The first-ever Future Games Show is officially in the books, giving us looks at hot new games like Disintegration, Waking, Maid of Sker and Dustborn. It also featured a series of deep dive discussions that gave us a taste of what to expect from the PS5 and Xbox Series X, as well as a look at the current state of cross-platform play.
More than 40 games were shown off at the Future Games Show, so be sure to check out our archived live blog below. And don't forget to read our PC Gaming Show 2020 recap for all of the big PC game reveals from earlier today. If you want to cut right to the good stuff, here are some of our favorite games and segments from the show:
- The Future of Gaming
- Blankos: Block Party
- Waking
- Dustborn
- Why cross-play and cross-progression are important
And here's our full recap of all the action.
Future Games Show live blog: All the big announcements
All times ET - refresh for updates
6:24 pm: Looks like we've got one last game left. Serial Cleaner is an irreverent top-down action game that casts you as a crime-scene cleaner. Its off-kilter hand-drawn art style is immediately captivating, and the whole thing looks like an even grittier, more artsy take on the Hotline Miami formula.
6:21 pm: Time for another look at Kena: Bridge of Spirits, the stunning action-adventure game we first saw at this week's PS5 event. The game's platforming, dynamic combat and absolutely beautiful Disney-esque visuals make it look like the PS5's answer to Breath of the Wild, and we can't wait to see more of it.
6:20 pm: Operation Tango is a stylish co-op spy game that lets you play as an agent or hacker, with the two using their unique abilities to work together and save the world.
6:16 pm: Now we're looking at Paradise Lost, a narrative driven adventure game based in an alternative history in which World War II rages on well after 1945. In the 1960s, the Nazis render Europe into a lawless nuclear wasteland, which leaves you to explore a hidden underground world on a quest to bring things back to glory.
6:12 pm: Up next is Disintegration, a mix of FPS and real-time strategy from one of the original minds behind Halo. The game's multiplayer looks impressively large-scale, with 5 on 5 battles that allow each player to bring their own crew to the fray. Real-time combat reflexes will matter, but so will bringing the right units to battle and commanding them to victory. It's launching in just a few days on June 16.
6:11 pm: Time for an exclusive look at Square Enix's Outriders, a frenetic third-person shooter launching for next-gen consoles this fall. The company will be revealing new environments and a detailed look at the Pyromancer class soon.
6:09 pm: Rogue Company is a third-person objective-based shooter that looks a whole lot like Fortnite at first glance, but with a more team-focused approach. The game is being build from the ground up for cross-play and cross-progression -- including on the Switch!
6:06 pm: Time for a breakdown of cross-platform play with Smite and Paladin developers Hi-Rez. As several developers have noted, crossplay has been adopted slowly due to platform holders' fear of losing revenue to other consoles, but that concern seems to be dwindling with the likes of Fortnite and Call of Duty adopting the feature. The concept of crossplay also forces devs to think more globally about the audiences that they're making their games for.
6:05 pm: We got an eerie tease of Werewolf: The Apocalypse, which is getting a full reveal later this year.
6:03 pm: Remothered: Broken Porcelain looks absolutely terrifying, with scarily deformed enemies and a classic haunted mansion vibe that should strike a chord with old-school horror game fans. You might want to keep the lights on for this one.
6:01 pm: Time for Wasteland 3 from Brian Fargo, executive producer of the original Fallout. If you liked the top-down isometric action of classic Fallout, you'll be right at home her. It's hitting Xbox One, PS4 and PC on August 28.
5:52 pm: Time for the "Future of Gaming" panel (yes, Nolan North says they thought of that name first), which will feature a roundtable of developers and experts and dive deep on what to expect from the PS5 and Xbox Series X as well as new technologies such as cloud gaming.
Major takeaways include larger game worlds and richer interactivity between the player and the environment thanks to machine learning. For example, a tech demo featuring The Witcher's Geralt shows how dialogue can be created on the fly.
Developers also seem excited about the types of stories they can tell, as next-gen tech should let players feel like they're truly shaping the story rather than just watching it unfold. Less downtime from forced loading should also make for more immersive cinematics.
The evolution of audio is also a major theme of the upcoming generation. Several developers spoke on ambisonics and 3D audio, which should allow you to truly feel like you're in the game worlds you're exploring.
The segment also touched on smaller upgrades, such as deeper online integration, cross-platform play, instant load times thanks to SSDs and ubiquitous cloud saves. Long story short: next-gen games should eliminate all of the friction between you and your games, and could help break down the barriers between the various major platforms.
5:50 pm: Here comes another exclusive. Last Oasis is a "nomadic survival MMO," built around letting you traverse a massive game world on your own custom ship. This new trailer is showing a volcanic oasis, filled with deadly fires, dangerous enemies. and plenty of valuable resources to mine.
5:47 pm: Sandbox game Main Assembly lets you make just about anything you can imagine, and reminds us a bit of Sony's Dreams at first glance. The game's vehicle mechanics look particularly impressive.
And if you need more colorful freeform action, Blankos Block Party is a third-person shooter that lets you play as living vinyl toys and customize their appearance, abilities and behavior. Like with Main Assembly, you'll be able to create your own levels. Collection and ownership seems to be a big part of the game, as there will be Blankos you can only get during select seasons.
5:42 pm: Now this looks fun. The Captain is Dead is a retro sci-fi "digital board game" that looks to challenge you from keeping your spaceship from falling into complete havoc as enemies board and explosions happen everywhere.
5:40 pm: Time for another look at the Remnant: From the Ashes DLC that debuted at the PC Gaming Show. Subject 2923 is the final DLC for the Souls-like third-person shooter, and is shaping up to be the game's most expansive yet. The expansion's game world looks icy and unforgiving, with literal humanoid rats to fight. Color us terrified.
5:37 pm: Time for a montage! We're seeing a bunch of upcoming indie tiles, including Fall Guys, Carrion, Unbound: Worlds Apart, Anno /Mutationem, Doggone, The Almost Gone, Wave Break, Cloudpunk and Alaloth: Champions of the Four Kingdoms. Long story short, a whole bunch of great indie games are on the way, and you should be playing them on your console or PC within the next year or so.
5:33 pm: Maid of Sker is a first person psychological horror game that looks built around 3D audio. Your enemies are blind and operate entirely by hearing, so you'll have to be smart about how you navigate if you don't want to get spooked.
5:31 pm: From the team behind Bomber Crew comes Space Crew, a strategic space combat sim that looks suspiciously like a pixelated take on Star Trek -- without the official licensed characters. We're totally here for the wacky humor and seemingly in-depth roguelike mechanics.
5:30 pm: Waking is a third-person action adventure game set within a coma. You read that right. This inception-like game casts you in a dream world made up of your own memories, complete with enemies to fight and captivating mindspaces to explore.
5:28 pm: Trippy first-person action game GTTOD is headed for Xbox One this year, complete with its Tron-like aesthetic and frantic mix of shooting and fluid movement.
5:24 pm: We're getting a new level reveal for Skater XL, the skateboarding sim that should satisfy fans waiting for a Skate 4. The Easy Day High School level is bringing back some old school Tony Hawk vibes, but with a more realistic twist. The game's physics system looks very intricate, and it should make a nice counterpart to the more arcadey Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 later this year.
5:21 pm: Comic-noir action game Liberated is coming to PC and consoles. From the creators of Worms comes Neon Abyss, which will deliver irreverent and strategic 2D action with an awesome pixel art style and tons of on-screen chaos happening at any given time. Look for it on July 14.
5:19 pm: Hotshot Racing looks like the perfect game for fans of classic arcade racers like Daytona USA, while CrisTales is a stunning tribute to classic role-playing gmaes that looks like a playable Pixar film.
5:18 pm: Up next is Morbid: The Seven Acolytes, a pixelated top-down action game that looks like Dark Souls meets Zelda. That combination has been done before, but this game really stands out with its art style, and a combat system that looks super satisfying to play.
5:15 pm: Time for the Future Retro segment of the show, which will showcase new takes on classic games and genres. First up is Cygni, an old-school shoot-em-up that looks like Galaga and Ikaruga on steroids, all set in a stunning sci-fi city that's presumably powered by next-gen hardware.
5:12 pm: We're now seeing the new Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One game from Frogwares. The game stars a younger version of the iconic detective, giving us a side of his story we haven't seen before. The game will be open-world, and looks to feature deep detective mechanics and an immersive game world that reacts to how you play.
5:10 pm: Time for more of Call of the Sea, which we first saw at last month's Xbox Series X event. This adventure game will feature a mix of exploration and puzzle solving, though the story seems to be the star of the show. And the game looks absolutely gorgeous, with vibrant lighting and some beautiful water effects.
5:08 pm: We've got a new look at blistering first-person action game Ghostrunner, which features some exciting mobility and combat and an awesome cyberpunk setting.
5:07 pm: Dustborn is a captivating cel-shaded adventure focused on a rag-tag group of friends, who are joined by an adorable robot named C.A.T. on a road trip. This narrative-driven action adventure game looks to have branching dialogue and cool special powers, which should make fans of both Telltale Games and Mass Effect happy.
5:05 pm: Hosts and veteran voice actors Nolan North and Emily Rose have called in from their respective homes, trading some friendly banter along the way. It seems like PS5 and Xbox Series X should be a major focus on the show, which is exciting.
5 pm: It's showtime! GamesRadar started things with a mention of Black Lives Matter and ways to support the movement, which is a very classy touch.
We've got our first world premiere trailer, which is a spooky first-person shooter for PS5 from Teamkill Media. We're getting some Dead Space vibes from this one, so fans of moody horror action should look out for Quantum Error.
4:30 pm: The PC Gaming Show just wrapped up, giving us a look at hot new games like Godfall, Mafia: Definitive Edition and the long-awaited PC release of Persona 4 Golden. We're excited to see how our friends at GamesRadar will keep the gaming momentum going throughout the evening. But one question remains: Who will this show's DevBot be?
