Following this month’s State of Play presentation from PlayStation and Summer Game Fest kick-off show, the last big game showcase of this non-E3 season, the Xbox and Bethesda 2022 Games Showcase has just wrapped, and we have a full recap ready.
While E3 2022 was cancelled earlier this year, Xbox is continuing with the tradition of the annual event (even though it has been cancelled twice in the 2020s) without the ESA and decided to host an event like usual on a regular Sunday afternoon. Some of the big titles we got a look at during the 95-minute showcase features games you can play over the next 12 months which include Redfall, Hollow Knight Silksong, Forza Motorsport, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, Minecraft Legends, Grounded 1.0 launch, As Dusk Falls, Diablo IV, Persona, Starfield, and much more.
Here are all the highlights of everything announced during the Xbox and Bethesda 2022 Games Showcase.
Redfall (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: Early 2023
Following the delay of Redfall, Xbox kicked off with a first look at the gameplay of Arcane Austin’s upcoming open-world console-exclusive FPS game. The new trailer above shows off one of the game’s four playable characters – Layla Ellison, a student with newly acquired telekinetic powers sneaking into a building before running into a vampire enemy but thankfully is saved by one of her comrades, Jacob Boyer. The five-minute look at the game dives deeper into the game’s story and shows off more gameplay from the perspective of the game’s other playable characters in co-op gameplay. Redfall is set to launch on PC and Xbox consoles via Game Pass sometime in early 2023.
Hollow Knight: Silksong (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: TBA 202?
After years of waiting and so many clown memes, we finally got a first look at gameplay at the anticipated and very real game, Hollow Knight: Silksong. Hollow Knight players will hunt, survive, and vanquish as Hornet this time around when it launches day one on Game Pass. Who knows when day one is though but Xbox did suggest at the beginning of the showcase that the games featured would be released in the next 12 months so hopefully not that long of a wait if true.
High on Life (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: October 2022
High on Life is from the mind of Justin Roiland (Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites) which you can tell by the familiar voice of totally not Morty but is in the trailer. Humanity is being threatened by an alien cartel who wants to use them as drugs. It’s up to you to rescue and partner with charismatic and talking familiar-sounding guns, which you can see the faces of from the back of the gun in the game’s perspective. Take down Garmantuous and his gang, and save the world.
Riot Games are Coming to Game Pass
Release Date: Winter 2022
Riot Games announced it is partnering up with Xbox to bring some of its biggest PC and mobile games to Game Pass. Those games include League of Legends (PC), League of Legends: Wild Rift (Mobile), Legend of Runeterra (PC & Mobile), Teamfight Tactics (PC & Mobile), and Valorant (PC). Game Pass subscribers who decide to pick up those games will get some unlockable bonuses including all Champions unlocked.
A Plague Tale: Requiem (PC & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: TBA 2022
Up next is the sequel to Asobu Studio’s A Plague Tale: Innocence in the highly anticipated A Plague Tale: Requiem which shows off an exclusive gameplay trailer captured on Xbox Series X. Players will embark on a heartrending journey into a brutal, breathtaking world, and discover the cost of saving those you love in a desperate struggle for survival. Gameplay features players striking from the shadows or going at it with enemies by unleashing hell with a variety of weapons, tools and unearthly powers. No release date was revealed, but the upcoming title is still slated for 2022 when it launches on day one on Game Pass on PC and Xbox Series X|S.
Forza Motorsport (PC & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: Spring 2023
Following the release of the Forza Horizon 5, the next title in the racing game series is the would-be Forza Motorsport 8, simply known as just Forza Motorsport. As a next-gen exclusive game that’s described as the “most technically advanced racing game”, Forza Motorsport is set to unleash the power of Xbox Series X with automotive entertainment ready to be reimagined from the ground up for a new generation.
Microsoft Flight Simulator – 40th Anniversary (PC & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: November 2022
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the first Microsoft Flight Simulator game, Microsoft is releasing an expanded 40th-anniversary edition of its most recent entry in the series this November. This version of the game will feature the Microsoft Flight Simulator team partnering up with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. To celebrate the news, Microsoft Flight Simulator players can fly the Halo Infinite Pelican starting today, alongside the main game – the add-on is absolutely free for Game Pass subscribers.
Overwatch 2 (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Early Access
Release Date: October 4th
Blizzard Entertainment has announced that Overwatch 2 will release in early access on October 4th and will be a free-to-play experience alongside brand-new content for players. Alongside the reveal, a new hero, Junker Queen is coming to the next entry in the franchise. For more information, a reveal event is happening later this week on June 16th which is streaming on Overwatch’s official Twitch and Youtube channels.
Ara History Unfold (PC) – PC Game Pass
Release Date: TBA 202?
Ara: History Untold delivers an evolution in the turn-based historical grand strategy genre. Players’ choices will define the world they create, their experience, and their legacy. To check it out, join the Insider program today.
The Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle (Xbox One & Xbox Series)
Release Date: June 21st
Following the release on PC earlier this month, The Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle is set to arrive on Xbox consoles next week on June 21st as console players are set to travel to a never-before-seen land in The Elder Scrolls lore. Explore locations never-before-seen in an Elder Scrolls game—the secluded isles of the Systres Archipelago—and confront the sinister Ascendant Order.
Fall Out 76: Expedition – The Pitt (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: September 2022
For the first time since Fallout 3, Fallout players are going back to post-war Pittsburgh in the upcoming Fall Out 76 expedition, known as The Pitt. Travel beyond the borders of Appalachia to The Pitt in the next major content update for Fallout 76. Players will forge new alliances, undertake new challenges, and earn all-new rewards when Fall Out 76 Expedition: The Pitt launches this September.
Forza Horizon 5 Expansion: Hot Wheels (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: July 19th
Forza Horizon 5 players will dare to go back to their childhood of racing Hot Wheels cars on extreme car tracks as a kid in the upcoming expansion of the same name, Hot Wheels. Players will be able to experience the fastest, most extreme tracks ever devised. Better yet you can design, build, and share your own Hot Wheels adventure with 80 distinct, snappable track pieces. Race 10 amazing new cars including the lightning-fast 2021 Hennessey Venom F5 and the 2000 Hot Wheels Deora II. Forza Horizon 5 players can get immediate access to the expansion on July 19th when you buy the Premium Add Ons bundle today.
ARK 2 (PC & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: TBA 2023
ARK 2 isn’t just about surviving the past but taming the future alongside your family in a primal world filled with dinosaurs and humans struggling for dominance. Team up with your family, legendary heroes who are set to confront powerful dark forces. ARK 2 is set to be a next-gen survival experience when it launches on day one on Game Pass sometime in 2023.
Scorn (PC & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: October 21st
Xbox players who pick up Scorn will wake up in the middle of a desolate and decayed hellscape which was once an industrious civilization—now lays in ruin. Players will find themselves in a mesmerizing labyrinth which they must explore to progress when Scorn launches on PC and Xbox Series X|S day one on Game Pass on October 21st.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: Early 2023
Xbox showed off the first gameplay look at the upcoming Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn which will be a console launch exclusive early next year. Players will play from the perspective of Nor and her mysterious companion, Enki, in this open-world RPG adventure. The title is set to be an epic journey of vengeance, gunpowder and magic in humanity’s last stand when it launches day on Game Pass on PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles.
Minecraft Legends (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: TBA 2023
Up next is another adventure from the Minecraft world with developers, Mojang Studios and Blackbird Interactive giving the popular franchise a spin on the action strategy genre with Minecraft: Legends. Discover mysteries while exploring a familiar yet mysterious land, full of diverse life, lush biomes, and rich resources. Although it’s not that great as the piglins have arrived ready to threaten and corrupt the Overworld. Protect the world by taking the fight to the piglins before their Nether corruption devours everything.
Lightyear: Frontier (PC & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: Spring 2023
Begin life again on a new beautiful planet in Lightyear: Frontier which looks like its Harvest Moon in space. The upcoming early access title combines a mech with the experience of starting a farm. Look out for new plants to add to your harvest as you travel across the planet and its environments. Along the way, players will uncover the planet’s ancient secrets and make new friends too. Lightyear: Frontier is set to launch in early access via Game Pass some time in early 2023.
Gunfire Reborn (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: October 2022
Gunfire Reborn is a co-op game that is a booming blend of ability-based hero shooter and roguelite that’s presented in a striking cel-shaded aesthetic. Play solo or cooperatively with up to three players who will all have access to more than 40 weapons, 100+ scrolls, powerful inscriptions and Ascensions to craft builds from devastating Sharpshooters to magic-based Alchemists. Gunfire Reborn is set to launch on day one on Game Pass this October.
The Last Case of Benedict Fox (PC & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: Spring 2023
Up next is a console launch exclusive, The Last Case of Benedict Fox where players play as the titular character who descends into a limbo of decaying memories as Benedict Fox, a detective bound to his demon companion. That bound will help players explore the 2D explorable mansion as you search for clues and uncover the many mysteries ready to be uncovered. The Last Case of Benedict Fox is set to launch day one on Game Pass next spring.
As Dusk Falls (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: July 19th
As previously featured on Tribecca Games showcase, As Dusk Falls is an interactive narrative adventure where players can make choices that impact characters’ lives in this uncompromising story of betrayal, sacrifice, and resilience. As Dusk Falls can be played in either solo or multiplayer with up to eight players when it launches day one on Game Pass on July 19th.
Naraka: Bladepoint (PC & Xbox Series) – PC/Xbox Game Pass
Release Date: June 23rd
Naraka: Bladepoint is a mythical action Battle Royale game with 10 million players strong on PC and is coming to Xbox Series X|S via Game Pass next week on June 23rd.
Pentiment (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: November 2022
Developed by Obsidian, Pentiment is set in 16th century Bavaria and will take players on a narrative journey through the eyes of Journeyman Artist Andreas Maler during a time of great social unrest. The game was inspired by illuminated manuscripts, woodcut prints, and history itself. Pentiment is releasing day one on Game Pass this November.
Grounded (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: September 2022
After almost two years in Game preview, the 1.0 version of Grounded is finally launching this September. Players will find out how the teens got into the yard and the mad scientist behind it in the fully playable campaign, which can be played either solo or in cooperative play. The upcoming update will feature new armour recipes, new weapon recipes, and a giant Mantis.
Ereban: Shadow Legacy (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: TBA 2023
Indie developer Baby Robot Games showed off their debut game, Ereban: Shadow Legacy, a fast-paced stealth platformer game. Players will be inserted into the shoes of Ayana, the last descendant of a forgotten race who harnesses mystical shadow powers, high-tech gadgets and avoids or kills to uncover the truth about your past and the key to saving the world when the game launches day one on Game Pass next year.
Diablo IV (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series)
Release Date: TBA 2023
Blizzard Entertainment revealed the final class, Necromancer, in its upcoming next-generation title, Diablo IV set to release next year. The fourth mainline entry is set to feature an open shared world, character customization, more than 50 dungeons, crossplay with PC and Xbox players, and an end game that will be supported for years to come.
Sea of Thieves Season 7 (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: July 21st
The upcoming seventh season of Sea of Thieves will start on July 21st.
Ravenlok (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: TBA 2023
From the team that brought you Echo Generation is Ravenlok, an action-packed fairytale reimagining of a troubled kingdom and a young girl’s destiny to fulfill a dangerous prophecy.
COCOON (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: TBA 2023
After that is COCOON which is being developed by Limbo and Inside lead gameplay designer, Jeppe Carlsen. We got a look at gameplay during the showcase which shows off the game’s mechanics and a mystery to unsolve, players will get their hands on the title next year day one on Game Pass.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: Early 2023
Microsoft is officially partnering up with Koei Temco’s next game from developer Team Ninja which is sadly not actually Ninja Gaiden 4. Instead, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty was revealed which is set to a dramatic and action-packed story of a nameless militia soldier fighting for survival in a dark fantasy version of the Later Han Dynasty where demons plague the Three Kingdoms. Players will fight off not just deadly creatures but enemy soldiers too by using swordplay based on the Chinese martial arts, attempting to overcome the odds by awakening the true power from within. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will be available on day one on Game Pass in early 2023.
Persona Series Comes to Xbox (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: October 21st – Persona 5 Royal
Phil Spencer introduced a familiar series of Japanese games that are officially coming to Microsoft’s platforms, all of which are the traditional modern designed Persona games. Those games include Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal – which the latter is launching on Game Pass on October 21st.
Hideo Kojima Partnership Announced
After being rumoured for a while, Microsoft has announced it is officially partnering with Kojima Productions to work on Hideo Kojima’s next games. In a video message, The Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator say the partnership will allow him to create a completely new game that Kojima has “always wanted to make” that no one has experienced before and that he’s been waiting a long time to create. He adds that Microsoft’s new cloud technology and industry changes will allow him to challenge himself to make a “never-before-seen concept.” The title might be the previously leaked horror title known as ‘Overdose‘.
Starfield (PC & Xbox Series) – Game Pass
Release Date: TBA 2023
Finally, as the last game of the showcase, it’s time for Starfield to shine in an extended look at gameplay for the first time. The game is set to feature Bethesda’s most flexible character creation to date which allows players to pick out a background alongside three skills which has been adopted and enhanced from skills systems from previous games. Players will be able to build their own spaceship to fly out in space which can be used in space battles with NPCs. Players will be able to customize the look of it (as well as your character at the start of the game), as well as choose their own crew to explore over 100 systems and 1,000 planets in Starfield.
Below is a visual recap of most of the games shown during the showcase and coming to Xbox in the next 12 months.
