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 like nearly all of the occasions we’ve tucked into our Summer season of Gaming season are actually full. After we coated 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 couple of weeks in the past to see if my dumb concepts have been truly any good. 

I made 21 predictions in whole, 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 dangerous. Let’s undergo them one after the other.

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

• Microsoft will lean laborious into Forza Motorsport, and it’ll exit of its solution 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. Nonetheless lengthy the section of their showcase is, folks 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 study was that a whole lot of work has been finished 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 “non secular 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 feel 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 truthful, I used to be hardly the one one predicting this. Ryan had this one on his record 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 are actually taking a look at their very own again catalogs as sources of uncooked materials to reimagine from scratch, somewhat 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 approach 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 gorgeous demonstration of how the story is being reimagined by Playground, plus a beautiful use of Richard Ayoade to show the workforce’s dedication to humor. In the event you have been anticipating one thing that constructed totally on the inspiration of Lionhead’s unique, it looks like this one is shifting a lot additional afield and reimaging the franchise. It is a good instance of a pattern that appears to be rising fairly rapidly today – a lot as we’ve seen in motion pictures and TV, sport studios are actually taking a look at their very own again catalogs as sources of uncooked materials to reimagine from scratch, somewhat than proceed or just simply remake.

Aspect notice: Within the ballot I ran final time, this was by far the most well-liked alternative of video games listed that individuals have been wanting 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 truth. After the principle showcase the response undoubtedly appeared a bit combined as the general tone of the factor appeared to throw lots of people, plus there was widespread criticism of it wanting lower than stunning. The studio has since revealed that though it was first introduced three years in the past, the sport is much from being completed and received’t be launched till 2024. Obsidian boss Feargus Urquhart has additionally mentioned 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 Loss of life Stranding 2 trailer.

I actually thought this was a positive factor, however nope. Consistent with the final air of unpredictability round something Loss of life Standing associated, the one factor we noticed throughout this time period was Kojima speaking concerning the Administrators Reduce of Loss of life Stranding operating on Mac as a part of Apple’s Worldwide Builders Convention on June 5.

• We’ll actually see extra from Ubisoft on Murderer’s Creed Mirage, however I feel we’ll study that it’s simply the sneaky stealth-focused amuse-bouche earlier than the true predominant course: no matter it’s that Codename Purple goes to be known as. I feel we’ll get the title 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 Purple. Sure – Mirage undoubtedly seems to be a smaller, extra compact, stealth-focused assassination sport somewhat 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 fully and completely faux 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 shall be in something Ubisoft exhibits of XDefiant.

We did get to see extra XDefiant 6v6 area gameplay, and the sport does characteristic 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 shall be out later this 12 months.

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

Sure, and it’s Far Cry: Pandora, principally. 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 must let it go.

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

• Ubisoft’s megaton shall 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 primarily based on the present, however on The Purge that’s typically referenced. Numerous flavors of wishful pondering have it as an Murderer’s Creed-alike with house 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 Canine-alike than an Murderer’s Creed-alike, however given the 2 are fairly carefully associated anyway, I feel 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 latest Ubisoft video games (Valhalla specifically) for being too large and too sprawling with simply an excessive amount of stuff in them – however I actually hope that Outlaws is strictly like that. Valhalla grew to become 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 gathering each doodad I might probably discover, so the concept of one thing comparable in a well-recognized Star Wars setting sounds great.

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

Yup. You all appeared to adore it, too. After we posted the trailer it noticed over 1,000,000 views in a short time and obtained a few of the most optimistic suggestions of something we noticed over the course of your complete 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 fully rebooted is indicative of the pattern we’re seeing the place publishers are clinging to outdated manufacturers and attempting to make them contemporary once more.

• Warner Bros. Video games used Summer season Recreation Fest to indicate Gotham Knights final 12 months, so it’s attainable it might use this 12 months’s occasion to indicate 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 possibility for restoration.

Not even the tiniest whiff of it. It appears unlikely we’ll see something of this till possibly the Recreation Awards in December. If I’m trustworthy, 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 feel 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 may increasingly 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 implausible, and the flexibility for 4 folks to play by way of 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.

Perhaps 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, notably Silent Hill 2. Time for a brand new trailer, certainly?

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

There’s been an assumption that Phantom Blade Zero is a PlayStation 5 unique – nonetheless, 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 rather more of.

I actually thought this could present up everywhere, as a result of it appeared wonderful. Apparently, as a result of the sport was proven as a part of the PlayStation Showcase on Might 24, there’s been an assumption that Phantom Blade Zero is a PlayStation 5 unique – nonetheless, it isn’t. In keeping 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 thus far.

• Lies of P emerged at Gamescom final August beneath comparable circumstances – a trailer throughout a showcase that wowed everybody with its gritty visuals and soulslike gameplay. Round8 debuted at Opening Evening Reside at Gamescom – which is hosted and curated by Keighley – so it looks like a reasonably secure wager 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 Area 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 Battle-ish repair earlier than the tip of this 12 months – it appears to have that coated.

• 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 mentioned 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. A giant disappointment all spherical.

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

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

General, it was , strong 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 feel the true takeaway from all this may be damaged down into seven fundamental themes.

1. All of us nonetheless anticipate large summer season showcases and previews, and even with out E3 or one thing large-scale to carry all the things collectively – June remains to be an essential month for us all to see what the way forward for sport releases appears like. Although E3 is cancelled for the following couple of years (at the very least) it appears clear we’ll proceed to see large 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 films the place studios will not be 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 filled with video games. We noticed 528 titles throughout Summer season of Gaming, and whereas a lot of these have been indies, the amount of big-budget titles was significantly larger than we have seen in recent times.
5. Our time is extra valuable 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 big), and repair video games are extra of a time-suck than ever.
6. The {hardware} has actually settled down. You may extra simply purchase a PS5 or an Xbox Collection X, there aren’t any iterations on the horizon – and actually 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. Comply with him on Twitter.