Posted in: Bethesda Softworks, E3, Games, Microsoft, Video Games | Tagged: bethesda, e3, E3 2021, xbox

We Recap The Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase From E3 2021

Published Sun, 13 Jun 2021 15:12:49 -0500

Kicking off E3 2021's Sunday events, the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase took place today showing 30 new titles on the way. They had a ton of content to go over today, as usual, and having Bethesda in the mix helped make the presentation a little more epic than it normally is. We have about as complete of a full rundown of everything they talked about today, with a couple of exceptions for people who didn't bother to talk about what they did beyond the trailer. And if you didn't catch it, you can watch the entire presentation down below.

Starfield: Starfield arrives exclusively on Xbox Series X|S and PC on November 11, 2022. Play it day one with Xbox Game Pass. Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next-generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom. Harnessing the power of next-gen technology and built on the all-new Creation Engine 2, Starfield takes you on a journey through space as you strive to answer humanity's greatest mystery. You're part of Constellation now. Part of our family.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 – Heart Of Chernobyl: The gameplay reveal of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is here! Also, our game now has a subtitle — Heart of Chernobyl — and a release date of April 28, 2022. Hooray! Pre-orders are now available for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC. You've obviously come here to learn more, so let's leave the introductions aside. Here are several facts about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl you likely didn't know yet. We're getting more and more excited as we get closer to the release date — and there is still a lot to share. You can pre-order your copy of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl starting today on the Xbox Store. Every player who purchases the game will get the early bird weapon and costume skins along with the additional campfire melodies — a fitting way to prepare before you enter The Zone.

Back 4 Blood: Back 4 Blood is a thrilling cooperative first-person shooter from the creators of the critically acclaimed Left 4 Dead franchise. Get ready to experience an intense four-player co-op narrative campaign, competitive multiplayer as human or Ridden, and frenetic gameplay that keeps you in the action. It's going to be up to you and your friends to take the fight to these deadly enemies and reclaim the world. It was also revealed that Back 4 Blood will be launching on day one with Xbox Game Pass on October 12 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, and cloud gaming (beta). Xbox Game Pass members will be able to hop online and join in the fray through a dynamic, perilous campaign where you must work together with other players to survive increasingly challenging scenarios. Play with up to three of your friends online, with full cross-play support between console and PC and lead your team to battle the evil Ridden. Finally, the Back 4 Blood open beta will start with early access from August 5 to 9 for those who have pre-ordered the game from the Xbox Store, followed by another open beta event running from August 12 to 16 that will be open to all players.

Contraband: Contraband is a co-op smuggler's paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan, and our most ambitious and spectacular game to date. We're taking everything that we've learned from 18 years of being at the forefront of creating beautiful, vast open game worlds filled with stunning vistas and incredible emergent gameplay moments. To fully deliver on our vision for Contraband, we have an amazing team at Avalanche Studios that are pushing the boundaries with the next generation of our Apex Engine, the technology behind all our games, including the Just Cause series. We built the engine to unlock the creativity of our developers and we're excited to take full advantage of the unique capabilities of Xbox Series X|S.

Sea Of Thieves – A Pirates's Life: Today, Rare and Xbox are thrilled to announce an exciting collaboration with Disney, as the award-winning Sea of Thieves and Pirates of the Caribbean join forces at last. This monumental crossover will see Captain Jack Sparrow and his infamous crew arrive from beyond the horizon to spark an epic new adventure on the Sea of Thieves. Watch the announcement trailer for Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life right here: Unfolding across five incredible tales packed with secrets and side-quests, this new campaign gives players a lovingly crafted story to play solo or with their crew. Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life will be free for all players and will launch as the cornerstone of Sea of Thieves Season Three on June 22. Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life is the game's most ambitious story-driven campaign to date. Players will go on a quest to free Jack Sparrow from his prison and witness the power of the world's greatest Pirate Treasure, which Jack just so happens to have stolen. Jack is being pursued by his old enemy, the notorious Davy Jones, and their arrival on the Sea of Thieves will ultimately spell disaster if Jones and his forces aren't stopped. These iconic characters are here for much more than cameo appearances, and we've worked alongside Walt Disney Games to craft a compelling original narrative that doesn't just bring two worlds together, but explores what makes each of them special.

Twelve Minutes: In Twelve Minutes, players are asked to take part in a compelling story centered around a shocking crime which they must help solve. This is a game that will subvert the ideas of what play should feel like and will present players with a truly unique entertainment experience. Developed by Luis Antonio and lauded as a fresh take on the thriller genre, Twelve Minutes depicts the story of a man's romantic evening with his wife as it is interrupted by a violent home invasion. The man tries to stop the attacker and gets knocked out only to immediately find himself back to the start of the evening, stuck in a time loop of 12 minutes. He must use the knowledge of what is about to happen to change the outcome and break the loop. The characters are nameless throughout the experience and feature a star studded cast; "the man" is voiced by James McAvoy, "the woman" is voiced by Daisy Ridley, and "the intruder" is voiced by Willem Dafoe.

Psychonauts 2: Psychonauts 2 is an exciting journey through the mind filled with the signature Double Fine humor and heart, and a touch of next-level platforming. You play as Razputin Aquato, a trained acrobat and powerful young psychic, who has realized his lifelong dream of joining the international psychic espionage organization known as the Psychonauts. But these psychic super spies are in trouble. Raz must use his powers to bring the murderous psychic villain, Maligula, back from the dead! Check out the video above and get psyched! This game's development began with a passionate group of fans crowdfunding the project to bring Psychonauts 2 to life across multiple platforms. When Psychonauts 2 launches on August 25, it will be available with Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, Xbox Cloud Gaming, PlayStation 4 and 5 (with backwards compatibility). It will also release on Mac and Linux in the future.

Fallout 76: The Pitt: Steel Reign brings the conclusion of the Brotherhood of Steel storyline that launched late last year. You arrive back at Fort Atlas to find the tensions between Paladin Rahmani and Knight Shin have reached a boiling point. After swarms of Super Mutants start to appear and people are reported missing, how will you guide the Brotherhood? Will you take the side of justice or will you remain committed to duty? Free for Fallout 76 Players. Available July 7th.

Party Animals: Party Animals is a physics-based multiplayer game where you'll face off against your friends as one of several fuzzy fighters as you brawl across multiple modes and maps using a variety of hilarious, over the top weapons. Grab a plunger or a lollipop and get ready to party like an animal! Our team was inspired to create Party Animals because we couldn't find a game we could easily jump into and play with our extended family of mostly inexperienced gamers. Adorable animals, easy to pick up mechanics, and colorful graphics helped make the game more appealing and accessible. At the same time, we want to ensure the game is challenging for more experienced players, with competitive elements and modes that require skilled teamwork to master. You'll meet several characters in the game, including a corgi, Nemo, who is based on my dog in real life. Nemo joins a lineup of animals that includes a cat, unicorn, gorilla, and many, many more. We look forward to introducing you to the entire crew in the coming months.

Replaced: Replaced is set almost forty years after the nuclear explosion, in a walled fortress known as Phoenix-City ruled by the corrupt Phoenix Corp, a company founded on 'matching' voluntary donors with greedy clients looking to upgrade their body parts. As time went on, they found that voluntary supply was falling behind demand and soon the richest clients could get their hands on anything while citizens started to go missing at an alarming rate…Vocal cords, legs, eyes, livers? No problem for the wealthy. By the time people realised what was happening it was too late, Phoenix Corp was running the whole country, throwing the leftover and unwilling donors into the 'Disposal' areas outside the city walls to live as outlaws (the ones that survived that is). In the early days, the corporation started looking into AI and how this could help run their system more efficiently still…Which is how the first prototypes for R.E.A.C.H, the main AI, were created.

Somerville: Today, at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, we shared a brand-new look at the sci-fi adventure title Somerville by Jumpship, coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, and with Xbox Game Pass in 2022. An original IP by Chris Olsen, built in collaboration with Dino Patti, ex-CEO and co-founder of Playdead, Jumpship's debut title will immerse players in a hand-crafted narrative set across a vivid and rural landscape. Set in the wake of a catastrophe and grounded in the intimate repercussions of large-scale conflict, players will navigate through perilous terrain as they unravel the mysteries of Earth's visitors. We'll have more to share on Somerville in the future. Keep it tuned here for Xbox Wire for all the latest news on your favorite games.

Halo Infinite: or nearly twenty years, Halo multiplayer has been defined by sandbox-focused emergent gameplay that offers players a wide array of weapons, vehicles, and toys in the name of competition and good fun. With Halo Infinite, the team at 343 Industries is embracing the franchise's legacy while imbuing it with new modern twists to lean into the series' strengths while simultaneously laying a foundation on which to grow and further evolve in the months and years beyond launch. In addition to returning favorites and brand-new weapons, Halo Infinite's sandbox is punctuated by the addition of Halo 3-esque equipment – game-changing limited-use abilities that players will scavenge for during a match. In today's trailer you'll catch the first glimpse of two additional pieces of equipment: the Threat Sensor is an area-of-effect support device that periodically pulses and illuminates enemy players within it's radius while the aptly named Repulsor can be used to deflect projectiles and anything else that gets in the way. Whether it's zipping across a map to gain the high ground using a Grappleshot or digging in your defenses with a Drop Wall, equipment brings new strategic and tactical options to Halo Infinite's frenetic multiplayer combat with more additions to come in future seasonal updates.

Diablo 2 Resurrected: Many moons have passed since the Heroes of Sanctuary defeated the forces of the Burning Hells and the Prime Evil himself. Two decades later, The Dark Lord has returned to enact his vengeance upon the realms of humanity. New players and veterans of the Eternal Conflict prepare to relive the epic adventure that changed the action-RPG genre forever. Diablo II: Resurrected is coming, now for the first-time on console, remastered from the ground up to take advantage of the capabilities of Xbox Series X|S. This August, the gates of Hell will reopen early, allowing beta testers in for a limited time. Players who preordered Diablo II: Resurrected will be the first to step into the past with early access to the open beta. But surely that won't sate Hell's hunger for souls. Later, all who have the mettle and willingness to confront the minions of evil will be granted their darkest desire when the open beta commences, allowing access to all players across the Xbox community!

A Plague Tale: Requiem: After the original game's epic finale to a heartbreaking story of resilience, players will embark on the emotional journey's second chapter. They will follow Amicia and her brother Hugo on a perilous new quest, doing whatever it takes to survive a brutal, uncaring world. A Plague Tale: Requiem is the direct sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence. Previously, players lived the grim tale of young Amicia and her little brother Hugo, in a heartrending adventure through the darkest hours of history. Hunted by Inquisition soldiers and surrounded by unstoppable swarms of rats, Amicia and Hugo came to know and trust each other, as they struggled to survive against overwhelming odds and fight to find their place in the world.

Slime Rancher 2: Slime Rancher 2 features an open-world experience across a gorgeous, rainbow-hued island that invites players to explore at their own pace. An ongoing conversation throughout development has been how to push the visuals far beyond the original and create a soft, prismatic, world we've never seen in a game before. This extends to Beatrix's home base, replacing the dusty, old ranch of the original with a beautiful, glass conservatory where she can corral slimes, grow crops, harvest plorts, build gadgets, and create all-new combinations of slimes. And wrapping around her conservatory is our majestic Rainbow Island, a whole new world to explore, filled with mysterious, ancient technology, wiggly, new slimes, and slime science resources to collect. The technical enhancements of Slime Rancher 2 make great use of 9th generation hardware, pushing to the limit the rich shaders, dynamic lighting, and the spectacularly unpredictable physics interactions between slimes, all in glorious 4K. But all these fancy new toys really just enhance the already delightfully frenzied and totally unique gameplay that made the original Slime Rancher so endearing in the first place. Slime Rancher 2 is the next chapter in the world of Slime Rancher and we look forward to sharing it with you for years to come.

Shredders: Soon you'll break into the snowboarding event of the year to pull off one of the most insane tricks imaginable, all for the hope of scoring a wildcard entry to an exclusive invitational. Master the art of park riding, backcountry, rails, and massive kickers and earn your place in the world of snowboarding. It's going to be an incredible winter. Conveniently, a lot of actual professional snowboarders have arrived, and now is your chance to ride with them and visit the gnarliest spots, stomp the most epic lines, and learn the most stylish moves. We will be revealing the names of the pro-riders involved with Shredders in the coming months – so keep an eye out! Shredders has powder so fresh you can smell it – you'll lose yourself for hours carving down mountains, tweaking your grabs, bending your board, and buttering like the very best. With the help of world class pro-riders soon to be announced, you'll go beyond the boundaries of what you thought was possible. With Shredders, we have tried to build a snowboarding experience that allows you to define your own style. In snowboarding there are so many incredible ways to do a simple 180 and Shredders gives you that level of control. Carving, buttering, and the sensation of floating on fresh powder all feels amazing.

Atomic Heart: Atomic Heart is an Open World Action/RPG, events of which unfolds in an alternate universe during the high noon of the Soviet Union. You are P-3, a special KGB agent, who is investigating the catastrophic event at Facility 3826. A global system failure happens at the Soviet Facility 3826 that leads machinery to rebel against the people. You are Major P-3 and your task is to eliminate the consequences of a large-scale accident and prevent the leakage of classified information threatening to destroy the whole world.

Grounded – Shroom & Doom Update: First up, the Grounded team is dropping the biggest content update ever. Building is getting expanded with more materials and the ability to make mushroom structures. Want to transform your base into an awesome castle made of mushroom bricks? Grounded's got you. Plus, for fans that have been wondering whether we were going to add bosses, they won't have to wonder anymore. The fearsome Broodmother has found her way to the backyard! She is not for the faint of heart, so for those who may need it, remember that there is an Arachnophobia Mode. As Grounded is still in Game Preview/Early Access, the team at Obsidian listens to the Grounded community and is adding in a host of highly requested community features. From the ability to sit in chairs to having their own aphid pets – our community has asked for it and we are giving it to them. Plus, the team has added in achievements, so players are also now able to add to their gamer score while playing Grounded. These are just a very small number of all the things that are coming to Grounded on June 30. It's been an amazing year since Grounded first came out, and we are having as much fun continuing to add cool things as the millions of people who have already joined us in the backyard.

Eiyuden Chronicle – Rising/Hundred Heroes: Studio Lead Yoshitaka Murayama (Suikoden I & II) and Director Osamu Komuta are joining forces once again to bring us an unforgettable journey through the world of Allraan. In Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, take your turn-based strategy game experience to the next level with a finely crafted, 6-character battle system. Utilizing meticulously created 2D sprites and beautiful 3D backgrounds, Rabbit & Bear Studios delivers a riveting story and gameplay unlike any JRPG that has come before. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is designed to bring players a modern take on a classic JRPG experience. Get ready to lead 100+ playable characters through a war-torn world only you can save. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes became the #1 funded Kickstarter video game of 2020 thanks to phenomenal support from the community. 505 Games is truly honored to publish Eiyuden Chronicle and work with Rabbit & Bear to help deliver a memorable gaming experience to fans and help the game reach its true potential and deliver a worthwhile JRPG the community will enjoy. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes will be coming to Xbox Game Pass after its launch in 2023. Due to overwhelming interest for the Eiyuden Chronicle franchise, we're also thrilled to announce that a companion game Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising will launch in 2022 and will also come to Xbox Game Pass. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is an action RPG set in the same world as Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. Featuring town-building mechanics, fast-paced combat, and important back-story for several of the latter game's cast of characters. If you're interested in expanding your Eiyuden Chronicle passion, then join us on this essential journey that takes place before the events of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.

The Ascent: The Ascent is a solo and co-op Action-shooter RPG, set on Veles, a packed cyberpunk world. Welcome to The Ascent Group arcology, a corporate-run metropolis stretching high into the sky and filled with creatures from all over the galaxy. You play as a worker, enslaved by the company that owns you and everyone else in your district. One day, you are suddenly caught in a vortex of catastrophic events: The Ascent Group shuts down for unknown reasons and the survival of your district is threatened. You must take up arms and embark on a new mission to find out what started it all. You belong to the corporation. Can you survive without it?

Age Of Empires IV: After April's Fan Preview event where we showed the game in detail for the first time, we revealed even more at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase about the latest chapter in the Age of Empires franchise, with two new launch civilizations, a newly-revealed campaign, naval combat and the appearance of Joan of Arc. So far, the teams at both Relic and World's Edge have shared that players will have the choice of the English, Mongols, Chinese and Delhi Sultanate at launch and today's trailer revealed two more civilizations – the Abbasid Dynasty and the French. The Abbasid Dynasty's focus on technology, powered by their unique landmark, the House of Wisdom, will allow players to choose unique upgrade opportunities. Their unique units include Camel Archers and Riders. The French were revealed alongside the 100 Years War campaign, allowing players to place themselves in the battles fought between the English and French in the 14th and 15th centuries. The French thrive in trade, with the Chamber of Commerce and Royal Institute landmarks helping strengthen a player's late game. Royal Knights are one of the civilization's special units with a fearsome charge ability.

The Outer Worlds 2: The other big news from Obsidian today is the announcement of The Outer Worlds 2! Taking place in a new star system with a new crew, we are excited to bring everyone back to The Outer Worlds franchise. And, fans of The Outer Worlds should always remember – It's not the best choice. It's Spacer's Choice. For those who are wondering about Avowed, the team is hard at work making something we're sure fans of our games and the Pillars of Eternity universe are going to love. While we are not showing anything right now, we are looking forward to showing off what we have been working on soon. It's never been a more exciting time at Obsidian as we get to work on games that we love making. For us, it is about creating worlds for players, where they play who they want to be.

Microsoft Flight Simulator: From light planes to wide-body jets, you'll test your piloting skills against the challenges of real-time weather, including accurate worldwide cloud cover and cloud layers, wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity, rain, and lightning – all in a dynamic and living world. With the power of satellite data and cloud-based AI, you'll travel the entire planet in amazing detail with over 37,000 airports, 2 million cities, 1.5 billion buildings, real mountain ranges, roads, trees, rivers, animals, traffic, and more. Launching Microsoft Flight Simulator on PC last year was only the beginning of our journey to make the best simulation possible. As we continue adding to the experience with free World Updates (Japan, US, France, Benelux, UK, and Ireland so far and many more to come), themed DLCs, and true-to-life aircraft, Xbox Series X|S simmers will enjoy these updates on console as well. We continue to work with third-party partners to bring additional peripherals to Xbox Series X|S that will enhance your immersive console experience.

Forza Horizon 5: Get ready for Forza Horizon 5's deep campaign with challenges that reward you for engaging in the activities you love. Meet new characters and choose the outcomes of their Horizon Story missions and take on awe-inspiring weather events such as towering dust storms and intense tropical storms as Mexico's unique, dynamic seasons change the world every week. No two seasons will ever be the same. Team up with other players and enter the Horizon Arcade for a continuing series of fun, over-the-top challenges that keep you and your friends in the action. Meet new friends in Horizon Open and Tours and share your creations with new community gift sharing*. (Console requires Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Live Gold, memberships sold separately.) Forza Horizon 5 showcases powerful, all-new graphical features. Experience sweeping vistas and scan the distance to see the adventure that lies ahead. Encounter the smallest of details throughout the world which is rendered with striking realism, down to the smallest details like the light that glows through each needle on a Cholla cactus. Our Mexican HDR sky captures illuminate the world to the point that you will feel as if you are right there. And thanks to Xbox Series X|S, ray tracing is utilized in Forzavista to make the cars look even more true to real life.

Redfall: Redfall used to be a bustling, beautiful island community. It had everything a coastal town in Massachusetts should have: a lighthouse, a lobster shack, a boardwalk… When the vampires took over, they blocked out the sun, pushed back the tides, and effectively walled off the island from the rest of society, trapping everyone who remained. Now vampires rule the town by night and the human cultists who worship them patrol the streets by day. Not too many people venturing out of safety to check out the boardwalk these days, and forget about getting fresh lobster. Enter: You. In Redfall, you'll choose from a lineup of unconventional heroes, each with their own unique abilities and specialized weaponry, and face off against the bloodsucking legions threatening the island. You can go it alone, building your chosen character around solo play, or you can select the perfect character to round out a roster of heroes in up to four-player co-op.