It’s Summer Game Fest week, and with it the floodgates for final leaks and reveal-spoiling tidbits have begun to creak open. Already, reputable insiders and fans on the street are sharing major updates on some of the biggest upcoming PS5 and Xbox games, including Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero, Visions of Mana, and Black Myth Wukong – all of them good.
Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero’s potential release window has been one big question mark after producer Jun Furutani revealed that the fighting game could arrive either this year or in early 2025. However, I recently reported that the Singaporean ratings board had slapped a 2024 launch year on it, bolstering hopes we’ll get to enjoy the return of the Budokai Tenkaichi series sooner rather than later.
Now, Instagram user ‘sparking_gohan’ has spotted a dummy case for the game in their local Gamestop. Of course, dummy inlays don’t confirm much of anything – I remember this being the case from my time in game retail – but it’s clear that Bandai Namco is continuing its ramp-up to release. Additionally, the new PS5 game and new Xbox game featured prominently in Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest trailer, indicating that there’s potentially big news on the horizon. I’m summoning Shenron as we speak.
Elsewhere, ‘Midori’ has stated that “new information for Visions of Mana will be revealed soon.” The first mainline Mana game in the best part of two decades, Visions of Mana was initially unveiled back at December’s The Game Awards event, before getting a deeper dive during January’s Xbox Developer Direct. In March, a summer 2024 launch window was slapped on the RPG game, though we’re yet to receive a more concrete date.
According to Midori, Visions of Mana “might release a little later in summer,” citing the multiplatform launch as a complicating factor in its development. I expect we’ll get a release date trailer of some description at SGF, as well as the opening up of pre-orders.
Speaking of pre-orders, ‘Lunatic Ignus’ reports that Black Myth Wukong is set to receive a new trailer during the Summer Game Fest Opening Night Live show on June 7, with pre-orders opening up at the same time. We already know the Black Myth Wukong release date will arrive on August 20, so pre-orders going live around now shouldn’t come as a surprise – that is… if the trailer materializes.
We’ve gradually heard more and more about Black Myth Wukong since its 2020 announcement. It was recently reported that its difficulty may be more akin to Stellar Blade’s than soulslike games like Elden Ring’s, alongside details pertaining to New Game+ and the variety of bosses and enemies on offer in Game Science’s latest. For more on that, check out my write-up.
For more of the latest on the best PS5 games and best Xbox games expected at SGF, check out our extensive predictions list for Xbox’s big showcase on June 9. Additionally, read up on why Lego Horizon could still get its big PS5 reveal after being MIA at PlayStation’s State of Play.