New IP dominates first Xbox Series X game reveals

Xbox revealed 13 third-party games that will arrive during the launch window of its next games console.

The games were shown during the first Xbox 20/20 event, which will air every month over the course of the summer in the build-up to the release of Xbox Series X.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Madden NFL 21 were the biggest names on show, while Dirt 5 and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 were also demoed. Elsewhere, Xbox continued its push into the Japanese market by showcasing Yakuza: Like A Dragon from Sega.

But the majority of games shown were entirely new IP from a variety of different developers and studios. These included action game Bright Memory Infinite (Playism), first person puzzle adventure Call of the Sea (Raw Fury), narrative-driven space combat shooter Chorus (Deep Silver), sci-fi combat game Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco), horror game Scorn (Ebb), co-operative shooter Second Extinction (Systemic Reaction), action RPG The Ascent (Neon Giant/Curve Digital) and psychological horror The Medium (Blooper Team).

Xbox also identified nine additional games that will make use of the firm's Smart Delivery concept. This is where gamers only need to buy one version of the game and it'll work across all current Xbox consoles at the specifications possible on that device. Previously, Xbox had announced that all first-party games will take advantage of Smart Delivery and selected third-party titles including Cyberpunk 2077. Now, the firm has revealed that Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Call of the Sea, Chorus, Dirt 5, Scarlet Nexus, Second Extinction, The Ascent, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 and Yakuza: Like A Dragon will also make use of Smart Delivery.

Xbox studios boss Matt Booty said at the top of the show that Microsoft's first-party reveals will take place in July, including games from Obsidian, Double Fine and Ninja Theory. The July event will also feature the full reveal of the new Halo game from 343 Industries.