Microsoft brings an old Xbox feature to the forefront at Xbox Games Showcase 2025
But games were still the centre of this year's showcase. #xbox #xboxgamesshowcase
Xbox Play Anywhere is getting renewed attention from Microsoft. Image: Microsoft.
Xbox Games Showcase 2025 came and went, and while there was a big hardware announcement in the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds (read about that here), we still saw a whole list of trailers for games across the spectrum, both new and previously announced.
Plus, the livestream also placed renewed attention on an Xbox feature that first came online nine years ago, but has until now been languishing in relative obscurity: Xbox Play Anywhere.
Xbox Play Anywhere
Skim through the livestream, and you'll find many of the trailers appended with 'Xbox Play Anywhere' (XPA) at the end. XPA was an initiative that was first unveiled back in 2016 with the aim of enabling cross-buy for supported titles; purchase one game, and play it anywhere across Xbox, PC and other supported devices.
No doubt, cross-buy is a boon for the consumer, even better as it's paired with cross-save across those different platforms. But it's a feature that hasn't gotten much marketing attention from Microsoft for the better part of a decade despite 1,000 games currently supporting it, according to the Xbox website.
It's only recently that the company has been ramping up efforts to promote it; Microsoft highlighted a couple developers implementing XPA at Games Developers Conference earlier this year, and XPA was a featured topic on the Official Xbox Podcast a few months ago.
As XPA comes into the spotlight at Xbox Games Showcase, we can only speculate why Microsoft decided to do it now. Together with Game Pass, the company could be attempting to strengthen the proposition of its storefronts against other PC platforms like Steam (which still has a much larger library of games). Coupled with the ROG Xbox Ally announcement, it could also be interesting to see where Microsoft is taking the Xbox name, perhaps as a more mobile brand than its typical stay-at-home consoles would suggest.
Microsoft says that all the new games featured in the showcase will have Xbox Play Anywhere support, which brings us nicely to the key announcements from Xbox Games Showcase 2025.
Invincible VS
This marks the second time Omni-Man appears in a blood-filled fighting game (the first being Mortal Kombat 1). Invincible VS is a 3v3 tag fighter published by Skybound Games, a division of the Skybound media company which owns the Invincible IP. It's also developed by Quarter Up, a new in-house studio at Skybound Games. But although it's a new name, its team is made up of former developers of 2013's Killer Instinct.
The trailer featured a couple characters we can expect from the roster, including Omni-Man and Viltrumites Thula and Lucan, as well as Atom Eve, Rex Splode and Invincible himself. It also showed off some of their movesets, particularly some gory finishers.
Coincidentally, it's also the second superhero tag fighter announced in the past five days, the other being a Marvel 4v4 fighter announced at State of Play last week. Invincible VS is set to come in 2026 for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Cloud, PS5, as well as PC via Steam and Xbox PC.
Persona 4 Revival
We did see it coming. Persona 4 Revival is long-rumoured Persona 4 remake that's been making its way through the grapevine for the past couple months, though being a teaser, this announcement doesn't give us much in the way of details apart from showcasing graphical improvements and light gameplay.
Given that what we're seeing is early development content, we might still have to wait a while before we see any more content, let alone the game's proper release. But we now know what platforms it'll be out on. Persona 4 Revival is coming to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Cloud, PS5, and PC via Steam and Xbox PC. It will also be available on Game Pass.
Grounded 2
While we've known for some time that The Outer Worlds 2 is in development, Grounded 2, Obsidian Entertainment's second big announcement in this showcase, was a rather welcome surprise.
It's the sequel to 2022's Grounded, which features its shrunken protagonists trying to survive a backyard and its wildlife. Grounded 2 expands the scope to an entire park, featuring a starting zone that's the size of the entire first game. New mechanics to look forward to include Buggies, or mountable bugs that you can ride into combat with or to help assist you in builds.
Similar to how the original Grounded was released, Grounded 2 will first come to Xbox Game Preview and Steam Early Access on 29 July 2025, before its full release sometime in the future. You can play it on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Cloud, as well as Xbox PC and Steam.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
It seems like almost yesterday that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was released. We thought it was quite a good game (you can read our review of that here), but Activision is seeking to level it up with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which it calls "the most mind-bending Black Ops ever."
Compared to Black Ops 6, Black Ops 7 takes a decidedly more futuristic tack, being set in 2035 rather than its predecessor's 90s setting. The trailer also takes a more restrained approach in terms of the bluster and gunfire this series is known for, instead depicting a surreal and rundown urban landscape, emblematic of what Activision says is a world on the brink of chaos.
Black Ops 7 will also act as a follow-up to Black Ops 2, with the trailer featuring characters David Mason and Raul Menendez, both protagonist and antagonist of Black Ops 2 respectively. The game's Zombies co-op mode will also continue the Zombies story line from Black Ops 6.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will release some time later this year for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and PC via Xbox PC, Battle.net and Steam. The game will also be available on day one on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Mudang: Two Hearts
Developed by the South Korean EVR Studio, Mudang: Two Hearts is a third-person shooter / stealth game that's already drawn some comparisons to Splinter Cell. Based on a Korean webtoon called Moo Dang, Mudang: Two Hearts follows the aftermath of an attack on the South Korean parliament, following the passage of a bill that was set to unify the peninsula.
You take control of an interesting pair of characters: Ji Jeongtae, a North Korean special operative sent to the south to keep the peace as part of a military exchange, and GAVI, a South Korean K-pop idol who uncovers a conspiracy. Populism and propaganda appear to be running themes in the game, as terror attacks by the shadowy Beolmuban turn civilians into rage-filled weapons.
EVR is a company that's a bit hard to track given the language barrier, but Mudang: Two Hearts appears to be the studio's flagship project, having worked on it for at least the past four years. The game is set to come in 2026 to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Cloud, PS5 and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and Xbox PC.
Beast of Reincarnation
It's always a fun time when a game studio shows off their range. Beast of Reincarnation is a title developed by Game Freak, the makers of the Pokemon series, and while it is another game that seems centred around wildlife, it definitely does not look as family-friendly.
The game melds the look of feudal Japan with sci-fi elements, taking place in post-apocalyptic Japan in the year 4026, with humanity on the cusp of extinction. Fictions, the game's publisher, describes it as a "one-person, one-dog action RPG", as you take the role of Emma and her canine buddy Koo, traveling the wastes to save humanity. Sword combat features very heavily in the trailer, along with a myriad of enemies including giant robots and living monstrous abominations.
Beast of Reincarnation is releasing in 2026, and is coming to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Cloud, PS5 and PC via Steam and Xbox PC.
Highlights that weren't new, but still welcome
While we mostly discussed new games coming out, certain previously announced titles also got some love at Xbox Games Showcase. The Outer Worlds 2 received a new story trailer and a joint direct with Grounded 2. We got to see developers share what they were excited about, including improved combat, new movement mechanics, and companions with better reactivity to player actions story lines.
Other notable highlights include a release of Final Fantasy VII: Remake Intergrade and Final Fantasy XVI coming to Xbox, a peek into the Order of the Giants DLC for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (read how we felt about the game here), DLCs for Bethesda's Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76, and a 2026 release window for Gears of War: E-Day.
Indie titles also got some attention; Super Meat Boy 3D is headed to the public in 2026, and the long-anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong got a brief mention in the ROG Xbox Ally announcement, which inadvertently confirmed it for release before the holiday season this year.
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