Today Xbox opened gamescom 2015, the world’s biggest interactive games and entertainment expo, with new game reveals for Xbox and Windows 10, extending what it called its “greatest lineup in Xbox history” into 2016. They also gave fans a lot more info on a host of upcoming Xbox One titles in an information-packed presentation.
The company debuted world-premiere gameplay of Xbox exclusives Crackdown 3, Scalebound and Killer Instinct Season 3, alongside a new gameplay demo of Quantum Break.
Xbox also announced Halo Wars 2 — a new strategy game that promises fast-paced action, massive battles and an all-new Halo story, coming to Xbox One and Windows 10 in fall 2016.
Shawn Ashmore, lead actor for Remedy Entertainment’s Quantum Break, surprised fans as he took the stage with Remedy’s Creative Director Sam Lake to discuss and showcase the game’s latest time-amplified gameplay features.
As a response to fan requests, Xbox announced DVR for Over-the-Air TV is coming to Xbox One as a subscription-free service in 2016. Once Xbox One is set up for over-the-air TV, Xbox One owners will be able to record their favorite TV shows, movies and sporting events and store them onto a hard drive, so the amount of recorded content is only limited by the size of the drive, according to the company
The launch of Rare Replay today at gamescom kicked off the 2015 Xbox games lineup. The company also revealed more 2015 games news and gave fans an in-depth look at the games available this fall:
- 343 Industries signaled the return of Halo eSports with the Halo World Championship, kicking off this fall with the biggest prize pool in Halo eSports history — $1 million.
- Crystal Dynamics gave fans their first look at one of the expansive hubs gamers will be able to explore in the highly anticipated Rise of the Tomb Raider, before showing off Lara’s new guerilla combat skills and the Prophets Tomb, filled with secrets to be discovered when the game releases this November, exclusively on Xbox.
- Turn 10 Studios announced four additional tracks coming to “Forza Motorsport 6,” each built from the ground up for this generation — Circuit of the Americas, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Sonoma Raceway and Germany’s famous Hockenheimring — as well as all-new Forza Race Leagues that offer competitive 24-player multiplayer on dedicated servers.
- Electronic Arts shared a look at FIFA 16, detailing the full roster and new features coming to FIFA Ultimate Team Legends, and reminded fans that EA Access members will get exclusive early access to the game beginning Sept. 17, only on Xbox One.
- Gamers who purchase Square Enix and Avalanche Studios’ upcoming open-world action adventure Just Cause 3 on Xbox One will exclusively receive Just Cause 2.
- Ubisoft provided a look at the German CTU featured in its upcoming multiplayer shooter Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. Gamers who purchase the game on Xbox One will exclusively receive both Rainbow Six Vegas and Rainbow Six Vegas 2.
- Oxeye Game Studio, co-founded by Minecraft Lead Developer Jens Bergensten, Daniel Brynolf and Pontus Hammarberg, will launch indie title Cobalt as a console exclusive on Xbox 360 and Xbox One in October 2015.
- ID@Xbox showed several titles at gamescom, including Worms WMD, Thimbleweed Park, Train Simulator, Ark : Survival Evolved, Sheltered, We Happy Few, Bloodstained and more than 30 independent games coming to Windows 10. Fans apparently have a lot more to look forward to, as more than 150 new ID@Xbox titles are coming in the next 12 months.
- Just in time for the holidays, two exclusive FIFA 16 console bundles, a limited edition Halo 5: Guardians console bundle and two new limited edition controllers from Halo 5: Guardians, are all available for preorder starting today.
- Mojang announced that since the launch of Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition beta less than a week ago, players have traveled more than 826 million meters in-game; the equivalent of circling the earth 20 times.
Whether or not its the “greatest Xbox lineup in history” remains to be seen, but Microsoft has certainly shown at gamescom that it is not conceding the battle to PS4 just yet!
SOURCE: Microsoft Press Release