Xbox Developer Direct: ‘Minecraft’, ‘Elder Scrolls’, Surprise Announcement, & More
Microsoft had an Xbox Developer Direct to show off and give more info on four of its newest games.
Microsoft has been working on making sure this newest Xbox generation console will be a great experience for all gamers. Yesterday, the company hosted Xbox Developer Direct, an event full of announcements for some of its biggest titles. Developers discussed upcoming projects like Redfall, Forza Motorsport (2023), Minecraft Legends, The Elder Scrolls Online – and a surprise reveal.
via Microsoft
Minecraft Legends
Minecraft Legends is the latest spin-off title in the action-strategy Minecraft franchise. Plans for the game were revealed last summer and will allow players to rally various NPCs in Minecraft to fight off the Piglins before the Nether takes over the Overworld. Mojang Studios and Blackbird Interactive have developed a game with single-player, cooperative, and PVP multiplayer options – for basically every platform. It will also feature cross-play so you can play with friends.
Developers talked in great detail about what the game has to offer. For one, they clarified that the PVP will be 4 vs 4 on a procedurally-generated map. Each team will share its resources and armies, working together against Piglins. The event also gave us a release date for the game – April 18th, 2023.
Forza Motorsport (2023)
Forza Motorsport is the latest title in the series developed by Turn 10 Studios. It was also announced last summer at a previous showcase as a racing title. The team has made sure the game will be the most technically advanced racing game with detailed cars, tracks, advanced car damage, ray tracing, and a new dynamic time-of-day cycle.
The segment had developers teasing that there will be 20 tracks (5 of them new), 500 cars (100 of them also new), and 800 different upgrades. Developers also teased more about the advancements in the physics of the game. They spent a ton of time making the ray tracing work differently on all colors, giving the cars unique dirt effects throughout the races. Not only that, all the sounds of the cars will change based on the parts attached to the car as and the setting.
No word on a release date for this one yet other than 2023.
Hi-Fi Rush
The biggest surprise of the event was the announcement of a previously-leaked game. Hi-Fi Rush is a rhythm-focused character action game developed by Tango Gameworks, the studio best known for the Evil Within horror series. This game is a far departure from what the team has made before. It follows Chai who’s experimented on by an evil corporation known as Vandelay Technologies. The experiment had a side effect and now Chai can feel the rhythm of the world. He’s considered a defect by the corporation, and teams up with a group of others to defeat the corporation.
The game heavily relies on you being able to fight to the beat of the music playing to get more rewards and damage on enemies. It wouldn’t be the first game to do something similar – like the shooter Metal Hellsinger. But it would be the first character action game to do it. Luckily the game has a couple of great ways to help out if you are not great at figuring out the beat or are hard of hearing. Chai has a robot cat named 808 who flashes to the beat, and there are visual guides you can turn on.
You also can pet a cat. That is not important to the story, but I feel like you needed to know.
The art style has a fantastic, lighthearted look and the music for the game has licensed songs by some incredible artists. You’ll jam to songs by Nine Inch Nails, The Black Keys, The Prodigy, Number Girl, and more. The developers also dropped the news at the end of the segment that the game is out the same day as the livestream! The game is out now for the Xbox Series X/S and PC.
The Elder Scrolls Online
The Elder Scrolls Online is the oldest game they announced with a new announcement this year. The original title came out on PC and Mac back in 2014. The developers had a teaser for the next DLC, Necrom, which will take place in Eastern Morrowind. The company also announced that it will release a brand new class called the Arcanist. Devs also advised everyone interested in seeing more to watch the Elder Scrolls Online Global Reveal on Bethesda’s channel.
Lastly, all players can now experience the game’s current chapters and DLC all for free until January 31st. So if you’re looking into getting into the game or just trying it out, now would be a perfect time.
Redfall
Announced at E3 2021, Redfall is an open-world first-person shooter that can be played both single-player and multiplayer online. The game is being developed by Arkane Studios Austin, who developed the incredible Prey reboot released in 2017. Set in the fictional town of Redfall, MA, players choose between 4 different characters with their own unique skills to fight off a legion of vampires. Originally set for release for Xbox Seris X/S and PC in Summer 2022, it was delayed to early 2023.
This was the longest presentation at the event, with developers showing off some of the areas, the base of operations where you choose your missions. They also showed off a mission with an enemy-type known as the “Shroud” that throws up darkness, making it harder to see as you dodge the projectiles it throws at you. The mission ends with a tease of a boss-type known as the “Rook.” They also clarified that the game lets you play it more stealthily if you choose to go with that option instead of guns a blazing.
We also got a look at gameplay outside of the story such as rescuing people from vampires, destroying warped vampire nests, and taking back different parts of the town by killing leader vampires in the neighborhood. The more of the city you free by killing the underbosses, the better your chances of saving Redfall from the Vampire Gods. We also got a glimpse of some really cool vampire-killing gear like a stake launcher and customizable stake bayonets for your guns.
The devs then wrapped it all up by announcing that the game will be coming out on May 2nd, 2023.
All 5 of these games will be on Game Pass to play with a subscription.
Let us know if you are excited about any of the stuff they showed off and what Xbox games you are looking forward to this year.
Happy gaming!
