E3 season has been long and drawn out in 2020 thanks to the pandemic, which in a way has been good for gaming fans. Rather than one blowout week jam-packed with news that’s easy to miss, the slow-burn approach has been a bit confusing but far more manageable. Like many other publishers and gaming companies, Microsoft has also been producing their own presentations forXbox Series X. Although there’s been some missteps, games likeHalo InfiniteandFablehave driven the hype for the next Xbox console.
Now, with rumors of an upcoming presentation or news of some kind coming in August, it’s very possible there could be anotherXbox Series Xpresentation on the way next month. At the very least, there will be individual trailers and news regarding Xbox Series X in August, with Phil Spencer hinting at some specific details potentially being unveiled soon. Here’s what to expect from Xbox in the coming weeks, if these rumors and hints prove true.
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The Potential Overhaul of Xbox Live
Perhaps the most likely news will be what’s going on with Xbox Live, and how it will be implemented with Xbox Series X moving forward. Recently Microsoft commented on the discontinuation of the yearly subscription to Xbox Live rather vaguely,only confirming that the removal of the 12-month subscription was intentional. Since then it’s been radio silence from Microsoft and the Xbox team about any forthcoming changes to Xbox Live as a whole.
It’s possible thatXbox Live could be merging with Game Pass permanently, but for now that’s just a theory that’s unconfirmed. Considering one of the most popular subscriptions offered for Xbox is Game Pass Ultimate, that would make the most sense. There’s also been rumors of free-to-play multiplayer on Xbox Series X in general, presumably with Game Pass being the premium service to replace Xbox Live entirely. All of this information is rumored for now, but it does pose some interesting speculation. The only available subscriptions for Xbox Live at this point are 1-month and 3-month rates, which coincidentally is long enough to last on Xbox One until the October/November range.
More Titles from Xbox Game Studios
Fans could perhaps get more information on the six or so remaining Xbox Game Studios' games that haven’t had any official announcements this summer. As mentioned during the Xbox Games Showcase, nine of the 15 Xbox Game Studios brought their upcoming titles to Xbox Series X’s first-party showcase. While there hasn’t beenany concrete information for another Games Showcase happening any time soon, it’s very possible another shorter showcase could be in store for the remaining studios' games. Earlier this year, Phil Spencer hinted that he’d played a prototype of The Initiative’s upcoming Xbox Series X game, so perhaps August would be the right time to show off more games.
Additionally, fans could get some more information on the Xbox ecosystem and what changes are coming with the new Dashboard in Xbox Series X. Other than any changes to Xbox Live, Xbox Series X will certainly launch with a new suite of features on the dashboard as well as a new system UI.Neither Xbox Series X or PS5 has gone in-depth regarding any of the elements of social interactivityon each console, something that was marketed pretty extensively with PS4 and Xbox One. It’d be interesting to get a good idea of what Xbox Series X is capable of with features outside of just game performance, like community interaction or native console streaming.
Potential Price and Release Date Announcement
Believe it or not it’s already come to August 2020, meaning there’s only three months until the PS5 and Xbox Series X will most likely launch. Aprice and release date announcement in August wouldn’t be too far-fetchedconsidering how close the actual release window presumably is. Xbox Series X, as well as PS5, are both slated for holiday 2020. Traditionally, at least in past console generations, the next PlayStation or Xbox launches in the mid-to-late November launch window. Three months away from the assumed launch of Xbox Series X isn’t exactly too early to unveil an official price and/or release date of the console.
Amongeverything else that needs to be prepared for a console launch, the official price and release date announcements are typically last on the list of marketing priorities. Considering both consoles are likely entering manufacturing cycles at this point, it’s safe to assume the productions costs have been definitively nailed down. Then again, Microsoft and Sony could be playing chicken in terms of which company is announcing these details first, but at this point it’s unlikely an early announcement would change any pricing details for both consoles, unlike previous generations where the “console wars” were a valid concept.
Fans at bare minimum shouldn’t expect a similar blowout Games Showcase like July’s event, but Phil Spencer has multiple times confirmed there’s more information coming in August. The launch window for Xbox Series X is approaching quickly, which means any of the information covered here isn’t too unrealistic considering the time frame.
