Image & Form, creator of the SteamWorld series, has announced a brand new game, The Gunk, for Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC. It will arrive in fall 2021. Starring two space haulers who chance upon a planet teeming with life, the third-person adventure will see you encountering undiscovered alien life and discovering the secrets of a lost civilisation, while cleaning up the titular Gunk, an alien parasite that's infested the planet. I'm getting almost Luigi's Mansion / Mario Sunshine vibes. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/the-gunk-announcement-trailer"] It's a major switch for more ways that one for the Swedish developer. For a start, this marks the studio's first ever 3D game. Image & Form has also been most closely associated with Nintendo over the years, launching every game in the SteamWorld series first on a Nintendo platform, so a switch to an Xbox exclusive marks a new chapter for the developer. In a press release, CEO Brjann Sigurgeirsson explains: “A bit into the development process it became obvious that The Gunk would be very hardware-demanding. We’ve always managed to keep our games lean, but The Gunk is all bells and whistles about to explode spectacularly. We had to make a choice: either we quiet it down considerably, or we go talk to the guys with the most powerful hardware. We decided to go talk to the guys with the most powerful hardware.” Perhaps this switch shouldn't be a surprise, however - Image & Form has made its name on trying out new ideas almost every time it releases a new game, with the SteamWorld series alone encompassing platformers, tactics games, and a card-based RPG. We awarded he last SteamWorld release, SteamWorld Quest, an 8.6 review, saying its "card-based RPG combat offers an insane amount of choice, making it as flexible as it is fun." Check out everything announced at the Xbox Games Showcase. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will be coming to next-gen, as it arrives on Xbox Series X in 2021. Announced at the Xbox Games Showcase, the long-awaited sequel to the cult classic PC shooter will bring its mix of FPS, horror and immersive sim to console in 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/stalker-2-announcement-trailer"] In a separate blog post-GSC Game World detailed how the developers want the Zone, the setting of Stalker, to feel like its own character. The open-world will be one of the "biggest ones yet" for the series. Various monsters and factions will populate the Zone and interact with each other. A-Life 2.0 will simulate character behaviors making the world feel more alive than ever before. Player decisions will also determine how the story plays out with branching paths that change depending on the choices you make. After being announced and cancelled in 2011, development on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was restarted at developer GSC Game World in 2018. Previously, all we've seen of the game was a single screenshot. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=stalker-2-xbox-games-showcase-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Fatshark has announced Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, a 4-player co-op shooter coming in 2021. Set in the hive city of Tertium, players and their friends will be set against hordes of enemies based on the many threats of the grimdark Warhammer 40,000 universe. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/warhammer-40k-darktide-announcement-trailer"] Fatshark has good pedigree in this department, having previously maked the Warhammer: Vermintide games. We called Vermintide 2 "a beautifully dark game", and praised its "hack-n-slash, Left 4 Dead-inspired co-op fun of bashing hordes of rats and zombies to a pulp" in our 8/10 review. Check out everything else announced at the Xbox Games Showcase. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Obsidian Entertainment has announced its next project following the release of The Outer Worlds and the early access beta for Grounded. The famed RPG house announced it is developing a new first-person RPG title called Avowed. Avowed is set in Eora, which is the world that Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity franchise is set in. The trailer has a very high-fantasy feel before quickly tesaing the first-person perspective. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] Avowed is Obsidian's first RPG since it was acquired by Xbox Game Studios in 2018. Previously the studio released The Outer Worlds with the help of publisher Private Division. The Outer Worlds is a sci-fi, first-person RPG set in a universe dominated by mega-corporations. Read IGN's Outer Worlds review here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

The July Xbox Games Showcase has finally aired, providing us an eagerly awaited look at first-party Xbox Series X games. We were shown proper gameplay from Halo Infinite, a look ahead at upcoming games like Forza Motorsport and Everwild, and even the first teaser for the hotly anticipated next Fable game. For everything that was shown off as part of the Showcase, take a look below for a full recap. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/xbox-games-showcase-july-2020-full-conference"]

Halo Infinite Gameplay Revealed

The Xbox Games Showcase kicked off with a trailer for Halo Infinite, giving us a new, expanded look at what the next game in the beloved FPS series will offer. It was followed by footage from Halo Infinite’s campaign, which is set on a freely-explorable Halo ring that’s several times larger than the previous two Halo games combined. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/halo-infinite-9-minutes-of-campaign-gameplay"] Master Chief has access to a grapple hook, that he uses to explore the landscape. We see our first look at The Banished, who act as the game's antagonists, which means Brutes finally return to the series. Running at a locked 60fps for the campaign, Halo Infinite is promising new mechanics and bigger battles to make the most of the Series X’s power. It’s due to release Holiday 2020 on Xbox Series X, Windows 10 PC, Xbox One, and Game Pass. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/state-of-decay-3-announcement-trailer"]

State of Decay 3 Announced

Undead Labs is currently developing the next entry in its zombie survival series; State of Decay 3, and it was announced with a CGI trailer featuring a disgusting zombie deer. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/forza-motorsport-xbox-one-series-x-announcement-trailer"]

Forza Motorsport Revealed

Turn 10 Studios are back with another racing game, this time simply called Forza Motorsport. It’s currently early in development, but is said to run at 4K/60fps with Ray Tracing tech. The first trailer was captured entirely in-engine, and - as all Forza games do - looks beautiful. It's coming to Xbox Series X and Windows 10 PC and is enhanced for the Series X. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/everwild-eternals-cinematic-trailer-xbox-games-showcase"]

Everwild New Trailer Revealed

Rare offered a quick look at how Everwild is doing, the beautiful-looking game set in a magical world where you play as an ‘Eternal’ and build bonds with nature. While cryptic, the trailer showed off a world where people bring dead animals back to life. It’s coming to Xbox Series X, Windows 10 PC, and Xbox Game Pass. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/tell-me-why-cinematic-story-trailer"]

Tell Me Why Release Date Announced

Dontnod Entertainment, the creators of Life is Strange, announced that its next game - Tell Me Why - will launch August 27. Playing as twins Tyler and Alyson, who share a supernatural bond, you’ll explore their troubled lives in small-town Alaska. Set over three chapters beginning in August, it will explore social themes including trans experiences. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/ori-and-the-will-of-the-wisps-enhanced-xbox-series-x-showcase"]

Ori and the Will of the Wisps Xbox Series X Update

Microsoft announced that new graphical enhancements are coming to Ori and the Will of the Wisps for Xbox Series X, and will be provided via Smart Delivery. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/the-outer-worlds-peril-on-gorgon-dlc-announcement-trailer"]

The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon DLC Revealed

Coming September 9 this year, The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon is a new expansion for Obsidian’s well-received sci-fi RPG. This noir-flavoured adventure takes players to the new Gorgon Asteroid location, and provides new quests, weapons, armour, perks, and flaws. Xbox Game Pass subscribers can get The Outer Worlds expansions - or the full expansion pass, which contains at least one more adventure - for a 10% discount. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/grounded-survive-the-yard-trailer-xbox-games-showcase"]

Grounded New Trailer Shown

Grounded is releasing in early access on July 28 this year; just a few days away. Grounded is a co-op survival adventure where players are shrunk to the size of ants. They must work together to return back to normal size, while along the way avoiding the dangers of hostile bugs and making use of regular objects in new ways.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/avowed-announcement-trailer"]

Avowed Revealed

Obsidian Entertainment’s next RPG is a first-person epic set in Eora, the fantasy world that has been the setting for the Pillars of Eternity games. It's called Avowed, and it's already looking like it could potentially be a new Elder Scrolls-like experience. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/as-dusk-falls-announcement-trailer"]

As Dusk Falls Announced

From INTERIOR/NIGHT, a new studio headed by the former lead game designer at Quantic Dream, As Dusk Falls is an interactive drama spanning multiple generations. Set in the American Southwest, it focuses on how mistakes of one generation pass on to the next, and how two families trapped in a hostage situation grow over the subsequent decades.

Senua's Saga - Hellblade 2 Will Be Set in Iceland

Ninja Theory popped in to say that it has been location scouting in Iceland, which will be the setting of the sequel to Senua's Saga, the sequel to Hellblade. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/psychonauts-2-gameplay-trailer-featuring-jack-black"]

Psychonauts 2 New Trailer

Double Fine offered a new trailer for Psychonauts 2, the long-awaited sequel to the company’s first ever game. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/destiny-2-beyond-light-expansion-gameplay-trailer"]

Destiny 2: Beyond Light

Destiny 2 is coming to Xbox Games Pass in September, which will give subscribers access to all standard edition versions of every Destiny 2 expansion so far. When the Destiny 2: Beyond Light expansion goes live in November, the standard edition of Beyond Light will be included with Game Pass for no extra cost. Xbox Series X users will also get an enhanced version of the game, with 4K/60fps. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/stalker-2-announcement-trailer"]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 Revealed

After being a PC-only series for so long, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series is finally coming to console with its long-awaited sequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2. The post-apocalyptic shooter may look a little like the Metro games, with its Russian horror tone, but it has its own, immersive-sim style spin on the world of post-disaster Chernobyl. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/warhammer-40k-darktide-announcement-trailer"]

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Announced

Vermintide developer Fatshark returns to the Warhammer universe, but heads into the grimdark future of the 41st millennium. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a 4-player co-op game set on the hive world of Tertium. Players will have to work together to survive the hordes of enemies that assault them in the darkness of the far future when it launches in 2021. The trailer features four Imperial Guardsmen bumping into a room packed with Poxwalkers, so it looks like it'll be Astra Millitarum vs Grandfather Nurgle. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/tetris-effect-connected-announcement-trailer"]

Tetris Effect: Connected Revealed

Tetris Effect is coming to Xbox with Tetris Effect: Connected, an enhanced version with new co-op and competitive multiplayer modes, playable both online and locally. Tetris Effect: Connected releases Holiday 2020. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/the-gunk-announcement-trailer"]

The Gunk Announced

Steamworld creators Image and Form have a new, 3D action adventure and there’s not a steam-powered robot in sight. Called The Gunk, it sees you explore and solve puzzles on a forgotten planet covered in a toxic sludge (that’d be your titular Gunk) using a hoover-like gauntlet. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/the-medium-story-and-gameplay-trailer"]

The Medium

Due Holiday 2020, The Medium is the next project from horror experts Bloober Team. As a psychic medium, you’ll investigate a dark mystery and uncover some disturbing secrets. Set across two realities, there will be puzzles alongside encounters with sinister spirits. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/phantasy-star-online-2-new-genesis-expansion-trailer"]

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis Announced

Coming in 2021 is the next entry in online action RPG Phantasy Star Online 2’s long-running universe: New Genesis. It will feature a new world and new enemies. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/crossfirex-official-single-player-campaign-trailer"]

CrossfireX

Smilegate Entertainment’s previously PC-only series comes to Xbox in 2020 as CrossfireX, and the Game Showcase offered a cinematic trailer for the campaign, which is developed by Control and Alan Wake studio Remedy. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/fable-xbox-series-x-announcement-trailer"]

Fable Announced

After what feels like a wait that lasted forever, Microsoft finally revealed that the rumours were true and Forza Horizon developer Playground Games has indeed been creating the next Fable game. Called simply Fable, it’s a new beginning for the beloved fantasy RPG series. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Obsidian has announced Peril on Gorgon, the first of two narrative DLC expansions for The Outer Worlds. It will be released for PS4, Xbox One and PC versions of the game on September 9. A Switch version will follow at a later date. Revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase, the DLC will take players on a "noir-tinged" adventure to the Gorgon Asteroid, investigating the origins of Adrena-Time. You'll have to have reached Monarch in the base game to access the DLC. Alongside the new story content, the DLC will add new weapons, armour, perks and flaws to the game. The DLC will come in at $14.99 (no other regional pricing available at time of writing), and Xbox Game Pass subscribers will receive a 10% discount. The Outer Worlds will also be getting an Expansion Pass comprising Peril on Gorgon and the next DLC pack for $24.99. When it was first released, we awarded The Outer Worlds an 8.5 review, saying "Obsidian has found its own path in the space between Bethesda and BioWare, and it’s a great one." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

The first chapter of Tell Me Why, a three-part episodic game from the creators of Life Is Strange, will be released on August 27. The game will come to Xbox One and PC (via Windows Store and Steam). Announced at today's Xbox Games Showcase, the first episode will introduce us to Tyler and Alyson Ronan as they return to their Alaskan home and use a supernatural bond to explore their memories of childhood. Announced at XO19, the game is notable in part for featuring the first playable transgender video game hero from a major studio and publisher. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Microsoft has announced a new Forza Motorsport for Xbox Series X, bringing the long-running and acclaimed racing series to Xbox's next-gen console, as well as PC. Currently in early development at Turn 10 Studios, the game will run at 4K / 60 FPS, utilise raytracing, and will be a showcase for the Series X's much-discussed power. The trailer showcasing the new entry in the series was captured completely in-engine. While the Motorsport and Horizon franchises have often traded off release years, the last Forza Motorsport debuted in 2017. IGN's review of Forza Motorsport 7 said "With enough cars to fill a dozen museums and the most generous selection of tracks to date in the series, the amount of driving, experimenting, and racing here is absolutely mammoth." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=forza-motorsport-xbox-series-x-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"]

State of Decay 3 is in early development for Xbox Series X at developer Undead Labs. The trailer begins with a lone woman out in the wilderness. Something is stalking her in the night, but she manages to scare it away. As she explore more of the desolate forest in the daytime she comes across a wolf corpse being eaten by a zombie deer. It's more terrifying than it sounds. We awarded State of Decay 2 a 7.5 review, saying its "survival RPG struggle against zombies is fun thanks to strong combat and fear of permanent death." Undead Labs released a major storyline expansion called State of Decay 2: Heartland last year. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Bungie, the studio that created Halo, is famously obsessed with the number seven. It is why there are seven Halo rings, for instance, and references to it can be found in many other places in both Halo and Destiny. But with 343 Industries and Microsoft now in control of Halo’s future, it seems that Bungie will never get the chance to see “Halo 7” on a store shelf. That’s because 343 is treating this holiday’s Xbox Series X flagship launch title Halo Infinite as “the start of our platform for the future.” IGN spoke with Halo Infinite Studio Head Chris Lee ahead of today’s long-awaited gameplay reveal of Halo Infinite. During that conversation, Lee revealed that Infinite is the last standalone release for the franchise for the foreseeable future. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=halo-infinite-october-2019-screenshots&captions=true"] “Halo Infinite is the start of our platform for the future,” he said. “We want Infinite to grow over time, versus going to those numbered titles and having all that segmentation that we had before. It’s really about creating Halo Infinite as the start of the next ten years for Halo and then building that as we go with our fans and community.” This does not mean that Halo Infinite is a live service game, a la Destiny. But it does mean that new story experiences will be told underneath Infinite’s umbrella, and it also means Infinite will be evolved technologically for quite a while. 343 confirmed that Infinite will get a free raytracing update sometime after launch. Gameplay-wise, hopefully the move to Infinite as a platform won’t mean that players are trapped on this Halo ring forever, but we’ll have to wait and see what 343 has in store for us in the Xbox Series X generation to find out. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/halo-infinite-step-inside-cinematic-teaser"] For more on Halo Infinite, don’t miss more of our exclusive conversation with Lee and Crocker, including details on the Xbox Series X’s premier launch title’s open world and its new weapons and upgrades, the first information on its villain and story, and why Infinite is trying to be a great starting point for new Halo players. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.