January's Xbox Developer Direct Shortlist Has Us Excited, Let Them Cook

An Xbox Developer Direct is dropping later this month, hopefully bringing some new announcements in addition to updates on upcoming games we haven’t heard from in a while.

At the time of writing there are plenty of Xbox games scheduled for launch across 2026, with one I’m personally excited for being Halo: Campaign Evolved. I enjoyed my preview session a lot but it felt a little too similar to the original for my liking, I want to see the new weapons, vehicles and other bits and pieces that are being added to spice up the remake.

There are several games coming to Xbox that haven’t even been mentioned for quite a while though, but gamers are expecting that to change by the end of the month.

Xbox user strikkeeerrr posted their expectations on Reddit, believing Marvel’s Blade, Fable, Hideo Kojima’s OD and even The Elder Scrolls VI to all headline the showcase.

The Elder Scrolls VI would of course be the big one here, as it was announced all the way back in 2018 and we haven’t heard a peep out of it since. Bethesda’s Todd Howard has even teased that the game could be shadow dropped much like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered.

Bethesda

Other Xbox fans are expecting another look at Gears of War: E-Day, Forza Horizon 6 and the rumoured second expansion for Starfield, all of which feel like safe guesses.

I’ll be tuning into the showcase myself and like others I also have some big expectations.

Aside from the above I’m also hoping Bethesda announces a remaster for one of the Fallout games.

Fallout season two is currently underway and while it hasn’t been as well-received as the previous season it’s still performing quite well, and I’ll be surprised if both Xbox and Bethesda don’t try to capitalise on that.

While I’d love a remaster of Fallout: New Vegas I think we’ve probably got a better chance of Fallout 3: Remastered, as it was said to be in development all the way back during the Xbox V FTC trial, which also name-dropped the Oblivion remaster which turned out to be true.

The Xbox Developer Direct will premiere later this month on 26 January, and will hopefully give us a better idea of what’s to come from the gaming giant this year, in addition to a few possible announcements for 2027 and beyond. Fingers crossed it’s a good one.