Xbox Charges Into 2020

Microsoft’s XO19 event packed in some exciting announcements ahead of an absolutely huge year for all things Xbox

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Let’s address the Scarlett-shaped elephant in the room straight off the bat. Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox was nowhere to be seen at X019. That doesn’t mean the expo was a dud, though. Far from it. Held at London’s Copper Box Arena, exciting new games were announced during the three-day extravaganza, and there was a big focus on making Xbox Game Pass a truly irresistible service.

While we’re glad to see intriguing new IPs from Rare and Obsidian, it’s hard not to feel a little shortchanged that Project Scarlett was MIA at Microsoft’s biggest gaming expo. Even though the next Xbox is due out Holiday 2020, developers wouldn’t talk directly about the super powerful console at the show. Instead, Microsoft seems more focused on announcing games that are coming to Xbox One is the near future than lifting the lid on its new system.

Perhaps the most striking of these announcements was the reveal of a brand-new IP from Rare. Everwild is a completely fresh adventure that looks to be as hard to pigeonhole as Sea Of Thieves. Rocking the same painterly aesthetic as the online buccaneer, it offers online co-op in a fantasy realm filled with incredible creatures.

Judging by the reveal, Everwild focuses on making you coexist with its exotic critters. Fantasy giraffe/stag beasties boast resplendent golden antlers that unfurl and blossom like petals when alerted, but not once do the on-screen band of explorers look to hunt or hurt these animals. While it’s not yet clear what genre Everwild falls into, there appear to be elements of stealth and platforming. One scene sees a pair of adventurers help each other scramble up sheer rock surfaces, while another has a group sneaking past a herd of tusked rodent-like creatures – imagine a giant beaver mixed with a boar.