Xbox Showcase 2024

The 2024 Xbox Showcase has now come and gone. The most exciting week of the year for gamers is now history, and we have so much to look forward to in the coming years. Plain and simple, Xbox absolutely brought it this year with their showcase. They heard the praise for last year's stellar event and doubled down on that.

  There’s a few things I look for in these events, and that’s gameplay, new announcements (preferably not leaked, but we know how that goes), and coming out of the show with something new. Something that could potentially be my next favorite game. We got all of that and more this year.

Xbox literally has so many titles in the pipeline; we realistically know through 2025 what we have to look forward to, and that’s with studios like Double Fine still having not announced their next projects. 2024 has, for the most part, been announced, with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Avowed, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and Call of Duty leading the charge. On top of this, 2025 already seems filled out with Doom the Dark Ages, Fable, South of Midnight, and State of Decay 3, all given release windows in the year.

  For now, let’s dive into the big announcements from the showcase. Probably the most unexpected but most assumed reveal was Perfect Dark. A lot of people had this on their bingo cards, but I don’t think anyone quite expected the amount of gameplay we actually got. Perfect Dark is a fully single-player experience, offering players numerous ways of completing objectives. Use of tech like the voice modulator we saw in the trailer, stealth gameplay, and of course gun and hand-to-hand combat in case you get caught out. The team at the initiative is really trying to nail every part of the spy espionage dream.

South of Midnight is a personal highlight of mine this year. Being revealed last year, this is the next game from Compulsion Games and is a Deep South gothic spiritual adventure. This again got a welcomed gameplay demo that explores some of the combat you will do as Hazel helps mend broken spirits and some of the traversal options available in this fantastical world. The most eye-catching though continues to be the games sort of stop motion or claymation. Children’s book feel to its art style and presentation. This is again aiming for 2025.

Fable made another impact this year, following the same type of comedic trailer from last year. The standout here was the gameplay reveal; while tasted last year, a lot of people were calling it out as not being real or being CGI. They put that to rest with extended looks of combat and moment-to-moment gameplay walking through a town and interacting with NPCs. I’m hopeful this hits its 2025 release window, as I'm excited to see Fable rise from the ashes once more.

Gears of War made its long-rumored return, and yes, we added the “of war” back. This time, however, we’re going backwards—14 years, to be exact. Before the events of the original title. Seeing firsthand the effects of Emergence Day Gears of War E-Day has seemingly taken a more serious survival-like approach to mirror the unpreparedness of civilization when the locusts emerged. Simple drone enemies you’re used to one-shotting now a days will put up a fight and be presented as a legitimate threat to manage. Being at the start of the entire story and being able to see a glimpse of more vibrant, bustling cities and a general way of life has me excited to see what Coalition wants to explore in the coming years. The team assured us the story from the recent trilogy isn’t abandoned, and this is another story they wanted to tell to further world-building beyond what we know.

Doom the Dark Ages, even though it was leaked days prior, was a pleasant surprise to see. A medieval take on the formula that’s been a smash hit in recent years also takes a prequel approach to Doom Slayer and his origin story. From the trailer perspective, it seems slightly slowed down in the gameplay department but filled with heavier hitting weapons and violence. Also, there’s a dragon riding, and said dragon forcefully breathes fire down demons throats. One more thing: giant mech fights. Doom: The Dark Ages is due out in 2025 as a multiplatform release on Xbox and PS5.

Avowed and Indiana Jones both got new trailers showcasing gameplay and overall world-building, respectively. Being the two large titles releasing to cap off the year, we’ve already seen quite a bit at Developer Direct early this year. I’m perfectly ok with what we’ve seen so far and excited to actually dive into both of these titles when they launch. They each have the potential to fill in specific gaps in Xbox’s catalog and become successful in their own rights.

My highlight of the show and the one thing I didn’t know I needed came in the form of Obscur: Expedition 33. Set thematically to France’s La Belle Epoque period, which is known for its extravagant art, literature, and theater. You’re tasked with stopping “The Paintress,” who every year paints a new number for the world to see; however, the people of the age she paints mysteriously vanish into dust in the wind. Being part of the Expeditioners, you’re sent out to stop her cycle of death as your number looms closer with every passing day. A cool mixture of real-time action combat and turn-based classical RPG elements. Combat plays out as you’d expect from a JRPG, but special actions and moves let you control how they hit in real time. A rapid-fire special shot lets you actually choose points of impact for critical damage or focused areas on the enemy.

There was so much more to cover from State of Decay 3 making its grand reveal again to updates on Xbox’s lineup of live service titles, but these were my personal highlights I wanted to shine a light on. This year, more than ever, there truly was something for everyone to be excited about and look forward to in the coming years. I’ve said it before, but this year's showcases have reinvigorated my love for gaming more than ever. With so many games to look forward to, it’s hard not to be excited. What were some of your standout announcements or games you’re most looking forward to? Let us know down below or on our socials with #BadlandsXboxShowcase.