If you were one of the many watching the Xbox Gamescom Live event, you were likely waiting for the details on the ability to pre-order the Xbox One X. As the live event kept you in suspense, we’ll be doing the same after we cover all the important information you may have missed.
The 90 minute event opened with a great trailer showcasing what’s to come from the new console as well as new titles you may have missed from E3. It’s very important to remember that in order to full appreciate these trailers you’ll need to watch them in as close to 4K as possible.
Directly after the trailer, we were introduced to the Germany Xbox team. This team was responsible interviewing developers on the stage as well as summarizing what each area of the presentation was going to offer. It was also very evident that Microsoft continues to push Mixer on these presentations with a bunch of drawings and free content simply by streaming with Mixer. Great bonus!
The Games
The first title that was brought out and talked about was Assassin’s Creed Origins. A lot of what we discussed was already known due to E3 and details that have come out since. There were a lot of skeptics regarding this game’s resolution and FPS. It was very evident that Ubisoft Montreal worked closely with Microsoft to get the best experience on the Xbox One X with great enhancements. When watching trailer, test your knowledge on your history with the characters that will be in the story of the game.
Release Date: October 27th
PUBG (Player Unknown Battlegrounds) had a huge showing and spilled the beans on some big news. Bluehole stated they had parntered with Microsoft on the game and Microsoft would be publishing the title on console. Speculation is now running wild about the title being exclusive on the Xbox, however it’s still not clear if it’s a timed exclusive or overall system exclusive.
Release Date: Late 2017
The Jurassic World franchise isn’t slowing down. A new movie is due in the near future and now we have a new game in the works. Will this line up with the new movie? Only time will tell. From what we’ve gathered from the trailer it appears to be a new RTS experience in the Jurassic World universe. For people that played Operation Genesis during the Playstation 2 and Xbox generation, Jurassic Park Evolution should be a treat.
Release Date: Summer 2018
Recore launched in September of last year and while a good game, you could tell the game wasn’t realizing it’s full potential. With ReCore Definitive Edition, hopefully the title gets another shot. It’s important to not confuse this game as a remaster but simply the final edition of the original title. You will be getting new content, enhanced features and the fully polished game. As a bonus, if you already own ReCore you will be upgraded to the definitive edition for free.
Release Date: August 29th
It wouldn’t be an Xbox show in 2017 without Forza 7. However, the trailer shown was what we had already seen at E3. Thankfully, Microsoft did talk about some new features which include cross play between PC and Xbox. It was also announced that you don’t need a powerhouse PC to play Forza 7 as they’ve polished the engine so that the title can be enjoyed on a wide range of hardware (including Surface Pro tablets). Also, also nearly any wheel and pedal peripherals should be compatible with the Xbox.
Release Date: October 3rd
World of Tanks has been a popular title on Xbox One and continues to see improvements and promotion. The latest update, titled War Stories, will add single player content ; something that’s exclusive to the Xbox and PlayStation versions of the game.
Release Date: November 7th
New Console and Controllers
A nice surprise in the hardware realm is a new Xbox One S Minecraft console. This console looks really nice and will be highly sought after by the Minecraft fans looking for a new console. It comes with a 1TB hard drive and a Creeper themed controller.
Release Date: October 3rd
The Xbox Game Pass did get a bit of air time during the presentation. Microsoft is continuing to add games monthly and expanding to new markets. ReCore was announced as being added in September and the service will remain at $9.99 monthly.
The Xbox Design Lab is continuing to evolve into a great service for people wanting to customize their own Xbox One controller to their liking. They are now adding rear rubber gribs and metallic d-pads and triggers as options for customization. Additionally, they continue to expand the markets in which they will be available.
Xbox One X enhancements for existing titles will be able to be pre-loaded to external hard drives so you can save a bit of time when you receive your new console. The largest news was the count of enhanced games for the launch of the console. Microsoft is stating that over 100 games are already planned to have Xbox One X updates. The full list can be found on Major Nelson’s blog here: Confirmed Xbox One X Enhanced Titles
ID@Xbox gave a great interview, showing all the unique titles from the service. Additionally, they discussed the Creator’s Program which provides the ability for anyone to download software onto their standard Xbox One to develop games.
Cuphead showed off some new surprises towards the end of the presentation. The game will have couch co-op and also have the ability to set difficulty at easy or normal. Once the game is finished you’ll unlock new game plus mode which is said to be for experts only (we’re all over this!). This game continues to be one of our most anticipated titles of the year.
Release Date: September 29th
Xbox One X – Project Scorpio Edition
So as rumored, they saved the best for last with the full trailer of the Project Scorpio edition of the Xbox One X. Right after the trailer Larry Hyrb (Major Nelson) did an unboxing of the console. Most surprising was him announcing pre-orders were available right at that moment. Naturally, this lead to a race to the web and retailers had a hard time getting their links live and dealing with the traffic it generated. The launch console will come with limited edition Project Scorpio Xbox green print on both the console and controller along with a vertical stand and some special green coloring on the console itself.
We’re hearing that many brick and mortar retail locations have sold out of their stock, including Gamestop, Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart but as always check your local stores as it may vary by region. No matter what, it was great to see that much enthusiasm for the upcoming hardware which we are very big fans of.
While it was a shame some of the information leaked prior, it was great to see the Project Scorpio Xbox One X, the Minecraft Xbox One S, ReCore Definitive Edition being free for current owners, Jurassic World Evolution, PUBG publishing with Microsoft, and some other small surprises. As always, we’ll keep you informed as information continues to arrive prior to the Xbox One X’s launch in November. Thanks for tuning in!
