Microsoft will hold its big summer showcase event on June 9, presenting a slew of games coming to Xbox Series S and X, and PC.
This year's Games Showcase has a completely different feel from that of 2023. If you've spent any time following industry news, you'll have heard about redundancies at countless games publishers and studios recently. Add those difficulties to reports the PS5 outsold the Xbox consoles five to one in the first quarter of 2024.
Things aren’t looking to rosy for Microsoft’s gaming division and it is on the brink of changing its Xbox strategy completely. Xbox exclusives may become a thing of the past, and that has already begun. Pentiment and Sea of Thieves have made their way to PS5 and, according to Eurogamer, there will be no "red line" on which games will become multiplatform in future.
We will still see loads of great upcoming games at the Xbox Games Showcase, but the term “exclusive” is unlikely to be flung about.
Potentially the biggest news will be about Call of Duty, the upcoming title Black Ops 6, and how it will come to Xbox Game Pass, potentially changing the service itself in the process.
How to watch the Xbox Games Showcase
YouTube is typically the best place to watch Xbox Games Showcase events. Microsoft hasn’t posted the necessary links at the time of writing but we already know what they will likely be.
You'll find the relevant streams on the Xbox YouTube, Twitch and Facebook accounts. Head to Twitch if you want the most vibrant chat, YouTube for simple and reliable streaming.
The showcase begins at 6pm on June 9, UK time.
Call of Duty Black Ops 6 news
Right after the Xbox Games Showcase, Xbox will hold a Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Direct event. This is likely to offer a major deep dive into the game, which we know very little about so far. Even the name was only revealed in late May 2024. The game's tagline is TheTruthLies, and one teaser depicts Mount Rushmore, those famous heads covered by “the truth lies” eye masks.
A pre-order leak suggests Call of Duty Black Ops 6 will be available on last-generation consoles as well as the current crop. It makes sense when an estimated 50 per cent of PlayStation players are still on PS4 – and plenty of Call of Duty fans are not hardcore gamers who follow all the latest releases.
We also hope to learn of Call of Duty Black Ops 6’s release date, and it has already been confirmed that it will be a day one release on Xbox Game Pass.
Xbox Game Pass news
Call of Duty Black Ops 6 many also bring some eye-opening news for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.
According to Resetera forum leaks the service will change alongside the addition of Call of Duty, including potentially higher fees and a brand new tier. At present, Xbox Game Pass Core offers access to a limited selection of games. The console and PC plans are single-platform memberships without online multiplayer, while Ultimate gets you the lot.
Some suggest there may be a brand new tier for Call of Duty and perhaps other top-flight games. Others say Xbox will simply increase the cost of Game Pass, which is now £12.99 a month.
Xbox Games Showcase games
Don’t care about Call of Duty? Here are the other games we expect to see at the Xbox Games Showcase.
- Avowed
- Clockwork Revolution
- Contraband
- Doom: The Dark Ages
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Perfect Dark
- Starfield: Shattered Space DLC
- State of Decay 3
We are also reportedly going to see the return of an Xbox 360-era RPG. This story was picked up by plenty of gaming sites, but the source is rather thin – a poster on social platform 4Chan. Everyone loves a bit of speculation and key contenders include Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.
You know what we'd like to hear about? The rumoured Fallout 3 remaster. Fallout has picked up a lot more fans since the Amazon TV show appeared in April and is keeping things going with a Fortnite x Fallout collaboration. Fallout 3 already looks great on Xbox Series X, running at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second but we wouldn’t say no to a little more gloss.
