Xbox Series X gameplay event will only feature third-party and indie games this week

Microsoft has confirmed that this week's Xbox Series X gameplay event will only showcase third-party and indie titles, rather than first-party Xbox Game Studios titles. These will follow at a separate July event, which is part of a new monthly event series known as Xbox 20/20. 

This does still mean that our first look at some upcoming Xbox Series X games is set for this week though, with the event set to show off "next-gen gameplay, trailers and sneak peeks from a wide variety of publishing partners and independent developers across the globe and industry, including Ubisoft’s recently announced Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and hear from game creators about what they’re doing with their games on Xbox Series X."

We originally received news of the event last week when the official Xbox Twitter account shared the details, revealing that a stream set for 8 am PDT / 11 am EDT / 4 pm BST on Thursday, May 7 will debut the first Xbox Series X gameplay. Microsoft says it will feature games from "global developer partners", which means we should expect appearances from projects beyond the Xbox Game Studios umbrella.

Microsoft has already shown us what the console and its controller look like, along with offering several deep dives into the tech powering the system (including Xbox Series X storage expansion cards that look like super high tech memory cards). Xbox boss Phil Spencer promised just last week that the next step - debuting actual games for Xbox Series X - would not be "too much of a wait."

A tweet from Aaron Greenberg, the general manager of Xbox Games Marketing, originally implied that look at first party titles would be coming in the "summer".

It's anybody's guess which games Microsoft will feature in the gameplay debut. However, timing the announcement right after the debut of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which featured prominent Xbox branding, should not be ignored. We've already seen an early look at how Gears 5 will take advantage of Xbox Series X's improved performance, but looking at new games purpose-built for the console could provide an even more impressive sneak peek.

According to Microsoft, Xbox Series X is still planned to debut this year, despite the worldwide response to COVID-19 contributing to both manufacturing and logistical difficulties. We're still waiting on a proper release date for the console, and with proper gameplay footage out in the wild as of this week, hopefully we won't need to wait too much longer.

If you need even more reason to get excited, check out why Phil Spencer thinks the jump to Xbox Series X will be as dramatic as going from 2D to 3D.