Poll: How Would You Grade 2026's Xbox Developer Direct?

Fable alone makes it an A for me, amazing stuff.

8/10.

10/10 for fable and FH

But the multiplayer one I had no interest in.

Curious to see how the gamefreak one actually releases.

I enjoy the format, it works well, even for games I’m not as interested in.

It was only Forza and Fable that I was interested in but the presentation style is great, probably a B for me

A from me. Fable looks unbelievable and going in knowing nothing about Beast of Reincarnation I’m now very interested.

I thought it was pretty good. Looking forward to FH6 and Fable.

Fable looks so so good. Show otherwise wasn’t too memorable but the main event was worth the wait. Fable and GTA 6 should make for a crazy fun holiday season this year

Most of the games arent for me personally. Fable, on the other hand, is exactly the type of game I like.

The presentation overall, like the directs before it, was very entertaining. The format just works, and im glad it hasnt changed much over the years.

I was a little bummed there was no shadow drop though, as the previous January Directs have given us. Probably for the best though, my backlog still needs some working through.

C for me. Fable was the only game of any interest and they didn't really show very much of it and what they did show looked a bit off. I'm willing to keep an open mind but they need to show more to get me properly interested in it

Just Fable for me I'm afraid. Play on Xbox via Games Pass & probably buy a copy for my PS5 if progress transfers.

FH6 by itself made it an A. Kiln part was WAY too long and the other 2 just didn't do anything for me. Can't wait for May!!

Loved FH 6 and Fable. Happy to hear that Beasts of Incarnation is going to be on GamePass. Kiln could be fun but they spent way too much time in it. And that’s the only reason I dropped it to a B. Otherwise fantastic stuff!

"A" without a doubt, Fable and Forza Horizon 6 are amazing.

Solid A for me!

I'd grade it an A as I love the format and the way they show off the games. Not really interested in Kiln though.

Thanks to everyone in the live chat for the banter, was good fun!

Gave it a B was a really good show.
Also I know we sort of knew it, but really showed Xbox is a publisher now.

This one was an easy A.
Really glad I'll be able to self-insert in Fable. Minus the self.

The best developer direct so far. I was hoping for a secret 5th reveal to be a Crackdown remaster /4, or Halo/Gears Tactics 2.
I know these only exist in my mind.
Plus I know that these games are going to PS5 but I d like a 3 month exclusivity to XBOX. They might actually sell some consoles.

The Format itself is great, but Fable was the only game I was really interested in seeing and actually exceeded expectations - considering the IP's history and the fact its being made by a different development team.

Forza Horizon 6 did look good, but also didn't surprise. It seems like a typical sequel with typical game-play loop just in a new/different setting. I don't feel like I needed to watch this to know what the game would be, what it would offer etc. Of course that's not necessarily a 'bad' thing when Horizon is arguably the 'best' racing games series on the market right now but I had hoped they had surprised me with 'something' that freshened up the Game-play loop.

The other two games I have zero interest inn and won't even bother trying for 'Free' on Game Pass. If it wasn't for Playground Games, then this would have been a complete wast of my time, but I gave it a 'C' on the strength of Fable alone as FH6 was pretyy much predictable (but that isn't 'bad' in this case)

I found last year's developer direct to showcase games I was more excited to play than this one. There's a good chance I'll play all 4 games, I'm just not super psyched for any of them.

....but I love the presentation style.

Strong B. The main downside is the lack of release dates. Game wise everything looked cool. Horizon 6 is gonna be the monster hit without question. Thought beast of reincarnation looked really cook. Kiln seems like a fun side project. Fable seems like it’s finally the big AAA game that Xbox and in particular Xbox game studios should be putting out more often. Love seeing Fable come to ps5 day and date, would be ideal for horizon 6 as well but it’s not.

B.

Love the format, but I have no interest in Beast or Kiln. No "one more thing" or shadow drops was a bummer. But Fable and FH6 show a lot of promise. Would have loved to see a Gears update.

@Nic-Noc20th-C This is the first developer direct to only have four games, all the other ones had five games. Even last year, there was Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. It wasn't given it's own full section, like the other games, but it was at least shadow dropped.

B - only because Fable did not have a release date, and I worry it will slip into 2027 like Avowed did (2024 to 2025).

Only 4 games? This could have been an email.

@anxiouz These shows are always meant to be deeper dives on three or four games. They are not just to show a stream of trailers. Personally love the format that gives us a chance to see more and hear directly from the devs.

If you expect a bunch of trailers, don’t watch the Developer’s Direct.

@OldGamer999 MS has been a Publisher for a while now and it’s great to see. Games should be in more places to play and the money trail shows it works. Sony won’t sit back for the next 10-15 years and not look to more places to support. In fact they have said PC is more and more important to them. As it should be PC gaming is leading the way in software sales for most 3rd party games. Hell Divers 2 without PC would have been a mid selling game. PC carried that title. MS and other companies has given up on one platform games and while Nintendo kind of can’t do that if they want to stay in Hardware Sony can. Sony bringing its games to other platforms will not stop people from walking into a store and buying a PS console. The same way MS games going to PS won’t stop me from buying an Xbox.

This Show was all about Fable for me, i love the first 2 on 360 and while the 3rd was just ok, i played it and beat it to finish the Trilogy. But Playground games is a top tier dev team. I knew they would deliver with Fable but i still wanted to see what they were cooking and it looks stunning. I don’t buy many single player games at full price. No need to really. But this one is day one for me. I thought the open world and graphics were amazing and dare i say the first open world I’ve been super excited to explore since RDR2. That would be a lot to live up to but i am expecting Fable to wow me in many ways.

@HonestHick
I agree if Sony put some of their games on Xbox consoles say Uncharted 4 it would not make may difference to PS5 console sales at all. Maybe even new games day one or 6 months to a year later.
Nothing will stop the PS5 console selling machine now really.

I put this on Push Square a month ago, anyone think I had declared world war 3 over there.
They really don’t want Sony games on another console, even Xbox which is no threat to PS5 sales and puts games on PS5.

@OldGamer999 the only reason they don’t want those games on other consoles is so they can pretend to belong to someting only they and other PS players can enjoy. Thats not a gamer. Remember back in the day when us gamers used to go to the Arcade and put tokens in to play? Imagine a kid walking up to the machine and asking to join the game and you said NO. Thats not a good feeling and this comes off to me as a little bit of that and they would lose all their internet babble and banter to haggle other gamers. Thats it, thats the only reason they don’t want that. Cause otherwise they pretend to care so much for Sony’s bottom line and PS success. But not if it comes at their expense of being jerks online to other gamers on other platforms. Sorry but i don’t support that and while Nintendo is Nintendo they are going to be in a pinch this generation if RAM prices push the Switch 2 out of little Jimmies and Kimmies parents price range. Hard to sell Switch software sales numbers when no one can afford Switch 2. Owning physical hardware in the future is looking to be very expensive and that could change a lot of where we see games at in the future. I appreciate you a lot and you know that. I know you speak your mind on here and other sites. Nothing you are saying is coming from a place to take away from gamers or the platforms. Heck you own them all like me. But be very careful trying to get the PS kids to share their snacks. They don’t play nice. HAHAHA

The Xbox showcases/events now feels like a third party dev show, so it’s completely lost the charm it used to have.
As a result, the score I’d give it is pretty low now, sadly… even though I still can’t wait to play Fable… on Xbox… sigh

Beast of reincarnation was my top pick, really looking forward to seeing more and getting my hands on it. No doubt I’ll be getting FH6 and Fable too though!

@HonestHick
It’s definitely got worse on the other side since Xbox have put games on PS5, like the superior race type thing.

Don’t get me wrong I get some stick on here, but it is more a well thought out response and gamer lead than crash bang wallop response.

The other day I was trying explain the Sony TV thing and the TCL sort of buyout, I gave up as I got crazy responses and I was even praising current Sony Tvs and that I was concerned about the future quality of Sony TVs.

I only wanted Beast of Reincarnation so a C from me.

@OldGamer999 i was on that thread for a min and posted and left. You have high end Sony TV’s, I worked part time for years at Best Buy and sold high end TV’s, most of them were saying things that were so not true, i just avoided it due to lack of time and effort needed. Sony is not in great shape outside of PS. There TV business has been sliding down for 20 years. They went more high end premium but only for Cinema and not as much games. LG went hard on a gamer Tv and less on Cinema. But the Price Sony wanted for those TV’s was always off the mark, either there was a model in another brand better and cheaper or the model that the Sony was better it wasn’t leaps and bounds but the price was. Sad to see them need a partnership but it’s not surprising. If PS ever lost 15-20% of their revenue Sony would be overall in bad bad shape from a consumer electronics side.

Only interested in fable and Forza. The quality of these 2 alone made me put A. Can’t wait for these

B for me. I guess that’s mostly because I knew what to expect. Fable is a strong game and it’ll be difficult to screw that up especially with everything they’ve been putting in. Forza will be great, they returned some older features like car meets plus doing the proper thing like looking into the culture of the area, without guessing. Playground has done great work over the years and I believe these two games can be game of the year for two categories. As from memory, I don’t think a company has done that, two games at once, both winning. We’ll just have to wait and see. Beast has been on my radar so nothing “new” in my eyes that I didn’t already know. Kiln can be a secret gem, games like this remind me of games like Party Animals(I think it’s called), Human Fall Flat, Among Us. These games were being passed over initially, until content creators got ahold of them, then popularity exploded. Kiln could be another one.
I guess because I knew what to expect, I was disappointed in the secret drop. I knew that was mentioned but I had hoped for a different game or maybe a 5th. The game in question was State of Decay 3. I had really hoped for that, but because of everything else being expected and no SoD 3, I give the showcase a B.

Gave it an A. They delivered exactly what they says they were going to and fable looks 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

@HonestHick to be fair you get this with so many aspects of gaming. You are right that the only reason they don't want ps games on Xbox is to feel a sense of superiority in their chosen console, same was true vice versa when Xbox had more exclusives in their ecosystem.
You can extend this way of thinking to difficulty options in games, people who push back are preserving their feelings of superiority knowing full well having options doesn't really affect them.
All hobbies have fans and people often forget that is short for fanatic which are rarely a good thing.
Having said all that, I gave the showcase a B with Kiln dropping it down from an A for me.

B grade for me. Close to an A. Would be an A if they gave a "firm" release date on everthign imo. Exciting year for the Box of X.

@Llamageddon Very well said. I completely agree. Lots of change is coming to the gaming industry which is always been the case. It always evolves and changes. I am happy to see more people get to play and enjoy. But i don’t like the PS5 controller enough to play anything more than a few exclusive Sony titles on PS5. I have never cared for Sony controllers since the PS1 days, but with PS1 and PS2 i had to use those controllers cause i didn’t have much choice were the software was at. Now with games being on every platform i can simply play were my left thumb don’t feel awful after 30 mins. I have nothing against PS consoles the same way i have nothing against Xbox’s. I like gaming. But having choice is nice and so is off set thumbs sticks for me. Now if Apple made a great console i might fanboy a little HAHA, i love Apple products since the OG pod. Again well said and written reply. I think we would talk industry talk well together new friend!!!

@HonestHick many thanks and I agree we seem to have similar gaming sensibilities. As for playstation/Xbox controllers we're the same yet opposite, I could never get on with offset analogue sticks but have always respected the 'to each their own' mentality because at the end of the day we all enjoy the same hobby.
Happy gaming to you good sir for 2026, it's looking to be another great year.

@Llamageddon 2026 is looking to be a great software year. Now if we can just get the RAM prices down and away from AI data centers so hardware don’t keep going up that would be nice. Games wise it seems like a loaded year. Yeah some people don’t like one or the other layout, some don’t care and use both. But i love that we have choices. Enjoy what you are playing and give me a shout anytime!!

@Fiendish-Beaver I read enough of your comments to know that you are an exception to my commentary, it was not meant to offend. I'll admit the language I chose was somewhat vitriolic
I'm sure you're aware that there is plenty of toxicity in our shared past time and there are those who need their choice of ecosystem validated.
I agree that competition is important in gaming as it is in any industry from a consumer perspective, I'm hoping the steam box might give a shot in the arm to both PS and Xbox.
Personally I am keeping my options open on where to place my money on the next Gen. I am assuming there will be an extensive cross-gen period so I am confident I can make an informed decision without missing out much in the way of software exclusives. I think gaming is at a very intriguing juncture and I hope its for the best. Time will tell, I guess.

@Fiendish-Beaver i will tell you what i tell them on the other site when.i hear all Xbox games are on PS why need a Xbox? The same reason when MS makes a PC/Xbox hybrid why would i need a PS? All to most of PS5 games are on Steam. The more PC grows and takes over 3rd party sales from console i think that is the bigger concern moving forward alongside growing console prices.

MS and Phil has made the statement they know Xbox has a lot of gamers that like the console and they are for sure making not 1 but 2 new hardware devices. We know that means Console and handheld but wait there’s more. With PC Xbox’s now OEM can step in and make even more Xbox’s. So all of a sudden there is more hardware coming from MS and it’s partners then ever in the history of Xbox. So i am not worried about hardware going away. What i have always said is MS and Sony will stop making consoles the day that the majority of players are playing and happy with cloud. Thats still some time away, but not as far as many think. Then us 25-35 million hardcore gamers will play on PC. Thats the future, not saying i fully love it and not saying consoles will be completely gone but PS7 if a thing will look more like this next Xbox coming up then PS5 and PS6. Cause that is the storefronts and ecosystems younger kids are going too.

MS knows they aren’t going to outsell PS worldwide and they don’t need to, they need their studios making money and profits. While letting other devs worry about how they make money. But those other devs are playing attention and we are selling a platform with around 35 million users getting games that once weren’t on the platform, Final fantasy, Hell divers 2, Death stranding and more to come. That tells me devs know every million or two of sales matter and thus the Xbox is more alive than many think it is. Money is coming in and we all know MS don’t close things that make money and yes even tho less sales than we’d all like to see for Series consoles that is the main driver of money for MS gaming. Look at Battlefield 6, in the first 10 days it sold 1.5 on PS5, 1.2 on Xbox and thats with 2.5x less units and then 3.3 on steam. Those show that Xbox users do buy games and devs will be there. I think with all this said if you still like Xbox and its ecosystem you have nothing to worry about for a long time. As cloud won’t fully replace the box and carry over your library anytime soon.

@Fiendish-Beaver i see and understand your point. But Xbox is still making money. .they have plans to make their Hardware profitable. They have deals with OEM hardware makers in place it’s been rumored. They likely shift into their Laptop business. Surface don’t sell like HP, Dell and Asus. But MS still makes a premium first party offering. Seems that is the direction of this PC/Console Xbox. Time will tell. To your point of just buy a PS. That’s fine, players can do that. It won’t hurt MS in software sales and they will still sell consoles to players that want their ecosystem even tho we agree that number is smaller and smaller each gen. I’m stuck, i can’t switch to PS only cause that controller hurts my left thumb in 30 mins or even less. For me it’s an awful experience, take Steam for an example they make lots of money on software and sell hardware that doesn’t even sell Xbox numbers and they are coming out with more hardware. MS will do the same cause it’s another storefront competing with Steam and others. While MS will make money on every hardware device there is by selling it’s games. As of now that is all i can go off of. They are to far along to not release the next Xbox. Rumors even point to it being shown off at this yeats big anniversary show. Once they do that it’s coming. But i get your points and i know 100% you don’t want Xbox to leave the console space. But all i can say is for the next 10 years i don’t have any reason to think they will. By then is it cloud and PC? Maybe. But maybe they release another PC/Xbox console. Hard to look out that far and say.

@Fiendish-Beaver i think the reason it’s quiet is it simply just isn’t time right now. They need to get these big games out. Enjoy some console sales success with GTA 6. Cause that will move some Xbox’s. Celebrate thier anniversary show etc etc. no sense in showing it to early. Now they have talked about it which i enjoy. There are many sites showing it raw commute power from what they are building and working with AMD on. So this is normal next gen leak stuff. Now if it were 2027 and we didn’t hear and see more I’d be a little more confused. But i do think we see it in a year or two pending the RAM issues. Not only in price but just inventory. It’s all gone at the moment. I want to just say cause we are old enough to remember OG Xbox. Let me just remind you of someting and see if it helps at all. It does and doesn’t for me. But it’s true and you know i like to keep it Honest. HAHA

Back when OG Xbox came out PS2 was selling like crazy. And what did fans and industry people and not what say? Xbox is dead, MS failed, Xbox is over. Then 360 came and it got quiet and lots and i mean here in America LOTS of PS fans went Xbox. Then Xbox one and we know the PS Xbox guys went back to PS and what started back up? Xbox is dead, Xbox is over. Then the Series consoles came out and it’s the same thing Xbox is dead. These people have been saying Xbox is dead my friend for 25 years. Minus the 360 and here we are in a few years time away from a Xbox that has windows and can play everything. I know MS steps on rakes from time to time. I get it. But they haven’t done the one thing i am sure some inside MS are upset by and thats leave the hardware business in mobile. Cause once you leave hardware like they did with phones you can’t get back in. I know the phones weren’t selling well. It would have taken a bold move for them to gain some users. But once you leave it’s over over. I don’t think internally they want to do that with gaming. Wait it out until all the younger gamers are ready for cloud.

One more thing and i tell you all the die, you aren’t dying anytime soon, I’ll pray for it. You are a good friend of mine on here. Always have been. Even when we disagree we are bouncing different views and ideas to one another. But while you are here you deserve to game and be happy with whatever tech you choose going forward. You have supported Xbox from the beginning like me. If going forward you choose not to. I wouldn’t blame you. I’d be happy you are here and healthy enough to game and still enjoy its offering. You ain’t going no where and either is Xbox hardware and im sticking to it. HAHA

@Fiendish-Beaver Brother I CAN NOT WAIT for E-DAY!

Same i got a PS4 and PS5 and i play it maybe 4-5 times a year when a exclusive comes out and to your point i know it’s not good vaule i just like to own tech. I do play my Switch 2 more than i thought i would. I am playing RDR on it now and Mario Galaxy. I like the feel and size of the 2 over the OG switch. Think that helps. But yep, Xbox day one whenever it comes out and it will be my main as well brother. Enjoy all the games you can cause when E-Day hits that will take up a lot of your time.