Xbox boss Phil Spencer has committed to what he describes as a record number of first-party games to be shown during Xbox's E3 2019 press conference. In a post on Twitter Spencer mentions just having finished the Xbox team's final E3 rehearsal in Redmond, Washington. "We have 14 Xbox Game Studios games in the show this year," Spencer describes, "More first party games than we've ever had at the show."

Microsoft has been building up hype for E3 2019 for some time now, but Spencer's new tweet is certain to stir the pot. Spencer had previously promised that Xbox would show up at this year's convention in a big way, delivering "new things that nobody has seen before." Showcasing a record number of first-party games is a simple and effective way of delivering on that promise, especially in an E3 off-year where both Sony and Activision won't have a presence on the E3 show floor.

For comparison's sake, Microsoft brought between 9 and 10 first-party games to E3 2018, depending on Spencer's definition of first-party. E3 2018 for Xbox was one of its best receptions since the introduction of the Xbox One, even though over half of those games have yet to be released. Between Spencer's promised 14 new games and the possibility of next-generation Xbox hardware being announced, 2019's E3 is lining up to be an event to remember.

Speculation about what 14 Xbox Game Studios games will be brought to E3 2019 is going rampant, but here's some idea of what's known to be in development at Xbox:

  • Halo: Infinite - 343 Industries
  • Gears of War 5/Gears Tactics/Gears Pop - The Coalition
  • Minecraft Dungeons - Mojang
  • Age of Empires 4/Age of Empires 2 and 3 Definitive Edition - Relic Entertainment
  • Outer Worlds - Obsidian Entertainment
  • Wasteland 3 - inXile Entertainment
  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps - Moon Studios
  • Battletoads - Dlala Studios

That's eight (or more) exclusive projects that are already known to be in development. Xbox could also bring currently available or soon-to-release games like Minecraft, Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 4, or the Halo: Master Chief Collection. Then, of course, there are plenty of rumors to fill out the remainder, like Ninja Theory's Bleeding Edge, Playground's Fable project, Forza Motorsport 8, or new studio The Initiative's first project.

The big question that remains to be answered at E3 2019 is just how much Xbox is willing to talk about the next generation. Rumors may state that Microsoft will at least announce the next generation Xbox console, but there's no word on whether next-generation software will be a part of that announcement. Needless to say, if all 14 games are Xbox One titles planned to be released between now and late 2020, that's an astounding line-up of first-party games. Doubly so if they're all to be included as Game Pass launch titles on both Xbox and PC.

As is ever the case, Phil Spencer's announcement has both provided much to think about and answered no questions at all. Nevertheless, the hype around E3 2019 grows. And as any fan of E3 can attest, while building hype is lots of fun, delivering on those expectations is so much more important. Best of luck to Xbox and Phil Spencer in that regard.