Author: Trafficblast

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

This video has an invalid file format.

2020 is (finally) coming to an end, which means we’ve got a whole new year’s worth of games to look forward to. Though both the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 are now out, the past console generation hasn’t been abandoned just yet. So as we look ahead to games coming to Xbox in 2021 and beyond, we need to consider both the Xbox One and the Xbox Series X/S.

It’s worth noting that some of these games are third-party titles that are scheduled to release for PlayStation and/or Nintendo consoles as well. If you’re looking for something a bit more next-gen console-specific, we’ve also compiled a list of all the games currently scheduled to only release for Xbox Series X/S in 2021 and beyond.

Avowed

Set in the world of Eora from the Pillars Of Eternity series, Avowed is an upcoming RPG from developer Obsidian Entertainment. We know pretty much nothing else about the game–Obsidian has only revealed that it will be an “epic, first-person RPG” and that it will release for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Given the current lack of details, we imagine that Avowed is probably scheduled more so for “beyond” than 2021, but we’ll see.

Bright Memory: Infinite

Bright Memory: Infinite is a soft remake of 2019’s Bright Memory, a sci-fi first-person shooter with a heavy emphasis on fast-paced combat that makes use of guns, swords, and supernatural powers in a combo-focused gameplay loop. Infinite is set to expand upon the original title’s mechanics and campaign, releasing for both Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2021.

Dying Light 2

Dying Light 2 is a first-person zombie survival game where you fight the living undead with melee weapons and hardcore parkour skills. The game features RPG-inspired adaptive storytelling and co-op multiplayer. Last we heard, developer Techland delayed Dying Light 2 indefinitely so we don’t know when it’s coming out, but it’s scheduled to release for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC.

Elden Ring

Ooooooh Elden Ring, why does developer From Software refuse to talk about you? At this point, we’ve heard more about Elden Ring from Xbox head Phil Spencer (we’re only exaggerating… kinda). Elden Ring’s story is being co-created by fantasy author George R.R. Martin, and the game features an open world–a significant change in structure from From Software’s more recent action games, which use interconnected but largely linear designed environments. Elden Ring is currently scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Far Cry 6

In Far Cry 6, you play as Dani Rojas, a native of a fictional country in the midst of revolution against the regime of Presidente Anton Castillo–who’s portrayed by actor Giancarlo Esposito. The sixth mainline entry in the Far Cry series will see the return of a voiced protagonist, something missing from 2018’s Far Cry 5. Far Cry 6 will release for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC, Amazon Luna, and Google Stadia in 2021, with a leak suggesting May 25 specifically.

Everwild

In developer Rare’s next game, Everwild, you’re given “a magical and untamed natural world for you to explore and to just truly lose yourself in.” In trailers, we’ve seen that Everwild has a lush visual style and intriguing character designs, but we still know very little about what you actually do in the game. As of this writing, Everwild is still scheduled to release for Xbox Series X/S in 2020…but since 2020 is almost over, we imagine the game has been delayed to 2021 and Rare just hasn’t announced it yet.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

The sequel to Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II continues the titular protagonist’s journey, this time taking place in Iceland. However, other than that it will release for Xbox Series X/S and PC, we haven’t heard anything else about the game.

Fable

It’s wild to think that we’re getting another Fable game–from developer Playground Games no less, aka the studio behind the Forza Horizon series. This fourth Fable game, currently only referred to as “Fable,” is a soft reboot for the franchise, similar to Arkane Studios’ Prey. It’s scheduled to release for Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Gotham Knights

Honestly, Gotham Knights is probably the closest we’re ever getting to a Red Hood video game. And if you want, you can play as a few of Batman’s other partners too in this co-op, loot-based, open world superhero game. Despite seemingly taking place after Batman: Arkham Knight, Gotham Knights is a brand-new universe with a storyline featuring the Court of Owls–Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is the actual sequel to the Arkham series. Weird right? Gotham Knights is scheduled to launch for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC in 2021.

Halo Infinite

Microsoft’s flagship franchise returns with its sixth mainline entry in Halo Infinite, which once again puts you into the boots of Master Chief. This time around, Chief is going up against the Banished, the baddies of Halo Wars 2. Originally slated to release in November 2020 before being delayed, Halo Infinite will now launch for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2021.

Hitman 3

Hitman 3 will build on the formula of its predecessors, presenting more self-contained areas with perfectly run systems for you to exploit in your quest to be the best assassin. The fan-favorite elusive targets will also return, though competitive multiplayer is being cut. Hitman 3 will launch for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC, and Google Stadia on January 20.

Little Nightmares II

In Little Nightmares II, you’ll once again journey through a perilous, nightmarish world, but this time you won’t have to do it alone–you’re joined by Six, the protagonist of the first game. This nerve-wracking sequel is full of jump scares, tense chase sequences, and terrifying enemies. Little Nightmares II will launch for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on February 11, with Xbox Series X/S and PS5 versions scheduled for release later in 2021.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga isn’t a simple collection of the previous Lego Star Wars games. It’s an entirely new game that allows you to travel throughout the galaxy during the time periods of the three movie trilogies, participating in space battles and other open world side quests with nearly 500 playable characters. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is scheduled to launch for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Switch in 2021.

Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…

Yeah, I’m surprised this is an actual game title too–I for sure thought that Tamoor and Matt were pulling my leg when they handed me this list. But, Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is a real title of a real game–it’s a remake of the original Nier Replicant, an action-based RPG, with updated graphics and animations that more closely resemble the more recent Nier Automata. Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… will release for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on April 23.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is a remake of the 2003 game of the same name, presenting the original action game with both visual and gameplay enhancements, most noticeably in regards to camera movement and combat mechanics. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time will launch for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on January 21.

Psychonauts 2

Psychonauts 2, developer Double Fine’s sequel to its much-beloved platformer, presents more human psyches for protagonist Raz to puzzle and jump their way through. The game was originally planned for 2019 before being delayed to 2020 and then delayed again to 2021. Barring any more delays, Psychonauts 2 will release for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PC sometime in 2021.

Resident Evil Village

The Resident Evil franchise is taking a break from remakes after 2019’s Resident Evil 2 and 2020’s Resident Evil 3 in order to push the story forward with the next mainline game in the franchise: Resident Evil Village. No concrete release date for Village yet, though leaks suggest it will launch for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC in April 2021.

Ruined King: A League of Legends Story

As a means to both expand upon the lore of Runeterra and welcome in new faces to League of Legends, Ruined King: A League of Legends Story is a single-player RPG with turn-based combat. The game will launch for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Switch sometime in 2021, with Xbox Series X/S and PS5 versions releasing sometime later in the year.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, you play as a bounty hunter who’s specially trained to survive in radiated zones, where you’ll have to fight off horrific monsters and dangerous factions seeking the same prizes as you. The story will be told in a non-linear manner, taking place in one of the biggest in-game worlds ever made. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will release for Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2021.

Scorn

Developer Ebb Software’s Scorn is a horror-adventure game with a narrative focus that heavily leans into body-horror and grotesque imagery. Definitely not one for the squeamish, that’s for sure. Scorn will launch for Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2021, but in the meantime, check out some extended gameplay showing off the horrifying environments and monsters within.

Starfield

Aside from a major game engine change, we know next to nothing about Starfield. It’s scheduled to release for Xbox Series X/S and PC (and maybe PS5, though Microsoft doesn’t feel like it necessarily needs to do that) at some point and looks to take place in a futuristic space-oriented setting.

The Elder Scrolls VI

Like Starfield, we don’t know much about The Elder Scrolls VI beyond that developer Bethesda is implementing a major engine change for it. Like Starfield, The Elder Scrolls VI could release for PS5 but Microsoft doesn’t feel beholden to that, so the game is currently only confirmed to launch for Xbox Series X/S and PC at some point.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

In The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, you’ll play as the titular Gollum in an original story that takes place in the immediate years following his acquisition of Sauron’s ring, and his subsequent descent into madness. . As Gollum dissociates and slips in and out of his different personas, you’ll be able to choose which voices he listens to, influencing both the overall narrative and how Gollum perceives the world around him. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will release for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC in 2021.

The Medium

The Medium is about, well, a medium–in this psychological horror game, you play as Marianne, who’s able to seamlessly transfer between the physical world and the spiritual realm. This allows you to look at and interact with the in-game world in two different ways to fight enemies, escape monsters, and solve puzzles. The Medium will launch for Xbox Series X/S and PC on January 28.

Unknown 9: Awakening

Unknown 9: Awakening is game set in a multimedia expanded universe that also includes podcasts, novels, and comic books–you have to experience all of them to get the full story. In Awakening, you play as Haroona, a young girl with supernatural powers. Unknown 9: Awakening will release for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC in 2021.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

Following a second delay, it looks like Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is finally coming out. In this first-person RPG, you play as a vampire in Seattle who has only recently turned and now needs to find a way to fit into vampiric society and satiate their bloodlust without raising the suspicion of humans. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will launch for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC in 2021.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

In Star Trek Discovery Season 3 Episode 8, Book’s home planet, Kwejian, is being threatened by Osyraa and the Emerald Chain. The Discovery jumps to Kwejian to assist the citizens as observers. We learn about Book’s history and falling out with his family, including his brother, Kyheem. Kyheem contacted Book because Osyraa wants Ryn, the Andorian.

Meanwhile, Georgiou’s health is declining and her condition is serious. Culber says she’s in the early stages of brain dysfunction, so he and Dr. Pollard perform a scan on Georgiou’s entire body, system by system. Unfortunately, Georgiou has another episode with traumatic visions during the scan. We have a theory on what might be going on with Georgiou, based on something that had happened to Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager.

Adira and Stamets combined the SB-19 data from Ni’Var with the date from the recovered black boxes to find where The Burn started. But with this information comes another mystery involving the song we’ve heard in previous episodes from the seed ship recordings and Grey’s cello playing. Stamets also learns that Adira (Blu del Barrio) is non-binary. Chastity and Greg recap the story and Star Trek references from Episode 8 and discuss Star Trek: Discovery Season 3’s villain issue.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

PlayStation boss Jim Ryan has insisted that Japan remains incredibly important to the company, slamming reports suggesting otherwise as “inaccurate”.

Ryan, speaking to Edge (via GamesRadar) in its latest December issue, stresses that PlayStation has not been as excited to work with Japanese developers for some years. The executive was also quick to point out the many Japanese-produced titles that appeared on the two PS5 streams ahead of the console’s launch.

“In our two launch shows – which featured a reasonable amount of games, but not a huge number of games – there were eight Japanese-developed titles there, many of which are the subject of collaboration and partnership between PlayStation and the Japanese publishing community,” Ryan explained.

Replying indirectly to the Bloomberg report that suggested Sony’s support in Japan was waning, Ryan doesn’t think the evidence is there to back it up. The PlayStation 5 launched simultaneously in Japan on November 12, for example–an improvement over the three-month wait the region had to endure during the PS4 launch.

“So I read that stuff,” said Ryan. “A lot of that commentary is inaccurate, and Japan – as our second largest market and as Sony’s homeland – continues to be really important to us.”

Recent changes at PlayStation have prompted some concern over the importance of the region to the global brand, including the official shift from O to X as the universal input for confirm on the controller and the departure of seasoned Japanese developers from the company.

Oscar Isaac, best-known for his role as Poe Dameron in the latest Star Wars trilogy, has been tapped to play Solid Snake in Sony’s Metal Gear Solid movie adaptation, Deadline reports. Funnily enough, Issac jokingly cast himself as Solid Snake back in March 2019 during the press tour for J. C. Chandor’s action-adventure film Triple Frontier.

The movie is being helmed by Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who gave an update on the over six-year-long project in July 2020. Derek Connolly, co-writer of the latest Jurassic World trilogy, is penning the script. Avi Arad, one of the producers of the critically acclaimed animated superhero movie Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, is producing. Sony Pictures is overseeing the entire project, while Peter Kang severing as the executive.

Vogt-Roberts confirmed the report later on December 4 with a picture of Isaac along with several emojis that should be familiar to the series’ fans.

A production start date for the Metal Gear Solid movie is unknown at the moment, but the project is a high priority for Sony Pictures, according to Deadline. A potential reason why a start date hasn’t been nailed down is because of Issac’s busy schedule.

Issac is already slated to appear in three films next year: Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated sci-fi epic Dune (which hits HBO Max and enters theatres simultaneously), Brian Petsos’ dark comedy directorial debut Big Gold Brick, and Paul Schrader’s crime drama The Card Counter.

Next to these films, Issac has booked himself up with television projects, too. This includes HBO’s Scenes From A Marriage with Jessica Chastain and the titular role in Marvel’s Moon Knight for Disney+. He will also star in and produce The Great Machine, an adaptation of the comic Ex Machina, and appear in Barry Levinson’s Francis And The Godfather with Jake Gyllenhaal.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Debuting in the Star Wars Holiday Special back in 1978, Boba Fett was one of the franchise’s most mysterious characters. Having follow-up appearances in The Empire Strikes Back and in Return of the Jedi, Fett captured the hearts–and wallets–of Star Wars fans for decades. So what’s he been up to all these years, especially since he’s supposed to have been dead? Here’s what we know leading up to the latest episode of The Mandalorian.

If you remember the Star Wars prequels, then you know Boba’s “father” was Jango Fett, a Mandalorian foundling–a child adopted into the Mandalorian culture. Later in life, his DNA was used to create the Clone Army for the Galactic Republic. Jango was given one clone for his own to raise, and that was his “son” Boba Fett. This happened during the movie Attack of the Clones.

After Jango was beheaded toward the end of the movie, Boba joined a team of bounty hunters in order to get revenge on Mace Windu, who killed his father, on the animated series The Clone Wars. Obviously, that didn’t work out, but during this time, Boba started his own bounty hunter syndicate on Tatooine. He eventually became one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy; however, this happens entirely off-screen, as there is a huge gap between his childhood years in the Clone Wars and when Boba reemerges during A New Hope where he’s working for Jabba. This is only in the remastered version. Theatrically, Boba’s first appearance was in Empire.

During this time, Boba has his “first meeting” with Darth Vader, as the Sith is looking for a bounty hunter to capture Han Solo. This happens during the first issue of the Darth Vader comic, where we also meet the bounty hunter Black Krrsantan–a giant, imposing Wookie. This is really where Vader and Boba’s relationship begins.

Once again, Boba is working for Vader during Empire Strikes Back and the two capture Han Solo and put him in carbonite. Then in Return of the Jedi, Boba meets his end in a Sarlacc pit, being bumped in by a blinded Solo. From there, Boba’s journey is unknown, at least as far as Star Wars canon goes up until we see him on The Mandalorian.

Two stories from the books Tales of the Bounty Hunters and Tales from Jabba’s Palace detail what happened to Boba after we saw him fall into the Sarcacc pit to be digested over a long period of time. However, neither of these two stories are canon anymore, but we’ll briefly go over them anyway. After Boba was knocked into the pit, he knew it would be a challenge to climb out as no one had ever escaped the Sarlacc pit before. However, Boba used his strength and will to escape and was found by Jawas, who thought he was a cyborg. Eventually, Boba escaped that fate as well and was nursed back to health by fellow bounty hunter Dengar–Boba later served as Dengar’s best man at his wedding. From there, Boba’s story gets completely wiped out by the new Star Wars canon.

So at this time, we don’t truly know how Boba escaped the Sarlacc pit. However, we do know that he was separated from his armor, Jawas got a hold of it, and then Cobb Vanth came into possession of it–before later giving it to The Mandalorian, who eventually returned it to Boba. Although, seeing Boba as the best man at a wedding would be quite the treat, but until then, we’ll just have to guess.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.