Over in Japan, the annual Tokyo Game Show has begun, and to help kick off proceedings, Xbox had its own Tokyo Game Show broadcast today (26th September, 11am BST).
The US-based platform holder may not be as popular in Japan compared to the likes of Nintendo (which historically doesn’t participate at TGS) or PlayStation, which already has its own State of Play earlier this week, but Xbox nonetheless has a big presence on the showfloor, with billboards of the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also put up around the Makuhari Messe.
While light on new announcements from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, Activision and Blizzard, this is ultimately focusing on third party partners from Japan and Asia. There’s still nonetheless plenty for Xbox gamers to look forward to, and even some games available today.
Below is a round-up of the highlights of new trailers, though you can also watch the full 50-minute presentation here.
1) Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
Konami has two big remakes on the way, next month’s Silent Hill 2, which has been completely remade by developer Bloober Team, and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, which is largely keeping the original’s gameplay and voice audio but presented with new modern graphics.
If there’s any concern whether a new facelift for the Cold War-era stealth prequel will jar with potentially outdated mechanics or subject matter, this new trailer avoids that by focusing on the characters. It may have been 20 years ago now but the close-ups of iconic characters like Ocelot, The Boss, and of course Snake himself look instantly recognisable, only now realised with the stunning capabilities of Unreal 5.
There’s disappointingly still no release date accompanying this trailer, although Konami did at least assure fans earlier this month that the remake is currently playable from start to finish, so it hopefully shouldn’t be too long before a date is set in stone.
Release date: TBC
2) Tanuki: Pon’s Summer
This charming adventure game has you playing a mischievous tanuki called Pon who has a month to restore his home and shrine in time for the Great Tanuki Festival. And you’ll do that by getting a job as a postman delivering packages to the locals while riding your BMX bike performing tricks. As you do.
Sort of a cross between Animal Crossing and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, it’s not just about making deliveries but doing them in style as you go from A to B. And there’s more than just dropping off packages as the quirky townsfolks will have further requests for you to earn their friendship and loyalty, which is also an excuse to get involved in all sorts of minigames that will also unlock more items to help you restore and decorate the shrine.
Release date: TBC
3) Threads of Time
There’s a real Chrono Trigger vibe to this newly announced era-spanning turn-based RPG, as a cast of heroes from across timelines journey through time, from the prehistoric past to the cyberpunk and apocalyptic future.
Built in Unreal 5, it keeps with its classic inspirations, with characters presented with both beautiful pixel and hand-drawn art but the dramatic cameras and modern lighting effects look even more exciting than Square Enix’s patented HD-2D aesthetic.
Threads of Time comes from an indie team from Canada called Riyo Games but it’s clear their inspirations come from the classics in Japan, with a title logo very reminiscent of Final Fantasy. Definitely put this on your wishlist.
Release date: TBC
4) Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land
Atelier is a unique RPG series in that there’s a strong focus on alchemy where you find and collect items and recipes in order to craft new gear, which makes it a little more involved than simply levelling up and watching numbers go up.
Making its way to Xbox for the first time, this new instalment introduces a new alchemist heroine called Yumia, while having a somewhat darker tone as it’s also set in a world where alchemy is considered taboo and evil. But this next generation for the Atelier series also sees it switching up to real-time combat, while you’ll also have a large expensive fields to traverse and explore, while base building is also another new feature.
Release date: 21 March 2025
5) All You Need is Help
A game about turning friendships into friend-shapes, this quirky local and online co-op puzzler stars four cute cube-shaped creatures, each with their own unique shape (sometimes like one out of Tetris) as you all try to work together to complete puzzles and other strange tasks while watching out for obstacles, and each other.
While this is an Xbox Game Pass title, it’s also out on the other platforms with cross-platform support. Oh, and it’s just one of a few other games from the presentation that’s out today!
Release date: Out today
6) Everything Else
In catering to the Japanese audience but also everyone else who’s interested in Japanese culture, the Xbox TGS broadcast also revealed a new Overwatch 2 cosmetic collaboration with popular anime My Hero Academia that will be coming to the hero shooter on 17 October.
That wasn’t the only anime-related announcement as a new trailer also dropped for Bleach: Rebirth of Souls, a 3D fighting game featuring characters from the best-selling manga and anime, with their striking animations looking faithful to the latter.
Among the shadow drops (albeit of games that already exist) from the show are from Square Enix, as the publisher’s finally bringing more of its games over to Xbox, including Trials of Mana, Legends of Mana, and Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster (that’s the first six instalments of the classic RPG series), all available today, though only the Mana games are on Game Pass.
There was also new gameplay shown for action-horror game Slitterhead with some insights from its director Keiichiro Toyama, the legendary creator of horror classics Silent Hill and Forbidden Siren, quite fitting ahead of spooky season and the game’s release in November.
And to whet your appetite for one of the most anticipated games of the year, here’s another look at Metaphor: ReFantazio. Better still, a prologue demo for this epic fantasy RPG is now available to download, and you’ll be able to carry your saved progress over to the full game when it launches on 11th October.