Recap: Everything that happened at the Microsoft and Bethesda “E3” 2022 showcase

It was basically all games, which was nice

So that wasn’t bad! No weird ads from The Rock peddling energy drinks and comic book movies. No awkward or cringeworthy skits. Just an hour and a half-ish of pure games: here’s a Microsoft and Bethesda recap for the 2022 “E3” showcase stream.

We began with a new look at Redfall, which gave us an endearing showing of gameplay: noting its stark differences to other similar squad-based shooters. From there it shot into Hollow Knight: Silksong, and although we didn’t get any concrete info on the release date, we know that it exists! I’m glad someone finally showed that thing at some stream in any form (how many Nintendo Directs was it rumored to be at? All of them?).

Those two kind of defined the Microsoft and Bethesda 2022 Games Showcase as a whole. We got some big AAA reveals and gameplay and a focus on indie games. I have to admit, it was weird to see Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV in there presented as “Microsoft” titles, but that’s just how things will be going forward. It’s wild to think about, if Microsoft can turn the company’s reputation around, what a future Microsoft “E3” showcase might look like.

The “one more thing” was actual Starfield gameplay, which I was beginning to think we’d never see. It looks…fine! Some people will think it looks more than fine, and others will want to see more before making a firm decision: such is the life of a Bethesda Studios game in 2022 after some tumultuous launches.

The biggest reveal was arguably Persona coming to Xbox. The total proliferation of that series is something that needed to happen as quickly as possible! And that “everything today is focused on games you can play over the next 12 months” quote from the stream was reassuring. Good one, Microsoft!

A 2022 “E3” stream Microsoft and Bethesda recap:

• We got another look at the vampire shooter Redfall at the Xbox conference
• Hollow Knight: Silksong will be on Game Pass day one
• Get High on Life Squanch Games’ super-gooey alien shooter
• Riot Games is coming to Game Pass with a ton of unlocks
• Forza Motorsport is still looking fantastic, two years on, out in spring 2023
• A Plague Tale: Requiem gets a chilling new trailer
• Microsoft Flight Simulator has a free Halo crossover out today
• Overwatch 2 enters early access as a free-to-play title October 4
• Microsoft teases Ark 2 for 2023
• Ara: History Untold is a new historical grand strategy game from Oxide Games
• Forza 5 gets its own Hot Wheels crossover expansion
• Scorn will be out just in time for Halloween
• Barbaric magic and wild adventure combine in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
• Gunfire Reborn is coming to Xbox in October 2022
• Lightyear Frontier is a delightful space-themed farming sim
• Minecraft Legends heroically quests forth in 2023
• The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a cosmic horror metroidvania for PC and Xbox
• As Dusk Falls is described as an emotional, psychological drama of choice and consequence
• Grounded is FINALLY coming out of early access in September
• Pentiment is a medieval narrative adventure coming from Obsidian
• Naraka: Bladepoint comes to Xbox Series consoles on June 23
• The dead will walk with The Necromancer in Diablo IV, coming 2023
• Mystical stealth game Ereban: Shadow Legacy will be on Game Pass day one
• Whoa, Team Ninja’s Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty looks rad
• Cocoon is a colorful puzzle game from the designer of Inside and Limbo
• Ravenlok is a new adventure from the makers of Echo Generation, arriving in 2023
• Oh hell yeah, Persona 3, 4, 5 are headed to Xbox
• Hideo Kojima pops his head in to say ‘Yeah, I’m making something for Xbox’
• Starfield looks absolutely out of this world in new gameplay deep-dive