A Breakdown of the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase
One of the most anticipated E3 2021 events took place this morning and unless you had an absurd level of expectations, the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase was a hit. Rather than making you wade through every single announcement that took place during the 90-minute show, we cherry-picked the very best announcements for you. And while the show was an overall success, there were a few areas that we felt Microsoft could have done better – so we’ll share some of those thoughts as well.
The Best Announcements at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase
1) Starfield
Microsoft & Bethesda Games kicked off the show in perfect fashion, by showing a teaser trailer to the much-anticipated game, Starfield. We still don’t know much about Starfield, but we do know that it will be the first game to utilize the Creation Engine 2, it’s an Xbox exclusive, it’ll be available on Game Pass, and it launches November 11, 2022.
2) Forza Horizon 5
Xbox officially announced Forza Horizon 5. This new entry in the franchise will take racers down to beautiful Mexico. The visuals were absolutely gorgeous. Forza Horizon 5 is quite simply the most anticipated racing game on any platform. It launches later this year and will be available on Game Pass.
3) Game Pass
Xbox’s premier subscription, Xbox Game Pass, continues to reign supreme. Of the 30 games announced today at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, 27 of them are coming to Xbox Game Pass. This includes games such as Microsoft Flight Simulator, Psychonauts 2, Halo Infinite, and Hades. The value of Xbox Game Pass continues to grow. It truly is the best reason to own an Xbox Series X.
4) Solid 3rd Party Reveals
During the Showcase, we got some prime reveals for some amazing games. Sure, they might not all be huge AAA games, but they’re definitely games worth looking forward to. Some of these games include Slime Rancher 2, Shredders, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Somerville, Party Animals, and A Plague Tale: Requiem – the sequel to the instant classic A Plague Tale.
5) One More Thing… Redfall!
In an E3 classic move, Xbox Vice President Phil Spencer dropped an epic “one more thing” at the end of the showcase before pulling back the curtain on a brand new, never-before-seen game, Redfall. This Xbox exclusive is being developed by the very capable team at Arkane Austin. Redfall is a co-op FPS where players will do battle against hordes of vampires in the town of Redfall, Massachusetts. Redfall will launch in the summer of 2022.
Check out page 2 for some areas we wish Xbox had stepped up their game.