Xbox needs a big reveal at their June Showcase
Xbox was looking set for a great 2022 with Redfall, Starfield, and Starfield all set to launch before the end of the year. However, Bethesda and Microsoft have rightly decided to delay those games until the first half of 2023 to ensure that they get the attention and polish they deserve. It’s the right decision not to release a game that isn’t finished (look at Cyberpunk2077), but it has created a vacuum for Xbox at year’s end.
Although we haven’t seen any gameplay for Redfall or Starfield since their announcements, it was not surprising that they were delayed. However, this is a major blow to Xbox’s schedule. Microsoft will have to make a major announcement at next month’s Xbox & Bethesda Gaming Expo 2022.
Redfall and Starfield were both expected to be major parts of the showcase. However, with Starfield’s release date pushed back, the excitement will naturally drop. Xbox must find a way for players to be excited about the final six months of 2022. It feels like there are few reasons to invest right now, considering delays such as S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.
While I don’t subscribe to the console wars crap, it is worth noting that PlayStation has some exclusives. Gran Turismo7, Horizon Forbidden West, and Ghostwire Tokyo have more exclusives than the Xbox, with God of War, Ragnarok on the horizon for 2022. Ghostwire may have been developed by Xbox Game Studios, but Sony launched more Xbox games in 2022 than Xbox Game Studios. Thank you, MLB The Show 22.
The upcoming showcase must bring something new to the table to make up the difference for games that have been delayed. There are a few options. Xbox could openly reveal some of its larger projects, but they must tread carefully. Xbox has relied too heavily on this strategy in recent years, despite the fact that early disclosures in development projects don’t fix the gap in the Xbox’s mid-2022 release window.
In the past, the company has revealed games before they were released. For starters, we are still waiting to hear about Everwild. Meanwhile, the story of Halo Infinite’s development, and pre-release showcases is now well-known. A brand new Forza Horizon game was released after the announcement of the next Forza Motorsport.
It seems like Xbox’s marketing strategy was created out of the need to silence those who have spent so many years criticizing Xbox for not having any games. They’ll announce new Xbox exclusives at each major showcase with only a CGI trailer (see: State of Decay 3, Everwild and The Outer Worlds 2; Contraband, Avowed and many more). Phil Spencer might as well look directly into the camera and say “Look, we have games. You can’t see but they are coming!”
Another way they could announce a game is to update Fable, which doesn’t mean that they have to do so too early. Xbox is the right time to reveal what Playground Games has been up to since the announcement a few years back.
