Two months ago, Sony and Microsoft held their traditional mid-year video presentations to show off their biggest upcoming titles. Of course, these unveilings used to take place at the world famous Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, which was sadly went defunct after Covid. While we could have written something about it then, we decided it just wouldn't feel right to post one of these articles without all of "the big three" being represented in some way.
Thankfully, Nintendo finally decided to join the party with some new announcements of their own two weeks ago. So if you'd like to blame them instead of us for the lengthy delay of this post, that would be fantastic. Anywho, as per usual, please read on for a quick list of some of the highlights from all three (non-E3) presentations.
Thankfully, Nintendo finally decided to join the party with some new announcements of their own two weeks ago. So if you'd like to blame them instead of us for the lengthy delay of this post, that would be fantastic. Anywho, as per usual, please read on for a quick list of some of the highlights from all three (non-E3) presentations.
- 007: First Light - Once again, Sony kicked things off with their June 4th State of Play. Though it was a sufficiently stacked presentation, all in all, their were a few in particular we would like to highlight here. One of the biggest reveals was that of a new James Bond game courtesy of Hitman developer, IO Interactive. Titled 007: First Light, the game will be an origin story of sorts, in which you get to experience James Bond's very first mission for MI6. We look forward to experiencing this pretty incredible-looking single player adventure when it releases on PlayStation 5, sometime next year.
- Romeo is a Dead Man - Another welcome surprise was the reveal of a new title from popular Japanese game designer, Suda51, and his acclaimed studio, Grasshopper Manufacture. Romeo is a Dead Man appears to be another off-the-wall third-person action game not unlike their popular No More Heroes titles. This time around you play as a half-dead, cybernetically-enhanced young man named Romeo Stargazer, as he utilizes punches, swords, and/or guns to engage in stylish yet "ultra violent" combat with a variety of zombie-esque creatures and other assorted monstrosities. Fans of Suda's unique brand of over-the-top bloody action can look forward to playing Romeo is a Dead Man on PS5 at some as-yet unspecified point in 2026.
- Ghost of Yotei - Though the trailer was somewhat brief, and the game was first revealed last fall, as one of the most hotly-anticipated titles of the entire presentation, we couldn't not mention the upcoming action-adventure title Ghost of Yotei (also Sony has since released a lengthy and most welcome deep dive look at the game in the time between their State of Play and this post). Sequel to the outstanding 2020 Sucker Punch title, Ghost of Tsushima, Yotei follows new, samurai-esque female warrior protagonist, Atsu, on her quest for revenge throughout the northern regions of feudal Japan. If it's anywhere near as good as the first title, Ghost of Yotei will surely be running on an incalculable number of happy gamers PlayStation 5 consoles, when it releases, October 2nd of this year.
- Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls - To wrap up the presentation, acclaimed fighting game developer Arc System Works revealed a new project being developed in partnership with Marvel Games titled, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. A 4-on-4 arcade style tag team brawler in the spirit of Capcom's legendary Marvel vs Capcom series, Marvel Tokon sadly only appears to feature a handful of Marvel characters at this point, however they were all sporting a pretty interesting-looking anime-style makeover. Fighting game fanatics can look forward to doling out some super-heroic beatdowns on PC and PlayStation 5, sometime next year.
- The Outer Worlds 2 - Microsoft held their 2025 Xbox Games Showcase on June 8th, just a few days after Sony's. While in recent years, either Microsoft or Sony has typically tended to have a fairly disappointing showing when the others was stronger, this year, happened to be fairly strong for both parties. That being said, however, Microsoft's choice to close theirs out with a Call of Duty reveal was arguably a somewhat questionable decision.
Though we've already mentioned the title in a previous E3 roundup, a big focus for Microsoft this year was their highly anticipated - - and finally soon to be released - - Obsidian-developed spacefaring action RPG, The Outer Worlds 2. Things are definitely looking up for this game too, seeing as rival Microsoft studio, Bethesda, totally dropped the ball (actually, more like launched it straight into a black hole) with their similar-themed yet incredibly disappointing 2023 title, Starfield. Fans of the excellent 2019 original Outer Worlds title (and dissatisfied Starfield players alike) can look forward to playing The Outer Worlds 2 on Xbox Series X, PC, and/or PlayStation 5, on October 29th of this year! - ROG Xbox Ally (X) - Though the Outer Worlds 2 was already a known quantity, Microsoft did have a surprise or two in store for presentation viewers as well. The biggest was arguably the reveal of a special Xbox edition of the Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming computer. In addition to being fully compatible with the Xbox library of games (as well as others), the ROG Xbox Ally - - or Ally X, depending on which version you get - - will also boast controller-like grips, triggers, and other assorted Xbox-related features. Despite no specific launch date being provided, and the fact that they will likely cost a pretty penny, those who have the means - - and would prefer to be able to play their Xbox games on the go - - should be able to do so sometime later this year.
- Clockwork Revolution - One of the lengthier and more interesting-looking Showcase trailers was for a previously revealed title called Clockwork Revolution. Developed by InXile Entertainment, Clockwork Revolution is a first-person action RPG featuring a steampunk setting in addition to some pretty unique-looking time-bending mechanics. Though no release date has yet been provided, Xbox gamers can look forward to this title (as the trailer states) in due time.
- Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection - Since Nintendo chose to do a big reveal for their new Switch 2 console back in April, it's somewhat understandable that they didn't have anything new to share just two months later. They were, however, good enough to release a Partner Showcase Direct presentation on July 31st, which we figured was a good enough reason to include them in this post. While it was a bit sparse in comparison to the other presentations, they did have a few noteworthy announcements.
Straight out of the gate, the very first trailer of the Direct was the reveal of another new entry in Capcom's popular Monster Hunter Stories series. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. This entry will feature Rathalos riding, a struggle between two kingdoms, and, presumably, the same great storytelling and RPG gameplay as its two predecessors. Fans of the series can look forward to playing this title on the Switch 2, sometime in 2026. - The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales - The other big reveals of Nintendo's Direct - - which actually wrapped up the presentation - - were a pair of Square Enix titles, the first of which being a brand new game called The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales. An HD-2D Action RPG, The Adventures of Elliot is a pretty fun-looking multiplayer-optional adventure featuring the same aesthetic as their popular Octopath Traveler series. The game was announced specifically for the Switch 2, but no release date was mentioned, other than a simple "2026".
- Octopath Traveler 0 - Speaking of Octopath Traveler, that actually happened to be the very series that Square Enix's other reveal was for. An expanded remake of the mobile prequel title Champions of the Continent, Octopath Traveler 0 will feature building and farming mechanics, the ability to create parties of up to 8 characters, as well as the same HD-2D aesthetic as past titles (and The Adventure of Elliot, apparently). Octopath Traveler 0 will be arriving on both the Switch 1 and Switch 2 (and possibly other platforms as well) on December 4th of this year.
- Cronos: The New Dawn - While most of the reveals were all unique to each of the three presentations, there were a couple titles that notably popped up in multiple presentations. One of these was for a pretty cool-looking third-person sci-fi survival horror title from the experts at Bloober Team. Titled Cronos: The New Dawn, the game has you playing as a secret agent who travelling back and forth between the future and the past battling zombie-like creatures whilst trying to maintain your grip on reality long enough to figure out why your world has collapsed. Cronos: The New Dawn will be launching on Xbox Series X, Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Steam on the fast-approaching date of September 5th.
- Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles - The other upcoming release that was high profile enough to be featured multiple times was yet another one from Square Enix. A remake of their incredible 1998 PlayStation 1 title, Final Fantasy Tactics, The Ivalice Chronicles will be fully voiced, featuring new dialogue, as well as new difficulty options, and both classic and enhanced graphical options. Fans of the original and/or Final Fantasy titles in general will have a chance to party like it's 1998 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch 1, and Switch 2 on September 30th of this year.
So that will do it for this year's (non-E3) "big three" presentations roundup. As always, we thank you for stopping by to review the highlights with us and do make sure to click the links if you'd like to learn more and/or view the presentations yourself. Also, let us know in the comments what titles we missed or which ones you are most looking forward to. Till the next time!
[Images: IO Interactive, Arc System Works, Obsidian Entertainment, Capcom, Bloober Team]
 | [AJ Amideo] |