Even with its biggest claims staked early — exclusives are back, here's a Gears date, there's a Halo date — this year's Xbox Games Showcase was atypically deep in the middle. The supporting slate deserves its own bulletin, because several of these reveals would have headlined weaker shows.
The prestige single-player slate first. Senua — Ninja Theory dropping the Hellblade moniker because the project outgrew it — is a fuller action-adventure with more combat, more exploration, more puzzles and a world roughly twice the size, coming in 2027 (and, per the trailer's PS5 logo, multiplatform). State of Decay 3 showed moody co-op survival that finally had gameplay, targeting 2027. And Metro 2039 — 4A's next entry — previewed grey-and-grim tunnel-and-ruin footage with a February 2027 window, looking exactly like Metro should: bleakly beautiful.
The revivals came fast: Spyro: A Realm Beyond, with the dragon given a full visual overhaul and a Spring 2027 window; Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember from Team Ninja, early 2027, with phoenix-summoning action; and Crazy Taxi: World Tour — SEGA's arcade racing icon finally getting the sequel fans have begged for since the Dreamcast days, slated for 2027.
Two more to circle: Minecraft Dungeons II, dated September 29 with new biomes and a new Twisted Warden boss for Mojang's increasingly serious dungeon-crawler; and Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, a collaboration with the developers of Dead Cells and The Rogue Prince of Persia introducing new protagonist Rose Belmont, out October 15. High concept, high craft, high Konami-is-finally-committing energy.
Elsewhere: DOOM: The Dark Ages — Revelations dated July 7; Sea of Thieves' new Custom Seas creator tools launched June 18; Fallout 76 got a new free 'Infestations' update; and Blasphemous 2: The Third Sin shadowdropped at the Future Games Show the same weekend. Nobody in this industry believes in a slow June.