Microsoft announces Xbox Developer Direct

Microsoft will once again hold a Xbox Developer Direct to kick off the new year, with deep dives into a small selection of upcoming Xbox Game Studios titles.

Xbox’s next livestream will begin at 6pm UK time (that’s 1pm Eastern or 10am Pacific) on Thursday, 23rd January – that’s a fortnight from today.

On the schedule will be a detailed look at Doom: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and a mystery fourth game from an unknown studio. Mysterious!

Doom: The Dark Ages has been dubbed as an origin story for the series’ iconic Doom Slayer from veteran developer id Software, and is set to launch for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S at some point in 2025. Will we get a date? It seems likely.

South of Midnight, meanwhile, is the stylish-looking action-adventure from We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games, set in a gothic fantasy American Deep South. It looks a treat, though also currently lacks a release date beyond “2025”. Here’s hoping we find out when exactly it’ll arrive for PC and Xbox Series X/S very soon.

Next up, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. This is the dark fantasy RPG from French outfit Sandfall Interactive that we reckon has shades of Persona and Final Fantasy, plus the vocal talents of Andy Serkis and Charlie Cox. Clair Obscur isn’t an Xbox Game Studios title and is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S at some point this year.

And then there’s that fourth game. Microsoft still has plenty on its 2025 release schedule that this could be – Fable, The Outer Wilds, even Avowed – which will be just a month away. But the secretive nature here suggests something that hasn’t yet publicly been confirmed. It’ll be interesting to see if internet rumours of an Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remake bear any fruit.

Join us in a couple of weeks for Xbox Developer Direct, right here on Eurogamer, when we’ll be reporting live.