Reaction: Xbox’s Killer January Showcase Proves That Its Games Pipeline Is Finally Ready

ALL of this in the next few months?!

by Ben Kerry Thu 23rd Jan 2025

Well, that’s a wrap on Xbox Developer Direct 2025, and wasn’t that just an awesome showcase again from Team Green? We got a look at four new Xbox titles; three of which received release dates spread over the next few months. Oh, and who can forget about that fifth shadow drop title? Yep, The Ninja Gaiden 2Black remaster is available right now!

And, to be honest, the biggest takeaway we’ve got from Dev Direct ’25 so far is that, finally, Xbox’s games pipeline feels ready to go. From the team’s very first January showcase back in 2023, it’s always felt like these early-year events were meant to showcase soon-to-launch titles, but the sheer scale of Microsoft’s portfolio means that this year, they can afford to release these titles real soon. We never expected Avowed, South of Midnight and DOOM: The Dark Ages to all launch by mid-May, not to mention third-party title Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 coming in April as well.

Of course, as we mentioned up at the top, it was very nice to get another shadow drop during this year’s event too. This was something we speculated on prior to the event – there’s just something special about a game coming out right as it gets revealed live. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black also feels like something that properly calls back to Xbox’s heritage; this series was synonymous with Xbox back in the 2000s and it’s back once again!

Can we mention one other thing here as well? We really do like the format of Xbox Developer Direct. The little behind-the-scenes laughs and proper developer conversations just feel like a refreshing change of pace these days. A lot of live gaming conferences have become a bit sterile in the modern era, and we love the personality that’s injected into Dev Direct. More of this please, Xbox!

At the end of the day, each game in today’s showcase looked fantastic in its own right, and we’re super happy to see Microsoft’s games pipeline finally warmed up and ready to deliver big titles in quick succession. But, which of today’s Dev Direct titles did you like the look of most?

Vote in the poll down below and talk more about your choice in the comments section.

Which Developer Direct ’25 Game Was Your Favourite? (546 votes)

Clair Obscur: Expedition 3322%
DOOM: The Dark Ages36%
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black6%
Ninja Gaiden 417%
South Of Midnight20%

Ben is a News Writer at Pure Xbox, and is a fan of action, racing and straight-up shootin’ in any Xbox game he can get his hands on. When he’s not clutching an Xbox controller like his life depends on it, Ben spends his time listening to music that’s far too old for him, watching football on the telly and probably eating somewhere.

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1
OldGamer999
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

I think now and going forward GPU value for money will shine through.
There are the games they showed today.
Avowed in FEB.

Then the rest of the year for some more and of course year end COD.

2
Elbow
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

I dont know if this for sure guarantees a games pipeline working at peak performance BUT it is looking really good for Xbox right now. The first time we’ve been able to say that in what feels like EONS.

I hope the momentum continues. They’re going to need it.

3
Enriesto
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

Couldn’t complain about the show if I tried, the pipeline indeed is coming together with gusto. I’m hoping it doesn’t lose momentum in the future, but with a summer showcase yet to come, things look great for ‘25/‘26.

4
Lordyeet
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

I really really enjoyed watching, really looking forward to south of midnight!

5
Kaloudz
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

They’ve been on the ball since the first direct. Sure one or two slipped the net, but overall, they’ve found a great time of year to call their own space, and build hype for heavy hitters that arrive the same year as the presentation.

These have only gotten better each year too, and what’s amazing is that these are just for Q1 / Q2. This leads nicely to the summer showcase to lead the rest of the way (not to mention the behemoth that is CoD) and rinse and repeat next year and again and again. They’ve found their cadence and they’ve found their footing – despite the constant lashings they seem to get… I say it’s never been a better time to play Xbox.

Hopefully we get some SE love before the summer though. Got me all excited for FF7R.

6
FarmDog08
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Kaloudz Definitely looking good for XBox right now! I’m still hesitant on the FFVII remakes because of the change to action based. I would’ve rather seen a remaster of VII over this current remake trilogy. I may still try them though, but I prefer turn-based any day of the week.

7
Kaloudz
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@FarmDog08 I’m very much turn-based too. It wasn’t that long ago I maxed out all the achievements for OG FF7 (a lot easier than I expected). But I’ve been gagging for this for so long I’d be bonkers not to pick them up, despite how much I prefer turn-based too. I hear the story isn’t exactly a step by step follow of the OG.

8
TeiGekiLord
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

I swear we do this song and dance on a yearly basis. The direct was fine but nothing from it would’ve made me switch to Xbox if I didn’t already own one.

9
Millionski
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

So many great games this year on GP, some of them are still exclusives.
No complaints!

Doom, Fable, OW2, Avowed, COD, South of midnight, Ninja Gaiden 2 and 4, Atomfall, Expedition 33. All spread thru the year as well.

Thats 10 big games already and we likely getting something from square Enix and also oblivion rumours might be true.

Fingers crossed as MS known to mess things up. “Another great year” for xbox meme

10
Elbow
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Kaloudz They still have to abide by whatever deal they made with Sony. Could’ve been multiple years for all we know. It’s clear though they’re willing and ready to slam 16 & 7R down onto Xbox the moment they’re able to, though.

11
Lordyeet
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Kaloudz it’s a ‘reimaging’ and honestly some of the funnest games I’ve played, you can toggle the gameplay to make it more to your taste if you preferred classic turn based too!

12
Millionski
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@TeiGekiLord Nothing going to make you switch at this point. I think its more tailored to existing xbox/pc players and promotes GP. SO maybe some people buy xbox as a second console for GP or just sign up for GP elsewhere.

But if you really utilize GP, then in a matter of years, you save cash that you can allocate to buy other platforms.

for me its cheaper to have xbox+ps, then only PS lol. And I am not even a hardcore gamer.

13
Elbow
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Millionski Is fable confirmed for this year? I thought that was still unconfirmed.

14
FarmDog08
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Kaloudz I remember getting FFVII day one on the PS1 in High School. That game is special to me and I struggle with what it is now. Just my personal take. If it released at a discounted price or I can catch it on sale I could pull the trigger. I also have Rewards Points as well that could help me take the plunge.

15
Millionski
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Elbow thats the only game in the list thats unconfirmed. Last year in June they listed it as a 2025 release. And they were showing it several times already. I think its time to release it. THey kinda need a 1st party banger aside of doom/cod as well. Gears e-day seems to be 2026 earliest. so it has to be fable.
PLus for the xmass there seems to be no game except cod, so that hints on an opportunity for something big like Fable.

16
Balie3000
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

What a fun direct to watch! And all the Ninja Gaiden news made my head explode 🤯 Shadow dropping a ninja game? Nailed it 👌🏻

17
Kaloudz
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@FarmDog08 Same here bud. I played when I was in school too (having it on three discs felt amazing back then haha). When you say take the plunge, do you mean for the remake? Or the OG FF7 that’s already on Xbox?

@Lordyeet Wait what? How much can you toggle and what does it effect? I had no idea that system was in place. Thanks for the heads up.

@Elbow I thought its exclusivity had ended? Isn’t that like four years old now? (Man where does time go?). But I’m just going off the rumours – which all seem to point to Xbox releases this year. Hold the momentum bud. Don’t go breaking my hopes 😅 also, in regards to Fable, it was announced as a 2025 release and given Q3 and 4 are quiet on the 1p front aside CoD, I’d wager it’s a Christmas release.

18
Lordyeet
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Kaloudz yeah it’s pretty cool so you can’t toggle to proper turn based thing but you can toggle your team mates actions so your fully in control, so it’s more real time but still super fun!

19
TeiGekiLord
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Millionski As someone who genuinely despises Game Pass, this direct did nothing for me on that front.

I want a whole game from this thing and that’s coming to PC anyway so….I’ll just buy it there.

DOOM is DOOM, it’s not for me and the other two games are quite possibly the most boring looking games alongside the Marvel tripe that Sony and soon to be MS will crap out.

20
FarmDog08
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Kaloudz Take the plunge on buying the Remakes. I own 1-12 (minus 11) and 15 on my Xbox right now.

21
PsBoxSwitchOwner
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

I don’t want to pour any cold water on it at all as it was a fantastic show, all the games looked great (even south of midnight which is not for me).

But 2 of these aren’t Xbox first party. (And the big 3 are on PS).

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it was a great show so let’s hope they all stick on release!

22
Dimey
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

glad for everybody that is happy… nothing here interests me, but that’s why I have GP core haha!

23
awp69
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Only Claire was third party. Ninja Gaiden 4 is being published by Xbox Game Studios, which most consider to make a game first party (or at least second party).

I honestly could care less about exclusivity these days. The fact that I can play every one of these day one on GamePass is enough for me!

24
Millionski
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@TeiGekiLord If you dont like subscriptions like GP and own PC, you dont need an xbox. It has been like that for 7 years or so now.

25
LogicStrikesAgain
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Rog-X Some people want to buy their games instead of renting it for $20 a month.

26
Millionski
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@PsBoxSwitchOwner funnily enough on paper MS has more exclusives this year than sony. Aside from avowed and south of midnight, they signed 3rd party like subnatucia 2 and atomfall. fable is also still 2025.

27
IOI
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

As I said in another comment, it’s just so disappointing Microsoft has given up on Xbox as a platform just at the time they’re starting to shine as a publisher.

28
oopsiezz
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

I’m disappointed that almost everything shown today is not exclusive to Xbox. I’m starting to really wonder why I need an Xbox anymore when the games I want to play are also available elsewhere and their games are not available on Xbox.

29
PsBoxSwitchOwner
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Millionski hopefully the ES remake is in there someone too!

Like I said for me when 2 of the 4 are only fully first party, I don’t want get carried away.

30
WildConcept6
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

I can’t say I understand this sentiment of “XBOX FINALLY HAS GAMES” because it’s echoed constantly. I’d say their pipeline has been fantastic and consistent since 2023. 2021 had a fantastic god tier fall (even getting voted the best publisher by average metacritic), but lacked the consistency. 2022 also couldn’t follow if up. 2023 is when things REALLY kicked off. It wasn’t just Hi Fi Rush in January, but Xbox had a good showing throughout the year of a variety of titles and the worst it got was Redfall, which was still a solid 7. Hi Fi Rush, AOE console, Minecraft Legends, Redfall, Forza Motorsport, and Starfield peppered the year. And that’s off the top of my head. None of these games were perfect, but they also weren’t bad or even worse than mediocre. Regardless of Starfield’s reception, it still performed incredibly well (and I’m just saying if the people who hate your game still play it for hundreds of hours, that’s a W). 2024 was just even better with Hellblade 2 leading the spring and a true blockbuster fall led by COD. At a time when gaming companies were shrinking and facing financial challenges, Xbox really came out on top. Zenimax and ABK approached them looking to sell. They’ve gone from like 5 first party studios and a handful of IP during the Xbox One generation to treasure troves of both only halfway into this generation (well we’ll see if next gen starts early as rumored). They’ve even done a fantastic job building relations and working with partners to publish fantastic games from third party studios (now including freaking Ninja Gaiden 4 with Team Ninja and Platinum Games). In 2018 Xbox started building up. In 2019 Xbox Game Studios first came into existence as their new internal publishing unit. We’ve been seeing the fruits of this since 2023 (consistently) and they’ve expanded even more since then. As of Xbox in terms of first party content, Xbox is one of the BIGGEST gaming corporations out there. We’re not even talking about all the massively successful first party live service games they own. It says a LOT that they can drop Sea of Thieves on PS which is several years old now and top PS charts.

31
WildConcept6
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@oopsiezz You don’t and haven’t needed an Xbox since Xbox Play Anywhere and their PC push I think actually a decade ago now. You also don’t need a Playstation as they’re now set to do the same for PC, and all the third party exclusives they’ve relied on thus far have all jumped (or started to jump) ship to being multiplatform everywhere day one, and Sony’s first part studios either cancel live service flops or just have a significantly smaller game output than ever before. You also don’t need a Nintendo console with emulation doing a better job of preserving Nintendo games on PC than Nintendo themselves do on their own hardware.

It’s a video game console, not lifesaving medicine. Play where you enjoy playing the most. The majority of the industry has moved from exclusives and still more are going to follow. This is a time when more games are more available on more platforms than ever before. I don’t see that as a bad thing, and if you really NEED to justify buying a plastic box with the privelege to buy exclusive software that’ll be stuck to a system which on a whim can choose to support your library on future hardware or make you buy a “remastered” version for the privilege to play then go ahead.

32
WildConcept6
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@LogicStrikesAgain Yeah, I agree. Too bad Xbox not only still let’s you buy games on Game Pass, but makes all first party games and more and more third party games Xbox Play Anywhere, so you can buy a game once and own it on console and PC (and soon cloud). It also just sucks that if you do have a GPU subscription, you get a discount when buying the day one games which join. And it’s god awful that Xbox unlike the other console platforms offers free cloud saves.

Whats really hilarious about the “owning games” gripe of Game Pass, is that UNLIKE Xbox, Nintendo and PS both offer subscription services with games that can only be accessed through the subscription service. Namely a lot of their old generation catalogs. PS even had the audacity to once charge $20 a month (the current price hiked GPU cost, except that was over 10 years ago now so add inflation) to give their gamers the privelege of streaming older gen games.

Xbox is letting their consumers choose between either paying a subscription service to rent games or buy to own them for their entire first party lineup, and regardless of what you choose, Xbox is inviting their consumers into the most expansive ecosystem in gaming with incredible value. Really, you can’t pay me to buy a game on PS or Nintendo anymore without a feature like Xbox Play Anywhere or even just free cloud saves. PC is an actual great value market with competing stores giving free games and competively low prices though. Anything aside from Xbox or PC at this point just seems like a major downgrade in consumer value.

33
IronMan30
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

It was good. However, I was a little surprised they had PS5 logos on display for the trailers in this presentation.

34
WildConcept6
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@Millionski This is why I ascribe to the idea that Sony has a subsidy instead of the Xbox “tax”. Though there’s probably a mix of biases at play. Sony’s showing this generation has been pathetic no matter how you dice it. Quality has been as good as expected, but volume of firdt party games has been god awful. This is also the generation that Sony has lost many of their system selling third party exclusives and even more have publicly said they regret the exclusivity deals and that they don’t make sense anymore. Sony has lost more exclusives than Xbox even COULD in these past four years. At the same time Sony has seen margins diminish and scaled back on first part output big time. They banked on live service to save their behind, but have seen everything fail or fumble (with entire recently purchased studios close as a result), save Helldivers 2. Anyone looking at Sony with a pair of objective lenses could see that things are not looking great. Xbox is the first console platform to chase third party devs in doing multiplatform releases, but that’s hardly the end of the world. And as a result Xbox is supporting more first party titles than ever. Only one game in the show was an exclusive and… okay? Doom is from the massive Zenimax purchase, and the other two are third party developed games that XGS is helping publish. I even expect eventually everything to be multiplatform and exclusives to be entirely done away with internally at Xbox before long. And I’m not going to care much either way because I don’t really get any benefit out of a game being less available anyway, and if games being more available leads to them having increased success, the industry growing, and more games overall then I’m all for it. I also don’t see any sign of Microsoft giving up on Xbox as a hardware platform. We continue to see amazing updates and new features and Xbox continues to do work to bring more games than ever to the system.

35
LogicStrikesAgain
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

Bro relax, no one is saying Game Pass is not a good deal lol. But its only a good deal if you’re mostly into Xbox games. Just a small fragment of the top games come out on Game Pass. If the games people want to play don’t come to Game Pass then its not gonna be of so much value to them.

36
LogicStrikesAgain
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@WildConcept6 Why so concerned with Playstation my man? If you’re eating good over at Xbox, just enjoy your meal 😉

Don’t worry so much about Playstation and it’s exclusives, they had like 10 exclusives last year alone. Some of them winning multiple awards, it’s all good.

37
Lup
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

Clair Obscur > Ninja Gaiden 4 > The rest

38
ilyn
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

Clair Obscur may tempt me down the line but other than that there was nothing on show that would make me rush out to buy on Day 1.

Not saying they are bad, just nothing that interests me.

39
nomither6
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

i hope NG4 does well , it seems like the audience for hack n slash are gone, except me & a few people .

40
oopsiezz
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

Removed – disrespecting others

41
Millionski
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@oopsiezz yeah if you buy games, care about exclusivity and dont use subscriptions xbox is a harder sell.

But regardless of what another rumour says, xbox as of today has exclusives and GP lineup in 2025 is arguably strongest ever.
The rest to decide is for you.

I would definitely miss out if I sold my xbox month ago when i bought ps 5 pro.
Its too early to switch if you are interested in xbox games and sub

42
Millionski
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

@PsBoxSwitchOwner i got carried away because at least 10 great games are coming to sub this year.

2 out of 4 games means they still have exclusivity contrary to rumours we hear every day.
If you are interested in xbox first party, its too early to abandon the console.
For me its a signal to keep it.
Moreover i play xbox and GP more often than my ps5 pro lol

43
Banjo-
Thu 23rd Jan 2025

All good on Xbox. Enjoy! My vote goes to Doom The Dark Ages, but there’s also Ninja Gaiden II Black and Ninja Gaiden 4 on Game Pass at launch! That and Play Anywhere make Xbox the best deal in gaming now and the most future-proof. South of Midnight looks interesting although I’m not sure it’s my thing, and always good to have new talents on Game Pass (Sandfall Interactive).

44
Fenbops
Fri 24th Jan 2025

Clair is the only game here I’m really interested in.

45
SuntannedDuck2
Fri 24th Jan 2025

Ninja Gaiden I didn’t think of and while the series is fine, I mean…. This event is…. ok.

Nothing I care for. Like sure Doom is great. South of Midnight is interesting enough, Expedition 33 I don’t even remember well enough.

South of Midnight kind of gives me Kena vibes in a good way. Gameplay ‘hopefully’ is good enough. I rarely care for action adventure games these days anyways and to me We Happy Few was an interesting world and ideas.

Are these IP or type of games people would care for sure absolutely. But nothing really ‘new IP’ Xbox has offered really appeals to me at all.

Even more so then the few of PS4/Xbox One I cared for (some PS3/360 type IPs and some original) PS5/Series has been just IPs continued I don’t care for their current direction (old IPs known for Xbox or fair third parties) or some I respect but not bothered with playing.

Or new IPs I find kind of generic, PS3/360/PS4/Xbox One repetitive and boring. They work but aren’t exciting in the slightest. They feel like 8th gen but enhanced, that’s not using the console to me, that’s just boring, load times/graphics is not exciting I can load up older consoles games and they load fine installed or disk only running.

So what about load times but then again like Wii U Gamepad people go oh the TV and I’m like great the Gamepad, what runs faster and has fair execution gets pushed aside for who cares HD visuals. I am a tech enthusiast, but I don’t care about RAM/CPU/GPU anymore, most are so standardized and boring how can I get excited by wow we have 32GB of RAM over 16GB of RAM, I so care about the increments regardless of the differences, it’s ‘expected’ not ‘exciting’. There is a reason I care more about hardware gimmciks then hardware itself.

They don’t have anything gameplay exciting just wow an ok world, ok characters, ok story, but nothing actually functionality wise gameplay exciting just the same PS3/360/PS4/Xbox One design, give me something different seriously programmers or designers I’m getting bored. Stop making the same things over and over. Structurally they are seriously the most boring things out there.

46
SuntannedDuck2
Fri 24th Jan 2025

Part 2:
If I wanted more depth I’d play PS3/360 games with smaller teams, better ideas still happening, some hit and miss competition/trend following compared to nowadays the safest and most boring competition (not counting live services even if they would count).

Not 8th gen that made bigger worlds or pushed graphics but are the most boring gameplay wise to play of major titles, just boring level design or movesets that make me not want to buy them they are so boring.

Ok AA and hit and miss Indies with eh nostalgic garbage with people with no out of the box imagination or the few with good ideas and execution, not just because devs cutting corners because of management or whatever is approved or little time due to what they are told to make then changing it and ‘whatever gets made in a certain time span’.

Like to me I didn’t want PS4/Xbox One to be just PS3/360 but graphics and odd directions.

Yet PS5/Series are just that even further of boring execution.

Do I blame publishers yes, do I underskilled (not a bad thing then again I get annoyed at Indies use of skills and still barely come close to their inspirations on a good enough level or are too inspired and boring because of it and won’t make their own original ideas, they are too conditioned which says a lot, for art I want them to not be conditioned, try harder, for real life stuff I get why to do so, to me if art wise they are to me it just makes it clear how boring of staff they are in their work is in the Indie space let alone boring IRL) staff (regardless of them being in positions they do or don’t suit) with not as great ideas when they grew up on PS3/360 or even use PS2/Xbox and under types and them going for PS3/360/PS4/Xbox One design.

Then again veterans making new studios and very few make something ‘new’ some successors are ok but others are even terminology story wise so hilarious I go ‘are you still bitter’. XD

Management making it worse. Like to me I look back at older games because the experimentation or ideas were better, not nostalgia, these days I go that’s empty, that’s boring, this needs better modes, better movesets and more. Not generic games with generic characters to ‘play as’ not generic characterisation (varies).

As not great as Pitfall Lost Expedition is the fact I’d rather play that then a modern Tomb Raider/Indy because the controls or item use is more compelling then some cinematic, do side things and whatever and I got bored with Rise of the Tomb Raider to about half way and won’t bother again (beat 2013 sure). Like if games are just so samey and location/assets/story different why would i want to play the same games over and over in structure.

47
Rodimusprime13
Fri 24th Jan 2025

I would of never predicted that not one but two Ninja Gaiden games would be joining Game Pass. Seems this was exclusively announcing titles that were coming to Game Pass and I think Ninja Gaiden was announced and joining Game Pass was they got paid up front and got top billing at an announcement about upcoming games.

48
AlwaysPlaying
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Medic_alert who needs 9’s or tens … We have excellent 4’s and 6’s that win awards… Stalker 2 and Indy

49
Reptilio
Fri 24th Jan 2025

If they’d followed the exclusive route 2 more years console sales would be going up

50
xboxjapanfan
Fri 24th Jan 2025

We’ve all noticed why this generation of AAA games are so boring.
For various reasons, veteran developers are not taking the leadership.

51
NintendoByNature
Fri 24th Jan 2025

Definitely a nice first half. I was anticipating canceling gp soon but I’m back in.

52
Moby
Fri 24th Jan 2025

“But, but, but…Xbox is dying!” 😂 🤣

MS is moving the pieces into place to gain back the market share (and fans) they lost due to the disastrous XOne release. While I doubt anyone thinks they are doing this to be magnanimous, they are still making good moves for gaming and gaming future.

We need the big three to keep it competitive.

53
IOI
Fri 24th Jan 2025

I just rewatched it without the hype and it’s such a good event, much better than any State of Play this entire generation but gaming media doesn’t give enough credit to Xbox for making consistently good shows, both Dev_Directs and Showcases.

54
HonestHick
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@LogicStrikesAgain not to many if you followed my list of sales that flop this year including a GOY multiple award winner! To a crowd asking for smaller scale games at that.

I too buy most of my games and just try things on GP, but the GP discount for the games i buy is close to a free monthly try. Some months that is. I did however play and beat Indiana Jones on GP and won’t buy it cause it has little replay value for me.

55
HonestHick
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Moby very very well said. It takes time to win back gamers but slowly the difference is starting to show.

56
Elbow
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Kaloudz The 7R stuff is weird, because apparently the exclusivity was extended by another year when Square released the PS5 port of the Part 1? After that I have no idea but I know Sony will trip over their own feet just to screw over Xbox. So I wouldn’t be surprised by the extended exclusivity.

Honestly I’m just glad Square was NOT bought out by anybody. That was the huge relief.

57
Elbow
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Moby We definitely need the big 3, but that is definitely in a console space… there’s a real concern if Xbox does start releasing older games on other systems that people will just happily wait for these newer releases because “it will for sure release on Playstation”. I’ve already started seeing that sentiment.

58
jesse_dylan
Fri 24th Jan 2025

I mean… it’s the whole first half of the year…

Fingers crossed for Clair obscur especially. Hoping for south of midnight, but I dno!

59
Moby
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Elbow MS loses money on every console sold. This is true for Sony at first but over time they shift towards profit because of total sales.

MS make MORE money when you “buy” all your games regardless of platforms. While they have several reasons to keep making hardware, the money is in software aka games.

60
Titntin
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@FarmDog08 Definitely try them mate. I was of a similar opinion, but rebirth in particular is absolutely fantastic and was was right up there in GOTY considerations.

61
StylesT
Fri 24th Jan 2025

Yup like I have said many times…it’s took Xbox so so long to get into this position to finally release quality exclusives on the regular and be in a strong position to compete on that front …and they go third party….it is what it is….just makes it seem pretty pointless to get the next Xbox if you are only going to get one console

62
Kaloudz
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Elbow Yeah I’m glad they didn’t get purchased too. But I’m also glad that the new guy at the top is heavily leaning in to multiplat. I’ll be gutted if, after these rumours (one of which comes from someone that’s right most the time) the game(s) don’t move over to Xbox. If, however, they do come over, FF7R for 2025 and FF7R2 for 2026, whether or not, given the above, FF7R3 releases multiplat out the gate.

63
Kaloudz
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@FarmDog08 Yeah I have them too, minus 15 and 11. Did you max out FF7? I always avoided it but in honesty, once you work out how easy it is to beat emerald and ruby, it’s simple to just hammer the way to max completion.

64
Kaloudz
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Lordyeet Ohh see that’s probably not something I would use now that you mention it. Not for a game that isn’t truly turn based. One thing I like about turn base play is that you have freedom of time. In something like that, I’d rather just control the one character’s output. Cool that that’s in though.

65
Cakefish
Fri 24th Jan 2025

Very hard to choose between South of Midnight and Clair Obscur.

South of Midnight looks right my alley, I love heavily stylised game worlds like this (Psychonauts 2 was my GOTY 2021). I just have reservations about the developer’s spotty track record – can this be the time where they truly find their footing and hit their stride? I really hope so. I like what I see, I just hope the gameplay holds up.

Clair Obscur looks incredibly impressive. It is the most wow factor graphically and cinematically. I also love the fact that this has British voice actors that aren’t relegated to just being the villains or comedic relief characters – that’s a rarity and genuinely refreshing. This is the developer’s first game so have to be cautiously optimistic. I also just don’t know if the turn-based combat will fully click with me yet.

66
Banjo-
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@WildConcept6 You really explained what Xbox means for gamers perfectly. It’s the only console where you are not forced to play on cloud or to rent certain games, where you don’t pay again for playing the same games on a newer plastic box, where you get a PC version at no extra cost, where you get free cloud saves that are automatic and work on console, PC and Cloud, where you can play new games on its subscription service and where you get a discount for purchasing them.

67
TeiGekiLord
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@WildConcept6

A whole one developer has came out and said they’re not doing exclusives anymore but nice try mate.

68
FarmDog08
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Kaloudz I’m missing a few achievements, but not many.

69
FarmDog08
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Titntin I’ll probably give them a go if they do everything release.

70
Banjo-
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Isolte Of course, Play Anywhere is only guaranteed for Xbox Game Studios releases. Sega is a big supporter of this purchase system, but not all third parties are. Capcom is halfway there, with some games on Play Anywhere and even some great hits on Game Pass. The last, but not only, big third party to do console exclusive deals was Square Enix with Sony. With no more third parties doing console exclusives, to get the PC version with the Xbox version is a nice bonus!

71
Nexozi
Fri 24th Jan 2025

Crazy amount of big games coming to GPU this year. People can’t say it’s not value for money now. Will be interesting to see how the next few years go for Xbox. Can they keep up a release schedule like this for next year for example.

With doing the reward points and COD and Indy releasing on GPU last year 1/4 of my gaming time was spent on Xbox. A massive jump from the previous year’s. With all these games releasing this year I would say my gaming time on the PS5 Pro will drop even more. As the only game I’m currently planning on buying this year is Ghost of Yotei. Everything else will be GPU.

72
Kaloudz
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@FarmDog08 Ah did you do Ruby and Emerald? Either now or back in the day? Very easy to do if you ever wanna go back and slap the hardest bosses of the 90s.

73
FarmDog08
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Kaloudz No in the past, yes in the Xbox version. All I’m missing are some odds and ends on the Xbox version.

74
Grumblevolcano
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Kaloudz If Square Enix are serious about their multiplatform comments, I think the most likely announcement time for Series X|S ports for the rest of PS exclusive FF is April 2nd. Announce the games for Switch 2 in the Switch 2 Direct and announce Xbox versions at the same time outside the Direct.

75
Millionski
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Moby They are doing great with games and GP but they dont promote console at all. This is why we all not really happy with MS.

Like in the end of great presentation put an xbox console 5 sec ads: “available today with $50 off and 3 months of GP – contact your local retailer” or smth. thats it! instead they push narative of “you dont need an xbox”.

Honestly, even only some games are exclusive and only timed ones – still with GP xbox is worth it. Yeah people on other platforms if they are patient enough will get it, but again its not about motivating people to switch: you can buy xbox as a secondary console for GP and those exclusives or maybe reach newer audience who doesnt have console.

76
Millionski
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Moby Sony started to earn on each ps5 sold after less than 2 years. Its more about production optimization so your COGS go down.

Also I would bet MS could be at break even with newer revisions of xboxes. Galaxy one for sure is profitable, Series S 1tb – basically same series s 512gb but they increase the price. Could be also profitable/break-even.
Not sure about series X white tho as its the most competitive in pricing now.

77
Millionski
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Nexozi I hope 2025 sets a standard for gaming pipeline.

If we are talking 5-6 games from 1st party and couple of 3rd party big hitters on GP each year and also importantly spread thru the whole year then its a no brainer even at full price. Even at a higher price lol but I hope they dont increase GP price again for good couple of years.

78
Nexozi
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Millionski 100% the value is unbelievable. MS have the studio numbers to make it happen. Hopefully with the games releasing on PS and PC they’ll be able to keep the price of the GPU sub down. Would like to think that with the number of games coming out if they do release the next gen console next year they’ll push it hard. Also hope it’s not to heavily dependant on the cloud.

79
RicebinBernacky
Fri 24th Jan 2025

Kinda crazy, with all the studios that Microsoft acquired, this future pipeline of exclusives is what I was anticipating when I decided it would be a good idea to get a Series X. And now, none of them are actually exclusive… oh well, you live and learn

80
Kaloudz
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@Grumblevolcano That’s actually a very good shout, and something I will look forward to hoping comes true lol. Is the Switch 2 stated to have the power to run those games? Or are they not as taxing as I’m giving them credit for?

@FarmDog08 The only ones I didn’t like too much was the maxing out achievements (max level this and master summon that etc…). I’m the same as you though, didn’t do it in the past but felt hella good when I smashed it (Ruby) senseless on the Xbox lol.

81
Millionski
Fri 24th Jan 2025

@RicebinBernacky

“None of them are actually exclusive” – thats why I recommend to not listen to all these “insiders” and rumours.

There are at least 4 exclusives this year: 2 first party and 2 third party. Including Fable its 5, but we dont know if its pushed to 2026.
Thats obviously excluding games that are released on PS like doom and outer worlds 2.

Yes in future things might change, but as of today its just not true.

82
Titntin
Sat 25th Jan 2025

The show was great, but let’s not get carried away. Only two of these games were developed by Microsoft, and whilst we anticipate several others, showing two games from the huge number of teams you have is not showing the pipeline is ready imo.
It certainly demonstrated that Game Pass users will be eating well early this year though, as long as these titles appeal to you (and they certainly do to me) 😀

83
Millionski
Sun 26th Jan 2025

@Titntin thats how every show/direct works. For example sony’s state of play last year had ghost of yotei and Phantom blade as exclusives and the rest were all multiplat.

Nintendo usually also shows ports from other platforms on their directs.

84
Titntin
Sun 26th Jan 2025

@Millionski
Of course, I’m well aware of this and I’m happy to see a mix of titles as I always have been.
But this article specifically states that showing 2 games proves it’s games pipeline is ready, and I simply don’t think that’s a conclusion you can make from 2 games is all. As I’ve stated elsewhere, I loved the show and gave it an A, and I’m happy with what they are delivering.

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