The latest rumors about Xbox Studios’ plans were shared in the latest Xbox Two podcast hosted by Rand al Thor 19 and Jez Corden. The latter has already proven in the past that it has reliable sources within Microsoft and has shared a lot of information about some of the projects going on at Xbox. With three hours of podcasts to listen to, we bring you a recap!
The latest rumors from Xbox Studios
A lot of information was shared during the show and while we already know a lot of Xbox exclusives are in the works, a few more details have arrived with this podcast. It should be borne in mind that these are rumors until anything is officially confirmed, but that is already enough to wait before future announcements at the end of the year.
The next Compulsion game
We reported last week that the next game from Compulsion Games, creators of We Happy Few, will be a “dark-fantasy” action-adventure game. Without giving further details, Jess Corden confirms that he heard the same thing.
Avid, Outer Realms 2 and Obsidian
Avowed has already been talked about recently with details suggesting that the medieval RPG looks like it will follow in the footsteps of The Elder Scrolls and The Outer Worlds. About 100 people are currently working on Avowed according to Jez Corden, and about 70 are on The Outer Worlds 2. The podcast talks about more than 120 people, but Jez later changed his mind.
Studio Obsidian actually aims to release one game per year for 7 years, or one game per year for the entire current generation of consoles. Therefore, 2022 will be allocated to Grounded and 2023 to Avowed. But another secret game, Josh Sawyer’s, is said to be in development. This will be developed by a small team, somewhat similar to the team that took care of Grounded.
Obviously, the number of developers in each of the games will fluctuate as Avowed’s development slows down and The Outer Worlds 2 picks up pace, and those numbers don’t take into account outside developers.
When it comes to The Outer Worlds 2 more specifically, what he saw in the game clearly looks a lot like the first, but feels a lot more solid. Although it was developed with the same game engine, this sequel could be better controlled from a technical point of view.
As for Avowed, the game appears to be currently in almost pre-alpha state and Jez confirms what we saw in the CGI trailer with the character’s hand casting a spell in real time prior to its release. The expressive game could be released in 2023.
Hellblade 2
When asked about Sony’s combo games, Jez Corden said he’s heard some interesting things about Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. The game hasn’t been shown for long but should be back on top of the game. “One way or another before the end of the year. The trophies game or X021, surprise. Anyway, the game will already be more ambitious than the first.
Lots of games in development on Xbox
Xbox already has a lot of games in development. Whether developed in-house or via a publishing branch that deals in partnerships with third-party studios. But Jez launched two new codenames: The Shaolin Project and The Belfry Project (Belfry in French), not to mention more.
Other information, Xbox is currently working with Swedish studio Mainframe, located in Helsinki. Composed of former folks from CCP Games, Remedy and Next Games, the team aims to “mix the best of AAA, MMO, and mobile games into a social sandbox, playable on any screen. The game will be planned for the cloud.”
Finally, Project Dragon, an Xbox exclusive developed by IO Interactive, will be in development more than ever while Jez still had some doubts last April. Latest information: Xbox should soon announce a partnership with a small independent studio that has already developed games known to Microsoft in the past.
What should we take away from all this? First, let’s keep in mind that this is still a rumor, but the information Jez has shared in the past shows he can be given a lot of credit. The second is that Xbox already has a lot more projects going on, certainly more than ever before in its existence. Fans in the first hour should be pretty much reassured, others are sure to be very fascinated by all that will be announced soon. Xbox wants to reach more than 3 billion players in the world, and it seems to be putting the means there.
