Xbox Is Holding A Direct Next Week — Here’s What To Expect

Hellblade 2 key art

Ever since Nintendo pioneered the Direct format, other games publishers have been following suit with their own spin on it. The next company to hold a big Direct-style presentation is Xbox, and we know exactly when it’s going to happen and what’s going to be in it.

Microsoft announced a big Developer Direct yesterday, set to take place next week. The Developer Direct will include information on at least four games, but if previous directs are anything to go by, we can probably expect a few surprises here and there.

Microsoft says that MachineGames will be showing off their Indiana Jones game, which was first announced three years ago but has yet to have any gameplay shown. MachineGames said on Twitter that the presentation would have the first gameplay revealed, so we'll finally be able to see what it looks and plays like.

We’ll also get a look at Ninja Theory’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, which was initially intended to be released in 2023, but was pushed back. To round it all out, we’ll also get looks at Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed and Oxide Games’ Ara: History Untold. Microsoft says there won’t be any games from Activision Blizzard, though, despite Microsoft completing its acquisition of the publisher last year.

The Xbox Developer Direct will take place at 12pm midday on January 18, 2024 in PT, here’s what that means for your time zone:

January 18, 2024

• PT: 12:00 midday

• ET: 3:00pm

• GMT: 8:00pm

• CET: 9:00pm

January 19, 2024

• IST: 1:30am

• JST: 5:00am

• AEDT: 7:00am

• NZDT: 9:00am

The presentation will likely be aired on Xbox’s Twitch channels for each region, as well as on its YouTube channel.

As for what surprises we can expect, Microsoft hasn’t hinted at anything beyond those four games, but the rumor mills have been swirling in recent days. Last year’s January Developer Direct from Microsoft had a surprise announcement and release for Hi-Fi Rush, and rumors on social media in recent days suggest that game could be headed to other, non-Xbox platforms soon too.

Other rumors have suggested that live service games like Sea of Thieves could be making their way to PlayStation, but it’s all just smoke and no fire so far. We’ll have to wait and see.

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