Xbox Game Studios: A Right Royal Mess (But Are Things Looking Up?)
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Xbox Game Studios is having a bit of an identity crisis, with layoffs and cancelled projects muddying the waters, but there are still some promising titles in the pipeline, leaving us cautiously optimistic about the future of Xbox.
Alright, mates, let's have a butcher's at what's been going on over at Xbox Game Studios. According to IGN South Africa, 2025 hasn't exactly been a vintage year. Layoffs, cancelled games (RIP, The Initiative), and a general sense of unease hanging in the air? Sounds like someone accidentally spilled a potion of corporate chaos, doesn't it?
But hold on, because amidst all the doom and gloom, there's a glimmer of hope. Apparently, Xbox *has* actually released some decent games this year. We're talking Obsidian's *Avowed*, *South of Midnight* from Compulsion Games, a shiny new *Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered* from Bethesda, and id Software's face-melting *Doom: The Dark Ages*. Not too shabby, eh? And, they're even sharing the love with those PlayStation folks, porting over *Forza Horizon 5* and *Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2*. Fair play, I reckon.
So, what's everyone been up to then? Let's dive in, shall we?
**Arkane Studios:** Remember *Redfall*? Yeah, let’s not dwell. Arkane Austin got the chop, but the Lyon studio is still kicking and screaming, currently working on *Marvel’s Blade*. And get this – it’s third-person! Blimey, a real departure from the usual first-person shenanigans. Sounds like they're injecting their own brand of weirdness into the vampire hunter's world, with the game entering full production at the end of 2024.
**Bethesda Game Studios:** *The Elder Scrolls 6*, anyone? Announced back when dinosaurs roamed the earth (okay, 2018), it was put on the back burner while they wrestled with *Starfield*. But fear not, adventurers! With *Starfield* out in the wild (and its expansion *Shattered Space* following in 2024), Bethesda is supposedly all-in on *TES6*. Word on the street (via Windows Central’s Jez Corden) is that a new *Fallout* game has been greenlit, too. But who's developing it? That's the million-dollar question.
**Blizzard Entertainment:** After binning that mysterious *Odyssey* project, Blizzard's focusing on the big hitters: *Diablo 4*, *Overwatch 2*, and *World of Warcraft*. *Overwatch 2* is still getting updates, with a new support hero named Wuyang slated for Season 18. They've even thrown in a new competitive mode called Stadium, reminiscent of *Valorant*. *Diablo 4* is chugging along with seasonal updates, and *WoW*? Well, they announced *three* expansions at BlizzCon 2023. Three! That’s the *Worldsoul Saga*, kicking off with *The War Within*, released in August 2024. Plus, they're still keeping *WoW Classic* alive, currently on *Cataclysm Classic*.
**Compulsion Games:** Those quirky Canucks, Compulsion Games, released *South of Midnight* back in April 2025. A Southern Gothic adventure with a young mystic weaving her way through mythical creatures? Sounds right up my alley. No word on what they're brewing up next, though.
**The Coalition:** Gears heads, rejoice! *Gears of War: Reloaded* (a 4K remaster of the original) dropped in August 2025 on Xbox Series X/S, PC, *and* PS5. But the real excitement? *Gears of War: E-Day*, a prequel set 14 years before the original. Prepare for some Emergence Day mayhem sometime in 2026.
**Double Fine Productions:** After the mind-bending *Psychonauts 2*, Double Fine is back with *Keeper*, a puzzle adventure game about a lighthouse and a seabird. Described as a "story told without words", released in October 2025 with art direction from Lee Petty.
**Halo Studios:** Formerly 343 Industries, Halo Studios is currently working on multiple new Halo projects, including an unannounced game made in Unreal Engine 5 . Despite working on perhaps the most significant Xbox series of all, Endgadget reported that Halo Studios was impacted by the company-wide layoffs at Microsoft and that, behind the scenes, there are tensions over the direction of the studio.
**Id Software:** *Doom: The Dark Ages* is already tearing up the charts. This heavy metal, dark fantasy prequel dials down the speed but cranks up the brutality. A flail, a shield, and a bone-powered Pulverizer? Bloody brilliant! No word on their next project, but after that release, I'm not expecting it soon.
**Infinity Ward:** Part of the COD machine. Last one they led was 2022's Modern Warfare 2, assisting on the following titles.
**Inxile Entertainment:** After all this time, Inxile are finally about to release *Clockwork Revolution* under the Xbox banner. A steampunk RPG with time manipulation? It's their biggest game yet, apparently. No firm release date, though.
**King:** Still crushing it with *Candy Crush*, despite some layoffs. Most recently releasing Candy Crush Solitaire in 2025.
**MachineGames:** Fresh off the fantastic *Indiana Jones and the Great Circle*, they're following it up with *The Order of Giants* DLC in September 2025. Nazis beware!
**Mojang Studios:** The *Minecraft* mothership continues to churn out updates, and the live-action *Minecraft* movie is cleaning up at the box office.
**Ninja Theory:** After wrapping up Senua's story, they might be diving into *Project: Mara*, a horror game exploring "mental terror." They're also reportedly working on another secret project.
**Obsidian Entertainment:** Obsidian's got a busy year ahead of it. *Avowed* is out, *Grounded 2* hits Early Access soon, and *The Outer Worlds 2* is coming this October. Phew!
**Playground Games:** Best known for Forza Horizon, they're still plugging away at the Fable reboot. Delayed to 2026, sadly, so we'll have to wait a bit longer for our dose of Albion.
**Rare:** Ouch. Rare got hit hard by the layoffs, and *Everwild* has been cancelled. Looks like they're sticking with Sea of Thieves for now.
**Raven Software:** Co-developing *Call of Duty: Black Ops 7* with Treyarch, after their well-received work on *Black Ops 6*.
**Sledgehammer Games:** Lost a chunk of staff in 2024, making their future COD involvement uncertain.
**Treyarch:** Partnering with Raven on *Black Ops 7*, continuing their long-running COD legacy.
**Turn 10 Studios:** Oof. Reportedly gutted by layoffs, with the Forza Motorsport series potentially being put out to pasture.
**Undead Labs:** *State of Decay 3* is still MIA, plagued by behind-the-scenes issues.
**World's Edge:** Continuing to remaster Age of Empires games, with AoE2 receiving expansion packs and releasing the remaster of Age of Mythology.
**ZeniMax Online Studios:** *The Elder Scrolls Online* is still going strong, but an unannounced sci-fi MMO called *Project Blackbird* was canned. Sad times.
So, there you have it. Xbox's first-party lineup is a bit of a rollercoaster right now. Layoffs and cancellations are never good, but there are still some interesting games on the horizon. Whether they can pull it all together remains to be seen, but I'm cautiously optimistic. After all, who doesn't love a good comeback story?
Tags: Xbox, Game Development, Gaming Industry, Layoffs, First-Party Games
Original article: IGN South Africa