Everything that was revealed at the 2025 Xbox Developer Direct, Sam Smith
4 min read
Xbox Developer Direct 2025 brought instances of teasing excitement for the next twelve months for players. Here’s everything revealed in the show.With the whole reveal of the Switch 2 and Xbox games now coming to it, it’s been so easy to forget about everything else happening in the world of games. Luckily, this Xbox Developer Update has offered an exciting look into the future, making it a thrilling time for an Xbox player. We will go through everything that has been revealed below, as well as all the news on games that were showcased in the whole event.
Ninja Gaiden 4
- Release date: Fall 2025
- Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PS5
In 2025, a new Ninja Gaiden lands on Xbox featuring its classic ninja protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa. While other games, like Stellar Blade and difficult hack-and-slash games, have gained popularity over the years, Ninja Gaiden makes a return to show how it should be done.
Amidst decaying ruins of abandoned Tokyo, Yakumo fights enemies and extends acrobatics across walls, dead platforms, and more–with flowing effortless panache.
Team Ninja partnered up with Platinum Games to release yet another hopefully great action game for this entry. The team does its best to maintain the “dark and hardcore” theme that made previous entries so popular.
Bonus: Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is also the release of the Ninja Team and the definitive edition of the Xbox 360 release from back in 2008. This new version has been reworked with Unreal Engine 5 tech on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
South of Midnight
- Release date: April 8, 2025
- Platforms: Xbox Series X/S and PC
According to Compulsion, South of Midnight will be “fantastical and macabre,” in keeping with the tone of their earlier effort, We Happy Few.
South of Midnight is an action-adventure game, in which players will confront “mysterious creatures of the Deep South” while “learning to weave an ancient power to surmount obstacles and unravel your family’s hidden past.”
The gameplay will shed some light on the environment and the main character Hazel. An average young adult, Hazel has been forced into this magical world. With her powers, the world begins to reveal more magical characters such as the Catfish to guide her along her journey as a Weaver.
Since building magic-weaving abilities is unlocked, enemies flash before her eyes, but perhaps the most notable is the uniquely designed boss fights.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Release date: April 24, 2025
- Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PlayStation
It is a turn-based RPG titled Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which wfeaturesa slew of diverse characters on their quest to save the world from a god-like sorceress called a ‘Paintress’.
The game is something between Final Fantasy, The Last of Us, and RPGs like Persona itself. It seems to have a pretty deep and narratively engaging story, equipped with some of the most fantastic voice talents in the industry lending their voice in key roles.
Sandfall Interactive knows that an excellent story is the heart of a great RPG. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 follows the Expeditioners, complex exemplars without being “good or bad”; they strike as “real people with real experiences” in an executed milieu.
The trailer features a thorough rundown on each of the characters, including Gustave, Lune, Sciel, Maelle, and cute recruitable NPC Monoco. It also showcases RPG systems with particular detail. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a turn-based, action-based RPG. Character development is freely done, and the same goes for gameplay. Sandfall promises that “every character has over 20 unique skills, so every one of them should feel different.”
Doom: The Dark Ages
- Release date: May 15, 2025
- Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PlayStation
Doom Slayer is back to see his work through in a decidedly medievalist fashion! Doom: The Dark Ages promises to be a crossover into Id Software’s classic Hexen as the action shifts from strictly sci-fi to a more techno-medieval environment.
This means Doom Slayer trading in his super shotgun for big-ass axes, flails, and claymores, which already sounds pretty delicious.
Id Software worked on introducing a brand new weapon: a Shield Saw that can block, deflect, and deal damage all at the same time. And the fourth feature would be throwing and catching. All this was just the preparation to make you fight the “baddest demons” they had ever made.
Perhaps there’s going to be a proper mecha pilot for you to destroy mega-demons, replete with their own unique skill set, for the hardest bit.
The development team also confirmed that they have introduced a fully tuned multilevel offering allowing players to deepen the experience beyond the tried-and-true formula of “Easy,” “Normal,” and “Hard.”
That’s every game slated for Developer Direct 2025. Briefly, each of the games has been given plenty of time for their developers to elaborate on particular features they wanted to showcase.
