Considering Nintendo has practically had a Direct every June and September since the Switch launched, that may have been a very well educated guess. 

Why I'm convinced it's January again is because TESO always reveals their expansions in January, their messaging only changed in 2023 when they went quiet because obviously it was being revealed in the Developer Direct, they've once again done that this year, Lol. There will be an ESO expansion reveal event in January but we don't know when.

It's likely because it's in the Developer Direct.

This is potentially good news for Hellblade 2, 90+ internal mock reviews according to Nate the Hate. However, there is still the Xbox Tax to take into account, I remember Phil Spencer or somebody else at Xbox/Bethesda said they were somewhat surprised by Redfall's poor critical performance because internal mock reviews averaged 10+ points higher than the critic reviews. Xbox Tax is no joke and could easily sink Hellblade 2 as low as low 80's even if internal mock reviews are 90+ average.

I still struggle believing their internal review system was that fundamentally awful.  Predicting Redfall floating around a 70 should be a fire-able offense. 

Unfortunately Nate also had this to say:

Not a fan of Xbox 1st party games going non-exclusive, not a fan at all.

Many are assuming HiFi Rush is the game, as it was originally in development for PS5 pre-acquisition, and though the game reviewed well and was in GOTY conversations (matching Nate's descrption), it wasn't a huge success in terms of sales or players, 200-500k range on Steam Spy after nearly a year and being in Steam Sales for as little as $22.50, 3m players at last update in August. Xbox may want more sales on it in order to justify a planned sequel.

Pentiment also fits Nate's description though, as it won 4 Game of the Year awards, putting it at 6th place in the 2022 Game of the Year tracking. It actually won more GOTY awards than HiFi Rush, which has currently won 0 GOTY awards. 

Technically Psychonauts 2 also fits the bill, as even though it is already on PS4 (and PS5 through BC), it is not on Switch yet, so a Switch or Switch 2 port later this year could be possible. Psychonauts 2 won 19 GOTY awards, putting it in 9th place in the 2021 GOTY Rankings.

Lastly Starfield, Halo Infinite, and Forza Horizon 5 each match his description, as each won at least 1 GOTY Award in it's release year, but highly unlikely Xbox would port anything as big as those 3 to a competitor platform, would spell suicide for Xbox as a hardware platform if they did. 

If Starfield, Halo or Forza comes to PS5, I'll immediately jump ship. 

It’s HFR for Switch 2.

Eh, I wish he didn't leak this, it won't do the game any favours, now everyone will go in expecting a 90+ and anything less will be a disappointment, Lol. We know how console warriors are. But anyway Xbox's internal reviews were way off with Redfall so this doesn't mean much to me, personally.

More Info.

• He says it was a critically acclaimed game.
• He says it was in GOTY contention the year it was released.
• He says fans love it and people will be excited about it coming to other platforms.
• He says that Xbox diehards will likely be upset.
• He says the thinking behind this is that they will release it elsewhere to expand its fanbase and then in a few years time make a sequel which will once again be exclusive and try to bait people into the Xbox ecosystem that way.
• He says it's not as small as As Dusk Falls, not as big as Halo/Gears (Lol).
• He says that it isn't "Xbox going 3rd party" but another example of their "case-by-case basis"

But anyway, another verified leaker has just confirmed it's Hi-Fi Rush on Switch (2?).

I struggle to care on a personal note, I loved Hi-Fi Rush so if this is what gets it a sequel then so be it, I do wonder if it's something which Tango wants as well, like Tango actually wanting a Japanese audience playing their game which they aren't getting with Xbox, Idk. I do feel like Japanese developers are maybe more patriotic than others and care a lot about their Japanese audience.

I also want a Hi-Fi Rush TV Show, Lol.

From a business standpoint I'm unconvinced it will have the desired effect but I also don't believe the vast majority of gamers will see Hi-Fi Rush going to Switch as a sign that things like Halo, Gears, Fable, Elder Scrolls, etc, are going to eventually become multiplatform because if anything, the vast majority of gamers don't even know Hi-Fi Rush exists or who makes it.

It will generate some negative PR for them though in the Twitter-space so back to Yakuza for me!

I don't know, but I seem to have a double standard. HFR to Switch (2) feels fine to me. HFR to PS5 would irritate me..