2020 is very much underway, and it's set to be one of the biggest years for the gaming community in recent memory.
This is largely because it will feature the release of two next-gen consoles (the PS5 and Xbox Series X), as well as the expansion of cloud streaming services.
Project xCloud and Google Stadia are both breaking the ceiling of video game streaming.
While Google Stadia launched on November 19 this year, 2020 is set to be its big year as new games are released for the platform.
Meanwhile, Project xCloud is something that has reportedly been in the works at Xbox since 2013, and is expected to launch sometime this year.
Across the two platforms, gamers can expect a number of titles to release through 2020 and beyond, which ones should you be looking forward to the most?
Xbox Project xCloud
Xbox Series X took many of the headlines surrounding Xbox in 2019, as it pertains to their next gen console, but Project xCloud was perhaps a grander statement.
Cloud gaming truly seems to be the future
of gaming, and Project xCloud presents the best glimpse of that. It allows
users to game-on-the-go on their android device or Windows tablet. All you need
is an Xbox controller.
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It is a supplement to the Xbox experience as it is, giving gamers access to dozens of free Xbox games in the cloud, while also giving access to their own game collection at home.
So, which games are we most looking forward
to?
Cyberpunk 2077
Release date: 17 September
STAR: Keanu Reeves stars in this futuristic RPG
Can any list not include this game?
Coming from the studio fresh off the
success of The Witcher 3, this game’s aesthetics coupled with the gameplay
being moldable to the player’s choices and style, this game is setting up as
the next great RPG.
Imagine being able to take your phone on
your commute and playing Cyberpunk 2077 to pass the time. Not bad, right?
Marvel’s Avengers
Release date: 4 September
MCU: Can these heroes transition from the big screen to gaming?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe dominated many
people’s lives over the last decade, but one area it has been missing is
gaming. In May, we’ll finally get what seems to be a comprehensive Marvel game,
and Project xCloud will let you take it anywhere.
Marvel’s Avengers will bring a single-player campaign, in which you control specific Avengers, and a multiplayer mode allowing you to customize your hero, squad up, and take on missions with your team.
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The format seems a lot like Destiny, which would give fans of Marvel so many more hours of their favourite franchise.
Google Stadia
While Stadia may have beaten any competitors in the cloud gaming scene to release, it has been a fairly underwhelming start.
Considering the Stadia is looking to compete with the likes of Sony and Microsoft, where Microsoft’s offering is set up to boost the Xbox experience, they’re going to need a HUGE 2020.
Get Packed
Release date: TBC
EXCLUSIVE: Stadia's first exclusive has to hit big
Get Packed is the first Stadia exclusive that we can expect to see, and it does look like a ball.
The game is much like Gang Beasts and Overcooked, in that it is best played with others and features crazy gameplay with wacky and elastic physics.
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Your job is to help the residents of the game’s Ditchlington relocate as fast as possible, which inevitably turns into chaos, destruction and giggles.
For Stadia to set itself apart it needs to
boast impressive exclusives to lure gamers in. Get Packed could the first step
in creating a library of exclusives to do just that.
Doom Eternal
Release date: 5 March
CLASSIC: A new Doom game has gamers everywhere excited
Only four titles have been confirmed to be
coming in 2020. One of them is Doom Eternal.
Doom’s reboot in 2016 was a great time for
gamers, and the early signs from Doom Eternal show a big step for the legendary
franchise. With improved combat, incorporating new ways to navigate a combat
zone and ways to target an enemy, and new multiplayer modes, the game is a real
step for the franchise.
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While this will be available on multiple platforms, this game presents a great chance for Stadia to impress with its limited game options.