Xbox Series X Event Didn't Have as Much Gameplay as Fans Had Hoped For

Xbox's first Xbox Series X gameplay event wrapped up on Thursday to show off a first look at games planned for the next-gen console, and while all of the games looked like they had potential behind them, many viewers were left wondering where all the gameplay was. Cinematic trailers and the like were shown throughout the video to showcase the games, but from the way the event was marketed, people were understandably expecting more real, in-game gameplay than what was shown. Assassin's Creed Valhalla's showcase was a perfect example of this since it was the only Xbox Series X game viewers new they could expect to see coming into the stream.

The video above shows the stream in its entirety with the video labeled "First Look Xbox Series X Gameplay." But as you can see throughout the lengthy showcase, the gameplay that was there was mixed in with a bunch of cinematics and other animations showing off different games and what they'd look like on the next-gen Xbox.

This doesn't mean that there wasn't any gameplay at all, but it clearly wasn't enough for those who were coming into the event expecting to see numerous videos focused solely on gameplay. It also didn't help that this was the first Xbox 20/20 event to kick off a series of monthly announcements about the future of Xbox and its games. It wasn't a bad event, it just wasn't what people were expecting, and those unmet expectations could easily sour the appeal of future events.

Regardless of how you felt this event went, there are still more to look forward to. There's more news coming in June as part of the ongoing Xbox 20/20 announcements, and Xbox will show off its first-party games planned for the next-gen console in July.

Until then, check out some of the initial reactions to Thursday's event below from people who were hoping to see a bit more gameplay today.