Xbox head honcho Phil Spencer announced the X018 conference for November 10 and 11. The news comes from today’s Inside Xbox stream where Spencer made a guest appearance.
The conference is being held at the Mexico City Xbox FanFest. Microsoft promises “news, first looks, and surprises” during the Inside Xbox show that runs from 3 to 5 p.m. CDT (4 to 6 p.m. EDT 1 to 3 p.m. PDT) on Saturday, October 10. X018 will host both first and third-party announcements during the show.
Xbox will be livestreaming throughout the conference weekend, and said that there will be “additional news” not shown during the Inside Xbox show. X018 looks to be capitalizing on the fan-focused events that Sony has held the past several years. Sony’s event, known as PSX, has been held every year since 2014 in early December. The Xbox X018 show could rival Sony’s events in terms of announcements.
The Mexico City Xbox FanFest is Microsoft’s fourth annual in the city, and will have more than 10,000 people in attendance. X018 will be only a part of that larger event. There could be announcements from studios Microsoft recently acquired, including Undead Labs (State of Decay series), Ninja Theory (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice), and the all-new studio, The Initiative. Microsoft also grabbed Compulsion Games who recently released We Happy Few, although it is possible the studio has more in the works.
Microsoft has held Xbox X0 events in the past, starting in 2001 before the launch of the original Xbox. At that event Microsoft revealed what would become Peter Molyneux’s Fable. Microsoft announced Halo 2 the following year in September 2002, where the company focused on Xbox Live. Other games that were announced at various Xbox X0 events include Project Gotham Racing, Halo Wars, and the acquisition of developer Rare.
Expect updates on Gears 5, Halo Infinite, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Battletoads, and the oft-delayed Crackdown 3. Microsoft will likely have interactive elements to their live-streams via Mixer, its wholly-owned streaming service.
