Summer of Gaming 2023 Predictions Revisited

After Nintendo’s remake-packed Direct on June 21, and Sega’s Sonic Central on June 23, it looks as if nearly all of the occasions we’ve tucked into our Summer season of Gaming season at the moment are full. After we lined greater than 528 video games over the course of 25 livestreams, and noticed 137.5 million YouTube views and 336 million minutes (that’s 639 years) of IGN protection watched through the previous 4 weeks, it’s time to look again on these predictions from a number of weeks in the past to see if my dumb concepts have been truly any good. 

I made 21 predictions in complete, and I obtained 12 of them proper. That’s not fairly nearly as good as I’d hoped, however contemplating how bizarre and unpredictable issues have been round sport releases over the previous few years, it’s truly not too unhealthy. Let’s undergo them one after the other.

I wasn’t precisely stretching on this one, so it doesn’t really matter. But it surely’s good to open with a win. The sport appears to be like phenomenal, and can certainly be the juggernaut that each Microsoft and the Xbox fanbase really want it to be. The most important query after the present was: why is it 30fps on Xbox Sequence X and Sequence S and never 60fps, as individuals count on from really next-gen video games? In his IGN Efficiency preview after the occasion, Michael Thompson dove into the small print shared by Bethesda, the revealed PC minimal and really helpful specs. He additionally appears to be like at how the Creation Engine 2 works, evaluating it to Bethesda’s earlier video games to gauge potential causes for why the workforce might need chosen 30fps.

• Microsoft will lean laborious into Forza Motorsport, and it’ll exit of its option to present how a lot prettier and even-more unnecessarily attentive to element it’s than Gran Turismo. See the person carbon fibers, or one thing. Nevertheless lengthy the section of their showcase is, individuals will complain that it’s too lengthy.

Equally predictable, however actually they stored the actually nerdy shit to a minimal, which was uncommonly reserved. What we did be taught was that lots of work has been achieved to make the profession gameplay extra attention-grabbing with the potentially-groundbreaking new Builders Cup profession mode, which serves as the brand new single-player marketing campaign. The Forza workforce calls it a “religious successor” to modes from Forza Motorsport 3 and 4, and guarantees extra of an RPG-style development system the place driving talent straight impacts XP leveling. 

• I believe there’ll be a Gears 6 teaser with little to no gameplay proven. I do know this isn’t precisely that daring of a guess, however it’s time. It’s not a stretch to imagine there’s a Grasp Chief Assortment-style Gears bundle within the works too.

Properly, that didn’t fairly work out. To be honest, I used to be hardly the one one predicting this. Ryan had this one on his checklist on Unlocked, too. What’s attention-grabbing is that the Xbox Showcase (truly, each of them) projected a renewed confidence from Microsoft, regardless of a major variety of beforehand introduced video games like State of Decay 3, or highly-likely titles like Gears 6 not being current.

A lot as we have seen in motion pictures and TV, sport studios at the moment are taking a look at their very own again catalogs as sources of uncooked materials to reimagine from scratch, relatively than proceed or just simply remake.

• All of the glitter-inspired fuss about Playground Video games’ Fable reboot will turn into true. I’m guessing it’s method additional alongside than anybody thinks, and we could even get a launch date.

Nailed it. We didn’t get a launch date, however we did get a stupendous demonstration of how the story is being reimagined by Playground, plus a beautiful use of Richard Ayoade to display the workforce’s dedication to humor. In the event you have been anticipating one thing that constructed absolutely on the muse of Lionhead’s authentic, it looks as if this one is transferring a lot additional afield and reimaging the franchise. It is a good instance of a pattern that appears to be rising fairly rapidly nowadays – a lot as we’ve seen in motion pictures and TV, sport studios at the moment are taking a look at their very own again catalogs as sources of uncooked materials to reimagine from scratch, relatively than proceed or just simply remake.

Aspect be aware: Within the ballot I ran final time, this was by far the most well-liked selection of video games listed that individuals have been trying ahead to. It took 34% of the votes.

• This one’s in all probability apparent after Phil Spencer made such a degree of claiming he’s performed it a bunch, however there’ll be a giant section on Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity-expanding first individual RPG Avowed.

Yup. They confirmed it twice, in actual fact. After the principle showcase the response undoubtedly appeared a bit blended as the general tone of the factor appeared to throw lots of people, plus there was widespread criticism of it trying lower than lovely. The studio has since revealed that though it was first introduced three years in the past, the sport is much from being completed and gained’t be launched till 2024. Obsidian boss Feargus Urquhart has additionally stated that whereas the studio’s preliminary pitch for Avowed was for it to be a much bigger, sprawling open-world fantasy role-playing sport like Bethesda’s Skyrim, it has ended up being a smaller scale sport, much like its earlier sci-fi role-playing sport The Outer Worlds. 

• We’re about due an extended and even weirder Demise Stranding 2 trailer.

I actually thought this was a certain factor, however nope. In line with the final air of unpredictability round something Demise Standing associated, the one factor we noticed throughout this time period was Kojima speaking in regards to the Administrators Reduce of Demise Stranding operating on Mac as a part of Apple’s Worldwide Builders Convention on June 5.

• We’ll definitely see extra from Ubisoft on Murderer’s Creed Mirage, however I believe we’ll be taught that it’s simply the sneaky stealth-focused amuse-bouche earlier than the true foremost course: no matter it’s that Codename Pink goes to be referred to as. I believe we’ll get the identify for the sport and a reveal exhibiting that it’s a big RPG-style factor that’s even larger than Valhalla.

Sure to Mirage, however no to Codename Pink. Sure – Mirage undoubtedly seems to be a smaller, extra compact, stealth-focused assassination sport relatively than an enormous sprawling RPG like Valhalla. Unexpectedly, we additionally obtained a take a look at Jade – the Ubisoft and Stage Infinite team-up that appears prefer it has the potential to be a fully-fledged Murderer’s Creed sport for cellular. We additionally obtained a trailer for the Murderer’s Creed VR sport, Nexus, however the trailer for it was utterly and completely pretend pre-rendered nonsense and in no way what a Meta Quest 3 will be capable to generate, not to mention a Quest 2.

• The one whiff of something that smells even vaguely like an acknowledgement of a brand new Splinter Cell might be in something Ubisoft reveals of XDefiant.

We did get to see extra XDefiant 6v6 area gameplay, and the sport does function Echelon brokers as certainly one of its factions – so I assume that is kinda, technically a sure? The sport is in open beta proper now, and might be out later this 12 months.

• Ubisoft will present Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora in all its glory. The feedback on each platform will mainly be yawns and claims of not giving a shit, after which we’ll see that the trailer has achieved a gajillion views within the first 12 hours.

Sure, and it’s Far Cry: Pandora, mainly. It didn’t do the loopy views I assumed it’d although, the trailer solely did round 80k views on our YouTube channel, which is fairly weak, after which the longer gameplay overview managed about 120k. Earlier bulletins across the sport have carried out significantly higher than that, however that was primarily earlier than the second film got here out.

• In the event you’re hoping there’ll be something on Past Good & Evil 2, you’re simply stressing your self out. We’re all going to need to let it go.

Yeah. C’mon. It’s by no means occurring.

• Ubisoft’s megaton might be its Star Wars reveal. There are all types of rumors going round about this one, however my favourite is that it’s a Mandalorian sport. Not based mostly on the present, however on The Purge that’s typically referenced. Numerous flavors of wishful considering have it as an Murderer’s Creed-alike with area flight and fight in-between planets.

Sure to Star Wars, no to the Mandalorian half. That also counts as a win although, proper? Technically Star Wars Outlaws is extra of a Watch Canines-alike than an Murderer’s Creed-alike, however given the 2 are fairly intently associated anyway, I believe that also counts. For me personally, together with Starfield, that is the announcement from Summer season of Gaming I’m most enthusiastic about. I do know lots of people have criticized current Ubisoft video games (Valhalla specifically) for being too huge and too sprawling with simply an excessive amount of stuff in them – however I actually hope that Outlaws is precisely like that. Valhalla turned a consolation sport for me, and the nearly-200 hours I spent in it was in the end on account of exploring each nook and cranny and accumulating each doodad I may presumably discover, so the thought of one thing related in a well-known Star Wars setting sounds fantastic.

• We already know the gameplay reveal of Mortal Kombat 1 might be at Summer season Recreation Fest due to Geoff Keighley’s frequent reminders, so we will safely file this one underneath “expectations.”

Yup. You all appeared to find it irresistible, too. Once we posted the trailer it noticed over 1,000,000 views in a short time and obtained among the most constructive suggestions of something we noticed over the course of your entire occasion. That is one other instance of the pattern we’re seeing the place franchises are being revisited and reimagined to some extent. Whereas Mortal Kombat 1 doesn’t appear to be rethinking the core gameplay of the 30 year-old franchise an excessive amount of, the truth that the story is being utterly rebooted is indicative of the pattern we’re seeing the place publishers are clinging to previous manufacturers and making an attempt to make them recent once more.

• Warner Bros. Video games used Summer season Recreation Fest to point out Gotham Knights final 12 months, so it’s attainable it might use this 12 months’s occasion to point out one thing redemptive for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The sport isn’t due till subsequent February, however its final exhibiting undoubtedly soured lots of people to it, so there’s a chance for restoration.

Not even the tiniest whiff of it. It appears unlikely we’ll see something of this till perhaps the Recreation Awards in December. If I’m sincere, I’d guess it might get delayed even additional and we could not see it til this time subsequent 12 months. And even later.

• I believe we’ll see a brand new Sonic sport at Summer season Recreation Fest. I’ve no proof to again this up, I’m simply guessing. This will find yourself being little greater than a trailer for the Frontiers DLC that includes playable Tails, Amy, and Knuckles, however I actually assume there’ll be one thing greater than that.

Sonic Superstars appeared improbable, and the flexibility for 4 individuals to play by the story collectively as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose undoubtedly differentiates it from the handfuls of different Sonic video games we’ve seen over time.

• Sega will present a brand new Hyenas trailer as a result of everybody has forgotten that the sport exists.

Possibly all of us simply imagined Hyenas, and it was by no means truly actual?

• We’re nicely overdue for a brand new replace on the numerous Silent Hills, significantly Silent Hill 2. Time for a brand new trailer, certainly?

Nothing. Not a sausage. Kinda stunned about this one, because it appears nicely overdue, plus Konami appears to be waking up once more with all of the Metallic Gear Strong stuff.

There’s been an assumption that Phantom Blade Zero is a PlayStation 5 unique – nevertheless, it is not.

• Phantom Blade Zero will certainly pop up once more. After wowing everybody on the PlayStation Showcase, first-time studio S-Recreation’s tough-to-describe steampunk kung fu maybe-soulslike motion RPG was an early shock that we’ll hopefully see far more of.

I actually thought this may present up far and wide, as a result of it appeared wonderful. Curiously, as a result of the sport was proven as a part of the PlayStation Showcase on Could 24, there’s been an assumption that Phantom Blade Zero is a PlayStation 5 unique – nevertheless, it isn’t. In line with a developer Q&A posted on the sport’s official Discord server, the workforce states that “for now we have no exclusivity on any platform.” To be clear, solely PS5 and PC variations have been introduced up to now.

• Lies of P emerged at Gamescom final August underneath related circumstances – a trailer throughout a showcase that wowed everybody with its gritty visuals and soulslike gameplay. Round8 debuted at Opening Night time Dwell at Gamescom – which is hosted and curated by Keighley – so it looks as if a reasonably protected guess we’ll see a follow-up at Summer season Recreation Fest. On the very least we’ll get an precise launch date.

Yup, and it appeared dreamy in all its puffy-shirted Timothée Chalamet-looking gothic glory, plus we obtained each a launch date and a demo.

• There hasn’t been a Warhammer 40k sport announcement within the final 5 minutes, so there’ll in all probability be a kind of.

They confirmed House Marine 2, which wasn’t precisely an announcement as a result of they first confirmed it on the Recreation Awards in December, so to the letter of this prediction, I used to be flawed. However nonetheless – the sport appeared fairly superior, and the trailer revealed confirmed that the sport has a co-op mode. In the event you’re eager to get a brand new, vaguely Gears of Struggle-ish repair earlier than the top of this 12 months – it appears to have that lined.

• Capcom will in all probability proceed down its path of regurgitating itself with the announcement of one other remake. The divisive Code Veronica, maybe? (Yeah, yeah, I do know they stated final October that they weren’t doing it proper now, however do you actually consider them?)

Nope, nope, nope. They solely confirmed stuff we already knew about, after which their “deep dive” on Dragon’s Dogma 2 was barely puddle-deep. An enormous disappointment all spherical.

• We’ll get our first glimpse of Name of Obligation Trendy Warfare 3. I’m guessing at Summer season Recreation Fest.

Nope. We obtained Warzone Season 3, however not Trendy Warfare 3. It was in all probability a stretch given what we’re studying from the FTC trial occurring in the mean time.

General, it was a superb, stable preview season with some actually cool-looking video games coming within the subsequent 12 months or so. It could not have been probably the most groundbreaking or stunning set of bulletins, however I believe the true takeaway from all this may be damaged down into seven primary themes.

1. All of us nonetheless count on huge summer season showcases and previews, and even with out E3 or one thing large-scale to carry the whole lot collectively – June remains to be an essential month for us all to see what the way forward for sport releases appears to be like like. Despite the fact that E3 is cancelled for the following couple of years (at the least) it appears clear we’ll proceed to see huge occasions yearly.
2. After three years of studios hedging and releasing video games throughout earlier and present technology platforms, we’re lastly attending to see true next-gen experiences.
3. We’re undoubtedly seeing parallels with TV and flicks the place studios are usually not solely remaking well-known and beloved video games, however we’re additionally seeing issues being rebooted from the start and reimagined as one thing barely completely different.
4. The subsequent 12 months is totally full of video games. We noticed 528 titles throughout Summer season of Gaming, and whereas a lot of these have been indies, the quantity of big-budget titles was significantly better than we have seen lately.
5. Our time is extra treasured than ever. Video games are getting larger and requiring extra of a dedication, the selection on subscription companies is getting broader, DLC is getting larger (Phantom Liberty appears to be like large), and repair video games are extra of a time-suck than ever.
6. The {hardware} has actually settled down. You’ll be able to extra simply purchase a PS5 or an Xbox Sequence X, there aren’t any iterations on the horizon – and in reality the one {hardware} bulletins all 12 months have been VR and AR associated.
7. This 12 months is shaping as much as be one of many greatest years ever for releases. After the large successes of Tears of the Kingdom, Diablo IV, and Hogwarts – we’re taking a look at a super-packed September and October with video games like Mortal Kombat 1, Starfield, Alan Wake 2, Spider-Man 2, and Tremendous Mario Bros. Marvel.

John Davison is IGN’s writer and editorial lead, and has been writing about video games and leisure for greater than 30 years. Observe him on Twitter.