ALEX BROWN
Xbox celebrated its 25th anniversary on November 12 with a FanFest event in Seattle, and the headline was a long-awaited confirmation: Wolfenstein 3 is officially in production at MachineGames. The company also announced a free Firefight mode for Halo: Campaign Evolved, added 25 original Xbox games to backward compatibility on PC, and showed new gameplay from Playground Games’ Fable. Here’s everything that was announced.
Wolfenstein 3 is in production
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirmed the news, calling Wolfenstein “a franchise with an important place in gaming history.” MachineGames followed up to say that Brian Bloom and Debra Wilson are returning as BJ Blazkowicz and Grace Walker. No release window, platforms or trailer were shown, so this is very early.
The confirmation ends years of guessing. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus came out in 2017 and ended on a cliffhanger, and MachineGames has since released Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Sharma also said id Software’s next project is in development, though she did not name it.
Halo: Campaign Evolved is getting Firefight
Halo’s wave-based co-op survival mode is coming to Halo: Campaign Evolved in a free Winter Update. It’s the first time Firefight has appeared in a version of the original Halo. FanFest attendees got hands-on time the same night. Xbox also gave all players a free Damascus Prototype armor style as an anniversary gift.
25 original Xbox games are now playable on PC
Xbox backward compatibility on PC now covers 25 original Xbox titles, including Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Achievements have also been added to select OG Xbox games, KOTOR among them. For PC players who never owned the first console, it’s the easiest legal way to play some of these classics.
New Fable gameplay
Playground Games showed a new quest from Fable, featuring magic-heavy combat against cursed creatures and more hints about the story. Xbox said it would break the footage down on the Official Xbox Podcast. Early reactions online were mixed on combat but positive on the look of the world.
Other Xbox 25 announcements and dates
- Xbox Playback: a personal recap of your first game, total play time and longest streak
- DOOM: The Dark Ages Slaughter Mode: November 16, free for owners of the Revelations DLC or Premium Edition
- Grand Theft Auto VI on Xbox Cloud Gaming: November 19, including Xbox One
- Anniversary items: liveries and skins in Forza Horizon 6, Gears of War: E-Day, Minecraft, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
- Console features: rotating home backgrounds and new library tools for Insiders
What it means
The show was light on new game reveals, but Wolfenstein 3 and the PC backward compatibility push both speak to where Xbox is heading: leaning on its biggest studios and making its history playable beyond the console. With GTA 6 arriving November 19 and The Game Awards streaming on Disney+ in December, it’s a busy end to the year for players.
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- Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel News Won’t Come “For Some Time”
Sources: Xbox Wire, DualShockers, Game Informer