E3 2016: Microsoft

Microsoft’s packed their press conference to the gills today with tons of new games and announcements regarding the future of the Xbox platform, so let’s jump right into it.

Xbox Play Anywhere & New Consoles

Perhaps the most heavily-emphasized announcement at the show was Xbox Play Anywhere. Play Anywhere allows you to buy a game digitally and have access to it on both your Xbox One and your Windows 10 PC. Your achievements and progress sync across both platforms, and far as the game is concerned, both Xbox and PC will essentially be treated in the game way. Lots of upcoming games will support the Play Anywhere initiative, as you’ll see shortly.

In addition, two new consoles were announced on-stage. The first was the Xbox One S, a new iteration of the current Xbox One hardware. The console features a thinner, sleeker profile that’s 40% smaller than the Xbox One currently on the market. It also features up to 2TB of internal storage, an integrated power supply and IR blaster, 4K video playback, a refreshed controller, and “HDR gaming.” The Xbox One S goes on sale this August, and base model will start at $299 with a 500GB hard drive.

The big revelation, however, was Project Scorpio. Scorpio encompasses a brand-new console initiative that Microsoft claims will not only ship as the most powerful console ever made, but also move the Xbox brand “beyond generations” as we know them today. The Scorpio console will utilize a new system-on-a-chip with an 8-core CPU and 6 teraflops of compute power, which will enable true 4K gaming and robust virtual reality experiences. The new console will work in tandem with the original Xbox One, so future titles will support both devices and no one gets left behind. Project Scorpio ships next year.

Gears of War 4

The Gears of War franchise is one of Microsoft’s biggest IPs, so the upcoming Gears of War 4 naturally received a lot of stage time. The brief campaign demo looked very much like the directed campaign experience from the previous three, though perhaps a little more dynamic and certainly more visually exciting. The most exciting addition was likely a new mountable weapon that shot piercing disks like ninja stars, and one portion of the level featured arcs of electricity that turned the battlefield into a minefield. There were lots of explosions, of course, and lots of team banter to boot.

Gears of War 4 launches for Xbox One and PC on October 11th, and it will feature Xbox One/PC cross-play support in all co-op modes, including Horde. A special branded version of the Elite Controller will be along for the ride as well.

Forza Horizon 3

The next iteration of the Forza racing series was revealed in the form of Forza Horizon 3, which is set in Australia. A demo showed many different cars and terrain types across both Xbox One and high-end PCs. There were lots of cinematic show pieces, as one would expect from this series. The developers promised new challenges and car types, as well as a brand-new four-player campaign co-op mode. Joining a friend’s session will sync the game worlds across all players, which looks like it’ll allow for pretty seamless online play.

Forza Horizon 3 arrives as an Xbox Play Anywhere game on September 27th.

Final Fantasy XV

The much-anticipated Final Fantasy XV had a fresh on-stage demo as well. This particular demo followed something called the Trial of Titan and a three-way battle meant to show off the new combat system. The demo opened with parrying, which meant that the emphasis on real-time fighting was front and center from the very beginning. The fight against the seriously massive Titan revealed more of the attacking, dodging, and cooperative mechanics as well, and the score was epic enough to bring the entire fight to the next level.

Final Fantasy XV launches on PS4 and Xbox One on September 30th.

Xbox Live Updates

There are some interesting improvements coming to the Xbox Live service as well. Microsoft plans on implementing more servers in more localized locations to better benefit players around the world. In terms of new services, three were announced. Background Music will let you listen to your own soundtracks during gameplay, Language Region Independence means you can use your preferred language on your console no matter where you physically are, and Cortana will be coming to the service in the future. In addition, several new features are coming soon. Clubs on Xbox Live will allow you to create communities and meet new people. The Looking for Group feature is essentially a want ad for multiplayer, meant to help you find other gamers looking to play what you’re playing. Finally, Arena on Xbox Live is a new tournament platform designed to let you discover, register, and compete in tournaments all in one place.

Indie Developers

Indie developers got some love from Microsoft today via their reaffirming of the ID@Xbox program, which helps bring new experiences to the platform. Dozens of small games were shown, including Cuphead, Outlast II, Deliver Us the Moon, Far, Slime Rancher, Figment, and many more. Xbox Play Anywhere will also extend to indie output, with Ark: Survival Evolved set to support the service soon. Xbox Game Preview, which is essentially Steam Early Access, will get more games over time as well. In terms of new announcements, Inside, a new game from the makers of Limbo, is coming June 29th. In addition, Limbo is free on the Xbox One starting today. We also got an extended look at We Happy Few, which reminded me of Bioshock in more ways than one.

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game

I hope you like card games, because there’s more coming to market this year than ever before. CD Projekt Red’s new title takes the Gwent minigame from The Witcher series and turns it into a full multiplayer experience with an elaborate single-player campaign. They emphasized that the game is still all about skill, and it will offer four factions that each have different play styles. You can visit the game’s website to sign up for the beta.

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game is coming to Xbox One and PC first this September.

Scalebound

Scalebound, the newest high-octane action game from Platinum Games, pulled no punches and landed a few of its own. The on-stage demo featured co-operative team play across ground and in the air as projectiles and arrows flew like crazy. Battles spanned dedicated platforms and creature bodies alike, and the scale of the fight looked fairly epic on its own. The second half of the battle saw the protagonist slip on some headphones, and when the dubstep music started kicking in the background, things got even more intense.

Scalebound arrives on the Xbox One and PC next year.

Halo Wars 2

Of course, no Xbox keynote is complete without Halo, and this presentation confirmed that the fan-favorite Halo Wars is finally getting a sequel. In Halo Wars 2, you’re orbiting an alien construct, and a new Covenant faction called The Banished are naturally there to kill you. A brief gameplay trailer showcased more of the coordinated RTS combat you remember from the original game, and if you’re interested in getting your hands on the game as soon as possible, a week-long beta is available for download right now.

Halo Wars 2 is being co-developed by 343 Industries and Creative Assembly, at it hits Windows 10 and Xbox One on February 21st of next year.

Additional Announcements

Finally, there were tons of smaller game announcements worth mentioning. A new character is coming to Killer Instinct: General Raam from Gears of War. Underground, The Division‘s first paid DLC content, was teased, and it will be available first on Xbox One starting June 28th. Battlefield 1 players with an Xbox One will get a crack at the game first – it will be available early via EA Access on October 13th. The Minecraft Friendly Update will let players play together across Xbox Live, PC, iOS, and Android with dedicated servers.

Ever wanted to design your own Xbox One controller? The Xbox Design Lab will let you do just that, with millions of color and button combinations to choose from. Tekken 7 promises to evolve as a competitive fighting game with a new, cinematic story mode when it comes to Xbox One in early 2017. Dead Rising 4, with a fantastically gruesome Christmas theme encompassing everything from the environment to weapons and vehicles, will arrive Holiday 2016; State of Decay 2 was announced as well.

Three down, two to down. What did you think of Microsoft’s press conference? Let us know in the comments below.