"We are aware that some users have been disconnected from Xbox Live," the official Xbox Support Twitter account said at 11:55am PT / 2:55pm ET / 7:55pm BT. "We're investigating! Please follow here and on our status page for updates."

At the time of writing, that status page, purportedly updated three minutes ago, is showing green across the board for the US and UK. Account functionality, friends, streaming, cloud gaming, multiplayer – all A-okay. Except they aren't. That's why we're here. 

Hopefully this thing updates again soon and we can get some detail on what monkey wrench has been thrown where, and if we're lucky, how long it will take to fix. Down Detector suggests pretty significant problems with Xbox Live, starting with the ability to log in at all. 

Anecdotally, based on early reports from Twitter and forum users as well as some of our own writers, the problem seems to be UK-heavy for the time being, but reports of US troubles are beginning to crop up as well, most recently from me, as I can't log in either.  

In the meantime, if you've already reset your console, reset your internet connection, and tried the high packet loss troubleshooting linked above, your best bet right now is, unfortunately, probably patience. 

Xbox proudly claims "no console needed" in new partnership with Amazon, which brings Xbox Game Pass to Fire TV as a "low-cost, convenient, and portable option," which does of course open your service up to connection issues like this. 

While Game Pass cloud streaming was already available on the likes of PC, Android, iPhone, and certain Samsung smart TVs, in a news post on Xbox Wire, Ashley McKissick, corporate vice president of Xbox experiences and platforms engineering, says the Fire Stick compatibility will offer a "great low-cost, convenient, and portable option to enjoy a huge library of incredible games." 

"Xbox Gaming Coming to Amazon Fire TV: Play More Games, No Console Needed," the post begins. If you don't have a compatible Samsung Smart TV, this is definitely going to be a solid alternative if you want to load up your games on a TV screen without actually owning an Xbox.

As far as affordability is concerned, it's been confirmed that the app will be available on the 2023 Fire TV Stick 4K Max and Fire TV Stick 4K, which cost $59.99 and $49.99 dollars, respectively. You'll also need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription (unless you just want to play Fortnite, which can be streamed without one), as well as a Bluetooth-enabled wireless controller to, y'know, actually play the games, which will add to the cost, too. All in all though, when compared to the price of buying a whole new console, it's definitely cheaper.

The portability also sounds like it could be a major selling point. Since you can just plug your Fire TV Stick into whatever TV you want, you can easily switch devices within your own home, take it over to a friend's, or even on vacation without having to carry a bulky console around, while maintaining access to your games. 

"Over the past several years, we have been on a journey to deliver cloud gaming to more devices and to more people around the globe," McKissick writes in the news post. "We are excited to add Fire TV to our growing family of cloud gaming devices and eager to welcome new players into this experience."

An additional post from Amazon confirms that Fire TV Stick compatibility will be rolled out at some point in July, so there's not too long to wait. Being tied to Game Pass, and specifically the cloud gaming section of it, the games available will fluctuate, but given the access to major releases like Starfield and Fallout 4, there should be plenty to play. 

Be sure to check out our roundup of the 25 best games on Game Pass for Xbox and PC.

The third outing for the Future Games Show in 2024 will offer illuminating deep dives on fall's most-anticipated games, exciting world premieres and updates concerning the best and brightest indies and AA sleeper hits.

Our Summer Showcase aired in June, featuring the latest news about a selection of scintillating titles, including exclusive insights from Once Human, The Casting of Frank Stone and Eternal Strands, plus nine world premieres.

Read on for information about how you can participate in this year’s Future Games Show at Gamescom, as well as details on how to join our co-streaming program.

Future Games Show Summer Showcase breaks records

The Future Games Show Summer Showcase reached a record-breaking 11 million live show and opening weekend views, growing over 20% year-on-year.

With over 300 co-streaming partners, we're delighted that so many creators are joining us in our mission to discover something new, sharing off-radar AA games and ingenious indies with their audiences and friends.

Roger Clark (Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2) and Britt Baron (Tifa Lockhart in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth) led viewers through a meaty lineup of trailers on June 8, covering over 50 games in just under 90 minutes. 

From a first-look at gorgeous adventure Bogdan's Cross, to Goat Simulator 3’s chaotic Multiverse of Nonsense DLC, those who tuned in were treated to nine world premieres and plenty of exclusive wishlist-expanding gameplay.

How to take part in the Future Games Show

The Future Games Show is the perfect venue to debut your unannounced game, share new information about an existing title, and reach new audiences.

The Future Games Show reaches around 11 million live viewers on each broadcast and over 50 million total views across all content per show, with many titles seeing huge increases in Steam wishlists from appearing in the event.

Indie or AAA, we want to showcase the most exciting and innovative games of 2024 and beyond, with all titles considered for broadcast.

Developers can nominate their game by filling in the Future Games Show 2024 nomination form  or getting in touch via the addresses below:

Developers can nominate their game by filling in the Future Games Show 2024 nomination form  or getting in touch via the addresses below:

Editorial:
james.jarvis@futurenet.com – Executive Producer
ben.malley@futurenet.com – Producer

Sponsorship:
melissa.makhmaltchi@futurenet.com – Commercial Lead (US) 
kevin.stoddart@futurenet.com – Commercial Lead (UK)

Pitch Your Game With The Indie Elevator Pitch

Are you a solo developer or small team hoping to get your game noticed?

The FGS Summer Showcase introduced an ambitious new initiative to increase the visibility of up-and-coming indies.

Developers worldwide were called upon to create their own Indie Elevator Pitches and share their games with the Future Games Show via a brand-new video submission form. Click below to share your upcoming project:

• Share your game with the Future Games Show Indie Elevator Pitch

Regardless of where you’re at with your game’s development, if you’re working on an exciting project you’d like to share with the world, you can find out more information and send us your pitches above. Check out the video for some inspiration.

Our Humble Thank You For Raising $51k+ for Charity

Our first Future Games Show Humble Bundle was also revealed during the Summer Showcase. The Future Games Show Discovery Bundle features a curated list of games that have popped up in our events over the years, including Gloomwood, The Entropy Centre and En Garde.

The FGS Discovery Pack is Humble's best-selling bundle of the summer gaming season, raising over $51k for charity. Sadly, the bundle has now finished, but look out for news of a fresh bundle during our Gamescom event on Aug 21.

A (Brief) History of the Future Games Show

The Future Games Show is GamesRadar's flagship games showcase, which has featured over 600 games from the industry’s leading developers and publishers, including Capcom, Private Division, Square Enix, Team17, Sony, Thunderful, Xbox, Sega, Frontier, Ubisoft, Bandai Namco, Paradox Interactive, Devolver, and many more leading developers.

The event is broadcast live on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and all major streaming platforms, and hosted by famous video-game voice actors. Our Summer Showcase was hosted by the rootin’-tootin’ duo of Roger Clark (Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2) and Britt Baron (Tifa Lockhart in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth), who sat down for an illuminating interview after the show, which you can watch here:

A selection of previous hosts include Nolan North and Emily Rose (Uncharted), Ben Starr and Samantha Béart (FFXVI & Baldur’s Gate 3), David Hayter and Debi Mae-West (Metal Gear Solid), and Troy Baker and Laura Bailey (The Last of Us 2).

If you’re keen for more details, check out everything you need to know about the  Future Games Show right here and watch highlights from previous shows.

How to watch the Future Games Show

The Future Games Show will broadcast three events in 2024:

• Future Games Show: Spring Showcase - March 21, 2024
• Future Games Show Summer Showcase - June 8, 2023 
• Future Games Show @Gamescom - August 21, 2024

You can watch future events by subscribing to the offical FGS YouTube and TikTok channels, GamesRadar's Twitch, our Facebook page, YouTube channel, Twitter, and the website, GamesRadar.com. 

Join the Future Games Show co-streamer program

The Future Games Show invites you to join our co-streamer program for 2024, joining a rapidly growing family of over 150+ creators, with benefits including:

• Early access to show partner information and announcements
• Special logos and co-streaming assets
• A chance to enter VIP co-streamer programs with merchandise from featured partners, including the Future Creators program working with key partners

The official co-streamer program is open to anyone, whether you’re an established broadcaster, or starting to grow your community.

You can apply for the Future Games Show Official Co-Streamer Program right here. 

Future Games Show X channel

Don't forget to follow the Future Games Show Twitter channel to stay up to date with show announcements, and get in touch if you’d like to take part.

You can follow the GamesRadar Twitter channel for major FGS updates and check out exclusive previews and hands-on reports from the show.

Stay tuned to gamesradar.com for some exciting Future Games Show partner announcements and hosting details over the following weeks  

I've tried The Elder Scrolls Online a few times in the past, and while I've had some fun with it I'd always eventually bounce off in search of single-player pursuits. But after jumping back in recently to try out the new Gold Road expansion, I have to admit: The Elder Scrolls Online has come a long way in the 10 years since launch, finally finding that sweet balance between the things that made the single-player games special, and the grinding, player guilds, PvP, and hotkeys that come with the MMO territory. 

The Elder Scrolls Online is really rather good these days, even if you lean towards going it alone like me. So with eight big expansions under its belt, including the freshly released Gold Road which takes us back to Oblivion's old stomping ground of Skingrad, I want to talk about why now is a great time to jump in—even if you're not an MMO fan.

Flying Solo

First up, playing solo is totally viable. While there are world bosses, raids, and timed events that require banding with other players, the world largely scales to you. This means you can quite easily tackle the quests and storylines of the expansions by yourself, as well as take on Delves—dungeon-oriented quests designed for solo players. 

There's almost no level-gating here, so from the moment you arrive in Tamriel, you can take the boat to The Elder Scrolls III setting of Vvardenfell, the Khajit homeland of Elsweyr, the all-new Gold Road, or any of the other dozens of regions in the game, each one filled with engaging factions, sidequests, and main storylines to pursue. 

All these distinct areas look great too, thanks to the fact that The Elder Scrolls Online is probably the most presentationally polished MMO ever made. The landscapes, the soundtrack, the fully-voiced NPCs (right down to bards singing in taverns) all make for an inviting, immersive world that's genuinely fun to explore. The game's had no major graphics updates over the years—and the character animations could use a cleanup—but Tamriel's diverse locations still look stunning, and the fact that you can run it liquid-smooth at 4K resolutions on even mid-range PCs is a massive plus.

A thousand roads

There's just so much to do here; beyond the questing and exploration of the overworld, there's a well-thought-out crafting system, the Tales of Tribute card game, Scrying puzzles, and one of the most robust housing systems I've gotten to play around with. if you like digging into Elder Scrolls lore then there's tons of worldbuilding out there for you; if you're into PvP, hit up the arenas and the Alliance War—an epic-scale ongoing conflict that turns Cyrodiil into a battlefield, and almost feels like a whole separate game. Or if you want to keep things old-school then the Dark Brotherhood, Thieves' Guild, Fighter's Guild, and Mage's Guild questlines are all there. The Elder Scrolls Online basically lets you lose yourself in one aspect of the game while forgetting that the others exist.

Finally, its payment model is actually pretty fair (which is high praise for a modern MMO). The base game is super-cheap and often given away for free, but if you buy it with an expansion, you'll get all previous expansions included. So if you get Gold Road, that means you also get Necrom, High Isle, Blackwood, Greymoor, Elsweyr, Summerset, and Morrowind with it. If you've held off buying it until now, you're basically getting rewarded with a huge amount of content if you finally take the plunge.

Of course, The Elder Scrolls Online has a huge economy that lets you purchase its special in-game currency called Crowns to buy cosmetics, horses, furnishings for your home, and other extra fluff. The game doesn't push its real-world economy in your face, and that's refreshing on today's MMO scene.

The Elder Scrolls Online has grown into a big, beautiful game over the years, and with the Gold Road expansion, you get a ridiculous amount of bang for your buck. Sure, it's an MMO, so it will always want you to throw more money at it, but it's to this game's credit that you really don't have to. If you haven't played it yet, now could be the perfect time.

And what a set of reveals it was! Metroid Prime 4 is genuinely on the way, it seems like, and there's even an all-new Zelda game that's actually about Zelda. The 40-minute showcase delivered, though as previously announced there wasn't any "mention of the Nintendo Switch successor" during it. 

Below we've gathered all the important bits out of the Nintendo Direct while the blow-by-blow recap as it happened live remains underneath in case you'd like to see how it all unfolded as the Nintendo Direct was streamed.

Everything announced at the Nintendo Direct

• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, featuring Zelda as the playable lead, releases September 26
• Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an all-new RPG adventure coming November 7
• Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake launches November 14
• And surprise! Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake are also on the way for next year
• Super Mario Party Jamboree, the biggest Mario Party game yet, launches October 17 for the Nintendo Switch
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is real and really set to launch for the Nintendo Switch in 2025
• Donkey Kong Country Returns HD returns in HD for the Switch on January 16, 2025
• Nintendo Switch Online is adding Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Perfect Dark with multiplayer, Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords, and Metroid: Zero Mission
• Darkest Dungeon 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch on July 15
• Stray releases for the Switch this holiday
  Tales of the Shire, the Animal Crossing-like Lord of the Rings game, also launches this holiday on the Nintendo Switch
• Metal Slug Attack Reloaded, a tower defense game, launches on Nintendo Switch today
• Nintendo Switch Sports is getting a free basketball update this summer
• MIO: Memories in Orbit, which features an android in an overgrown world where machines have gone wild, launches on the Switch in 2025
• Disney Illusion Island is getting a free update, The Mystery in Monoth, today for the Nintendo Switch
• Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics brings a whole slew of, well, arcade classics to the Nintendo Switch later this year
• Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero, from the folks behind Disgaea, launches on the Switch next year
• The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- looks to be a strategy RPG from the Danganronpa creators, launching on Switch early next year
• Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven is a full remake of the original that's set to launch for the Switch on October 24
• Fantasian escapes Apple Arcade as Fantasian Neo Dimension on Nintendo Switch this winter
• Fairy Tail 2 from Koei Tecmo and Gust launches on Switch this winter
• Ace Attorney Investigations Collection brings Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit to Switch on September 6
• Farmagia is a farming/monster battler with designs from Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mashima that's set to launch on Switch this November 1
• The New Denpa Men, which defies further description, launches July 22 for the Switch

First things first, if you'd like to watch the Nintendo Direct you'll want to head to YouTube just before 7am PT/ 10am ET/ 3pm BST. You've got 40 minutes of reveals ahead of you so bring a snack or two. 

We'll be covering the news as it happens, so don't fret if you need to step away or close a tab while watching on company time if your boss walks by.

Nintendo might not be talking about the Switch 2, but we can catch you up. After oodles of reports and rumors, Nintendo revealed on May 7 that, yes, the Switch successor is a thing and something that'll be shown off properly "within this fiscal year."

It all adds that sense of 'will they?' before each new showcase. Regarding this Direct, though, they will not. 

So what are we getting? As for first-party upcoming Switch games, it looks a tad light. Luigi's Mansion 2 HD and Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition are due this year, but we don't know of much else. Perhaps that means the Direct will be dominated by third-party games, or we could be in for some surprises. A selection of upgraded Zelda classics for Switch has been rumored for ages, after all.

One thing I'm sure many would like to see is Hollow Knight: Silksong. Mind you, the Microsoft Store recently stated that we'd have to wait another 7,974 years to play it, which is mean and perhaps a sign not to get those hopes up. Dare we dream, though?

Just under one hour to go until showtime, gang! Grab those snacks if you need 'em.

There's been some chatter online that we may see Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's throwback RPG Fantasian released beyond Apple Arcade. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be spending the next 40 mins trying to manifest the rumor into being.

And with just over 20 minutes to go until this thing really kicks off, you're now stuck with me, GamesRadar+ US Managing Editor Rollin Bishop, for the remainder of this flight.

How are we all? Hydrated? Ready for anything? I know I am.

It does seem worth noting that I still hold the same opinion that I did at the end of May: it really feels like Nintendo might just coast directly into the Switch 2. While I'd love for some big, huge surprises out of today's Nintendo Direct, I'm also pretty content with what I already have on my Switch. (I wouldn't turn my nose up at a surprise Unicorn Overlord expansion, however.)

That said, 40 minutes is an awfully long time. And this is Nintendo we're talking about; Directs have a history of being short, sweet, and to the point. If the company is spending this long in a Direct alone, that sounds like something particularly beefy is on the horizon.

We only have 10 minutes left until we all collectively find out what, exactly, that might be.

And look, if this is the last truly significant Nintendo Direct during the OG Switch's time as the main attraction, it'd be lovely if this were a total blowout, wouldn't it? I'll ready my clown makeup, just as Mr. Harris did, but for me it'll be about Metroid Prime 4.

And here we go!

Promising start to see Luigi and Mario off the bat. A port or remake of one of the mobile RPGs, maybe?

Mario & Luigi it is! But in true-blue 3D. Looking good, fellas. How long has it been since a truly new one of these? Because that's what this actually looks like.

Gameplay here looking like a solid translation of how this worked on the handheld consoles.

Mario & Luigi Brothership is coming November 7, 2024.

First new entry and almost 9 years, according to Nintendo. Described as a seafaring adventure across multiple islands. And on to the next!

Seeing some gameplay from Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition. We already knew this was coming, but it's interesting to see challenges in there.

Honestly I'm still thinking about Mario & Luigi Brothership. Look at my boys!

Fairy Tail 2 from Koei Tecmo. Launching this winter. Big year for anime games, if that's your thing.

Fantasian! It's real! It's escaping Apple Arcade!

New name though. Fantasian Neo Dimension launching this holiday.

Basketball is being added as a free update to the Nintendo Switch Sports game. Two-on-two matches with motion controls, basket challenges solo or multiplayer. Online play for the two-on-two matches. So if you've really been gunning for more sports games, look forward to this summer.

Now what is this atmospheric lovely little thing. Some kind of robotic platformer and world. Weird sad robot alert.

Mio: Memories in Orbit coming 2025.

New Disney Illusion Island update available later today! Kind of an overlooked little fun title in my opinion.

Hello Kitty game also escaping mobile next year, and Looney Tunes Wacky World of Sports coming this fall.

New crewmate and impostor roles being added to Among Us! Why this is in the Nintendo Direct, I don't know, but it's coming out later today.

Another anime-looking game called Farmagia with designs from the creator of Fairy Tail. Seems like you grow monsters in the ground like produce? And then use them to fight. A little bit Stardew Valley, a little bit Monster Rancher. But without the CDs.

November 1, 2024 on Nintendo Switch.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is also coming to Nintendo Switch! It's Donkey Kong Country Returns but in high definition. That's... that's just what it is.

Two-player local co-op! 80 levels total, including those from the 3DS version. Releasing January 16, 2025.

The time is nigh... for the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake. Looking good! But then HD-2D is basically made specifically for me.

This thing looks absolutely gorgeous, and I suspect many folks won't be familiar with the original, so they'll have plenty to look forward to when it releases for the Nintendo Switch on November 14, 2024.

Also! Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake set for 2025! Nice completion of the trilogy there.

It's just a bit of key slash concept art, but all my friends are here.

Funko Fusion is up. I... I'm sorry, the gameplay and puzzles and such all seem interesting but I can't get over my personal aversion to Funkos. September 13, 2024 on Nintendo Switch.

Luigi's Mansion 2 HD! It's Luigi's Mansion 2 but in high definition. June 27, 2024, which we already new.

The New Denpa Men... This is one for our very own Dustin Bailey. Free to play, July 22, 2024 on Nintendo Switch. I'm not sure what I just saw, if I'm being honest.

Deckbuilding Metal Slug? Be still my heart. Metal Slug Attack Reloaded out on Nintendo Switch later today.

Darkest Dungeon 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch. It's Darkest Dungeon 2 on the Switch! July 15, 2024, pre-orders later today.

Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords is coming to Nintendo Switch Online! Metroid Zero Mission too! And N64 Mature titles are coming -- with Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. And Perfect Dark! If you can believe it!

With online multiplayer! My gods. All of this available later today.

A new Phantom Brave? What year is this?? Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is coming to Nintendo Switch. Coming 2025.

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection Arcade Classics is coming to Nintendo Switch this year. Whole mess (7?) of fighters and brawlers in here. That includes Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

It's a new Mario Party! Super Mario Party Jamboree. Lots of little minigames, as usual, across what appears to be new game board with some returning.

Over 100 minigames. That's a lot of ways to get mad at your friends. Up to 20 players can compete online in a specific mode (Koopathalon?). Launching October 17, 2024 for the Nintendo Switch.

And there it is, folks. They're officially doing more Zelda remakes in the style of the Link's Awakening one. Wait! No! A new game! The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom with playable Zelda.

Friendship ended with Link, now Zelda is new best friend.

The big mechanic here has Zelda creating "echoes" of various things previously encountered. Rocks you can throw, monsters that fight by your side. Different monsters are useful in different situations -- "wisdom is key after all."

With no Link, the fate of the kingdom is now in Zelda's hands. There are apparently a lot of echoes in the game to use that can be solved in different ways. (Briefly shown is making a bunch of beds to climb.)

September 26, 2024 launch for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom with a special Switch Lite as well.

And, after the reveal of a new Zelda, Just Dance 2025 Edition. Tough act to follow.

And here's Nintendo talking about Lego Horizon Adventures, which isn't exactly surprising. Locations inspired by the original game. Blast boots and gravity bombs can be used. Aloy rebuilds her home over time and can wear a bunch of outfits like... a hot dog. Two-player local or online co-op. Launching this holiday on Nintendo Switch.

Stray! On Nintendo Switch! I feel like we knew this was coming, but maybe that's just my brain making things up again. Cyberpunkish kitty platformer/puzzler on a new platform is always welcome, though. Holiday 2024 on Switch.

Tales of the Shire! It's Animal Crossing with Hobbits. Holiday 2024 on Nintendo Switch. Seems fine? Seems fine.

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection! Including a title that wasn't released outside of Japan previously. New hand-drawn visuals, but you can also swap back to the sprites. A nice gallery of art and designs and music. Launching September 6, 2024 on Nintendo Switch.

Danganronpa-looking strategy RPG? Last Defense Academy?

The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy, launching early 2025 on Nintendo Switch. As expected, from the Danganronpa people.

Romancing Saga 2 remake, Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven, coming to Nintendo Switch as well. Turn-based battles "evolved" into timeline battles. Lots of decisions to be made that will change the story. Launching October 24, 2024 on Nintendo Switch.

Last announcement time! And it is...

It's real. It's really really. Metroid Prime 4 exists and they are showing it here and now. (No clown makeup for me, but apologies to Mr. Harris and his Silksong desire.)

Nothing terrible unexpected here, to be honest? It looks like a Metroid Prime game but on the Nintendo Switch. First-person camera and all.

Official title seems to be Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

Coming 2025, seems like? "Please wait a little bit longer."

And that's it! We're all done here. Whew. That was a big one.

Now, that's not to diminish any games that are set to release before the end of this year, because there are a lot of fantastic-looking new games en route. However, there's a certain gravitas to the broad strokes of next year's releases that means 2025 is going to be a huge year for the games industry. 

Xbox's sparkling 2025

Let's start with Xbox. While its Xbox Games Showcase was impressive (despite the backdrop of the recent studio closures and layoffs), it strangely failed to date the two big exclusive Xbox games due to land this side of the Holidays - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Avowed. Of course, the Avowed release date has since leaked from Obsidian itself but was hastily deleted, suggesting that Microsoft has deliberately held back the duo of dates for another announcement beat. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 of course is another of Microsoft's big focuses for 2024, with the perks of the Activision buyout now in full swing, but despite coming to Xbox Game Pass Day One, it's still legally bound to keep COD a multiplatform release - or at least for the next five years at least.

However, the Xbox Games Showcase did give us a fantastic look at what Microsoft's plans are for next year, with so many of the Xbox first-party titles featured during the Xbox Games Showcase sporting loose 2025 launch windows. Doom: The Dark Ages, with its skull-crushing gun and dragon-riding is arriving sometime next year from id Software, as is the awesome-looking South of Midnight from We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games. My own personal wishlist-topper, Fable, is also now penciled in for 2025 with developer PlayGround Games absolutely nailing the series' brief with each hilarious, but seriously moreish, trailer. 

2025 is clearly the year where all of Microsoft's investments are going to pay off. Yes, there are still some AWOL titles - Everwild, Contraband, The Outer Worlds 2 - but with its 2025 slate coupled with long-awaited fresh looks at State of Decay 3 and the Perfect Dark reboot, it finally feels like we're getting the results of Microsoft's long-term release vision in 2025.  

Nintendo and PlayStation lining up

The same can probably be said for PlayStation too, which is having probably its quietest year since the PS5 launched back in 2020. As I wrote off the back of May's State of Play showcase, while Concord and Astro Bot look great, they are a symptom of the weird year PlayStation and the PS5 is having. PlayStation has always said that it wouldn't be releasing any "major existing franchise titles" before April 1, 2025, which suggests that 2025 is going to be a more traditional year for the platform holder - even if we have much less of a clear idea what the PS5's 2025 will look like. 

It's a similar story for Nintendo too. Although it has said it is doing some kind of Nintendo Direct in June, that's yet to be dated, so we're currently a little in the dark as to what both 2024 and 2025 look like for Nintendo Switch gamers. Well, with one rather large caveat - the Nintendo Switch 2. Nintendo says it will announce its next-gen Switch successor "within this fiscal year" – so before March 31, 2025 – with the launch expected to fall sometime in 2025. With such a huge stake in 2025 for Nintendo, you'd imagine that this next model Switch will need to be joined with some beefy launch titles. My money's on Metroid Prime 4 and Super Mario Odyssey 2. 

2025 at large

If you look outside the platform holders too, it's even clearer that 2025 is going to be a huge year for games. The newly announced Civilization 7 was immediately penciled in for 2025, with the highly-anticipated strategy game launching simultaneously on PC and consoles for the first time. Bound to be absolutely massive on PC in particular, it's certainly going to be one to watch. 

Capcom also delivered us two utterly gorgeous Monster Hunter Wilds trailers in the last few weeks, showcasing all kinds of new features, improved graphics, and even a new monster for its open-world title. It's certainly been one of the standouts of the show for me, and not just because your Palico can apparently talk now. Knowing how fervent the Monster Hunter community is, this huge series' entry is going to cause quite the stir.

And for the shooter fans, one that stands out already for 2025 is Marvel Rivals. With so many hero shooters currently on the books for this year and next, it'll be interesting to see how another attempt at a multiplayer Marvel game holds up. 

And that's before we've even addressed the mammoth-esque elephant in the room that is Rockstar's GTA 6. Knowing how colossally Rockstar's releases usually take over the year they're released in, I'd imagine that there's going to be quite the bum shuffle of developers desperately trying to get out of the way of the GTA 6 release date. Currently, it's just set to launch sometime in Fall 2025, which could well mean that the earlier months of next year are more jam-packed with AAA releases or at least there's less of a cluster around those holiday months. It could well be that 2025 becomes a year not unlike 2023, with the likes of Baldur's Gate 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Alan Wake 2 having been much more evenly spread throughout the year. 

For more confirmed release dates for this year and beyond, check out our comprehensive new games roundup.

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Everything announced at the Ubisoft Forward 2024

• New Star Wars Outlaws look teases just how open the open world game is, and Nix remains the star
• Star Wars Outlaw's fan-favorite creature Nix is more than an adorable companion, its director sees him and protagonist Kay as "one character"
• Here's our Star Wars Outlaws preview too - "In Star Wars Outlaws, I escaped an Imperial space station, swiped a relic, and fell in love with Kay and Nix's teamwork"
• XDefiant Season 1 coming July 2, with more details on the GSK faction, new maps, weapons and more on July 1
• Skull and Bones S2 out now, S3 is called Dragon's Wake
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is getting even tougher in a free update out now, with story DLC coming to the Metroidvania in September
• Dead Cells developer's Prince of Persia roguelike is getting a brand-new biome with enemies, weapons, and more in its first free update, Temple of Fire
• Ubisoft drops magical hourglass, announces 2026 release for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake is "now entering full production" after rebooting development last year
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Story Pack 1: The Skybreaker is coming July 16 and yes, the humans are being a nightmare again
• Year 2 details outlined for The Crew Motorfest and The Chase Squad is coming in November
• Anno 117: Pax Romana will "deliver a Roman gaming experience unlike anything you have ever played" on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2025
• Assassin's Creed Shadows' dynamic weather system has a massive impact on gameplay
• New Assassin's Creed Shadows gameplay shows how the RPG's protagonists differ when it comes to assassinations, and I can't wait to slay as stealth queen Naoe
• Our Assassin's Creed Shadows preview - "I watched the same mission play out in Assassin's Creed Shadows in two very different ways and now I can't stop thinking about the possibilities"

With the show happening soon, let's recap what we do know about the games we're seeing today, shall we?

Okay, let's start with Xdefiant. Ubisoft has said it's one of the three games definitely featuring in the main Ubisoft Forward showcase today, so it'll be interesting to see what updates it has for this free-to-play shooter. 

XDefiant hasn't been out long, debuting on May 21 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and it's an arena-based FPS. 

Our take on it is that XDefiant is a throwback to a golden generation of Call of Duty, a kind of glorious return to 2015 with XDefiant offering Black Ops 3's specialists in all but name. 

I wonder whether the developer will talk about skill-based matchmaking or SBMM? 

The game actually opens with SBMM but only up until you reach level 25, after which point the game completely opens up. Players are loving the SBMM-free life, and Ubisoft said it's all intentional. 

It's there initially to let players learn the fundamentals against people of their own level, but then once you're a pro - or as close as you'll ever get - you can unleash yourself across the full gamut of players. 

Interestingly, Ubisoft has already detailed the Year 1 XDefiant Roadmap, including four unique seasons and the factions, weapons, and other content they'll introduce. 

However, it could well be that we actually get the details for Season 1 at Ubisoft Forward, letting players learn more about Faction Codename Ruby and the weapons, maps, and Battle Pass that'll drop. 

Then we've got Star Wars Outlaws, the brand new Massive Entertainment title, and very first open-world Star Wars games. 

The game was initially revealed this time last year with a lengthy trailer, developer commentary and other beautiful news nuggets. 

We also got this 10-minute gameplay walkthrough, which outlined all sorts of the game's features, including its morality system, planet traversal, and more. 

Interestingly, we did get another new Star Wars Outlaws trailer at Summer Game Fest on Friday, and through that we got confirmation that Lando is coming. 

So we already know quite a bit about the game. Our own Heather Wald, thinks that Star Wars Outlaws being sandwiched between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi is a stronger pull than the Force, for example. While elsewhere we've had the lead dev explain how relationships with criminal factions "lends itself very well for an open-world game"

I'd quite like to hear more about the morality system, especially as a sucker for that kind of gameplay, but also after Massive said that the Reputation system will change "the gameplay around the story" rather than "the story itself".

Assassin's Creed Shadows is the other sure fire bet for this event, with the game only officially revealed in April. 

We already know that it's featuring a duo of protagonists - Yasuke and Naoe, the Samurai and shinobi partnership. 

Set in Feudal-Japan, you'll be able to play as both of them, each with their own set of abilities and play styles. It's not quite as clear cut as Naoe's stealthy, and Yasuke's more about the action, but that's certainly a part of it. 

Here's the world premiere trailer if you want to catch up.

Personally, I'm just hoping for a new Rayman game...

Let's head over to the Ubisoft YouTube channel to catch the pre-show. Plus if you watch on Twitch you can grab some Ubi goodies. 

First up we've got Skull and Bones' water guy on creating the oceans and seas in the game. 

A musical interlude you say?

Little trailer here for an indie game 'Supported by Ubisoft', This Bed We Made. 

GamesRadar's Jasmine played it and loved it, saying "this sapphic murder mystery game had me uncovering scandal after scandal as a snooping hotel maid in 1950s Montreal".

Cheeky little segment for Just Dance VR: Welcome to Dancity, coming October 15. 

Coming to all platforms September 24, it's Monopoly! Literally just called Monopoly. 

King of the Hat is out now, and another indie game supported by Ubisoft. 

That was essentially just a long explanation of what you do in Rainbow Six: Siege... 

Anyone else get massively excited that this was Hollow Knight?

10 minutes to go until the main Ubisoft Forward show.

You can play BattleCore Arena for free now in Early Access on PC. 

I wonder if we'll get to see anything of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake or Splinter Cell today?

Assassin's Creed Mirage coming to iOS today - play the beginning now for free. 

Hey, where's Assassin's Creed Jade?

okay here we go!

Hollywood Chamber Orchestra here to kick us off with some bops

Star Wars Outlaws is up first, and here's a look at Kay at an arcade.

She's at a bar, looking for someone - a gun slinger - who can treat her some new tricks. 

Nice walk through your ship here too. 

Each planet has its own system to explore, and ways to earn credits. 

You can choose to engage in combat or ignore it - especially when it's some randomer who needs help. Can impact your reputation with syndicates - for better or worse. 

At one point they approach a Hutt territory planet, and just literally fly straight down to the planet's surface. Way more No Man's Sky than Starfield. 

Fly straight to Mos Eisley. 

Exploring Tatooine on a speeder biker following some intel that leads us to a warehouse. Scopes out the place using some binoculars. 

Nixx can attack on your behalf and also sense nearby enemies with a little pulse when asked. He protecc he attac.

Someone comes through the door while lockpicking and everything goes into full combat. 

Can call the speeder to you?

That was a nice little slice of mission walkthrough there. 

Loved the Western influences in some of the standoffs too - very Mandalorian. 

Julian Gerighty from Massive here now chatting about the game. 

Looks like this is another new trailer, again featuring Lando. More of an overview trailer. 

NIX CAN PLAY DEAD

'It's up to you where your loyalties lie'

Here's that mission walkthrough to watch again later

Aaaaand here's this overview trailer too 

XDefiant's new faction - GSK - unveiled. 

three new weapons, one new map per month (Clubhouse, Daytona, Rockefella). 

New Mode - Capture the Flag. 

New Ranked progressions. 

"AND MORE"

Coming July 2, full reveal for GSK faction coming july 1. 

Skull and Bones Season 2 being outlined now. New story arch, new ship called The Brig, new sea monster the Megalodon - Lestari, new summer fiesta and dragon's regatta seasonal events. 

Added community requested features like fleet management. 

New solo and PvE game modes added. 

New ship upgrades, offering further playstyle diversity. 

Season 3 is called Into the Dragon's Wake. New sea lord and activities, stories and rewards. New legendary sea monster, the flying dragon. New 5v5 PvP mode with that too. 

Skull and Bones Season 2 out now. 

Brand Director for Prince of Persia here now with 'three surprises'

First update available for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. New amulets, outfits, divine trials, bosses revisited. 

Plus glimpse at story DLC. 

Mask of Darkness story DLC coming September 2024. 

The Rogue Prince of Persia - first update is about to release. 

New Biome called Temple of Fire. Available now. 

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2026. 

OOFT what a tease. 

How long has that Sands of Time remake been in development now, eh?

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Story Pack 1: The Skybreaker coming July 16. 

The Crew Motorfest final update of the first year coming in July. 

Year 2 Motorfest - more seasons, new content, and more. 

Brand new Hawaiian island being added for free. Made in Japan Vol 2 also coming. 

The Chase Squad coming November 2024 to The Crew Motorfest. 

Anno: 117 Pax Romana coming 2025.

Fan-favorite setting that's been highly awaited. Coming to both PC and console. 

You can choose your starting province for the first time in the Anno series. 

Dedicated Live Stream for Anno on June 18.

Here's the reveal trailer for that, which is just an old Roman man talking to some sheep.

Taiko Project now beating some drums for Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Charles Benoit - the Assassin's Creed game "we've wanted to make for a very long time"

Little recap on the two characters now. 

In the winter ice may prevent you from going underwater. Heavy rain helps you blend or get away from enemies. At night, extinguish lights or braziers to escape.

You can pet the Shibas. confirmed. 

Looking at the game from Yasuke's point of view. 

Assasinate Fujioka is the mission. He's harrassing the people of the Dyeing District in the town of Fukuchiyama. 

Using clues to find the target. 

Combat with Yasuke is slow and deliberate, big heavy weapons. Very Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

Switches to a katana. Much more slick and speedy than the big spiked bat he had before. 

Special abilites on the R2 as we've come to expect from the RPG Assassin's. 

And now here comes Naoe. 

Choice whether to play as Naoe or Yasuke. 

Playing as Naoe now - "I won't be alone in there. It'll be me and the shadows". 

Love the swing of a rope into a blade takedown. 

She can move prone, which is pretty new for the Assassin's Creed series. Threw something for a distraction, and then used a chain to whip around the neck of an enemy. 

Very classic Assassin roof takedowns. 

Can kill people through screen doors, and also flip to the ceiling to get out of sight. 

Lord Hayashi is the target here. 

Throwing knife takes out an enemy. 

Moves into the water to swim up to a target. It's raining, does that help muffle the sound? Breathing pipe like a reed to stay under water. 

She gets spotted, and then uses a ball on a chain to deal damage to multiple enemies at once. 

Can scale walls. 

Assassin's Creed Shadows deep dive coming in the post show so stay tuned. 

We're into the post show now, and starting with Assassin's Creed Shadows. 

Wildlife more a key part of the game, and will move through the seasons like the game. Expect puppies in the spring!

- Yasuke's spiked bat is good for removing armor. Yellow bar on the enemy is the armor.
- Attacking and defending charge up your ability meter
- Posture system, can lead to executions, but also exposes yourself

Yasuke and Naoe both have their own stories and their own life. Can switch between the characters at any point - apart from during infiltrations. 

New features - Spy Network. Helps you find your objectives. 

Naoe has a dynamic view of the enemies.

Each of Naoe's weapons has a unique assassination style. 

New animations to make her feel more agile and shinobi-like. More parkour flourish basically. 

In interiors there are good places to hide, but the ceiling beams are a really good way to lie in wait for assassinations. 

Thunder storms cover your steps and action. 

Full extended deep dive here:

Star Wars Outlaws deep dive through that gameplay we saw before now. 

Kessel Sabacc the card game getting a little showcase. 

Reminder, after 41 years, Star Wars Outlaws is the first video game to feature the franchise's iconic but nearly abandoned card game.

Turns out you can cheat too. 

Jawa trading is a thing in Star Wars Outlaws. 

Stacked bounty board on Tatooine that even sports Kay's own picture. 

Kay can hold her own in combat, including taking down a Deathtroooper with a electric baton. 

A lot of creature reveals in that developer deep dive. Here's the full developer breakdown for you:

Division details here: 

And that's a wrap on the main show and post-show. Let's do a little recap of everything announced at the top shall we?

Ubisoft says we're kicking things off early with a pre-show that focuses on updates to live games before we roll into the main show itself, which features a "deeper look" at games yet to come from the developer. Think "Star Wars Outlaws, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, XDefiant, and more."

Ubisoft is also offering incentives for those who tune in on Twitch, be it with Ubisoft or anyone co-streaming through the "Special Events" category. Twitch drops are enabled and there are nine to earn, with each unlock coming after you've spent a certain amount of time watching a stream. 

Doing so for 15 minutes gets you Rainbow Six Siege's Ultra Top Fan Charm for example, whereas committing for one hour nabs you The Crew Motorfest's Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968), Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Yurei Bushido Gear Set, and Assassin's Creed Shadows' Koi Uchide-no-Kozuchi trinket. There's plenty more between all of that, too.

Getting all of that, though, means watching the Ubisoft Forward stream itself. Read on to find out how to do just that.

Ubisoft Forward 2024 start time

This summer's Ubisoft Forward stream starts at 12pm PDT / 3pm EDT / 8pm BST / 9pm CEST on June 10. It follows a 30-minute pre-show that focuses on updates to games that have already been released. Ubisoft hasn't revealed how long this one will run for, though we typically find that giving yourself two hours leaves you covered.

Ubisoft Forward 2024 stream – how can I watch it?

You can find a good Ubisoft Forward 2024 stream on YouTube, Twitch, and more. Watching along on Twitch comes with decent in-game goodies if you like a Twitch drop or two, but any is fine if you aren't fussed about the cosmetics.

Ubisoft adds that YouTube viewers have the option of watching with English subtitles, audio description, and American Sign Language. As the show rumbles on, you can catch clips on YouTube that feature subtitles in various languages, from French and Italian to Korean and Japanese.

What else will be there? Check out our Summer Game Fest 2024 predictions for a definitive list of absolute guesswork. We're bound to get one or two right, aren't we?

You can find everything announced at the Xbox Games Showcase directly below or carry on reading for the blow-by-blow of how it all played out. 

Everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 coming October 25, early access back for pre-order customers
• Doom: The Dark Ages takes the FPS icon off the rails with a giant mech, a blade shield, and a shotgun that shoots bones
• 4 years after its reveal, State of Decay 3 is back with a first look at its gorgeous and emotional open-world zombie action
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard features returning faces from Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition, and they're not alone
• A surprise Starfield patch is coming today, and it looks like a different RPG in the new trailer for the Shattered Space DLC
• You'll be able to play as a ghoul in Fallout 76 early next year and channel your inner Walton Goggins from the Fallout TV show
• Expedition 33 is a French JRPG with Paper Mario-style combat and some of the most beautiful surreal visuals I've ever seen in a game
• South of Midnight, the upcoming action-adventure game from the ex-Arkane dev behind We Happy Few set in the Deep South, finally gets a release window
• World of Warcraft: The War Within kicks off the MMO's Worldsoul Saga in August
• Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater got a new trailer but no date still
• Sea of Thieves Season 13 coming July 13 - at least for Xbox and PC (no mention of PS5)
• Hyped Soulslike riff Flintlock: Siege of Dawn sets release date for next month
• Age of Mythology Retold is coming September 4, 2024
• The Perfect Dark reboot suddenly resurfaces, and now somehow looks like a Deus Ex game with "elements of first-person shooters, immersive sims, and stealth-action"
• Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred announces October release date in gnarly new cinematic that will have you reaching for the sick bag
• Fable joins GTA 6, Monster Hunter Wilds and more in 2025's already packed game release schedule
• Fragpunks is a 5v5 hero shooter with gameplay-changing cards and it's coming 2025
• Winter Burrow is a survival game starring a tiny mouse that's definitely going to make me cry
• Mixtape is the new Annapurna game that explores memories through music set in the early 90s - and of course it has a banging soundtrack
• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 coming November 19, 2024 with a huge range of aviation careers
• You can play all of the Elder Scrolls 6 DLC for free with a limited time ahead of the Gold Road June 18 launch
• Life is Strange: Double Exposure is bringing the series' first protagonist, Max Caulfield, back for a new adventure in October
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle got a very Uncharted-like new trailer but still no actual release date
• Mechabreak is coming 2025, with a beta this August
• Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, a game about a pirate warrior with cursed blood, is coming in 2025
• Avowed's new story trailer sets up a grand RPG adventure with factions vying for control over a beautiful magical world
• Atomfall is Rebellion's new absolutely mad-looking game coming in 2025
• Assassin's Creed Shadows' Naoe recalls the series' stealthier, RPG-less roots with a hidden blade, hood, and an awesome grapple
• New Stalker 2 trailer shows the monsters and mayhem of its open world, and the weapons you'll have to defend yourself
• Xbox reveals three new consoles out later this year, says it's "hard at work on the next generation"
• Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel set 14 years before the original action game, and yes, Dom is back

So with around two hours left to go until the Xbox Games Showcase, let's take a little walk around the Xbox gardens to see what we could expect to pop up at today's event. 

Let's start with the biggest rumor but also potentially most interesting, and that's the reports that Xbox could be about to reveal an Xbox handheld console. 

Now, it's a little farfetched perhaps, but rumors of an Xbox handheld have been doing the rounds for a number of years now. 

What's not clear is what kind of form that could take. A mini Series S? An Android powered streaming device? A cloud-based dedicated console? Or a genuine Game Pass powered Steam Deck rival?

Now myself and our Hardware Editor, Phil, agree that if an Xbox handheld finally shows up during the Xbox Games Showcase, we hope it’s not a PlayStation Portal rival. I just want to be able to access my Game Pass games on a plane, train, or anywhere I damn please. Please. 

I personally think it's pretty unlikely that Xbox announces new hardware today, but hey I've been wrong before. I personally would love to see the controller refresh that was detailed in the documents that were leaked as part of the Activision acquisition. 

That is said to retain the same design as the current pads, but be quite the upgrade in terms of features. It'll allegedly have Xbox Wireless 2, Bluetooth 5.2 and Direct-to-Cloud functionality to improve overall connectivity and reduce latency regardless of what you're connected to. 

But, more importantly for my wireless loving ass, it'll apparently include a rechargeable, swappable, battery as standard. Goodbye AA batteries, be GONE. 

According to that report, it's also supposedly going to include wide "build improvements" and "improved longevity", with things like new modular thumbsticks, haptic feedback, quieter buttons, and more.

The docs had it listed as a May 2024 launch, but seeing as those docs were from May 2022 no doubt things have changed since then. 

The report goes though that this snazzy new Universal Controller will be sold standalone but also debut with the Xbox Series X refresh that was also detailed in the leak. 

The big takeaways from that leak were that it's going to ditch the chunky cuboid design, and opt for a tall cylindrical shape that completely ditches the disc drive.
It'll still have a power button, pairing button, and USB-C port but it's unclear how much difference there will be in size between the two from the concept designs alone. 

We also don't know what the price difference will be - good or bad. The documents say it'll be the "same great price", but again these are from 2022. The RRP of the Xbox Series X is still $499, but if you get a good deal you can get one now for around $399. 

In his predictions for this Xbox Games Showcase, our own Xbox expert (Xpert?) Josh West said he wants to see a little less conversation and a little more action, please.

So now, we basically just need some games. 

So what about those games, then eh? Let's leave Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 out of this chat as we absolutely know it's getting a full reveal at its dedicated post-show Direct. 

My personal pick would be to see more of Fable. We got that epic full trailer at last year's event complete with Richard Ayoade as Dave the giant and 'vegetable enthusiast', but we've not heard anything about the game since. 

We got some glimmers of gameplay from this trailer, some magic use and combat, but we did get a fantastic sense that new developer Playground Games (of Forza Horizon fame) is going to retain the British sense of humor that's always been a staple of the series. 

Another game that was showed off for the first time at last year's Summer Game Fest Xbox Showcase was South of Midnight. 

Honestly one of my favorite trailers for some time, it's got that creepy cool vibe going on with promises of "a fantastical and macabre third-person action-adventure set in the American Deep South".

Another one from last year's showcase was Clockwork Revolution. Another very cool trailer that gave serious BioShock vibes. Again no details on this one since then either. 

Of course, all eyes will be on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which only got fully revealed with its title earlier this year. It's currently got a loose release window of this fall, but I'd imagine that will get fully confirmed at today's showcase. 

In development at MachineGames, the game's story will take place between the Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade movies, around 1937. It'll start at the iconic Marshall College where Jones teaches, but from there, we'll be traveling the globe for answers, including the Vatican, Egypt, and the Himalayas.

The gameplay looks great - as you'd expect from FPS experts MachineGames - with plenty of stealth and puzzle solving in between taking out Nazis with your gun and whip. While the majority is first-person, the game will also occasionally pull back to third-person to let you take in Indy in his full splendour. 

Let's take another look at that reveal trailer shall we?

State of Decay 3 should also be a contender to appear at the Xbox Games Showcase today. There was a leak that seemingly confirmed a trailer is set to drop today, which is good because we've not heard from developer Undead Labs for years now. 

There's also STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl. With its release date currently set for September 5, I wouldn't be surprised if we got a new trailer today at the Xbox Games Showcase, detailing more about this highly-anticipated new game. 

The other pretty sure bet is that Bethesda Game Studios will give us a good look at Starfield: Shattered Space, the first expansion for its space RPG. We just had a big May update for the game that introduced a tonne of quality of life features, so much so that many of us have gone back to the game - particularly for the removal of over encumbrance - but the details on the DLC have been few and far between. 

Just 5 minutes to go until the showcase now, you can tune in right here:

It's also a wonder whether Xbox will mention any of the controversies that have occurred in recent months too. There's been a lot - mass layoffs at Activision, the cutting of ties with Toys for Bob, the cancellation of a new Blizzard survival game, and the incredibly sad and shocking closure of Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks.

Here we go!

Oh we're starting with Call of Duty then eh? Start as we mean to end it. 

This seems to be the full reveal trailer, complete with The Prodigy as backing track. 

It's set in the 1990s, after the Cold War ends where the "truth is not what it seems".

Treyarch and Raven working on it. 10 years since COD was last in an Xbox show. 

We're getting a look at the campaign, multiplayer and zombies later. 

First COD game that's coming to Game Pass Day One.

Bethesda world premiere up first.

Doom but make it medieval?

You can load a skull into a grinder and then it turns it into bullets. Is that the most Doom thing ever? I think so.

Doom: The Dark Ages coming 2025.

State of Decay 3 up now from Undead Labs. 

Taking a softer tone with the vocals questioning who the zombies were before the whole undead thing. 

If you can call a zombie game beautiful, then that's what this trailer is. 

No release date for State of Decay 3 - not even a window.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard there with a loose Fall 2024 release date and confirmation that some of our old pals are returning. 

Starfield: Shattered Space DLC up now - and it looks like it's all about the Va'ruun.

"Until there's no more you, only us"

That's not sinister at all. 

Much more horror sci-fi vibes than the core game. 

That's coming 2024, but no details on when. 

New content coming to the base game tonight including new locations, new gear, new bounties, and new custom content from Bethesda and the community. 

Fallout 76: Skyline Valley details being outlined in a new trailer now. 

New Vault 63 details, which is how the DLC starts out with you hearing an explosion and then finding the Vault 63 door. 

You can play as a Ghoul starting 2025.

New game from Kepler Interactive here. 

Looks pretty cool actually, lots of dramatic boss fights and stunning backdrops. Fo9ur main characters, who all seem to be playable in combat at least. 

Expedition 33 coming 2025. 

South of Midnight up now with a very cool art style and 24-frame-esque animation. 

Our hero is riding on the back of a giant fish.

We're getting our first look at gameplay here. Third person, with grappling hook to get around. 

Combat is with the little hooks but seemingly with some sort of power attached. Defeating an enemy brings the flowers and nature back to an area that's otherwise full of red pustules. 

She's also got some kind of magical wing or cape? Looks badass. 

2025 on PC and Xbox Series X. 

World of Warcraft: The War Within coming 26 August 2024.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater now?

Naked Snake - has to find his own weapons and equipment, and food. "One man army".

Looks incredible. 

No release date. 

New content for Sea of Thieves coming July 25. 

Brand new trailer for Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, coming July 18, 2024. 

Game Pass, Xbox Series X, PC. 

Age of Mythology Retold - coming September 4, 2024. 

Strategy game. Game Pass, Xbox Series X, PC.

OMG IT'S PERFECT DARK

This is the first we've seen of this game since the original announcement. Very crips visuals, stealth gameplay focus as you'd hope, lots of gadgets and equipment. 

"There's only one way forward, find the truth". 

'Stop Carrington's attack' is the directive in the corner, with subobjects for finding the Black Site and escaping the ambush. 

Switches to full on combat, first person gunplay with some melee attacks. 

Perfect Dark - day one with Game Pass but no date.

Matt Booty here to talk now:

"first look at gameplay, we can't wait to share more".

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred coming October. 

New playable class, new region, new story content. 

Opening cinematic is all about a young woman talking to what she thinks is her dead grandmother, but obviously it's not.

That cinematic certainly isn't for the gore-phobic.

Actual date for that DLC - October 8. 

Fable now and we're got a new character introduction - who may be voiced by Super Hans from Peep Show (Matt King).

Humphrey seems to have an ex that's back and it's problematic. 

Coming 2025. Day One Game Pass, Xbox Series X, and PC. 

Definitely felt like there was a tease for a morality system in that dialogue. 

Fragpunks - 5v5 hero shooter with cards that can change gameplay. Coming 2025.

Winter Burrow coming early 2025 - a lovely looking survival game about a tiny mouse that's 100% going to make me cry. 

New Annapurna game now, which is so early 90s. Minidisc player, cutie headphones, skateboarding, references to Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Teen angst but with flying?

"Your greatest memories are locked in music".

Game is called Mixtape. Coming 2025. 

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 now, teasing more of its careers. 

Commercial Flight Pilot, Air Ambulance, Aerial Advertising, VIP Charter Service, Agricultural Aviation, Search and Rescue, Helicopter Cargo, Aerial Firefighting and more. 

Lots of this was already teased at the announcement last year, but there is one moment when you get out of your plane and take a pic of an animal that seems pretty brand new. 

November 19, 2024 release date for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. 

Elder Scrolls Online - for a limited time you can play all the DLC for free. 

Reminder that Gold Road is coming June 18. 

Life is Strange 3!!!

Murder Mystery story, can shift into parallel timelines where the victim (her friend) is still alive. Can she save Sapphi? 

New Max Caulfield adventure, coming October 29, 2024. 

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle up now. 

Brand new story trailer. Mention of finding the stones. 

Himalayas segment in the freezing snow. Feels very Uncharted. 

The faces are great. Very Harrison Ford ticks on our Indy here. 

2024 window still. No Indy release date. 

Mechabreak coming 2025. Beta coming August. 

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers coming 2025. Looks interesting!

Ah here comes Avowed at last!

Lengthy trailer here showing off combat, characters, enemies and locations. 

Coming 2024 still - no release date. 

Rebellion's new game looks kinda bananas in a good way. Mechs, glowing zombies, British pomp. Phone box in the mountains. 

Atomfall coming 2025. 

Assassin's Creed: Shadows with a new trailer now - ahead of tomorrow's Ubisoft Forward which is interesting. 

Nice look at the two characters together. 

Reminder of that November 15 release date. 

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl new trailer, lots of gameplay showed off, anomalies. 

September 5 reconfirmed. 

HARDWARE ALERT

All-new digital Xbox Series X and S. Also said it's "hard at work on the next generation"

Saved one more thing for the end. 

New Gears of War.

Gears of War E-Day. Looks like a prequel featuring Marcus Fenix and Augustus Cole. 

No date on that, but clearly focused on Emergence Day, which is not something we've seen in the series to date beyond callbacks. 

Right now it's over to Leon on the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct live blog, and here we'll wrap up everything we saw in the Xbox Games Showcase.