Microsoft reveals upcoming Xbox Series X games including 'Halo Infinite' - CNN

The first and most anticipated announcement was "Halo Infinite," which Xbox claims is the biggest and "most ambitious Halo game ever created." Thursday was the first time we got see to see more of the game. It has larger battles and new gameplay and scenery. The protagonist, Master Chief, is back for another adventure that spans a wider region. The game comes out this holiday season.

"We want to make sure that this is a game that feels great to our longtime fans that have been playing 'Halo' games as well as a great entry point for new players," said Chris Lee, studio head for "Halo Infinite" at 343 Industries, during a press event following Thursday's announcement. The game will use Xbox Series X's processing power to render higher resolution graphics.

Some fans on the YouTube livestream did not sound impressed, commenting that the game looked generic. The "Halo" franchise is synonymous with the Xbox brand, so a lot of bets have been made on "Halo Infinite."

'Hello Neighbor 2'

Five games were revealed during the pre-show, including "Hello Neighbor 2," a sequel to the popular horror game where you sneak into your neighbor's basement to uncover a secret. In "Hello Neighbor 2," you attempt to find your neighbor who has now gone missing, while you're being stalked. The game comes out in 2021.

'State of Decay 3'

Xbox also announced "State of Decay 3," the next game in the zombie survival franchise. Microsoft acquired Undead Labs, the studio behind "State of Decay," in 2018, the same year the previous sequel was released. In the trailer, a woman hunts a zombie moose.

'Forza Motorsport'

"Forza" is one of the games that Xbox used to show off its cloud gaming venture, Project xCloud during a demo at last year's E3 gaming convention. The racing game is also designed to showcase the Xbox Series X's improved tech, including ray-tracing, which helps to illuminate shadows and lights better. The game is currently in early development, with no release date, and a trailer from Xbox shows a team preparing for a race with extra speedy cars.

'Everwild'

"Everwild" is about a magical world filled with friends who coexist peacefully with unusual beasts. Since the trailers for the game have shown only movie-like snippets of what to expect, we don't yet have a good idea of what players get to interact with and do in the game. Given the emphasis on the setting, it looks to be a game about exploration. The game is developed by Rare, which made the fun pirate game "Sea of Thieves." There's no release date yet.

'Tell Me Why'

"Tell Me Why" is a narrative-based game from the developers of "Life is Strange" about twins who can see visions of the past. The game is the first from a major studio to feature a playable transgender character, which will be a significant boon to LGBTQ representation in video games. Depending on the choices gamers make, the ending of the story will change. The game is due on August 27.

'Psychonauts 2'

Xbox's teaser for "Psychonauts 2" was pretty different from the other games: it showed actor Jack Black singing on the soundtrack, intriguing "School of Rock" fans. Like the vocals, the game appears psychedelic, with eyeballs floating around and neon colors. Similar its precursor, "Psychonauts 2" appears to be a 3-D game where players jump from platform to platform.

The showcase ended on an exciting note for fans, revealing "Fable," a 16-year-old franchise that is getting a new entry for the Xbox Series X. The trailer didn't show a lot of gameplay, depicting a green fairy flitting through the forest only to be swallowed up by a toad. "Fable," the fourth game in the franchise, is a role-playing game where players make decisions that affect how other characters treat them. The game will come to Xbox and PC and there's no release date yet.

Xbox announced several other games, showing some that fans have seen before and said games like "The Outer Worlds" will get more expanded content. Tetris Effect, a colorful and riveting version of "Tetris," is also getting a multiplayer mode. For the games that people aren't as enthused about, many will be available on the Xbox Game Pass subscription service so they can be sampled at a lower cost.

"Microsoft said all the first party games will be on Game Pass," said David Cole, an analyst at research firm DFC Intelligence. "I think that is their secret weapon because it is a great value proposition."

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