Xbox was second in line for this year’s E3 2019 Briefing after EA Play’s show and ensured to show of a plethora of games for fans and all players with a passion for games.

So regardless if you an Xbox fan or not you’re bound to hopefully find something you’ll like in the upcoming coverage and highlights of the show.

So, hold on tight, because there is much to discuss!

Xbox opened this year’s E3 stage into outer space showing off more footage of “The Outer Worlds” by Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division.

In “The Outer Worlds” your set for the furthest edge of the galaxy and awoken decades later during a deep conspiracy that threatens to the destroy Halcyon Colony, as you get to decide who you will become as the story unfolds around you throughout the game.

Whilst we did get to see more about this game and luckily a release date that’s been set to October 25th, 2019, we still don’t know all that much about “The Outer Worlds”.

However, I’d like to stay optimistic given on Obsidian past games like “Fallout New Vegas” and “Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lord”s. Was well received.

Next up was Ninja Theory who shared some news at E3 2019, like the fact that they are working on a handful of different game projects which they will share some information with us about in the near future.

Other than that, Ninja Theory also had us know that they had joined Xbox game studio’s (that has been known since E3 2018 though).

As for here and now though, Ninja Theory gave us our first look at “Bleeding edge“, which is a third-person/action combat and competitive team multiplayer game.

You can check “Bleeding edge” for yourself by signing up for its technical alpha which starts June 27th, and on a personal level. The trailer got me somewhat excited in what to expect seeing a great art style and character development from the little that was shown.

We then got a further glimpse at the ever-so-beautiful art design, music and heartfelt story of “Ori and the will of the Wisps” launching February 11th, 2019.

Also, we got a look at “Minecraft Dungeons” and how you can apparently become Thor? With the great hammer, 4-Player local and online co-op coming Spring 2020 to PC and Xbox One.

Further Footage was shown on EA’s upcoming “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order“, and I must say the force felt weak with this one after watching it at EA’s Play.

Nevertheless, we did get a release date “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order”, as the game is coming to PC and consoles on November 15th this year.

I know that I stated previously that I wasn’t so impressed by the game, but I like to stay open-minded for this game though. However, looking back over EA’s recent hiccups I am not entirely sure…

I mean, from what I’ve seen so far, “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order” just felt like an old unreleased remaster rather than being something entirely new.

We then got a world premiere of an upcoming “Blair Witch” game (it’s based on the 2016 Thriller/Horror film) and it looked rather good. That’s also why I hope to hear and see more of the game in a not too distant future.

Well, it’s very likely that I will, since “Blair Witch” is set for an Xbox One release on August 30th this Summer.

Next, we got CD Project Red, “Cyberpunk 2077” and Keanu Reeves. The perhaps perfect trio in one.

Anyways, Keanu explained that “Cyberpunk 2077” is set a metropolis future where body modifications have become an obsession, and you (the player) play as an outlaw an enhanced mercenary who’s working in the sleazy belly of the city.

Well, the E3 presentation most certainly looked breath-taking and impressive. So I’m really looking forward to “Cyberpunk 2077” as its set to be released on April the 16th next year (2020), and not the jokingly expected year date it was set in!.

MS then showed off  the cozy management game “SpiritFarer” (the game is coming to Xbox One in 2020), where you build, care, explore and learn to say goodbye as you explore the world and guide your spirit friends across the seas to set them free into the afterlife.

After that we were shown a brand-new “Battletoads” game (which most fans don’t like all that much at the moment…) where players get to join Rash, Pimple and Zits in their biggest battle yet through an explosive 3-Player couch co-op beat-em up!  (“Battletoads” is said to launch “soon” for Xbox One).

And once the “Battletoads” trailer was over, we got to see a very impressive and beautiful trailer of the upcoming hand-drawn indie RPG “The Legend of Wright” (the game is coming to Xbox One, PC, iOS and Android in the Spring of 2020).

ID @ Xbox then shows of a multitude of games that all launch with Xbox Gamepass on the day of release.

Well, I don’t know about you, but that’s something which I really like to see. Why? Because ID @ Xbox really enables developers and small indie-devs to bring their dreams to a reality.

Furthermore, after seeing just the shear amount of games that’s been shown every year at E3 with ID @ Xbox, it is really exciting as your bound to find something that you’ll enjoy! And having access to all of these games with Gamepass is an added bonus with no doubt.

More on, Xbox Gamepass today announced that “Batman Arkham Knight”, “Metro Exodus”, “Hollow Knight”, “Borderlands” and the “Handsome Jack Collection” are now available for Xbox players.

And if you’re a PC Gamer then you’re in luck with Xbox Gamepass for PC which, has a handful of selected games for PC gamers with over access to a 100 games by August.

Nice indeed, but if that’s not what you wanted, then you could always try Xbox Gamepass ultimate instead as it gives you a Gamepass for PC, Xbox and Xbox Live gold (the beta is out right now for£1\$1)

Xbox then propelled to the sky with a very impressive trailer of “Microsoft Flight Simulator” (which is coming soon to Xbox One), “Age of Empires II Definitive Edition” (which launches this Fall for PC and Xbox One) and “Wasteland 3” (which is coming to PC and Xbox One in 2020).

The awesomeness didn’t end there though, as a brand-new and crazy good-looking trailer for “Psychonauts 2” was shown as well.

Moving on, I was really feeling the force with the upcoming hilarious “Lego Star Wars the Skywalker Saga” featuring all nine films in one game.

However, if LEGO and Star Wars isn’t your cup of tea, then maybe “Dragonball Z” is more your thing with the upcoming action RPG “Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot“? (the game is coming to PS4 and Xbox One in early 2020)

Well, I found “Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot” to look rather cool at least. Even so, it remains to be seen how good (or bad) the game really is (the actual gameplay).

Another game that really caught my attention was “12 Minutes“. The game really fascinated me as you play as a man that’s trapped in a time loop as an interactive thriller.

So “12 Minutes” really excites me as I found the game to be super unique and not something I’ve seen much of before.

So if you feel the same way as I do about “12 Minutes”, then I’m glad to inform you that the game is coming out to PC and Xbox One in 2020.

After the “12 Minutes” trailer we were shown we got to see a glimpse of “Way to the Woods“. So what is that game all about then?

Well, “Way to the Woods” is a pretty darn cool looking third-person adventure game about two deers that’s been abandoned who must find their way home (“Way to the Woods” is coming to PC and Xbox One in 2020).

Personally, I couldn’t help to think of “Way to the Woods” as a rad game version of “Bambi”. So let’s hope that the game turns out to be as great as it looks (we will know for sure in 2020!).

We then found out that “Gears 5” is coming to Xbox One on September 10th, and that you can play “Gears 5” four days early if you buy the Ultimate Edition or having Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

As for the game itself, “Gears 5” literally combines everything you know about gears but turned straight up to 11!

Furthermore, if you pre-order or play within the first week you get access to the neat looking “Terminator Dark Fate” character pack (I for one didn’t see that one coming).

Xbox then showcased its new improved Xbox One Elite Controller (Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2) with more customizability, three custom profiles to instantly switch between and extended battery life claimed to last 40+ hours on one charge.

So if you like the sound of that, then you can pre-order the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 right now via Xbox.com (it’s all yours for 179,99 USD).

We then get a further look at “Dying Light 2” with more footage and nothing much new we find out about to really get a taste about what to expect.

Next after “Dying Light 2” “Forza Horizon 4” raced up on stage with a half a million Lego life-sized Sienna figures as the upcoming “Lego Speed Champions” expansion pack was shown (the expansion pack is coming to Xbox One on 13th).

So what does this expansion got to offer then? Well, “Lego Speed Champions” offers its players world full of lego, new lego vehicles and tons of bricks to Smash.

Nice indeed, and I really like this because I can appreciate that “Forza Horizon” is an arcade racing game and doesn’t take itself too serious, but also ensures to maintain a true racing experience for all types of fans.

However, for the more serious players about simulation racing, I felt rather let down as there was no new “Forza Motorsport” game mentions or announcements at E3 at all (I hope that will change during E3 2020)…

Moving on, if you remember “Gears Pop” from last year’s E3 and enjoy mobile games and Gears, then maybe this is the game for you. Well, if that’s the case then you can register now for Android and iOS and get access to the game very soon (“Gears Pop” doesn’t seem to be my kind of game, so I’ll pass on it).

So if “Gears Pop” wasn’t your kind of game, then perhaps”State of Decay 2” is something you enjoy with the all new DLC expansion “Heartland” (which is available right now).

Sega then announced for the first time ever that “Phantasy Star Online 2” and “Crossfire X” is coming first to console on Xbox One, we then yet again get another world premiere in the shape of “Tales of Arise” (all three games is coming to Xbox One in 2020).

“Borderlands 3” then wub, Wub, Wubs its way on stage showing off even more footage and story coming September 13th to Xbox One with four new Vaults Hunters as you Shoot, Loot or Shloot? Across multiple worlds fighting against the Children of the Vault.

But wait! There is more! Because the “Handsome Jack collection” is now available on Gamepass and even more “Borderlands 2” content is now available as a new DLC adventure has dropped for the game (the  “Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary” DLC is 100% free!)

Nope, we’re not quite done yet as another world premiere was shown on Eldering showing off a short trailer of what to expect.

We then got to hear Phil Spencer talk about XCloud and how we could use the Xbox One console to stream games across the cloud to play our games on the go.

The idea would be to use your own console or Microsofts own Data center in-order to play games you want no matter where you are in the world. Well, in October of this year we shall find out if there’s any truth to all of this.

Finally, Xbox’s next console (which currently goes under the name of “Project Scarlett“) was unveiled, and it’s a console which a lot of players and fans have been eager to find out more about.

Right of the bat though, I found the console to be rather underwhelming! Because other than what we can expect from the next Xbox console generation, nothing else was shown.

We did get some specs for the console though. As Xbox claims that their next console is said to be be 4-times more powerful than the Xbox One X.

And that includes everything from up to 120fps and 8K Capability, Faster Load times, Ray-tracing hardware accelerated capability and a custom engineered AMD Zen 2 Processor using GDDR6 graphics.

We were also informed that we get to embark on the continuation of “Halo” together with the Master Chief with the release of the next generation Xbox console of Holiday 2020.

That’s right. As Xbox’s Project Scarlett is set to launch in the Holiday of 2020 where the launch title just happens to “Halo Infinite“.

As nice as all of this might sound though, I felt rather let down by all of this. I mean, sure. We did indeed got to see some in-engine gameplay from “Halo Infinite”.

However, we got to see nothing more other than what we did a year ago where Xbox could have made a serious and huge statement and set the bar in next-generation gaming…

Entertainment Value: 3/5
Games 5/5
Surprises 3/5

Verdict: 4/5
In overall, I think Xbox’s E3 2019 briefing was rather solid press conference, but nothing spectacular was shown really.

Even so, there is a lot that you can take away from this Xbox’s E3 2019 show. So I think that Xbox’s E3 2019 event can get you really excited for the future of games and just how much was shown off.

However, I was quite eager to hear more about the next generation of consoles get a sneak peek of what’s next and how Xbox plans to tackle the competition in the race for domination in the industry.

Instead what we got was what we knew to expect and not a lot more about “Halo Infinite” besides what was shown in the E3 2019 trailer…Nevertheless, I suspect we’ll hear great things in the coming months leading to its holiday release.

So, all in all, Xbox provided an intense grappling E3 show that had an overwhelming amount of games and content but are keeping things tight for what’s next and details on their next generation console!

Credit:
Robin Ek – Editor and co-writer.

***Disclaimer***
This is a personal opinion of the writer, and it doesn’t necessarily represent the other writers (nor The Gaming Ground´s) opinions.

***Disclosure***
I’m not a fan of Microsoft and prefer Sony. That said, I was as objective as possible, and believe that Microsoft had a much better presentation than Sony.

Brendon Morris
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround

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Tags: Cyberpunk 2077, Dying Light 2, E3, E3 2019, Halo: Infinite, Microsoft, Project Scarlett, Xbox, Xbox One