It has just been revealed that Xbox might be showing off its Series X first-party titles in a livestream event on July 23rd. With much of the gaming world focused on the PlayStation 5 throughout the past month, Microsoft is due to show off more of its enticing catalog of exclusive games for the next generation.
Xbox’s last major Series X showcase was the divisive Xbox 20/20 event back in May, which offered looks at upcoming third-party games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and the indie space shooter Chorus despite annoying viewers with a lack of any real gameplay footage. Since then, Microsoft has largely kept its head down when it comes to its gaming branch, with the only real Series X news throughout the past month being small-scale developments like the rumors about a slimmer, digital-only Xbox Series X model and clarification about Xbox’s cross-generation Smart Delivery program. They also shockingly shutdown their Mixer streaming service during this time, an epic failure for the brand leading up to the Xbox Series X launch.
Now, VGC is reporting that Xbox is planning to hold a livestream event on July 23rd to show off the console's slate of first-party titles offering a specific day to what Microsoft teased previously for July. These are said to include games like the highly-anticipated Halo Infinite and a mysterious project by The Initiative, a new Xbox-owned studio composed of creative talent from major gaming franchises like Tomb Raider, God Of War and Uncharted. Word is that there will also be third-party titles on display, but the exact list of games to be shown at the presentation remains unknown.
Analysts believe that Xbox chose to skip the month of June due to the overwhelming publicity of the PS5 reveal event, which gained millions of viewers across all social media platforms when it aired on June 11, in addition to a series of high profile exclusives for PS4 (The Last of Us Part II, and upcoming Iron Man VR and Ghost of Tsushima). Since then all eyes have been on PlayStation as more details pour in regarding their new console and the number of impressive PS5 first-party exclusives that are set to be featured on it, such as Ratchet And Clank: Rift Apart and Horizon Forbidden West.
This makes it all the more crucial that Microsoft show off its own Xbox Series X exclusives sooner rather than later. At first, Xbox took a much quicker approach to unveiling its next-gen system, but now that Sony has finally pulled back the curtain on the PS5, it's safe to say that they have taken the lead when it comes to buzz and online engagement. Xbox has its work cut out for it in trying to reclaim that lost ground in the never-ending race to be the leading video game console company, and its upcoming showcase event on July 23rd is their moment.
Source: VGC