The Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, 2022’s Xbox E3 event equivalent, is planned to go live on June 12 at 10:00 AM PT. This year’s show remains a mystery, with Xbox’s lineup for late 2022 and 2023 still largely up in the air. There’s a line-up of notable games in development, includingIndiana Jones,Redfall,The Outer Wilds 2,Hellblade 2, and more, but release dates are hard to come by. Unfortunately, it’s now being reported that two of Xbox’s biggest upcoming games,FableandPerfect Dark, won’t be at the show.
The report comes from Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb who shared the news during his latest GrubbSnax show. Grubb says that while Xbox has been cautious not to leak any information about what will be included in the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022, he’s been able to confirm thatFableandPerfect Darkwill not be at the show. No further information was provided by Grubb, but the indication is that there are no issues.FableandPerfect Darksimply remain in development.
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Fableis currently in development at Playground Games, the developer of theForza Horizonseries. A new studio atPlayground Gameswas opened in 2017 to focus on open-world projects, though when that studio’s focus shifted toFableis unclear. Regardless,Fablewas announced in 2020 with a cinematic trailer and hasn’t been publicly shown since.Fable’s announcement was likely made to build up excitement for the Xbox Series X/S, but remains far off from release.
Perfect Dark is similarly positioned toFable. It was announced in 2020 as the first project from the young Xbox first-party studio The Initiative. The only major update since was confirmation that The Initiative has partnered withCrystal Dynamicsfor the project, though the extent of that partnership isn’t clear. It too, remains quietly in development.
There are two simple answers to the question of why neitherFablenorPerfect Darkwould be at Microsoft’s Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase this year. The first is that they’re simply not ready and weren’t able to put together a demo or trailer for the event. The second is that Microsoft has plenty of other games to show instead. Both could be true.
What is true is that late 2022 and 2023 remain mysteries in terms of what Xbox is planning to put out and when. In that regard, theXbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022should prove revelatory, withFableandPerfect Darkor without.
FableandPerfect Darkboth remain in development.
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