We’re now just a week away from Microsoft’s much-anticipated Xbox Games Showcase, and the company is trying to set expectations right. The Xbox team previously acknowledged that it failed to do that for its Inside Xbox May digital event, with many Xbox fans criticizing the fast-paced succession of cinematic trailers that didn’t leave a lot of room for real gameplay sequences.
“I know everyone is excited for Xbox Games Showcase next Thursday. Seen some wild expectations so if helpful this show has one focus, games. No business, devices or similar news, just games. A whole show about hour long focused on games,” Xbox marketing exec Aaron Greenberg wrote on Twitter earlier today.
I know everyone is excited for Xbox Games Showcase next Thursday. Seen some wild expectations so if helpful this show has one focus, games. No business, devices or similar news, just games. A whole show about hour long focused on games. Hope you enjoy it! https://t.co/eIPBsJtLbJ
— Aaron Greenberg 🙅🏼♂️❎ (@aarongreenberg) July 16, 2020
Greenberg’s “no business, devices or similar news” comment suggests that we shouldn’t hear anything about the rumored Xbox Series X/Lockhart SKU, or new studios acquisitions on July 23. The event will focus on games, including a “first-ever look at campaign gameplay from Halo Infinite.”
Greenberg also teased “world premieres and updated looks at some of the games we’ve already revealed,” and we hope to see some gameplay for Ninja Theory’s Hellblade 2, as well as a first look on the Fable reboot that Forza Horizon developer PlayGround Games is rumored to be working on.
The Xbox Games Showcase will be live-streamed on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and Twitter, but the Xbox team recommends seeing it on YouTube for a 1080p/60fps experience, with a 4K/60fps replay to be available after the show. The live stream will kick off at 9 a.m. PT on July 23, and it will be preceded by an 8 AM pre-show hosted by Geoff Keighley.
Sony put the bar pretty high last month with its much talked about PlayStation 5 event, which has 13.5M views on YouTube as of this writing. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox Games Showcase can top that next week, but today’s announcement that Project xCloud will be included for free with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in September is definitely a sweet appetizer for the show.
