Microsoft gearing up for huge Xbox games showcase this month – report
In terms of major first-party releases, 2022 was admittedly a poor show for Xbox gamers. However, that all changes this year and it sounds like Microsoft is ready to shout about it.
According to a report on Monday, there’ll be a massive Xbox games showcase later this month with a live stream currently pencilled in for January 25.
Windows Central sources say the showcase event will be called Xbox Developer_Direct and will bring gamers the most up-to-date news on 2023’s biggest exclusive releases. Specifically, the report says the stream will provide an “intimate look at major games for 2023”.
Arkane’s Redfall, the Forza Motorsport remake and Minecraft Legends will be among the games Microsoft is focusing on, the sources say. However, Microsoft may hold the other big Bethesda release Starfield back “for a bigger marketing beat later on.”
That would be somewhat of a disappointment considering it’s likely to be the jewel in the Xbox crown in 2023, whenever the game finally lands.
If the event happens, it’ll be the first major Xbox-specific games showcase since 2019. Sony and Nintendo host these streams all the time, but Microsoft tends to save its big reveals for E3-like events, or by launching trailers at The Game Awards.
The report says the stream is likely to take place at 12pm PT (that’s 8pm UK time) on January 25 and will be the first of more regular updates from Microsoft throughout the year, as it ramps up its release schedule following the barren 2022. Microsoft recently admitted 2022 had failed to deliver major first party titles expected by the user base.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer said: “One thing we’ve definitely heard loud and clear is it’s been too long since we’ve shipped what people would say is a big first-party game. We can have our excuses on Covid and other things, but in the end, I know people invest in our platform, and they want to have great games.”
Spender added: “We’re excited about 2023, and we’ve talked about games that are coming, and those games are tracking well, we’re kind of out of what Covid did to the production schedule. As an industry, we have fewer games this holiday than we’ve had in a while when you just think about the launches. Call of Duty’s coming, God of War’s coming, which is great, Nintendo’s had a good year, but I’d say, in general, we’ve been a little light, but I look at 2023, and there’s a great lineup of games coming that I’m excited about. Getting our first real Xbox first-party games out of Bethesda, having them ship with Redfall and Starfield will be a lot of fun.”