Rand Al Thor Further Cements Jez Corden’s Statement About Upcoming Xbox’s 2023 Showcase

The Xbox Two Podcast series creator and prominent YouTuber Rand al Thor 19, claims to have heard from two sources that Xbox will have a showcase event in the first quarter of 2023. He is reputed to have links with key figures in the video game industry.

Jez Corden, again a well-known gaming personality, too has previously pitched that he has heard from a number of sources about Xbox holding a showcase. On the podcast, he calls the sources unverifiable but says they gave him good enough reasons to believe in them.

He adds that he would still classify it as a “rumor“. He also says that when it comes to the event, he’s pretty confident that the rumors are actually a thing.

Major Takeaways:

• Rand al Thor and Jez Corden say they have heard from a number of sources about Xbox holding a showcase in the first quarter of 2023.
• Jez calls the sources unverifiable but hopes for the rumors to be correct.
• All this is followed by Corden’s previous claim regarding the event and more personalities from Xbox vaguely confirming it.

Listen to the podcast where Jez and Rand talk about the showcase starting at 2:19:35.

Jez first pitched the news right after The Game Awards this year. Xbox had a no-show at TGAs disappointed a lot of fans, Jez is no exclusion. Jez says he mentioned a couple of weeks ago on his Xbox Two Podcast that he’d heard there was a possibility Microsoft would have a muted presence at this year’s Game Awards. He further says in his article:

I was reluctant to put a hard stamp on that as a report since I was unable to get real confirmation, but it seems the rumors were ultimately true. Save for a couple of Xbox Game Pass ads, Microsoft didn’t reveal anything fresh. There was nothing for Hellblade 2, Perfect Dark, or even imminent 2023 titles like Starfield or Redfall. And commentators and fans aren’t exactly enamored with this performance.”

-Jez Corden

Regarding a burst out from the fans, Microsoft’s VP of Xbox Games Marketing Aaron Greenberg recently tweeted that Xbox fans wouldn’t have to wait long to hear more about what Xbox has in store for 2023.

We have a lot planned to show and share about an incredibly exciting year ahead for 2023. Appreciate folks are eager to learn and see more. Timing is always key, but don’t worry you will not have to wait too long for what’s next from us. 🙏🏻💚 https://t.co/d1dca2i2Nt

— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) December 9, 2022

Putting a stamp on that, Jez says in his article that he indeed has heard from some sources about Microsoft planning an event in 2023. 

The previous X0 event, which happened in 2019, gave a sneak peek at some of the games that were still to be revealed, like Grounded. Corden did add that this information is based on speculative, unverifiable rumors, which he hopes prove to be accurate for Xbox enthusiasts.

He’d heard that Microsoft will purposefully delay the release of new games at The Game Awards 2022 due to regulatory concerns. Although it might not have been for regulatory reasons, the software giant did actually not exhibit at the event proving Corden right.

To further cement everything regarding the rumored event, a Twitter account posted a screenshot of a deleted tweet from Xbox Marketing Senior Producer Todd Kaumans:

⁦@JezCorden⁩ ⁦@MilesDompier⁩ ⁦@XcloudTimdog⁩ ⁦@klobrille⁩ ⁦@Colteastwood⁩ Do y’all believe this can be Xbox’s Nintendo Direct style Production team?? pic.twitter.com/8AqccRJGQo

— Jonathan G. (@jongom17) December 14, 2022

Corden replies to the tweet and looks pretty confident about his pitch regarding the showcase. The Twitter account behind exposing the deleted tweet further clarifies some things in the comments and looks like all this ultimately leads us to expect an actual showcase from Microsoft.

After all, Corden is actually feeling very good about the news right now. This morning, he tweets once more, claiming it appears that his hazy rumor is in fact coming true.

My vague rumor that there's gonna be an Xbox event in early 2023 is starting to look quite likely true.

What would you want to see from this kind of event?

— Jez (@JezCorden) December 17, 2022

In any case, we eagerly anticipate Microsoft’s official announcements in the upcoming weeks or months. Do you think the dots really connect? What do you hope to see at the upcoming rumored event? Tell us in the comments section below.