The video games industry must continue to innovate to keep players interested, the head of one of its biggest franchises says.
With the E3 gaming trade show taking place in Los Angeles this week, thousands will flood to a convention centre and queue to see the titles coming over the next 12 months.
This year they are dominated by sequels and remakes.
The biggest announcement at PlayStation's showcase was Uncharted 4, while developer Bethesda announced a remake of Doom, and the fourth instalment of post-nuclear apocalypse game Fallout.
But Josh Holmes, the head of 343 Industries, maker of Xbox franchise Halo, says developers must keep working to innovate and expand on what they produce in order to keep customers coming back - something he believes his latest game, Halo 5 Guardians, does very well.
"This is the biggest and most ambitious Halo campaign yet," he said on stage at the Xbox press conference.
"For the first time, the epic scale of Halo's campaign carries over to our multi-player experience, with 24 players, AI-controlled adversaries and massive environments that are four times the size of any previous Halo map."
He added it was a "giant leap for the game".
Big name sequels for Tomb Raider and war thriller Call Of Duty Black Ops were also announced.
The next year also looks hugely competitive for the industry with the new Star Wars Battlefront, Uncharted 4, Fallout 4 and a reboot of racing game Need For Speed among those set to be launched alongside Halo, all of which have huge and loyal fan followings.
It makes standing out crucial, as a popular franchise can be lucrative for a games studio. Call Of Duty has made more than $US6 billion ($A7.73 billion) in sales since it first launched in 2003.
However, the head of Xbox Phil Spencer says that finding new series that appeal to fans is just as important in the condensed market.
"Investing in and shipping new, exclusive franchises is critical to our platform's success," he said.
Exclusive is a key word.
Rise of the Tomb Raider will be only available on Xbox when it first launches in November, reportedly to help the console compete with Uncharted 4, which is exclusive to Sony's PlayStation 4.
"At Xbox, our mission is simple; to put you the gamers at the centre of everything we do. To build the best platform and most reliable service for both gamers and developers," Mr Spencer added.
Having a line-up of games that will make fans queue for hours at a convention is a key part of that.
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