The Verge - Xbox Games Showcase: all the news from Microsoft’s July 2020 eventhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52801/VER_Logomark_32x32..png2020-08-12T08:54:56-04:00http://www.theverge.com/rss/stream/210958702020-08-12T08:54:56-04:002020-08-12T08:54:56-04:00When I don’t buy the new Xbox, Microsoft will laugh all the way to the bank
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<p id="F7ATvW">Microsoft has thoroughly convinced me: I don’t need to buy an Xbox Series X. The games <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21331849/xbox-series-x-games-event-trailers-gameplay-announcements-microsoft">don’t look “next-gen” enough</a>. There aren’t enough titles I actually want to play. Yesterday, the company announced its flagship game, <em>Halo Infinite</em>, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21363769/halo-infinite-delay-launch-2021-release-date-xbox-series-x">won’t even arrive until 2021</a>. Besides, almost all of Microsoft’s key games are also coming to Windows PCs, and <a href="https://kotaku.com/clarifying-just-how-exclusive-the-xbox-series-x-s-third-1844483755">some may even come to the PS5 as well</a>. And while I have a sneaking suspicion that <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21335984/microsoft-xbox-series-x-exclusive-next-gen-promise">Microsoft is breaking a big promise</a> by not bringing some Xbox Series X games to the Xbox One, another possibility is many of the biggest reasons to buy a new Xbox won’t be available until long after its November launch.</p>
<p id="VXuncM">But intriguingly, I don’t think Microsoft will mind me skipping the Xbox this gen. The company...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/21364626/xbox-series-x-pc-game-pass-xcloud-strategy">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/21364626/xbox-series-x-pc-game-pass-xcloud-strategySean Hollister2020-07-23T19:00:00-04:002020-07-23T19:00:00-04:00One week later, it looks like Microsoft is already breaking a big promise with Xbox Series X
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<p id="VZyIL5">Did Microsoft convince you that you wouldn’t need next-gen hardware to play Xbox Series X games? Think again: fully half of the next-gen games that Microsoft showcased at its Xbox Series X showcase today, including <em>Forza</em>, probably aren’t coming to Xbox One. </p>
<p id="BhwRgi">Which suggests either some of those games aren’t actually coming out for a long time — or Microsoft has already broken a big promise it made<em> just last week</em>. </p>
<p id="PLXCQ8">For years now, Microsoft has been working toward a future where you don’t need to buy the latest console to play the newest games — many now run on a spectrum of hardware including Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, and Windows PCs — and the upcoming Xbox Series X was touted as the culmination of that vision. It will play <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/16/21326805/xbox-series-x-xbox-one-game-support-backward-compatible-feature-kinect">almost...</a></p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21335984/microsoft-xbox-series-x-exclusive-next-gen-promise">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21335984/microsoft-xbox-series-x-exclusive-next-gen-promiseSean Hollister2020-07-23T13:50:44-04:002020-07-23T13:50:44-04:00Watch the 18 biggest trailers from the Xbox Series X Games Showcase
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<figcaption>Image: Microsoft</figcaption>
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<p id="xjKyGJ">Microsoft showed off a lot of games coming to the Xbox Series X, including exclusives and brand-new titles, at its July showcase event. We now have a much better idea of what’s in store for Microsoft’s upcoming console.</p>
<p id="2QKuuf">If you weren’t able to watch the event live, we’ve collected some of the biggest trailers from the show right here, and you can catch a replay of the whole event <a href="https://youtu.be/F7nkg_5ZfrM">on YouTube</a>.</p>
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<h2 id="gw5V49"><a href="https://www.theverge.com/21335520/halo-infinite-gameplay-xbox-series-x-trailer-demo">Halo Infinite</a></h2>
<p id="hCs9bb">Microsoft shared the first look at <em>Halo Infinite’s</em> campaign today, including an extended gameplay sequence where Master Chief took on waves of aliens. 343 Industries said the game will run at a “flawless” 60 frames per second. <em>Halo Infinite</em> will launch this holiday season.</p>
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<h2 id="xfBC90"><a href="https://www.theverge.com/21333050/obsidian-avowed-xbox-series-x-game-trailer-release-date">Avowed</a></h2>
<p id="QgLDZ7"><em>Avowed</em> is the newest game from famed studio Obsidian...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21331849/xbox-series-x-games-event-trailers-gameplay-announcements-microsoft">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21331849/xbox-series-x-games-event-trailers-gameplay-announcements-microsoftJay Peters2020-07-23T13:05:02-04:002020-07-23T13:05:02-04:00Control developer Remedy explores military shooters with CrossfireX on Xbox One
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<p id="UzsGoi">Around five years ago, Remedy Entertainment — the Finnish developer best-known for supernatural thrillers like <em>Alan Wake</em> and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/26/20832997/control-review-creators-thriller-ps4-xbox-pc"><em>Control</em></a> — decided it wanted to become the kind of studio that worked on multiple projects at once. Meanwhile, many on the team were interested in expanding into first-person shooters and finding a way to tell Remedy-style shooters in the pervasive genre.</p>
<p id="gkDLUR">So when Smilegate, the Korean developer behind the massively popular FPS <em>Crossfire</em>, reached out, it made a lot of sense. “They were looking for a studio to help them on the narrative side on the <em>Crossfire</em> franchise,” Remedy executive producer Tuukka Taipalvesi tells <em>The Verge</em>.</p>
<p id="7aeYjG">The two are now collaborating on <em>CrossfireX</em>, a console version of the military shooter...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/21334562/crossfirex-remedy-trailer-xbox-one-series-x-smilegate-fps">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/21334562/crossfirex-remedy-trailer-xbox-one-series-x-smilegate-fpsAndrew Webster2020-07-23T12:59:20-04:002020-07-23T12:59:20-04:00Fable is heading to Xbox Series X and PC
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<p id="HS8FxX">A new <em>Fable </em>game is heading to the Xbox Series X and Windows 10. Playground Games is developing the upcoming title, which will be a “new beginning” for the longtime franchise. </p>
<p id="UVSO7R">Microsoft announced the game today as part of its July showcase. <em>Fable </em>was originally released in 2004 for Xbox; the last game in the main series, <em>Fable III</em>, launched in 2010. The series is a choice-driven roleplaying game in which the player’s actions will impact their reputation and role in the game’s world. Mediatonic also released <em>Fable Fortune</em>, a free-to-play collectible card game, in 2018. </p>
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<p id="pJqlLJ"><em>Fable</em> will also be available via Xbox Game Pass. </p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21335535/fable-xbox-series-x-pc-windows-10-trailer-game-pass-rpg">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21335535/fable-xbox-series-x-pc-windows-10-trailer-game-pass-rpgMegan Farokhmanesh2020-07-23T12:54:19-04:002020-07-23T12:54:19-04:00Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5, Ori, Sea of Thieves, and Gears Tactics are getting Xbox Series X upgrades
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<p id="JRKoHy">Microsoft isn’t just announcing new games for the upcoming Xbox Series X; the company also announced that several recent Xbox One games will be getting upgraded for the next-gen console with new features and better graphics.</p>
<p id="TIhNHT"><em>Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Sea of Thieves, </em>and<em> Gears Tactics</em> are the five games that Microsoft has announced will be getting the “<a href="https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/06/25/xbox-series-x-full-power-of-console-games-optimized/">Optimized for Xbox Series X</a>” badge this holiday season, with a variety of upgrades coming to each of those games. Players who already own a copy of any of these titles on Xbox One will get the optimized Xbox Series X for free whenever they do launch, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/24/21150594/microsoft-xbox-series-x-backwards-compatibility-support-smart-delivery">thanks to Microsoft’s Smart Delivery program</a>. </p>
<p id="V5xy0E">Here’s how everything breaks down:</p>
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<em>Forza Horizon 4 </em>is getting...</li>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21332881/xbox-studios-games-series-x-optimized-forza-gears">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21332881/xbox-studios-games-series-x-optimized-forza-gearsChaim Gartenberg2020-07-23T12:45:29-04:002020-07-23T12:45:29-04:00Tetris Effect: Connected is an Xbox-exclusive multiplayer expansion
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<figcaption>Image: Enhance Games</figcaption>
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<p id="7LaHuZ">The excellent <em>Tetris Effect</em>, a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/9/18076140/tetris-effect-review-ps4-vr">mesmerizing audio-visual spin on the classic puzzle game</a>, is getting a full multiplayer expansion this fall called <em>Tetris Effect: Connected</em>, which is releasing as a timed exclusive on PC (on the Microsoft Store) and Xbox platforms. The original game was a PlayStation 4 exclusive released in fall 2018 before it came to PC the following year via the Epic Game Store and Oculus’ VR platform back in May. </p>
<p id="nFn2pT">The expansion, developed by the same Japanese development duo of Monstars and Resonair with additional help from Stage Games, was announced today as part of Microsoft’s Xbox Series X next-gen game showcase. Publisher Enhance says to think of it as “the 2.0 version of <em>Tetris Effect</em>.” It will be made available as...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21335590/tetris-effect-connected-xbox-series-x-multiplayer-expansion-release-date">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21335590/tetris-effect-connected-xbox-series-x-multiplayer-expansion-release-dateNick Statt2020-07-23T12:40:56-04:002020-07-23T12:40:56-04:00Watch the trailer for Avowed, a new fantasy RPG from Outer Worlds studio Obsidian
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<p id="qH3IDd"><em>Fallout: New Vegas</em> and <em>The Outer Worlds</em> studio Obsidian Entertainment has announced a new fantasy roleplaying game called <em>Avowed </em>for Xbox Series X and PC<em>. Avowed</em> takes place in Eora, the setting of Obsidian’s 2015 game <em>Pillars of Eternity </em>and its 2018 sequel. But it’s swapping <em>Pillars of Eternity’s</em> old-school isometric perspective for first-person gameplay, apparently including swordplay and spellcasting. A trailer doesn’t give away much detail, but it offers a sense of the game’s aesthetic and tone.</p>
<p id="ATnmRX"><em>Avowed</em> is Obsidian’s third game since its acquisition by Microsoft, following <em>Outer Worlds</em> and <em>Grounded</em>, a cooperative survival game where shrunken players navigate the dangers of a backyard. <em>Grounded</em> is set to be released through Steam...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/21333050/obsidian-avowed-xbox-series-x-game-trailer-release-date">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/21333050/obsidian-avowed-xbox-series-x-game-trailer-release-dateAdi Robertson