This year's E3 saw the first Xbox and Bethesda Showcase since finalizing their recent merger earlier this year. In the weeks leading up to the showcase, there were rumors and hopes that audiences would see updates for Halo Infinite, Starfield, and possibly even The Elder Scrolls VI.
More importantly, many were looking to see if Xbox was going to announce more exclusive titles to compete with Sony's growing library. With the recent acquisition of Bethesda Game Studios, it was looking as though this would be a possibility as Xbox would be inheriting franchises like DOOM, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout. Aside from that, nobody was quite sure what to expect outside of a handful of leaks and rumors.
Some of these alleged leaks included a Starfield update as well as rumored new footage of Halo Infinite. Unlike Nintendo's accidental leak of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope, the upcoming announcements have been kept fairly secret. This became more apparent after Xbox announced that 30 games were being revealed, many of which came as a surprise - even games by bigger studios. With that, here are some of the biggest reveals and moments from the Xbox E3 2021 Showcase.
Xbox E3 2021 Reveal: Starfield
The Xbox & Bethesda showcase came out swinging with a trailer for the highly anticipated Starfield. According to Todd Howard, Starfield is set 100 years in the future and is about "hope, our shared humanity, and answering our greatest mystery." While it's exciting to get an idea of what Starfield looks like and the themes it sets out to achieve, there still is little known about its actual story or gameplay.
Notably, Starfield is being developed on Bethesda's upgraded Creation Engine, simply called Creation Engine 2. The in-engine footage looks stunning and a huge step up from any game before it, but it's yet to be seen how it will look during gameplay. Starfield will be an Xbox exclusive and day one Game Pass release on November 11, 2022.
Xbox E3 2021 Reveal: S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chernobyl
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R series has been a staple in the history of first-person shooters but hasn't had a new entry since Call of Pripyat in 2009. This entry was announced back in 2010 but faced countless development troubles and numerous cancellations. This announcement was one many were looking forward to and its reveal looks stunning. At first glance, it seems to find inspiration from the Metro series, though this impression could change as it comes closer to launch. S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 is set to release on April 28, 2022.
Xbox E3 2021 Reveal: Back 4 Blood
Turtle Rock Studios, known for the Left 4 Dead franchise, returns with a new first-person multiplayer shooter called Back 4 Blood. This game sees players face off against the Ridden, who were humans that were mutated into horrible monster by a deadly parasite.
Back 4 Blood features a wide cast of characters who have specific attributes and it will include game modes like PvP, PvE, Swarm Mode, and more. Like its predecessor, it looks to have a dark sense of humor, plenty of over-the-top action, and colossal boss battles. Back 4 Blood releases on October 8, 2021.
Xbox E3 2021 Reveal: Psychonauts 2
The original Psychonauts became a classic with its dark sense of humor, surreal world, and captivating characters. Since its announcement, Psychonauts 2 has been highly anticipated, and with the gameplay trailer revealed in the showcase, players seemingly have a lot to look forward to. The sequel has retained the classic Psychonauts art style and humor but now has the power of next-gen hardware to push this world to its limits. Psychonauts 2 also has a surprisingly close release date of August 25, 2021.
Xbox E3 2021 Reveal: Fallout 76: Steel Reign
Xbox announced that 10 Bethesda Games are coming to Game Pass, including Fallout 76. Fallout 76 has come a long way since its incredibly rocky start and that journey is still going with the now announced Fallout 76: Steel Reign expansion. This expansion will see the conclusion of the Brotherhood of Steel story that began in the Steel Dawn expansion. It looks to bring added conflicts with Super Mutants and within the Brotherhood itself. The expansion releases on July 7, 2021.
Xbox E3 2021 Reveal: Halo Infinite
Halo Infinite received some rocky feedback concerning its graphical fidelity back in E3 2020 and after watching its presentation this year, Halo Infinite is looking as good as ever and promises a story to match. It seems as though Master Chief's memory has some gaps in it, as Cortana was allegedly deleted by some unknown party. Halo Infinite includes a new A.I. companion, and Master Chief sets out to piece their memory back together.
Arguably the biggest announcement for Halo Infinite is that its multiplayer will be free-to-play. The multiplayer was one of the things that made Halo such a household name and now it will be available to all players, regardless of whether they bought the full game or not. Players won't have to wait too long either, as Halo Infinite is set to release sometime in the latter half of 2021.
Xbox E3 2021 Reveal: Forza Horizon 5
In this installment, players will be exploring near-photorealistic recreations of various environments and cities across Mexico in Forza Horizon 5. Turn 10 Studios claims that every part of the game is rendered and designed to the smallest details, from displaying real-life artwork in small towns and cities all the way down to the individual needles on a cactus. With this power comes stunning car renders that glisten and shine thanks to ray-tracing technology and the power to add a variety of game-modes including a battle royale. Forza Horizon 5 releases November 9, 2021.
Xbox E3 2021 Reveal: Redfall
The Xbox Showcase ended on a surprise release from Arkane Studios, the developers behind Prey, Dishonored, and the upcoming Deathloop. Many were expecting to see more information about Deathloop since its release date was pushed back, but were greeted instead by the announcement of Redfall. From the trailer, it looks to be a multiplayer shooter where players team up with special characters, each with their own abilities, and battle it out with hoards of vampires. The cinematic showed off some of the unique character designs and possible ultimate abilities, like an energy burst and auto-aim sniper shots. More is sure to be shown leading up to Redfall's release in 2022.
Xbox E3 2021 Reveal: Notable Moments
In this Showcase, Xbox announced the release of 30 games coming out between 2021 and 2022, claiming that new content is essentially coming out every month. Of these 30 titles, 27 of them are coming to Xbox Game Pass first day and will feature a pretty even mix of AAA and Indie games. These include titles such as Twelve Minutes, HADES, Diablo 2: Resurrected, Atomic Heart, and Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life crossover with Pirates of the Caribbean.
Arguably one of the best moments of the Xbox Showcase was the announcement trailer for The Outer Worlds 2, in which a sarcastic narrator describes the cliche's of announcement trailers while managing to keep the actual game a mystery until the very end. Another big surprise was the announcement of A Plague Tale: Requiem which looks to be bigger and more epic than the first.
The Xbox E3 2021 Showcase used its time to show off just how much it has to offer. Most importantly, it focused on a ton of console exclusive games to start competing with Sony's lineup of titles which has given it the advantage over its competitor for multiple years now. Thankfully, it won't be much longer until players can jump into the breadth of upcoming titles that are already beginning to roll out.