The next-generation of consoles, despite being awesome, fell a little bit flat in terms of games.
Sure there were some great releases around launch, such as Miles Morales, but there has yet to be the true standout system seller game that the new consoles will become known for, think a The Last of Us or Halo.
Speaking of Halo, the latest entry in the series, Halo Infinite, was scheduled to release alongside the Xbox Series X|S on November 10th 2020, but the game was delayed due to fan backlash after its gameplay reveal.
This left the new Xbox Series X|S with very little selling points, outside of the more powerful hardware.
But, this is the case with a lot of new consoles, there is rarely a true system seller in the first year of its lifecycle, so it isn't surprising.
However, it looks like 2021 could shape up to be a huge year for both next-gen consoles, especially the Xbox Series X.
New Xbox Showcase Event Coming?
According to Windows Central, a new Xbox Showcase event could be coming on March 26th.
Windows Central say that the event "may be a tech and platform-oriented event with some smaller game announcements, or something more.”
This could mean that we may see a larger focus on things like Xbox Game Pass, Project xCloud, as well as some other hardware and tech presentations.
In a tweet, Windows Central's executive editor Daniel Rubino noted that it is “no surprise, but April, May, and June 2021 will be big announcement months for Microsoft. Instead of one big event, the company prefers smaller ones where it can keep the momentum going.”
So it looks like we might be seeing many Xbox events throughout the year, similar to what Nintendo do with the mini Directs that take place on quite a regular basis.
With no new gameplay shown for Halo Infinite since its reveal last September, we can expect to see new and improved gameplay for that in the coming months, and hopefully a release date.
There are also many other titles that gamers are eager to find out more about, including the new Forza game, Perfect Dark and others.
However, during an interview with the Iron Lords Podcast, Xbox's director of program management, Jason Ronald, said that “Not all games that are releasing this year have been announced", but not to expect events with world premieres in the immediate future.
This could mean that it will be heading into the second half of the year before we find out a lot about the new games that are coming.