What are Xbox working on... A look at their studios
Xbox had their best year in a long time last year, just in terms of game releases, almost everything else they failed at. What made their game releases so strong, they released more games onto PlayStation 5 than they did their own console.
Now to be fair, the games that came to PlayStation 5 last year released on Xbox and PC already, often more than a year before. But there were a few titles that were day and date. The Outer Worlds 2 was a day one on both Xbox and PlayStation consoles, as was the second remaster of Gears of War. Ninja Gaiden 4 was another one, but it was published by Xbox and developed by Koei Tecmo.
These are the games that were published in 2025, with those titles that are bolded being original releases:
Avowed - Xbox Series X|S | PC
Age of Mythology: Retold - PlayStation 5
South of Midnight - Xbox Series X|S | PC
Forza Horizon 5 - PlayStation 5
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - PlayStation 5
Minecraft - Xbox Series X|S
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II - PlayStation 5
Gears of War: Reloaded - Xbox Series X|S | PC | PlayStation 5
Keeper - Xbox Series X|S | PC
Ninja Gaiden 4 - Xbox Series X|S | PC | PlayStation 5
The Outer Worlds 2 - Xbox Series X|S | PC | PlayStation 5
Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition - PlayStation 5
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 - PlayStation 5
Sadly, there were also some studio closures for this group as well, these are the studios that were closed in 2025:
The Initiative - Were creating the next Perfect Dark
While the studios were not closed, Microsoft laid off at least 600 staff from a number of studios, many of whom were tied to games that were cancelled, like Everwild. You can learn more about those cancellations here.
The biggest issue Xbox had over the year, apart from firing more people again, is that they just kept making bad decisions, the cancellation of Perfect Dark was annoying, but what really pissed people off, increasing Game Pass prices. There is no denying it, it is just to expensive for most folks to be on the Ultimate plan, which is now $36 AUD a month and if there were additions to the plan that people wanted, then it might be worth it.
Ubisoft titles being added via Ubisoft Classics? Sure, but a lot of those games most people already own. Well how about in-game benefits for titles like Call of Duty: Warzone or League of Legends? Maybe great for people who play those games enough to care about some random skin. Well surely Fortnite.. nah I don’t even care enough to write that. Gamers were justifiably pissed off when Xbox upped the price without any input from gamers, because one of the additions is faster load time for cloud gaming, which 90% of folks who have Ultimate will never use. Players have voiced their concerns since the changes went live and there has been nothing said by Xbox, so those changes are likely here to stay.
Oh, I would also be remiss not to mention the simple fact that Xbox no longer make games on disc, not they don’t make discs as they do, but they no longer put their own games on disc. Gears of War: Reloaded got a physical release on PlayStation 5, not on Xbox Series X; The Outer Worlds 2 got a standard and deluxe release on PlayStation 5, only a code-in-the-box deluxe release on Xbox. Xbox have essentially given up on caring about what gamers want and it will only hurt them down the line, well maybe not given they are worth some $4,000,000,000,000, that is 4 Trillion dollars.
If you are curious to see how we did in years past, you can find our 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022 Previews here.
Over the previous 12 months, these are all the showcases that Xbox hosted:
Developer_Direct 2025 - Jan 26 - ~53mins
Xbox Games Showcase - Jun 9 - ~120mins
This also included The Outer Worlds 2 and Grounded 2 Directs
Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 - Sep 26 - ~52mins
Xbox Partner Preview - Nov 21 - ~34mins
The Coalition
Known for: Gears of War | Last game released: Gears of War: Reloaded
Well, I was wrong. Last year I said that apart from a new trailer for Gears of War: E-Day, which did not happen, we would not see anything else from the Gears series in 2025. The Coalition proved me wrong by releasing Gears of War: Reloaded, their second remastering of the original game in the series. Of course, they had to also be smug about it and release the game onto PlayStation 5 as well.
So what does 2026 look like for the studio? Well Gears of War: E-Day is expected to release this year, but given we have not seen anything on it since the reveal back in June 2024, I would hold off on placing bets until the Xbox Developer_Direct for 2026. We know that show is happening and it is a good indicator of games coming this year, but Xbox have a potentially stacked line up, so if something has to give, I suspect this could be it. Now you also need to consider that this game could be one of the few first party titles likely to release on PlayStation as well as on PC and Xbox in 2026, at launch, which could give it more support to get out the door. If the game shows up later this month, then consider it a lock for this year, if not, then early 2027.
Compulsion Games
Known for: We Happy Few | Last game released: South of Midnight
2025 is when Compulsion Games finally got South of Midnight out the door on both Xbox and PC, and while it has some great moments, it is also flawed. Players who did take the chance on it found a great world, filled with some amazing characters, with combat that was just meh at the best of times. With the game releasing last year, there was little chance we were going to hear from this studio again in 2025, and that held true, until just last month.
Before The Game Awards 2025, Compulsion Games revealed that South of Midnight was coming to both PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2, making this the debut Xbox game on the latest Nintendo console. The game is expected to release on both sometime this Autumn, that is March through May for us Down Under, but there is no firmer date right now. I expect that it will release closer to May from that window, but hey, the game could pop up in the Developer_Direct for the second year in a row. Beyond the port to more platforms, I don’t think we are going to hear much from this studio once the game is out.
Double Fine Productions
Known for: Psychonauts, Brutal Legend | Last game released: Keeper
Last year I said that with two games on the go, odds are we would see the game from Lee Petty first and it would release last year and what do you know, Keeper was in fact released last year. Sadly, I did guess that it would release on most platforms last year, but it seemed to have made it through the year as a Microsoft exclusive. With Double Fine Productions getting that game out the door, the other game they are reported to be working on, has remained silent.
So what does 2026 hold for the fine folks at Double Fine? If I were a guessing man, I would think two things will happen this year, the first is that Keeper sets off to illuminate other platforms and the game from Schafer will get a reveal, but won’t release this year. Why won’t it release in 2026, simple, not enough staff. Double Fine is more what you would call a boutique studio, they have staff on deck, but they are like 100 folks, not the 300 or 400 that some other studios have. Now, it is possible that in the four years between game releases, 21 for Psychonauts 2 and 25 for Keeper, they got a lot more done on this second game, but I doubt it. No, I am sticking with Keeper coming to more platforms and that is it for this year.
Halo Studios
Known for: Halo | Last game released: Halo Infinite
We are now 4 years and change since Halo Infinite released and while we got a good idea of what the future of Halo was going to be with the big reveal/rebrand in 2024, no one expected Microsoft to green light another remake of the original game. Ok, now to be fair Halo: Campaign Evolved, which was revealed last year is a full on remake and not the remaster the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary offered players back in 2011. But don’t worry Halo Infinite fans, you won’t be left holding the controller, instead you can put it down and pick up Halo: Edge of Dawn, a brand new book that released just last month and continues the narrative from the game.
As for 2026, well Halo: Campaign Evolved is expected to release this year and will also mark the debut of Halo on PlayStation 5, leaving Nintendo the last platform to officially get the series. Outside of that gameplay reveal, which fans were not exactly thrilled with, we have not seen much about the game since then and that is not likely to change this year. The studio does not have a lot of open roles and the ones they do are not really anything specific against the development of the game. I doubt the game will be in the Developer_Direct, if only because people know Halo and it would be pointless to include it there. What I suspect will happen is the game remains silent until June for a late 2026 release, with it getting its own Halo Direct, after the usual June Games Showcase. The reason why I think its going this route, there is more Halo coming than just a remake of the first games campaign and getting the spotlight just makes sense.
Inxile entertainment
Locations: Tustin, USA | New Orleans, USA
Known for: The Bard’s Tale, Wasteland | Last game released: Wasteland 3
After being announced a few years ago, inXile Entertainment popped up in 2025 with the reveal of a pretty lengthy gameplay reveal trailer for Clockwork Revolution. There really is not a lot to say about this studio, they don’t make any noise unless they have to, in fact in the 2.5 years since their upcoming game was announced, the studio made two reveals and one of them was the gameplay trailer. The other was done in early 2024 and that Shapeshifter Games, a studio formed by a number of ex-Volition staff, would be helping co-dev the game.
With this year potentially loaded down with games already, from the above list to now there are two big ones, I doubt that Clockwork Revolution is releasing this year. Now the only way that would change is if the game is in the Developer_Direct, if it pops up there, it is a 2026 release and if not, wind the clocks again for a 2027 release.
Mojang Studios
Known for: Minecraft | Last game released: Minecraft Legends
Mojang makes one thing and pretty much nothing else, Minecraft content. This is proven by just some of the DLC that released last year, including:
Minions
Dragon Ball Z
The Incredibles
Superman
Smurfs
How to Train your Dragon
adidas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
There was also content inspired by the movie, which itself was inspired by the game, a very egg and chicken-jockey situation if you will. They launched a pretty big update in December, bringing new mounts and materials to players and they are not slowing down. We learnt back in 2024 that more Minecraft Live events would happen each year and the last one took place in September, so when is the next one? Well there is no date right now, but they went six months apart last year, so I could see either a late March or sometime in April for the next one. The problem is that until those events, they will just keep dropping new DLC, minor updates and more, making it hard to predict what else could be next.
Ninja Theory
Known for: Hellblade series, Heavenly Sword | Last game released: Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Last year I guessed that we would not hear much from Ninja Theory in 2025, if only because they shipped their last game in 2024 and I was sort of right. The studio was very quiet for most of the year, except for this weird 3-ish month period where they announced that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was coming to PlayStation 5 and the existing releases were getting updates and fixes. Once that update dropped, they became Ninja’s once more as they have not been heard from since.
Given they have no open roles, have been silent for a while and tend not to make noise unless they have to, I suspect the team are just going to be focused on whatever Project Mara truly is. The only reason why might hear from them this year is if they are bringing both Hellblade titles to Switch 2, beyond that, I think we are a few years away from hearing from them again.
Obsidian Entertainment
Known for: Pillars of Eternity, Grounded, Fallout: New Vegas | Last game released: The Outer Worlds 2
We came into 2025 knowing that Obsidian had two games to show us, Avowed was dated for release in February of that year and released without issue, you can find our review here. Once that game was out the door, many expected the studio to focus in on The Outer Worlds 2 and they did, sort of. Once the June Xbox Games Showcase was announced, it was revealed that a special Outer Worlds 2 Direct would take place right after the main show, but surprise Obsidian had a second game they were working on, Grounded 2. Now to be fair, Grounded 2 is being co-developed by Eidos Montreal, so they are not doing all the heavy lifting on their own. October saw the release of The Outer Worlds 2 and players loved it, and they wanted more.
The good news is for those fans, two story expansions have been promised, the bad news, there is no date or details for them at this time. Now odds are both will release this year, as that is usually how they go, but I would honestly rather the team take their time to make two fantastic expansions, rather than two ok ones. So if we got one this year and one next, that would be ok by me. Of course, in the background of all this space talk is where we need to have a more grounded conversation, as Grounded 2 is still in early access. The roadmap has outlined their plans until at least Winter 2026, for those Down Under at least, so that will keep them going. But wait, there’s more! Avowed is also getting new content next month, in celebration of the games 1 year anniversary. The update will add New Game+ to the adventure, along with new weapons, photo mode updates and much more. Given that Obsidian have four games they are actively supporting, oh yes Pillars of Eternity is still getting updates, I expect we will hear their name a lot over the next 12 months.
Playground Games
Known for: Forza Horizon | Last game released: Forza Horizon 5
After a quiet few years, outside of DLC for Horizon 5, 2025 was a big year for Playground Games. First up they revealed, along with developer Panic Button, that Forza Horizon 5 was racing over to PlayStation 5. They then officially announced Forza Horizon 6 and that it would be set in Japan, which was honestly one of the worst kept secrets in gaming by that point. They also continued to say very little about Fable, in fact the last time the developer said anything about the game, was back in June 2024.
Now Fable is expected to release in 2026, but neither the developer’s website, the official Xbox page, nor any of the store pages indicate a release date. Heck the last trailer, linked above, shows a 2025 release date and nothing has been said about the game, since the single comment about it not hitting 2025. Forza Horizon 6 on the other hand, that is expected to launch this year, the teaser trailer explicitly called it out. One might argue that Fable had years of trailers with years on them and they never launched, but all of the Horizon games have generally been announced and released within 12 months, so I don’t expect that to change. The only issue Horizon 6 might face is that many of the original team have been working on Fable for the past 8 years and after the release of Forza Horizon 5, many of the team leads and the creative director, all left to form their own studio. I don’t believe that will impact the game in any significant way, but I expect there to be changes to the formula in small ways. Either way, 2026 could be a massive year for Playground Games, and if Fable shows up in the Developer_Direct later this month, then that would confirm it.
Rare
Known for: Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Piñata | Last game released: Sea of Thieves
I can’t believe I am writing this, but here we are almost 8 years since Sea of Thieves set sail back in March 2018 and Rare has not released anything else. Now to be fair, they were hard at work on Everwild, but that game was cancelled in 2025 and a number of folks were let go, with the games director and Rare legend Gregg Mayles leaving the studio.
Season 18 of the game released just last month and the studio does not appear to be slowing down any time soon with their pirate themed creation. Will there be something else from Rare, outside of pirates, ships and booty, yes. Will we see it this year, no. I doubt we will get anything from Rare that is not Sea of Thieves related for at least 3 years and that is assuming they don’t start haemorrhaging staff in 2026. On a personal note, it still makes me angry to see a developer that was so creative when they were partly owned by Nintendo, slowly turned into a content farm by Microsoft. You can see the early years after the buy, they had that Nintendo spark still with Grabbed by the Ghoulies and Kameo: Elements of Power, but then came Xbox One and Kinect and yeah…
Turn 10 Studios
Known for: Forza Motorsport series | Last game released: Forza Motorsport (2023)
I would love to say something nice here, that we would get news from this group about what was next, but the studio is all but dead. When Xbox gutted studios again in the middle of 2025, Turn 10 was reported to be one of them hit the hardest and then in the Forza Year in Review, it was all but confirmed that Forza Motorsport is dead. Now the team did say that the games servers would be kept online and special events would return, but no new content was coming. 2025 saw the Forza brand turn 20 years old and gutting the studio that made it and killing off any long term support for it, is one hell of a birthday present.
Undead Labs
Locations: Seattle, USA | Champaign, USA | Orlando, USA
Known for: State of Decay | Last game released: State of Decay 2
Another year, another time we talk about how the studio is not saying anything about their work. State of Decay 2 has been without any new content since the end of 2024, as support for that finally wrapped after 6 years. State of Decay 3 on the other hand, has been in development since 2020 and apart from two CGI trailers, there is no news known about the game.
The last time the games official website was updated was back in 2024, specifically when they called out the end of support for the second game. Since then, there has been nothing from the studio, around 15 months of dead silence, which would be on brand for the studios name, if players were not getting pissed off at them for it. The studio was reportedly hit with layoffs back in the middle of 2025, which won’t have helped morale at the studio. But since they were bought by Xbox, they have opened up two extra locations and shipped 1 game, so I suspect management was not happy at all the money spent vs money earned. Is 2025 the year we finally get details on State of Decay 3, I doubt it, but I am happy to be proven wrong.
World’s Edge
Known for: Age of Empires | Last game released: Age of Empires Mobile
Since 2019, World’s Edge has been overseeing the release of the Age of Empires and Age of Mythology series, including the remasters of II, III and Mythology. They have also overseen the creator of IV and Mobile, giving them a lot to do and while you might think everything should be about the new games, the studio is constantly releasing content for the older ones, well the remastered older ones. Last year also saw the series make the jump to PlayStation 5, making the Sony family of devices finally join the Age of fun, because if you remember Nintendo got the series a few years ago.
That leads me to think that in 2026, Nintendo Switch 2 will start to see some Age of ports brought to the platform, if only because its the full experience on the go and it has a mouse built in with each console. The team have already revealed some of their plans for 2026, which surprise, surprise, includes more DLC. Then there is the fact that Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition is coming, why its called mobile and then tied to PC is just confusing, but its just another game for PC players to enjoy. Given all their plans, the World’s Edge team will likely pop up quite a lot across 2026.
Partnerships
Asobo Studio
Known for: A Plague Tale, Microsoft Flight Simualtor | Last game released: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
2025 was a busy year for the team, not only did they deliver a host of World Updates, including Japan in Update 20, but they also took flight onto PlayStation 5. For 2026, I don’t expect much to change for this team, at least when it comes to Flight Sim, because at this point they are pretty locked in their ways for their release cadence. The team are also working on the next game in The Plague Tale series, but that is not connected to Microsoft, just being released on Xbox. I suppose the question for some is will Flight Sim hit Switch 2 in 2026? I doubt it, the PlayStation 5 version is a streaming game and with the Switch 2’s portable nature, it would likely mean you can only play when connected to decent WiFi and I don’t think people care enough for that.
Iron Galaxy
Known for: Killer Instinct (2013) | Last game released: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4
The Iron Galaxy team is a mysterious bunch, they don’t have a singular genre that they specialise in, case in point they are still managing Killer Instinct, though it is essentially dead at this point as no new content has been released in a few years. Of course, last year saw the studio release Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 and sadly they laid off a number of staff as well, so a mixed year.
Given the studio often does a lot of work for hire, ie ports of games to other platforms, see Skyrim, Diablo 3 and Overwatch onto Switch, or The Last of Us series and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves to PC, there is no telling yet what 2026 will hold for them. Given they have some close relationships with all the console makers, I expect things to continue that way in 2026, just no telling how it will shake out across the year.
Kojima Productions
Known for: Death Stranding | Last game released: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
2025 was a decent year for Kojima Productions as they finally got Death Stranding 2: On the Beach out to players on PlayStation 5. For Xbox fans, that game might come over as the first game did and while the original release was published by PlayStation, the PC and Xbox release of Death Stranding was published by 505 Games. Xbox players are also looking forward to OD, the brand new game from Kojima-san, but that game hit a slight issue last year when actor Udo Kier, who appeared in the reveal trailer for the game, passed away. We did get a new trailer for the game last year, so fingers crossed that means it is moving towards a release, the question is, will we see it this year? I don’t think so, Kojima Productions is not a massive studio and shipping two big games year after year is unlikely.
People Can Fly
Known for: Painkiller, Bulletstorm | Last game released: Outriders
After releasing Outriders in 2021 and then some VR releases in 2022 and 2024, People Can Fly could be back in a big way in 2026, if Gears of War: E-Day is released. The studio was announced as being the co-developer back in January 2025 and they have some experience with the series. They ported the original game to PC, assisted with Gear of War 2 and Gears of War 3 and were given the ability to create Gears of War: Judgement, the original prequel to the first game.
2025 was not a great year for the studio though as they had to cancel two massive projects and as a result laid off people. One of those games was being developed for Square Enix, but that seems to have fallen through in a major way, if reports are to believed. The studio has been working away on E-Day, but the scope of their work is just unknown at this time, so until the credits roll, we won’t know how much they are involved.
Toys for bob
Known for: Skylanders, Spyro Reignited Trilogy | Last game released: Crash Team Rumble
There is very little known about the new game from Toys for Bob, in fact since the studio spun-off to be independent in May 2024, they have been very quiet. They have of course celebrated things like Spyro Day, but actual news on their re-debut title, that is quite slim. The only thing I know for sure is the game is being made in Unreal Engine and that is it.
Will we see the game this year, it is possible that they might show up as the surprise game in the Developer_Direct, but honestly, it is hard to say. They are now their own bosses, so they can take all the time they want and I suspect they might do just that.
So, there we go, Xbox done for another year. They have some big games expecting to release this year, Fable, Forza Horizon, Gears of War and Halo, and if they all release it could be a banger of a year. The problem is that Xbox trip over themselves all the time so who knows if they can stick the landing with all those games.
What do you say, are you excited for the potential games from Xbox in 2026?
