Xbox Series X gameplay event will only feature third-party and indie games this week

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Microsoft has confirmed that this week’s Xbox Series X gameplay event will only showcase third-party and indie titles, rather than first-party Xbox Game Studios titles. These will follow at a separate July event, which is part of a new monthly event series known as Xbox 20/20 (opens in new tab). 

This does still mean that our first look at some upcoming Xbox Series X games (opens in new tab) is set for this week though, with the event set to show off “next-gen gameplay, trailers and sneak peeks from a wide variety of publishing partners and independent developers across the globe and industry, including Ubisoft’s recently announced Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and hear from game creators about what they’re doing with their games on Xbox Series X.”

We originally received news of the event last week when the official Xbox Twitter account shared the details, revealing that a stream set for 8 am PDT / 11 am EDT / 4 pm BST on Thursday, May 7 will debut the first Xbox Series X (opens in new tab) gameplay. Microsoft says it will feature games from “global developer partners”, which means we should expect appearances from projects beyond the Xbox Game Studios umbrella.

Microsoft has already shown us what the console and its controller look like, along with offering several deep dives into the tech powering the system (including Xbox Series X storage expansion cards (opens in new tab) that look like super high tech memory cards). Xbox boss Phil Spencer promised just last week (opens in new tab) that the next step – debuting actual games for Xbox Series X – would not be “too much of a wait.”

You want to see games for the Xbox Series X? We want to show you games for the Xbox Series X. Check out First Look next-gen gameplay from our global developers partners within #InsideXbox on Thursday, May 7 at 8am PT. pic.twitter.com/xVdgIeRBJXApril 30, 2020

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A tweet from Aaron Greenberg, the general manager of Xbox Games Marketing, originally implied that look at first party titles would be coming in the “summer”.

So pumped to see our partners showing us a first look at Xbox Series X gameplay next week! Also know the Xbox Game Studios teams are hard at work on some big summer plans. More details soon! #GetHyped 🙌🏻🙅🏼‍♂️🔥 https://t.co/VXXsZnUYX5April 30, 2020

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It’s anybody’s guess which games Microsoft will feature in the gameplay debut. However, timing the announcement right after the debut of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (opens in new tab), which featured prominent Xbox branding, should not be ignored. We’ve already seen an early look at how Gears 5 will take advantage of Xbox Series X’s improved performance (opens in new tab), but looking at new games purpose-built for the console could provide an even more impressive sneak peek.

According to Microsoft, Xbox Series X is still planned to debut this year, despite the worldwide response to COVID-19 contributing to both manufacturing and logistical difficulties. We’re still waiting on a proper release date for the console, and with proper gameplay footage out in the wild as of this week, hopefully we won’t need to wait too much longer.

If you need even more reason to get excited, check out why Phil Spencer thinks the jump to Xbox Series X will be as dramatic as going from 2D to 3D (opens in new tab).