Xbox delivered and Windows scrambles to secure Recall

Microsoft delivered the best Xbox showcase I’ve seen in years over the weekend. Layoffs, studio closures, and Xbox exclusives coming to PS5 had fans worried about the future of the platform, but Sunday’s showcase put many of those fears to rest.

Xbox chief Phil Spencer kicked off the show with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 — cementing that Xbox is now the home of Call of Duty — before moving on to new reveals and gameplay. Three titles stood out for me personally: Perfect Dark; Fable; and Gears of War: E-Day.

Last week, I revealed most of the first-party games that would be part of this showcase, but one I didn’t name was Perfect Dark. Reports had suggested it was in “rough shape.” I hadn’t heard about a potential release window, so I wasn’t sure exactly what would be presented during the showcase. The surprise three-minute Perfect Dark trailer didn’t hold back on gameplay, showing movement and visuals that looked super polished and far from rough. Sure, it was just a trailer, and we still don’t have a release date or a release window after nearly four years. But it certainly looks like the game is shaping up well.

In last week’s Notepad, I also said I was expecting to see more of Fable and a 2025 release window, and Microsoft delivered exactly that. The latest Fable trailer included Matt King, more widely recognized as Super Hans from one of the best British comedy shows of all time: Peep Show. King plays the hero Humphry, who will be forced out of retirement to take on a mysterious enemy.

King’s appearance had me smiling from the start, alongside the subtle sarcasm and British humor throughout. Fable’s developer, Playground Games, is best known for the Forza Horizon series that always pushes the visual limits of the Xbox hardware, and it looks like it’s going to do the same here. Sources tell me Microsoft is currently targeting Fable to release between…