5 Biggest Announcements From Xbox Developer Direct 2024

Microsoft has promised to showcase several projects from the first-party Xbox portfolio during the upcoming Xbox Developer Direct in 2024. As developers from all over the world give fans a fresh look at these eagerly awaited titles, titles like MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and Obsidian’s Avowed will be highlighted. Along with possible confirmation of rumors suggesting certain Xbox franchises may be heading to other consoles, there might even be some Xbox Game Pass news thrown in throughout the event.

Avowed

Gabriel Paramo, gameplay director for Obsidian’s upcoming fantasy-action-RPG, opened the event by showcasing the combat system. Players will be able to quickly switch between using melee weapons and casting spells or shooting sharps. A blocking and parrying system will also be available in combat for more tactical fighting styles.

The segment then shifted to a side mission in the Skatterskarp area of the game. Speaking with a wounded soldier surrounded by the bodies of his slain friends, the player character embarks on the hero’s quest. The quest serves as a showcase for the dialogue and voice acting in the game, as well as a sample of the decisions that players will have to make.

Avowed’s Fall 2024 launch window was confirmed as the segment came to a close, with additional information to be revealed “in the coming months.”

Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga

The next episode, Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga, showed us a transformed Senua who had come to terms with her past and stopped fighting with the voices she heard. The game’s setting, in Iceland in the tenth century, is intended to be as historically accurate as possible, according to Ninja Theory.

The improved combat system in Hellblade 2, which was intended to give the player the impression that she has barely survived every battle, was highlighted in the segment. In the game, Senua will make new friends who will support her on her journey and the people in her immediate vicinity will come into focus instead of just the voices in her head.

The segment also included the game’s audio design, which makes use of a novel spatial audio technology to produce music and binaural sounds. The group also highlighted their collaboration with Heilung, a Scandinavian folk band that played a song from the game at last month’s The Game Awards.

The launch date of May 21 was confirmed as the segment came to an end.

Visions Of Mana

A surprise appearance by Square Enix, showcasing a fresh look at the upcoming role-playing game Visions of Mana—the first Mana title to ever be released on an Xbox console—broke the planned announcement of the presentation.

As the first Mana game in 15 years, it will include several returning monsters and creatures from the franchise’s history. Along with new friends, the game will introduce the player to the Pikul, a massive canine-like creature that the player can use to navigate the game’s world.

The discussion then shifted to the game’s soundtrack, which will have more than 100 tracks throughout the quest. Given that the music can transition between everyday and combat music in an instant, particular attention was paid to how dynamic it is. The first look at Vision of Mana’s combat, which combines ground and air combat in real-time battles, was finally revealed.

The planned release date for Visions of Mana is summer 2024.

Ara: History Untold

Ara: History Untold, Oxide Games’ interpretation of the grand strategy genre, was the next game showcased. Throughout a match, the game will highlight various viewpoints while accounting for historical and cultural events that have occurred in real life. In Ara: History Untold, every turn is played in real-time, so players don’t have to wait for other players to finish their actions before moving on with their own development.

The Living World, a different Earth that is impacted by the player’s choices in real-time, is a feature of the game. Depending on how much progress is made, the world will either flourish or wither as players grow their empires. There are dangerous animals in that world, and cougars are among the deadliest creatures that players can come across.

Ara: History Untold is scheduled to launch in Fall 2024.

Indiana Jones And The Great Circle

The first-ever gameplay teaser for MachineGames’ upcoming Indiana Jones adventure, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, was unveiled during the Developer Direct’s last segment. A preview of Indiana Jones, who has been fashioned to resemble Harrison Ford, the actor who has played the part in all of the Indiana Jones movies, is also included. Dr. Jones will visit the Vatican, the Egyptian Pyramids, and other locations in this game, which takes place between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade.

The agile archaeologist is shown in the trailer beginning in a perilous situation, surrounded by enemy Nazis and up to his neck in sand. After that, the game switches back to first-person perspectives for cutscenes and environmental exploration, but otherwise, it features first-person shooting, puzzle solving, and exploration. Every environment in the game will have multiple optional puzzles, and players who try to figure out what their secrets are will be rewarded.

Along with introducing Emmerich Voss, a new antagonist, the presentation also introduces Gina, an investigative reporter who will accompany Indy on this new journey. Throughout the segment, we also witnessed Dr. Jones engaging in combat with adversaries while brandishing his trademark whip, machine guns, and torches.

Later this year, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be released.