Xbox + Bethesda Showcase 2022: Upcoming games to look forward to

After it was announced that E3 2022 would be cancelled and that the biggest annual gaming trade show would not be taking place till 2023, the gaming community had to turn to individual developer showcases to satiate their hunger for June video game announcements that would normally be filled by E3.

That's why, on June 12, I sat down to watch the Xbox and Bethesda joint showcase for all upcoming releases from both companies. And my oh my, are there a ton of releases coming to Xbox over the next year that fans can get excited about!

So, I wanted to summarise some of the highlights of the event for those curious to know what to expect if you're an Xbox owner, a potential Xbox owner, a PC gamer or just an enthusiast. 

Throughout the event, Xbox placed great importance on their "Game Pass" feature, which is a subscription service that gives subscribers access to an extensive library of games for free. Additionally, subscribers of the Xbox Ultimate Game Pass can access games on both their console and PC. It seems Microsoft really wants to get players onto their Game Pass service rather than focusing on selling copies of games.

Now, while this idea seems great in theory, I only hope that the actual developers are not screwed over in this transition. With that out of the way, the next point of focus for the showcase was to let gamers know that the event would be focusing on the games that they would be playing over the next 12-month period. As a result, many titles were announced that will be hitting shelves in a few weeks all the way to titles that will be launched in mid-2023.

A multitude of interesting and exciting titles was showcased, some of which were just cinematic trailers while others had gameplay showcases as well. I can't get to each and every one of these games, but I want to talk about some of note.

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The first game that stood out—also the first game of the showcase—was Redfall, developed by Arkane Studios, the creators of the Dishonoured franchise. In this first-person shooter (FPS), you travel to the town of Redfall, Massachusetts, where a once quaint and charming town has been taken over by vampires.

Redfall should, from the looks of it, be played in a four-player co-op mode. However, players can also choose to play solo as was revealed during the showcase. What stood out for Redfall was the overall art style and environment showcased in the in-game trailer, which is somewhat reminiscent of the world of Dishonoured while also being modern. Simultaneously, the co-op gameplay showcased in the trailer gave me a Left 4 Dead 2 vibe as well. Redfall will be released sometime in 2023. 

The next game that caught my eye was The Last Case of Benedict Fox, which follows the titular character, Benedict Fox, on his 2.5 D journey through a mansion filled with monsters. He has some sort of demonic companion who gives him access to some supernatural powers. Alongside this, the game will also feature guns and knives for the combat elements, with the game primarily being a platformer/shooter.

Set in 1925, the art style used in The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a unique combination of games like Limbo, Little Nightmares, Scratches and Castlevania. The game will be coming out in Spring 2023 and should be something, anyone with a love for 2D, side scrollers or platformers should get their hands on.

At the end of their showcase, Bethesda finally unveiled in-game footage for their upcoming game, Starfield. The space exploration game seems to try to be everything that fans had initially wished No Man's Sky would've been, with added shooter elements. 

Todd Howard of Bethesda told fans that the game will allow players to explore around 100 solar systems, containing around 1,000 planets. However, while exploration is one side of the game, Bethesda has also chosen to focus on developing a story, with an emphasis on the importance of the narrative being based on players' choices. Starfield is set to be released in the first half of 2023, and fans should cross their fingers and hope Bethesda delivers on their promises this time.

All three of the titles above will be available for Game Pass on Day One.

Other games of note that gamers should check out from the event include As Dusk Falls, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, Scorn, Forza Motorsport, A Plague's Tale: Requiem, Diablo IV, Hollow Knight Silksong, Pentiment and Ereban Shadow Legacy among many others. Additionally, they also launched a Hotwheels DLC for Forza Horizon 5.

But that wasn't just the end to it, no. Xbox went all out this year and brought titles over to Xbox Game Pass such as Naraka Bladepoint, Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal.

However, the true highlight of the event was when, just before concluding their showcase with Starfield, they brought Hideo Kojima out to announce the partnership between Kojima Productions and Xbox for an untitled upcoming game. Kojima got all the fans riled up by saying, "This is a game I have always wanted to make."