Xbox/Bethesda showcase Developer Direct brings the hits

Bethesda Showcase brings updates to four games with a surprise announcement and shadow drop

On January 25th, Xbox and Bethesda partnered for their first big showcase of 2023, the Developer Direct showcase. Noticeably absent from last December’s Game Awards, Xbox took this time to elaborate on upcoming projects from studios under its umbrella, including those recently acquired by the merger with Zenimax. Unlike other showcases that are hosted and moderated by 1-2 people, this show took film crews to five studios to allow game directors and development teams to openly talk about their projects.

Starting off the show, Mojang Studios took an opportunity to showcase their PvP mechanics to the upcoming Minecraft Legends, an action-strategy title. Players will be able to compete in 4v4 strategy gaming, including base building and upgrades. Everything will be played in a 3rd-person format, and all maps are procedurally generated, creating a wide variety of gameplay scenarios and tactics. Members of the team discussed their favorite tactics while highlighting some of the different assets players can work with. Minecraft Legends is launching on Xbox and Game Pass on April 18th.

Forza Motorsport is the newest title from Turn 10

Next, viewers got a new look at Turn 10 and their upcoming entry in the Forza franchise, Forza Motorsport. Team members described this title as being rebuilt from the ground up to take advantage of current Xbox hardware as well as new graphics technology including ray tracing as well as improved dirt, grime, and shadow placement. Forza Motorsport boasts 500 customizable cars to drive in both a car-building single-player career as well as an online racing scene. Forza Motorsport will launch sometime in 2023.

In what was undoubtedly the most surprising announcement, Tango Gameworks unveiled a brand new title, Hi-Fi Rush. Known for their horror franchise The Evil Within as well as their most recent project Ghostwire Tokyo, Tango has departed entirely from their typically spooky affair with Hi-Fi Rush, a rhythm action game with brightly-animated graphics and a strong soundtrack. Players control Chai, a young hero with a robotic arm and an MP3 player in his chest. Chai will rock his way through a variety of levels, with combat based on the music playing. However, unlike other rhythm games, Hi-Fi Rush promises not to punish the rhythmically challenged, as everything always stays on beat. What was most shocking about this announcement is that this game is available now on Game Pass platforms.

In a surprise announcement, Tango Gameworks unveiled Hi-Fi Rush

In a quick update, Zenimax Online Studios spoke briefly on the next expansion chapter for Elder Scrolls Online. Titled Necrom, ZOS detailed a new class players can use, the Arcanist. Also, they promised environments familiar to Elder Scrolls fans. This update was more of a sales pitch for Elder Scrolls Online, as ZOS also announced that for a limited time all past DLC chapters are free-to-play. After the Developer Direct, Zenimax Online Studios hosted a Twitch stream to give more details on Necrom. This new expansion will be available in June of this year.

Finally, Arkane Austin showed a hefty amount of gameplay from their upcoming vampire-hunting FPS, Redfall. The studio broke down how certain story missions function as well as many of the side tasks that can be taken. Redfall will have a mechanic to clear the map of the town in individual districts, pleasing the map-clearing players out there. Also, the game contains vampire nests, which seem to be harder, boss-level style levels that may require a full 4-player team. Arkane’s newest title is looking to be a robust co-op title that will keep players busy when it launches on May 2nd.

New gameplay was revealed for the upcoming vampire shooter Redfall

The Developer Direct showcase was a strong showing for the beginning of the year for Xbox players. Many players should be excited at what’s coming, and most likely there are more showcases coming in later months. Keep checking back on our site for any updates on these titles as they become relevant. Let us know in the comments if any of these games excite you. If you’d like to watch the recorded showcase, check out the YouTube channels for both Xbox and Bethesda.