Well, that's a wrap on Xbox Developer Direct 2025, and wasn't that just an awesome showcase again from Team Green? We got a look at four new Xbox titles; three of which received release dates spread over the next few months. Oh, and who can forget about that fifth shadow drop title? Yep, The Ninja Gaiden 2 Black remaster is available right now!

And, to be honest, the biggest takeaway we've got from Dev Direct '25 so far is that, finally, Xbox's games pipeline feels ready to go. From the team's very first January showcase back in 2023, it's always felt like these early-year events were meant to showcase soon-to-launch titles, but the sheer scale of Microsoft's portfolio means that this year, they can afford to release these titles real soon. We never expected Avowed, South of Midnight and DOOM: The Dark Ages to all launch by mid-May, not to mention third-party title Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 coming in April as well.

Of course, as we mentioned up at the top, it was very nice to get another shadow drop during this year's event too. This was something we speculated on prior to the event - there's just something special about a game coming out right as it gets revealed live. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black also feels like something that properly calls back to Xbox's heritage; this series was synonymous with Xbox back in the 2000s and it's back once again!

Can we mention one other thing here as well? We really do like the format of Xbox Developer Direct. The little behind-the-scenes laughs and proper developer conversations just feel like a refreshing change of pace these days. A lot of live gaming conferences have become a bit sterile in the modern era, and we love the personality that's injected into Dev Direct. More of this please, Xbox!

At the end of the day, each game in today's showcase looked fantastic in its own right, and we're super happy to see Microsoft's games pipeline finally warmed up and ready to deliver big titles in quick succession. But, which of today's Dev Direct titles did you like the look of most?

Vote in the poll down below and talk more about your choice in the comments section.

Which Developer Direct '25 Game Was Your Favourite? (549 votes)

  1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 3322%
  2. DOOM: The Dark Ages36%
  3. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black6%
  4. Ninja Gaiden 417%
  5. South Of Midnight20%