But while chasing the fabled ‘Netflix for games’ is perhaps nothing new, the showcase put into stark relief just how much Xbox is investing into the idea. An all-or-nothing strategy that could see it topple PlayStation from its perch, or backfire as players reject the subscription concept. 10 million players so far suggest that Xbox are onto something, but the Game Pass idea hasn’t seemed to have transcended the core gaming audience just yet.
This showcase was perhaps intended to make that leap. Or at least a first step. The variety was impressive, if tailored towards an older audience. Halo Infinite seemed to split opinion on social media, some flagging up some weirdly crummy official screenshots as evidence the game is not pushing the Series X in the way its developers claimed. But in motion it looked a blast, making the clearest echo of the original Halo: Combat Evolved with its bouncy combat and shifting it to a sprawling open-world ring.
As well as Forza and Fable, from its own studios Microsoft unveiled a new fantasy-RPG from Obsidian, Avowed, and gave us our first look at Rare’s gorgeous spiritual adventure Everwild. It revealed As Dusk Falls, an intriguing interactive narrative from new London studio Interior/Night, headed up by ex-Quantic Dream (Heavy Rain, Detroit) lead developer Caroline Marchal. It announced zombie-threequel State of Decay 3 and we got a closer look at psychedelic Saturday morning cartoon Pyschonauts 2.
Elsewhere we saw sci-fi survival The Gunk, a multiplayer update to transcendental puzzler Tetris Effect, more of Dontnod’s drama Tell Me Why, a reveal of a long-awaited sequel to PC classic S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and a look at Bloober Team’s ambitious horror The Medium.
The latter game was perhaps the title that looked the most innovative and ‘next-gen’ , promising to render two realities simultaneously. Otherwise most games had a familiar air to them. Much like PlayStation’s recent showcase, the next generation is currently looking a lot like the last one. But you cannot argue with the breadth or variety of either line-up.
