Salutations everybody. It is Maddie here today. Hope you’re all doing absolutely excellent once again. You’re you’re probably doing way better than me. I am I haven’t been this sick in so long, dude. Like my throat hurts. My right ear is clogged. I can barely hear out of it. I have like snot and mucus flying out of me constantly. I am gross right now. I have not been like this since like 2020. So, I’m fighting through something here. If I’m a little low energy here, uh I apologize in advance. It is not a reflection of how I feel about the Xbox showcase. I am just trying my best to fight through this sickness. But nonetheless, ladies and gentlemen, we gather here today as tradition dictates to do our annual Xbox showcase predictions. And I got to say, peering around the internet, looking at videos coming out, social media, Reddit gaming leaks and rumors, we’re quiet this year. Not much hype going into Summer Games Fest, not much hype going into the Xbox Games Showcase. And I don’t know if that means I should anticipate a lower year or if that means that this year can really surprise me in good ways or all of a sudden all these leakers have decided, yeah, we’re just going to clam up this time of year. Still, there’s a few days to go. Maybe more leaks happen. But nonetheless, I have a lot of predictions for this show. And Xbox has put on a fantastic showcase these last two years. And since Developer Direct, I remember the last Xbox showcase I saw that I didn’t like. So, I feel like this should at the very least be a great show once more. But I do think they have some question marks to scrape away here as I’ll get into on top of games that I hope they deliver on. Nonetheless, ladies and gentlemen, if you are new here, you’re into what’s going on with Xbox or these upcoming showcases, maybe you don’t have time to watch them, you want recaps, I’ll be doing that naturally. Xbox showcase time is when your boy puts pedal to the metal even though I’m sick. So, uh, we’re going to have a lot of videos coming out. So, if you’re interested in things happening with Xbox or Summer Games Fest, uh, we’re going to be doing a lot of coverage over the weekend. Consider subscribing. Okay, so now let’s begin. The opening of this video, I feel very confident in my predictions. I’ll get into the point where I start to waver a bit, but I have a lot of confident predictions. I’m like, I think there’s like a 90% chance like these things will show up. And I’ll tell you when I drop off a cliff on that. But when it comes to the show opener, there’s a lot of great options here. I think as I put more time into it, the most likely show opener to me is one of three games. It’s Halo, it’s Gears, or it’s Clockwork Revolution. I think Clockwork Revolution is a game that will be at the showcase one way or another. It’s just time for an update. We got a reveal when it was a pre-alpha. I think this is going to be a 2026 game. I think this is a lock in for that developer direct slot at the top of 2026. So, I feel like getting an update like, hey, this is coming 2026. And Xbox fans know the drill. Like, we marked that in our heads like, okay, we’re going to see that top of next year and get a hard release date then. I think it’s time to see what Inexile has been cooking. I’m really excited for that team because I think they’re going to take a lot of people by storm. A lot of people have not played for whatever reason Wasteland or Bard’s Tale. And these are amazing games. And now they’re really leveling up here, taking their games to the next level uh with something like Clockwork Revolution. Just by the first trailer alone, I was like, this is way different from anything they’ve done. The first person shooting while still claiming to be a crunchy RPG with choice and consequence. So, I think this can really surprise people. I think it’d be a strong show opener. The other option, like I mentioned, is Halo. Halo is an interesting one, man, because they did just do the Halo Studios re-reveal, announced they’re working on Unreal Engine, and that could have been the signal flare to shoot in the sky and be like, “We’re hiring talent, right?” But I feel like now you need a project to gather around. And given that next year is the 25th anniversary of Halo, I feel like next year, you could put in the slot there like Halo is going to get announced then. At the same time, opening your show and being like Halo Combat Evolved remake as it’s been leaked before is coming next year, I think is a really good tone setter, especially in a particular time where people are questioning what is Xbox. Opening with what Xbox is, I think would be really smart. So, that is the opener I’m least confident in because 343 has gone through a lot of change technically, staff-wise, so they might take a while to get things going, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if they had a project announcement here. But that’s one of my candidates. The one that I think I’m most confident in is Gears of War Eday. This was rumored to be ahead of schedule where many of us thought this was a 26 game. Some have said it’s possibly a 25 game. I think since the developer direct slot has been given up over to Obsidian with the Outer Worlds 2 that Gears of War Eday is a 26 game, but I think giving this one a hard release date with true gameplay and not just like a title card would be a really good way to open the show. So, I think all three of these are strong candidates. I’m leaning more into Clockwork and Gears, but I think Halo Combat Evolved Remake is my personal favorite. Halo would be an excellent surprise. Now we get bold. The show closer. What ends the show, Maddie? Oh boy. Some of you, they called him a madman. I think it’s going to be Elder Scroll 6. I really do. I’ve been putting this prediction out into the wind since really the Oblivion remastered rumor started to crop up at the top of this year when they moved the game from June to April. To me, that was really just suspicious. I’m like, why? What’s happening in June? Xbox isn’t releasing anything in June. What’s happening in June that made you want to move it up and shadow drop it so soon? And also, just the nature of Oblivion Remastered existing to me is still really peculiar. I’m like, “Yeah, it’s free money, but like you guys were so hard on the fact that you would just never do something like this and all of a sudden you’re doing it. It’s almost like it coincides with something.” But really, the other point of rationale for me with an Elder Scroll 6 trailer is the headlines. The headlines about the amount of time it’s been between Skyrim and The Elder Scrolls 6’s announcement versus now and The Elder Scrolls 6 announcement is like longer. Todd Howard’s been very open about how much this has bothered him. And I feel like if you want to gauge where I think this trailer will be, take the Starfield teaser reveal trailer, the two-minute teaser reveal trailer that we got, it was in engine enough to be like, this is what the game will look like. It delivered the vibes of the game, like the setting. It delivered some light story details. It gave fans something to pick at for years. More importantly, it was an update on Starfield after years of nothing. Elder Scrolls 6 is in a more precarious position. I do think Bethesda Game Studios, as I’ll get into my next prediction, is going to have a pretty significant presence here. But I feel like even though it’s probably two years out, so between that long wait, Todd Howard’s comments, the Oblivion remaster, how Oblivion remaster from a business angle gets a bump with the Elder Scroll 6 announcement, and also fans finally get something after all this time. I do view it a bit as a pity trailer, but truly I think that is something that is needed at this point in time. I know that they said the next trailer will be closer to the release date of the game. But again, I still see too many signs to ignore that something’s off here. And there’s one last bit of hope I want to give you for Elder Scrolls 6. And I apologize if you’re hitting me with that Avengers gift right now. But look, I’m going to give you a little hope. And it goes back to the FTC document that has guided us for years. And once it runs out of its use, Lord knows how we’re going to navigate this Bethesda speculation rumor mill. But nonetheless, this thing has always been 2 years off. So if you look at fiscal year 21, Starfield, Redfall, Doom Maternal DLC, Project Habiki, which was Hi-Fi Rush, all of these came out in 2023. Then you fast forward to 22, Indiana Jones game, that was 2024. So was Starfield’s DLC, that was last year. Oblivion, as originally leaked, was 24 to 25 and it ended up being early 25. So a minor delay. So these shifts can happen in a small way. You look at 23 which would lead us into this year. You have Doom year zero. That’s Doom the Dark Ages came out this year. So you have other things like Project Kestrel we’ll talk about. But then you move to next year where we’re supposed to get Elder Scrolls 6, right? Because it says fiscal year 24. So if you use that 2-year gap again, Elder Scrolls 6 could be a 26, probably more likely 27 title. But it’s very likely that this game is closer than people realize. It has been worked on in some capacity since when Fallout 76 was announced in 2018. And look, they called me a madman last time. Look how things ended up with Oblivion Remastered. Trust your boy. I think we’re going to see Elder Scrolls 6. What we’re also going to see, no doubt from Bethesda Game Studios is Starfield DLC. I feel like this earns itself a really easy slot in the showcase. I don’t know what it’s going to be, and that’s kind of part of the fun is like what is this Starfield DLC going to entail? Is it going to be like Shattered Space again? Is it going to be an announcement of the PS5 port? Like, are we going to see the PlayStation logo at the end of the trailer? Uh, what are these changes they’re going to make to the game? Like, Shattered Space, as I’ve mentioned so many times, had so many answers to the problems of Starfield and just on a quality level failed them all. So, my answer has always been for Starfield DLC to just try Shattered Space again, but do it way better this time. I mean, you look at the Open Critic score, the user reviews, Starfield Shattered Space did horrible. So, this DLC, it’s also a possibility. Like, it’s just not ready to show off. But, I hope they answer in a strong way and give Starfield a leg to stand on cuz right now it feels like it’s on its last legs. And if Starfield doesn’t really show out and then ES6 shows up, last nail in the coffin for this game, man. All right, let’s go a little third party here. I still have first party predictions, but I got more I’m confident in here. Uh, I think I mean, we know the Persona 4 remake exists. There was domains listed by Atlas. They followed the same trajectory with Persona 3 Reload, which was also announced at the Xbox showcase. Sega and Xbox are like this right now. Especially in the world of Atlas, you’re getting a lot of that on Xbox’s stage. And I think it’s because they’ve identified something there that like this is a really important thing for them to lock down. So Metaphor was on their stage. Persona 3 Reload was, Tactica was. Like these are significant announcements. I think Persona 4 remake is coming within the next year. Yuri Lowenthal, Aaron Fitzgerald, like all these actors and actresses that were part of the original Persona 4 game have confirmed its existence and said they’re not going to be part of it, which didn’t come as a surprise to me cuz they recast all of Persona 3. But nonetheless, Forest’s cast is insane, both in the talent that’s there, but also how expensive it probably would be nowadays. But still, just given the trajectory of how Persona 3 Reload went and when it was announced and for a remake, following that same trajectory and obviously being free money for Sega, plus that partnership with Xbox, I think this is a very likely landing spot to get Persona for a remake. So, this is one of my favorite games of all time. I will cry. I will cry. I This game pulled me out of a depression single-handedly. Like, I I am so ready for this, man. So, very excited for it. Hoping the recast is excellent, though, because a lot of this game is special because of its characters and its moments where you’re like away from combat and just hanging with your friends. Persona 6, though, might be on your mind, too. I think this is 2026. I don’t think we see Persona 6 this year. I think if you get four remake, you don’t get Persona 6. I don’t think you get one or the other. Although, I would love to do both. I think it’s almost time for Persona 6. cuz I know people are like it is time, but I’m like if you’re a business and you got remakes like three and four in the tubes, like you don’t need to rush six is a reveal. Especially cuz I think six is going to be huge. Like easily Sega’s biggest game since Sonic. Like I think it’s going to be that big. So there should be no rush. Even though I know we as fans feel that urgency, I I think they’re going to do four remake, build up the fan base even more, and six is going to be explosive. Another prediction I have here is Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake. I feel like this has been in the rumor mill for a while, the reports from Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming where that Black Flag remake uh was due out this year and I remember Ubisoft showing up on the Xbox stage with Star Wars Outlaws. And I feel like this could be a good spot to show off this game. So, I’m hoping we do see this because as time has gone on, I’m like, there’s not really a lot of great pirate games. and I just want to go back to Assassin’s Creed Black Flag and remind myself of why I do enjoy Assassin’s Creed when recent entries have been less enjoyable. So, I’m excited to see that. Other predictions I feel confident in Double Finds next game. Uh, God, it has been time. Like, Psychonauts 2 was 2021 and Psychonauts 2 was amazing. But, you know, we’re pushing this August four years. It’s time, man. It’s time to know what’s going on at Double Fine. I Whatever this game is going to be, it’s going to be weird. It’s going to be crazy. I have no predictions on what it can be. I know they said they had a multiplayer game that was in stasis while they were finishing up Psychonauts 2. I will just say if after all this time it is a multiplayer game, it’s going to bum me out a little bit. I hope it’s a single player game. Uh that’s where a lot of my excitement lies nowadays in gaming. So Double Fine next game got to be here. Continuing with confident predictions. Another game that I think needs to show up, give us true gameplay, not just an idea of the game play and a release window, is State of Decay 3. First announced in 2020, then we got a gameplay update. We’re like, “Okay, got a decent feel of what this will look like, but I want to see the actual game.” And so, I think State of Decay 3, it’s time, man. Like, again, there’s a lot of games on this list, as you know, is it’s time. Like, it’s time for Elder Scroll 6, in my opinion, just to get an update. It’s not going to be the release date. It’s time for Double Fine and it’s time for State of the Decor. I I just think this game has been on the shelf for so long. It’s got so many studios working on it. Obsidian is helping them because they like how Obsidian did the multiplayer and grounded. So, Obsidian is helping them. So, this project has been like a black hole just sucking in so much of the workforce. Something has to come out of it. And I hope that a hard release window like summer 26 or something like that shows up. But more importantly, I just hope we actually see the dang game running. This game sort of falls in that category Clockwork Revolution does of like top of 2026 developer Direct Energy. So, show us an update here. Give us more next year. Speaking of games that it’s time, you might immediately think of Fable. And yes, I would love to see Fable. I’m right there with you. The rationale is there. But after the delay and how little we saw when the delay was announced, like there wasn’t really an attempt to, I think, restore confidence. It was like a quick little snippet like it exists, guys. look. Uh, but otherwise, I think Fable is like deep 26, like I think a holiday 26 title. And this no doubt felt like it was going to be the developer direct game for this year and that Outer Worlds 2 was the surprise swap. I say that because as they announced that Outer Worlds 2 would be this developer direct game, they then made it the IGN first game and revealed so much about the game that I have no questions about the Outer Worlds 2. I’m excited. I think it looks great, but there’s no question marks surrounding previous developer direct games like Starfield or like Call of Duty. You know, these were games with big question marks. What’s it going to be like? Out of Worlds has no more question marks. Anyway, to my point with Fable, I think this was supposed to be the slot for the developer direct. It’s not. Since it got such a significant delay where it’s not even coming out at all this year, I think they are just going to stash it away until it’s well and ready cuz they’ve already waited this long. May as well wait a little bit longer. I guess it’s possible they show more to restore confidence, but I think developer direct is a better place for that. I guess Perfect Dark also falls in that bin. Would Perfect Dark be here? I still think that’s like a 27 game. So, I don’t think so. Giving it a pulse was good at the time. I think hold off for a little bit cuz what I saw was exciting. Force Horizon 6. When you look at the release timelines for each of these games, it feels like it should be time for Playground Games to reveal this game and maybe even release it in the next year. But each time the game has been revealed, it’s released that same year. Do I actually see Horizon 6 coming out in 2025? Tough to say, but I think that’s next year. just given Fable and the issues going on in Playground and finding out how to be this dual project team. I feel like it’s delayed uh forts of Horizon 6 a little bit more, but also the amount of money Horizon 5 has made maybe changes what six can do. So, I don’t think that game will be here either when I think about it a little bit more. Last one before we talk about Activision and platform related stuff. Uh Blade Dingga Bakabo said let them cook. So, I’m going to let them. I don’t think that’s this year. I think that’s also showing up maybe next year in a reveal style manner of like gameplay for like a 27 release. So, one question that’s been really asked about Xbox is when will they bring back B back compat? You bought Activision, Bethesda, you have this incredible library of games, incredible history of games. Xbox themselves has that. You look at what PlayStation’s doing with like emulation and adding trophies to PS2 games and PSP games. What is Xbox going to do? I think Gears of War Reloaded told us so much, which is why I made an entire video on it. And I think with back compat, a lot of people are like me and they get into that dream world of like, man, they’re going to come out on stage and be like, all 100 plus games available now. Throw your disc in and it’s going to work just fine. I think those days are done. I think Xbox is in the pay me now kind of era. And so what I think is going to happen with Activision back compat is number one, I don’t think it’s done on a stage. I think that’s something that’s assigned to an Xbox Wire post, but also I think when the time comes, it’s not going to be about us Xbox fans. It’s about everyone. Xbox wants to go everywhere. So, would you bring Transformers back like Transformers War of Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron or whatever? Would you bring those back in back compat or would you repackage them and sell them to all of us again and put it for free in Game Pass like you did with Gears of War? I think in today’s Xbox, there’s a very obvious answer. So, while I want back compat to come back in a strong way, I think you’ll get your ports, you’re just going to have to pay for them if you’re not on Xbox, which is, I think, part of their strategy to make Game Pass feel more valuable over time. I mean, certainly, you look at this year, both third and first party, I think Game Pass has been handover fist entirely worth it every month. So, I can only see them leaning into that strategy more with the history of games they now have. And especially when you look at like Hasbro and how they’ve been very open about wanting to get the Transformers games back and Activision during the FTC [ __ ] was getting into contact with them. I feel like there’s a chance that some games do come back. But like if you’re Xbox again, would you give away Spider-Man? Amount of Spider-Man games that Activision’s made. Would you give those away or would you sell them? Especially to that PlayStation audience who knows a good exclusive Spider-Man game, you know? So, as much as I want Back Compact to come back, uh, I hope it does come back in a player friendly way, but I think Xbox is going to sell it to us. I’m gonna be honest. New Call of Duty game. Good question. You know, last year there was a lot to be said about Black Ops 6 across the campaign, the multiplayer, the movement system, zombies. I don’t know if this year is going to be that big crackbam pow type of Call of Duty game where there’s just a lot to say. It might just be another Call of Duty game. And because of that, I feel like this is a game that could just reveal on its own in August, kind of like the MW3 style, which doesn’t build confidence. But there’s also been not a lot of positive rumors on this next Call of Duty. So, we’ll see what happens. I’m going to stay open-minded because I thought last year’s Call of Duty was a good time. Again, it really comes down to is there enough new stuff to show off here? And can it just stand on its own? I don’t know if Call of Duty is always a lock for Xbox’s showcase. So, it’s better if maybe it goes to Summer Games Fest because people forget that’s a factor here. Xbox sometimes puts things on that stage versus their own to create that room. Uh, and especially when it’s something like Call of Duty where you want to get to the masses who are not just watching as maybe Xbox fans, which I know Xbox is redefining their brand where less just hardcore Xbox fans will be watching and more just gamers are going to be watching what Xbox is up to. Still, I think Summer GamesFest is also a better slot for the next Call of Duty. The handheld. Oh man, I feel like Xbox needs to make some sort of statement during this show with a product, mind you. A product or a service or ecosystem display. Something going on with Xbox that subtly solidifies like we’re everywhere. It’s been marketing speak this whole time and it’s been product sold this whole time. So, what is the thing you show on the big stage that beyond company logos being present at the end of trailers? What’s like the strong statement that kind of says we’re going everywhere? And I feel like a third party handheld device would be that. Uh, apparently that new ASUS device is still on track for this year. Although, uh, Xbox has delayed their own handheld, which you talked about, but I do think there’s a chance we see that here this year. I wouldn’t be too surprised by this one. and sort of using that as a window into defining the Xbox experience everywhere beyond Xbox. I think that’s a natural way to do it that still makes it feel exciting. So, yeah, I’m going to put that on my list. I think this is one of those things that could be near the end of the show. Uh, missing third party projects. There were a couple ones that were rattling around in my brain that I wanted to talk about before wrapping up the video. Contraband, Project Suaree, and Project Shaolin. These have been in the rumor mill for a while with Xbox. For those who don’t remember, Contraband from Avalanche and uh this is reportedly like a heist game with vehicles. And then there was Project from Certain Affinity, which was like a Monster Hunter style game, but they’re also reportedly working on some type of Halo thing on their own. And then Project Shaolin was like the Wuang Clan uh fighting game. Uh that’s apparently coming from Brass Line, but they’ve also suffered layoffs back in April. So, when it comes to Project Shaolin, thinking doubtful. Swerte, I feel like I’ve heard about certain affinity like every year where I’m like they have so many irons in the fire. Like maybe uh I would say I’m leaning more toward a yes because I’m like how long have you been spinning the wheels on these projects? Certainly have something to show now. Contraband, your guess is good as mine, man. Your guess is as good as mine. That game was like rumored to be out years ago. Uh and so something happened. Whether it was fully restarted or whatever, I don’t know. But if Contraband is there, great. If it’s not, I don’t care. I’m I’m in that spot. Oh, how could I forget? I’m so annoyed that I put this in the back of the video, but whatever. ZMAX Online Studios with Project Kestrel. Uh I I think this is time, man. Like they they have been working full-time with like 400 plus people on this and this is my blind squirrel find a nut thing where like I’ve guessed this for years. At the end of the day, I think eventually I will be right about this, but I think this has to be the year. Like Elder Scrolls Online is just doing its thing. They’ve been working on this other thing for years now. If you look at the FTC document and you see Project Kestrel, like this should be the year. And also, it’s a really great time to be dropping and announcing a brand new MMO from a renowned developer of MMOs because look, I just put it simply, MMO players are the most finicky players on the market. Y’all will install every single MMO. I say that as someone who was a hardcore MMO player, and I had like 14 installed at once. We love to surf these games. I don’t know what it does to us, but we love to surf these games. So, none of y’all are loyal. As much as you say you’re loyal, none of y’all are loyal. And if a new great one shows up, we’ve seen those numbers. And I think Zenamax can surprise people. What Kestrel is going to be about, I don’t know. But I’m excited to see how all that experience with Elder Scrolls has fueled their own IP. So, time will tell, but these are my predictions for the Xbox Game Showcase 2025. I’m looking forward to getting your thoughts down below. Fire away. Other than that, I’m going to go rest my voice and chill because I’m dying out here. Ladies and gentlemen, fire away down below and I’ll catch you in the next video. Stay sexy, stay active. I love you all. Peace.