Xbox is having its first presentation of the year. The 43-minute show, “Developer_Direct,” will stream live on Xbox’s YouTube and Twitch channels on Wednesday, January 25th, at 12 p.m. PT (3 p.m. EST). Xbox confirmed that four upcoming games are being highlighted during the presentation: The Elder Scrolls Online, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends, and Redfall.
Although Microsoft already confirmed that the upcoming sci-fi RPG, Starfield, will not be a part of this presentation and instead get its own standalone show before it releases sometime in the first half of 2023, I believe that there will be a brief tease about another previously announced game.
Avowed
Obsidian Entertainment first announced their upcoming RPG during Xbox’s 2020 E3 presentation, with a cinematic trailer hinting at an in-game render in 1st person. It has been rumored that Avowed will release before Xbox’s flagship IPs, such as The Elder Scrolls 6 and the rumored Fallout 5, which are (again) rumored to release in 2025 and 2026 respectively.
Forza Motorsport
Forza Motorsport is a long-running racing series by Turn 10 Studios. Not to be confused with its sister series, Forza Horizon, which is an open world, Motorsport is more akin to Grand Turismo as it is more like on-track racing.
The series’ most recent outing, Forza Motorsport 7, was released in 2018. Its sequel, titled Forza Motorsport, was announced during last year’s Xbox and Bethesda showcase and will return in the spring of 2023 and be available on Game Pass at launch.
Considering that previous games in the series launched in May and June, I will go one step further and say it will release in June. Looking at the 2023 release schedule, both May and June are barren, aside from arguably two of the most anticipated games of the year, The Legend Of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Final Fantasy 16. So, I believe that Forza Motorsport releasing in either of those two months makes the most sense.
Minecraft Legends
Minecraft, the Java-based open-world crafting game, has seen a couple of spin-offs since its debut in 2011. These spin-offs have run the gamut of a story-driven, choice-based game, Minecraft: Story Mode by Telltale Games in 2015, and Dungeon Crawler, Minecraft Dungeons, developed by Mojang Studios with help from Double Eleven.
Now, Mojang will try its hand at the real-time strategy genre with Minecraft Legends. As of this writing, all we know is that you can enlist the help of known enemies, a.k.a. mobs: skeletons, zombies, spiders, and, of course, creepers, to fight off piglins. Prepare to toss your gold items.
Minecraft Legends will release in the spring of 2023 for all major consoles. Minecraft games have historically been released in the mid-to-late fall, in September and October. However, Minecraft Dungeons broke this trend by releasing it in May 2020. So, I’m expecting Minecraft: Legends to release in June.
Redfall
Another game that was shown off during Xbox and Bethesda’s Showcase late last year, Redfall is an open-world co-op looter shooter taking place in the fictional town of Redfall, Massachusetts. You and three friends can play with four characters to fight off vampires.
Devinder Crousley is a “cryptozoologist” who specializes in gadgets. Layla Ellison has telekinesis, and Jacob Boyer is a sniper who has a psychic raven as a pet. Lastly, Remi De La Rosa is an engineer and robotics specialist.
The Developer_Direct will detail the single-player and multiplayer modes, combat, gear customization, bosses, details about the open world, and hopefully, a release date. Redfall is slated for release in 2023. Windows Central speculates that the game will release in May, possibly on the 7th. May as a release window does make sense, again considering that the month isn’t packed with games.
Source: Xbox News.
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