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I’ve come to look forward to the Xbox Developer Direct as it has become a staple of the January news cycle, as it, perhaps even better than their June showcase, gives a great snapshot of what’s coming throughout the year from Team Xbox.
This morning’s presentation had Playground Games pulling double duty with Forza Horizon 6 and their first toe-dip into another genre in Fable, which is attempting to carry on the legacy left by the original trilogy from Lionhead Studios, along with a first look at Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation and a little surprise.
Here’s everything that was announced at this morning’s Xbox Developer Direct. Although snappier trailers were released for each game, for the full rundown, find the entire Developer Direct here:
Forza Horizon 6’s Release Date Was Confirmed Along With New Gameplay Features
After the date leaked last week, Playground Games and Xbox confirmed this morning that Forza Horizon 6 is, indeed, coming May 19th to both PC and Xbox with earlier access beginning on May 15 for those who purchase the Premium Edition. The PlayStation 5 version will arrive later in the year.
With over 550 cars at launch, the game shakes up the Festival campaign progression, introduces a new race type that’ll see you careen precariously down Japan’s narrow, mountainous roads, and introduces a new Estate mechanic where you’re able to, along with friends, build a compound to house your cars in a block of rural land.
Beast of Reincarnation Is A Beautiful Post-Apocalyptic Action Game Coming To Xbox Game Pass At Launch
We also got our first real good look at Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation, which is certainly a shake-up from their usual work on the Pokémon franchise. The game, which isn’t coming to a Nintendo platform at this stage, is set to release sometime in the middle of the year for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
The game is a stunning action-based RPG that looks as though it is part Stellar Blade and part Sekiro, almost within the world of Nier, and casts the player as Emma, alongside her wolven companion Koo, as she explores and restores a desolate, lonely world affected by a parasitic blight.
Double Fine Surprise Revealed Their Pottery Party Brawler Called Kiln
So many wonderful games have been born from Double Fine’s internal game jams; one of my personal favourites is Stacking, and, similar to it, Kiln appears to explore the studio’s tongue-in-cheek, creative side. Having just put out Keeper last year, a more sombre and exploratory journey, the fact that Double Fine has kept this more or less under wraps is commendable.
The game, which celebrates both creation and destruction, places you with friends on a team of cheeky spirits who inhabit various forms of customisable pottery, from cups to vases, and venture out into the battlefield to topple the other team. I do hope it doesn’t go the way of Bleeding Edge; however, I think it’s got enough of that signature Double Fine magic to go the distance.
Fable Is Absolutely Recapturing The Spirit Of The Original Trilogy
The star of the show was always going to be Playground’s Fable, a game we’ve only seen slivers of here and there. While it has only really been vibes thus far, this morning was our first deep-dive into the game that is Fable. It’s clear from the outset that the team at Playground has a reverence for the original trilogy, which came via Lionhead Studios.
The game promises the much-needed British sense of humour, a sprawling and seamless open world, and moral conundrums that aren’t black or white and will impact and be remembered by certain people differently. The game will also include character customisation along with other fan-favourite social features, such as monopolising the world’s housing, getting hitched, and having kids, and the ability to chat with the game’s 1,000 non-playable characters as they go about their days.
Fable will release sometime in the American Autumn, so expect it sometime between September and November down under. It’s coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S at launch.
