Those in the video games industry know that 2023 needs to be a big year for Xbox and their many development teams, and Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, needs to give players a reason to own an Xbox Series X or S.

During the Direct they provided in depth looks at games already announced, and brought us one surprise title that you can play as of this writing! Here’s everything that happened in the Direct, which you can watch in its entirety below.

Minecraft Legends

Mojang Studios teams up with Blackbird Interactive, known for their supportive role in developing Minecraft Earth, and led development in Crossfire: Legion, to talk about the action-strategy game Minecraft Legends, set to release on April 18th for Windows PC, Xbox Series X/S (on Game Pass as well for both PC and consoles), Xbox One, PlayStation 5/4, Steam, and Nintendo Switch. Besides having a robust single player campaign, they also dove into the all new PvP (Player vs Player) component, where two teams of up to four players each battle each other to collect resources, build and siege bases, and more.

Forza Motorsport

Microsoft’s flagship simulation racing series is making a comeback sometime in 2023 with Forza Motorsport. The team at Turn 10 Studios is hard at work designing the game from the ground up, and showed off many of its next gen graphical features, like a robust ray tracing system with in depth lighting and reflections, a booming and immersive audio palette of screeching tires, loud engine sounds, and environmental noises, as well as hundreds of thousands of customization options to make your cars look great. Forza Motorsport will launch with over 500 cars, and will also feature up to three all new tracks to race on, including the Kyalami Grand Prix Race Circuit in South Africa, on top of the 20+ tracks fans are familiar with.

Hi-Fi Rush

The biggest surprise of them all, Tango Gameworks began talking about their new first party title Hi-Fi Rush, a third person rhythm-based action game that tasks the main character, Chai, with a music player embedded into their chest, and thus turning everything in the game to match the beat of the music. Roll through a colorful and vibrant anime-styled industrialized world with a guitar as your melee weapon and defeat your enemies to the tune of the beat for extra damage and points while you uncover a sinister corporate plot to influence people’s minds. It’s something new for Tango Gameworks, known for developing dark games like The Evil Within series, and most recently Ghostwire Tokyo. Hi-Fi Rush is available NOW on the Xbox Series X/S, and on PC (of course on Game Pass as well). Having played it myself already, it’s a real fun, and humorous romp with memorable characters and beautiful looking graphics.

Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom

The Elder Scrolls Online universe has launched with at least one major campaign expansion since the title’s release in 2014, from the likes of Dragonborn, Elsweyr, and many more. Now, ZeniMax Online studios are bringing Necrom to PC/Mac, as well as Xbox and PlayStation consoles this June. Your player will return to the lands of Morrowind and explore the eastern regions, and also be given the chance to play as a new player class, the Arcanist. Also, for a limited time, players who have yet to jump into this massive universe can get a limited free trial of ESO Plus, which is the service that grants you free access to ALL of its past chapters and DLC (excluding High Isle). There’s no better time to jump into this massive universe than now. You can find out more by watching the ESO Global Reveal Event, which happened after the Developer Direct.

Redfall

Last but not least we conclude the Direct with Arkane Austin’s Redfall, which finally gets an official release date of May 2nd 2023. The Direct featured many extended gameplay segments, tasking your ragtag team of vampire hunters as they try to solve the mysteries of what happened in Redfall, Massachusetts. You have four characters to choose from (the game can be played single player or up to four players), all with their own unique special abilities that can range from stealth, distraction, magic, and more. The game looks to blend horror, suspense, and action beautifully, and the game will release on Game Pass for the Xbox Series X/S and PC.

That’s what we got so far for Xbox, and things are shaping up to be a big year for Xbox fans. We should expect a Starfield showcase coming soon, as well as their big showcase coming around E3 in Los Angeles this year. Are you excited for what Microsoft is bringing this year, and isn’t it about time? Sound off in the comments, or head over to our Discord server at the link here, or use the QR code at the bottom of the page.

Source: Xbox Wire