As we approach the launch of next gen consoles, much of the discourse surrounding them right now is about on hardware and specs- about 8K resolutions and ray tracing, about teraflops this and load times that. But let’s not forget one very simple fact of life- content is king, and without good games, none of that power is going to mean anything.
Thankfully, it doesn’t look like the PS5 and the Xbox Series X are going to be starved for games. In fact, it even looks like – unlike with the PS4 and Xbox One – there won’t be a period right after launch where we’re not really getting much more than middling releases. Because even though very few games have been officially confirmed for next-gen so far, we can still see that even the immediate future is looking quite good for the ninth console generation.
In this feature, we’ll be talking about a couple games that have been confirmed as next gen launch titles, as well as quite a few games that are likely to be launch titles for the PS5 and/or the Xbox Series X. Of course, when we say likely, we’re also admitting that they’re not locks for next-gen launch either- some of them might indeed ending up being launch titles, many of them may not.
So with all that out of the way, let’s get started, beginning with the two games that have already officially been confirmed as launch titles for next-gen.
HALO INFINITE
History repeats itself. On November 15, 2001, Microsoft and Xbox entered the console market with a little RTS-turned-first person shooter named Halo, and they changed the industry forever. Nearly twenty years later, this Holiday season, the Xbox Series X will release, with Halo Infinite as a launch title. Admittedly, things are different for both Halo and Xbox this time- Halo is coming off what was probably its worst game to date, while Xbox is coming off a rocky console generation. Even still, there’s a refreshing sense of optimism surrounding both, with 343 Industries and Microsoft looking determined to get things back on track. If Halo Infinite turns out to be as good as everyone is hoping it will, there’s no telling how much good that could do to the Xbox Series X. One only need look at the very similar situation concerning the Switch and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2017 to get a sense of how much an excellent launch title can help a console at release.
