appeared to be infected by, well, something. But exactly what is unknown, the trailer did little to reveal what Microsoft has planned.
Microsoft also shared a look at Rare’s next title Everwild. The trailer showed a natural world for players to explore and revealed a variety of characters across nature. Again, Microsoft only showed a trailer instead of gameplay footage. The company also didn’t say when Everwild will launch.
In another trailer, Microsoft teased a brother-sister-focused game called Tell Me Why that will be available on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and Xbox Game Pass. The first chapter will launch on August 27.
With a mix of gameplay footage and pre-filmed content, Microsoft showed off The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon, an expansion pack for The Outer Worlds that will be launching on September 9. It offers first-person action with both guns and swords. It’ll be available on Xbox Series X and Xbox One and playable on July 28 on Xbox Early Preview and Steam Early Access.
On a more serious note, Obsidian also showcased a new role-playing game called Avowed. The company said the game is set in the fantasy world of Eora and features first-person gameplay. The video showed players shooting burning arrows
In a music interlude, Microsoft showed off gameplay footage from Psychonauts 2. It was a decidedly colorful experience and showed a variety of multicolored visuals. Microsoft also said it’ll be available on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC but didn’t share a launch date.
Bungie plans to make Destiny 2 to Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass in September, allowing players to access it for free if they have an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Game Pass subscribers will also get all of the game’s expansions for free. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to play the game on mobile with Microsoft’s Project xCloud.
Microsoft also said that Bungie plans to launch a new version of Destiny 2 at 4K and 60fps on November 10 that will be designed for Xbox Series X. Bungle is calling the game Destiny 2: Beyond Light. It’ll also be available on Xbox Game Pass.
In another trailer that did little to shed light on what players can expect, Stalker 2 showed a person seeking something in a barren wasteland. Microsoft didn’t say when the game will launch or provide additional details. Stalker 2 will, however, launch exclusively on the Xbox Series X.
In another trailer, Microsoft showcased a new Warhammer title called Warhammer 40,000 Darktide. The trailer showed a glimpse at first-person gameplay, and a precarious position for the game’s protagonist as a seemingly endless supply of enemies faced them. The game will launch next year on Xbox Series X and PC.
Tetris is alive and well, and a new version entrant into the franchise will launch this holiday season. The game, called Tetris Effect Connected, will allow players around the world to play simultaneously across what appears to be a very colorful and music-oriented Tetris experience. It’ll be available on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC.
Armed with actual gameplay footage, Microsoft showed off The Gunk, a game that features the protagonist exploring an alien planet. The title, which features third-party gameplay, seems to be more adventure-oriented than action-packed, but it comes with a mean-looking enemy. It’ll be available on Xbox Game Pass and all of Microsoft’s hardware. Microsoft didn’t announce a launch date.
A new entrant into the survival-horror genre, Microsoft unveiled what appears to be a unique title with dual-rendered worlds called The Medium. The trailer featured both CGI and in-game footage and delivered its fair share of spooky visuals. It’ll be available on Xbox Series X and PC.
Sega found its way to the Xbox Games Showcase with a new Phantasy Star Online game called New Genesis Phantasy Star Online 2. The game, which will launch in 2021 on both Xbox hardware and the PC, will place players inside a new world with a variety of new characters. The gameplay footage looks decided Phantasy Star-like, but there’s plenty still unknown about the title.
Another first-person shooter that offered gameplay footage in its trailer, CrossfireX will place players inside a modern combat environment. It’ll be a free-to-play title and will be available on Xbox Game Pass. CrossfireX will launch later this year on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
In another trailer, Microsoft shared As Dusk Falls, a game that appears to be an emotional title but a little light on details. It’ll be available at some point on Xbox Series X and PC.
During the pre-show, Square-Enix showed off a new Dragon Quest game for Xbox called Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. It’s the first Dragon Quest title to launch on the Xbox. Square-Enix showed gameplay footage and said players will need to visit a variety of locations around the world and use characters’ distinct attributes to win battles in the role-playing game. It even features a 2D mode for nostalgic players.
The game will be available on the Xbox on December 4.
The pre-show also featured a newly announced first-person title called Exomecha that will hit store shelves in 2021. The gameplay footage revealed little about the free-to-play title, but it did offer a look at a variety of mech characters that players need to take down.
Microsoft played a trailer for Hello Neighbor 2, a game that will launch next year. The trailer featured two characters tracking each other but didn’t provide much detail about the storyline or what players can expect. It’ll be available on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC next year.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.