The rumours were true! Microsoft is bringing back the Xbox Developer Direct event for 2024, and it'll be taking place on January 18th, 2024. The games that will be featured are Indiana Jones, Avowed, Ara: History Untold and Hellblade 2!
Specifically, the event will begin at 12pm PT / 3pm ET / 8pm UK next Thursday, and it'll be followed by a "Global Reveal" show for The Elder Scrolls Online (taking place an hour later) "to preview 2024’s biggest update".
Here's a bit more about the lineup for the 2024 Xbox Developer Direct:
"Presented by the game creators themselves, Developer_Direct offers an in-depth look at upcoming titles, how they’re being created, and who’s creating them. We’ll visit MachineGames in Sweden to check in on their Indiana Jones game, swing by Obsidian’s Irvine offices to see more from Avowed, head to Oxide Games’ Maryland home to learn about Ara: History Untold, and take a trip to Cambridge, England to see Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II from Ninja Theory."
At first glance, the highlight this year is the first ever gameplay trailer for Bethesda's Indiana Jones title, and the showcase will apparently feature more than 10 minutes of "game and developer insights" from the Indy project as well.
It should be noted that Activision Blizzard won't be included, with details to come from those teams "later this year".
As always, we'll be hosting the Xbox Developer Direct 2024 here at Pure Xbox next Thursday, so you'll be able to watch the show and chat with other Pure Xbox users while you do so! After the event's over, we'll also recap all the information and trailers that were covered as part of it, so rest assured you won't miss anything at all!
Which of these four Dev Direct games are you most excited to hear about next week? Tell us down below.
Comments 66
Awesome - looking forward to it. So excited for Avowed but very curious about Indiana Jones.
Oh SWEET. I'm in.
[Cue Indiana Jones theme]
My body is ready!
(Falls off chair)
Amazing news. I'll be watching for sure!
This doesn’t mean they’re all this year does it?
@electrolite77 well we know 3 of them are; so it’s just whether Indiana Jones is.
Avowed and Indiana Jones. Very nice.
Very excited about this, more so to see if they can match or exceed the success of last January’s Direct. No Fable though?
Also…
—Insert Silksong shadow drop comment here— 😋
If there is a surprise at all (not necessarily a shadow drop) then perhaps Double Fine’s Kiln or Compulsion’s South of Midnight first looks.
The new Indiana Jones film was absolute garbage, so hopefully the game is better
Looking forward and a good time for the UK as well 8pm. That’s Thursday evening sorted. 😂
Indiana Jones, finally an update!
@Divide_and_Wander don’t expect Fable for a few years, if I were you. I think that will be a massive system seller but a few more years down the road .
Avowed and Hellblade release date. Give it to me! Indiana Jones i'm curious to see. Ara I don't really have much excitement for but the other 3 I'm curious to see.
Would love the Indy game to be awesome! Am so ready for a quality way to be Indy and have the tune buzzing round my head!
Der. Der der, der der der der der….
They need to start the year with a bang and continue all the way through.
Console sales were down 14.2% for 2023 in the UK, compared to 2022.
Not a good omen for a console in its third year last year.
I think Microsoft deserves a lot of credit for this announcement. Kept it under wraps, then announced it with only a week to go, and they clearly outline exactly what will be shown/discussed. No unnecessary chinese whispers etc. Can’t wait.
I wonder if that means Indiana Jones is a '24 release. Last year they focused only on that years releases and the rest of this year's lineup are '24 releases.
I'm a little worried Hellblade is getting into over exposure territory. This is what the 4th event it's been shown at? I'm starting to feel fatigued from seeing it. It's weird how I feel like I've seen way too much of it but still don't feel like I know much about it.
@OldGamer999 Just accept it, Xbox will never sell consoles as much as Sony or Nintendo, it’s not even a goal for them anymore, their strategy goes beyond selling consoles but that doesn’t mean they’ll abandon consoles either.
I don’t know about you but I get excited to know more about the games I want to play, not about the console sales…
some teaser for a new gears maybe? And where are all the Activision games for game pass already
@Friendly - was hoping for a late 2024 / early 2025 release, but that’s probably more on the wishful thinking side. Either way, excited for the direct. 🙂
@Divide_and_Wander 2023's January Developer Direct featured Forza Motorsport, Hi-Fi Rush, Redfall, Minecraft Legends and The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom, all games that launched that year. So presumably this year's only features games expected to launch in 2024, so I wouldn't expect that to show up in one of these until next year at least. Having said that, Hi-Fi Rush was a complete surprise/shadow drop, so there's always the chance something else gets shown 🤞
@Divide_and_Wander same!
@Sakai can't be worse?
@electrolite77
No enough track record to tell for sure, but think everything shown in last year's Developer Direct ended up coming that calendar year.
Obsidian is amazing. Outer worlds is still so much fun and I can't wait for Avowed.
@IOI
You are spot on, it’s the games that count
But also games that sell consoles and that sell game pass. Also if you sell a console you can sell a gamepass subscription.
Don’t forget there are more gamepass subscriptions on Xbox consoles than all the other billion devices put together.
So that tells you a few things which are overall.
That Xbox games are not that popular overall, especially with the masses. Else the console would sell better and or game pass subscriptions on all the other billions devices would have many more game pass subscriptions.
It all links back to the games like you said and if people want to buy them or rent them and play them in what way they want or on what device.
Removed - flaming/arguing
@IOI
What annoys me is I wish Xbox would just come out tell us what their plans are.
Is it worth buying a series x or not.
If they go third party then it could be better to buy a PS5 and have both Sony and Microsoft games on one purchased console instead of buying both.
They need to address this so people can decided on future console purchases.
And also put some consumer and general public confidence in the brand Xbox and its future.
@AllmightyBack
I don’t I have mentioned another console manufacturer or website.
Just stated a fact after first posting a positive.
“ Looking forward and a good time for the UK as well 8pm. That’s Thursday evening sorted. 😂”
@AllmightyBack
So sensitive, you can’t post a simple fact without getting shot down, in this cuddles and snuggles, over sensitive world.
Perfect. Same format as last year by the looks of it, which was great.
Avowed must be further forward than I thought, looking forward to seeing it properly. More Hellblade (hopefully a release date!) and Indy! Ara not my cup of tea but 3 out of 4 is great... perhaps with a cheeky unannounced fifth game... maybe even a shadow drop...
Avowed is my biggest hope here, but if they do it right, Indianna Jones could be fun too.
Hellblade 2 tech will interesting, though I have personal doubts about the game.
Nice to see Xbox getting the year going with a bang!
Looking forward to seeing Avowed in action and perhaps Indiana Jones. I’m sort of iffy on old movie IP games, but I’m willing to give it a shot if it’s compelling. Avowed is the big Xbox title for me though. Honestly, the thought of an Elder Scrolls New Vegas-ish concept of a game sounds wonderful, even if i know it’ll be a bit different from that. I trust Obsidian more than Xbox’s other studios to deliver.
Didn’t particularly like Hellblade in play when I played it three years ago (though I do like the ideas the game had), so I’ll watch the tech demo, think it’s neat but likely won’t be interested to play it. Sorry to say. The first one just didn’t click with me and was one of those games that felt like a slog to play through.
I do wonder if we’ll get another shadow drop with this one. Hi-Fi Rush carried Xbox all year last year, so it sort of feels like I’m more excited for what they may be hiding than what is actively known about perhaps. I also wonder if we’ll get that announcement for Xbox games on other platforms that has been rumored. Seems like this may be how Xbox recoups sales being down in 2023.
The release timings of the 2023 Developer Direct were:
The focus was massively on the 1st half of 2023 so I'd guess they have a similar setup this time. Maybe all except Indiana Jones releases in the 1st half of 2024.
How many of these will actually be released this year I wonder? And how many of them will be one of the best games to ever come out? Because that's what Microsoft needs desperately. I mean Redfail and Starfailed were decent but far from great.
This could be a great start and a good turning point for Xbox in 2024, especially if they are all released this year. Mind you they need to be of top quality in all areas if they wanna grab the masses and gain Xbox eco system ground in all areas.
No good releasing 4 Redfall, Forza or even Starfield, that did nothing for Xbox really in 2023 on a good enough scale. In some ways 2023 believe it or not was a backward step to 2022, depending on what you are measuring.
Anyway fingers crossed those games up are there with the best of them.
Like a coiled viper this could be 2024 a good year for Xbox to strike, especially with those games mentioned.
PlayStation don’t seem up to much so far this year from their in house studios and exclusive wise.
Taking out remakes.
Nintendo first half of the year is really remakes and fillers, of course a lot depends on Switch 2 and games release with it.
Shadow drops Quake 3 as a campaign edition lol
I cnat what for this I'm excited about the indiana Jones reveal plus im excited about hellblade 2 if that games as good as the 1st one it will be great that ending l for hellblade will forever stay with me amazing
@OldGamer999 It seems to have switched - from Xbox not releasing much in the One era and PS releasing ***** loads.
To Xbox releasing s***loads and PS hoping for Last Of Us 2 & Spider Man 2 carrying them this yr
Every Xbox Developer Direct I have watched should have just been a blog post. They're so boring.
@Kaloudz My three guesses for a shadow drop are:
1) Stalker 2
2) Hexen
3) Gears of War compilation
Bonus: Silksong
Bonus bonus: ABK drop
Hellblade and Avowed are amongst my top three anticipated games, FFVII Rebirth being the third, I’m dying for solid release dates for them.
@RBRTMNZ This is their second January Direct and last years was amazing…. In fact maybe the best 2023 console announcement show by any company…
@Vipor007
We shall see, it seems that way but it’s early 2024 so anything could happen.
But come on Xbox get those games out, get them full AAA critically acclaimed and the masses excited for your games.
@AlwaysPlaying
Stalker 2, now there’s a very good choice.
@Vipor007 I agree that from a first party perspective Sony are sorely lacking but 3rd party seems to prop up 2024 for them fairly well rise of the Ronin, FF7 rebirth, Helldivers 2, stellar blade, silent hill 2 remake etc. at the end of the day an exclusive is an exclusive.
All that being said I have considerably more Xbox games on my wishlist at present. Here's hoping we get more bangers than duds regardless of platform.
@AlwaysPlaying I thought it was boring and just to be clear I am not criticizing the games. I just think the format sucks because it asks you to sit through very long segments so when you're not into a game the whole presentation grinds to a halt.
I think it would be much smarter to do a fun 15 minute presentation with trailers for these games plus a few other things like GP announcements and then put the developer commentary up online for anyone who wants a deep dive.
My distaste for these long developer segments might be a personal preference but no other publisher does their presentations like this, including publishers with excellent marketing teams, so my guess is that most fans are not interested in these type of back to back deep dives in a presentation.
Looks like a great list of games to cover. I’m very interested in Indiana Jones.
@AlwaysPlaying im with you I loved the format but I can understand that if you don’t like / have no interest in several of the games you might be waiting 20mins or so. But i like the deeper dives and actually getting developers to talk in depth about their game
I wish Avowed was 3rd person. Really excited about Indiana Jones.
Gotta be Indy all the way. Absolutely love the movies, yes even crystal skull , though haven't seen new one yet.
I'd have to agree with Kaloudz and guess a shadow drop of Hexen, or a very remote possibility of a new Pitfall game would be great. Either way last years was great and really looking forward to this. Woot.
I was hoping for more from towerborne. Maybe it will be a shadowdrop. Everything we have seen, seems like it's pretty far along.
Do they announce the port work here?
Hello there fellow gamers.
These are some good news for Xbox.
Quite curious with both Idiana Jones and Hellblade 2.
Avowed could also won me over, since it´s Obsidian we´re talking about.
And then there is the surprise anouncement with a possible shadow drop. There I say Silksong perhaps? Fingers crossed.
Or maybe a Gears of War collection? Who knows....
Cheers everyone and happy gaming
This could be incredible. But I'm worried that we won't get the most important thing, release dates. Last year's show had 4 of the 5 games coming out within 6 months. And then Forza, which came out in October. All of these games better be coming this year, and I don't want to see a bunch of '2024' windows. We need dates for 3 of the 4 games here.
Please, please let Avowed be good…
Ooo very spicy indeed.
@Kaloudz Hexen Shadow drop lol
"It should be noted that Activision Blizzard won't be included, with details to come from those teams "later this year"." Later this year could mean the week after for Microsoft - less than 5 weeks was 'the foreseeable future' for the 360 store closing so how they view time is confusing to say the least.
Removed - trolling/baiting; user is banned
@Kaloudz I watched it with the wife on Disney + and we both thought it was worse than crystal skull
I’m also expecting something HeXen related. Phil Spencer has been teasing that for too long, although, he has been insisting his t-shirt was because of nostalgia. Maybe he was just testing the waters? There was a lot of buzz back then and I doubt he isn’t aware of his influence.
We will see if people were reading too much into it or not. We did have some Quake nostalgia on Game Pass and some of us wouldn’t mind seeing HeXen on there!
@Tharsman @K1LLEGAL
Cool. Fingers crossed then.
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