We’re a few months into 2021 and we’re getting more announcements for new games and release dates every week, but it seems Microsoft is being pretty quiet on the Xbox front. The past few weeks have given us a Nintendo Direct and a Sony State of Play, both of which delivered news for the next few months on Nintendo and PlayStation releases. Yet Xbox still seems fairly unknown.
We’ve had games such as The Medium already hit this year, but there’s still plenty more on the horizon. We’re getting nuggets of news on Halo Infinite every month, and Game Pass is growing with new titles every few weeks, but we’re still unclear of some of the new games coming for Xbox gamers in 2021 to get us excited to use our systems.
30 console launch exclusives were outlined by the company back in January, but out of the entire selection, only The Medium, The Yakuza Remastered Collection and Yakuza 6: The Song of Life have had a release date or have launched. There are even games outside of that which Xbox has championed such as Psychonauts 2, which still have no new information. We’ve been teased of some surprises coming this year, but we still don’t know quite what they could be yet.
While it’s understandable that news is slow given the current global situation, it does make us curious as to what Xbox has in the pipeline in terms of announcements given Nintendo and Sony's recent events. We’re hoping Xbox is keeping their cards close to their chest or seeing the backlash of games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and ensuring their titles are fully ready to go, which is obviously the right thing to do.
There’s rumblings of an event coming later this month, but we reckon it’s more in-line with the Bethesda acquisition and what that means for the future in the industry, rather than brand new game reveals. Xbox’s very own Aaron Greenberg even states the company has no plans for any ‘World Premiere’ style events soon, so it’s not sounding like we have anything new on the horizon.
So where does that leave us now? We know backwards compatibility games are getting an FPS Boost, with more titles expected over the next few weeks, and we have Game Pass announcements every month. But is this enough? Or could Microsoft do a little bit more to keep us in the loop? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Comments 31
Just give me more of those 60fps enhancements and I'll be fine until Halo comes out.
With everything still going on im not that fussed about it
They gave us the first batch of FPS boostef games and we should get more titles monthly i believe? New crazy headset sold out instantly for pre-orders. I expect something will be announced in March due to Zenimax being finalized but that's likely it. Oh and we get monthly Halo waypoints. Not really that quiet.
Nah, I'm fine. I'm so happy with my Series X and there are already so many games out there, from ones I never played before to ones that I'm revisiting because the Series X plays them so much better, and most importantly - faster. There are a bunch of games that I didn't put much time in to because just loading the game and getting into it took 10 minutes, so when I only have 15-20 minutes to play, it wasn't worth it. Now, with everything so nearly instant, it's a whole different experience.
Given that so many people still can't even get a Series X/S console at this point, it is probably a good thing that they aren't hyping up new games. That, and as I think the entire gaming industry is starting to learn - and was pointed out in the article - developers are wary of building hype for games that are nowhere near completion. This is a good thing.
I think they should show something when it’s ready and worth while.
We have just a very weak Nintendo Direct
And a weak Sony Event.
The Nintendo one for me caused more negative damage then any good.
The Sony one, just under average.
So Xbox, take your time and get it right.
While I don't think it has been that quiet, I do think what we are missing is some razzmatazz buzzing that gets people excited.
When I mention the cloud streaming news and new headset to my brother and his family, he shrugs. He just asks if I know when Halo might be coming out.
They are being too quiet but I'd guess they don't have much this year outside of the 3 games we already know (Flight Sim, Psychonauts 2, Halo Infinite) so went for not sure.
@Dezzy70 this was my first thought better to wait, set expectations and over deliver than promise too much and underwhelm.
Biggest thing to note is that they expect to be able to build a steady supply of consoles by summer....once they have units to push they will ramp up the hype. What's the point of doing it now? People just want crazy announcements everyday...just go play a game or do something else.
@Insightful
Dezzy70 is not Dezzy.
Going by state of play and Nintendo direct MS could show a wet fart and it’d be better than both of those presentations. Maybe they could strike after 2 poor displays but imo they don’t need to just yet.
@Dezzy70 but is Dezzy Dezzy70?
@Insightful @VenomousAlbino
Nope, I have no idea who the other person is. I've had this username at Nintendolife for about a decade.
I mean Sony's event was pretty weak and meaningless. Mostly retreading the same games we already knew about. So, I'd rather wait until there's an event with actual substance and new content.
They've been too quiet, but so has everyone. Nintendo finally spoke up, mostly with a bunch of nothing. Then Sony followed with even less of nothing. Today Finally Sony had something interesting with unveiling a preview of the PSVR2, so at least something exciting actually happened somewhere. But if MS has nothing (we know they have nothing on 1st party soon, and the BC updates are slow going....) So I think if they tried to put something together for now it would be a third show full of nothing. I'd take it, but I can't blame them for not doing it.
@Dezzy @Dezzy70 My question is, if there's two Dezzy's are there two Lucy's?
I admit, I get the two of you confused. Often.
(OMG even the forum posting software is confused with who to tag! )
@NEStalgia
Are the two Dezzys from the same country.
I think they've done OK.
At this stage, they don't need to go all guns blazing.
Sony don't have a decent game dropping until June, they just had a weak State of Play event, and Nintendo was even worse with their Direct event.
I think we should have an update on the Bethesda deal by the end of the month, probably explaining what it all means for them going forward.
Then we'll probably have to wait until June/July for the big announcements and fall line-up.
In between then, we will have more FPS boost games and probably next-gen upgrade games like Doom Eternal etc.
Something that really bothers me, I have to say it, is when the "old-gen version" of a game is being made avalaible on gamepass, but not the Series version.
It happened with Control, and now it seems to happen again with NBA 2K21.
And that's not... fair, I guess. It makes a fancy add ("Look, we've got Control in gamepass !") but it's a kinda trick, in a way.
I wanted to play the next-gen version. So I bought it. The next-gen version, with all the great ray tracing and all, is not avalaible on gamepass. Same situation for NBA 2K21, apparently.
And I feel that, in terms of communication, it's not completely honest. No scam here, for sure. But it's not as great as it could be...
The last few shows, where they actually had some new game information, a lot probably hasn't changed. So it would be pointless, almost irritable, if they had these kinds of shows, but was like "remember last time? Well, we still have those games coming!"
I'm tired, and this goes for all platforms, of devs/publishers coming out with non-gameplay trailers, numerous ones, or such nonsense. It should be
Step 1, game release trailer(cutscenes, concept, etc)
Step 2, when applicable, gameplay trailer
Step 3, beta/demo date trailer
Step 4, release date trailer.
I'm done with my diatribe.
@Bobobiwan Yeah, that's definitely an issue. Granted, both those games were kind of sketchy by releasing 2 versions to begin with rather than normal "smart delivery". But i get the sense that since Sony, the more popular box by a large margin went with separating the gens into different "versions"that gave them the excuse to start separating them like this. It's happening on ps, too. This months free plus game is the still new ff7r. They announced a free upgrade for owners. Then they announced it as the freebie. But the free version doesn't get the upgrade to the ps5 version. So that's a game where there already is a "smart delivery" equivalent on ps, no "versions", and it's a whopper of a freebie..... But.... The freebie comes with the special limitation that its locked to the previous gen version where no paid copy is.
Ff7r is almost certainly coming to xb after April. And I'm being it'll launch on gamepass considering it was a plus freebie already. And i bet that's the gimped old gen version that goes on gp as well.
Could we start seeing gamepass become a service where you try gimped special versions of games before you buy them? Maybe.
@Bobobiwan i think that since most of the player base is on old gen they can't just get the next gen version. Xbox purchasing both versions seems a bit too privileged of a thing to ask for the current price and I don't want to raise the price. If the publisher has smart delivery it's not an issue...2K is not one of those and neither is Remedy. So basically unless it's 1st party or a smart delivery publisher we will be getting the last gen versions. I do wonder where the cut off will be for next gen only. Maybe once they can stream to console so the Xbone can still play it?
I think they've been fine. The FPS boosts, GamePass additions, a great looking new headset are enough for now. I'm sure when we get closer to the summer and when more consoles are available, we'll get a big reveal on Halo Infinite. It's really 2022 that I'm looking ahead to in terms of big exclusive information.
@NEStalgia
Well you shouldn't be getting confused. You've been seeing my avatar for years on NLife!
@Dezzy Yeah. When i first came here and started seeing the other dezzy i thought he was you with a new avatar! And then i saw your posts on nl with the usual one. It took a few weeks to connect the username being different
Yes AND No!
On the one hand there are more games than I currently have time to play (especially as I play on other platforms). And I wish more companies would only announce games when they are nearer to being ready. (Halo Infinite, Hellblade 2, Avowed, Fable, Perfect Dark etc. all FAR too early.)
On the other hand I would have hoped there would be some sort of first party Series X games by now or at the least a roadmap for early 2021 and maybe the rest of the year.
There is a balance to be had.
In the meantime there is plenty to play.
@Dezzy70 I agree the Nintendo one did not go down well.
Personally I liked the PS State of Play. It wasn't "go crazy" good but Kena, Deathloop, Sifu, Solar Ash, Oddworld and Returnal all have my interest. Could it have been better with one or a couple of BIG announcements? Sure! But out of 10 games shown, being interested in 5+ is pretty good. YMMV.
There was actually more shown at the Nintendo one. But the BIG difference between the two was that Sony set expectations far better. Let us know it would be 10 games, no tech, and few people expected the BIG hitters, that wasn't the rumour circulating on the web much.
Meanwhile Nintendo had their first FULL Direct in over a year and a half, days before the Zelda, Pokemon and Metroid anniversaries and both gamers and reporters understandably, and foolishly, got over hyped... and then were disappointed.
Setting expectations is vitally important and Nintendo didn't do it well. Microsoft has been pretty good at this so when it does eventually come I expect the show to better match our expectations.
They are doing fine. Series X games are enhanced Xbox One games as expected but they are enhancing older games as well. They are trying to solve the stock problems which are scalpers problems. We know that they are making Series X games but it's better not to show everything about them unless they want people to complain about work in progress like they did last year (Halo Reach). 2021 is being a relatively quiet year but that's also true for PS5 and its delayed games. Stock problems are priority one for both.
Yes they are being to quite, Only one confirmed exclusive in Flight Simulator and we don't even know for sure if Halo is coming out this year..
It feels like they have been trying to really establish their markets this gen, with Game Pass really becoming one of the highlight features for the platform. We have also been seeing these consoles develop reputations already, the PS5 has been a bit of a disappointment with it getting a louder fan than the press did and it running hotter with their approach to expandable storage being far from ideal, and the controllers have been giving people problems. I mean I'm sure it's a fine console don't get me wrong but there is no doubt a lot more information out there than there was when these consoles launched, and neither one of them really has a whole lot in the way of exclusive games for them right now. At the moment both consoles are more or less just the latest upgrade console for people who owned a PS4/One, with back catalogs being a big highlight thanks to improved performance with select titles.
Right now there is simply no point in rushing anything or trying to hype the consoles up really, they don't even have them readily available in stores right now. I'm sure things will pick up towards this years holiday season.
No issues with their communication levels so far. I’m loving catching up on games from my backlog. Playing through Yakuza 0 and Star Wars Racer with some Gears 5 multiplayer sprinkled in. Plenty to play.
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