A few hours before the 2023 Game Awards, an old leak on an Xbox exclusive is increasingly confirmed. A special and surprising game with stars.
It’s go again ! This evening, during the night from Thursday to Friday from 1:30 a.m., the Game Awards 2023 will take place. A ceremony which rewards the best games of the year in various and varied categories. But the most interesting thing during this event is the completely new announcements that can be made there. Publishers and manufacturers will of course be there, but that doesn’t mean that everyone will have something to say or show. What if Xbox got noticed with a tease of a project that has been rumored for more than two years?
The rumor is growing about this Xbox exclusive
Do you remember the huge Nvidia leak? In 2021, an improbable listing of games compatible with GeForce Now, the manufacturer’s cloud gaming service, was leaked on the web. In it, there are concrete references to titles not announced at the time. A large majority of them have been confirmed and have even been released in the meantime. We think of GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition, PC ports of Returnal and God of War or even the Project Shaolin. A new game developed for Xbox platforms. In any case, this was what was supported by Jez Corden of Windows Central and journalist Jeff Grubb in 2021.
What is it exactly ? According to them, it is a third-person action-RPG playable in four-player co-op. A software focused on melee combat and which would be a Game as a Service (GaaS). In fact, he said that this Xbox game would have a campaign of around ten hours, but would not stop after that. An endgame with seasonal content and updates had been mentioned. The rumor also mentioned the presence of loot to acquire weapons and equipment, as well as procedurally generated dungeons.
According to Tom Henderson (via Insider Gaming), the Xbox game is still in development and is currently in the alpha phase for release in one or two years. At least. Close combat would therefore be at the heart of the experience with a choice of weapons including single or double swords, etc. But the most intriguing thing about the story is the involvement of the legendary rap group Wu-Tang Clan.
Gaming news with Microsoft’s Wu-Tang Clan
The New York hip-pop group with RZA, Method Man and Ghostface Killah would be involved in this project. The implementation of music in the battles of this Xbox game would be one of the main focuses. Wu-Tang would thus lend its music, but in versions rearranged by Just Blaze, with this in mind. More unusual, the members of the group would be playable. “They operate as a temporary buff that allows players to perform ultimate moves, increase their health and more” explains Tom Henderson.
To promote the service aspect, there would be a central HUB: the “Neighborhood”. A place to sell loot collected, listen to music, change your look and certainly improve your character. Internally, the title would be presented as a “welcoming space for all players”, with an emphasis on people from diverse backgrounds. And that’s not all.
Henderson doesn’t know when this Xbox exclusive might arrive, but has gameplay videos in his possession. Project Shaolin would be a game “bright, colorful” and would benefit from artistic direction “lively”, which can mean everything and nothing at the same time. But to be clearer, the insider indicates an animation style in line with the Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse films. Finally, all the action would take place in an open world that aims to “blurring the boundaries of reality”. See you at the Game Awards 2023? Maybe who knows, even if it’s just a mini-tease to confirm this new leak.