This year’s Xbox Game Showcase saw Microsoft delivering one of the best shows ever, thanks to the sheer breadth of triple-A games it presented across its various divisions (Xbox Game Studios, ZeniMax, and Activision Blizzard). Yesterday, Matt Booty (President of Xbox Game Content and Studios) was featured on the latest episode of the Strictly Business podcast hosted by Variety’s Jennifer Maas and took the chance to claim that the studios are finally hitting the expected release rhythm. He also said Microsoft has a great lineup for both Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 and is poised to deliver another awesome showcase next year.
This was our first opportunity for all of our studios to really come together in one moment. Some of the critical mass that we had, some of the excitement about the number of games that we were able to show really is a reflection that this is the first time our teams have been able to come together. We also are beginning to hit the rhythm that we’ve always aspired for, and that really is our commitment to our players, of being to deliver a much more steady cadence of games on a more predictable rhythm. We really started in earnest in building our Xbox Studios portfolio in 2018, then we had the wonderful ZeniMax/Bethesda acquisition, and then last Fall we brought onboard Activision/Blizzard/King. But it has taken a while to sort of get all of that up to speed. I feel like this is us beginning to hit our stride.
One of the things I’m encouraged by is that I look forward to the future of next year, where we’re in a position to hopefully deliver also a great lineup and great showcase next June. We have a pretty big lineup through the Fall and through the Spring, and we certainly want to make sure that every game is given space and has got an opportunity to shine. […] The other thing is that we really want to make sure that when we declare a date, that we’re committed to that. Certainly, within a year, within six months, we want to get much better that we’re really living up to that, that we’re accountable to that. Games, like a lot of entertainment, the further out you get, the harder it is to predict an actual date. We just want to have the integrity that if something is further out than a year, we’re not trying to create a false perception about when we can deliver the game. Conversely, the closer we get, we really want to be accountable to our fans and be accountable to the industry about when we’re going to be able to ship.
The release date tidbit is interesting, too. Avowed still officially lacks one, despite the Obsidian blog leak, which may indicate some uncertainty on the precise date. Other than Obsidian’s game and the indie title Towerborne, the Fall season will see the launch of Ara: History Untold and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, while Age of Mythology: Retold is set for an early September debut. That’s just from Xbox Game Studios; Bethesda will launch Indiana Jones and the Great Circle at some point before the year’s end, and Activision Blizzard has heavyweights like Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, World of Warcraft: The War Within, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 lined up between August and October.
As for Spring 2025, Matt Booty promised a ‘great lineup’. For now, we have only generic 2025 dates for Fable, South of Midnight, and DOOM: The Dark Ages. Both DOOM and DOOM Eternal launched in the first half of the year, so id Software’s latest game is a solid candidate, as is South of Midnight. Fable is, however, rumored to be landing in the Fall season. What could be left for Spring? Well, Gears of War: E-Day may launch before Fable, according to rumors. Additionally, there’s inXile’s steampunk RPG Clockwork Revolution, which showed gameplay at last year’s showcase. It wasn’t mentioned at all this year, but there’s still some space for it to resurface at Gamescom, for instance.
What would you like to see from Xbox in Spring 2025?
