Liveblog: Xbox Games Showcase Extended 2022
A more in-depth look at Xbox/Bethesda’s Not E3 announcements
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The Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase has been and gone, but Not E3 is far from over. Including, as it turns out, for Xbox and Bethesda: tonight’s Xbox Games Showcase Extended stream will take a deeper dive into some of the many games that were announced during the main show on Sunday, with new trailers and extended interviews. Liam and I will be liveblogging the whole thing, despite him having stayed up until God-knows-when last night watching Capcom’s Resident Evil and dinosaur genocide announcements.
The Xbox Games Showcase Extended goes live at 6pm BST / 7pm CEST / 1pm EDT / 10am PDT. You can watch it with this here embed, or over on Twitch.
Not E3 2022 is in full-swing - see everything in our E3 2022 hub, as well as our complete round-up of everything announced at Summer Game Fest 2022. Many more big game showcases and streams are still to come this summer, so make sure you stay up to date with our summer games stream schedule.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Liveblog time. Well, almost - the Extended show starts at 6pm BST / 7pm CEST / 1pm EDT / 10am PDT. Stand by!
Hello! I'm here. I've just spent 40 minutes losing spectacularly on Fortnite and now I'm ready to listen to Phil Spencer talk to me about ray traced car reflections.
And hello from me. We're getting a bit spoiled by the countdown, which is rattling off upcoming segments: there's an interview with Pete Hines, behind-the-scenes looks at Grounded and Ara: History Untold, plus High on Life and the Hot Wheels DLC for Forza Horizon 5. Probably not in that order!
And we're underway...
Opening sizzle reel reminding us that all these games are out in the next 12 months. That's the plan, anyway.
We're kicking off with a montage showcasing the games launching on Game Pass over the next 12 months. It really does highlight just how varied Microsoft's service is at the moment. So much stuff!
Wait, this isn't a game. It's footage of Phil Spencer at the most recent Xbox FanFest. Where game?
A nice short trailer for Valheim, there, which is coming to Game Pass on PC towards the end of the year. It's coming to Xbox in 2023, too.
Next up is a sit-down chat with Bethesda's Pete Hines. Been a tough couple of years for game development, he says - stresses the importance of not rushing games out the door. Almost as if Redfall and Starfield were recently delayed.
Redfall will continue the Arkane tradition of open-ended approaches, Hines says. Shoot, sneak, magic powers etc.
Pete's also emphasing that Redfall can be enjoyed as a single player experience, which is nice for those out there who aren't hugely keen on playing games with others (me, I'm talking about me here).
Hines now talking up the Elder Scrolls Online community. Wonder if it'll stay as nice in amidst the politicking that the High Isles expansion will apparently involve.
Apparently the phrase "there's never been a better time to play" has been banned internally, but Pete is still encouraging folks to check out the new High Isle expansion pack.
I've never played Fallout 76, but as a huge Fallout 3 fan I'm tempted to try it out alongside the upcoming Pitt expansion pack...
Only 15 minutes in, but I'm preferring this slower, more in-depth show format so far. If this was a main Not E3 event we'd be nine games in and I'd have missed half of them for typing.
It's like the E3 presentations of old, isn't it? They should bring that format back. Just put a few execs in a hotel conference room and have them reveal the next 12 months of releases using a shoddy PowerPoint presentation.
Here's Starfield. Hines talking about Bethesda being okay with players missing out on certain chunks of game as long as they're enjoying their own story. Sounds good as someone with limited interest in ship-building.
Look, my favourite part of any Bethesda RPG is just wandering around, noticing an interesting rock or something and finding it's actually the entrance to a massive dungeon. As long as Starfield keeps that "oh hey" sensation, I don't mind as much if the rocks are grey space rocks.
Agreed. I'd say most of my interest in Starfield revolves around how it lets the player create their own stories. I also think I am going to be the person who spends 1,000 hours customising their ship to be honest...
It's good to hear Hines discuss all of these things we can do, and how broad the vision is for Starfield, but the proof is going to be in the pudding isn't it? Here's hoping we see a little more gameplay over the next few months. I'm cautiously optimistic though!
We're onto Naraka Bladepoint now. The game is launching onto Game Pass for PC and will support crossplay with the Xbox version. Bladepoint is a PVP battle royale that focuses on melee combat rather than guns that looks... good? Honestly, it's nice to just see a battle royale that isn't stuffed with pop culture references.
Twin blades are the latest weapons making their way to the game, as well as a campaign mode. The first chapter, Face Your Nightmare, will be launching soon. It's coming to game pass on June 23rd.
Time for a re-run of the Ara: History Untold trailer from Sunday. This is that era-spanning grand strategy game from Oxide Games.
It's a Civ-style strategy game, but you'll see the effects of your leadership (or lack thereof) in towns and cities that build up around the map.
Time to hear more about Grounded, Obsidian's Honey I Shrunk the Kids pastiche.
Not gonna lie, saw the buildings popping up in that pre-alpha footage and thought Ara might be a city builder. But it's more for giving a graphical representation of the society you're managing.
...mine would just have everything on fire.
We're learning more about the team behind Grounded right now. It's the smallest team in Obsidian, from the sounds of it, which allows everyone to weigh in on design decisions.
Those with bug phobias might want to look away. Yikes!
The upcoming 1.0 release will add a bunch of new stuff to the game. Alongside a conclusion to Grounded's storyline, players will also be able to fight a praying mantis. The full game launches this September.
This look at Microsoft Flight Simulator comes at you from within the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. They've lent some of their old timey planes to be scanned for the game's models. Neat!
Don't tease me about flying the space shuttle, Microsoft. Don't give me hope.
This is mostly lookin' at planes, which are shiny and plane-like. Ends with a friendly reminder that the 40th Anniversary Edition will be a free update when it launches.
We're seeing a little clip from a fan fest that took place in Madrid, Spain the other day. They were giving away Xbox spray-on tattoos? That's video games, folks.
We're checking in with Squanch Games, the developers behind High On Life. Justin Roiland, of Rick and Morty fame, is chatting about his love of video games and his reasons for starting the company.
High on Life's story involves humans being kidnapped so they can be used as recreational drugs for aliens. Wasn't that a series of Torchwood?
High On Life is a first person shooter that features talking guns. After humans are enslaved by aliens (to be used as... drugs?) it's up to you to take down an extra-terrestial cartel and save the earth. Squanch describes the world of the game as "Blade runner meets the muppets", which is quite the combination.
I have to say, High On Life is not for me.
I'm a dummy for not really wanting to play it, so that's me told! It's out this October.
The actual shooting looks fun, I reckon. But yeah, a certain TV show with the same DNA is nails on a blackboard for me.
Yesssss we're onto Pentiment now, Obsidian's narrative focused murder mystery set in the 16th century.
Very quick trailer for the Texas Chain Saw Massacre game there, btw. Looks just like a scene from the original film, though the game (from the Friday the 13th: The Game devs) will be co-op.
Set over 25 years, characters and locations will change as you progress through the game. Kids you meet at the start will grow into adults and get married. Neat!
The narrative will focus on "social change" within small communities. I'd argue the best bits of Obsidian games are the stories, so I'm excited to play a game that is focused purely on just that. Pentiment launches this November. Looks good!
Here's a behind-the-scenes bit for As Dust Falls, the handpainted-looking interactive drama from INTERIOR/NIGHT. Takes inspiration from TV series - Breaking Bad namedropped.
I'm really into this art style. I think it looks fantastic.
There's "no one golden path" in As Dust Falls. But you will get a recap of how you played at the end of each "book", Telltale-style.
Oooh, we're getting a look at Slime Rancher 2 now!
The sequel takes place of Rainbow Island, a pastel coloured paradise filled with a bunch of lovely slimes to ranch.
"Slime Rancher" suggests the slimes will be slaughtered and sold to supermarkets in chunks, Liam can you confirm?
What do you reckon a slime steak tastes like, James?
Like a regular steak boiled in orange juice.
I'm being a knob but that did look cute.
Slime Rancher 2 looks absolutely wonderful. Just watching footage of the player darting around this brightly coloured world is making me happy. Can't wait to get my hands on this when it launches later this year.
Hayden says: I bet it probably depends on the slime. Some probably taste like candyfloss, others like when you get sand in your mouth I imagineHaha I like this answer a lot. Also, hello Hayden, nice to have you here!
Aaaand we're back in FanFest Melbourne.
Aaaaand we're out of FanFest Melbourne, and onto the Hot Wheels expansion for Forza Horizon 5.
I was just saying to James before we kicked off that I never had any Hot Wheels as a kid. Maybe I'll just get extremely into Hot Wheels this year. I'll be the RPS Hot Wheels guy.
Over 200km worth of track in the skies above Mexico. And you won't need to progress far into the Forza Horizon 5 story to access it - it'll be available "as soon as possible". Probably after the tutorial?
Also: 4 new cars that are basically scaled-up Hot Wheels.
I want to be a Hot Wheels Legend now. Sold.
It's those clumsy lads. Those wobbly boys. The Fall Guys themselves.
This trailer feels like a parody of the iconic Halo 3 trailer, and I am here for it.
Oh! It straight up is. Halo cosmetics are coming to Fall Guys (which is also going free to play on June 21st).
Now more on Minecraft Legends. It's being co-developed between Mojang and Blackbird Interactive, of Hardspace: Shipbreaker.
Hayden says: All this Fall Guys reflection time is making me think back to that weird anatomy diagram from a while back, we should never have this much time to think about these creepy beans
Those dastardly Piglins, comin' through portals and shit. You'll be forming alliances and doing other action strategy things to force them back in.
I didn't play Minecraft Dungeons but I really like that they're doing all these weird spin-offs with the IP.
Sorry, this is all a bit sore for me because at the weekend I accidentally deleted a Minecraft world with about a month and a half's work in it.
Ultimately nothing much we didn't see during the main Xbox event, but we know Minecraft Legends will be out next year.
FanFest Toronto had nail painting and doughnuts!
Another montage now highlighting some upcoming indie games making their way to Xbox soon. I just spotted Wrestling With Emotions by Team Lazerbeam! I'm very excited for that. Nice to see them make an appearance.
Sarah Bond, head of Xbox's gaming business development unit, is onstage talking about Project Moorcroft: the scheme to get early demos to Game Pass subscribers before a game is out.
Not a bad idea, to be honest, and Microsoft are offering compensation to developers who'll get involved.
Actually it'd be nice if it weren't just for Game Pass subscribers, but I guess that's where the, uh, incentives are being funded.
I was just thinking today, as I was downloading about 30 Next Fest demos, how much easier it would be to have these streamed rather than stored locally. It's a cool idea.
Bond's now introducing a behind-the-scenes look at S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 development. Sadly, it's soon interrupted by scenes of the Kiev-based developers being forced to leave - at least, the ones that can.
GSC staff are talking about working on the game in corridors and between air raid sirens. Some have joined Ukraine's armed forces.
Now there's a clip of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's intro sequence. Hard to stop thinking about what just preceded it, though.
Good on Microsoft for sharing that video. It's beyond comprehension what the staff at GSC (and those in Ukraine) are going through at the moment.
Tempting to say that games don't matter at all compared to what's really going on in Ukraine, but you suspect they matter very, very much to GSC, who largely seem willing to kick on. Respect.
Couldn't have put that better myself, James. Huge respect.
And with that, the show ends.
Thanks all for joining - I believe this is the final liveblog for me and Liam but we'll have a few more Not E3 bits on the site as they happen. Cheers!
Thanks for sticking with us, pals. Look after yourselves and we'll see you soon!