E3 2021: Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase Overview

Showing off a bunch of titles, the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase was at E3 and was absolutely chock-full of trailers. Things began with Todd Howard talking about 20 years of Xbox, and thanking us for joining. He then led into a trailer for Starfield.

Starfield’s trailer was CG, so no gameplay, but it teased at the action-packed story. It’s coming to Xbox Series and PC on 11th of November 2022.

Sarah Bond came on afterwards to tell us about how all of the games featured in this showcase are optimized for the Xbox X|S.

Next was S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl, which will launch exclusively on Xbox. The trailer showed some gameplay, with the player fighting some people in a warehouse. It also showed that anomalies still exist, as does throwing bolts into them to see where they are. We also saw some of the creatures you’ll encounter around irradiated Chernobyl. It’s coming 28th of April 2022.

Next up was a look at Back 4 Blood, the co-op-based team zombie shooter. There was gameplay and some looks at cutscenes, and introduced us to the PvP Swarm Mode, which sees a team of zombie players fighting a team of human players. It’s coming out on the 12th of October.

Then we saw a tease of Contraband, a co-op, open world game from Avalanche Studios. There was a vehicle and a couple of people, with some music, so not much to talk about.

Sea of Thieves came next, giving us a look at Captain Jack Sparrow. Yes, as in the Disney movie character, as Pirates of the Caribbean has joined the world of Sea of Thieves. It even includes Davey Jones and his ship. A Pirates Life, a new story, is coming 22nd of June to Sea of Thieves.

Then we saw Yakuza: Like a Dragon to highlight that it’s now out on Xbox Game Pass like the other Yakuza titles.

128 players played the next footage that we saw from DICE. That’s right,we saw gameplay footage of Battlefield 2042 in a massive battle. That included showing the grappling hook feature, which made me want to play it. It’s coming out on the 22nd of October.

Following that was Twelve Minutes, an interactive time loop puzzle coming 19th of August 2021.

Psychonauts 2 came next, with a look at the gameplay. It’s certainly looking a lot more impressive than the original game. It’s coming out on the 25th of August for Xbox and PC.

Pete Hines then came out on stage to talk about Bethesda, letting us know that more Bethesda titles were about to be spoken about. He said that 10 Bethesda titles have already been added to Game Pass, during the event.

This led into a trailer about Fallout 76, and the next update which introduces super mutants to Appalachia. It will include joining the Brotherhood of Steel to save or destroy it. It’s titled Steel Reign, and is coming on the 7th of July. A surprise followed, however, showing a return to The Pitt in new Fallout 76 Expansions.

Pete came back to mention that The Elder Scrolls Online, and it’s newest expansion Blackwood will be getting optimised for Xbox X|S on 15th of June.

Next was another Xbox launch exclusive, Party Animals, which showed us some cutesy animals fighting in a physics-based PvP brawler coming 2022.

Then wasHades, our Game of the Year 2020, which is coming to Game Pass on the 13th of August 2021.

Next was an alien apocalypse action game calledSomerville, which sees you trying to survive, coming 2022.

Bonnie Ross came on stage next to talk about Halo Infinite multiplayer being free on PC and Xbox platforms. Joseph Staten was also there to give us more details of the Zeta Halo Ring, which players will be able to explore in Halo Infinite. He teased that Master Chief isn’t going to be alone in the game, with footage of someone on comms talking to Master Chief while he floated around in zero-G. There was also a tease about the campaign story. Halo Infinite launches in Winter 2021.

After some Halo Infinite multiplayer bouts, next was a trailer for the remake Diablo II: Resurrected. It’s coming out on the 23rd of September 2021, has cross-progression between PC and Xbox, is optimised for X|S and has 8-player co-op.

Then there was a CG trailer for A Plague Tale: Requiem, showing an infestation of rats, and saying that it’s coming out in 2022.

Far Cry 6 came up next, with more footage of Giancarlo Espisito, as well as a better look at Dani and their equipment. Bows, crossbows, sniper rifles, throwing axes, drivable tanks and an attack rooster. This one takes things to 11 or maybe even 13. It’s coming out 7th of October 2021.

Then was a quick look at Slime Rancher 2, a return to the colourful world of slime farming, coming in 2022.

Next we saw Shredders, a snowboarding game coming from Foampunch. It’s coming out in December 2021.

Next was Atomic Heart, a first-person cyberpunk sci-fi game with enemy drones, human-shaped creatures and lots of action.

Then, we saw the detailed pixel art post apocalyptic side-scrolling actionREPLACED, coming in 2022.

Grounded came up next with a trailer about its second year. The Shroom & Doom update introduces pets, sitting, and more horrible spiders than ever before. Oh, and Achievements. The update is coming on 30th of June.

Among Us teased the 15th of June update with 15 players and new colours, which includes three imposters.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, an upcoming RPG teased with some artwork and gameplay. It has very stylised characters with quite realistic backgrounds. It’s coming in 2023, but they also announced that Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is coming in 2022.

Then was a look at the futuristic violent shooter The Ascent, coming 29th of July 2021.

Next was Age of Empires IV, a historic strategy sequel pitting armies against one another, including ship and siege combat. It’s coming to PC on 28th of October.

Then was The Outer Worlds 2, an Xbox console exclusive, not just launch. It was a funny trailer about alien creatures and fighting soldiers, but no details or release date.

Next was another Xbox console exclusive, Microsoft Flight Simulator with some shots of flying around various locales. It’s coming to Xbox on the 27th of July 2021, and we saw a tease of the Top Gun Maverick expansion.

Next was Forza Horizon 5, with some gameplay which showed street and off-road racing, showing a range of weather effects. It’s coming out on 9th of November 2021.

Mike Brown came on the stream with some of the team to discuss Forza Horizon 5, and let us know about the big open world in one of those pre-recorded live gameplay segments. It showed a bit of the campaign, before moving on to show us a bunch of the multiplayer open world, full of real players. Mike claimed that the entire game world had been captured and recreated from images of the real world. There are a couple of modes, such as Open World Battle Royale challenge races and Horizon Arcade mini-games.

Todd Howard came back to say that new games would be added to Game Pass every month for the rest of the year, and name-dropped Fable as a game being currently developed. He summed up the showcase so far, and finished off with one final trailer.

It was forRedfall, an Xbox-exclusive squad-based co-op shooter with vampires from Arkane Austin. It’s coming in Summer 2022.