The Xbox Event is almost here. On July 23rd, we will be at our screens hoping we see that one game get revealed or seeing something nobody expected and have our minds blown. Like Alan Wake 2, or Left 4 Dead 3, and maybe a brand new Fusion Frenzy?
AND MAYBE A SEQUEL TO SNEAK KING?
Yes, all of those above are very doubtful, but I thought I’d start of this article with some out of world predictions and throw in a Sneak King.
A lot of critics can say that Xbox needs to come out hard and show nothing, but hit after hit. I don’t blame them. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that Xbox has lacked what Playstation has achieved. Yes, I’m talking about amazing exclusives. If you know me, or follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that console wars to me are outright stupid. There is nothing more annoying than seeing someone praise there piece of plastic over someone else’s piece of plastic. You’re not getting a check, and it’s not going to affect your real life outside of console war social media. It will be ok, I promise.
I thought about my predictions for a couple of weeks, and what would be a safe conference for Microsoft, drafted them on my PC here and there, and after a very eventful week of welcoming my newborn son into the pandemic, I finalized a list and will be sharing what I think we will be shown at the Xbox Event July 23rd. Please keep in mind that these are just my predictions, and opinions and I am in no way a secret insider leaking information. This is just what I think we will all be shown next week. So without anymore boring introduction stuff, lets jump in!
Battletoads:
That’s right! Battletoads is still making its comeback and not only we will see a new trailer and some gameplay, but it’s going to be shadow dropped on Xbox Game Pass and we will get to enjoy some new and improved Battletoads! The first reveal of Battletoads didn’t quite suck me in, but thanks to one of the best gaming subscription services around right now, I’ll be able to download it and play day one.
Halo Infinite:
Yes. I am so excited to see more of Halo Infinite. I am expecting a brand new trailer along with some actual gameplay, and hopefully a lot of multiplayer action as well. I’d love to see some of that rumored Battle Royale mode action as well. 343 Industries knows what’s at stake here so I don’t expect the next entry to flop. Release date for Halo Infinite is Holiday 2020, so unless they announce the Xbox Series X release date, we probably won’t get an official date for Halo.
Gears Tactics (console):
The very little I played of Gears Tactics, I did enjoy, even though it’s a genre that I am not that into and lose interest in very fast. I believe that we will see a little bit of Xbox Series X gameplay of Gears Tactics and we will get that official release date for console. If I had to guess, and what would be great, is Gears Tactics releasing alongside Halo Infinite and Xbox Series X day one.
Everwild:
Rare gave us a glimpse of their new title Everwild that will be kind of like Sea of Thieves, but with a greater emphasis on some RPG elements, and will be co-op. Sea of Thieves did not give a great first impression, but overtime, it has slowly become of the top streamed games and very enjoyable. I think we will see some in-depth gameplay, a new trailer, and perhaps maybe a release date, although I think a release date is still a little ways off for Everwild.
Fable:
We’ve seen some interesting things on Twitter these past few weeks. Anything from suppose leaks to placeholder Twitter handles with the Fable username locked up. Of course, all of this can be taken with a grain of salt, but I believe that Fable is back, and we will finally see the return of one of the best Xbox Exclusives to ever exist. I have all the faith in Playground Games to make a beautiful looking Fable, and I am pretty certain, we will see at least some kind of tease for a new Fable.
Flight Simulator:
It was just revealed that the official release date for the highly anticipated Flight Simulator will be August 18th and will be arriving first to PC and Xbox Game Pass for PC. Flight Simulator is the next generation of one of the most beloved simulation franchises. We should see a lot of gameplay for Flight Simulator and maybe a new trailer with the title releasing just weeks later.
Hellblade 2:
We first heard about Hellblade 2 at The Video Game Awards last year with a very amazing looking trailer. I think we will get some gameplay running in Unreal Engine 5, but I think it’s a little too early to throw out a confirmed release date. Ninja Theory will take us behind the scenes to give us more information and footage during this reveal. I think we still have months, maybe even years before we see the next installment of Hellblade.
The Initiative’s new game:
It’s been rumored for months now that The Initiative has been working on a brand new game. Rumors have been from anything to a brand new open world RPG to a complete reboot of the classic Perfect Dark. Perfect Dark also shared a placeholder on Twitter alongside Fable, but Aaron Greenberg shot it down, saying it’s not real. Sure Aaron. I’m going to throw the Ron Burgandy GIF at you and simply say, “I don’t believe you,”
A Perfect Dark reboot would be fantastic. I could definitely see a 2013 Tomb Raider with Perfect Dark. If the rumors are true and we do see this beauty, I do not expect it to be released anytime soon, but I do expect a small tease. I approve, and please, let it be true.
The Medium:
The amazing talent over at Bloober Team has been working hard with Xbox on The Medium. Bloober Team is also behind Blair Witch, which released first on Xbox Game Pass last year with mixed reviews. I think we’ll see a lot more of The Medium and probably some behind the scenes action of the development of The Medium. Horror genre fans should be in for a treat, but more than likely we’ll see a 2021 release date for The Medium.
New Studio Acquisition:
Xbox Game Studios has a lot of great studios and a lot of great talent. Recently, Phil Spencer touched again on the subject of adding more talent to the Xbox Game Studios portfolio saying that they are always looking for new studios and do not plan to slow down any time soon. So what studios could Microsoft acquire? Well there’s the latest rumor that Microsoft is interested in WB Games. But there’s also Bloober Team who have worked closely together in the horror genre for Xbox, and there is also Asobo Studio, who will be releasing Flight Simulator next month on PC and Xbox Game Pass for PC. In a perfect world, I’d love for Microsoft to purchase all three studios, but we know that’s very unlikely. WB Games has a great portfolio, but their could be some hiccups along the way with franchises like the Batman Series. Asobo would be a great acquisition as they are bringing us the next generations Flight Simulator, and have also showed a close relationship with Microsoft. I think if they were to acquire a studio, it would be Bloober Team. Bloober Team brings a lot of original ideas to the table in the horror genre and they do a great job at it. Having a horror genre game studio in the Xbox Game Studios portfolio would be a big win.
Xbox Series X Elite Controller:
The Xbox Elite controller is my favorite controller. The Elite Series 2 controller was even better and received amazing reviews for the added features and durability compared to the Series 1. With the Xbox Elite controller being one of the most popular Xbox controllers to have, why wouldn’t there be a brand new Elite controller for the new Xbox Series X controller? You know, the one with the share button? Even though all Xbox controllers will be compatible with the Xbox Series X, I think we will see an announcement for the a new Elite controller for the new Series X controller, but I don’t think we will see a release for it this year.
Xbox Series X pre-order and price:
Starting at The Game Awards 2019, Phil Spencer has not been to hesitant to throw out new information surround the new Xbox Series X. A lot of people forget that this is Phil Spencer’s very first console launch. This is his baby. The Xbox One S and Xbox One X were simply made to fix the horrible launch of the Xbox One. Not only was it underpowered, but the reveal was pretty tragic. I don’t think we will be seeing such tragedy this launch. And I also think we will go ahead and see the official release date for the Xbox Series X along with the price. Like we have seen, Phil Spencer has not been too shy about the details surrounding Xbox Series X, so I expect to see the full reveal July 23rd.
Project xCloud:
A while back, I got my hands on Project xCloud and overall had a good experience with it. Being an iPhone user, I had to use my friends Android of course. It seems like I really haven’t heard much from Project xCloud since after they started beta testing it on iOS, and I definitely haven’t seen any sign of extended beta testers. I can only hope that it’s almost complete and ready for launch. I think we will learn a lot more information such as price, if there is any, a release date, and I’ll take it one more step and say it will be bundled in with Xbox Series X. Xbox currently has the best subscription service, and I think Project xCloud be the best streaming service by far.
What are you hoping to see July 23rd at the Xbox Event? Let us know!
