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The feature image for the game Fable. The letters for Fable are spelt out in golden capital letters, with a man standing behind with his hand raised, looking pensively at his hand. He is wearing a cravat and is clean shaven with a pair of glasses.

The UK studios making waves at the Xbox Games Showcase 2023

For gamers around the world, the Xbox Games Showcase is one of the most exciting dates in the calendar, filled with announcements and reveals. This year didn’t disappoint, with upcoming projects from three UK studios — Playground Games, Ninja Theory, and Rare — among the many highlights.

Games from UK studios

Playground Games, known for their work on the Forza Horizon series, showcased their highly anticipated open-world action role-playing game (RPG), Fable. This new entry in the legendary franchise takes players to the immersive fairytale land of Albion, where they will embark on exciting adventures and encounter a myriad of challenges, treasures, and stories.

The cover image for Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. It shows a woman standing still with her eyes closed, while pairs of hands rest on her face and head.

Ninja Theory, the studio behind the critically acclaimed Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, unveiled a new look at Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. The showcase provided a glimpse into the game’s cinematic immersion, visuals, and sound.

An angry, evil pirate skeleton with glowing red eyes, black beard, pirate hat and feather, and red jacket with white flouncy sleeves.

And Rare, the studio behind the wildly popular Sea of Thieves, surprised fans with an unexpected announcement. They unveiled Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island, a crossover event that brings together the world of Sea of Thieves with the beloved Monkey Island franchise. In an interview with Xbox Wire’s Joe Skrebels, Rare’s Creative Director Mike Chapman said: “We want fans to believe what we’ve done feels like part of one connected experience.”

A year of stellar announcements

In addition to the UK studios content, the Xbox Games Showcase had many other exciting announcements and highlights. This includes new projects built for Xbox such as South of Midnight and Clockwork Revolution, and updates on the future of the Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise. Fans saw more of the highly anticipated Forza Motorsport, which it was announced would launch on October 10, and were treated to a deep-dive into the worlds of Bethesda’s stunning upcoming RPG, Starfield via the Starfield Direct.

The hero image for the Xbox Games Showcase 2023. On the left hand side It shows the Xbox logo in glowing blue-green, with the words 'XBOX GAMES SHOWCASE'. On the right hand side it shows the logo for Starfield Direct which features an orange and red diamond and the words for STARFIELD DIRECT underneath in capital letters.

To find out more about the announcements made at the Xbox Games Showcase, you can read the full overview here.

You can find the full interview with Rare’s Creative Director, Mike Chapman, here.

Find out more about the future of gaming at Microsoft as discussed following the showcase here.