Over the past few years, the Xbox Developer Direct showcase has always taken place at around the same time in mid-late January, and the 2026 version of the event was no exception.
However, with this year marking the 25th anniversary of Xbox, and so many exciting first-party games on the horizon for Microsoft, it's been rumoured that they're "exploring" the possibility of a second Developer Direct for 2026.
This is coming from Windows Central's Jez Corden, who said the following on the Xbox Two Podcast:
"I have heard that they are exploring doing another one this year. Don't be surprised if we do get another Dev Direct this year at some point. Don't know when."
"I heard specifically Dev Direct is [what they're] exploring for this year, but we'll see what happens."
With the likes of Halo: Campaign Evolved, Gears of War: E-Day, Clockwork Revolution and other upcoming Xbox first-party games missing out at January's Developer Direct, we can see why a second version could make sense for later this year. A lot of those games will likely be highlighted at the Xbox Games Showcase in the summer though — the difference being that June's show is rapidly paced, whereas Dev Direct allows each game to breathe.
This rumour should be taken with a pinch of salt for the time being, as clearly Jez isn't 100% on whether it'll happen or not, and the word "exploring" suggests it's not set in stone either way. We're certainly hoping it comes to fruition though, as Developer Direct has become one of our favourite showcase formats for highlighting new Xbox games.