Roundtable: Our Hopes for 2023

On the video game front, 2022 was….weird. Obviously, COVID hit the industry hard leading to many delays and a more barren than usual year for gaming. That doesn’t mean there weren’t great games though. Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, Tunic, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, God of War Ragnarok, and more; have all made for a fun and interesting year. Now that we are closing in on the end though, it’s time to look forward and give our hopes for 2023.

So here are what the writers of VGU.tv are hoping to see next year.

Josh Miller – The Tarnished Family Man

Microsoft’s Output

To say Microsoft had an underwhelming year in terms of exclusives would be an understatement. Yes the Forza 5 Hot Wheels DLC dropped and Pentiment was released this year, but the heavy reliance on Game Pass and third-party console exclusives such as Scorn and Warhammer 40K: Darktide is clearly noticeable. For a company that has ramped up its studios so heavily over the last few years, having an off-year still feels weird – pandemic or not.

So for 2023, I’m curious to see what Xbox Game Studios has at the ready. We know games like Redfall and Starfield should hit, but games like Fable 4, The Outer Worlds 2, Everwild, and more are still on the back burner. It should be a big year, and by all accounts, it will be. It’s just a matter of what is ready, what will be delayed, and what surprises they still have in store. Now mix in Game Pass and other potential third-party exclusives, and Microsoft could have a runaway year in 2023.

I’ve mentioned that my reasoning for buying an Xbox wasn’t because of the exclusive games. Since owning the Xbox Series S, that hasn’t changed. Which is kind of sad. But there are things I am interested in. Whether they stick to the landing or not is still to be seen. But I’ll be even more excited if those games come out in 2023 and make me happier about my choice in the purchase of an Xbox over a PlayStation.