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

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? (286 votes) Clair Obscur: Expedition 3320%DOOM: The Dark Ages35%Ninja Gaiden 2 Black7%Ninja Gaiden 417%South Of Midnight21% if (document.cookie.match(/ui-theme=light/)) { document.body.parentNode.classList.remove('dark'); } if (document.cookie.match(/ui-scanlines=on/)) { document.body.parentNode.classList.add('scanlines'); } function checkViewport () { if (document.cookie.match(/device=desktop/) || (navigator.userAgent.match(/iPad/i)) || (navigator.userAgent.match(/Safari/i) && !navigator.userAgent.match(/iPhone/i) && navigator.userAgent.match(/Version\/(13|14|15)/i)) || (navigator.userAgent.match(/Android/i) && screen.width >= 800 && screen.width > screen.height && !navigator.userAgent.match(/Mobile/i)) || (screen.width > window.innerWidth && screen.width > 800 && !navigator.userAgent.match(/Android|iPhone/i))) { document.getElementById("viewport").setAttribute("content","width=1275"); } else { document.getElementById("viewport").setAttribute("content",document.getElementById("viewport").getAttribute("data-original")); }}; checkViewport(); window.addEventListener('resize', checkViewport); window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() { var dScript = document.createElement("script"); dScript.type = "text/javascript"; dScript.setAttribute("async", "async"); dScript.setAttribute("src", "https://static.purexbox.com/javascript/dgp/jquery.dgp.js?v=1737646694"); dScript.setAttribute("data-dgp-modules", "https://static.purexbox.com/javascript/dgp/"); document.head.appendChild(dScript); }); window.addEventListener('DGPAdsReady', function () { if ((typeof window.consentDone != 'undefined') && (typeof GNAdScript != 'undefined') && !window.AdScript) { const ignScript = document.createElement('script'); ignScript.src = "https://pg.ignimgs.com/pogoadkit.js"; ignScript.async = true; document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(ignScript); adConfig.gdprApplies = window.zdconsent.gdprApplies; window.AdScript = new GNAdScript.default((window.innerWidth >= 850 ? '.for-desktop' : '.for-mobile') + ' div[data-dfp-id]:not(.lazyload)', adConfig); window.AdScript.init(); function addPrimisKeyValues(adVariables) { const { games, tags } = adVariables || {}; let keyValues=""; if (games) { keyValues += `&kv_2=${games.join(',')}`; } if (tags) { keyValues += `&kv_1=${tags.join(',')}`; } return keyValues;} primisKeyValues = addPrimisKeyValues(adConfig.customVariables); } }); window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; window.dataLayer.push({"content":{"articleAuthor":"Ben Kerry","articleTitle":"Reaction: Xbox's Killer January Showcase Proves That Its Games Pipeline Is Finally Ready","articleTopic":"reaction,xbox-series-x,xbox,features,xbox-developer-direct,microsoft,retro","articleType":"feature","hasComments":true,"id":177235,"onlineDate":"2025-01-23","pageNumber":1,"paywall":false,"product":"","relevantPlatforms":"xbox-series-x,xbox","updatedDate":"2025-01-23"},"page":{"name":"article"},"site":{"name":"Pure Xbox","type":"hookshot:purexbox"},"visitor":{"userType":"anonymous"}}); window.__ZDU = {"localUid":false,"md5":"","sha1":"","sha256":""}; (function() {var e=new CustomEvent('zdu:upd'); window.dispatchEvent(e, {detail:window.__ZDU});})(); window.dmpPageData = {"user":{"logged_in":false,"subscriber":false},"classifications_watson":{"categories":"$alchemy_taxonomy","keywords":"$alchemy_keywords"},"companies":["Microsoft"],"article":{"date_published":"2025-01-23T20:00:00+00:00","author":"Ben Kerry","type":"Feature"},"https://www.purexbox.com/topics":["Xbox","Features","Reaction","Xbox Developer Direct","Microsoft"]}; var dgpConfig = {"fancybox":true,"lazyload":false,"bookmarks":false,"tablesorter":false,"tokenize":false,"jqueryui":false,"transaction":"articles/view","user":{"user":false,"title":"Guest"}}; var adConfig = {"customVariables":{"source":"article","version":"hd","tags":["article","xbox-series-x","https://www.purexbox.com/xbox","retro"],"games":["xbox-series-x","https://www.purexbox.com/xbox"]},"acceptable_ads_show":true,"lazyload_selector":"div[data-dfp-id].lazyload","lazyloadDefaultSpacer":window.innerWidth >= 850 ? 450 : 800,"runUAM":true,"adRenderedCallback":function (name, event) { slotCallback(name, event); },"device":window.innerWidth >= 850 ? 'hd' : 'mobile',"countryCode":dgpLoc,"gdprApplies":gdpr,"debug":false,"childPublisher":22392450815,"runPrebid":true,"prebidLib":"https://static.purexbox.com/javascript/gn/prebid9.15.0.js","prebidConfig":{"hd":{"PX_LB_1":{"code":"/43340684/PX_LB_1","mediaTypes":{"banner":{"sizes":[[728,90],[970,250]]}},"pubstack":{"adUnitName":"PX_LB_1","adUnitPath":"/43340684/PX_LB_1"},"bids":[{"bidder":"rubicon","params":{"accountId":"16622","siteId":"355204","zoneId":"1895990","sizes":[2,57]}},{"bidder":"sovrn","params":{"tagid":"308151"}},{"bidder":"sovrn","params":{"tagid":"722310"}},{"bidder":"pubmatic","params":{"publisherId":"159481","adSlot":"3348175"}},{"bidder":"openx","params":{"unit":"543631890","delDomain":"gamer-d.openx.net"}},{"bidder":"ix","params":{"siteId":"597613","size":[970,250]}},{"bidder":"ix","params":{"siteId":"597613","size":[728,90]}},{"bidder":"teads","params":{"pageId":130682,"placementId":143554}},{"bidder":"medianet","params":{"cid":"8CUSVGW2K","crid":"526364472"}},{"bidder":"sharethrough","params":{"pkey":"nPb54QCkAWyY9U9BX64csr3p"}},{"bidder":"amx","params":{"tagId":"Z2FtZXItbmV0d29yay5uZXQ"}},{"bidder":"onetag","params":{"pubId":"75847b43ef0b8c2"}},{"bidder":"criteo","params":{"networkId":11384}},{"bidder":"kueezrtb","params":{"cId":"64cf47af156ba4f7e79fca05","pId":"65lk7c192882r0011813fn9"}},{"bidder":"appnexus","params":{"placement_id":31531493}},{"bidder":"shemedia","params":{"accountId":"10278","siteId":"210096","zoneId":"3208428","sizes":[2,57]}},{"bidder":"minutemedia","params":{"org":"01h5q5x7m7w9","placementId":"970x250_top_leader"}}]},"PX_HP":{"code":"/43340684/PX_HP","mediaTypes":{"banner":{"sizes":[[300,250],[300,600]]}},"pubstack":{"adUnitName":"PX_HP","adUnitPath":"/43340684/PX_HP"},"bids":[{"bidder":"rubicon","params":{"accountId":"16622","siteId":"355204","zoneId":"1895996","sizes":[10,15]}},{"bidder":"sovrn","params":{"tagid":"308150"}},{"bidder":"sovrn","params":{"tagid":"727523"}},{"bidder":"pubmatic","params":{"publisherId":"159481","adSlot":"3348176"}},{"bidder":"openx","params":{"unit":"543631994","delDomain":"gamer-d.openx.net"}},{"bidder":"ix","params":{"siteId":"607284","size":[300,250]}},{"bidder":"ix","params":{"siteId":"607284","size":[300,600]}},{"bidder":"teads","params":{"pageId":130682,"placementId":143554}},{"bidder":"medianet","params":{"cid":"8CUSVGW2K","crid":"364068531"}},{"bidder":"sharethrough","params":{"pkey":"zgYJ94JniiT2urVFS4ZW8A1d"}},{"bidder":"amx","params":{"tagId":"Z2FtZXItbmV0d29yay5uZXQ"}},{"bidder":"onetag","params":{"pubId":"75847b43ef0b8c2"}},{"bidder":"criteo","params":{"networkId":11384}},{"bidder":"kueezrtb","params":{"cId":"64cf47af156ba4f7e79fca05","pId":"65lk7c192882r0011813fn9"}},{"bidder":"appnexus","params":{"placement_id":31531495}},{"bidder":"shemedia","params":{"accountId":"10278","siteId":"210096","zoneId":"3208428","sizes":[10,15]}},{"bidder":"minutemedia","params":{"org":"01h5q5x7m7w9","placementId":"300x600_sidebar"}}]},"PX_MID_X":{"code":"/43340684/PX_MID_X","mediaTypes":{"banner":{"sizes":[[728,90],[970,250]]}},"pubstack":{"adUnitName":"PX_MID_X","adUnitPath":"/43340684/PX_MID_X"},"bids":[{"bidder":"rubicon","params":{"accountId":"16622","siteId":"355204","zoneId":"1895994","sizes":[2,57]}},{"bidder":"sovrn","params":{"tagid":"308151"}},{"bidder":"sovrn","params":{"tagid":"722310"}},{"bidder":"pubmatic","params":{"publisherId":"159481","adSlot":"3348177"}},{"bidder":"openx","params":{"unit":"543632068","delDomain":"gamer-d.openx.net"}},{"bidder":"ix","params":{"siteId":"607285","size":[728,90]}},{"bidder":"teads","params":{"pageId":130682,"placementId":143554}},{"bidder":"medianet","params":{"cid":"8CUSVGW2K","crid":"414758890"}},{"bidder":"amx","params":{"tagId":"Z2FtZXItbmV0d29yay5uZXQ"}},{"bidder":"onetag","params":{"pubId":"75847b43ef0b8c2"}},{"bidder":"criteo","params":{"networkId":11384}},{"bidder":"kueezrtb","params":{"cId":"64cf47af156ba4f7e79fca05","pId":"65lk7c192882r0011813fn9"}},{"bidder":"appnexus","params":{"placement_id":31531499}},{"bidder":"shemedia","params":{"accountId":"10278","siteId":"210096","zoneId":"3208428","sizes":[2,57]}},{"bidder":"minutemedia","params":{"org":"01h5q5x7m7w9","placementId":"798x90_sticky_desktop"}}]},"PX_MPU_X":{"code":"/43340684/PX_MPU_X","mediaTypes":{"banner":{"sizes":[[300,250],[300,600]]}},"pubstack":{"adUnitName":"PX_MPU_X","adUnitPath":"/43340684/PX_MPU_X"},"bids":[{"bidder":"rubicon","params":{"accountId":"16622","siteId":"355204","zoneId":"1895996","sizes":[10,15]}},{"bidder":"sovrn","params":{"tagid":"308150"}},{"bidder":"sovrn","params":{"tagid":"727523"}},{"bidder":"pubmatic","params":{"publisherId":"159481","adSlot":"3348176"}},{"bidder":"openx","params":{"unit":"543631994","delDomain":"gamer-d.openx.net"}},{"bidder":"ix","params":{"siteId":"607284","size":[300,250]}},{"bidder":"ix","params":{"siteId":"607284","size":[300,600]}},{"bidder":"teads","params":{"pageId":130682,"placementId":143554}},{"bidder":"medianet","params":{"cid":"8CUSVGW2K","crid":"466058656"}},{"bidder":"sharethrough","params":{"pkey":"zgYJ94JniiT2urVFS4ZW8A1d"}},{"bidder":"amx","params":{"tagId":"Z2FtZXItbmV0d29yay5uZXQ"}},{"bidder":"onetag","params":{"pubId":"75847b43ef0b8c2"}},{"bidder":"criteo","params":{"networkId":11384}},{"bidder":"kueezrtb","params":{"cId":"64cf47af156ba4f7e79fca05","pId":"65lk7c192882r0011813fn9"}},{"bidder":"appnexus","params":{"placement_id":31531497}},{"bidder":"shemedia","params":{"accountId":"10278","siteId":"210096","zoneId":"3208428","sizes":[10,15]}},{"bidder":"minutemedia","params":{"org":"01h5q5x7m7w9","placementId":"300x600_lazyload_desktop"}}]}},"mobile":{"PX_MPU_MOB":{"code":"/43340684/PX_MPU_MOB","mediaTypes":{"banner":{"sizes":[[300,250],[320,400],[300,600]]}},"pubstack":{"adUnitName":"PX_MPU_MOB","adUnitPath":"/43340684/PX_MPU_MOB"},"bids":[{"bidder":"rubicon","params":{"accountId":"16622","siteId":"355208","zoneId":"1896000","sizes":[15]}},{"bidder":"sovrn","params":{"tagid":"308150"}},{"bidder":"pubmatic","params":{"publisherId":"159481","adSlot":"3348174"}},{"bidder":"openx","params":{"unit":"543632164","delDomain":"gamer-d.openx.net"}},{"bidder":"ix","params":{"siteId":"607286","size":[300,250]}},{"bidder":"teads","params":{"pageId":130675,"placementId":143547}},{"bidder":"medianet","params":{"cid":"8CUSVGW2K","crid":"334842374"}},{"bidder":"sharethrough","params":{"pkey":"4o9kufqyKxn9xb1Abo1Q5tdP"}},{"bidder":"amx","params":{"tagId":"Z2FtZXItbmV0d29yay5uZXQ"}},{"bidder":"onetag","params":{"pubId":"75847b43ef0b8c2"}},{"bidder":"criteo","params":{"networkId":11384}},{"bidder":"kueezrtb","params":{"cId":"64cf47af156ba4f7e79fca05","pId":"65lk7c192882r0011813fn9"}},{"bidder":"appnexus","params":{"placement_id":31531500}},{"bidder":"shemedia","params":{"accountId":"10278","siteId":"210096","zoneId":"3208428","sizes":[15]}},{"bidder":"minutemedia","params":{"org":"01h5q5x7m7w9","placementId":"300x250_lazyload_mobile"}}]},"PX_MPU_X":{"code":"/43340684/PX_MPU_X","mediaTypes":{"banner":{"sizes":[[300,250]]}},"pubstack":{"adUnitName":"PX_MPU_X","adUnitPath":"/43340684/PX_MPU_X"},"bids":[{"bidder":"rubicon","params":{"accountId":"16622","siteId":"355208","zoneId":"1896000","sizes":[15]}},{"bidder":"sovrn","params":{"tagid":"308150"}},{"bidder":"pubmatic","params":{"publisherId":"159481","adSlot":"3348174"}},{"bidder":"openx","params":{"unit":"543632164","delDomain":"gamer-d.openx.net"}},{"bidder":"ix","params":{"siteId":"607286","size":[300,250]}},{"bidder":"teads","params":{"pageId":130675,"placementId":143547}},{"bidder":"medianet","params":{"cid":"8CUSVGW2K","crid":"842307357"}},{"bidder":"sharethrough","params":{"pkey":"4o9kufqyKxn9xb1Abo1Q5tdP"}},{"bidder":"amx","params":{"tagId":"Z2FtZXItbmV0d29yay5uZXQ"}},{"bidder":"onetag","params":{"pubId":"75847b43ef0b8c2"}},{"bidder":"criteo","params":{"networkId":11384}},{"bidder":"kueezrtb","params":{"cId":"64cf47af156ba4f7e79fca05","pId":"65lk7c192882r0011813fn9"}},{"bidder":"appnexus","params":{"placement_id":31531501}},{"bidder":"shemedia","params":{"accountId":"10278","siteId":"210096","zoneId":"3208428","sizes":[15]}},{"bidder":"minutemedia","params":{"org":"01h5q5x7m7w9","placementId":"300x250_lazyload_mobile"}}]},"PX_STICKY_LB":{"code":"/43340684/PX_STICKY_LB","mediaTypes":{"banner":{"sizes":[[320,50]]}},"pubstack":{"adUnitName":"PX_STICKY_LB","adUnitPath":"/43340684/PX_STICKY_LB"},"bids":[{"bidder":"rubicon","params":{"accountId":"16622","siteId":"355208","zoneId":"1896002","sizes":[43]}},{"bidder":"pubmatic","params":{"publisherId":"159481","adSlot":"3348178"}},{"bidder":"openx","params":{"unit":"543632231","delDomain":"gamer-d.openx.net"}},{"bidder":"ix","params":{"siteId":"607287","size":[320,50]}},{"bidder":"teads","params":{"pageId":130682,"placementId":143554}},{"bidder":"medianet","params":{"cid":"8CUSVGW2K","crid":"131851077"}},{"bidder":"sharethrough","params":{"pkey":"pyYtCQMszGFU3JLgxvfUBVkH"}},{"bidder":"amx","params":{"tagId":"Z2FtZXItbmV0d29yay5uZXQ"}},{"bidder":"onetag","params":{"pubId":"75847b43ef0b8c2"}},{"bidder":"criteo","params":{"networkId":11384}},{"bidder":"kueezrtb","params":{"cId":"64cf47af156ba4f7e79fca05","pId":"65lk7c192882r0011813fn9"}},{"bidder":"appnexus","params":{"placement_id":31531502}},{"bidder":"shemedia","params":{"accountId":"10278","siteId":"210096","zoneId":"3208428","sizes":[43]}},{"bidder":"minutemedia","params":{"org":"01h5q5x7m7w9","placementId":"320x100_sticky_mobile"}}]}}},"stickyAd":"PX_STICKY_LB","stickyAdParent":"#mastfoot","ownedSite":false,"runAnonymised":false,"refreshAdsConfig":{"enabled":true,"maxRefreshes":10,"desktopRate":15000,"mobileRate":12000,"mobileStickyRate":15000,"teadsRate":30000,"refreshableAdvertIds":[0,220082044,78946204,72863404,2925170143,2984552083,74678524],"overrideRate":30000},"enablePrimisStickyControl":false,"floorPrices":{"defaultFloorprice":0.05,"usFloorprice":0.4,"ukFloorprice":0.3,"aucaFloorprice":0.2,"euFloorprice":0.1},"insertInto":""}; var pbstckLoaded=false;function loadPbstck(){if(pbstckLoaded)return false;if(dgpDebug){console.log('loading pubstack');} var s=document.createElement('script');s.type="text/javascript";s.src="https://boot.pbstck.com/v1/tag/b906a9eb-e94c-490b-b995-a0bf79f38cfd";s.async=true;(document.head||document.documentElement).appendChild(s);pbstckLoaded=true;} window.zdconsent.cmd.push(function () { !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script','https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');fbq('init', '3919552561492239'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); }); window.zdconsent.analytics.push(function () { var gScript = document.createElement("script"); gScript.type = "text/javascript"; gScript.setAttribute("async", "true"); gScript.setAttribute("src", "https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-X2XHCG9T6H"); document.head.appendChild(gScript); window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}gtag('js', new Date());gtag('config', 'G-X2XHCG9T6H', {send_page_view: false});gtag('event', 'page_view', {"cms_view":"articles\/view","user_type":"guest","article_type":"feature","system":"xbox-series-x","freshness":"new","send_to":"G-X2XHCG9T6H"}); var _comscore = _comscore || []; _comscore.push({ c1: "2", c2: "8518622" }); (function() { var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.async = true; s.src = "https://b.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js"; el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el); })(); }); window.zdconsent.run.push(function () { setTimeout(function () { dgpReadyWrapper(); }, 750); }); var dgpReadyWrapperDone = false; function dgpReadyWrapper () { if (dgpReadyWrapperDone) { return; } if (window.consentDone) { return; } if (typeof __tcfapi == 'function') { __tcfapi('addEventListener', 2, function (tcData, success) { if (success) { window.consentString = tcData.tcString; loadPbstck(); }});} else { loadPbstck(); } window.consentDone = true; window.dispatchEvent(new Event("DGPAdsReady")); document.querySelectorAll('#footer .ot-sdk-show-settings').forEach((item) => { item.innerHTML = item.getAttribute('title'); }); window.consentAllowed.forEach(function(category){document.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-consent=\"'+category+'\"]').forEach(item=>{if(item.getAttribute('data-src')){item.contentWindow.location.replace(item.getAttribute('data-src'));item.removeAttribute('data-src');item.removeAttribute('data-src-fallback');} if(item.getAttribute('data-src-primis')&&window.innerWidth>1000){item.parentNode.querySelectorAll('.youtube-watch').forEach(item=>{item.remove();});item.parentNode.classList.remove('with-primis');}});});document.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-src-fallback]').forEach(item=>{if(item.getAttribute('data-src-fallback')){item.contentWindow.location.replace(item.getAttribute('data-src-fallback'));item.removeAttribute('data-src-fallback');}}); if (permutiveEnabled) { !function(e,o,n,i){if(!e){e=e||{},window.permutive=e,e.q=[];var t=function(){return([1e7]+-1e3+-4e3+-8e3+-1e11).replace(/[018]/g,function(e){return(e^(window.crypto||window.msCrypto).getRandomValues(new Uint8Array(1))[0]&15>>e/4).toString(16)})};e.config=i||{},e.config.apiKey=o,e.config.workspaceId=n,e.config.environment=e.config.environment||"production",(window.crypto||window.msCrypto)&&(e.config.viewId=t());for(var g=["addon","identify","track","trigger","query","segment","segments","ready","on","once","user","consent"],r=0;r

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Which Developer Direct ’25 Game Was Your Favourite? (286 votes)

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Shadow Dropped By Team Ninja, Out Now For PS5

Related Articles

Xbox Developer_Direct 2025 Recap: Everything We Announced

Hello Kitty and Friends DLC

Xbox Developer Direct 2025: Event Date, Start Times & Where To Watch The Showcase

Our Resolution Is to Play More Indie Games: Indie Selects for January