Report: Microsoft to Hold Xbox ‘Developer_Direct’ Showcase in January

Microsoft is reportedly planning to hold a special gaming event later this month. According to Windows Central, the Xbox event could be named “Developer_Direct” and it may air on Wednesday, January 25, at 12PM PT, though this date could change.

The report says that the event will be hosted by both Xbox and Bethesda, and there will be a focus on the upcoming Xbox exclusives Redfall, Minecraft Legends, and Forza Motorsport. There may also be some news from ZeniMax Online Studios, the developer of The Elder Scrolls Online.

“From what we understand, this won’t be a full-blown E3-scale kind of show, and will be a more intimate look at some upcoming exclusives. As such, we’ve heard Starfield may even be skipping this show for a bigger marketing beat later on,” the report reads.

Last year, Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios said that Microsoft now aims to release one new first-party game every quarter, but the company clearly missed the mark in 2022. The much-anticipated Starfield, which originally had a November 11, 2021 release date has been delayed to 2023. Microsoft didn’t announce a release date for Arkane’s Redfall, but this game is also set to be released in the first half of 2023.

If the lack of big Xbox-exclusive games has been a recurring point of criticism since the beginning of this new console generation, Microsoft also needs to better spread out its announcements throughout the year. After a big showcase during the E3 period last year, the company had zero presence at the Game Awards in December, a show that hit a new viewership milestone with 103 million live streams.

We’ll see what happens in the next couple of days, but the Xbox marketing wheel seems to be in motion today. Microsoft and Oreo announced Special Edition Xbox cookies earlier today, and VP of Xbox Games Marketing Aaron Greenberg also tweeted “This should be a fun week, excited for the days to progress!”