Things have been looking up for Xbox Game Studios following the first Developer Direct. Tango Gameworks’ Hi-Fi Rush was released and had over two million players. Redfall is coming this May, and Forza Motorsport got some extensive gameplay. Starfield is getting standalone showcase, for which an announcement could be imminent.
If that weren’t enough, the Xbox Games Showcase is returning in June, and Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer says there are some “GoldenEye-type announcements” coming before that. The question is, after Starfield, what’s next for Xbox? On the VGC podcast, editor-in-chief Andy Robinson said he believes the “nearest ones for them are [Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2] and probably Avowed.”
“Those are the next big things for them that they’ll be talking about. From my understanding, those two are the closest.” However, Fable, Perfect Dark and Everwild are a long way off.
“It’s still pretty stunning that Fable is still miles away. Perfect Dark is not close. Everwild is not close. It’s easy to empathize with Xbox fans because this must be so frustrating for them, as well. Everything looks so great on paper, and the games are just not quite ready yet.”
VGC journalist Jordan Miller also spoke about Fable and how Playground Games was unsure what they wanted it to be. “I certainly had conversations about the Fable project that just sounds like…at least from 2021 and 2022, that there was a lot of poor management going on, a lot of not sure what they want this Fable to be.
“I’m not sure if you made an original Fable-style game now, it would be what people want.” Interestingly, the “Witcher-like” term was “thrown around a lot,” which would be a departure from what Fable is known for. A developer’s LinkedIn profile indicated that the RPG was in playable state, though nothing is officially confirmed.
As for Starfield, it’s slated to release this year for Xbox Series X/S and PC, with sources speaking to Jez Corden of Windows Central stating that the game is playable from start to finish. He also believed that it could release in June, based on information at the time. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.