The Xbox Games Showcase is one of the biggest events of the gaming calendar, and after PlayStation’s State of Play and Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, it presents the last big opportunity for gamers to see what’s in store for the following couple of years, at least until Gamescom in August.
Geoff Keighley (of Summer Game Fest fame) went public with his attempt at downplaying the hype around his own showcase this year, which was a first, and with the poor showing of PlayStation, many believe this points to a bumper year for the Xbox Games Showcase.
As with any other showcase, we’ve taken the time to try and figure out the most, least, and completely unlikely predictions for what we may see in the showcase!
Luke Addison – Gaming Lead
The current state of gaming is an odd one and not one you’d have predicted a little over 10 years ago when the Xbox One was announced. In hindsight though, with a slate of bad decisions from Xbox, it was inevitable.
A few months ago Phil Spencer and Co. Announced the intention to begin porting some of Xbox’s biggest and best first-party titles across to PlayStation, presumably in mind to increase player count and profits, rather than the PR-fluff of ‘increasing the Xbox’s position in the market’ they keep spouting.
The success of those four titles, especially Sea of Thieves is proof that PlayStation gamers do want to play Xbox games, and with that, brings the possibility that we could start to see some of the flagship titles Xbox have making their way across, nailing the door shut on any Xbox exclusivity going forward.
It’d be surprising to see multiple, but I’d expect at least one of Gear of War, Starfield, Halo, or Forza to get announced for the move over.
Daniel Boyd – Gaming Lead
Bethesda is on everyone’s tongue right now. From the Fallout TV show over on Prime being a huge success to the recent closures of some of their studios, it’s a mixed time for Todd Howard and the RPG studio.
Most expect Starfield’s Shattered Space to be making an appearance (more on that below), but Daniel is going for something a little more unlikely, and arguably a lot more anticipated – the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remake.
Its existence is yet to be officially confirmed by Bethesda, but some leaked documents during Microsoft’s FTC trial to acquire Activision Blizzard in 2023 pointed to the project being in development. It’s important to note these were older documents and things can change, but a recent confirmation of a new Doom game certainly points it its validity.
Either way, what better way for Xbox to blow PlayStation away in 2024 than to bring back one of the biggest games of the Xbox 360 era for a new audience?
Osama Farooq – Senior Editor & Critic
Six months after the initial reveal of Marvel’s Blade at The Game Awards 2023, things have been pretty quiet regarding the development of the upcoming Arkane Lyon title. Having recently survived the unfortunate Bethesda Softworks layoffs, with its Austin counterpart not having the same luck, the studio was promised more resources being allocated to its project.
Now that it has something to prove in order to simply continue, fans may get some sort of an update on Xbox’s take on a major Marvel property at the Games Showcase. It’s too soon for gameplay footage, but a similar tease to the announcement trailer could be potentially featured.
Adil Farooq – Senior Editor & Critic
Fallout: New Vegas and The Outer Worlds developer Obsidian Entertainment have been diligently working on Avowed for the last few years. The developer has a huge cult following thanks to its consistent output of incredible open-world games.
That said, Xbox fans were getting impatient with the lack of news until the recent Xbox Direct, where the game was one of four to be shown off. From gameplay to a deep-dive into the mechanics on offer, fans immediately jumped on the game as one to watch, and with the release date tentatively ‘2024’, there’s no better time or place to give us another look, and a concrete release date to look forward to.
Rohit Tiwari – Editor
What’s more to say than it’s been too long since we last got our hands on Banjo Kazooie? From the character’s appearance back in Diddy Kong Racing to his standalone in 1998, and then repeated sequels and spin-offs throughout the years, Banjo Kazooie is a character close to many of our hearts and for good reason.
It’s been a few years since the last time we saw him, but with Microsoft owning Rare, the original developer, it wouldn’t be the most outlandish game to be showcased. With the surprise announcement of Yooka-Laylee at the Guerrilla Collective on Friday, the chances for a remake or sequel are higher than ever before.
Liam Magee – Editor
At this point, Ubisoft’s Beyond Good & Evil 2 is the leading joke of every single prediction article for everyone. A game that’s been promised for years with little to no updates, but still seems pervasive in the gaming scene to the point it’s highly anticipated.
With Ubisoft Forward on June 10th, it’d be a throw-up as to whether they’d choose the Xbox Summer Showcase or its own showcase event to finally update the masses on the project, but at this point, it seems like it’s never going to happen, so don’t get your hopes up for more adventures of Jade and Co.
Lisa Kamlot – Writer & Critic
Starfield was supposed to be a genre-defining game that would push not only gaming forward but also the Xbox console as a whole this generation.
Unfortunately, it’s inarguable that it fell short on both accounts, but that isn’t stopping Bethesda from continuing on and delivering the promised expansions, as well as improving the whole experience with constant updates.
Since Starfield’s release late last year, the developer has been pretty quiet regarding the expansion, other than its existence, so the Xbox Games Showcase is almost a shoo-in for the official announcement/gameplay/story trailer for the expansion, as well as a release date.
With all the changes going on behind the scenes with Starfield right now, it’d be a big shock not to see Bethesda show this one off.
Tanay Sharma – Writer & Critic
It’s been a minute since we last saw anything of the in-development sequel The Sims 5, and whilst the Xbox Games Showcase would be an odd place to throw the world a Sims-like bone, it’d definitely be unexpected if they also announced it for Xbox consoles too.
The Sims 5 represents a 10-year gap since the release of The Sims 4, and whilst EA has been releasing add-ons religiously in the years that followed, fans are beginning to wonder when the next iteration will hit platforms. With news that the game will support crossplay between PC and Mobile as well, it seems a simple no-brainer to release the life-sim on more than just those two.
Sparsh Sharma – Writer & Critic
It’s been three years since the release of Forza Horizon 5, and whilst that wasn’t the racing darling the previous entries were, with numerous issues, patches required, and general lackluster feeling from players, it is still the flagship racing sim over every platform – the exception being Gran Turismo, with its incredibly infrequent releases.
There’s not been many rumblings of a new Forza game, but the drought of decent racing games does kind of mean it’s needed. Whether that comes to pass or not is another matter, but with reportedly 30 games being shown at the Xbox Games Showcase, there’s a higher chance than years before.
Dustin J. Caldwell – Writer
Doom: The Dark Ages hasn’t been confirmed yet, and with it being a flagship Bethesda title, alongside Starfield, Elder Scrolls, and Fallout, this is another one that should almost certainly be featured on Sunday night.
Doom Eternal was the last time we got to take on the mantle of The Doom Slayer, and at this point, over four years later, we’re all eager to get back to the demon-slaying, blood-spilling, over-the-top mayhem.
Rumors surround the title, with a medieval setting supposedly the arena of combat this time round, which will throw the game’s chronological timeline into question, but it does pose an interesting question as to how the franchise will develop going forward.
Andy MacGregor – Writer
Gears of War 6 has been a seriously long time coming. As the original trilogy was nearly on the same level as Halo for attracting players to the consoles, it’s a real surprise it has been FIVE years since the release of Gears of War 5, and we’re still yet to even have a confirmation the game is in development.
As such, the wait and the hype continue to grow, and fans are desperate to find out the canonical continuation of that cliffhanger death scene in the fifth game. Just like an Oblivion remake would blow the roof off the Xbox Games Showcase, Gears of War 6 would leave Xbox fans extremely happy.
Plus, who doesn’t want to return to Sera and see what’s gone on in the time since our last visit?
Arkaneel K. – Writer
At the above-mentioned Xbox Direct where the likes of Hellblade 2 and Avowed were showcased, the long-rumored, highly-anticipated Indiana Jones and The Great Circle got a first look that equally wowed and confused audiences at the same time.
Wowed, because the graphics are undeniably incredible, and there’s clearly been a lot of time and polish put into the game. Confused, because there was something a little ‘off’ about Harrison Ford fans who couldn’t put their fingers on. Well, that confusion has been explained, as Ford’s likeness may be getting used, but The Last of Us alum Troy Baker lends his talents to voicing the character.
Promising an all-new story set between The Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade films, the release is set for 2024, which doesn’t leave long for the marketing to hit overdrive. If this isn’t included in the Xbox Games Showcase, it’s as likely to be getting delayed as it would be released this year.
Travis Vuong – Writer
Double Fine Productions, creators of the infamous Psychonauts franchise, has been radio silent since they were officially acquired during the Microsoft merger. With their 25th anniversary coming up quickly (July 2025), and them reportedly working on two games as we speak, it’d be high time for them to showcase something, if only to stoke the flames.
Fans have been begging for a third installment to the franchise, and as Xbox continues to flag under the weight of PlayStation’s dominance this generation, it’d be a good counterpunch for the developer to throw.
If not Psychonauts 3, a remake of the first game would be a solid showing too, with it bringing the franchise to a new generation and millions more eyes, therefore proving a third installment could be exactly what is needed (it is).
Akshit Dangi – Writer
The first official look at the Fable reboot came this time last year, featuring the charismatic Richard Ayoade. Fable is an Xbox title that has long been mired in controversy of some sort; originally due to the over-promising of Lionshead’s Peter Molyneux, and this time round with overly sensitive individuals screaming about Sweet Baby Inc and how they’ve ruined the star of the trailer (see a similar reaction to Star Wars Outlaws).
Whether or not this is the case is almost irrelevant right now, as fans are eager to see how the game has progressed with another year’s development under its belt. With a rumor that the game is also looking at a 2024 release (stacked year for Xbox), it’d need to be a gameplay trailer and release date announcement to boot.
Now if we could get a three-minute trailer of Ayoade narrating again, I’d be happy.
Nikola Pajtic – Writer
Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond confirmed the rumors of the new hardware that Xbox is developing a few months back, during the same chat announcing the platform crossing titles. Other than promising the “largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation”, nothing concrete was revealed.
Since then we’ve had leaks suggesting an Xbox Handheld is in development, so whether this is that reported ‘technical leap’ is yet to be seen, but something drastic needs to be done from Xbox’s side to level the playing field.
It also wouldn’t be the most ridiculous of reveals, with the PlayStation Portal doing a good job of proving that AAA games can be powered by a portable, even if it is just a Remote Play substitute.
Tunahan Kurakis – Writer
Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred was announced at Blizzcon in late 2023, with fans promised a release sometime in ‘Late 2024’. Since then, we’ve had some middling to good seasons, including one that reworked everything about the game, but no news to the game’s first (and potentially last if it doesn’t work out) expansion.
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Rod Fergusson said in an interview back in November that more news would be revealed in six months or so, which would put us squarely where we are now, so it’d be a surprise if it didn’t get something, be it story, release, or gameplay trailer.
What the expansion offers is up in the air though, with little to no details officially released, and even rumors and leaks being thin on the ground.
Anurag Batham – Writer
Saved the most unlikely for last, as Anurag thinks (or hopes, like a lot of us) that the Xbox Games Showcase will go down in history as one of the biggest ever, with an announcement or tease that they’re bringing Helldivers 2 to the console.
This would go against everything that has been seen in the last year or so, from Microsoft porting their first-party titles across to PlayStation (with more likely), to absolute radio silence on such a thing actually happening from official sources.
Petitions from Xbox players desperate to get involved in the fight for democracy may not be enough to warrant such an announcement, but with the recent troubles Helldivers 2 has suffered thanks to the PSN account-linking controversy, the poorly implemented and thought-out weapon patches and more, there’s not been a better time to bolster the player count than calling in the Xbox reinforcements.
