With the state of the PlayStation finished, Nintendo and Xbox have yet to show their hand during this summer of gaming. Next, Microsoft kicks off its Xbox Game Show on June 9, followed shortly by a big reveal for the next Call of Duty. While we already know that the next Call of Duty will be Black Ops 6, there is much about the main show that remains a mystery and filled with speculation.
It feels like every year is a new year for Xbox and, well, this year is an Xbox year. With the dust from Activision Blizzard’s acquisition settling, but the closures of high-profile studios like Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin still fresh on everyone’s minds, it’s a summer for Xbox to find its center, catch its breath, and share what the future looks like. .
As such, here are some big announcements we hope to see at the Xbox Games Showcase that I think could help get Xbox back on track.
Return to your roots: Gears 6
With the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and many other studios over the past few years, Xbox is now home to thousands of iconic franchises. But the Xbox brand was built on the likes of Master Chief and Gears of War.
If the rumors are true, we’ll likely see a new Gears of War game announced this weekend, and it’ll be a welcome return to one of Xbox’s most iconic franchises. Overkill fell out of favor a few years ago when everyone was trying to make realistic, cinematically inspired games, but I believe we’ve closed the way and are back to wanting some fun with our sadness. Who needs existential dread when you can have a chainsaw attached to a gun?
Plus, there’s never been a better time to revisit a series known for its popular online multiplayer. What is the biggest genre of games today? It is online PvP game. Games like Apex Legends, Valorant and Fortnite dominate the gaming landscape and Gears of War may be to Xbox what Helldivers is to PlayStation.
A new Gears of War game has been heavily rumored, as has a Gears of War collection, which will hopefully bridge the gap while waiting for the newest Gears game.
Xbox Handheld
Rumors of a handheld Xbox have been swirling for months, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer sure likes to talk about the possibility of one. And as we approach this weekend’s showcase, it certainly seems like some sort of official announcement is on the way.
But what will the Xbox handheld be, apart from the obvious (it’s in the name, right?)? Our best guess is something like Steam Deck, offering top-notch portable games so you can play everything in your Xbox collection — and everything on Game Pass, too, if you’re a subscriber — on any time, anywhere. Sony recently tested the waters with the PlayStation Portal, but that’s really a half-step rather than a full-fat portable, and with Nintendo’s Switch 2 on the horizon I wonder if Xbox is trying to get ahead of the competition by offering a console experience home – high-definition graphics and a control pad setup that feels as natural and comfortable as a traditional Xbox controller – before Nintendo made its move.
An Xbox handheld may not be the magic bullet for Xbox – that all depends on the capabilities of the machine itself and, more importantly, its price – but it will instantly become an Xbox Game Pass device, as the Xbox Series X and S. The idea of a high-end portable device capable of running Xbox games seems tailor-made to pair with an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Add in xCloud’s streaming capabilities and the success of expensive devices like the Steam Deck, and it looks like the time is right for Xbox to At last make a handheld gaming device.
Doom: The Dark Ages
Remember when I said we’re back to enjoying mindless schlock? 2016’s Doom helped pave the way for this. While a return to last year’s big Xbox titles will go a long way to remind audiences of the iconic brands under the Xbox banner, it’s also time to bring back a beloved franchise from one of Xbox Game Studios’ acquired flagships.
2016’s Doom and Doom: Eternal are some of the best first-person shooters of the modern era. While opinions are divided on which is better (I still prefer 2016 over Eternal, but that’s just me) what we can all agree on is that it’s time for another Doom kill fest. Word on the street is id Software is preparing Doom: The Dark Ages, a dark heavy metal fantasy Doom game with big swords and bigger demons.
The new Xbox console
Okay, so a new model of gaming hardware isn’t actually that high on my list of things I’d like to see from Xbox, but based on various reports, it looks like we’re quickly approaching a refresh mid-generation from both PlayStation and Xbox. So far this generation, Xbox has beaten PlayStation when it comes to hardware reveals, so if a pro is indeed coming, I think it will be announced by Xbox first.
Rumors abound that Xbox has several different consoles currently in development, including a new all-digital console as well as a next-gen system. Sony, meanwhile, seems intent on launching a PlayStation 5 Pro with the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 specifically in mind. If true, I wouldn’t be surprised if Xbox launches a “pro” device as well, and if Xbox is first out of the gate to announce a new system, it could give us a clear idea of what to expect from Sony and Microsoft when it comes to their mid-generation refresh plans. True ray tracing and more power seem to be the name of the game, but we’ll have to see it in practice to understand what that means in terms of practicality for the average gamer who’s already spent half the money on the game future. – type of outdated systems.
What about all the other Xbox games?
So far for the remainder of 2024 we will have It was acceptedFantastic new RPG from Obsidian to look forward to as well as MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Bethesda’s Starfield Shattered Space expansion. This is three, but Xbox has then announced hidden many other games including blade, fairytale, The Outer Worlds 2, Perfect darkness, State of decay 3, and more. Where are they?
Fable from Playground Games and Blade from Arkane top my personal list of anticipated Xbox titles we haven’t heard about in a while. But even without them there is still All wild by Rare and Perfect Dark Reboot of the Initiative. Plus, there’s a lot of Fallout talk about Bethesda despite it being publicly announced Elder Scrolls 6 as the next game. It’s a good time to double and triple confirm what Bethesda RPG we should expect to see next, or perhaps announce a change of plans (I really want a new Fallout)?. Either way, Xbox doesn’t just have a bunch of irons in the fire, it has the whole mill on fire.
These are the big announcements we hope to see at the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9 at 10am PT / 1pm ET. You can watch the entire show as well as our pre-show and post-show live on IGN.
Matt TM Kim is IGN’s Senior Features Editor. You can achieve it @lawoftd.
