Today Xbox returned to the Tokyo Game Show 2021 virtual stage to celebrate the latest regionally relevant news for our fans in Japan and across the Asia region.
‘We’ll always have games’ was the theme of this year’s show, and we continue to be humbled and inspired by the power of games to connect our community around the world. Today, we were excited to showcase how we offer players more freedom to play the games they want, with the people they want, on the devices they choose through the launch of Xbox Cloud Gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in Japan.
With appearances from Forza Horizon 5, Bethesda’s Todd Howard with Starfield, a showcase of Japanese Minecraft creators, a fireside chat with Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, and Shinji Mikami, Head of Tango Gameworks, and a variety of third-party updates including Sarah Bond, Head of Creator Experience and Ecosystem unveiling Bandai Namco Entertainment’s SCARLET NEXUS available to play now with Xbox Game Pass globally, the Tokyo Game Show 2021 Xbox Stream had something for everyone. Here is a roundup of the news and content we shared with our fans during the Xbox Live Stream:
Xbox Cloud Gaming launches in Japan, Australia, Brazil and Mexico
Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, and Kareem Choudhry, Head of Cloud Gaming, shared that Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is officially launching in four new markets – Japan, Australia, Brazil and Mexico – starting tomorrow.
The evolution of Xbox Cloud Gaming means that players can now decide how they want to play, whether on PC, mobile device or tablet. Over 100 games in the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate library are localized and will be playable from launch on October 1.
For more details on the Xbox Cloud Gaming launch, please read our full post.
Cloud Celebration with Japanese Minecraft Creators
We were proud to celebrate Japan’s Minecraft creator community with a fun showcase of Minecraft Dungeons through Cloud Gaming to demonstrate the new ways to play across devices such as PC, tablet and mobile.
Forza Horizon 5 reveals PC specs
PC fans were given a taste of what they can expect from Forza Horizon 5. Players will soon experience breath-taking expeditions across the vibrant and ever-evolving open-world landscapes of Mexico with limitless, fun driving action in hundreds of the world’s greatest cars in the latest and greatest iteration of the series to date. The game’s PC specs can be found at ForzaMotorsport.net.
Mike Brown, Creative Director of Forza Horizon 5 at and Ben Thaker-Fell, Principal Game Designer from Playground games showcased a demo on the new Surface devices. Players can explore Mexico beginning on November 9 when Forza Horizon 5 releases for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC on Windows and Steam, and Xbox Game Pass including console, PC and Cloud Gaming (Beta) with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (where available).
Commitment to Japanese creators and PC gaming experience on Windows 11
Sarah Bond, Head of Xbox Creator Experience and Ecosystem, took to the stage to discuss our commitment to creators in Asia, sharing that Xbox is partnered with over 200 independent developers based in Japan through our [email protected] program, providing a stage for exciting indie games and experiences to come to our platform in the future. Many of these games can be discovered with Xbox Game Pass.
We also provided a look into gaming with the new Windows 11 beginning October 5. games can look better than ever thanks to Auto HDR, a unique capability with Windows 11 which automatically updates your games’ lighting and color from standard dynamic range (SDR) to high dynamic range (HDR). Windows 11 can also soon load your games faster, thanks to the technology DirectStorage. This means you’ll get to experience incredibly detailed game worlds, without long load times.
New Content Coming to Xbox Game Pass: SCARLET NEXUS and more
We also showcased an array of exciting titles, including SCARLET NEXUS, Back 4 Blood, AI: Somnium Files and Mighty Goose which will be available with Xbox Game Pass.
We announced that fans will be able to play SCARLET NEXUS today with Xbox Game Pass from the award-winning team at Bandai Namco Entertainment in Japan. The title is playable on console, PC, tablet and Cloud Gaming, where available, with touch controls.
A Brand-New Back 4 Blood Trailer
Click the image above to view the trailer on YouTube.
From Turtle Rock Studios, the critically acclaimed team behind the Left 4 Dead franchise and published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment showed off more of Back 4 Blood, a thrilling cooperative first-person shooter launching on day one with Game Pass on October 12.
Bethesda announces full Japanese localization for Starfield: Bethesda Game Studios biggest localization in history, and Redfall
Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4.
Todd Howard, executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, shared that Starfield will be localized into Japanese and will be the largest translation project in Bethesda’s history, incorporating over 300 actors and over 150,000 lines of dialogue. Starfield arrives exclusively on Xbox Series X|S and PC on November 11, 2022. Play it day one on Game Pass.
Harvey Smith, studio director of Arkane Austin, also confirmed full localization and language support for Redfall, the immersive open-world FPS that brings the studio’s signature gameplay to the co-operative action and FPS genres. Redfall arrives Summer 2022 exclusively on Xbox Series X|S and PC, and will be available day one on Game Pass.
Phil Spencer and Tango Gameworks founder Shinji Mikami discuss the present and future of gaming in a fireside chat
With over three decades of experience in the gaming industry, Tango Gameworks founder Shinji Mikami has introduced fans to legendary games like Vanquish, The Evil Within, and the iconic Resident Evil franchise.
Mikami-san sat down with Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, to engage in a candid discussion on the present and future of creativity and game development in Japan.
Exciting Third-Party Title Updates: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV and more
Our showcase revealed more from the teams behind Eiyuden Chronicles, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Re:Legend, Ghostrunner and THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV .
Marvel fans were also treated to Square Enix’s upcoming Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy game. The trailer showcased the incredible Marvel universe created by the developer team, giving us a strong glimpse into the wild ride of legendary characters, colorful backdrops and 80s mixtape madness that fans can expect at launch this October.
New experiences coming to Xbox from independent developers in Asia
The [email protected] team also spotlighted independent titles from the region set to arrive with Xbox Game Pass through the acclaimed program, sharing trailers for must-have titles from developers and publishers. Indie titles from Japan and Korea such as Craftopia, The Good Life, RPG Time, Mighty Goose, Lapin, Unsouled and Eternal Return were also on display.
We’re incredibly excited about everything that’s on the horizon for Xbox, and we are humbled by the growth of our Xbox community in Japan and across the wider Asia region. We look forward to welcoming even more players and creators to join Xbox this holiday and beyond.
