The time is finally here.
Following the reveal of Assassins Creed: Valhalla earlier this week, Microsoft announced the next episode of Inside Xbox, focusing on next-gen games from 3rd Party partners and developers. Naturally, the first gameplay for Assassins Creed Valhalla will be there…but what else is there to show? The team at XboxEra grabbed a virtual meeting room and hashed out our predictions for titles we think may be revealed at the event.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
Harry Potter
Yes, that Harry Potter game, the one leaked in late 2018 that just screamed “too good to be true”. Watching the video you could tell right away that this was a next generation game with an ambitious scope; Character creation, class selection, a full fledged Hogwarts, destructible environments, dueling and so much more.
From the description that accompanied the leak, the game apparently takes place in the 19th century, long before the adventures of Harry and during a more dangerous time.
We know next to nothing about this game, not even the developer (though Avalanche is rumoured), but perhaps the most credible hint is from Warner Bros themselves. More specifically, in their initial E3 plans for this year. For the very first time they planned to have an E3 conference, where Kotaku reported they were going to talk about “a Harry Potter game that had leaked in 2018”.
Would they plan to do an entire conference if they only had a couple games to show? We don’t think so, and this makes Harry Potter a very possible reveal for next week.
Speaking of Warner Bros, this leads into the next prediction.
Batman
Out of these two Warner Bros games, this one is the more likely to be shown. We’ve had a steady supply of cryptic hints towards another Batman game and considering it’s already been 5 years since the Dark Knight was last seen, it’s either now or never.
Numerous speculation has been done on the title and WB Montreal (the developer behind Arkham Origins) have been slowly hyping the game. The more common theory is that this game will focus on the Court of Owls story, a new Batman arc introduced during the New 52 comic line up. The cryptic symbols released however hint that many of The Bat’s foes will be present.
Could the title be a possible reboot for the series? Co-op? Multiple playable characters? We don’t know, but what we do know that Rocksteady, the developers behind Arkham Asylum, City, and Knight are not the ones working on this title, reducing the chance of it being a sequel.
There’s little doubt that this game will be seen sometime this year, but could we possibly see it as early as next week?
Playdead
Historically, always a close partner for Microsoft, Playdead’s new title has been in development for a number of years, as they wrapped up the critically acclaimed “Inside” which debuted on the Xbox Stage previously.
But it’s been a while since then, and we do know that Playdead recently signed a publishing deal with Epic, creators of Fortnite and Unreal, for their next game. Regardless, Microsoft has one of the biggest stages in the world, so despite this, it’s certainly possible.
We’ve already seen some concept art shared by Playdead on Twitter back in January 2017, and further pieces of art included inside job listings for the developer, but we’ve not heard a peep from them aside from these intriguing art pieces.
Could we see the first taste of what they have in store for us on May 7th?
Dying Light 2
Originally announced at Microsoft’s E3 2018 press conference, Dying Light 2 is one of the most ambitious games in recent memory. It takes the concept of the original game and expands it significantly. The game will have real choices, consequences, and will be much more of a role playing game than the first entry.
The game is being written by Chris Avellone, known for being one of the lead writers for Fallout: New Vegas. The game is currently without a release date as it was recently moved out of its Spring 2020 release window. We have not heard about the game in a while. Could we see it next week? Let’s hope so.
Cyberpunk 2077
Whilst we can’t expect Keanu this time, we do know that Microsoft are the marketing partner for Cyberpunk 2077. With the recent limited edition Cyberpunk 2077 themed Xbox One X, and the games subsequent delay to September, it’s likely we’ll see more from CDProjectRED here. In addition, we know that they are supporting Microsoft’s “Smart Delivery” initiative, meaning that those who pick up the Xbox One version of the game get all the additional bells and whistles on Series X for free.
Does this lend weight to our thoughts that the Series X may launch in September of 2020? Would be one hell of a launch title!
Perhaps it’s time to see that version?
EA Games
Rumour has it that EA will be among the publishers showing gameplay at this event. Besides Dragon Age the company doesn’t have any announced games left to show. And while we do think it’s too early to show the new Dragon Age (which was teased at The Game Awards 2018). We do expect something else.
While Sony has had the marketing rights to FIFA for the past three years, it would be a bold move from Microsoft to snatch them back. Meanwhile, the sports game could use some fresh energy as the last edition’s Volta mode didn’t have a lasting impression. We think EA will be there, and it’s either going to be something new or it’ll be the return of FIFA to Xbox.
Unannounced game from Platinum
Platinum Games has had a couple of announcements in their #Platinum4 social media event this year. They’ve announced Project G.G. by Kamiya and a The Wonderful 101 Remaster. One of their announcements still has to happen though. Described as ”PlatinumGames’ docking new collaboration with a legendary developer.”
We think PlatinumGames could reveal it at the upcoming May 7th event. Hopefully relations haven’t soured since the cancellation of Scalebound back in 2016.
Crossfire X and KartRider: Drift
Last year, two particular titles were announced for Xbox One: the Remedy / Smilegate production called ‘Crossfire X’ and the quite excellent if not sadly underrated ‘KartRider Drift’ by the Nexon Company.
Both games are sequels to titles that have seen immense success across Eurasia (South Korea in particular), and this is the first time either company has published an in-house production on home consoles (quick note—Nexon has published standalone Maplestory DS games, but Crossfire X and KartRider: Drift are significant releases that will likely be developed side-by-side).
With the former coming with a single-player campaign developed by the excellent folks at Remedy, and the latter coming to consoles with crossplay at launch (did I mention how fun KartRider is?), both of these games would be a fantastic fit for next week’s Inside Xbox lineup.
Rocksteady
It’s been a long while since we’ve seen or heard anything from Rocksteady, aside from the persistent rumour of a Superman game of some sort. As we wrote earlier, we know Warner Bros prior to COVID had planned a big E3 show of their own, but plans have understandably changed – could we see them partner up with Microsoft to show off this hotly anticipated unknown title?
We’re hoping so!
Elden Ring
It would have been somewhat hypocritical of us not to predict Elden Ring would be there next week wouldn’t it? After all, it was on our Podcast back in December where we said Microsoft would have a show in April or May and that Elden Ring would be there.
This is arguably the most hotly anticipated game of the year, at least as far as the fervour to see actual game play goes. That episode is still our most viewed and Ed tells us he received DMs weekly from people on Discord, ResetEra and Twitter asking him if he’s heard anything about Elden Ring. He hasn’t since then!
But we are pretty confident the moment has come and From Software will finally give the world a glimpse of what they’ve been working on since we saw the world premier trailer at E3 last year.
Those are some of our predictions for the next Inside Xbox, landing on May 7th. Do you agree? Do you have some of your own? Sound off in the comments below.
