As digital showcases have evolved to take precedence over in-person press conferences, the big three console makers have also started to feature smaller events to give all sorts of games their chance to shine.
Sony’s State of Plays tend to rely more heavily on third-party releases and indie titles, while the less frequent PlayStation Showcases are where the biggest announcements are typically made for PS5 owners. Nintendo may have been the first to envision these online presentations with their Directs, but over the years they have also produced Direct Minis and Indie World Showcases to help encompass the wide variety of titles that come to Nintendo platforms. Outside of their annual summer showcase, Microsoft has typically been the least consistent with how and where their titles get promoted, but even they hosted aDeveloper Directshowcase at the start of this year where Hi-Fi Rush got theshadow drop treatment, and Xbox fans got new looks at Forza Motorsport and Redfall.
Now, Microsoft is adding another event to their lineup with the Xbox Partner Preview, which will make its debut this Wednesday, October 25 at 10 AM PT. With a strong focus on third-party titles and indie games coming to Xbox and PC in 2023 and 2024, the presentation is set to run over twenty minutes and will include new info on titles coming to Game Pass. However, despite the Activision and Blizzard deal finally becoming official earlier this month, a note at the beginning of the Xbox Wire blog post has made it clear that none of the planned announcements will involve the major publisher, with their library of titles not being planned tomake their way onto Game Pass until next year.
As for what will be featured at the Partner Preview, Microsoft has promised the launch trailer for Alan Wake II ahead of its release later this week, and a fresh look at in-game activities in next year’s Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Plus, fans can expect to see the gameplay debut for Ark: Survival Ascended, and some new footage surrounding the social world of Dungeons of Hinterberg. Even with only a couple months left in the year, there’s still plenty of exciting games making their way to Xbox in the near future, so interested fans should definitely tune in on Wednesday.
Stay tuned to Hardcore Gamer for all of the latest Xbox news.
