It’s been an uncertain time for Xbox owners lately. Not releasing a mid-gen upgrade like Sony has with the PS5 Pro was probably wise, seeing how launching with two tiers of Series consoles already produced enough headaches, but Microsoft has been less and less concerned with the Xbox as a games console.
Last year’s ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign instead focused on how, with an Xbox Game Pass subscription, you can play Xbox titles on any device – be it PC, mobile, tablet, or TV. Rumours are swirling that we might even be able to play Xbox games on the Switch 2.
But touting the qualities of Xbox as a service also means having a line-up that gets people excited. 2024 wasn’t a bumper year for Microsoft, even with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle swinging in at the 11th hour in December, fedora in hand, to give us a genuine blockbuster that does justice to its movie license.
So it’s with a relief that the latest Xbox Developer Direct was perhaps one of the best showings from Microsoft yet, with plenty to look forward to for the first half of 2025.
Year of the Ninja
My opinion of Xbox’s equivalent of a Nintendo Direct or State of Play had been souring; the format focused on just a handful of games, yet had a longer runtime, and the idea of celebrating developers rings very hollow right now. Don’t forget the first Developer Direct gave us the excellent action game Hi-Fi Rush – only for Microsoft to shutter creator Tango Gameworks less than two years later. The studio’s resurrection by PUBG publisher Krafton at least means it wasn’t completely disastrous.
A surprise, then, to see this Direct open with a reveal from another Japanese studio. Crucially this isn’t one of Microsoft’s own developers, but one it has a celebrated history of partnering with: Team Ninja released the first 3D incarnation of Ninja Gaiden on the original Xbox 21 years ago. The developer has had closer ties to Sony in recent times, with PlayStation exclusives like Nioh and Rise of the Ronin, so this feels like a happy reunion. The long-awaited Ninja Gaiden 4 will be coming to Xbox Game Pass this autumn.
The first new game in the franchise in over a decade, Ninja Gaiden 4 doesn’t just look gorgeously slick, stylish and ultra-violent – it seems faithful to the fast-paced hardcore action the series is best known for. I’m grateful it isn’t another attempt at a Soulslike reboot, which Team Ninja has been more associated with in recent times. That it’s being co-developed with PlatinumGames, the undisputed masters of the action genre responsible for Bayonettea and Nier: Automata, is doubly exciting.
Fans can whet their appetites right now, as Team Ninja has remastered the superb Ninja Gaiden 2 with stunning Unreal Engine 5 graphics – using the original Xbox 360 game as a base rather than the inferior PS3 port – and it’s available to play today on Game Pass. Steam and PS5 gamers can also join in, at a sensible £40 price point.
X-fresh yourself
It might be saying something that my highlights of this Direct weren’t strictly Microsoft’s own first party efforts, but rather partnerships with third party studios whose games will be available on Game Pass from day one. But again, highlighting Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, an original RPG from French indie studio Sandfall Interactive was another masterstroke.
It has gorgeous art direction that takes inspiration from the Belle Epoque era and turn-based battles that incorporate Paper Mario-style quicktime action prompts to deal extra damage or parry enemy attacks, but is more than just a love letter to JRPGs. Expect a mature story and an older cast of characters than you usually get in the genre. What makes this an inspired pick is that its style and tone also harks back to 360-exclusive cult classic JRPG Lost Odyssey. In other words, both of these third party announcements remind us there’s a richer lineage in Xbox’s history than just Halo, Forza, and Gears.
But even with rumours of an Oblivion remake, I felt relieved we got something new and more refreshing when it came to first-party offerings. From Compulsion Games, there’s South of Midnight, a third-person action-adventure with a unique stop-motion art style that’s set in the American Deep South. Familiar combat mechanics are also given a twist, with traditional tools inspired by its gothic setting and folklore.
It set a great example of games telling stories about Black characters working with Black creators, giving a platform for protagonist Hazel’s voice actor Adriyan Rae as well as associate narrative director Farah Brixi.
Then saving the best until last is Doom: The Dark Ages, a prequel that has you playing the Doom Slayer in a medieval sci-fi setting.
I’ll admit I wasn’t completely sold on this direction when it was first revealed last summer, but after seeing the all-new Shield Saw, which allows you to block, throw a boomeranging frisbee saw to slice hellspawn, deflect and parry all with the same single contextual input, I’m a convert.
There’s also something to celebrate in a meaty, polished single-player shooter that’s got everything from Evangelion-style mechs to a dragon that doubles as a gatling gun, given other recent platform staples. Black Ops 6‘s campaign may have been a return to form for Call of Duty but it’s still a footnote compared to the multiplayer experience, and Halo Infinite‘s messy post-launch support all but killed gamer goodwill. I’m absolutely here for all of Doom’s excess.
The best news is that most of these are only a few months away, rather than something we have to wait until Christmas for (before inevitably getting delayed into 2026). Ninja Gaiden 4 is the only title slated for an autumn release, but fans have the shadow-dropped Ninja Gaiden 2 Black to keep themselves busy.
If that’s already a strong line-up for the first half of 2025, it makes me optimistic for what Xbox has to show for its second half when Summer Game Fest also rolls around in June. It might not have new shiny hardware like Sony or Nintendo but 2025 is looking like it might be the year of the Xbox.
