Image: Bethesda Game Studios
Here are all the biggest announcements you missed during this week’s massive Xbox Games Showcase.
Microsoft’s big annual Xbox Games Showcase was held earlier today, delivering two hours’ worth of news and announcements for upcoming games coming to Xbox Series X|S and PC. This was a big showcase, seeing the debut of games like Gears of War: E-Day and Doom: Dark Ages. We also got a new look at Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Here are the most exciting trailers and reveals from the Xbox Games Showcase 2024:
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
We got a first look at the story campaign for this year’s Call of Duty game, which is a new instalment in the Black Ops series. Black Ops 6 will pick things up where Black Ops Cold War left off, with a political thriller plot rooted in American conspiracy.
Doom: Dark Ages (2025)
An unexpected surprise! Developer Id Software is returning to the Doom franchise with a prequel seemingly set during the middle ages. The Doom Slayer will once again return as a protagonist with all-new weapons, including a shield that doubles as a chainsaw, to fight hordes of demons, ride on dragons and control gigantic mechs. All in a day’s work for Doomguy.
State of Decay 3
The multiplayer post-apocalyptic zombie game franchise State of Decay is getting a sequel.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Fall 2024)
We finally have a first look at BioWare’s new Dragon Age game. This trailer runs through the RPG’s seven new companions, all of whom will team up with the player to protect the Veil from an imminent collapse.
Starfield: Shattered Space (2024)
Starfield’s first expansion Shattered Space is shaping up to be a sci-fi horror adventure with ties to our favourite companion Andreja, bringing us closer to her culture - but not in the most ideal way.
Fallout 76: Skyline Valley (June 12)
You can soon play as a Ghoul in Fallout 76! Fallout 76’s next expansion Skyline Valley arrives a little too late to take advantage of the renewed popularity its franchise is enjoying - thanks to a certain TV show - but it’s better than nothing.
Expedition 33 (2025)
Expedition 33 gets a sombre preview, showing off its gorgeous world and combat system.
South of Midnight (2025)
We got a new gameplay trailer for Compulsion Games’ (We Happy Few) new action-adventure game South of Midnight. The trailer shows off its charming supernatural take on old-timey New Orleans, which includes talking catfish, giant alligator monsters and a protagonist who seems right at home in this strange world.
World of Warcraft: The War Within (August 26, 2024)
This cinematic trailer for World of Warcraft’s upcoming expansion dives into its storied history of plotlines and characters, suggesting that everything has been leading up to this.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (TBA)
Konami is finally feeding Metal Gear Solid fans with a remake of one of the most beloved games in this franchise: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. This remake looks as authentic to the original game as it gets, with some beautiful new visuals and completely redone combat.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (July 18, 2024)
This Souls-lite game takes place in a fantasy world filled with all manner of monsters, putting players in the shoes of a woman who seems hellbent on killing them all.
Perfect Dark (TBA)
Perfect Dark fans are finally getting a sequel. Who would have thought? This gameplay trailer follows the reboot's protagonist - Joanna Dark - as she sneaks around guards and parkours up walls to pick up some key intel for her mission. When she gets found out, she fights her way out of a futuristic town crawling with enemies in a series of slow-motion shooting sequences.
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred (October 2024)
Blizzard Entertainment unveiled its opening cinematic for Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, the action-RPG’s first annual expansion. Predictably, it’s a winner.
Fable (2025)
Playground Games’ reboot of the Fable franchise gets its first story trailer, which introduces us to its characters, monsters and breathtaking world. The game’s playable protagonist will be able to fight with both swords and magic to fend off the land’s many monstrous threats, with the support of a fallen hero.
FragPunk (2025)
This 5v5 hero shooter uses card-based gameplay to let players dish out an assortment of abilities during combat.
Winter Burrow (Early 2025)
Talk about having a mouse moment. This game follows a mouse determined to make her home liveable again and reunite with a companion who has been kidnapped by an owl.
Mixtape (2025)
Annapurna Interactive is publishing this narrative adventure game that focuses on the power music has over memories. Its soundtrack is packed with big names - from Smashing Pumpkins to Joy Division - while the plot follows a group of teenagers bonding in a small town.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (November 19)
A new update/sequel to Microsoft Flight Simulator is coming later this year.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (2025)
Good news: the original Life is Strange game is getting a direct sequel at long last! Bad news: this game follows the timeline in which Max Caulfield sacrificed Chloe Price to save Arcadia Bay. Deck Nine Games (Life is Strange: True Colors) is developing this murder-mystery game, which sees Max investigate the murder of a close friend by diving into alternate realities. There’s no point arguing which side of the Bay/Bae debate this version of Max falls on, I suppose.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024)
Indiana Jones punches Nazis and almost falls off an ice-covered U-boat in this new trailer for Machinegames’ new Indiana Jones game. Also, the boulder returns! But why?
Mecha Break (2024)
This absolutely chaotic action game has players use mechs to fight other mechs in both melee and ranged combat.
Avowed (2024)
Obsidian Entertainment’s fantasy RPG Avowed is coming out later this year, and this new trailer shows off more of its world: the fantastical Living Lands. Players will have to protect the Living Lands at all cost, using magic and proper critical thinking to navigate the many choices that shape this story.
Atomfall (2025)
What happens when you mix Wolfenstein and Skyrim? Atomfall! This game is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where giant robots live in harmony with magic-powered zombies.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows (November 15, 2024)
Ubisoft has delivered a first look at gameplay for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the Japan-set open-world game that features dual protagonists: a shinobi named Naoe and the samurai Yasuke. Both characters will feature different styles of gameplay, working together in tandem to free Japan from its oppressors.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl (September 5, 2024)
GSC Game World’s sequel to STALKER is being developed in the midst of Russia’s ongoing invasion into Ukraine, which has caused multiple delays in its release. Nevertheless, the developer persists, and looks set to launch its long-awaited sequel later this year.
Gears or War: E-DAY (TBA)
Instead of making a sequel to Gears 5 like fans might have expected, The Coalition is opting instead for a prequel that takes the franchise back to Emergency Day with characters from the original trilogy. With the Locust Horde committing a full-scale invasion of Earth, an overwhelmed COG is the only force prepared to beat them back. Can they do it? No. No, they can't.
Check out more announcements and trailers from Summer Game Fest Live 2024 here and Ubisoft Forward 2024 here.
