The rumours during the transition between years talked of a Microsoft presentation that would show off some of the games releasing soon from both Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks. When it was announced last week, it was said that the Developer_Direct would showcase four games, with exactly what would be shown for each, by the developers who created them.

Well, it has now finished, and as an event, it was worth watching. Not at all like the E3 showcases of the past where talk and gameplay (sorry, cinematics) were separate, these sections featured plenty of gameplay while the developers talked about their intent with the games. It’s something that I would watch more of, and I hope Microsoft have more of them planned.

Redfall and The Elder Scrolls Online have little to interest me, but with this Developer_Direct, I was at least invested in seeing what each had to show. The enthusiasm of the devs in talking of their game, combined with showing exactly how the games were playing, reeled me in. Of course, Redfall had more to it than Elder Scrolls Online, since the latter has its own event to talk of that newest expansion in detail.

It wasn’t at all wasted time, since showing what this huge online game has to offer is critical in getting people interested in the new stuff coming to it. Having announced the new class and location, it was hype time for the game overall. As well as opening up all previous expansions for everyone to play through for a limited time. As for Redfall, it looks incredibly atmospheric and detailed. There’s a lot being put into this one to make the action flow well with a playstyle for everyone.

What came as a surprise for this Developer_Direct was a new announcement by Tango Gameworks. A game so different from their usual output they even made a joke about in the trailer for the game (seriously). That game is comic-book styled rhythm-action Hi-Fi Rush. Fight to the beat to string powerful combos together, and bring down the corporation that has forced the world to be timed to music.

Yes, the premise really is that musically themed, as great care has been made to time everything – even actions within cutscenes – to the rock-focused tracks. It looks fun to play and master that beat-based combat, which is just as well. Along with being a surprise appearance at the event, it also got a surprise release of right now! Yup, players can get right to the action having seen it be showcased. Don’t want to let the hype of the music die down, after all.

For Forza Motorsport, there isn’t a date yet. Though there is a Forza Monthly event coming up soon, which is mostly likely the place a date is being saved for. Ah, who am I kidding? This is likely a July release with a last hype push at whatever event Microsoft do near E3. As for the game, there’s a lot of improvements that the devs focused on. Graphically, it looks stunning, and the audio is said to be just as good.

Both are ever-changing, with the over 500 cars at launch all being crafted with a revamped environment system that will accurately deform and dirty the vehicle based on what happens to it during races. With 20 locations to start with, each also dynamically changing based on weather and time, there will be a lot to marvel at when it arrives. This does seem to be the one and only Motorsport we’ll be getting for this generation, so it’s just as well it is looking so good. Hopefully new content will be continuous across these next few years.

And lastly, Minecraft Legends. A new spin-off of the ever-evolving block-based world, Legends brings real-time strategy gameplay across a campaign and a PvP mode. The latter was the focus for this event, but it still showed off a number of things that come in useful for the campaign. Such as the UI and how easy it will be to build defences for your base. And upgrade it.

The devs talked of strategies that they had employed during PvP matches, which highlighted the wealth of options able to use throughout. Each world is procedurally generated, which is also true for those of the campaign, giving each play a unique twist as players explore for the resources they need to defend against other players or the Piglins. Dated for 18/April, this one is sure to be a lot of fun.

As I say, this Developer_Direct was a great one. It kept me invested through the combination of the enthusiasm on display and the gameplay to back that up. I would love to see more of these in the future, showcasing the various other games that Microsoft have been cooking up. Games such as Fable, Everwild, and Avowed.

The one other game we know is set for this year is Starfield, a game that was purposefully excluded from this Developer_Direct. Since it is a major new IP, there’s likely to be some form of event focused exclusively on it to detail a lot about it in the future. That event, assuming I can, will also be something I watch live. As that is a game I am very interested in seeing more of.

Images Taken From:
Developer_Direct, presented by Xbox & Bethesda | Xbox