E3 was canceled this year, but the summer of games continues thanks to Xbox. It delivered a ton of updates and announcements during its Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct today. Fans had been waiting for news on a lot of previously announced titles, and the company delivered with a first look at the Fable reboot, a release date for the Forza Motorsport reboot, the first Avowed gameplay trailer, and a release window for the long-gestating Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Xbox Game Studios subsidiaries Compulsion Games and InXile Entertainment also showed off what they’ve been up to, with official announcements for South of Midnight and Clockwork Revolution, respectively.
After the one-hour main showcase, Xbox dedicated a whole other hour to Bethesda’s upcoming RPG Starfield, with a ton of detail on planets, gameplay, characters, and so much more. Overall, the double showcase filled out a huge chunk of the company’s release slate for the rest of the year and into 2024. Even beyond first-party announcements, the Xbox showcase was packed with reveals, trailers, and footage. It’s tough to keep track of them all, so we rounded up everything Xbox showed off.
Fable reboot gets its first trailer
To kick things off, Xbox revealed the first trailer for the upcoming Fable reboot, which was first teased in 2020. British comedian Richard Ayoade was on hand to introduce (and eventually star in) the trailer. It’ll be available on day one on Xbox Game Pass, but no release date has been revealed yet.
South of Midnight transports us to the Bayou
Compulsion Games has been heads down working on its follow-up to We Happy Few since it was acquired by Xbox Game Studios in 2018, and we finally got our first look. South of Midnight is a third-person action-adventure game set in the Bayou in the American Deep South. We play as Hazel, who’s seeking to repair a broken world while dealing with some mythical creatures you may or may not recognize.
Star Wars: Outlaws takes the franchise open world
We didn’t know much about Ubisoft’s upcoming Star Wars game — until today, that is. Outlaws, an open-world title starring scoundrel Kay Vess, is coming in 2024. We don’t have a ton of detailed information on it, but Vess wreaks havoc in a bar in the trailer, which you can watch above.
Persona 3 remake and Persona 5 tactics spinoff announced
Two Persona games were accidentally leaked a few days ahead of the showcase, but we got their official announcements today. Atlus first showed off Persona 3 Reload, a Persona 3 remake, which is set to hit Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC in early 2024. The company also announced Persona 5 Tactica, a tactics RPG spinoff, that’ll hit the platforms on November 17, giving fans something to tide them over ahead of the remake.
Avowed receives its first gameplay trailer
Obsidian Entertainment made a big splash with Pillars of Eternity, and it’s now building on that world in Avowed. The first-person RPG showed off a look at the Living Lands of Eora and one of your companions, Kai. It’ll be hitting day one on Game Pass when it launches on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Steam in 2024.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 finally gets a release window
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 has been a long time coming. It was teased with the reveal of the Xbox Series X|S at the Game Awards in 2019 after all! We haven’t seen a lot of it in the years since, but according to a new video released during the Xbox showcase, it’ll be released sometime next year. In the meantime, you can check out some new footage that highlights the game’s motion-capture capabilities.
Forza Motorsport is releasing on October 10
The last Forza Motorsport was released in 2017, and while racing simulation fans got the excellent Forza Horizon 5 in 2021, they’ve been waiting for news on Motorsport. Turn 10 Studios has taken the reins on the reboot, which is being built from the ground up, and it shined when it was revealed at the Xbox showcase. Even more surprising is that it’s releasing on October 10.
Starfield, of course
There was no question about Starfield being a huge part of today’s showcase, especially since it’s getting its own direct right after. But we got a new trailer during the showcase for the game as well.
Save the president in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty in September
Keanu Reeves made a surprise (and welcome) appearance at the Xbox showcase to introduce the first footage from Cyberpunk 2077‘s first major story expansion, Phantom Liberty. Details had been previously kept under wraps, but we have new story information on the campaign, which reunites V and Johnny Silverhand on a quest to save the president, and also adds Idris Elba to the cast. We also got a release date: September 26.
Xbox reveals first-party exclusive Clockwork Revolution
InXile’s first game since Wasteland 3 was revealed during the Xbox showcase. Clockwork Revolution, previously known as Project Cobalt, is a first-person shooter RPG with a steampunk-inspired, retro-futuristic flair and some time travel thrown in for good measure. No release window has been set yet, but the studio will share more “in due time.” We do know, though, that it’ll be an Xbox first-party exclusive.
New Xbox Series S model launching in September
Not only did Xbox Game Studios CEO Phil Spencer pop by at the end of the main showcase to mention the Xbox console supply, but he also announced a new Xbox Series S model. It’ll come in Carbon Black to match the Xbox Series X and will come with 1TB of SSD storage — up from 512GB. It’ll hit shelves on September 1 for $349.
Everything else announced
- 33 Immortals from ThunderLotus promises 33-player co-op action in 2024.
- Payday 3 is releasing on September 21, 2023, and it’ll be available day one on Xbox Game Pass.
- Sea of Thieves will be crossing over with The Legend of Monkey Island on July 20.
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 was announced, with new career opportunities for pilots. It’s slated to land in 2024 for Xbox Series X|S and PC. Dune DLC will also be landing on Nov. 3.
- The next game in the Like a Dragon franchise — Infinite Wealth — is coming in 2024, and it might be taking players outside of Japan.
- Fallout 76 is taking players to Atlantic City in some new DLC. No release date has been revealed.
- The Japanese-inspired, gorgeous-looking Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess got an announcement trailer.
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Journey to Necrom is the latest expansion for the popular fantasy MMO. It’ll be out on June 20.
- Overwatch 2: Invasion is, uh, invading with new story missions and cosmetics for players on August 10. There’s also a New Heroes Starter Pack with the six latest heroes for Game Pass users.
- Jusant is a magical, climbing puzzle game published by Don’t Nod and set to release in fall 2023.
- Dear Esther developer The Chinese Room announced Still Wakes the Deep, an eerie game about an offshore oil rig worker. It’s set to launch in early 2024 on Xbox Game Pass.
- Dungeons of Hinterberg is a cozy-looking RPG with monster fighting, skating, small towns, and more. It’s set to launch in 2024 on Xbox Series X|S and Game Pass.
- Build even more cities in Cities: Skylines II, which is set to release on October 24. Preorders are now available.
- Metaphor: ReFantazio, from the makers of Persona 3, 4, and 5, is Atlus’ “first full-scale fantasy RPG,” and it’s set to release in 2024.
- Stoic, the studio behind the Banner Saga franchise, announced Towerborne. It’ll release sometime next year and will be available on day one on Game Pass.
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