Summer Game Fest
E78: Recap of Summer Game Fest and the Xbox & Bethesda Game Showcase.
Good morning gamers. Welcome to our Summer Game Fest Edition of the Weekly Recon. Last week Geoff Keighley hosted Summer Game Fest while Xbox & Bethesda held a joint games showcase featuring games targeted to launch in the next 12 months. Please contain your excitement as we have a lot of amazing news to share.
Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann announced The Last of Us: Part 1 Remake is coming to PS5 and PC in September. He also confirmed that the studio is working on a stand-alone TLOU multiplayer game, which he described as being as big as their single-player games. The game will have its own story incorporated within the multiplayer elements and will feature a brand-new cast of characters and location.
The Callisto Protocol showcased some raw gameplay in a new extended trailer that highlighted its third-person action combat and its survival horror elements. The extended gameplay footage also featured a new “gravity gun” weapon called The Grip, horrifying new enemies and plenty of gore. The game is set to release on December 2nd for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4 and PC.
Aliens: Dark Descent was announced alongside a world-premiere cinematic trailer that featured a group of space marines fighting off a horde of Xenomorphs. It is set to release in 2023 for all Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4 and PC.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare II showcased a first look at their campaign gameplay with a 7-minute runthrough of the mission “Dark Water”. The world reveal trailer featured the return of Captain Price, Soap, Ghost and Gaz. MWII is built on an entirely new engine and will be available on October 28 across all Xbox and PlayStation consoles, and PC (via Steam). Warzone 2 is also slated to release later this year and will run on the same brand-new engine.
Here are some other amazing games that also made appearances at Summer Game Fest.
Street Fighter 6 showcased some brand-new exclusive footage of Guile.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is releasing on October 7 and Spider-man is confirmed to join the cast of characters.
Layers of Fear is returning with a new reimagining of the original two games by Bloober Team. This new game is built on Unreal Engine 5 and is coming in 2023.
Gotham Knights revealed an exclusive first look at Nightwing.
Stormgate from Frost Giant Studios will enter beta in 2023
Saints Row Reboot showcased its “Boss Factory” character creation demo.
Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase
Starfield closed out the showcase with a gameplay reveal. It’s a next generation open world sci-fi RPG where players join “Constellation”, the last group of space explorers from the city of New Atlantis as they explore more than 100 solar systems and 1,000 unique planets looking for rare artifacts scattered throughout the galaxy. The game features a deep character customization system, weapon crafting, survival outposts, plenty of enemies and the ability to both build and fly your own spaceships. Starfield will release day one on Game Pass for Xbox consoles, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming in the first half of 2023.
Redfall showcased exclusive Xbox Series X Beta gameplay. The brand-new co-op FPS from award-winning studio Arkane Austin showed off multiple vampires during their gameplay reveal. The game offers players an exciting range of characters to choose from with special abilities, strategic combat, changing environments, a variety of weapons and a rich narrative. Redfall is a console launch exclusive on Xbox Series X|S, coming to Windows PCs, Day One on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, and via Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Forza Motorsport from Turn 10 Studios will be released in Spring 2023, a real-time game demo was showcased using a single camera. The game was built from the ground up with ray tracing specifically designed for Xbox Series X|S. The Forza Motorsport series was completely overhauled with new driving experiences, including the new physics simulation, a new dynamic time-of-day system, advanced rendering and new procedural techniques that bring new realism to the games environments. The game will be a console launch exclusive on Xbox Series X|S, coming to Windows PCs, and Day One on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.
Minecraft Legends from Mojang Studios was unveiled and it is set to be released in 2023. It’s an all-new action strategy game developed in partnership with Blackbird Interactive. The game offers players a new unique Minecraft experience as they must lead their allies in heroic battles to defend the Overworld. Minecraft Legends is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Windows PCs, Day One on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, and via Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Diablo IV revealed an all-new action trailer featuring the new “necromancer” class (the 5th and final) - a commander of the undead. The Diablo IV development team showcased Xbox Series S gameplay of the next generation RPG with a fully realized open-world (and a shared world - with fully enabled cross-play). The game will allow the player to make choices as there’s no linear story path, a robust character customization system and more than 150 dungeons. The End Game is “rich with things to do'' and Blizzard Entertainment will support it for “years to come” (includes PvP and couch-co-op). Diablo IV is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PCs, PS4 and PS5 (includes cross-play and cross-progression).
Here are some other amazing games that also made appearances at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase.
Hideo Kojima and Xbox Game Studios announced a new partnership. In collaboration they will “create a video game for Xbox like no one has ever experienced or seen before leveraging the power of the cloud”.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is celebrating their 40 Years of Flying with an exclusive partnership with the Halo franchise and 343 Industries, an incredibly detailed Halo Infinite Pelican add-on. New and highly anticipated aircraft types, including helicopters and gliders will also be introduced.
Overwatch 2 arrives on October 4th as a free-to-play live service game. A reveal event is scheduled for June 16th featuring the new Tank hero Junker Queen in a full-length animated short called “The Wastelander”. The game is coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PCs.
Ark 2 is an online survival game where “Survivors” build their own unique creature-aided civilizations. The game stars Vin Diesel as the hero Santiago. Ark 2 launches in 2023 as a console launch exclusive on Xbox Series X|S, coming to Windows PCs, Day One on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass and via Xbox Cloud Gaming.
High on Life is a new Sci-Fi Shooter from Rick and Morty’s Justin Roiland. Players are tasked with taking down Garmantuous and his alien gang while partnering with hilarious talking guns.
Riot Games is bringing their best games to Xbox Game Pass including their mobile-only and mobile-accessible titles. This winter, Xbox Game Pass members will receive bonuses on: League of Legends (PC), League of Legends: Wild Rift (Mobile), Legends of Runeterra (PC & Mobile), Teamfight Tactics (PC & Mobile), and Valorant (PC).
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