Xbox Developer Direct live report January 2025 – we’re promised a mystery reveal – Eurogamer
Ninja Gaiden 4! Doom mechs and flyable dragons! Release dates!Microsoft’s Xbox portfolio of games is under the spotlight this evening as it airs a new Developer Direct at 6pm UK time. We’ll be covering everything live as it happens, right here, as well as talking with you about the things that do. Why not join us? Crack some jokes! We like jokes.But what is going to happen? We know a few things. We know the tasty-looking Doom: The Dark Ages will be a central focus and that we’re probably going to get a release date for it – reportedly 15th May – and we know we’re getting a better look at Southern American folklore action adventure South of Midnight, which I think looks great. A release date more specific than 2025 would be welcome.The other named game on the slate for tonight is promising turn-based role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which Ed has been keeping a close – and interested – eye on, and which again, we could use a more specific release date for. Those are the named games. But we’re also promised a look at a fourth game that’s, as yet, a bit of a mystery. Could it be a game like Avowed or Fable, or are we going to see something completely new? Maybe it’s time to wheel out the Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remake that’s been speculated about.That’s the general shape of things but there could be other surprises too. Join us just before 6pm UK time as we prepare to find out.
Our live coverage of this event has finished. Could it be? Granny’s Gaiden.
– Robert Purchese
Xbogs?
– Robert Purchese
FTJT is calling it! Mark it down on your bingo cards.
– Robert Purchese
Whether or not its those games, you make a good point: the platform holders love a shadow drop. What may be suddenly releaased tonight, I wonder?
– Robert Purchese
You heard it here first!
– Robert Purchese
Top tip for watching the stream by the way: set your playback speed to faster than 1, so you’re always as current as possible.And with that, we’re nearly there. Two minutes to go and counting. Good evening everybody. I hope we get a good show!
– Robert Purchese
I loved Lost Odyssey!
– Robert Purchese
The show beginsAs Vordus says, “it is time for video games” – it is indeed.10, 9, 8… Here we go.
– Robert Purchese
All games are available day one with Game Pass, a message reminds us.A montage to start, showing clips from inside the four studios we’re seeing games from. Any clues about the mysterious fourth?
– Robert Purchese
Nothing that I could pick up on.We’re going into the mysterious game first!
– Robert Purchese
A stormy sea and up into the clouds. Team Ninja. OK – it has to be Ninja Gaiden, right?
– Robert Purchese
The mystery game is Ninja Gaiden 4We’re straight into a trailer. A sole ninja thwarted some Dark Dragon plot.Ooh – Platinum Games is the developer?! The studio’s name flashes up on the screen.
– Robert Purchese
Platinum is collaborating on itWe’re seeing the hallmark acrobatic action and complex move-sets the series is known for. There’s a cyberpunk element to it. The name Ryu Hyabusa is mentioned – that’s him! It’s gory, it’s fast. It looks fairly far in development to me too.Ninja Gaiden 4 it’s called, simplyi.It’s a new entry in the mainline series, we’re told – that’s somewhat obvious. It’s a collaboration between Team Ninja and Platinum.There’s a new protagonist called Yakumo. But Ryu will also be in the game and play a pivotal role in it, apparently.
– Robert Purchese
The story takes place in Tokyo that’s torn by war and won’t be at peace until you… kill everyone I guess. You’ve got to defeat the Dark Dragon. The dark, hardcore tone of the series is important, they said. There’s a lot of momentum in the game, in traversal as well as combat. It does look more than a little reminiscent of Ghostrunner, I have to say.
– Robert Purchese
There’s a lot of acrobatic traversal – you can somersalt from wall to wall. You’ve got a grappling hook of some kind to swing around environments with.
– Robert Purchese
Ninja Gaiden 4 will release this autumnThere’s a mix of trash battles with lots of weaker enemies, and the more focused and intense battles with bosses. It sounds like a lot of work and thinking has gone into bringing the series back.New protagonist Yakumo has two fighting styles tailored for different situations. It’s very fast looking, gameplay.They’re talking about it being a fair and engaging experience – Gaiden games are known for being challenging. But they’re also talking about welcoming newcomers, of course.A release date? Autumn 2025!
– Robert Purchese
Intriguing! I really liked Ninja Gaiden 2 on Xbox 360. Hang on – are we getting a remastered version?
– Robert Purchese
Shadow drop! The remastered Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is out now
Shadow drop! You can play the remastered Ninja Gaiden 2 Black right now!
– Robert Purchese
A closer look at South of Midnight
Game hop! We’re over to Compulsion games now to see South of Midnight, the third-person action game based on folklore of the Deep South. There’s a fantastical twist to all of this – twisted monsters in the bayous.
– Robert Purchese
Adriyan Rae is the voice actor for main character Hazel, who’s a dreamweaver that discovers creatures from old folk tales exist. A giant catfish is your companion through the game.
There’s a slower frame-per-second animation style to this, like the Spider-Verse films. I’m not sure how I feel about it. But it’s undeniably a stylish presentation.
Hazel is very acrobatic – she can wall-run and air-dash and conjure objects to help her get to where she’s going. And of course there’s combat too.
– Robert Purchese
So combat seems to be based around the idea of pushing and pulling – getting them in, starting a combo, then pushing them back, with a combination of magical abilities. If you can keep a combo chain uniterrupted, you’ll be able to chain more attacks.There’s an upgrade tree to customise and enhance all this, that’ll give you some choice to pursue the kind of play style you like.I love the idea of exploring folktales I don’t know, and it looks like a memorable cast of characters. It reminds me powerfully of Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, which is an underrated banger, I’ll have you know.
– Robert Purchese
South of Midnight launches 8th AprilI’m impressed with the setting – it’s not one I’ve played in before.And there’s the release date we’ve been after: 8th April.
– Robert Purchese
A closer look at Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Over to Sandfall Interactive now in Montepelier France to hear about the studio’s first game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
This game started as a solo passion project, apparently. They were inspired by turn-based JRPGs and wanted to make a big budget one for today’s audience. Given how impressive the game looks visually now, it’s amazing to think this began with one person.
Do they work in some kind of refitted manor house? That’s a pretty swanky looking office.
It’s set in France, by the way, the game – in an alternate reality version of France.
– Robert Purchese
Yeah – this is looking pretty good!
– Robert Purchese
We’re hearing a bit about the story. It’s not about good and evil. They want a dark and mature story with characters that feel like real people with real experiences. The story is about overcoming an existential threat while overcoming personal grief. Those are a lot of buzzwords, but it’s nice to know that there are some deeper themes in there.
– Robert Purchese
The voice cast include Charlie Cox, Jennifer English, Ben Starr and Andy bloomin’ Serkis. That’s a strong line-up!
– Robert Purchese
This looks great, and it’s fascinating to me that a one-person idea found the budget and support to realise this. Someone really took a chance on this.There are strong Persona vibes to the way the game plays out, and Final Fantasy 7 remake. You can dodge and parry in real-time, while selecting attacks in a turn-based order. Apparently, you can take more risks in real-time if you like that kind of thing.
– Robert Purchese
Wow that’s a lot of passive effects! There are more than 20 unique skills for each character and hundreds of passives. I like the sound of that.
– Robert Purchese
I like that I haven’t played an RPG like this before, in terms of setting. It stands out.
– Robert Purchese
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 releases 24th AprilOne thing they wanted to bring back from old JRPGs was a 3D, fully navigable world map. Does that mean there will be random battles, I wonder?Oh I see: the bosses stand out on the world map and you can find them and fight them.I really like the look of this: it’s got a lot of heart behind it.Another April game! Clair Obscur comes out 24th April.
– Robert Purchese
Doom time! Now, I probably can’t say this but Katharine has a bunch of Doom things ready to publish once this finishes, so keep an eye on the homepage.
– Robert Purchese
A closer look at Doom: The Dark AgesI met Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin once, when they were announcing Doom Eternal. They announce our closer look at the game.So, it’s a medieval war against hell and we’re going to feel like the superweapon there. It’s medieval but it’s sci-fi. It’s also a prequel to Doom 2016. Apparently that also means it’s a great place for newcomers to come in.
– Robert Purchese
The acrobatics of previous Doom games have been changed for a feeling of power here. The catchy quote was you were a fighter jet in the previous Doom games and here you’re a tank.The Shieldsaw is obviously at the center of this. You can block, throw, parry and reflect. It’s all contextual apparently, which is intriguing. In Doom 2016 they asked you to run and gun, in Eternal they asked you to jump and shoot, and in The Dark Ages they want you to stand and fight.
– Robert Purchese
Haha!
– Robert Purchese
Doom Dark Ages will have a tower-sized mech to pilot!There’s a new glory kill system, there are new melee weapons. And it’s all contextual it sounds like.The Dark Ages has some of the most ridiculously powerful guns they’ve ever made. There’s a metal stake launcher by the looks of things. There’s a new shotgun – there’s always a shotgun in an id Software game and I am totally here for that.That shield really is at the heart of all your encounters.There’s a new difficulty system in the game – a collection of sliders where you can slow things down, for example, and tailor each aspect of the experience for you. You’re going to be able to pilot a tower-sized mech!
– Robert Purchese
Doom Dark Ages will let you fly a dragon!We’re going to be able to fly on a dragon!
– Robert Purchese
We’re going to uncover the past of Doom and the Doom Slayer here, and it sounds like, in terms of ridiculousness, they’ve gone full ridiculous.
There’s a flail melee weapon!
Dark Ages has the largest play space ever in a Doom game, apparently.
It’s a Doom sandbox full of war and riches, we’re told.
The soundtrack is being composed by Finishing Move. I’m not sure who that is but it sounds very metal to me. Did I tell you I went to see Slipknot recently? That was an experience.
They just called it a summer blockbuster event. Does that mean it’s coming out in the summer?
– Robert Purchese
Doom: The Dark Ages releases 15th May
The narrative has come out of the codex and into the cutscenes, apparently – the story has come forward – and it leads directly into Doom 2016, I think they said.
Doom: The Dark Ages releases in May! 15th May.
– Robert Purchese
That’s it for the scheduled or planned announcements, but I wonder if there’s time for something more.
– Robert Purchese
They do!
– Robert Purchese
Show closes
Oh, so that really was it. But a pretty strong slate of games, I think? Doom is the blockbuster there, Ninja Gaiden is the relative surprise, but South of Midnight and Clair Obscur looked good. That’s a convincing sell for a couple of months of GamePass.
– Robert Purchese
Yeah. I hope that the width of it all doesn’t sacrifice some of the shape and pace.
– Robert Purchese
It’s nice to see a bit more of the teams making these games in these Directs, to get to know them a bit and see what they’re about.
– Robert Purchese
I assume because it’s out so soon there’s no point. I’m looking forward to playing it!
– Robert Purchese
Good old Larry!
– Robert Purchese
True. I’m equal parts worried and excited, I should say. Curious project, that.
– Robert Purchese
I’d love to do a walking down the corridor shot! They are inherently ridiculous but you’ve just got to embrace it.
– Robert Purchese
Nice! And yes, me!
– Robert Purchese
I have to call it a night there. Thank you all for joining us. Short and sweet, that. Not bad, Microsoft, not bad.
– Robert Purchese
Columbo: Just one more thing. Don’t forget our Doom coverage that’s just gone up on the site, which includes a news story about how there won’t be any multiplayer in The Dark Ages.
– Robert Purchese
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Xbox Series X/S,
PC
Doom: The Dark Ages
Video Game
South of Midnight
Video Game
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