Xbox Developer_Direct Round-Up: All Major Announcements

Starting off with a cool showcase of the 4 different game developer studios that are hard at work trying to push 5 different exclusives out for the extended Xbox platform in 2024, the Developer_Direct has brought much-awaited news for Xbox fans today. We’ve got an official release date for the highly anticipated Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, a reveal of a new Indian Jones title (I can’t remember the last time there was a new Indiana Jones game), and more exciting stuff. 

This write-up will serve as the definitive round-up of everything of interest that popped up during the Xbox-focused event. For those not in the know, this is the second Developer_Direct that Xbox has arranged, with the first one going live in January last year, pretty much in a similar manner as this one. With no further ado, let’s get right into the most prominent reveals of the event.  

All Major Announcements From The Xbox Developer_Direct

The following is our round-up of all the major announcements that this Developer_Direct has brought for Xbox fans and PC players alike. I have to say, the year ahead looks promising for the platform in question, and as per Xbox Wire — the official news channel of the venture — the Direct only presented a “small selection of the games coming to Xbox this year,” so there’s that. 

1. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Release Date And Deep Dive Now Out

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 has gathered a ton of hype around its name, and for good reason. The sequel to 2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice has finally received an official release date by Ninja Theory, and it’s just what eXputer broke its exclusive report with ahead of time—May 21, 2024. The full presentation shows off more gameplay of the title and forms the premise of Hellblade 2’s plotline. 

Evidently, Senua is off on her way to Iceland to deal with the Vikings that invaded her homeland. It’s a journey of revenge, to say the least, with brand-new combat that players are certain to be engrossed in. Just in case you haven’t played the first game in the Hellblade series, now is the time to act swift. The title’s a whopping 90% off on both Steam and Xbox. Get it cheap and catch up to the franchise ahead of the sequel.

2. MachineGames Revealed Indiana Jones And The Great Circle

MachineGames is a high-class Swedish game developer, known for its work on the Wolfenstein franchise of first-person shooters. But that’s not it, the debut of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has shown that Bethesda’s frontman Todd Howard has pitched in as the Executive Producer to work on the project as well, right alongside talented studio Lucasfilm Games. 

As per an official Bethesda post going over the project in detail, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle finds itself centered between The Last Crusade and Raiders of the Lost Ark, with both movies starring veteran actor Harrison Ford. The real surprise here though is the camera perspective, which has been kept first-person for the upcoming action-adventure. No release date given yet; just that it’s coming later this year.

Our game is about putting you in the shoes of an iconic hero. Since we are doing this mostly in first-person, you have the chance to truly become Indy. First-person makes you part of this world – allowing you to explore and experience things more intimately,” iterates Design Director Jens Andersson. 

3. Ara: History Untold Overview Shown 

Landing on Game Pass for PC (no Series X|S version) on the very first day of its release, Ara: History Untold is Oxide Games’ promising new strategy game that it plans on supporting for years to come with various, fun-filled content. The Developer_Direct showed off the title’s gameplay in-depth along with valuable developer insights, such as how Ara will feature a live world with procedural generation.

I certainly hope in five years we’ll still be doing different expansions, more DLC, and start to branch it out in even further crazy directions. We have so many ideas for different, even more out there, leaders and other kinds of crazy triumphs,” said Oxide Games’ Design Director Michelle Menard in an interview.

4. Square Enix’s Visions Of Mana Gets A Gameplay Reveal 

Industry giant Square Enix has a number of projects in the works, including Foamstars, a live service third-person shooter that it plans on releasing early next month. That said, little did we know about the surprise appearance of such a lightweight, fun-looking, adventure game in the name of Visions of Mana making it into Developer_Direct this time around. 

Although the title had already been announced a month ago, Visions of Mana got a gameplay trailer at the Direct, with its Producer Masaru Oyamada taking center stage to talk about Square’s upcoming RPG at length. The title features about 100 songs in-game, hand-crafted by those who’ve worked on the Mana series before as well. Its launch is slated for 2024’s summer. 

5. Another Deep Dive At The Direct, Featuring Avowed

Obsidian Entertainment has made a number of excellent games, including Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds, and Grounded, and here’s hoping that Avowed becomes one of them as well. The Developer_Direct featured Obsidian’s upcoming RPG, which is actually the developer’s first AAA-scale project following its acquisition by Microsoft. 

More Avowed Content to Check Out: 

• Devoted Studios Has Collabed With Obsidian To Develop 3D Assets For Avowed
• Avowed’s Internal Reboot Resulted In Better Vision, Says Insider
• Avowed Will Have Guns According To Industry Insider

For those not in the know, Avowed draws inspiration from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but not extensively. The footage shown during the Direct contains a ton of information about the game, with Game Director Gabe Paramo expanding on the type of weaponry players can expect to employ in the title. Avowed has a release window of “fall 2024,” so it’s not coming until near the end of the year. 

Will be having the time of our lives dual-wielding wands @AvowedtheGame | #DeveloperDirect pic.twitter.com/s2REHVQT7q

— Xbox (@Xbox) January 18, 2024

Takeaway – An Exciting Year Ahead For Xbox Fans

As Xbox winds up its second Developer_Direct event, paving the way for a number of noteworthy games to come forward, it’s the mere beginning for the company as 2024 kicks off. There are multiple events, conventions, and other conferences to look out for this year, including PAX, the Summer Games Fest, the Tokyo Game Show, and others, so it’s understood that Xbox has a lot up its sleeve that it’s yet to show.  

With our own studios and our incredible partners bringing a diverse set of incredible experiences to Xbox consoles, PC, Cloud, and Game Pass, there’s going to be something new for every kind of player,” reads the official blog post on Xbox Wire. 

Do let us know what you think of this Developer_Direct down in the comments ahead. And excuse me while I go rewatch Hellblade 2’s overview for the 16th time.