The 2022 Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase was over 90 minutes with dozens of announcements. Here are the biggest ones.
Microsoft’s annual showcase now factors in Bethesda games, and it’d be fair to say that the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase didn’t disappoint.
The event revealed new gameplay for the likes of Starfield, Diablo IV, and plenty more, with Microsoft telling fans that everything shown is slated to be arriving in the next 12 months.
Here are the biggest announcements from the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022 (and yes, our predictions were way off).
Starfield is huge, with 1000 planets
Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield is shaping up to be the publisher’s biggest project yet. In a 15-minute gameplay reveal, Game Director Todd Howard revealed that there are a thousand planets that players can explore, each with different characteristics.
We also got a look at the core gameplay loop, which involved Bethesda staples including finding new weapons and a lockpicking minigame, alongside combat with other humans and alien species — yes, those were space spiders.
While we don’t yet have a release date, Starfield will launch in 2023.
Kojima Productions is teaming up with Xbox
Hello @HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN 💚
— Xbox (@Xbox) June 12, 2022
As had been rumored in the last few weeks, Hideo Kojima, creator of Metal Gear Solid and known for his work on the canceled Silent Hills and Death Stranding, will work with Xbox Game Studios to create a new game powered by cloud technology.
Here’s what Xbox’s news site had to say:
“Today, we also announced a partnership between Xbox Game Studios and Kojima Productions to create a video game for Xbox like no one has ever experienced or seen before leveraging the power of the cloud. Hideo Kojima is one of the most innovative and creative minds in our industry we can’t wait to share what our teams will create together.”
Details are scarce, then, but it’s exciting nonetheless.
Redfall gameplay looks fun and chaotic
Arkane Studios may be known for the stealthy Dishonored and the time-bending Deathloop, but it appears Redfall falls closer to Left 4 Dead if the first gameplay reveal is anything to go by.
Players will face off against vampires and cultists, either in solo play or co-op, and can move through levels carefully or go guns blazing. Each character has their own skills, too.
No release date has been given, but Redfall will arrive in 2023.
Xbox makes a play for Japan
Despite traditionally struggling for sales in Japan, Microsoft continues to pursue partnerships with Japanese publishers and developers. Alongside the aforementioned Kojima Productions collab, Atlus will bring the Persona franchise to Xbox with Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal all arriving on Xbox Game Pass.
Read more: Everything coming to Xbox Game Pass in June 2022
Not only that, but Team NINJA’s next title, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, will bring a dark fantasy version of the Three Kingdoms era with martial arts and swordplay in 2023. Check out the trailer below:
Obsidian has been busy
Not only is Obsidian’s “Honey I Shrunk The Kids” survival game Grounded leaving early access in September 2022, but the team is working on a new narrative title called Pentiment. Here’s what Xbox’s news site has to say:
“Set in 16 century Bavaria, Pentiment will take players on a narrative journey through the eyes of Journeyman Artist Andreas Maler during a time of great social unrest.”
“Players will become entangled in a series of murders that span over 25 years. It will be up to the players to investigate and interrogate the townsfolk to make their own decisions, where the consequences will impact the town for years to come.”
Forza Motorsport is coming in 2023
We’ll be honest, it can be tough to get excited about car games, but Forza Motorsport may have just changed that perception. Microsoft is calling it “the most technically advanced racing game ever made”, and an in-engine deep dive showcased the Maple Valley track with new time of day effects.
Turn 10 said the physics simulation has advanced 48x, and that the driving model has been rewritten. Check it out in action below:
Forza Motorsport will arrive in Spring 2023.
Not to be outdone, Forza Horizon 5’s leaked Hot Wheels DLC was confirmed, too. It’ll launch next month.
A Blizzard of announcements
Summer Game Fest may have shown off Activision’s Modern Warfare 2 campaign, but it was Blizzard’s time to shine at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase. Not only was there confirmation that Overwatch 2 will launch on October 4, 2022, but Diablo 4 saw a huge gameplay deep dive.
We now know that the game’s classes will include the Necromancer, but we’ve now seen the game running on an Xbox Series X and it looks wonderful. Check it out below.
Diablo 4 will launch in 2023.
Scorn is still gross, and it’s launching this year
Scorn has been shown off at multiple Xbox events, and the H.R. Geiger-Esque horror game just looks more unsettling the more we see of it. The latest trailer shows off combat, as well as all kinds of horrific things.
Scorn will launch on October 21, 2022.
Riot Games and Xbox are teaming up
Game Pass 🤝 Riot Games
We're leveling up all Game Pass members’ experience with some legendary PC & mobile games | #XboxBethesda @LeagueofLegends & @WildRift – All Champions ✅@PlayVALORANT – All Agents ✅@TFT – Select Little Legends ✅@PlayRuneterra – Foundations Set ✅ pic.twitter.com/vodVBoxuGg
— Xbox Game Pass (@XboxGamePass) June 12, 2022
While we’re still not getting Valorant on console (boo!), Riot will work with Xbox to award free content to League of Legends, Valorant, Wild Rift, Teamfight Tactics AND Legends of Runeterra players.
What kind of content? League and Valorant players will see their Champion and Agent lineups completely unlocked, as will Wild Rift players on mobile, while LoR players will earn additional cards.
TFT players will receive new unlockables, too, when the partnership kicks off this Winter.
And so much more
There were an incredible number of reveals, from Fallout 76’s The Pitt expedition arriving in September of 2022, to ARK 2 (which still bizarrely stars Vin Diesel) launching in 2023.
Then there was confirmation that Squanch Games, founded by Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland, will debut a new game, High on Life, with talking guns this year. Plus, the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong will debut on Xbox Game Pass — although we still don’t have a release date.
What were your favorite announcements? Was there anything you missed? Be sure to let us know on Twitter.
