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Here are all the games coming for the Xbox Series X
Want to know what you'll be playing on the next--gen? Here's a taste
Last week's Inside Xbox Event promised plenty of announcements, and you’d be hard-pressed not to find a little something for everyone as Microsoft does its best to position the Xbox Series X as the best place to play games for the coming console generation.
While Sony has been remarkably quiet on the PlayStation 5, Microsoft released plenty of footage of upcoming titles and touted Xbox-specific features at every turn – and the company’s newfound confidence marks a nice change from its reactive state at the start of the console generation.
If you missed the stream, we’ve got a handy rundown of all of the announcements, from one-man development teams to juggernaut blockbusters.
Bright Memory: Infinite
Bright Memory Infinite.jpg
© AGM Playism
Kicking off today’s showcase is the sci-fi shooter from solo developer Zeng Xiancheng, known as Playism.
Set in a futuristic metropolis in 2036, players step into the combat boots of Shelia and will navigate a story involving time travel, samurai, and what looks like fast-paced combat with both guns and melee weapons.
Bright Memory: Infinite looks absolutely stunning, supporting DirectX Raytracing on the Xbox Series X. In fact, it’s incredible that it was developed by just one person.
Dirt 5
Dirt 5 is the first game in the franchise to let you directly anger Zeus
© Codemasters
From one extreme to another, Dirt 5 sees the long-running racing franchise move to next-gen in style, allowing for entirely new event types and terrain effects while running at 4K and 60 frames-per-second.
In the game’s reveal trailer we got to see cars skidding across New York’s East River, buggies flying through the air on a muddy track in China, and the frigid colds of Norway on full display.
Dirt 5 offers a full campaign, with famous faces (or voices) featuring heavily. Nolan North will feature as your racer’s rival, meaning you can trade paint and trash talk with Nathan Drake himself. Meanwhile, The Last Of Us’ Joel himself, Troy Baker, voices the player’s mentor, helping make sponsorship decisions and more.
Oh, and there’s four-player split-screen multiplayer, too, as well as 12-player online modes, and smart delivery ensuring you’ll only need to buy the game once across Xbox One and Xbox Series X. It’s launching this year, too!
Scorn
This was the only safe-for-work image from the Scorn trailer
© Humble Bundle
Introduced with a moody, unsettling trailer, Scorn looks to have been ripped from H.R. Giger’s notebooks and filtered through Ridley’s Scott’s Prometheus.
Showcasing some stunning, haunting alien architecture, this non-linear first-person horror adventure is more than a little unsettling, with developers Ebb Software also referencing Davids Cronenberg and Lynch’s influences.
Expect body horror, a blend of organic and industrial creature and location designs, and all kinds of things that go bump in the dark.
Chorus: Rise as One
Chorus will have you singing from its hymn sheet at launch
© Deep Silver
If there’s one thing we need more of, it’s dogfighting games with a strong narrative focus, and Deep Silver Fishlabs is here to offer just that with Chorus: Rise as One.
Playing as an ace pilot and her sentient starfighter, Chorus ties the stories of both characters together amidst a conflict with a creepy cult known as the Circle.
With 4K and 60 frames-per-second, Chorus looks stunning, with a strong visual aesthetic of moody reds and pure blacks, as well as space combat that looks full of “Death Star trench run” inspired scrapes through tight spaces.
Not only is the ship itself a weapon, but lead character Nara also offers “deadly mind-bending” abilities like telekinesis that can give her the edge in battle when combined with her ship’s aerial acrobatics. Chorus: Rise as One is expected in 2021.
Madden 21
A little known indie title here, Madden 21 is confirmed to be coming to Xbox Series X at launch this year.
Patrick Mahomes revealed the game’s announcement trailer, with a nifty retrospective of how the franchise has evolved over multiple decades.
While we don’t have any fresh details on the game or how it’ll play, we do know it’ll be free on Xbox Series X for players that pick up the Xbox One version thanks to Smart Delivery. Perhaps most excitingly is that this could mean the same would be true of titles like FIFA 21, too.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
Vampire The Masquerade -Bloodlines 2 is going to be great, trust us
© Paradox Interactive
The followup to the first Bloodlines, a cult classic, Bloodlines 2 is a vampiric RPG that looks terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure.
Set in a modern world where vampires walk among the rest of the world’s population in a dark version of Seattle, players will be able to leap across rooftops, feed on people as they see fit, and level up their abilities as the game progresses. You’ll also be able to transfer save data from the Xbox One version to the Xbox Series X version, too.
Again, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 (a very long title, indeed), will support Smart Delivery, so you’ll only need to buy it once, and it’s still scheduled for a 2020 release date.
Call of the Sea
Explore a lush island paradise in Call of the Sea
© Raw Fury
A new first-person narrative adventure set in the 1930s puts players in the shoes of Norah, a woman searching for her husband on an “extraordinary island” teeming with secrets.
The first game from new studio Out of the Blue, made up of veterans that have worked on the likes of Metroid: Samus Returns, Celeste and Guacamelee 2, it looks to offer Firewatch levels of environmental storytelling. In fact, that game’s Cissy Jones voices Norah in Call of the Sea.
The development team are clear to stress that Call of the Sea isn’t a horror title, but that there is definitely a mystery beneath the island’s surface. The game will launch on Xbox Game Pass in late 2020.
The Ascent
The Ascent looks like cyberpunk Diablo, so obviously it should be great
© Curve Digital
Cyberpunk titles are a dime a dozen these days, but the Ascent looks to separate itself from a certain game of that ilk also arriving this year by switching its perspective to an isometric one.
This action RPG takes place on Veles, a planet run by mega-corporations including the Ascent Group. When the company shuts down, the world is overrun by chaos and disorder, bought to life by developers that have worked on the likes of Wolfenstein and Gears of War.
With destructible environments and plenty of action, The Ascent could be worth keeping an eye on.
The Medium
The Medium looks terrifying, and Bloober Team have form with spooky
© Bloober Team
A new psychological horror title from the genre’s rising stars Bloober Team (Observer, Blair Witch), The Medium follows Marianne. A medium (duh), she has a connection to both the real world and the spirit world, meaning she can see both the game’s late nineties Krakow and its darker reflection and travel between the two.
Perhaps most excitingly is that Akira Yamaoka, the composer behind the soundtrack of the Silent Hill franchise, is scoring The Medium. Yamaoka is even composing specific scores for both the real and spirit worlds.
The Xbox Series X allows for ray-tracing lighting, and the console’s SSD means there are no loading screens throughout, and the game is expected to launch later this year.
Scarlet Nexus
Scarlet Nexus will be the first in a new RPG series
© Bandai Namco
Hailing from Bandai Namco, Scarlet Nexus is the start of a new RPG franchise from the team behind Tales of Vesperia.
Set in a future where telekinesis-wielders do battle with monsters from another dimension known as the Others, players wield extraordinary abilities and melee weapons. You can also pick up items from the environment using your psychic abilities and hurl them at enemies, with protagonist Yuito Sumeragi seemingly able to throw anything not nailed down.
It’ll offer smart delivery across Xbox One and Series X too, but no release window was given.
Second Extinction
It's not an official Turok game, but it might scratch the itch
© Systemic Reaction
If you’ve been hankering for a new Turok game for a while, Second extinction might just scratch that itch. A first-person shooter that pits you against, and I quote, “evil mutant dinosaurs”, the game features co-op and looks to be just the right kind of ridiculous.
With a focus on live-service longevity that’ll see new content added over time, players can expect to upgrade weapons before heading out on new hunts. With a large map to explore and plenty of dinosaurs to hunt (and be hunted by), it’s not Turok but it’s damn close.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon
A Yakuza game, on Xbox? Count us in
© SEGA
A launch window title for the Xbox Series X, Yakuza: Like A Dragon brings all the fun of the franchise’s over the top fisticuffs to next generation.
Expect ridiculous characters, customisable abilities and dozens of mini-games to enjoy when you’re done cracking skulls. There’s even an RPG style “Job” system that sees players opting to be a Bodyguard, Musician, or even a Chef.
Smart Delivery means it’ll be available on Xbox One, too.
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
Vikings with hidden blades? Cool. Cool cool cool
© Ubisoft
Revealed last week but given some in-game time to shine to close out the stream, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla takes full advantage of the ray-tracing possible on Xbox Series X to offer incredible lighting.
Letting players step into the shoes of a male or female Eivor, Valhalla sees our Viking hero raiding the beaches and rolling hills of England as he finds a new home for his displaced clan as they flee Norway.
Expect sieges, duel-wielding weapons, throwing axes, and a raven replacing the series’ traditional crow as our aviary companion. The game supports Smart Delivery, and will launch this year.
