What to Expect from the Xbox Developer Direct: Event Length and News from Microsoft

Did you hear that? It’s not silence, it’s the start of an exciting 2024 for the video game industry. Microsoft will be the first to make a move and today will hold a new Xbox Developer Direct (here date, time, and how to watch). The event will last 48 minutes, will follow the structure of the one in 2023, and has already announced the four games it will focus on: Hellblade 2, Indiana Jones, Avowed, and Ara: History Untold. But what will be announced for each of them and will there be any surprises? It’s time to find out.

Hellblade 2 Release Date

Hellblade 2 needs to get a release date once and for all and be the first Xbox blockbuster in 2024. In the trailer for The Game Awards 2023, it looked ready and Phil Spencer said shortly before the event that it was “much closer” than we expected. It’s been more than five years in the making, so it’s about time. We even dare to tell you which day we’re betting on. We trust the strong rumors of the last hours and we believe that Ninja Theory’s game will arrive on May 21, 2024, on Xbox Series X|S.

First Trailer for the New Indiana Jones Game

It was announced three years ago and we still don’t have a single trailer, but it’s been said for a long time that the new Indiana Jones game is already half done. Machine Games (responsible for the last Wolfenstein) had a lot of time to think and prepare the presentation of the project in the company. At the moment we only know that it will be an original story, that its reference is ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and that it will be as good an adaptation as ‘The Fate of Atlantis’. The time has come to prove it.

Avowed revives the hype

The latest trailer for Avowed wasn’t exactly what we expected, but that’s to be expected. When you present a game with a CGI with great graphics, the actual appearance usually means some disappointment. But even if we didn’t fall in love with the visuals, we’re sure that the so-called “Obsidian’s Skyrim” is an RPG with enough story to keep us hooked for hours. During this Xbox Developer Direct he should counteract the previous taste of mouth talking about all its possibilities and unique features, revive the hype and, why not, even give a release date.

Ara: Untold Story Surprises Everyone

It is the least known of those present, but that is in its favor. Ara: History Untold has what it takes to be the surprise of the night. This turn-based strategy game focused on civilization management can take over from the amazing year the genre had in 2023 and carve out a niche in the Xbox catalog now that the shower of Age of Empires sequels and remasters is over. It has more to gain than to lose. Let’s not forget that at last year’s Xbox Developer Direct, it was the smaller project, Hi-Fi Rush, that ended up taking the cake between Redfall and Forza Motorsport. Will history repeat itself, will there be a shadow drop, will it be a surprise launch on Game Pass at the end of the event?

The surprise of Xbox Developer Direct

Speaking of surprises and Hi-Fi Rush. The Tango Gameworks game was last year’s “one more thing” and it has been rumored for weeks that it could make the leap to Nintendo Switch and other platforms, according to some even alongside Sea of Thieves. Maybe that’s the secret that Microsoft is hiding, the arrival of Xbox games on more platforms. Or maybe, why not dream, it’s the Elden Ring DLC, which has given several signs that it’s imminent. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. The only certainty is that there will be an extra that puts the icing on the cake to the four games already seen.