Xbox Showcase, Microsoft’s video games conference, was full of announcements! On the agenda: a new Xbox Series S with more memory, Xbox Game Pass for GeForce Now and lots of big titles!
After the Sony and Summer Game Fest conferences, it was Microsoft’s turn to hold its Xbox Games Showcase conference on June 11, 2023. Needless to say, after a less than exciting year, the manufacturer-publisher was expected to turn around in 2022! We were particularly hoping for news from Bethesda’s ambitious RPG Starfield, but also from Forza Motorsport, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II and other Xbox Game Pass exclusives. And the players were not disappointed! The Redmond-based company unleashed the heavy artillery with the announcement of a new Xbox Series S, a Keanu Reeves that introduced the Cyberpunk 2077 DLC, a bunch of new titles and a new Star Wars game. In total, no fewer than 27 titles were presented, half of which came from Microsoft studios and the second from third-party developers, with 12 world premieres! You can find the review of the conference, which lasted no less than two hours, here!
New Xbox Series S: a console with more memory
One of the main announcements from the Xbox Games Showcase concerns the Xbox Series S, Microsoft’s most affordable console – unlike the Xbox Series X, it doesn’t have a disc drive – which is entitled to a new version. This includes two major changes from the first model released since November 2020. Firstly, the new console will come in Carbon Black instead of the usual pristine white – great news for anyone who doesn’t want to damage their prized machine – and its internal storage capacity will increase from 512GB to 1TB – as is the Xbox Series, of course it is possible to add additional SSD memory cards, but their price is not specified.
However, no hardware changes. The Xbox Series S retains its 10 GB of RAM, its display in 1440p resolution instead of 4K with a refresh rate of up to 120 FPS and supports HDR (the famous High Dynamic Range that increases the dynamics of lights) for compatible monitors and TVs. At 350 euros, the new model will be slightly more expensive than the original. If you don’t want to pay such a sum, you can always use the 512 GB model, which is still available for 300 euros. The 1 TB version will be available on September 1st, pre-orders are already open on Microsoft’s website.
©Microsoft
Xbox Games Showcase: tons of new announcements
The Microsoft conference was full of announcements. Between highly-anticipated game news and surprise titles, players were hooked! The Xbox Games Showcase kicked off with Fable, the long-heralded reboot we’ve been desperate to hear more about. Developed by Playground Games, the role-playing game is presented in a lengthy cinematic mix of humor and magic, with an epic confrontation between the player and a giant. No release date has been announced yet.
Another surprise: a new Star Wars work called Outlaws published by Ubisoft. This is an original story set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. As the Galactic Empire hunts down the Rebellion, players have the chance to take on the role of outlaw Kay Vess and her faithful companion, Nix, as they pull off the greatest heists. Keanu Reeves also came himself to present the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion, aptly named Phantom Liberty, which will be available on September 26th.
The long-awaited and promising Starfield has finally shown its nose. The sci-fi RPG developed by Bethesda was entitled to an hour-long presentation (see our article). The racing game Forza Motosport has a release date: October 10th. Senua’s saga Hellblade II particularly impressed the spirits with its strange and tormented atmosphere, in which the heroine constantly battles her inner demons.
Also announced were:
- Like a dragon infinite riches
- ebb
- Flight Simulator 2024
- Sea of Thieves – The Legend of Monkey Island
- Clockwork Revolution
- South of midnight
- 33 immortals
- payday 3
- Explained
- Reload Persona 3
- Fallout 76: Atlantic City
- Path of the Goddess
- Overwatch 2 invasion
- Still awakens the deep
- Hinterberg dungeon
- City skylines II
- Atlus: Metaphor ReFantazio
- Towerborne
- Clockwork Revolution
- Persona 5 Tactical
- The Elder Scrolls Online Necrom.
Xbox Game Pass: Games are coming to GeForce Now
Xbox Game Pass has been hugely successful since its inception. Thanks to this subscription, players will have access to a huge catalog on console but also on PC. Issue: Various subscriptions only support the Xbox version of games. That is, in order to be able to play, the use of a controller is mandatory. Ditch the mouse and keyboard, which can be a problem with certain games like shooters and strategy games. However, as the Redmond-based company tacitly announced in its blog post, some Xbox Game Pass games will soon be available on GeForce Now. Good news considering that despite Nvidia’s best efforts, the latter’s catalog is still quite limited.
This means that for €20 a month – €10 for Xbox Game Pass on PC and €10 for GeForce Now Priority subscription – you can play many titles on any platform at 1080p resolution – a higher subscription allows you to Rise up to 4K. Be careful though, this partnership doesn’t affect all the games in the Microsoft catalogue, only a selection and we don’t yet know the list of games affected. The deployment should take place in the coming months.