After only a couple of months, Microsoft is quietly discontinuing its Xbox 20/20 showcases ahead of the Xbox Series X launch. Microsoft first mentioned the 20/20 strategy in May, promising at the time that the presentations would provide monthly updates leading up to the next-gen release of Xbox Series X. That May showcase, which focused on third-party games exclusively, was the only video to feature the Xbox 20/20 name. June’s scheduled show never happened and July’s became a bigger Xbox Games Showcase that brought Halo Infinite campaign footage and updates from other first-party developers.
Both Xbox showings so far have seen various controversies from the viewing public. May’s collection of third-party games was seen as a bad start to the next-gen hype machine. The games on display were small scale and not titles that would push players to purchase a new console. July’s Xbox Games Showcase was a better mixture, but the disappointment over Halo Infinite’s graphics still managed to cause stirrings in the Xbox fanbase. However, July’s showcase also revealed promising titles like The Gunk and Avowed, and Xbox’s announcements since the showcase have helped to stop the naysaying and get things back on track.
In an update to the Xbox 20/20 blog post from August 7th, Microsoft confirms that it will be going with a more varied strategy than monthly events going forward. This has panned out already, with recent announcements like the early start of the Project xCloud beta going out on social media without a formal buildup. Microsoft also had Xbox Game Pass announcements at a recent Samsung digital event, which matches with its goal of working with partners to deliver Xbox news. Microsoft doesn’t rule out future dedicated showcases, but it’s likely that players will see more sporadic single announcements than full-blown events going forward.
Even before the global pandemic forced a shift from a big E3 week, video game companies were already moving toward this style of announcements. Nintendo dropped E3 showcases years ago in favor of Nintendo Direct videos, which are often announced just days before broadcast. In some cases, Nintendo now simply makes huge announcements via Twitter without a dedicated Nintendo Direct, leaning further into this surprise-based strategy. On the other side of the next-gen aisle, PlayStation has held several State of Play events this year, but it’s also revealed PlayStation 5 information via other outlets, including an article in a physical newspaper. For all three console makers, it seems that everything’s on the table.
Considering the reaction that Xbox faithful had to the initial May showcase, it’s probably for the best that the plans for monthly showcases at a similar scale went the way of the dodo. As Nintendo recently learned with its excitement about a new Bakugan game, big companies announcing things in advance online can create undue hype, especially in an environment where a lot of the next-gen console war is still up in the air. Once pricing and launch lineups start to solidify, maybe there will be room for publishers to talk up smaller announcements once again.
