Microsoft Confirms Big Xbox Series X First-Party Game Showcase For Late July
The event, which will take place at 12:00pm EST, will highlight many of hot first-party games that will be coming to the Xbox Series X. As you might expect, the most highly anticipated game to be shown off will be Halo Infinite. Developer 343 Industries -- which is part of Xbox Game Studios -- teased Halo Infinite briefly back in June (see embed below). We're expecting to hear a lot more about the game during the July 23rd event along with actual gameplay that shows off what the Xbox Series X is capable of.
SIGNAL DETECTED pic.twitter.com/LNQcoc4spA
— Halo (@Halo) June 24, 2020
We don't have any indication of what other games will be on the docket, but we're quite certain that we'll probably hear about future installments to the long-running (and highly popular) Gears of War and Forza franchises as well. And it wouldn't be too surprising to see more on Psychonauts 2 and Hellblade 2 if Microsoft is truly looking to stack its event with "can't miss" exclusives.
🎮 Xbox Games Showcase
— Xbox (@Xbox) July 6, 2020
📅 July 23rd
⏰ 9am PT@SummerGameFest Pre-Show at 8am PT with @GeoffKeighley on @YouTubeGaming#XboxGamesShowcase pic.twitter.com/zGr5AnFwic
Given that there won't be any in-person media events for the big unveil, Microsoft will be streaming its event via a plethora of platforms including YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, and Facebook.
In addition to a new crop of next-generation games for its equally next-generation console, Microsoft revealed earlier this year that the Xbox Series X will have robust backwards compatibility support. "Your favorite games and franchises, your progression and achievements, and the friendships and communities you create through gaming should all move with you across generations," said Microsoft’s Jason Ronald, Director of Program Management for the Xbox Series X, bacon May.
"Our goal has always been to empower gamers to play the best versions of games from across four generations of Xbox at the launch of Xbox Series X." Microsoft says that the hardware inside the Xbox Series X will allow it to double the frame rates of legacy games while adding HDR support without a performance penalty.
The Xbox Series X is powered primarily by AMD hardware -- Zen 2 + RDNA 2 -- and packs a 1TB PCIe SSD. A cheaper Xbox Series S is also expected, likely with reduced performance specs and no optical drive.
