Xbox Game Studios & Bethesda |OTXIV| Sarah Bond, From Game Pass With Love

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

Another awful E3….or was that just me ?

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it was 6/10 for me. Not bad. Kinda a course correct that simply but what it needed to do. Some cool indies. Inside dev game looks good. Halo and FH5 looked good but are sadly still crossgen.

it's disappointing to me that they've got so many studios now, and clearly went into acquisition mode behind the scenes in 2017-2018, but didn't feel the need to have any first party exclusives for next gen (maybe Flight Sim I guess) in 20-21.

Hades on GP is cool, might still get it on PS5 for dualsense.

as a XSS it justified my purchase but I also paid only 1/3 the MSRP because of selling my Xbox one. As is, I still think Series consoles are better to wait until fall 2022 to buy, due to likelihood of limited time sales on the systems and next gen support.

I don't think it's unreasonable to be underwhelmed by that show, it hit the mark for what it had to do at the least. The fridge thing was not needed and should've been a tweet or blog post. It certainly wasn't the worst e3 show by far tho.

Deathloop
- Ghostwire Tokyo

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Well we don't about Ghostwire. Do we know how long the exclusively deals are? 1 year we assume. Ghostwire might slip to 2022 imo.

 

[Governergrimm]

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You can watch from the Xbox channel on YT itself

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Thank you! Will watch it there!

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

The only way this would have been a good show for some people:

Skyrim 2
Gears of War 7
Yakuza Future Warfare
God of War vs Killer Instinct
Mario Bros Remastered
Switch Pro announced
Switch Pro + announced
Switch Pro Dual Blade Ex announced
Halo Halo
MS buying EA
MS buying Activision
MS buying Disney

All available today on gamepass

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I'd be curious what "MS buying EA" or "Switch Pro announced" would look like on Game Pass

 

[Roarschach]

Also Fh5 made me realize how mental Fable is going to look.

 

[solis74]

The only way this would have been a good show for some people:

Skyrim 2
Gears of War 7
Yakuza Future Warfare
God of War vs Killer Instinct
Mario Bros Remastered
Switch Pro announced
Switch Pro + announced
Switch Pro Dual Blade Ex announced
Halo Halo
MS buying EA
MS buying Activision
MS buying Disney

All available today on gamepass

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lol not even then with CERTAIN folks ;)

 

[Scottoest]

Thought it was a really good conference, considering everything that was missing. Solid 8/10 from me. Only standout disappointment for me was so little of Starfield.

FH5 looked amazing, though I'll be interested to see how much different it is gameplay-wise from FH4. Seemed to be hinting at a real "campaign" this time which could be interesting.

The Sea of Thieves collab was certainly a shock, lol.

 

[GING-SAMA]

It's scary

 

[Blah]

That was a great show. I've been playing GP almost exclusively recently and I was psyched for nearly everything they showed.

Just an amazing showing.

 

[Perzeval]

The event was top notch for me

 

[vixolus]

It is quite interesting how Minecraft isn't a yearly thing but I guess they just launched Part 1 and that got enough attention on its own.

 

[RoKKeR]

People usually give me a hard time for being overboard at times and overly critical of Xbox, but a couple hours after that showcase and my score just keeps going higher.

Knowing how much we have to look forward to beyond even what was shown today, acquisitions obviously coming, and even more unannounced AAA titles (not to mention more BC and xcloud stuff), Xbox is going to have the best gen ever.

Final score is 9/10, IMO.

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Hell yeah! It's amazing how they are stacking the deck despite having a lot of stuff still far away.

 

[Prine]

It's scary

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Needs to be said over and over. Damn.

 

[solis74]

Not quite a 9.5 for me but not far off either. It was a good show. I have given up on MS understanding what the general public means by "gameplay". It's wild all the stuff that's coming and I can't believe they managed to clean up Halo as well as they did. They were also very clear on the exclusivity of Bethesda IP they showed.

So for the rest of this year from 1st party we get:

• Halo infinite
• Psychonauts 2
• Flight sim
• Forza horizon 5

Going to rewatch a 4k feed tonight to see everything I missed. Speaking of. What's a good 4k feed to watch?

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Xbox youtube channel

 

[Bear and bird]

It is quite interesting how Minecraft isn't a yearly thing but I guess they just launched Part 1 and that got enough attention on its own.

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Minecraft has Minecon as a yearly event. They ran it as a digital event last year and I think they're doing the same this year as well.

 

[Poodlestrike]

Redfall easily my most anticipated thing from the show. Setting ticked all my boxes, co-op is my jam, and the description of the gameplay sounds excellent. I have faith in Arkane to nail the execution so I'm just riding the hype now.

 

[solis74]

 

[Brot]

It's scary

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The games simply weren't ready to be shown. No need to spin this, it was still a solid show.

 

[Governergrimm]

Needs to be said over and over. Damn.

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That show was great. Not earth shattering but it was so strong and there is so much on the horizon. I wonder how release dates would look if Covid hadn't t-boned the industry.

 

[XVerdena]

As a Game Pass subscriber, I have so fucking much to look forward.

July 20 Death's Door (no game pass but still)
July 29 The Ascent
August: Hades, Psychonauts 2, 12 minutes
September: Sable
October: Back 4 Blood
November: Forza 5 and probably Halo

2022: Starfield, Stalker 2, Redfall and Deathloop, Forza Motorsport apparently, A Plague Tale Requiem and who knows what else. It is absolutely insane.

Now imagine E3 2022 with all the other xgs games.

 

[Lionheart360]

Welcome to the party

once your in, your stuck here, forever

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Gamepass will make sure of that haha

 

[FarSight XR-20]

I updated the complete list of the first-party output from XGS + Bethesda (since the completion of the acquisition in March) for the year 2021. It gives a good idea of what we can expect from MS for the future years with 23 studios once the last contractual obligations are fulfilled.

I still have some doubts about Ghostwire Tokyo releasing in 2021 (as Tango has been quite silent compared to Arkane Lyon so far) and also (to a lesser extent) about the official release of Grounded in 2021 as the developers said they needed more time.

Assuming no delays, on the 8 new games planned for 2021 (not counting Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs and Flight Simulator), 7 would release during the second half of 2021.

What do you think ?

Xbox's First-Party Output for the Year 2021 [Poll: how would you rate this year ?]

Banner credits: @Klobrille poll New games: Halo Infinite (Score: 87) 343 Industries Release dates : November 15 (Multiplayer), December 8 (Campaign) Won 10 GOTY Forza Horizon 5 (92) Playground Games Release date : November 9 Won 12 GOTY Age of Empires 4 (83) Only PC World’s...

forum.xboxera.com

As of June 14, 2021:

New games

Halo Infinite
343 Industries
Planned release date : Holidays 2021

Forza Horizon 5
Playground Games
Planned release date : November 9, 2021

Age of Empires 4
Only PC at the moment but available on Xbox Cloud Gaming
World's Edge + Relic (SEGA)
Planned release date : October 28, 2021

Psychonauts 2
Double Fine
Planned release date : August 25, 2021

Grounded
Obsidian
Planned release date : 2021 (full release)

Deathloop
PS5 exclusive for 1 year
Arkane Lyon
Planned release date : September 14, 2021

Ghostwire Tokyo
PS5 exclusive for 1 year
Tango Gameworks
Planned release date : 2021 (could be planned for October according to the Sony CES 2021 video presentation)

Standalones

DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods, Part Two
id Software
Release date : March 18, 2021

Xbox Series X|S port

Microsoft Flight Simulator
Xbox Game Studios Publishing + Asobo Studio
Planned release date : July 27, 2021

Sizeable expansions

Sea of Thieves: a Pirate's Life
Rare
(Crossover with Disney's The Pirate of the Carribean, a whole new story)
Relase date : June 22, 2021

Minecraft Caves & Cliffs
Mojang
(Caves & Cliffs, slated to be the biggest update in the game's history)
Planned release date : June 8, 2021 (Part 1) and Holidays 2021 (Part 2)

Fallout 76: Steel Reign
BGS Austin
(Conclusion of the Brotherhood of Steel storyline)
Planned release date : July 7, 2021

(Constant updates through 2021 : Locked & Loaded, Steel Reign, Worlds are Changing, Tales from the Stars)
Release date : Locked & Loaded (April 27), Steel Reign (July 7)

The Elder Scrolls Online: the Gates of Oblivion
ZeniMax Online Studios
(Flames of the Ambition free update + next-gen update + Blackwood chapter, part of the Gates of Oblivion storyline told throughout all of ESO's 2021 content releases)
Release date (Blackwood) : June 1, 2021

Microsoft Flight Simulator
Xbox Game Studios Publishing + Asobo Studio
(Flight Simulator x Top Gun: Maverick)
Release date : around November 19, 2021

(Constant World updates through 2021 : UK & Ireland, France & Benelux, etc.)
Release date : February 16 (UK & Ireland), April 13 (France & Benelux), July (Nordic countries)

The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos
Obsidian
(Murder on Eridanos 2nd narrative expansion + next-gen update)
Release date: March 17, 2021

Wasteland 3 : The Battle of Steeltown
inXile
Release date : June 3, 2021
A 2nd narrative expansion is also planned (release date is unknown)

Minecraft Dungeons
Mojang
(Ancient Hunts free update + **Flames of the Nether**, game's biggest update so far)
Release date : February 24, 2021

Hidden Depths
Release date : May 26, 2021

Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition
World's Edge + Relic (SEGA)
new expansion set in Eastern Europe, new campaign, co-op historical battles and more)
Planned release date : Summer 2021

Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition
World's Edge + Relic (SEGA)
(United States civilization, new expansion that will showcase African civilizations)
Release date : April 13, 2021 (US civilization)

Minor content updates

Halo: MCC
343 Industries
(Season 5: Anvil, Season 6: Raven, Season 7: Elite)
(Constant updates through 2021: new maps for Halo 3, Custom Game Browser, new armors/skins/accessories, new rewards, etc.)
Release date : January 27 (Season 5), April 7 (Season 6), Season 7 TBA

Gears 5
The Coalition
(Operation 6, Operation 7, Operation 8)
(Constant updates though 2021: new maps, new characters, new skins, new events, new rewards)
Release date : March 2 (Operation 6), May 18 (Operation 7), Operation 8 TBA

Summary of 2021 (as of June 14)

- 8 new games planned (among 23 first-party studios). Only one was released during the first half of 2021 (by Bethesda, the standalone DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part Two)

- 14 studios on the 23 are releasing new content (whether it's a new game or a big paid/free expansion) (so not including Halo MCC and Gears 5 updates)

 

[ryan299]

My wife after the conference "sooo......you're getting that mini fridge right?"

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Lol mine thought it was hilarious that they're making one and said I should get it for my gaming room.

 

[bohex1984]

I think that what's incredibly exciting about this showcase is to see all the games already announced that weren't there (big ones), but something quite particular and remarkable to me is the fact that in a 90 minutes show there were no:

ID sizzle reel
Gamepass section
Retrocompatibility news
Acquisitions talk

And I'm not saying I don't like or want those things, but it's pretty clear MS is getting to a position in which they don't need to bring those aspects of their strategy to a place like E3, leaving them for other moments or presentations instead...

 

[Azerth]

going on halos facebook post it looks like we will get a viddoc tom

 

[Rhaknar]

As a Game Pass subscriber, I have so fucking much to look forward.

July 20 Cris Tales
July 29 The Ascent
August: Hades, Psychonauts 2, 12 minutes
September: Sable
October: Back 4 Blood
November: Forza 5 and probably Halo

2022: Starfield, Stalker 2, Redfall and Deathloop, Forza Motorsport apparently, A Plague Tale Requiem and who knows what else. It is absolutely insane.

Now imagine E3 2022 with all the other xgs games.

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I fixed your July 20th game :3

 

[Wake_Lestat360]

So, after some thoughts, heres quick review for this E3:

8.5 - Great event that sends a strong message about Gamepass and Xbox future.

I really liked almost every game they showed today: STALKER is looking awesome as ever, BF6 is C R A Z Y, all those games hitting Gamepass is just *chef kiss*...

And OMG Playground, those guys are wizards. Horizon 5 graphics are unbelievable.

Starfield is looking good too, it was Pre Alpha so the only way is up. Can't wait to see a deep dive on it (probably next year -.-). TOW2 made me lol, love that franchise.

The only two letdown was Contraband (even more when reading the Windows Central article about it) and what was my most wanted game before the event: Redfall. Arkane are masters of Immersive Sim, and Vampires opens so many possibilities on this genre that it felt like Arkane + Vampires were a match made in heaven. Omen was , probably, my dream game.

But then, not only we are vampire hunters, but also the game is a Co-Op Open World game that *can* be played solo. And time and time again has showed me that this specific definition of what a game is sucks for solo players, while also significantly meaning that ImmSims mechanics and designs are dumbed down. I love Arkane Games and I'll give them the benefit of doubt till they release gameplay and etc.,but right now I'm deeply disappointed with Redfall.


EDIT:

Oh, yeah, totally forgot: WHERE THE HECK IS MY PERSONA 5 ????

 

[thankyoumerzbow]

amazing show, the only weird thing is that halo didnt get a release date

 

[vixolus]

This is what we got with the lingering effects of covid...

I imagine 2022 will be even more of a banger.

 

[solis74]

Terrific showcase. Was worth holding off till the 4k stream dropped.
And Forza Horizon man, almost slipped out of my chair marveling at the graphics.

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same lol

 

[DuvalDevil]

Oh, theres so much stuff coming I don't even know when to play all those games. And I don't even have to pay for most of those titles because of Game Pass. This will easily be the best Gen for a console money-wise and if the quality will be there then the Series Gen will be one to remember :)

Horizon 5 looked absolutely mindblowing.
Sea of Thieves collab was a nice suprise. Didn't expect such a meaty Disney integration.
Halo MP was fantastic. Completely pumped to fight online with my friends.
Battlefield is just Battlefield. Nothing comes close to it when it comes to spectacle. I'm so ready for the launch.

Only letdown:
Basically no love for japanese games. Expected a bit more. Persona? Or one or two other suprises to underline a stronger commitment.

PS:
No aquisitions? What about all those rumors?

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

Just a random thought, but I can't fathom how somebody could play on Xbox and not have Game Pass, like it's ridiculous how good the value is right now. Like it was already amazing but some of the new stuff coming it's just becoming impossible to not have Game Pass at this point

 

[Rychu]

We got 5 new first party game reveals basically:
- Forza Horizon 5
- Starfield
- Redfall
- Contraband
- The Outer Worlds 2

And FH5, Starfield and Redfall will all be out by the end of 2022. We didn't see Avowed, Everwild, Perfect Dark, Hellblade II or Fable BUT I feel like the amount of new game reveals more than made up for that, as well as the fact that the games are coming soon. Easily one of Microsoft's strongest conferences from a first party standpoint. I do wish they showed gameplay of Starfield and Redfall especially with them coming out so soon, but that's the only negatives I have.

 

[solis74]

That was a great show. I've been playing GP almost exclusively recently and I was psyched for nearly everything they showed.

Just an amazing showing.

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agree

 

[GING-SAMA]

I said it before, but the expertise that PG have in OW level design & rendering will help a lot Fable.

 

[GING-SAMA]

The games simply weren't ready to be shown. No need to spin this, it was still a solid show.

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When I said it's scary is because the show was incredible and they don't even show these games

 

[DuvalDevil]

I said it before, but the expertise that PG have in OW level design & rendering will help a lot Fable.

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Playground are just wizards. I can't believe how good that looks.

 

[solis74]

It's scary

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folks are starting to see what 23 studios and 30 plus dev teams along with XGSP and GP, will start to give you :)

 

[DuvalDevil]

folks are starting to see what 23 studios and 30 plus dev teams along with XGSP and GP, will start to give you :)

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Well and they're probably not done yet with buying new studios. There will be more down the line. That's almost guaranteed. Still suprised we had no news today, because a lot of folks seemed to be pretty sure about new acquisitions.

 

[solis74]

We got 5 new first party game reveals basically:
- Forza Horizon 5
- Starfield
- Redfall
- Contraband
- The Outer Worlds 2

And FH5, Starfield and Redfall will all be out by the end of 2022. We didn't see Avowed, Everwild, Perfect Dark, Hellblade II or Fable BUT I feel like the amount of new game reveals more than made up for that, as well as the fact that the games are coming soon. Easily one of Microsoft's strongest conferences from a first party standpoint. I do wish they showed gameplay of Starfield and Redfall especially with them coming out so soon, but that's the only negatives I have.

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yeah first party are starting to fire!

 

[MCD]

Need someone to make an updated game pass calendar because E3 one is missing games like Cris Tales.

 

[solis74]

As a Game Pass subscriber, I have so fucking much to look forward.

July 20 Death's Door (no game pass but still)
July 29 The Ascent
August: Hades, Psychonauts 2, 12 minutes
September: Sable
October: Back 4 Blood
November: Forza 5 and probably Halo

2022: Starfield, Stalker 2, Redfall and Deathloop, Forza Motorsport apparently, A Plague Tale Requiem and who knows what else. It is absolutely insane.

Now imagine E3 2022 with all the other xgs games.

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££££ saved :)

 

[Rhaknar]

Need someone to make an updated game pass calendar because E3 one is missing games like Cris Tales.

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and it's REALLY annoying me lol

 

[ShinAmano]

Show was legit. Need to watch some halo and forza 4k footage. :)

Suprised at the missing stuff and no acquisitions talk...but '23 and growing' quote.

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

Well and they're probably not done yet with buying new studios. There will be more down the line. That's almost guaranteed. Still suprised we had no news today, because a lot of folks seemed to be pretty sure about new acquisitions.

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More acquisitions are a matter of when, not if. So them not being at this E3 just means they weren't closed soon enough prior to recording, or just that they haven't closed yet. Plus there's still, presumably, XO21 where they could announce some this year. The fact they managed to have such a great conference despite not announcing any new acquisitions is awesome in itself. It's a great time to be an Xbox gamer

 

[Prine]

That show was great. Not earth shattering but it was so strong and there is so much on the horizon. I wonder how release dates would look if Covid hadn't t-boned the industry.

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Yah, and i truth be told, im waiting for them to drop bombs re acquisitions. I just watched the conference again, Phil specifically mentions our growing team of 23 studios. Personally hoping they held back acquisitions for later (perhaps opting out of mentioning it on pre-recorded video due to leaks?), it does feel like there's more to come.

 

[DuvalDevil]

More acquisitions are a matter of when, not if. So them not being at this E3 just means they weren't closed soon enough prior to recording, or just that they haven't closed yet. Plus there's still, presumably, XO21 where they could announce some this year. The fact they managed to have such a great conference despite not announcing any new acquisitions is awesome in itself. It's a great time to be an Xbox gamer

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I fully agree. What a turn around compared to the barebones XOne days.

 

[solis74]

I said it before, but the expertise that PG have in OW level design & rendering will help a lot Fable.

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better than RDR for me.

 

[Shrennin]

Show was good. I'd give it a B.

I think next year it's obvious that things will ramp up. But this year all Microsoft needs to do is have a homerun with Halo.

I hope there's a Halo event right near its release. I think what we saw of the campaign looked a lot better and the multiplayer looks fantastic.

 

[SilverX]

I can't wait for Back 4 Blood, so it being a Game Pass game made the conference an 8/10 with Halo and FH5 coming around the same time later this year. But everything else was a resounding "meh".

Starfield, Redfall, Contraband, and The Outer Worlds 2 didn't feel ready at all for this E3 stage. The same way most the games that were announced at the summer Xbox show weren't and were MIA this year along with other peculiar omissions like Everwild.

This is exactly why I didn't board the hype shelf, MS shows far too much CGI at their E3 shows.

 

[solis74]

Well and they're probably not done yet with buying new studios. There will be more down the line. That's almost guaranteed. Still suprised we had no news today, because a lot of folks seemed to be pretty sure about new acquisitions.

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I'm sure they will come at some point yes, there's just to much smoke.