In 2021 and 2022, Xbox shared news on Xbox Wire on the Thursday before the Xbox Games Showcase scheduled for that upcoming Sunday. (They also did something similar in 2020, but that show was on a Thursday and said news was shared on Sunday? The news being XCloud coming to Ultimate at no extra cost).
June 10 2021 (Thursday before showcase):
June 9th 2022 (Thursday before showcase):
Here are some of the things I would like to see announced in 2023 as part of this:
What are some businessy/platform/ecosystem type announcements or updates you would like to see on June 8th if history is to go off of? Things that aren't really big and bold enough for the Showcase, but can be exciting nonetheless.
June 10 2021 (Thursday before showcase):
Bringing the Joy and Community of Gaming to Everyone - Xbox Wire
At Xbox, our mission is simple: bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet. To achieve that, we aspire to empower everyone to play the games you want, with the people you want, anywhere you want. Ahead of the first-ever Xbox and Bethesda Showcase on Sunday, when we will...
news.xbox.com
- Shared some fluff and bullet points on Game Pass growth and engagement.
- Announced TV apps for XCloud were coming
- working with telecom companies to provide ways to buy an Xbox/Game Pass (like through All-Access)
- exploring new subscription offerings
- announced the "Keystone" streaming device project (since shelved, literally)
- adding cloud gaming to the browser
- new regions for Cloud
- upgrading to Series X servers
- Integrating cloud into the PC app and console OS
- The goal of having at least one new, first party game every quarter.
Satya Nadella and Phil Spencer on Why Microsoft is “All In” on Gaming - Xbox Wire
Ahead of the first-ever Xbox & Bethesda Showcase on Sunday, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer hosted a series of conversations with Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and members of Microsoft’s Gaming Leadership team on the future of gaming at Microsoft. We’ve shared some highlights from the day in...
news.xbox.com
- just some PR interview fluff about Satya being "All-in" on gaming, which itself was pretty significant to hear at the time. This was well before any plans even started to acquire Activision, and set a new tone for the brand to hear it from the CEO who otherwise seemed detached from gaming.
June 9th 2022 (Thursday before showcase):
Xbox is Building the Gaming Platform for the Next 20 Years - Xbox Wire
This Sunday, at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, we’ll be giving our fans a closer look at an amazing line-up of games coming to Xbox, PC, and cloud. As we prepare to pull back the curtain on the games to come, we also wanted to share some updates on how you’ll be able to […]
news.xbox.com
- XCloud TV app coming to new 2022 Samsung Smart TVs (note: has since expanded to some older models)
- Expanding XCloud to more regions, this time Argentina and New Zealand
- Enhancements to gaming on Edge and Windows 11
- Optimizations for Windowed games (AutoHDR, VRR, etc)
- HDR calibration app
- Game Pass Widget
- Controller bar
- Clarity Boost on Edge for XCloud gameplay
- other sh**
- Announced the intention to let Game Pass Ultimate users stream owned games outside of Game Pass
- Targeted by end of 2022, still hasn't happened. Possibly due to legal battle over Cloud market
- Project Moorcroft,a perk of Game Pass to play curated demos of games
- Participating developers would be compensated
- Expanded Xbox Design Lab customization options and participating countries
Here are some of the things I would like to see announced in 2023 as part of this:
- Expanded TV app availability (LG, Roku, Amazon, Android..)
- Mouse and Keyboard with Cloud gaming
- Follow up on the streaming owned games and Project Moorcroft
- Series S price cut to $250 permanently
- Expanded storage options (like the WD expansion card, or like a 1TB Series S and 1.5TB Series X or something)
- Detached disc drive to play discs on Series S or a future Digital X
- Details on a hardware revision / production of consoles process improvement
- Announcing plans for DX12U AI video upscaling or some AI enhancement suite to their GameStack suite or something in the OS/Platform itself.
What are some businessy/platform/ecosystem type announcements or updates you would like to see on June 8th if history is to go off of? Things that aren't really big and bold enough for the Showcase, but can be exciting nonetheless.