Talking Point: If Developer Direct Returns, Xbox Could Have A Killer 2025 Lineup

I'm looking forward to this year on Xbox/gamepass lots of good looking games to keep me busy till GTA comes out and it's all I play for months!
Atomfall is what I'm most looking forward to!

It should be a great year for MS-published titles... but mentioning Everwild in the same sentence as those other titles might be a bridge too far!

I wonder if Doom The Dark Ages will be as VRAM heavy as Indiana Jones - since Indy is built on the latest Id Tech engine.

@rpawlos15133 I knowww 😭 I'm secretly hoping that Rare just comes out of nowhere with Everwild when it's almost ready 🤞

Really looking forward to DOOM. But a Gears of War deep dive would be my dream come true. I am as hardcore a Gears of War fan as it get’s without having a tattoo. 2025 across the whole industry should be really exciting. Some big titles coming.

Perhaps they'll change the title to playstation direct?

Cant wait! Fable, Avowed and Outer Worlds are my most anticipated games for this year only a Halo or a Gears or an Elder Scroll game could change that for my top 3! 2025 looks great!

I just want to see Fable and Everwild!

Not gonna lie but I'm at the point where the January show is just an expectation. Don't see why they would ever stop doing them.

@somnambulance crazy thing is they can release the same amount in 2026

Darn I've got to finish the Doom Eternal dlc soon! I'd still argue no game gets the adrenaline flowing like the recent doom games on higher difficulties.

Even though Xbox have all these amazing games coming, my prediction for GOTY at the game awards next year is some kind of astro bot DLC...you heard it here first...

Seriously though, even if some of these delay to 2026, what a lineup. Happy to have a series X right now.

@Ricky-Spanish SAME. I'm one of the people who loved atomic heart, warts and all.

Atomfall looks to be in that same vein.

@Boogaloo_Jenkins We don't agree on atomic heart but I appreciate your positive reply to me!

Even if not at a potential January event we have to hear something about Everwild and Contraband sometime this year. They've been around for ages with nothing to show for them, which is crazy to think about.

As well as likely getting a release date for South of Midnight, these are the three things I think are basically mandatory for some kind of announcement this year, even if not release dates for the first two games I mentioned.

2025 is going to be another amazing year for game releases, possibly even better than 2023. Xbox has an absolutely killer lineup. Nintendo probably releasing the next big 3d mario and pokemon. Also have Gta 6, mafia, borderlands, civ 7, ghost of yotei, etc. So many huge titles.

2025 seems crowded now but should not complain.
Just GPU could bring.
Avowed
South of Midnight
Doom
Fable
COD
And I’ve probably missed some and the odd surprise.
Then we have third party on top of that.

Except my PS5 is also an Xbox, so is my Samsung refrigerator and washing machine now so who cares what "Xbox" does? Wait, hold on, my Hamilton Beach toaster just got an update and I'm playing Gears 5 on it now. Xbox is dead... All you need is a PS5 and a Steamdeck now anyways, oh and a Switch for Zelda and Mario stuff.

@JokerBoy322 Don't even need a PS5 either when Sony is putting their games on PC.

All ya need is a Switch and PC at this point.

@JokerBoy322 My Rog Ally is a PS5 as is my PC (though Sony release next to no AAA First Party titles anymore), you don't even need a PS5 it's mostly a 3rd party player, Steam Deck is to underpowered.

@JokerBoy322 keep paying full price for games while everyone on Xbox will be saving money with game pass and you’ll be funding better games on Xbox so keep buying more games

@Prestige-worldwide

Personally the only reason I play any current Microsoft games is because of Gamepass. Most of their 1st parties they've released since Gamepass dropped have been bullets dodged.

When my Gamepass expires I simply won't play any more of their games unless they're on steeeeeeep discount on Steam.

@Nic-Noc20th-C

Perhaps they'll change the title to playstation direct?

Microsoft are waiting on Sony to change theirs to Nintendo direct first...

@HonestHick i really hope they get it right with e-day & it honestly would be nice if the multiplayer could be more than a pinball gnasher fest , but if it’s not , i ain’t complaining about that .

also 4 player co-op

As much as I'm looking forward to Doom, @HonestHick, I wasn't a massive fan of the last game as it just felt too frantic, it didn't feel like a proper Doom game in the same vein as the previous two games, which were much better.

As for Gears of War: E-Day, not a chance. I maintain that that will be a launch title for the NeXtBoX, which means that the earliest we will see it is 2026. If you look back at the recent reveals and then releases of Gears 4 and Gears 5, both had a gameplay reveal at a showcase a full year before they released, and both were revealed in the Summer before releasing the following October/September. So, if I am right about the NeXtBoX releasing in 2026, then it will be this Xbox Summer Showcase that we will see gameplay for E-Day. All we've seen so far is a CGi announcement trailer for the game, and I think we only saw that because so long has past since Gears 5, and they basically had to show something to keep the long time fans happy(ish!).

Of course, if E-Day is a launch title for the NeXtBoX then I think it safe to assume that it will be at least a timed Xbox exclusive. If not a launch title then who knows, perhaps it will release day one on the PlayStation and play best on the Pro...

4 player co-op was a blast in both GoW3 & Judgement, @nomither6, but I cannot see E-Day having anything other than 2 player co-op. 3 and Judgement had the advantage of having 4 central characters (as did 2, which went with 2 player co-op due to the way the story played out).

With E-Day, there will be no Baird or Cole, and the story will likely focus very much on the relationship between Dom and Marcus. On the day of E-Day, Dom's world falls apart because his children and parents are killed. I imagine this could feature fairly heavily in the story.

Of course, there is the possibility of more CoGs being in the squad, which would enable 4 player co-op, but I don't see that happen as more characters means less focus on Marcus and Dom...

@Fiendish-Beaver oh , well here’s hoping the campaign can be as good as 2

@Prestige-worldwide whoever said anything about paying full price?

@Rog-X Steam Deck is definitely underpowered, however it has the best battery in the business so far and is the only handheld officially supported with updates specifiaclly made for it to run games better through Steam.

@InterceptorAlpha true that! I'm still transitioning to PC through my Steam Deck lol, but I plan to go full PC in the near future.

@JokerBoy322 I hear that! I've always kept a PC, but went back to it being my main thing again back when I picked up a VR treadmill. Just so much easier not jumping around.

@nomither6 Yeah the Gnasher dominates the multiplayer a little to much. I still love it of course but you aren’t wrong in saying it would be nice to see a little more competitive gameplay elements. I think E-Day is going to be a great title for us long time hardcore gears fans. Scary and dark, horror and the characters. Really looking forward to it. My most wanted game by far.

It always seems that Microsoft will release too many supposed great games all at once. The thing is, it never ends up happening and the ones that are released are almost always bad.

@JokerBoy322
Ya that's a bit of a silly take, yes, the Ally is a little beefier but it's not night and day.
Didn't take long for those two to have hardcore fandoms, the wars are alive and well.

I am not going to remotely get excited about the release schedule until December 2025. Xbox has had some really sloppy releases lately and if they are still goofing up in 2024 well...........

But....if they land it cleanly somehow, might be a monster year

@nomither6 @Fiendish-Beaver

I'm gonna split the differerence and say give me Jack again for 3 player campaign coop like Gears 5. I think 3 players is really the sweet spot. Jack was awesome in Gears 1.

If you've got 4, grab 1 more and play some horde.

@Jenkinss anything that’s more than 2 players sounds good to me

I'd forgotten that 5 has 3 player co-op, @Jenkinss. I played it solo on Insane and Inconceivable, and two player co-op on the same. I did try to play as Jack in 3 player co-op, but it was just impossible. Jack couldn't really take cover, and was forever being one-shotted on Insane. It was simply no fun and so I gave up, and played with each of my mates separately on Insane instead. In all, I've been through the Gears 5 campaign probably close to 10 times now. It really is a very good game in my opinion. It may not have some the bro-mance shown in the first 3 games, but it is still a very good game.

That said, I still don't think E-Day will have anything other than 2 player co-op because the Developers will want to focus on Marcus and Dom, and build that Bro-mance...