It’s going to be a superb 12 months for Xbox gamers. At as we speak’s Developer_Direct present, we offered deep-dives into 5 new video games launching throughout Xbox Series X|S, PC, Game Pass and/or cloud – all of which is able to arrive later in 2024. Development groups at Xbox, Bethesda, and even one in all our third-party companions invited you into their studios to showcase prolonged gameplay, reveal key data, and extra.
During the present, we visited the studios behind Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Avowed, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, and Ara: History Untold to seek out out extra about each. Members of every improvement group gave us a glance into their creation, with new data, and provided a tantalizing glimpse of what’s to come back this 12 months. All 4 of those video games will arrive on day one with Game Pass, and can contribute to what’s going to be one other big 12 months for members, delivering unbelievable video games all through 2024.
Plus, in a particular shock, we heard from the group at Square Enix to be taught much more about Visions of Mana, the primary new mainline entry within the Mana collection in over 15 years, and its debut on Xbox platforms. With participation from builders on 3 continents, it was a really international present.
Here’s a abstract of the whole lot we introduced and coated throughout Developer_Direct:
Avowed – Launching Fall 2024
Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud – Joining Game Pass on Day One
Avowed Game Director Carrie Patel gave us a primary deep-dive into the gameplay in Obsidian’s upcoming fantasy motion RPG, from its dynamic fight, to its considerate reactivity, to its “colorful, vibrant, strange” world set within the Living Lands. Avowed continues Obsidian’s signature type of making video games with deep themes and participant alternative on the forefront.
Not solely will you make narrative selections that may impression modifications within the sport down the road, however Avowed can be seeking to supply alternative in fight. Gameplay Director Gabe Paramo mentioned not solely how different your weaponry shall be – with melee weapons, ranged weapons and bows, and magic-based wands (even dual-wielded wands!) to call just a few – however how versatile fight will be, permitting you to rapidly change loadouts for enemy encounters. Swappable loadouts imply you possibly can strategy fight nevertheless feels proper to you.
Art Director Matt Hansen then defined how the Living Lands is a mysterious island made up of wildly different areas providing visually various backdrops and intriguing settings to discover. With secrets and techniques hidden all through the areas, you’ll soak up barren deserts, verdant forests, blighted wastes, volcanic biomes, and extra.
That’s not all for Avowed, nevertheless – ensure to tune in to the Xbox Podcast on Monday, January 22 for an unique interview with a few of Obsidian’s builders, providing much more data on the gameplay reveal.
Get able to carve your personal path by means of Avowed when it launches this fall for Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Cloud – and arrives with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass on day one. For extra data, please go to the Avowed web site.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II – Launching May 21
Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud – Joining Game Pass on Day One
Ninja Theory took us behind the scenes at their studio in Cambridge to try Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, meet a number of the group and be taught extra in regards to the craft behind their new title, which is now within the last months of improvement.
In the video we discovered extra about Senua’s new journey, which leads her to Iceland, a harsh and brutal land ravaged by delusion and tyranny. We got a brand new have a look at Senua’s experiences of the world, seen by means of her eyes as somebody who experiences psychosis, and noticed a few of Senua’s visceral and violent battles with the Draugar. We additionally heard extra element on what gamers can count on from the sport’s story and the way binaural and spatial audio will sink participant’s deep into the world of Hellblade.
With a studio mission of crafting life-changing artwork with game-changing tech, Ninja Theory are pushing the boundaries of constancy, richness and immersion. You can be a part of Senua on her new quest, May 21. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is out there to wishlist on Steam and pre-install on Xbox Game Pass now.
Visions of Mana – Launching Summer 2024
Xbox Series X|S, PC
In a shock look, Square Enix joined the present to current Visions of Mana, the primary new mainline entry within the collection in over 15 years, and its debut on Xbox platforms. Series producer Masaru Oyamada introduced a sneak peek on the beautiful new RPG, sharing gameplay and behind the scenes footage earlier than its launch in Summer 2024.
Koichi Ishii – father of the Mana collection and creator of lots of its iconic monsters – mentioned the implementation and design of the enemies in Visions of Mana, and launched the lovable new animal companions, “pikuls” and defined the design course of behind them.
Oyamada then shared some particulars relating to the sport’s rating and revealed that the tracklist for Visions of Mana incorporates 100 songs in complete, together with works from musical expertise who labored on earlier Mana video games. Oyamada additionally shared particulars of the adaptive music system that enables seamless transition from map exploration to battles, demonstrating a snippet of the background music altering as you enter or depart fight.
Oyamada additionally revealed that in Visions of Mana, The Elementals will help the participant in battle within the type of specialised gadgets, which is able to every have a special impact in fight. Combined with aerial fight that enables for weapons and magic for use in mid-air, the fight is fast-paced and versatile.
Visions of Mana launches Summer 2024 on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC!
Ara: History Untold – Launching Fall 2024
PC – Joining PC Game Pass on Day One
The key leads at Oxide Games debuted an all-new have a look at gameplay and shared an summary of the important thing options coming to Ara: History Untold throughout as we speak’s Developer Direct. Viewers discovered extra about Ara’s crafting system, distinctive strategy to simultaneous turns, and extra.
You can be taught extra about this progressive new historic grand technique sport with our in-depth interview with Design Director Michelle Menard and we could have extra to share within the coming months main as much as Ara’s launch this fall on PC and with PC Game Pass. For the newest breaking information observe the Ara: History Untold social channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram/Threads) and wishlist the sport on Steam.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Launching 2024
Xbox Series X/S, PC – Joining Game Pass on Day One
The official reveal of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was debuted throughout Developer_Direct with over 13 minutes of gameplay footage and developer insights. This new journey starring the legendary archaeologist comes from the award-winning group at MachineGames – the minds behind Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus – in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games and government produced by Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard. Find out extra on Bethesda.net.
Other Streams
Blizzard held a Diablo IV Developer Update Livestream earlier as we speak that dug into the horrors ready for you beneath the sands of Kehjistan in Season of the Construct, launching January 23, and launched the aggressive leaderboard exercise known as The Gauntlet. Associate Director of Community Adam Fletcher, Game Design Manager Daniel Tanguay, Quest Designer Madeleine James, and Lead Class Designer Adam Jackson spoke in regards to the new Seneschal companion, Hazard-filled dungeons known as Vaults, a brand new Questline, and extra – all of which surfaces in Season of the Construct. Additionally, the group gave a fast have a look at The Gauntlet leaderboards and wrapped up the livestream by answering questions from the group in a Q&A session.
Shortly after Developer_Direct, ZeniMax Online Studios kicked off The Elder Scrolls Online 2024 Global Reveal, unveiling the sport’s subsequent main Chapter, together with the brand new zone, storyline, and different main options. You’ll be capable of learn extra about what was revealed on Xbox Wire and Bethesda.web as quickly as that present concludes.
Looking Ahead
Today marks only a small collection of the video games coming to Xbox this 12 months. With our personal studios and our unbelievable companions bringing a various set of unbelievable experiences to Xbox consoles, PC, Cloud, and Game Pass, there’s going to be one thing new for each type of participant. To discover out extra, ensure to return to Xbox Wire later this month, once we submit a round-up of a number of the most fun video games coming to Xbox platforms in 2024.