Xbox Game Showcase 2025 review: Rapid fire reveals.

Following the events of Sony’s State of Play and Summer Game Fest, we now tune in for Microsoft’s stream: the Xbox Games Showcase. Like last year, we have half of it is for new game trailers and announcements, while the other half talks more about an upcoming title: The Outer Worlds 2. For this post, we’ll be talking about the first half of the showcase, which is the brand-new games and content shown off.

 

First up, to get people excited for the second half of the stream, we have a brand new trailer for the aforementioned The Outer Worlds 2, featuring new gameplay footage, new story elements, and brand new environments to tackle. What's more is that we finally have a release date for the game: October 29th of this year. 

 

Next, we have the world premiere of a brand new game from Squanch Games: High on Life 2. Showcasing a brand new cinematic trailer, we see 

 

Up next, we have Resonance: A Plague Tale, a brand new game set within the world of the Plague Tale series, featuring a new playable character named Sophia as she tries to find out what happened to her past in this epic prequel title to Requiem.  

 

Next, to everyone’s surprise, we have the new announcement of a brand new hardware from Microsoft. It’s a handheld device like the Steam Deck called the Xbox Ally, which promises to deliver a unified Xbox experience in the near future. While late to the handheld party, Microsoft is confident enough to create such a device that can try to carve out its place in the handheld market after all this time. The Xbox Ally comes in two different models: a black one with one terabyte of storage, and a white one with half the storage for a reduced price. It’s set to launch this holiday season, and honestly, I have doubts about it being a success.

 

Up next, we have a brand new trailer for The Blood of Dawnwalker.

 

Next up, we have a brand new announcement of Super Meat Boy 3D, which looks delightfully bloody and violent. Now, in a 3D environment, we see that the classic gameplay has evolved into a new adventure with traps, gizmos, and even hilarious endings if Meat Boy doesn't finish a level. It launches next year on all major Xbox, PlayStation, and PC systems, and it honestly looks like a fun time all around.

 

Following up, we have a brand new trailer for Ninja Gaiden 4, now with a release date of October 21st of this year. 

 

Next, we have a brand new game announcement from a surprising studio. Beast of Reincarnation, and it’s made by none other than Game Freak, the same people who make the Pokémon games. Showcasing its souls-like gameplay through its close combat and magical attacks, fighting off new beasts with your animal companion, and surviving this new, post-apocalyptic setting. They're also eyeing a 2026 release on Xbox and PC, and I wanna support this game and its company, showcasing they're more than the studio that makes Pokémon. 

 

Afterwards, we see a brand new DLC announcement for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, titled The Order of the Giants. In this new expansion, we see Indiana try to uncover a new mystery that spans thousands of years, showcasing a hidden order of giants as they try to find redemption for their actions. New locations, new puzzles, and a new story that coexists alongside the base game, coming out on September 4th for all systems the base game is on.

 

Up next, we see a new trailer for the upcoming steampunk action game Clockwork Revolution, featuring time manipulation, overthrowing a corrupt government, and tons of weapons to use to help aid in this revolution. Further, we see that there are tons of locations to explore, regardless of the changed timeline, and a creepy possessed doll that spews insults and profanity. This game has no set release date yet, but it is worth checking out when it launches in the future. 

 

Next, we have the brand new reveal of Grounded 2, a surprise sequel to the first Grounded game, which came out back in 2022. With new locations to explore, bugs to ride on, and new skills to learn, Grounded 2 looks to be a big step up from the first game’s mechanics and story, as we see the dangers of a miniature world. It launches next month on Xbox and PC, and is worth checking into if you’ve played the first game.

 

Next up, we got a glimpse of the brand new gameplay trailer for Chronos: A New Dawn. Showcasing its mind-boggling creatures and high-action gameplay, you need to fend off while surviving the onslaught of fusing creatures to make even more powerful enemies. No date yet for the game’s release, unfortunately.

 

Following up on that, we have a brand new reveal of There Are No Ghosts in the Grand. Mixing the gameplay of cleaning and fixing up a hotel during the day, while dealing with all sorts of supernatural shenanigans at night.

 

After that, we have a brand new game called Aphelion, showcasing a survival horror where you play as a lone astronaut who has to brave a new planet to see if humans can inhabit it, or if it’s too much for humanity to handle. This game comes out next year for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, so stay tuned for more information. 

 

Afterwards, we have a new game called Mudang: Two Hearts, where North and South Korea are on track to reunify after so many decades, but a terrorist attack halts the progress. Switching between the dual protagonists Ji Jeong Tae and Gavi, this Metal Gear-like stealth game has something for fans of the franchise, with new enemies, a new story, and new ways to get past heavily guarded areas. The game comes to Xbox Series X/S and PC sometime next year. 

 

Next up, we have a new Pokémon-like free-to-play game called Aniimo. Aniimo focuses on collecting new monsters as you use their skills to help traverse a new land in search of treasure, mysteries, and more to come. Aniimo comes out next year, but there’s a closed beta test happening relatively soon! 

 

Up next, we have a look at the upcoming Solo Leveling game, which is based on the popular anime and light novel. Showcasing intense fights, interesting characters, and teaming up with your friends in this upcoming co-op game, which launches in the fall. I haven't seen the anime, but if the game looks as insane as the anime, then I might try it out for myself. 

 

Next, we have a surprise announcement that Planet of Lana is getting a sequel, titled Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf. Showcasing their past adventures, Lana and her little buddy Mui discover the history of Novo, which kickstarts another adventure that focuses on the land of Novo and the bond between these two protagonists. It sounds pretty fun and makes me want to play the original game before diving into this new game, which launches in 2026.

 

Despite the leaks leading up to its reveal, from voice actors to general leaks, Sega has officially announced Persona 4 Revival, a remake of the classic PS2 game Persona 4. Despite the trailer barely showcasing anything, it looks to be more fun than the last remake, Persona 3 Reload. While we don't have a release window for the game, I’m sure that long-time fans of Persona, or brand new ones that can't wait to sink their teeth into the new game, discover why Persona 4 is considered one of the best RPGs ever made. 

 

Afterwards, we see the trailer for the brand new expansion to Fallout 76: Gone Fission, effectively giving this online game a fishing minigame. Use all sorts of rods and bait to land yourself a sizable whopper in this expansive game set in the Fallout universe. They say every good game has a fishing minigame in common, and Fallout 76 looks to prove that theory true.

 

After that, we have the trailer for a brand new game, called At Fate’s End. This game, which looks and feels beautiful, showcases its combat being blended with dialogue, hoping to reach out to the enemies through the power of words, not the skill of a blade. Looking very intense, which is no surprise since the people that’s making this game made 33 Immortals, which should be out as an early access game. At Fate’s End has a 2026 release window announced for the game, and I can’t wait to check this out. 

 

Up next, we have a brand new trailer for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, which remakes both games into a single package, filled with nostalgic stages, familiar tricks, and loads of characters to play as, including guest characters such as Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. This game launches very soon on all major platforms, and I can't wait to see how well this game performs with its tricks and turns.

 

After that, we see a brand new fighting game: Invincible Vs. Showcasing the characters from this iconic comic book run and the intense animated series from Amazon Prime Video, we see characters such as Invincible himself, Atom Eve, Bulletproof, and many more as this 3v3 fighting game comes out next year. As a fan of the comics and the show, this looks pretty damn good, as fighting games have made a resurgence over the past few years, and I can’t wait to pick this up and play with friends.  

 

Next up, we have a brand new trailer for the upcoming remake of Gears of War: Reloaded. Showcasing its iconic gory moments, to the unforgettable characters that defined Xbox for the last 20 years, almost as iconic a shooter as Halo. And for the first time, the game is gonna be playable in not only 4K resolution, but also on PC and PlayStation 5, coming out on August 26th. 

 

Next on the show, we have a first look at Sea of Thieves season 17: Smugglers’ Tide, showcasing a new faction of riffraffs called the Smugglers’ League, showcasing a lot of stealing, swiping, and, of course, smuggling for this new faction of pirates. The season launches in August, so stay tuned for more information.

 

Afterward, we have a brand new DLC revealed for Age of Mythology: Retold, titled Heavenly Spear. Adding a few new gods into the game and a new campaign mode featuring one if the new gods, Yasuko. The expansion comes out later this year in the fall. 

 

Surprisingly, the showcase has also announced that the highly praised JRPG, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, is coming to Xbox systems later this year. Once oritgnaly a PlayStation exclusive, Square Enix has decided to try branching out to multiplatform releases, hence why this game is coming not only to Xbox systems, but also to the Switch 2. This is a surprisingly bold move from the legendary company, but not an unwelcome one.

 

What’s also surprising is that the highly reviewed Playstation 5 exclusive Final Fantasy 16 is also coming to Xbox systems, and you can play through it right now! Experience this newly iconic masterpiece of love and loss, battles beyond imagination, and a story that will melt your heart, now on Xbox systems everywhere. 

 

From the makers of Psychonauts comes Double Fine’s brand new game, Keeper. This game follows the unlikely friendship between a sentient lighthouse and a seagull as they traverse this weird new land filled with puzzles, creatures, and other oddities that the studio is known for. It comes out this October 17th, and it looks fun to play.

 

Last up, we have the announcement of this year’s newest Call of Duty, titled Black Ops 7. While there was no gameplay to behold, the trailer showcased a cinematic endeavor of a mind-bending story mode with one of the most played multiplayer games in the industry. It comes out later this year, and honestly, I hope it’s better than some of the previous games in the franchise. 

 

In Conclusion, this year’s Xbox Showcase has proven to have a little something for everyone, from RPGs to platformers, from fighting games to especially shooters. While they usually do the rapid-fire trailers to squeeze every bit of the time they have (which is a good sign that they aren't distracted), most of these trailers felt like massive successes, with only a few feeling weaker than others. Regardless, this showcase was a triumph for Xbox as a brand, but I do wish they would stop with the day-one game pass launches, which hurts developers in the long run. 

 

8/10