A new report claims that some of Xbox's most highly-anticipated upcoming first-party releases are still "miles away" from completion. For the reveal of the Xbox Series X/S consoles back in 2020, Microsoft announced a significant number of upcoming first-party game releases. In the years since most of those releases have not only not been released but have barely been mentioned by Xbox again. Sadly, it's possible that Xbox fans may be waiting for some of those games for a while yet.
The Xbox Series X/S consoles have been very well received since their launch in late 2020. They may not be outselling the PlayStation 5, but they have continued to overperform compared to the Xbox One. That's despite a very soft lineup of first-party releases as the Xbox Series X/S enters its third year. Microsoft has acquired a number of major studios and is trying to acquire more so that its game pipeline is more consistent. Unfortunately, that hasn't manifested yet.
With the Xbox's stunted content output in mind, VideoGamesChronicles recently spoke about what it expected to hear during this summer's confirmed Xbox Games Showcase event. Fable was a focus in this discussion, understandably, but there are fans of the fantasy RPG franchise who are going to be disappointed. While not saying that Microsoft won't show or tease Fable in some capacity, it was said that the game's release is "still miles away."
Fable wasn't the only game that VGC said it believes won't be arriving anytime soon. Another major project they don't expect to see soon is Perfect Dark, which was described as "not close." Further, Rare's Everwild, already known to have had a tumultuous development, is said to look "great on paper" but is just "not quite ready yet."
There are still going to be some major projects shown during the Xbox Games Showcase this summer, VGC theorizes. The two projects that were mentioned as Xbox's "nearest ones" are Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 and Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed. No tentative release window information was shared. It was only mentioned those two could be featured during Xbox's summer event.
Most Xbox fans would agree that while any individual game's release is exciting, what's most important is that Xbox focuses on delivering excellent games. The spectre of Halo Infinite will linger over the Xbox Series X/S generation, due to it being both extensively delayed and ultimately disappointing for many fans. Starfield's pending release will hopefully lend back some momentum to Xbox, which can then settle into a cadence of game releases that are less pressed for time and more polished. Expect major announcements to be made during this summer's Xbox Games Showcase.
Source: VGC Podcast