It’s been a dark few years for both the Xbox brand and the “E3/Not-E3” summer game reveal season. As such, few expected yesterday’s Xbox Showcase 2024 event to be more than the series of predictable trailers and announcements we’ve largely become accustomed to during that time.
So imagine everyone’s surprise when Xbox went out and put on one of the best digital showcase events of the post-pandemic era. It was a thrilling display of Xbox’s suddenly exciting future, and these are the trailers that helped make it so special ranked by their production value, substance, and our excitement for the games themselves.
28. Sea of Thieves Season 13
This was a lovely trailer for what is sure to be a fun, villain-themed Sea of Thieves update, but it happened to debut alongside some heavy hitters. Sea of Thieves fans will undoubtedly love diving into the update in July, but it’s doubtful anyone who hasn’t already bought into the pirate game will be won over by this preview.
27. Starfield: Shattered Space
This was another fine trailer, and the idea of exploring the mysteries of the Great Serpent recalls the off-beat, yet thrilling, Bethesda DLC adventures of old. However, this trailer could have done a lot more to convey what improvements Shattered Space (and other upcoming Starfield updates) will make to the base game. Some existing games were allowed victory lap largely cinematic trailers, but Starfield doesn’t feel like it’s in that spot quite yet.
26. State of Decay 3
The State of Decay 3 trailer was certainly beautiful, but the lack of (convincing) gameplay footage or solid release information was a bit concerning. State of Decay 3 was first teased in 2020, and we still don’t know enough about this sequel to get excited about it beyond the vague prospect of more State of Decay.
25. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
Hey, it’s a Microsoft Flight Simulator trailer. After all these years, it’s still a gorgeous series that happens to be the very best at a very specific thing. The 2024 installment of the franchise looks to add just enough to keep the series’ streak of hits active.
24. World of Warcraft: The War Within
We knew about The War Within going into the Xbox Showcase, and this trailer didn’t tell us anything about that expansion that wasn’t previously revealed. Still, it was a fantastic cinematic showcase for what is shaping up to be a promising chapter in the legendary MMO’s history.
23. FragPunk
I like FragPunk’s style, and the idea of manipulating matches with card-based modifiers has a lot of potential. However, the prospect of dropping a major new hero multiplayer shooter in 2025 feels pretty bleak. Hopefully, FragPunk will learn from the mistakes of Overwatch and the success of games like Valorant and help revive a floundering subgenre.
22. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Here’s another “serviceable trailer for a game we already knew about.” It’s the kind of trailer that shows how the Call of Duty franchise is largely on cruise control these days in a lot of ways. The extended look at Black Ops 6 that we got after the Showcase event offered a much better look at this game, but this trailer was just kind of there.
21. Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Much like Black Ops 6, Veilguard got a “behind-the-scenes” showcase after the main show that apparently impressed those in attendance. Unfortunately, this trailer did not necessarily inspire the same feelings. It was a serviceable modern game trailer complete with a remixed version of a thematically appropriate pop song, but Dragon Age needs more than that at the moment. If the last few BioWare titles have left you with doubts about the state of the studio, this trailer’s few glimpses of that old magic may not be enough to generate a sufficient spark.
20. Diablo IV: Vessell of Hatred
We knew Diablo 4’s first expansion was coming out this year, and we suspected it would focus on Mephisto. Still, this was a fantastic cinematic preview for that upcoming adventure that happened to drop at a time when Diablo 4 feels better than ever. I’m curious how Vessell of Hatred will bring the game into its next era in the right way, but it’s certainly easy to be excited about it at the moment.
19. Fallout 76: Skyline Valley
This was one of the “smartest” trailers of the show from a marketing perspective. Fallout 76 enjoyed a massive surge in popularity following the success of Amazon’s Fallout show, and this trailer for that game’s next update was clearly designed to capitalize on the more popular stylistic aspects of the series. Remarkably, the future for Fallout 76 is brighter than ever.
18. Avowed
As a concept, Obsidian’s Avowed remains one of the most exciting projects in Xbox’s future lineup. One of the best RPG studios in the world is making a sizeable new fantasy game? Yes, please. However, for a game that is still reportedly coming in 2024, it feels like we still haven’t gotten that larger overview trailer for Avowed that it arguably still needs. Avowed is another game that has enjoyed some extensive behind-the-scenes previews, but this trailer would have benefited from showcasing more of that side of the game rather than setting up its narrative.
17. Life is Strange: Double Exposure
We’re getting into the “very good” or even “great” territory for these previews, and Double Exposure certainly fits somewhere in that area. The Life is Strange series has rarely let us down, and the promising return of Max Caulfield was fantastic to see. It’s clear that the Double Exposure team is trying to keep a few of the finer details about this project under wraps, but this preview did more than enough to put this 2024 title on a lot of radars.
16. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
It was honestly a welcome surprise to see this game at the Xbox Showcase at all given that it was previously suggested that it would not make an appearance during this weekend’s events. Based on what we’ve seen so far, Snake Eater looks like…well, a much prettier version of the incredible base game as you’d probably expect it to be. If this remake is going to offer more (or less) than that, we’re still waiting to see it.
15. Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
This wasn’t the most exciting showcase for such a major new game, but this trailer likely only fuelled the excitement that many people already have for this project. The long-awaited Ancient Japan Assassin’s Creed game is shaping up to meet some incredible expectations and perhaps even accomplish more than that.
14. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
Unless you’re just tired of soulslike games, you’ll probably fall in love with at least some aspect of Wuchang. Set during a fictionalized version of the Ming Dynasty era, this game’s biggest draw seems to be the creativity of its wonderfully horrifying creature designs and world. It’s not clear how this title will separate itself from some considerable genre competition, but the pieces are certainly there.
13. Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
This wasn’t the most exciting preview of Flintlock we’ve seen so far, but it did more than enough to ensure that this game remains one of the most promising projects on the Xbox 2024 release slate. Essentially a souls-lite title highlighted by a dynamic combat system, Flintlock is poised to be one of the year’s best pure action games.
12. Atomfall
Atomfall‘s premise (which imagines a post-apocalyptic future based on an alternate version of a real-life event in the British countryside) is certainly intriguing. However, the thing that makes this largely mysterious project so exciting is the fact that it’s the next game from developer Rebellion Developments. The studio behind the exceptional Sniper Elite series always finds a way to overdeliver, and it’s easy enough to see how this concept allows them to explore the wonderfully weird ideas that they always implement so well into more theoretically grounded adventures.
11. South of Midnight
While South of Midnight’s debut trailer left me with a few questions about its core gameplay, it’s pretty much impossible to ignore just how cool this game looks. Set in a fantasy world designed to resemble the Mississippi Delta, this game’s world, characters, and animation style instantly help make it one of the most unique and identifiable games on the horizon. We’ll see how it all comes together, but there’s almost a classic Zelda-like vibe to this one.
10. Winter Burrow
Winter Burrow’s elevator pitch description as a “cozy survival game” may strike some as odd. However, the way this game leans into the comforting rhythm of crafting and gathering gameplay to tell the story of a woodland creature trying to build a better burrow for the winter is a clever extension of the natural flow of that popular genre. This one has some real Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing potential.
9. Mixtape
Mixtape follows the adventures of three friends who are entering the last summer of their youths. While the game is officially compared to titles like What Remains of Edith Fitch, it seems to feature a wider variety of vignette-like gameplay concepts that almost all revolve around an incredible soundtrack of era-appropriate hits. I think this one is going to surprise a lot of people.
8. Fable
Truth be told, I’m a little hesitant to get too excited about a new Fable game without seeing at least a little more of its gameplay. Historically, the conceptually ambitious Fable franchise has lived or died by how their gameplay made the most of the series’ biggest ideas. Still, Playground Games’ take on this series certainly seems to have the style, humor, and core concepts that a proper Fable revival desperately needs.
7. Age of Mythology: Retold
Age of Mythology is one of the greatest RTS franchises ever, and its long-awaited return already features all of the things we’d hope to see from a modern take on that series. It doesn’t seem to be a pure remake of the original game, but Retold will feature updated versions of so many of the things that made that game great. It all sounds (and looks) fantastic to me.
6. Perfect Dark
After hearing so much bad news about Perfect Dark’s development, it was surprising to get a gameplay trailer for the upcoming title that looks…pretty great, actually. This would hardly be the first time that a trailer was designed to hide a game’s flaws, but for the first time in a long time, it looks like it might be safe to be at least a little excited about this one.
5. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
This massive (over five minutes) trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle largely focused on an extended non-interactive sequence. It was an odd way to showcase the game, but it seemed to send the message that MachineGames may have a better understanding of what makes a great Indiana Jones story truly great than even the recent Indiana Jones movies have exhibited.
4. Expedition 33
Arguably the biggest surprise of the show, Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG set in a world inspired by French history and design. It’s difficult to think of the last time that Xbox had an original turn-based RPG to call its own, and it’s especially exciting to see the platform get one at a time when such games of an appropriately large scale are so hard to come by.
3. Mecha Break
Mecha Break looks to single-handedly make up for the mech game drought we’ve suffered through for decades at this point (with the notable exception of Armored Core 6). This fast-paced multiplayer game will feature a variety of modes (including a 60-player PvPvE mode) as well as countless customization options designed to enhance its stunning style and relentless gameplay. This thing is shaping up to be the spiritual MechAssault successor few of us still dared to dream about.
2. Gears of War: E-Day
Gears of War: E-Day is set about 14 years before the first Gears of War game around the time of the pivotal Emergence Day event. The prospect of “going back” was on full display in this trailer which even featured a modified version of the “Mad World” tune from that legendary Gears of War commercial. Call it a nostalgia play. It just may prove to be exactly that. However, few series could benefit from going back to their roots as obviously as Gears of War could, so perhaps there is something of substance underneath all that lovely style.
1. DOOM: The Dark Ages
The debut trailer for DOOM: The Dark Ages features the sounds, sights, and gameplay footage we should expect from any notable modern game preview. What really sent this one over the top into a new realm of greatness, though, is the fact that the DOOM team has more than proven that they are capable of delivering the best version of the incredible things on display in this trailer. Based on everything we’ve seen and heard (which includes the ability to ride a “cybernetic war dragon”) this could somehow be the best DOOM game yet.
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