Xbox Games Showcase: Are They Betting Big on 2024?

Following the Xbox Games Showcase that was aired on Sunday, it’s apparent that Xbox is placing a big bet on 2024 with their upcoming games such as Avowed, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Given Xbox’s previous strategy of placing all bets on 2023, many are curious about the outcome of this year’s bet.

After the Xbox Games Showcase in 2022, Microsoft claimed that they would release 50 games on Xbox and PC in the next 12 months. This list included a mix of new first-party and third-party games, Game Pass perks, Xbox ports of already-published titles, and updates to ongoing live-service games including Halo Infinite.

Many of the games mentioned by Xbox did come out during the 12-month window. Several third-party tentpoles, including Diablo 4, Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 remakes, were immediate commercial and critical successes. Some games were met with mixed reviews including Gotham Knights, Somerville, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, High on Life, and Atomic Heart. In terms of first-party games, people were generally unimpressed by Redfall.

Of the list of 50 games mentioned, only 3 currently have solid release dates. They are Lightyear Frontier, Party Animals (now slated for release on September 20), and Starfield (now planned for a September 6 release). Additionally, Forza Motorsport is scheduled for release on October 10. The remaining games are either pegged as “coming soon” or have a vague release date of “2023.”

Replaced and STALKER 2 are being developed by studios in Ukraine, which are currently dealing with the impacts of war with Russian aggressors. Cocoon will appear during the Annapurna Interactive Showcase scheduled for June 29. Ark 2, which stars Vin Diesel, has been delayed to 2024.

After yesterday’s showcase, Microsoft failed to offer any hard timeline on their forthcoming slate. Instead, they tweeted that the 2023 Xbox Showcase lineup was “giving play day one.”