This coming Thursday, November 14th, Xbox fans across the world will be waiting to see just what, if any, surprises that the Xbox team will have in store for X019 in London.
While the team here at XboxEra would recommend tempering expectations, as fans ourselves, we cannot condemn those who would hope for more.
So with that said, what do we think is coming, beyond what has already been announced? We’re all going to chime in here, with our hopes, wishes and dreams. Will the team Xbox team “go big” even though E3 2020 and new console reveals are on the horizon?
Sikamikanico
Alright, I’ll keep this short and sweet. I expect known things to be expanded upon or confirmed, and maybe a tease or two, but nothing beyond that. Microsoft, for good or ill, will absolutely keep their big guns saved for E3 2020 and beyond.
I fully expect Halo: Reach will launch on console and PC if not during X019, but in the days following. Desire for this game across Steam and the Xbox Store is fervent, and it will be nice to play Halo: Reach with all the modern bells and whistles.
I also expect to see the last expansion for Forza Horizon 4 to be announced, as well as a more open, early access approach for Ninja Theory’s Bleeding Edge, perhaps even a tentative release window. InXile will be on hand to show Wasteland 3, and likely announce some form of remaster for the original Wasteland.
Gears 5 will have a showing, with the next release of multiplayer DLC shown off for all to see. Battletoads should see a date announce for release, and the latest update for Sea of Thieves should be coming in nice and hot. Maybe they can even throw an XCloud release date on the pile, though I expect this to only be the Home Streaming version, rather than the Azure data centre driven experience.
Beyond that, fans can look forward to a slew of new titles to be added to Game Pass, and judging from previous announcements, I’d keep my eyes open for titles like A Plague Tale, Rage 2, and more…perhaps Control?
Age of Empires will be a big star of the show, with the curtain finally being lifted on Age of Empires IV, as well as further detail on the remasters and definitive editions coming to Game Pass on PC.
Now, this is where I think we start looking at hopes and dreams. Xbox now has a significant pipeline of content. Could they reveal new titles?
My thoughts are yes – though I don’t necessarily think they will. I would personally love to see another game announcement from Ninja Theory, though they may not wish to overshadow Bleeding Edge, which is a somewhat niche title and needs all the attention it can get. Playground Games are confirmed to be in attendance, so could we finally see a tease, even if it’s just a title reveal for their new Open-World RPG project? Obsidian, hot of the heels of the success of the Outer Worlds, rumours abound of a “survival-RPG”. Lastly, Gears Tactics, another game that hasn’t been detailed further since E3 2018 could also be expanded upon.
We also know Matt Booty and Phil Spencer will be at X019, along with a host of well known Xbox figureheads, and here Microsoft have made a small rod for their own back – by making acquisitions part of their most recent stage shows, Microsoft have driven an expectation for more, and here at least, I would expect it to be answered, and probably for the last time. On that list, I cannot be sure. Rumours swirl of Ready at Dawn, White Owls and Asobo – who knows?
The real big announcement I hope to see is the announcement for a Halo Infinite Multiplayer Beta for this Christmas, in a similar vein to the Halo 5 beta that occurred almost a full year before the game’s launch. 343 have already stated they expect flighting to begin “this year” and well, this year is running out.
In short, you should expect X019 to be a celebration of everything Microsoft has accomplished in the past couple of years, a brand with a clear mission that now has the content and the capability to back it up. Bring it on!
TheFalconX
I have some small expectations for XO19. Minecraft Dungeons is the first game to come to mind. I have never really been interested in Diablo style games, but I feel like Minecraft could be that game. Instead of choosing a class, you choose what weapons you want to wield and upgrade them from there. Its your choice and that excites me. Being able to choose my own play style sounds amazing.
I expect The Outer Worlds will be there as well and perhaps Obsidian will announce an expansion for the game. I am enjoying my time with it and hope to see any balance fixes as the game can get a bit easy as the character progresses.
XCloud seems to be a huge service MS is pushing. Big competition in this area is heating up with Google entering the fray this holiday. I expect Microsoft will announce what games will be coming to the service, how much it will cost a and a target release date. This will be huge going forward for MS and I look forward to what Cloud gaming can offer.
I expect we will hear some tidbits about Halo Infinite. I am not expecting a new trailer or gameplay just yet. I am hoping 343i will let the game cook a little bit and do another big reveal at E3 with a stage demo showing off the game on Scarlett hardware.
Speaking of Scarlett, I also don’t think we will get a big spec blowout or tech demos at XO19. I do expect Phil and other Xbox Executives talk about the system and what they think will define next gen. However 2020 is when that race will heat up and I am very much looking forward to any rumors or leaks about next gen.
I do expect we will get a studio acquisition announcement at XO19 but I wouldn’t begin to guess who that would be from. Going forward MS wants more content for GamePass and adding new Studios to the ever growing Xbox Game Studios team would be great.
Ninja Theory will definitly be there to show off Bleeding Edge and perhaps reveal their next game. I loved Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and cannot wait to see what that team has to reveal. I look forward to a good AA sized Action adventure game and would add a good amount of diversity to the Xbox Catalogue.
Playground games is confirmed to be there. No, I do not think Fable will be revealed. I believe that will be a next gen only title and Playground will want to have a strong team and be ready to show off the game when it is ready and Scarlett hardware is already being sold to the market and Dev tools behind the scenes are final.
Overall I think XO19 will have a nice showing. Perhaps I am tempering my expectations a bit as last years show was a glorified Inside Xbox show. I do look forward to seeing some updates on already announced games. The real test will start in 2020.
Proven
I lean more on the pessimistic side for this because I don’t think Xbox has really done a great job of teasing out information or putting out a good show on any platform other than E3.
I am sure we will get development updates on “live service” games like Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2 and more.
I think there is a chance we get a studio acquisition as Xbox continues to build its internal teams and build of its content portfolio for next gen.
The two things that I really want and subsequently don’t expect to be there at all is an official announcement for a new Fable game from Playground Games and any new info on Halo Infinite.
It’s been over four years since we have seen any actual gameplay from a new Halo game and I don’t think we will see anything here. I also don’t think we will see anything on Fable, they’ll probably save that for E3 2020 at the earliest.
I hope to be proven wrong but I’m just not confident in Xbox’s ability to be put on a good show outside of E3 yet.
SuikerBrood
Alright. PC gamer coming in.
I’m excited for Age of Empires. This means I want to know the name of the new Age of Empires/Mythology focused studio. It also means I want to know everything about Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition.
But most of all? Age of Empires 4. I never expected this game to ever be announced. The real time strategy genre was all but deceased a couple of years ago. And since 2017 we’ve seen a resurgence in the genre with all kinds of remasters. But a new game, a new triple A strategy game? Hell yeah. Give me the setting of the game, give me gameplay footage. I want to see the new engine. I want to see what they’ve done to revitalize and re-invent the genre.
Furthermore I’m interested to see what they’re going to do with Bleeding Edge. I hope they have a cool character reveal and a release date.
And as a big Sea of Thieves fan (I really need to play more.. but it’s so time consuming!) I’m really curious if we’ll see the fire update this time around. It has leaked a while ago already.
Most of all I hope they put on a good show. No overhyping, no 10 minute controller settings. Just games.
Shpeshal Ed
There’s a fairly big difference between what I’d like to see and what I expect to see. What I’d like to see is probably somewhat unrealistic given their last few gaming show outings.
From a first party perspective, seeing something to do with Halo Infinite would be a start. Given all the very public recent departures from 343, the rumour mill is working overtime with possible issues with the development of Halo Infinite. Seeing something at X0, be it hearing about the campaign or maybe a possible multiplayer beta would go some way to allaying any doubt people may have.
A release date and/or open beta date for Bleeding Edge would be appreciated. While it’s not a title I expect to make waves upon release, it’s something different that adds some depth and variety to the Game Pass lineup and hopefully lays the foundation for a sequel in the future.
Something new. Be it a new IP or even the resurrection of an old one like the rumoured Fable or Perfect Dark reboot. Let us know one (or both) exists. People need a reason to be excited for Xbox and currently there aren’t a lot around.
From a third party perspective I would absolutely love a release date for Streets of Rage 4. It’s playable at the show so I’m hoping its presence is an indication we may get an official release date.
Speaking of release dates, one for Tunic wouldn’t go astray. The charming little fox that wowed us at E3 2018 hasn’t really been heard from since and since playing it at PAX Aus 2018, I’ve been eagerly waiting to hear of a release date to know when I’ll be able to sink my teeth into my next Zelda-like adventure now tat my time with Link’s Awakening is almost done.
I’m not overly fussed if we get another studio acquisition but the rumours of a possible acquisition of Ready At Dawn is pretty exciting. As one of the few fans of The Order 1886 and as a massive fan of the PSP God of War games, I’d love to see Ready At Dawn flex their muscle as a first party studio with Microsoft’s resources behind them.
While I’m not expecting much (if any) of the above, at least some of it would go some way towards getting people excited for Xbox while we wait for more Scarlett details.
Kage Maru
I’m not going to lie, considering how disappointed I was in X018, I wasn’t too optimistic that X019 would turn out much better. However, Xbox has recently teased some juicy details that have given me some new hope. So I’m throwing reservations to the wind and hoping for more than I should for an Xbox event. Hey, life’s too short not to dream big, right?
Like most gamers, I care most about the games. Xbox has revealed that they will showcase 12 Xbox Game Studios titles, including some brand new games. With Playground Games confirmed to be at the show, it would be amazing to see an official announcement of Fable. Rumors have long indicated that the England based studio is hard at work on a possible reboot of the fantasy RPG series. Hopefully we’ll see what they are working on in a few days.
With Matt Booty appearing on the show, I think some studio acquisition announcements are a safe bet. Rumors have been swirling about a few studios, but one name in particular has stood out to me and that’s my man, Tomonobu Itagaki. The outspoken, and sometimes controversial, developer used to have a great relationship with Xbox while working at Tecmo. So it would be great to see Itagaki’s current studios, Valhalla Games Studio, join team Xbox. Maybe he can work on a new Ninja Blade game since it’s unlikely we’ll see a new Ninja Gaiden any time soon. With any luck, we’ll see the venerable developer make an appearance at the show.
The last thing I hope to see is some new gameplay of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer. Earlier in the year, 343i has stated that they hoped to start piloting the game at the end of this year. So there’s a decent chance that the multiplayer is in a playable state. It makes sense for Xbox to save the big campaign reveal for E3 2019, so why not give us a taste of the multiplayer this year? A live demo at the show, along with an announcement for the pilot, would be a welcome surprise.
To be honest, I’ll be happy if any of my predictions becomes true. Any one of these announcements would automatically make X019 better than last year’s show. Can’t wait to find out what Xbox has in store for us later this week!
Zedox
I have a couple of thoughts on what I think will happen at X019. I think that Microsoft is starting to move into the direction of X0 being their “second E3” of sorts. Last year was more of a reintroduction of event and this year is more of a setup to what we can start expecting from X0 events. If you listened to Aaron Greenberg at gamescom this year he stated that X0 is one of two “beats” for Microsoft. Basically he’s saying that these are events that Microsoft will try to delight and surprise gamers. How do you delight gamers? Showing them new games, and new things within games (DLC). But let’s get down to what I think Microsoft will show.
Let’s first start out with the “boring” stuff. New Gears 5 content, and updates to multiplayer. Gears 5 hasn’t had a great multiplayer experience with the issues that gamers are still have since launch, and the feedback from the MTX has given The Coalition some negative news because that. I expect that The Coalition will show off some content that will excite the userbase and get some positive feedback going. I think you’ll have the same thing around other games like Forza Horizon 4, maybe some Age of Empires DE content. I would be very surprised if The Outer Worlds has any DLC to show, but never say never. Gears 5 is their big game of the year and they are going to give Gears 5 the most shine.
We know that Xbox Game Pass is going to be the biggest highlight of the event if X018 was anything to go by. Expect a bunch of new indie titles to launch into the service and that leads me to the announcement of Winter of Arcade. I expect it to be announced and most of the games within the event will launch on Xbox Game Pass. I’ve also been hearing that a big title is supposed to be coming to the service. I expect it to be on the same level of Monster Hunter, or Devil May Cry 5. There’s one last thing about Xbox Game Pass that I think will be announced and it deals with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. I’ve been thinking and say around the net that I believe Mixer and Xbox Game Pass will have some type of connection. I think that Microsoft will announce Mixer Pro will have 1 free sub with the subscription and if you have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you get Mixer Pro for free!
So I’ve been hearing and what’s been going on around the internet is that Obsidian has a new Survival RPG and it is slated to be shown at X019. With the gaming world looking at Obsidian from their success with The Outer Worlds, I believe Microsoft will announce their next title and get the hype train going. I have heard that it’s a smaller game than The Outer Worlds so take that as you may. But I expect more new games from Microsoft and that leads me into…
We know that Louise O’Connor of Rare has been working on a new game and she just tweeted out today that soon we will learn about her team. Why else would she say that if she wasn’t going to show off the new Rare title. I don’t think it’s Banjo, I think it’s a new IP that Rare has been working on in the background.
For the final new game announcement, (yeah, I’m expecting 3 new game announcements) I believe that Microsoft will show of Ninja Theory’s new title by Tameem Antoniades – his next title after Hellblade. This game will be the highlight of the show and it will be that 3rd person cinematic action title that gaming communities feel that Microsoft lacks (even though they have Gears 5). I expect something unexpected and look forward to its announcement.
What we all think is going to happen is that Microsoft will announce another acquisition. The acquisition that I think will happen this thursday is:
Yes, I think that Microsoft will acquire this studio based off of what others have said publicly. How Ru Weerasuriya acted during an E3 interview in regards to acquisitions, them still being indie, and what the Game Informer interviewer stated about who he thinks MS would acquire. I believe I also heard that someone approached Ready at Dawn about an acquisition…it would make sense that it is Microsoft. This is how I think they will end the show with Matt Booty making the announcement and Ready at Dawn having a video about joining the team.
So that’s what I think will happen at X019. Yep…that’s all she wrote…oh f#$% it, Microsoft announces this as a one more thing:
Do you think they need to change anything with X019? What are you hoping to see at the event? Let us know in the comments below!
