May wasn’t exactly a small potato for video gamers – and June could demand even more of their attention. Still reeling from the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomfans should be on the lookout for three massive tentpole franchise releases in June: Street Fighter, Diablo, and Final Fantasy.
Again, those aren’t the only games to appear on the June 2023 launch calendar. Those three have huge audiences going back decades, but if none are your cup of tea, many more are coming in in a month normally associated with E3 (where publishers are now left to fend for themselves).
Here’s a rundown of all the good stuff coming to Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC over the next month:
1 June
Ethical Odyssey Origins collection
(Nintendo Switch, Windows PC)
Atlus’ new collection includes the first three titles in the series: Etrian Odyssey HD, Etrian Odyssey 2 HD downloadAnd Etrian Odyssey 3 HD downloadand promises “numerous improvements in quality of life, such as suspension [and] adjustable difficulty levels,” says the publisher.
June 2nd
Street Fighter 6
(PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X)
Image: Capcom
Fighting games are a genre now so developed that newcomers might find them inaccessible; not so, according to Polygon’s review. “Street Fighter 6 is the largest and most accessible package in the franchise to date, waiting for you with open, friendly arms.”
Super Mega Baseball 4
(Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
We love Katamari Roll again+ Royal reverie
(Nintendo Switch)
June the 6th
Amnesia: The bunker
(PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Diablo 4
(PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment’s winning dungeon crawler formula returns for the first mainline entry in 11 years. Diablo 4 leaning towards more than just the gameplay loop that has earned it millions of fans: “There’s an aesthetic return to the guts of the series,” says Polygon’s review, “the never-ending grossness of weird little freaks from hell and the guts left behind in their wake.”
June 8
Harmony: the fall of reverie
(Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X)
June 15
Layers of fear (2023)
(PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X)
Goodbye Volcano High
(PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC)
Image: Codemasters/Electronic Arts
June 16
F1 23
(PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Among sports video games, F1 23 continues to make the biggest strides, from a boutique motorsports sim to a full-fledged sports lifestyle sim with a narrative mode (and familiar characters) to boot. While the second chapter of Braking Point pre-release is perhaps getting the most attention, the combined single/multiplayer F1 World mode also seems to be a maelstrom for thousands of racing fans.
June 20
Aliens: dark Origin
(PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Crash Team Rumble
(PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
June 22
FinalFantasy 16
(Playstation 5)
Image: Square Enix
As if the month could last one more, here’s June’s third epic. Final fantasy 16The game’s gameplay and visuals channel all the current power of modern game development and hardware, while still allowing room for the PlayStation 2-era motifs and touches that have charmed generations of fans. Says Polygon’s preview: “It has the flamboyant drama, cool, moody demeanor and playful self-deprecation that were a hallmark of the era, as well as a focused, headstrong approach to both storytelling and gameplay.”
June 29
AEW Fight forever
(Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Yuke’s Co. isn’t completely out of the wrestling game; although the WWE franchise is now wholly owned by 2K Sports and its studio, the old wrestling and fighting developers are returning with AEW Fight foreverbased on the challenger series All Elite Wrestling.
June 30th
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
(Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Samba de Amigo: Party Central
(Nintendo Switch)
Image: Sega
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code
(Nintendo Switch)