Xbox and Bethesda have confirmed that their first huge presentation since Microsoft’s acquisition of the iconic developer/publisher is happening during E3 2021. The showcase is set for June 13th, and will be a 90 minute digital presentation showcasing some new games, world premiere announcements (hopefully with that luscious voice-over) and some new Game Pass games to boot.
These Xbox showcases are typically pretty exciting affairs, even if the list of exclusives haven’t been up to the standard you’d hope for in recent years. Thankfully, we’re at the point where Microsoft’s studio acquisitions should pay off with new games in the pipeline. One thing is for sure, Xbox in 2021 is in an interesting position. Here’s what we’d like to see from them during this presentation.
1. Show Off ALL The Imminent First Party Games
Okay, all of them is a bit of a stretch. Dumping every announcement under the sun into one presentation leaves nothing for the future, but there’s plenty of Xbox exclusive games in the works that shouldn’t be too far away from launch. Take Halo Infinite for example, which is currently slated for release later this year. Dedicating a section to Halo Infinite, showing off some gameplay, or even just announcing a second presentation a few weeks afterwards as a re-reveal of sorts, would be a good first step.
E3 would also be the prime place to reveal a new Forza Horizon game. As much as people like to make the joke that one of Xbox’s biggest mascots is “car”, the Forza Horizon series is still consistently one of the most well-reviewed and played franchises Xbox have to offer. Throw in some new footage for State of Decay 3, Hellblade 2 and, if you’re lucky, Perfect Dark, and you’ve got a recipe for a good conference.
2. Flaunt That Bethesda Partnership
Right now, the multi-billion dollar partnership between Microsoft and Bethesda has led to a couple of new games added to Game Pass, and not even all of them. DOOM (2016) isn’t on Game Pass for some strange reason, but DOOM 64 and Eternal both are. There’s also gaps in the Wolfenstein series, which just seems odd. Regardless, it hasn’t led to much in the way of official announcements yet.
E3 will likely offer the best opportunity to reveal what this partnership between the two companies will look like going forward. Set some ground rules about new Bethesda games coming to Game Pass, maybe show some new titles like Starfield and, if Todd Howard wakes up that morning and feeling particularly spicy, The Elder Scrolls 6. There’s a lot of possibilities here, we’d just like to see any of them.
3. Some Big Game Pass Drops
One key part of the conference in Microsoft’s hype train has been the promise of new Game Pass announcements during the event. Game Pass has become Xbox’s ace in the hole compared to other consoles and gaming companies, so it makes sense that some banner additions to the flagship subscription service would make for a great presentation, but it’s hard to know what those could be.
With all first party games coming to Game Pass on day 1 naturally, we have to look further afield for some blockbuster announcements. In my head, I immediately jumped to Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, because I’m nothing if not a little obsessed with the Yakuza series, but there’s a bigger fish here: Persona 5. There have been rumours and speculation throughout this year that SEGA and Atlus’ fantastic RPG series would come to the Xbox. E3 just might be the place to do it.
If we’re just throwing out ideas though, Hades wouldn’t go amiss either. Just saying.
4. More Fable Please
I started this list with the idea that Xbox should showcase more first-party games, but let’s make a special mention to Fable, purely because I’m more excited for it than any other of Xbox’s announced games, even Halo. For a kid who grew up playing thousands of hours of Halo 3 and Halo Reach online, that’s a big thing to admit, but it’s the truth. A new Fable game sounds lovely.
Developed by Playground Games, who are responsible for the Forza Horizon series, not much is known about the upcoming game. It could be a sequel, reboot or reimagining. We do know that Playground can easily create some picturesque British countryside thanks to their work on Forza Horizon 4 though. Hopefully, we’ll see more about the upcoming RPG soon, because it could be a real game-changer for Xbox’s portfolio.
5. Massive Surprises
The best announcements are the surprises, the ones that you genuinely can’t see coming, so that makes this section hard to write. If I can think about it, it’s not really a surprise, is it? That might sound like a bit of clever thinking to worm my way out of writing the rest of this article, but I promise that’s not the case.
If you’re looking for a prediction, though, then let’s just go with Obsidian and Bethesda working together on a Fallout: New Vegas remake or sequel. Yeah, okay, perhaps it’s not the earth shattering, unpredictable announcement that you were expecting, but again, I want to be surprised. It’s hard to be surprised if I’m also pitching game ideas over here.
READ MORE: The Best Xbox Series X | S Open World Games
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
