Grumblevolcano

@Cherip-the-Ripper I think it's probably connected to the FFVII 25th anniversary stream. If June goes by without FFVII Remake then Xbox is probably never getting it.

I ranked it C, saw the warning saying everything was revealed in Sunday's showcase and then they surprise give an update on a few games not in Sunday's showcase. I do feel that the main thing that prevented it from being better is the fact that Sunday's showcase was very disappointing.

It's rather odd seeing all these Halo crossovers but not much happening with Halo Infinite. Like at the Xbox Showcase, the Halo content wasn't some announcement for Infinite but rather the Pelican for Flight Sim.

I feel Microsoft still haven't gotten the balance quite right but they're getting there. If you took out Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 the pacing would've been better.

I think Nintendo's going to announce it in a Direct, June's NSO Expansion Pack game ends up being the already announced Pokemon Snap (the last NSO Expansion Pack game that was revealed in September 2021) and then the next batch of games includes Goldeneye, Banjo-Tooie, Perfect Dark, etc.

My favourite announcement, FH3's Hot Wheels DLC was the best part of Forza and this has potential to be even better judging by the trailer and the blogpost.

I ranked it "D". The next 12 months is looking rather grim and the only exciting announcements in that showcase were:

• Silksong
• FH5 Hot Wheels DLC
• Persona no longer PS exclusive

The upside though is the absence of Goldeneye means there may actually be a Nintendo Direct in the next few days.

@NEStalgia We actually currently know more for upcoming Playstation Studios games than Xbox Game Studios when it comes to games with release windows. Only looking at official announcements (no rumours):

Xbox

• As Dusk Falls - 2022
• Grounded 1.0 - 2022
• Redfall - 1st half of 2023
• Starfield - 1st half of 2023

PS

• Spider-Man Remastered (PC) - August 12th 2022
• TLoU Part 1 - September 2nd 2022
• Spider-Man Miles Morales (PC) - Fall 2022
• Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection (PC) - 2022
• God of War Ragnarok - 2022
• TLoU Factions 2 - 2023
• Spider-Man 2 - 2023

You may wonder why I didn't include Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo, well 1 year timed PS exclusivity doesn't guarantee that Xbox release will be straight after the exclusivity ends. Also I included PC ports because Microsoft included AoE 4 in all those 2021 XGS lists even though it's not on console.

Anyway you'd hope things would be clearer on the future of Xbox after today's showcase.

Rare Replay for PC perhaps with the 360 games included in the collection rather than the Xbox approach of loading up the 360 games? Rare Replay and Halo 5 are the only non-Kinect XB1 games that aren't on PC and are still purchasable on XB1.

If true, this makes the July 2020 Xbox Showcase even more questionable. Microsoft really should've used the Nintendo 2020 approach back then and had:

• Close 1st party content be shadow drop announcements (Tell Me Why, Outer Worlds DLC, Grounded)
• Psychonauts 2 trailer be saved for 2021
• The 3rd party games be in Microsoft's variant of "Partner Showcase"
• The 1st party games with no release window saved for initial reveal in the 2022 Xbox Showcase (Forza Motorsport, Everwild, State of Decay 3, Avowed, Fable)
• Halo Infinite delayed to holiday 2022 and gameplay reveal appear at the 2022 Xbox Showcase

It would be a shame if it isn't real, the 360 games have big issues with the multiplayer. Matches that aren't only bots are filled with hackers.

@themightyant As Dusk Falls is still under the Xbox Game Studios branding though so it's probably counted.

As Dusk Falls, Forza Motorsport, Redfall, Starfield, Gears collection

@Daniel1221 Hot Wheels was a separate map from the main Australia area in FH3 so maybe you get taken to the same island?

@Daniel1221 @pip_muzz You could also interpret it that the crazier expansion launches in Spring/Summer and the normal expansion launches in Winter.

FH2 Fast and Furious - March 2015
FH3 Hot Wheels - May 2017
FH4 Lego - June 2019

FH1 Rally - December 2012
FH2 Storm Island - December 2014
FH3 Blizzard Mountain - December 2016
FH4 Fortune Island - December 2018

I do wonder though with FH4 probably being delisted in September 2018 due to 4 year licensing if expansion 2 ends up being Lego in Summer 2023 instead of a normal expansion.

The Hot Wheels DLC in FH3 is my favourite part of the Forza franchise so this would be fantastic.

@Bleachedsmiles Back in April it was announced that online co-op (network) was targeted for late August and local co-op (split screen) was targeted for some point during Season 3 (which starts November 8th).

@Snake_V5 Because Summer Game Fest is on the 9th, there'll be plenty of people who intend to watch Summer Game Fest but not the Xbox Showcase.

@Krzzystuff There were a few areas that went on too long like the FH5 segment and the part between FH5 and Redfall but for the most part it had good pacing. Would say the Nintendo Direct was a better showpiece for how a showcase should be though.

I'd guess August release coinciding with the 25th anniversary, it would also fit in with the NSO schedule as June's game is almost certainly Pokemon Snap but nothing afterwards is known.

I think it'll be fine but those expecting answers to the long list of 1st party games announced in 2019-2021 with no release windows will be disappointed.

@NEStalgia I think Sony's strategy for non-mobile will be:

• Everything on PS and PC
• A variety of live service games also on Xbox and Nintendo

@somnambulance Feels like Halo Infinite, Everwild, Hellblade 2, Forza Motorsport, State of Decay 3, Avowed, Fable, Perfect Dark, Outer Worlds 2 and Redfall were announced way too early (Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6 also were but those were announced before the acquisition).

Given how all signs seem to be pointing towards Square Enix being acquired by Sony, I'd guess if the Epic exclusivity is longer than 6 months (i.e. if it doesn't release on Xbox in June) that it never comes to Xbox.

Only covering June 1st-7th suggests that there'll be shadow drop Game Pass reveals at Summer Game Fest on June 9th (not just the Xbox Showcase on June 12th).

I'd much rather prefer the extra power and I'd imagine at some point in the next few years there'll be some extremely power hungry games (judging by World, a Monster Hunter for PC/PS5/Series X|S comes to mind for example).

I'd say the original Xbox. It was big back in the day but the gigantic success of the Xbox 360 means the original Xbox is kind of forgotten about nowadays. XB1 is definitely the most disliked but even though I've had fun with it (mostly around 2015-2017), I don't think its done enough to deserve being called underrated.

@FraserG We'll see a clearer picture when events like Summer Game Fest happen but from what we can see right now, plenty of 3rd parties appear to be dropping XB1/PS4 versions for 2023 games so it seems like 2022 might be the last big year for last gen.

With Redfall and Starfield delayed to 2023, I could honestly see it turn out to be that Microsoft's original 2 years crossgen comment for XGS ends up true with the exception of Flight Sim which was originally announced for XB1 but got cancelled.

I could see it go either way. On the one hand, the mess surrounding current gen since launch suggests it's too early for revisions outside of stuff like a digital only Series X or slim models. On the other hand you could consider Series X|S to be XB1 X2|S2 and PS5 to be "PS4 Pro" Pro hence more powerful models in 2023/2024 would be the equivalent of XB1 X3|S3 and "PS4 Pro Pro" Pro respectively.

Would be fantastic if despite saying the November 2021 batch was the last batch of backwards compatibility games if it turned out that Microsoft announces a big batch of backwards compatibility and FPS Boost games in the Xbox Showcase including the remaining Sonic games for backwards compatibility and Rise of the Tomb Raider for FPS Boost.

@Trmn8r Sony deals which block Game Pass can be as simple as beta and a mode arrives early + no Game Pass for a year.

@Trmn8r Microsoft did acquire Activision though so you'd think MW2 and Infinite Season 3 would be timed in such a way that both could coexist. Then again, since my comment I saw an article on Push Square saying PS has the usual timed exclusivity hence MW2 will be blocked from Game Pass and so Microsoft may want something Game Pass related in November.

Very disappointing, it really feels like Microsoft are trying to bury Halo Infinite. Season 3 releases very close to this and was seemingly looking to be the big relaunch but now a lot of people will likely just stick with MW2 instead.

@XxEvilAshxX The point I'm getting at is for example look at the day 1 XGS games on Game Pass this year so far and the day 1 PS Studios games on PS+ Extra/Premium this year so far. The answer to both is 0 but given the different stances on day 1 1st party releases in a subscription, it paints a different picture for each.

For PS it shows Sony believing that 1st party games are too valuable to be put on PS+ Extra/Premium day 1 but for Xbox it shows Microsoft's inability to have a consistent 1st party lineup.

I'd rank it D, there have been a decent amount of additions I would've played if I was a subscriber but Microsoft's approach of always heavily focusing on the holiday season for the 1st party front makes the rest of the year weak.

I already said this on Push Square but because of the rough state of the 1st party front for Xbox, the PS+ revamp actually looks more impressive than Game Pass even with the absence of day 1 releases.

I've checked the playlists and Last Spartan Standing playlist is gone but the mode also hasn't been added to any other playlists. So it seems to be a similar situation to Attrition last season.

@awp69 It's usually the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month so tomorrow. Recently though the list has leaked on the Monday.

@themightyant There's likely more to consider than just cost. So like security on 360 is weak enough that plenty of games' online are ruined by hackers. Also much like how Bungie were involved with the Halo 360 servers even after they stopped doing Halo, the same is probably true for Epic Games with the Gears 360 servers.

@themightyant I think the biggest reasons for a Gears collection would be about the 360 servers as well as the absence of 2, 3 and Judgment on PC. Microsoft shut down the Halo 360 servers earlier this year so they may also intend to do the same with the 360 Gears servers (or perhaps even a more general 360 shutdown like the original Xbox in 2010). Given Gears is more than just a solo experience, a lot would be lost from a server shutdown if there's wasn't a replacement in place.

I know Judgment wasn't anywhere near as well received as the trilogy but I hope a collection would have all 4 Xbox 360 games.

Regarding ports and remasters in general, I think there's a lot of potential. PC missed out on a lot of OG Xbox and 360 games, a load of PC games stayed PC exclusive and lots of 360 games have had their servers shutdown recently. So a good showcase would have stuff like:

• Gears collection (the 360 games) for PC and console
• Age of Empires Definitive Collection for console
• Age of Empires 4 for console
• Remasters for earlier Bethesda games (there's plenty for example that never came to Xbox or aren't part of backwards compatibility)
• Halo 5 for PC

I think Redfall will be March and Starfield will be June or 2nd half of 2023. From what we know about Redfall so far, it sounds like a live service game so it wouldn't be wise to launch it close to a Halo Infinite season. Unless the 6 month seasons continue after season 2, the seasons will be in early February, early May, early August and early November hence why I'm predicting March for Redfall.

As for Starfield, it feels like the kind of release that'll get 1 final pre-launch promotion push at Summer Game Fest and/or E3 2023. Also that way Starfield would avoid being buried by BotW 2 (I think BotW 2 will be March 2023 coinciding with new hardware around Switch's 6th anniversary).

@Ralizah Bayonetta 3 already has a 2022 release window, while it could get delayed I'm guessing it'll take the Halloween slot like Bayonetta 2 did on Wii U.

It's very good that Bethesda are being given the time they need, the state of Halo Infinite did make it seem like Microsoft may have forced Bethesda to release this holiday even if not ready but that's fortunately not the case.

@NEStalgia I really miss 2013 Sony.

This reminds me of Don Mattrick's XB1 vision to be honest. There were more digital options like this and the ability to trade digital games but at the cost of always online DRM and used physical games not working in the traditional way.

I think the best outcome for Battlefield would be to bring back the older games. Something like remastering Bad Company 1+2 and Battlefield 3, yes I know they're on Xbox backwards compatibility but someday Microsoft will shut down the 360.

Dragon Age collection does seem the most natural choice for the remake given what they did with Mass Effect. I definitely think the remake will be of PS3/360 game(s) given those consoles are probably rather close to their servers being shut down.

I'm not holding my breath but it would nice if Forza licensing ends up becoming longer than 4 years. On the current trajectory, Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted in 2022 and Forza Horizon 5 will be delisted in 2025. Xbox has also been without a purchasable Forza Motorsport game for 8 months and counting.

I think if Infinite's Forge is at least as good as Halo 5's Forge, we'll be seeing a huge amount of classic maps returning. Ones that 343 don't bring back themselves would be brought back by the community and then added to matchmaking.

Xbox sure is bringing back a load of things from Don Mattrick's vision of the XB1 recently. What's next, the return of the snap functionality?