Lunatic_Gamer
Gold Member
Xbox Game Studios:
- 343 industries: Currently working on post launch content for Halo: Infinite. A small team is working on continuous updates to Halo: Master Chief Collection such as modding tools. According to Window Central's Jez Corden, there is also a New Halo Project distinct from Halo Infinite in development. 343i also filed a trademark for Halo: The Endless. Certain Affinity is also working on something new for Halo Infinite (or possibly now separate) that might be a Battle Royale according to Jez Corden it is code-named Project Tatankaand has been rumored to be the cross between Halo 5's Warzone and a Battle Royale with deep integrations into Forge. The future of Halo including Project Tatanka are rumored to be moving to Unreal Engine with no plans for additional Single Player content
- The Coalition: Currently working on mastering UE5 according to a Press Release. The press release states they are working on "multiple projects" with one being confirmed to be the next Gears of War. According to rumors heard Jeff Grubb, he believes a smaller project to be a new IP on a smaller scale was in development, though he does not know what the IP could be. He heard rumors of a Star Wars IP but was unable to confirm them. Jeff believes this small IP was set to release in 2023 and Gear Next after. These were supposedly canceled within the last year.
- Compulsion Games: They are working on a Single Player, 3rd Person Action-Adventure game in mid development. The codename of the game is Project Midnight and is a Dark Fantasy title according to Jez Corden at Windows Central. They recently moved to a new office and are planning to over double their staff. Project Midnight is rumored to appear at the next Xbox Showcase
- Double Fine: It is unknown exactly what Tim Schafer will do next. There had been rumors of Banjo Kazooie, but Tim shot them down in an Interview with IGN stating Double Fine makes their own games. They have been working a on project with a new IP since 2018. They also stated that their future is new original IPs to Double Fine in 2022
- The Initiative: They are currently working on the Reboot of Perfect Dark. Embracer Group studio Crystal Dynamics is also helping with development of the title. Certain Affinity is also rumored, by Jez Corden, to be helping the development of the game, specifically weapons and levels. Perfect Dark is still a ways off according to Andy Robinson
- inXile Entertainment: This studio is working on 2 projects, one in full development. One is in pre-production, and one is in full production. The game in full production is code-named Project Cobalt and is said to be a 1st Person Steampunk RPG by Jez Corden. Their next title is confirmed to be releasing in Unreal Engine 5 There is also a rumor that another title inXile is working on is an Existing IP
- Mojang Studios: Currently working on the Trails & Tales update for Minecraft releasing at some point in 2023. In 2020 Mojang had rebranded in 2020 and stated that they want to develop new games and experiences in addition to Minecraft across their multiple global offices.According to Jez Corden, 2 brand new spin off titles are coming from Mojang. One has since been announced and released, Minecraft: Legends, also known as Project Badger, in cooperation with Blackbird Interactive.
- Ninja Theory: Currently working on Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 and the smaller scale Project: Mara. Project: Mara "will be a real-world and grounded representation of true mental terror" and "will be based heavily on research, interviews, and firsthand accounts to recreate the horrors of the mind as accurately and believably as possible." In addition, Ninja Theory announced the establishment of a research and development effort dealing with mental health, dubbed The Insight Project. The Insight Project builds upon and continues the co-operation between Ninja Theory and Paul Fletcher, a University of Cambridge psychiatrist and professor of health neuroscience who had consulted the studio on Hellblade. With The Insight Project, Ninja Theory plans to build smaller games to "help people identify and control negative emotions". A recent ad from Xbox which featured titles announced for 2023 also featured Senua Saga: Hellblade 2, the only title not announced for 2023 within the ad leading many to believe that it will launch in 2023 reinforced by Phil Spencer also name dropping it in his recent interview with Kinda Funny's Xcast. Andy Robinson has also reported that Hellblade is one of the furthest along Xbox titles after Starfield and Forza Motorsport.
- Obsidian Entertainment: Confirmed in development projects are Grounded (ongoing title), Avowed (a 1st person RPG set in the Pillars of Eternity world of Eora), and Outer Worlds 2. According to Jez, Obsidian is "targeting 7 games in 7 years". Avowed is one of the closest games to launch after Starfield and Forza Motorsport according to Andy Robinson
- Playground Games: Just finished development for Forza Horizon 5's DLC at their main office and working on the reboot of Fable at their new office. Andy Robinson has also reported that Fable is not close to being finished, just now entering full production.
- Rare: Currently developing new content for Sea of Thieves. They are also developing a new IP called Everwild though not much is known about it other than some cinematic shots. It has been rebooted multiple times according to Andy Robinson. Additionally it is still quite far off. According to Jeff Grubb, the development even post reboot is still a mess.
- Turn 10: Currently developing a next gen revision of the Forza Tech engine and the next iteration of the Forza Motorsport line of games. Forza Motorsport is supposed to launch within 2023.
- Undead Labs: Currently developing State of Decay 3. Opened a new Orlando Florida location to support State of Decay 3 and other Xbox Game Studio projects which also confirmed SoD3 is moving to Unreal 5.
- World's Edge: While World's Edge does not develop games internally, they manage external partners who are developing content for the Age Of series. They are currently directing the development for content in Age of Empires 2 DE, Age of Empires 3 DE, Age of Empires 4 (Console Release and DLC), and Age of Mythology Retold. Age of Empires 2 DE - Return of Rome is releasing on May 16th porting content from Age of Empires DE in Age of Empires 2 DE. Age of Empires 4 is set to release on Xbox Consoles in 2023.
Xbox Global Publishing
These are games developed by external studios and published by Xbox
Confirmed Global Publishing Projects
- Contraband by Avalanche Game Studios: Originally meant to launch in 2023, no new information since its reveal in 2021.
- Ara: History Untold by Oxide Interactive: Originally leaked as Project Indus by Jez Corden, the game is a 4X strategy game similar to Civilizations. Supposed to release in 2023
- Untitled Cloud Driven Game by Kojima Productions: Announced at Xbox and Bethesda's 2022 Showcase. Rumored originally by Jeff Grubb. They had signed a letter of intent and hired Kim Swift to help with Cloud Game production.
- Project Shaolin by Brass Lion Entertainment: Said to be an Anime Art style ARPG with Wu Tang Clan involved for music.
- Wandering Tower by Stoic Studio: Originally leaked as Project Belfry. Said to be a side scroller beat-em up focused around a bell tower with a Princess Mononoke Art style.
- Killer Instinct by Unknown (maybe Bandai Namco): Rumored to be in development to some capacity by Shpeshal Nick. Jez Corden has heard similar rumors and added the Bandai Namco piece.
- Project Suerte by Certain Affinity: Rumored by Jeff Grubb on Grubsnaxs (a premium Giant Bomb show, linked is a VGC summary). Backed up by Jez Corden.
- Project Vonnegut by Unknown: Nothing is known about this project at this time other than it is a Global Publishing deal. It might be the Shadowrun title from above.
- 1v100 Revival by AltSpace VR: Rumored by Jeff Grubb to be making a return. Quiz how game from the Xbox 360. The VR section, including AltSpace VR, at Microsoft was largely closed so the state of this project is unknown.
- Project Chinook by Unknown: Leaked by Jez Corden. An accessible strategy game release for Xbox and PC. (Verified that statement with Jez personally but don't have an episode to source with it)
- Project Dragon by IO Interactive: Said to be a MMO Lite shared world medieval RPG with a 10 Year plan. Xbox may no longer be involved.
- Project Pax Dei by Mainframe: Said to be a cloud driven MMO. Mainframe accepted external funding from and investor group leading Jeff Grubb to believe it is not longer being published by Xbox but they could still be involved.
Bethesda Softworks
- Alpha Dog Game: Currently a mobile oriented studio working on Mighty Doom for Android on iOS. Any other projects are unknown at this time.
- Arkane Studios: Arkane Lyon is currently working on an unknown future title. Based on an interview with Jason Kelly, Colt's VA in Deathloop, Deathlopp DLC or a sequel may be in development. Arkane Austin is currently working on fixing and releasing post launch content for Redfall (formerly known as Project Omen. From the Nvidia GeForce Now Leak we also have a project codenamed Project Black Sky associated specifically with Arkane Austin. They also maintain the Void Engine used primarily by Arkane Lyon.
- Bethesda Game Studios: Between their Rockville, Austin, Dallas, and Montreal offices they are currently working on extended content for Fallout 76, Starfield (releasing on September 6th, 2023), Creation Engine 2, and Elder Scrolls 6. The IP Spy Team was also registered within the studio.
- id Software: Currently maintaining development on their id Tech 7 Engine and an unannounced future project which could be a Doom, Quake, or new IP. Also working on updates to Quake Champions.
- MachineGame: Currently working on the Indiana Jones game for LucasFilm Games. Details about it are unknown as is a time. Also rumored to be working on Wolfenstein 3 though Pete Hinesimplied that it may not happen before Indiana Jones.
- Roundhouse Games: Currently working on a yet to be announced game. Rumors point to a PvEvP game with a potential Marvel IP in Unreal Engine 4 (likely moved to Unreal Engine 5 due to the ease of upgrading to Unreal Engine 5). No time frame for a release.
- Tango Gameworks: Recently release Hi-Fi Rushand Ghostwire: Tokyo. It is possible they are working on an Untitled Multiplayer game or an Untitled RPG Game
- Zenimax Online Studios: Currently continuing support of Elder Scrolls: Online - Necrom. Based on job listings, they seemingly have at least two unannounced projects in development. They seemingly opened a new studio in Wisconsin as well (in addition to their Maryland and Austin locations). In April 2023 they acquired Nemesys Games, renaming it to Zenimax Hungary. One title has been rumored to be a Mandalorian MMO for some time.
Projects from Unknown Sources
- MCC like Collection for Another Xbox IP: initially rumored by Shpeshal Nick of XboxEra Podcast. Currently speculated to be Gears of War or Fable as both franchises have missing entries on PC. Tom Warren of The Verge may have also teased this as Gears of War. Further commentary has placed this as Gears of War by Shpeshal Nick. There may be one or more collections of games coming via comments from Phil Spencer during a recent interview with Kinda Funny's Xcast.
- Project Velvet by Unknown: Nothing is known about this project outside of the codename at this time.
- Project Kalimba by Unknown: Listed in the GeForce Now leak. May be something already released.
- Shadowrun by Unknown: Rumored by Jeff Grubbon Grubsnaxs. Only heard rumblings nothing concrete. Might be Project Vonnegut.
- Kyn Blu Kelly Game by Unknown: Leaked by Kyn Blu Kelly himself, and NFL Draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens, in an interview. Said he pitched a game to Xbox and it was greenlit. About a Seal Team 6 that travels back in time to prevent people from changing the past.
- Multiple Disney IPs: Rumor that they have more than just Indiana Jones from Disney in Development can be found here.
- Ori 3 by Unknown not Moon Studios
- Project Wormwood by Unknown Studio via Bethesda Softworks unclear if within Zenimax Studios proper or via their Global Publishing in cooperation with an internal studio. Supposedly an RTS.
External Adaptations and Ongoing Partnerships
- Halo Expanded Universe: Every year there are more Halo Novelizations and Comics coming out. The Halo live action television series launched on Paramount+ and has a Season 2 in the works set to launch in 2024.
- A Fallout television series is launching on Amazon Prime Video being written and produced by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan of Westworld fame. No time frame is known. Production is set to start in 2022.
- Netflix greenlit a Ground television series
- A Minecraft movie staring Jason Mamoa is set to launch in April 2025
- Netflix greenlit a Gears of War animated television series and a Gears of War live action movie.
- It has long been rumored that Netflix is partnering with Bethesda Game Studios to make a show set in the world of the Elder Scrolls.
- Disney+ and Game Pass have had a partnership going on since the release of the 2nd season of The Mandalorian. Every time a new live action show drops on Disney+, Game Pass owners have been able to claim a month of Disney+ is they have not subscribed before, and during Falcon and the Winter Soldier they even had a co-marketing campaign.
- Xbox has an ongoing partnership with OPI Nail Polish
Game Pass and Gold
- As of May 8th, 2023 there are 433 titles on Game Pass for Console, 416 titles on Game Pass for PC, and 347 title on Game Pass Cloud Streaming with 63 titles announced as coming to the service in the future.
- Xbox Live Gold grants access to Online Services on Xbox consoles as well as Deals with Gold, Games with Gold, and Free Play Days
- Game Pass grants a discount for all DLC of games on the service at 10% off. Games themselves are discounted at 10% once they have been on the service for 3 months and 20% if the game has been on the service for 9 months or is leaving soon.
- Xbox Cloud Streaming is currently available on Android via App, Windows 10/11 and iOS via Web Browser at https://www.xbox.com/play, and an app in Testing for Windows 10/11. The ability to play select purchased games not in Game Pass was supposed to launch at the end of 2022 but no word has been stated about its status since the feature was announced in June 2022.
- EA Play and Game Pass: Currently EA is offering all Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass for PC members a subscription for EA Play granting them access to all game in the EA Play Vault, 10 Hour Trials for select EA new releases, and 10% off all EA content on the Microsoft Store and Origins.
- Their future goal is to have at least one title 1st party title releasing into Game Pass every Quarter. This was reiterated by Phil Spencer during his interview with Kinda Funny's Xcast
- Game Pass Friends & Family has officially been announced by Xbox after having been rumored for Game Pass by Jez Corden to allow a household or group friends of up to 5 to be subscribed under one cheaper plan. If pricing stays within the testing range, the plan should come out to $25 USD.
Backwards Compatibility
The backwards compatibility team underneath the Xbox Project Management section led by Jason Ronald has multiple ongoing services:
- Xbox (OG) and Xbox 360 backwards compatibility. This project is still ongoing according to Jason Ronald however is is not high on the list of priorities due to difficulty with licensing and patching older content (games require a patch from their respective holders). As of November 2021, there are no more plans to add any new games because of the above constraints after a last drop.
- FPS Boost: Currently 134 games have received an FPS Boost from this team. All work is done by the backwards compatibility team and only approval is needed from the original creators. No change in code is necessary. The most recent release was in November 2021.
- Auto HDR, Automatic 16x Anisotropic Filtering, and Heutchy Method: All of these features are applied automatically to games, the first 2 to almost all games to improve their visual quality with 0 effort from the original developers. More information can be found here.
- Resolution Boost: This rumored feature has its rumored basis in the article linked above. In the same article FPS boost was first teased at, and in the same article they also same boosting the resolution and texture qualities of games are also ongoing goals.
ID@Xbox, ID@Azure, Agility SDK, Xbox GDK, Game Stack and Misc Things
- ID@Xbox is Xbox's program that assists independent developers of all sizes develop and release games on Xbox and Windows 10 with free Dev Kits and other tools and resources to successfully release game. ID@Azure is a similar program but to help developers use the Azure Cloud in gaming like Asobo has for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.
- The Agility SDK is a redefined DirectX development suite for Windows 10/11 and Xbox Series X|S that allows for developers to cleanly develop for the newest version of DX12_2 without users needing to be on the newest Windows Update allowing for new features and optimizations to be adopted faster. This SDK is part of the larger Xbox GDK (it can also be used separately). Xbox has partnered with AMD to bring an optimized version of their FidelityFX suite of open source tools directly within the Xbox GDKso they can implement them with ease.
- Game Stack is Microsoft's openly available to license set of tools that any Developer can download and implement into their games some for free and others for a licensing fee. These tools include Visual Studio, Havok Physics, Azure Playfab and regular Microsoft Azure, and Xbox Live Services
- Xbox may be investigating official emulator support for Xbox
- Xbox may be investigating a Mobile UI for Windows to support Steam Deck like Windows Handheld PCs.
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Trying to discredit them with TOW, made in a short time frame on a shoe string budget
