Following the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, Xbox’s 2022 lineup is reminiscent of its lackluster slate of games in 2017.
The Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12 was Xbox’s chance to prove to the gaming world that it had an incredible lineup of titles coming. And it does, just not anytime soon. Redfall was previously slated to release this summer, with Starfield following on November 11. This would have given Xbox a much-needed slate of exclusive games in 2022, however, they were both delayed to 2023. Now that Microsoft’s showcase is over, Xbox’s first-party portfolio in 2022 feels like it could be a repeat of the company’s showing in 2017: Barren compared to its competitors. At the showcase, Xbox did announce As Dusk Falls’ July 19 release date, confirmed that the 1.0 launch for Grounded is coming in September, and revealed Pentiment. Grounded and Pentiment both come from Obsidian Entertainment, so I’m looking forward to checking both of those games out when they release. Still, they aren’t the types of games that excite the mainstream masses hungry for blockbuster titles like Halo Infinite, God of War, or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In that respect, Xbox is severely lacking this year. Forza games typically launch in the fall, so many people were expecting Turn 10’s Forza Motorsport to come out later this year. That’s not the case, though, as Microsoft revealed during the showcase that Forza Motorsport will actually launch in spring 2023. This leaves Xbox with nothing comparable to Nintendo’s Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and Sony’s The Last of Us Part I during the back half of 2022. Nintendo has had a big year with Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Triangle Strategy, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
