Microsoft has confirmed plans to hold a significant Xbox Developer Direct presentation in January 2026, following the relatively silent The Game Awards gala.
While Microsoft-owned Blizzard announced the next expansion for Diablo 4 and we received news that South of Midnight will be released on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2, fans did not hear anything about up-to-date Fable, Forza, Gears of War or Halo games, which have been confirmed for release in 2026.
But in an interview for DiversityMicrosoft’s president of game content and studios Matt Booty promised that large things are coming next month.
“I can’t reveal what exactly will be there, but we have a lot of stuff that we’ll be releasing next year. In fact, usually Dev Direct focuses on highlighting what’s coming in the coming year. We have more things to offer this year than we can fit into one program,” Booty teased.
“So I will tell you that Playground Games will be available on Dev Direct, but next year we will have more stuff to ship than we can fit into one January Dev Direct, which is a good place to be.”
So what can we expect? If Playground Games does end up in Dev Direct, it seems likely that we’ll get a closer look at Forza Horizon 6 and potentially the next Fable game that the British studio is working on. Additionally, we may see more of Gears of War: E-Day and Halo: Campaign Evolved, which are confirmed to launch in 2026.
Xbox game series tier list
Xbox game series tier list
However, given Booty’s comments, perhaps Microsoft will present presentations focusing on individual games after the January Dev Direct to give them enough time in the spotlight.
“This is going to be a real banner year for the brand and a banner year for some of our biggest franchises coming into the industry,” Booty continued.
We may also hear more about Microsoft’s hardware plans, which include a next-generation console that will sound very similar to a PC.
Be sure to check out everything announced at The Game Awards 2025 for more information, as well as the full list of winners.
Wesley is the news director at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
