After a distinct lack of great first-party titles in 2018, Microsoft is ready to turn things around in 2019. That’s right, there are a number of great Xbox One games coming this year.
How can we be so sure? We got a chance to see them first-hand at Microsoft’s E3 2019 keynote, which went down on Sunday, June 9.
At this year’s show we got to see tons of Xbox-exclusive and non-Xbox exclusive games that are going to take over your console this time next year? So what should you be excited about? Here are the best Xbox games we saw at E3 2019 coming to Xbox One - and titles that are headed to the next consoles of Project Scarlett, which we just learned will launch in Holiday (end-of-year) 2020.
Halo Infinite
Master Chief is back, baby. In a new trailer for Halo Infinite we get to see Chief coming out of a long hibernation and come face-to-face with...well, we’ll let you see for yourself.
Halo Infinite came at the tail-end of the keynote, right after Microsoft announced its new console, Project Scarlett, and both the game and console will be out at the end of next year.
Cyberpunk 2077
CD Project Red’s long-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 was a colossus we wondered if we’d see at the show. We’ve been looking forward to the audacious neon-drenched role-playing game as more and more footage has been released. And with Sony gone, Microsoft swept in to drop a new trailer with story content and then bring none other than Keanu Reeves onstage to drop the biggest announcement of E3 2019: Cyberpunk 2077 is coming on April 16, 2020.
Yeah. We're pumped.
Star Wars: Fallen Order
If you’re hoping for a game to accompany Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, you’re in luck, EA and Respawn Entertainment are hard at work bringing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to life.
In the trailer shown off at Microsoft’s E3 2019 keynote, we got to see the game’s protagonist Cal Kestis take on an AT-AT walker on the planet of Kashyyyk before running into guerrilla fighter – and all-around badass – Saw Gerrera.
Gears 5
The fifth installment of the Gears of War franchise (shortened to ‘Gears 5’ this time around) is indeed coming soon - September 10, to be precise, or four days earlier if you pick up the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. We didn’t see much new this time around in terms of the plot, though Microsoft did reveal a brand-new 3-player co-op mode (perfect for local couch play, they said) called Escape where you, er, escape a Locust-infested area.
Bleeding Edge
Bleeding Edge is the first title from Ninja Theory since the studio was acquired by Microsoft, as was announced at E3 2018. Unlike their last game, the emotionally visceral Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Bleeding Edge is a bright and chaotic 4-v-4 multiplayer game. This is the first we’ve seen of the title, and can only speculate as to how it will play.
Minecraft Dungeon
Minecraft Dungeon, a nice surprise at Microsoft’s keynote, is what happens when you combine Mojang’s open-ended exploration game with a dungeon-crawler like Diablo 3.
The result is a child’s first action-RPG with some neat character customization.
Phantasy Star Online 2
Phantasy Star Online 2 is the follow-up to the original Phantasy Star Online, which launched on Dreamcast in 2000. The sequel isn’t new - it first came out in 2012 in Japan and has been ported around since to the PS Vita (2013), PlayStation 4 (2016), and Nintendo Switch (2018) - but it does have a strong following.
The F2P online RPG will have randomized areas, events and ‘multiparty areas’ where up to 12 players can leap into the fray together. Expect this in 2020.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator has been on a five-year hiatus, but it’s coming back with gorgeous 4K graphics in 2020. Flying over iconic landscapes powered by satellite data and Azure AI is what this flight simulation is all about.
The game comes to Windows 10 with Xbox Game Pass next year, then Xbox One at a later date.
Wasteland 3
Fun fact: the original post-apocalyptic RPG Wasteland came out in 1988 and served as a basis for the Fallout game franchise. A sequel was finally released in 2014, Wasteland 2, by studio inXile Entertainment, and Wasteland 3 is the follow-up.
Expect similar isometric tactical combat and tough choices as you navigate through the brutal world of the Colorado Nation.
Blair Witch
Did you think you’d get a video game based on the 1999 film that changed horror, The Blair Witch Project? Us neither. Bloober team, the studio behind the psychological horror game Layers of Fear, seems well-prepared to make a similar first-person scary experience with Blair Witch.
In it, you’ll explore spooky woods and investigate with your trusty camera. Hopefully we’ll see more before the game drops on August 30, 2019.
Elden Ring
The rumors were true: the baffling game from Dark Souls/Bloodborne creator Hidetaka Miyazaki and A Song of Ice and Fire’s George R.R. Martin got a reveal trailer.
Elden Ring is a fantasy action-RPG that, well, we know very little about from the trailer, which showed off some evocatively-posed characters with nonsensical narration in a very Dark Souls-like tone poem. The Bandai-Namco and FromSoftware co-production has no release date yet.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Microsoft’s whimsical platformer reappeared at its 2019 keynote with a new trailer and a release date: February 11, 2019. As one of the most fondly remembered indie games from the Xbox One’s launch library, Ori won fans over with its tricky platforming and heart-felt story of an abandoned creature looking for a family.
Along the way Ori gained abilities that let it explore new areas of the eponymous forest and we’re likely to see a similar progression in the next game. If you’re into wonderful, whimsical platformers, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is one to keep your eye on.
And more to come...
That's just to kick off the week: we’re only a couple press conferences into E3 2019 so far, and we expect a lot more great games and trailers revealed as the week goes on. Keep checking back to see all the best stuff coming to the Xbox One in the coming days.
E3 2019 is the biggest gaming event of the year. TechRadar is reporting live from LA, telling you all about the biggest announcements of the week, from epic game trailers to shocking release date reveals. Follow our expert analysis of the keynotes and what we see on the E3 show floor.
