There's been a lot of speculation already as to which games Microsoft and Bethesda will and won't be showcasing at this year's E3. There are plenty of potential candidates, although one or two have already been quietly confirmed without too many people noticing. Though perhaps not as exciting as the likes of Halo Infinite, Starfield, and Forza Motorsport, Recreate Games' physics-based brawler Party Animals has been leaked for the Xbox showcase.
First revealed on Twitter back in September 2019, early demos of Party Animals proved to be hugely popular with both players and streamers alike. During the Autumn Edition of the Steam Game Festival, there were more than 135 thousand people playing the game at once, making it the fourth most played game on the platform at the time. Since then, however, news regarding a full release has been fairly limited, although all that could be about to change.
On the eve of Microsoft and Bethesda's E3 showcase, one of the game's developers took to the official Party Animals discord server to reveal that the game would be making a surprise appearance at the event. It's unlikely that too much of the show's ninety minute duration will be dedicated to the title, but fans will be hoping to at least get some news on when they can expect a full release and perhaps an update on how development has been progressing since the last open demo nonetheless.
Looking to emulate the success of other multiplayer titles like Fall Guys and Among Us, the game was originally planned to release on Steam in late 2020, with a PS4 port of Party Animals expected to follow soon thereafter. The game's appearance at the Microsoft showcase suggests that may no longer be the case, however, with some fans now wondering whether the game will be coming to PS4 at all. At the very least, a Game Pass release now seems incredibly likely.
Other games that could make an appearance at the Microsoft and Bethesda showcase include Fable, State of Decay 3, Perfect Dark, and Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, with the latter's potential involvement yielding a lot of speculation in particular. Prominent Reddit leaker PracticalBrush12 included the game on a list of titles that they felt were likely to be making an appearance at this year's Expo, although industry insider and journalist Jeff Grubb seems adamant that Hellblade 2 won't be shown at the Microsoft event. Thankfully, fans won't have to wait too much longer to find out which of the pair is right, with the showcase now just a matter of hours away.
Party Animals is in development for PC and unspecified consoles.
Source: Resetera