A new Star Wars game, a deeper look at the upcoming space exploration title Starfield and a reveal of fantasy game reboot Fable have wowed fans during the annual Xbox Games Showcase on Monday (NZ time).
The event featured 27 games coming to Xbox platforms, 21 of which will be playable from day one via subscription service Xbox Game Pass.
Titles included a new Forza Motorsport which will release on October 10 as well as Star Wars Outlaws, an open-world Ubisoft title being developed with Lucasfilm that promises to "invite players to experience the Star Wars galaxy like never before".
It's believed to be an original story set between Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
Bethesda Game Studios also displayed a large portion of their upcoming, highly-anticipated title Starfield, a role playing game that will showcase the studio's first new universe in 25 years.
Fans have reacted positively to the gameplay reveal debuted in the showcase, with some saying online it looked "amazingly ambitious" and with others lamenting they will lose sleep exploring all 1000 of the worlds that purportedly exist. The game has been dubbed "Skyrim in Space" and is set to release on September 6.
Also received favourably by fans online were the new details around the Fable reboot. The first game in the role-playing franchise was released in 2004 and the last installment came out in 2017. A Richard Ayoade-led trailer showed off a new beginning for the much-loved series.
While no new footage from the game was shown off, the trailer showcased a man who simply wanted to grow his vegetables without being interrupted in a fantasy world. In a surprise reveal, it was shown the character talking was actually the giant from the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale.
The majority of the titles which were showcased have yet to have public release dates, with most scheduled for release some time in 2024.
Hardware-wise, an upgraded version of the Xbox Series S console was also revealed. Xbox head Phil Spencer revealed the new 1TB version will be black and is launching on September 1.
Games shown off at the 2023 Xbox Games Showcase:
- Avowed
- Clockwork Revolution
- Fable
- Forza Motorsport
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
- Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
- South of Midnight
- Starfield
- Towerborne
- 33 Immortals
- Cities: Skylines II
- Dungeons of Hinterberg
- Jusant
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
- Payday 3
- Persona 3: Reload
- Persona 5 Tactica
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Still Wakes The Deep
