They really need two Developer Directs Tbh. When they have this much content now, they should have one Developer Direct focused on the 1st half and the other focused on the 2nd half. I know there's the June Showcase but that isn't for deep dives, it's for quick fire announcements and also a bunch of 3rd party titles and some titles releasing years later, so I think a Developer Direct shortly after it won't interfere too much with it as they are aiming at two different goals.

Developer Direct - January (Start of Q1) - Focus on Q1/Q2

• South of Midnight
• Doom: The Dark Ages
• Secret Title (Hopefully Q1/Q2)

June Showcase

Developer Direct - July (Start of Q3) - Focus on Q3/Q4

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster
• The Outer Worlds 2
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - 2

But they can still do individual Direct's for certain major titles, such as Fable, which will be both big as a release and big in scale, Call of Duty doesn't need a specific Direct every year, The Outer Worlds 2 is a sequel and Oblivion Remaster we know what we're getting already but something like Fable is a reboot of an IP that has been dead for over 10 years and a large (content wise) IP so it could easily fill a 20-30 minute slot by itself. For Call of Duty, The Outer Worlds 2 and Oblivion Remaster you already largely know what you're getting so put them in a multi-title Direct, Imo.

EXtas1s - "The surprise game at the Xbox Developer Direct is NOT Oblivion, however the Oblivion Remake exists and is still planned to release in 2025"

You know, someone mentioned that if it were Double Fine, why not just use Double Fine's studio image? It would still keep the game as a surprise. Nobody knows what Double Fine's next title is other than it has multiplayer. What if it's an unannounced XGSP title? They probably wouldn't use the studio image because half of their XGSP titles have already heavily leaked, Lmao. Something like Project Shaolin by Brass Lion Entertainment? That has been heavily leaked and we know a lot about it, using their studio image would instantly tell everyone what the title being revealed is. It has been in development since 2021 and hit Alpha in December 2023.

I know it is VERY unlikely, but I'd love for Double Fine's next to be Brutal Legend 2.

Tom Henderson responded to Jez that Gears E-Day is coming in 2025 but then deleted it instantly, Lol.

Their 2025 is already stacked so I'm not sure I believe it will be 2025, Lol. Like if Fable, Gears E-Day, Oblivion Remaster, The Outer Worlds 2, Call of Duty are all in the 2nd half, that is a lot, Lol. Of course there's still GTA 6 as well, nobody is going to commit to a release date in the 2nd half as long as GTA 6's date is unannounced and if Microsoft really does have that much it feels inevitable they will clash with GTA 6 which will result in said title being delayed out of GTA's way unless GTA is the one delayed to early 26 (which seems likely).

I wonder what Microsoft will do if GTA 6 is delayed to early 26 and it clashes some titles there, they'll surely have to delay them, which will result in a dry 1st party early 2026 but nobody will give a shit when everyone is playing GTA 6 or do they try to bring titles forward into 2025 which is a risky move considering it could result in rushed titles, maybe only a few months would be fine but anything more would be bad.

please dont give us hope like this lol

Good news for Avowed

Potentially bad news for South of Midnight but we'll see where that lands.

Tom Warren Notepad

Before the holidays, I teased on Bluesky that I was expecting an Xbox event in January. Microsoft announced today that it's hosting another Xbox Developer Direct on January 23rd. It's going to be a busy 2025 for Xbox, with games like Fable, Avowed, South of Midnight, Doom: The Dark Ages, Towerborne, The Outer Worlds 2, and more to look forward to.

Jason's Predictions for 2025.

Ubisoft will be sold
An Xbox studios game will be nominated for GOTY at The Game Awards
A non-VR Half-Life game will be announced
A single player playstation game will be announced for PC within 3 months of its PS5 release
Ace Attorney 7 will be announced
Bobby Kotick will get involved with the Trump administration in some way
EA CEO Andrew Wilson will step down
Switch 2 will have an availability crisis
Metroid Prime 4 will launch on Switch and Switch 2 - day one of Switch 2
There will be fewer industry layoffs than last year
Bonus: Amazon will pull out of the video game industry

Our Predictions For 2025 Triple Click podcast

I hope he's hearing good things about Fable but I feel it's more likely to be Doom?

Doom is a safe bet for a GOTY nomination assuming the year isn't too stacked with critical darlings from other publishers, seeing as both Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal had GOTY nominations at The Game Awards 2016 and 2020 respectively.