According to industry insider Shinobi, during Microsoft’s Inside Xbox Event gamers can expect to see un-announced 3rd party games for Xbox platforms including the Series X. The show will more than likely start with the recent reveal of Ubisoft’s latest Assassin Creed entry with Assassins Creed: Valhalla. From there is anyone guest but if I had to take shot at what may be there, we could potentially see Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Madden and of course some new 3rd party IP’s. On the same day, news has hit that Red Dead Redemption 2 is scheduled to hit gamepass. I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed an Xbox series X enhanced version of the game, which would be a great look at the Series X enhancement features.
Along with news from Aaron Greenberg that Microsoft is planning another event in June to show of their 1st party titles. It really puts Xbox in a strong position both marketing and mindshare wise. Which has been a breath of fresh air in comparison to their 2013 reveals. With Sony slowly shuffling out content with no definitive dates and Nintendo all but canceling their Nintendo Directs. It’s truly Xbox’s summer to either gain their lost audience from the 360 days or miss a golden opportunity to continue their positive roll out. Based on whats we know game wise the Series X should have a few 1st party hit platform cross-gen wise with the likes of Halo Infinite, Forza Motorsport 8, Everwild, Hellblade 2 & Project Mora. Followed by news that within two years, most 1st games will be Series X and PC only.
Xbox has an opportunity to fix the mistakes of the past and so far they’ve done a great job letting gamers know they are fully committed to the console gaming community. While also strengthening their presence among the PC gaming community. With Gamepass on Mobile, xbox and shortly heading to PC & Xcloud, it seems all their ducks are in a row. Microsoft are leveraging their strength with Azure Cloud as a foundation block and a plethora of 1st party studios to support all platforms under their banner. The company is taking more risk and marketing their content & platforms in ways that is not the norm for the company. So far it seems to be paying off for them. Can they keep the momentum heading into fall where it really matters with the launch of Series X. Only time will tell and the games shown to draw much needed interest but as of now they seem to making the right decisions and moves that’s leading to a successful next gen launch.
