“Oh my! An Xbox handheld — I can’t believe it. I’m shook!” Is what I would be saying if the ROG Xbox Ally wasn’t the worst kept secret in the gaming world. Xbox’s new handheld console has officially been unveiled during Monday’s Xbox Games Showcase.
Alongside the news of the ROG Xbox Ally, we finally had confirmation of Hollow Knight: Silksong landing this year! This showcase was my favourite out of them all — the surprises just kept coming.
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The show kicked off with a little trailer for Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds 2 — I’m not exactly sure why, but I never really got around this game. Then Obsidian, after already releasing Avowed earlier this year, decides two games in 2025 isn’t enough — a world premiere for Grounded 2 was unveiled. This studio is unstoppable.
Next, High on Life 2 was a true surprise. I was certain the first game was a one off, but here we are! Looks like a blast.
GameFreak, the developers of Pokémon, showed us where all their energy has been kept these past few years — Beast of Reincarnation came out of nowhere.
Super Meat Boy 3D? Who would’ve thought!
But a prequel to A Plague Tale was what sold me — another excellent game on the way that I didn’t see coming so soon.
There’s so many games I could fuss over from this showcase, but I’ve got it down to just a handful.
Here’s my top picks from the Xbox Games Showcase:
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
A Plague Tale: Innocence struck a chord with me back in 2019. Amica and her little brother Hugo’s journey was dark and inspiring — and so fun. To be getting a prequel to the chaos is very exciting.
In Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, you’re not playing as Amica de Rune, you’re playing as Sophia — and it’s all looking just as dark and distressing as Amica’s story, with a little more fantasy flair. It’s coming in 2026 and I can’t wait.
The Blood of Dawnwalker
Bandai Namco are cooking with this one. You play as a Dawnwalker, someone trapped between the human and vampire realm; you’re a person by day and a blood sucking beast by night.
“Embark on the quest to save your family, or swear revenge on your sire and destroy everyone standing in your way.” I’m in. That sounds fucking cool. The Blood of Dawnwalker is also open-world, set inside a fictional 14th century Europe.
Hanging out upside down for this one. It’s coming to Xbox, PlayStation and Steam next year.
Clockwork Revolution
This game looks fantastic. Clockwork Revolution looks like as if Dishonoured, Bioshock and Deathloop got together and had a feisty baby. This action RPG sees you travel through time to change the future. Looks like decisions really matter in this one.
Clockwork Revolution is coming to Xbox “in due time”. Hopefully we see it next year.
Aniimo
Aniimo is like if Palworld had more heart. Developed by Pawprint Studios, this adventure RPG sees you catch and become cute creatures.
While it looks like there’s no guns to fight these cuties, you can still use swords and giant hammers to knock them unconscious… I’ll be keeping an eye on this one. I can see myself losing a day or two playing it. Anniimo is coming to Xbox in 2026.
Keeper
I have no words. Not really, but the whole concept of Keeper is you play as a lighthouse with legs who can’t speak! You make friends with a bird and travel on a journey into the unknown.
The concept is incredibly creative and it’s a visual feast. I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.
Keeper is coming to Xbox and PC on October 17th this year. It’ll also be available day one on Game Pass.
ROG Xbox Ally
It’d be wrong not to include this in my list. This is possibly the announcment of the entire Summer Game Fest season.
Xbox has officially partnered with ASUS ROG to create a handheld designed around the Xbox interface. The ROG Xbox Ally is going to boot directly into the Xbox hub — that said, it’s also compatible with Steam and you’ll be able to access your full library there too. I feel it’ll be a true contender in the handheld space, right up the with the Steam Deck, ROG Ally and Legion Go… but only time will tell.
There’s no official release date just yet but we can expect it before Christmas time this year.
READ MORE: Meet Xbox’s New ROG Ally Handhelds: ‘Serious Contenders’
That’s it! Those are my top pics from the Xbox Games Showcase.
Special shout out to A Fate’s End, I loved Spiritfarer and this is from the same developers.
Almost everything in the Xbox showcase hit for me. To cap off the show with a cinematic trailer for the next Call of Duty: Black Ops game really offered up something for every player. It was a solid presentation and has set us up for a massive second half of the year and beyond.
The fact that Gears of War is coming to PlayStation and Final Fantasy is landing on Xbox means there’s a true change of atmosphere — and I’m living for it.
Watch the full Xbox Games Showcase below:
