Xbox Games Showcase Extended Wrap-Up

June 18, 2021

Just when we thought we could safely go to bed at a reasonable time, Xbox announced a second showcase to expand on their huge upcoming lineup of games. If you’re just waking up and want to check out all that was revealed in once place – don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

  • Forza Horizon 5: The stream began with an interview with Mike Brown, Creative Director of Forza Horizon at Playground Games, to speak a bit more about the detail and authenticity of the game, from both the cultural inclusions to detail on cactuses the light data in the skies in the game.

  • Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II Here we got what was described by Tameem Antoniades from Team Ninja, as a ‘montage’ of work on the game

  • Xbox Design Lab is back – The controller customisation of the Xbox Design Lab is coming to Xbox Series/X controllers so you can make the custom Unit 01 Neon Genesis Evangelion themed controller of your dreams

  • Psychonauts 2 – Tim Schaefer from Double Fine appeared to give viewers the general pitch for the game, explaining how Psychonauts 2 takes place inside the brains of various characters which protagonist ‘Raz’ dives into. One of the minds shown was Loboto’s, whose mind is filled with ‘censors’ from the first game, as well as doubts and regrets. Deep. The sequel also promises a deeper dive into the Psychonauts’ lore, including their founding by the Psychic Six and letting Raz explore their headquarters.

  • The Anacrusis – Chet Faliszek, CEO of Stray Bombay Company spoke about the 4-player co-op game’s inspiration from 70’s sci-fi, as well as the ‘AI Driver’ system which analyses your playstyle and changes almost every aspect from enemy spawns and item placement to match your skill level. Anacrusis is also a musical term, apparently, meaning the notes before a song. Neat.

  • S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 – Zakhar Bocharov from GSC Game World showed off a section of gameplay, which you can check out below:

  •  A Plague Tale: Innocence for Xbox Series X/S – While its sequel was announced at the first Xbox E3 stream, the original is getting optimised for Xbox Series X/S, coming on July 6 in 4K UHD.

  • Age of Empires IV – Emma Birdle and Adam Isgreen from World’s Edge gave an overview of the game, as well as announcing the final two civilisations and two campaigns – Holy Roman Empire and the Russe, and ‘Rise of Moscow’ and ‘The Mongol Empire’. Age of Empires II Definitive Edition: Dawn of the Dukes DLC will be free if you pre-order Age of Empires IV. They’re also hard at work on an African PDLC for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, but can’t share more right now.

  • Battlefield 2042 – Daniel Berlin, Design Director on Battlefield 2042 gave a detailed overview of the technology and the ‘three distinct experiences’ of the gameplay.

  • Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life – A new gameplay trailer premiered:

  • Microsoft Flight Simulator – Jorg Neumann, Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator showed up in a sweet flight jacket to talk about the game’s release on Xbox, as well as last year’s warm reception on PC.

  • Hades – A new video explaining the game and mythology for newcomers was shown, ahead of the Xbox release on August 14.

  • ID @ Xbox – A new montage was shown of the upcoming ID@Xbox games.

  • Grounded  – Adam Brennecke and Aarik Dorobiala from Obisdian spoke about the ‘Shroom ‘n’ Doom’ update for the game, as well as the inclusion of bosses.

  • Shredders – An extensive gameplay demo was shown, explaining the controls and what the developers are hoping to achieve with the game.

  • Halo Infinite – The focus here was on the already-released multiplayer trailer and breaking down the specifics of the characters and gameplay modes. Tom French, Quinn Delhoyo and Alex Bean answered questions from the host about specific parts of the trailer, as well as expanding upon details, such as the ‘Personal AI’ each player can customize in-game.

  • Scarlet Nexus -Kouta Ochiai and other developers presented a deep dive into the world and gameplay of Scarlet Nexus to close the event. It’s quite extensive, especially when you’re waiting to go back to sleep.