This Thursday at 5 pm UK time, Xbox is going to show it’s hand. Initially billed as a first-party only event, the messaging now appears to be a little vaguer. What we do know though, courtesy of Xbox bigwig Arron Greenberg in the tweet below is that the showcase will focus solely on games.
So in this article, I plan to throw five predictions your way. I then urge you to join me on Twitter during the event as I live-tweet reactions to all the games that are shown and tally how accurate I was. I should state now I have no inside info on the show and so these predictions are just a bit of fun and a shot in the dark.
1 Halo Infinite Delay
Let’s start by getting a potential negative out of the way. We all know Halo Infinite gameplay is finally going to be shown. There are a lot of rumours floating about that the game is now open world, has a grappling hook and an unremarkable story. I have no idea if any or all of these rumours are true, but what I do fear is a delay.
It’s no secret that games have been heavily affected by COVID-19 and I just have a feeling that we may see Halo slip out of the Series X launch date. Alternatively, maybe it will come out with further modes to be added in at a later date, as I have heard this is the case with some titles.
2 New Fable Shown And Dated
For years now Xbox fans have been crying out for a new Fable game. With a new generation on the horizon now is definitely the time to pull the trigger. I think the game will not only be announced, but they will show gameplay and give a release window. I put a lot of time into Fable 2 back in the day and if they can recapture the magic of that game I am all in!
3 Battletoads Shown And Dated
Much like the prediction above, aside from the fact that the game has been shown off in the past, so we do know for sure that it is in development. Here’s the twist though – I think gameplay will be shown and we will get a release date – but I think that release date will be before the launch of the Series X. I even think it could go into open beta immediately following the show, and if not then in the next month or two.
4 Perfect Dark Will Not Be Announced
If this comes to fruition it would be a blow for some, but I do think the rumours of a new Perfect Dark are inaccurate. My only basis for this is that the main piece of evidence pointing towards the series returning was the emergence of a Twitter account that later turned out to have been created by a random gamer. Personally I have no love for the Perfect Dark series, so this won’t be a loss to me. But I know many are looking forward to a potential announcement.
5 Date And Pricing Revealed
While the event has been promoted as a games only event, I think we will get both a console release date and a price. IF Microsoft have a strong event planned, it would be very smart to release the date and price so that people could begin pre-ordering right away while hyped up from the show. If however they feel the event is likely to disappoint, then it might be a better idea to hold that info for another few weeks.
To round out this preview I have decided to make a list of the games I expect to be shown at the event.
Halo Infinite
New Forza
Elden Ring
Hellblade 2
New Fable
Battletoads
Age of Empires 3
Gears Tactics on Xbox
DLC for The Outer Worlds
Some smaller independent titles
One new AAA game reveal that we weren’t expecting. Possibly second party.
Well, that’s my take on the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase. What do you expect/want to see? Let me know on Twitter @VizualDze and remember to join me Thursday when I will be live-tweeting throughout the event.
-VDZE ✌️
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