One of the major highlights for Xbox in 2023 was kicking off the year with their first Developer Direct, featuring presentations and ViDocs of upcoming games like Forza Motorsport from Turn 10, Minecraft Legends from Mojang, and the surprise shadow drop of cult hit Hi-Fi RUSH from Tango Gameworks. This new style of presentation was thought to be Microsoft’s answer to Sony’s State of Play series and the ever-popular Nintendo Directs, but ultimately, the company made other plans throughout the year.
All hope is not lost on the Developer Directs, however, as it seems a Reddit user known as Zantorn claims that Microsoft will kick off 2024 with a new Developer Direct, as relayed by Mike Straw from Insider Gaming. Zantorn has been an accurate leaker as far as Reddit goes for quite some time, stating “First Xbox event of the year is going to be the week of the 14th, can’t speak on the shadow drop rumors but the date has now been set in stone.”
This statement comes just a few days after a Spanish speaking leaker on X (formerly Twitter) stated that a Developer Direct was also happening in January with a surprise shadow drop, though that remains to be confirmed as this leaker claims the Direct is happening on January 25. They also posted an image with a January 25 date, but as many people know things like these can be faked or altered with Photoshop or AI.
However, the thought of a Developer Direct would be welcomed, no matter when it would happen. Xbox needs a win, and with over 20 announced titles and newly acquired studios, it would do them well to update players on what’s coming from them internally.
Our Thoughts
My personal thought is that yes, a Developer Direct of some kind is coming this month. We know Xbox Game Studios has a big year planned with releases like Ninja Theory’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Stoic’s Towerborne, Obsidian’s Avowed, and Asobo’s Flight Simulator 2024 scheduled for 2024 as well as unannounced titles from newly acquired Activision Blizzard and updates from Bethesda’s slate. There is also the rumor of new hardware on the horizon as revealed by the court documents from earlier last summer, including plans for an all-digital 2TB Xbox Series X and some sort of handheld device. My guess is that there is more up Xbox’s sleeves than they’re letting on. Regardless, it would be nice for Microsoft to continue these Developer Directs quarterly as the growing fanbase has been hungry for news on exclusives for a long time.
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Source: Insider Gaming, Reddit
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