Xbox Developer Direct January 2024: Every Reveal & Announcement

Xbox just held its January Developer Direct, which showcased a handful of its upcoming first-party games. If you missed out on the 50-minute stream and want to watch the whole thing, you can watch it here on Xbox’s YouTube channel, but if you want a quick rundown of everything they showed, read on.

First up was Obsidian Entertainment, which showed off its upcoming fantasy RPG Avowed, which is set in the same universe as the team’s Pillars of Eternity series. The gameplay showcase put a spotlight on the game’s first-person combat, which mixes both sword-swinging melee and wand-based magic. The team at Obsidian put a lot of focus on player choice, both in terms of how you build your character and playstyle, as well as story decisions you’ll make on quests throughout.

Avowed will launch on PC and Xbox Series X/S and on Game Pass in the fall.

Next was Ninja Theory, who provided a new look at the long-awaited Hellblade sequel Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. The team says Hellblade II will follow in its predecessor’s footsteps as a “shorter, narrative-led” experience. It follows Senua in 10th century Iceland, following the Vikings enslaving her people. Scriptwriter and Performance Capture Director Lara Derham says the game will be faithful to history “up to a point,” but will include the surreal elements from the original game on top.

Much like the original game, Senua’s psychosis will play a factor in the story, with her seeing hallucinations as she moves through the world, which facilitate new dangers alongside the enemies she’ll face in her quest. This will manifest in in-game threats, but also in visual and audio cues like hearing voices and other noises throughout.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is coming to PC and Xbox Series X/S and will be available to Game Pass subscribers on May 21.

Square Enix made a surprise appearance to show off Visions of Mana, the latest entry in the long-running fantasy RPG series Mana. The game was initially announced at the 2023 Game Awards, and looks like a return to form for the Mana series after spin-offs and dead mobile games. Square’s presentation included looks at the open world, cute critters, and the series’ return to action RPG combat.

Visions of Mana will launch on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S in summer 2024.

Oxide Games showed off Ara: History Untold next. The studio calls it a “living world” in a strategy game, with their decisions as leaders influencing the world. This extends to the environment, culture, and even scientific advancement. Ara uses procedural generation to react to player decisions, and Oxide wants this to give players a sense of ruling over civilization and nudging history in one direction or another.

Ara: History Untold will launch on PC and through Game Pass in the fall.

Closing out the show was the headliner: MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Bethesda big boss Todd Howard talks about how he’s had an Indiana Jones game in his head for a long time, down to the period of the adventurer’s life he wanted to write around (between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade), and he believes MachineGames was the right studio in Bethesda’s stable to make it work.

The first footage confirms the game will be a first-person action game, with third-person cutscenes. This isn’t too surprising considering MachineGames’ history as a shooter studio working on the Wolfenstein series. But the actual gameplay looks like it combines Uncharted-style puzzle solving and setpieces, as well as fast-paced shooter combat, complete with hand-to-hand brawls, turret sections, and he even throws around his iconic whip a few times.

As previously reported, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be exclusive to Xbox and PC, despite starting as a multiplatform game prior to Xbox’s acquiring Bethesda. It will launch later in 2024 and will be available on Game Pass.