Microsoft held its first-ever Xbox Partner Preview event today. During the Nintendo Direct-like showcase, we got a look at some of the most notable third-party games coming to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series X in the coming months. RGG Studios’ Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Remedy Entertainment’s Alan Wake 2, Studio Wildcard’s Ark: Survival Ascended, and Microbird Games’ Dungeons of Hinterberg all made appearances at the event. There were some surprises too, as Microsoft previously indicated on Xbox Wire. The biggest of those? Our first look at Metal Gear Solid 3 Delta gameplay.
It’s a show that Xbox Game Pass subscribers and general fans of the platform should check out. If you just want the broad strokes, though, here’s everything that was shown during the 30-minute event.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth features an Animal Crossing-like minigame
RGG Studios’ Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth got a new trailer to kick off the Xbox Partner Preview, and it was mainly focused on highlighting one of the weird side activities that players can do during the RPG adventure. The main one featured in this trailer was Dondoko Island, which is an Animal Crossing-like minigame that takes Ichiban to another island where he can build a house, meet tourists, fight intruders, and customize the island in various ways. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is out on January 26, 2024, and a demo of the game is included with Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, which comes out next month.
Dungeons of Hinterberg shows its social side in a new trailer
Dungeons of Hinterberg is a charming indie game that was revealed at the Xbox Game Showcase back in June, and we got a new look at it during today’s Xbox Partner Preview. The game’s new trailer focused on highlighting the game’s “social world,” which means they showed the gameplay systems that take place when players return to one of the game’s villages after an adventure, which mainly includes raising relationship levels with various characters. Dungeons of Hinterberg will be released on Xbox Series X next year.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater runs on Unreal Engine 5
Konami surprised Metal Gear fans by providing the first in-engine look at Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, a remake of the third game in the Metal Gear Solid series. We see many iconic locations from early on in the game, and they all look gorgeous. That makes sense, as this trailer also confirms that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater’s game engine is Unreal Engine 5.
Ark: Survival Ascended looks gorgeous in gameplay reveal
Ark: Survival Ascended is the upgraded Unreal Engine 5 version of Studio Wildcard’s popular survival crafting game with dinosaurs Ark: Survival Evolved. While the developer teased this upgrade for a while, we didn’t get a first look at gameplay until today, as a new trailer showed off many of the beautiful environments and creatures players can expect to encounter as they play Ark: Survival Ascended.
New Alan Wake 2 gameplay dives into horror
Remedy Entertainment debuted a new trailer for Alan Wake 2, which comes out this Friday. Following the clip, it shared a new gameplay snippet, which showed new protagonist Saga Anderson fighting off a grotesque Taken in a house. The clip showcased the bloodier combat system and some survival horror jump scares. It ends with her turning on a record, which seemingly opens a portal into the mysterious Overlap. It’s still looking like a slick, confident survival horror game.
Everything else
- Powerwash Simulator developer FuturLab and Thunderful revealed Ikaro: Will Not Die.
- We got an extended look at gameplay for the horror title Still Wakes the Deep, which launches in early 2024.
- RoboCop: Rogue City got a launch trailer.
- Spirit of the North 2 was revealed.
- Manor Lords was revealed and will launch on April 26, 2024.
- The Finals was confirmed for Xbox Series X and will hold an open beta on October 26.
