Since 2023, Xbox has been hosting a video game livestream event called the Developer Direct, which has been held once a year every January. While the PlayStation State of Play and Nintendo Direct tend to showcase dozens of trailers, the Xbox Developer Direct has only focused on a small selection of upcoming games, giving each of them their own extensive deep dive. This year’s Developer Direct, which is set to air on January 23, is going to continue that trend. The event will give players an in-depth look at Doom: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, in addition to one other mystery game.
Microsoft revealed in an official Xbox blog post that the 2025 Xbox Developer Direct would take viewers to a “surprise location to see another studio’s brand-new game.” Although the company didn’t share more information about what this mystery title exactly was, the reputable insider Jez Corden alleged in a recent article of his that it was “a new entry in a legendary Japanese franchise with decades of history.” It’s hard to narrow down the identity of the game just from this vague description alone, but there are certain noteworthy titles that could fall under this category.
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What is the Rumored Japanese Game at the Xbox Developer Direct?
Ninja Gaiden 4
One potential candidate for the mysterious fourth game at the Xbox Developer Direct is Ninja Gaiden 4. Now, to those out of the loop, this prediction may sound kind of ridiculous. After all, a new mainline Ninja Gaiden game hasn’t been released in more than a decade, and even though the franchise technically isn’t dead (a 2D spin-off called Ninja Gaiden Ragebound was just announced at The Game Awards), there is no official indication that a fourth numbered entry in the series is being planned. The franchise’s lead developer, the Koei Tecmo-owned Team Ninja, has been busy with other projects lately, and has seemingly not had the time in its schedule to develop a new Ninja Gaiden game.
The thing is, just because Team Ninja isn’t making Ninja Gaiden 4 doesn’t necessarily mean no one else is. There’s a decent possibility that another subsidiary at Koei Tecmo is developing it instead. Recently, Koei Tecmo announced that it was establishing a new AAA studio to increase its game release output. While it isn’t clear what game this studio is working on, a developer at the company recently shared in an interview with 4Gamer.net that it’s supposed to be released sometime in 2025. Since Developer Directs tend to show games that are launching within the next 12 months, it would make a lot of sense for this new Koei Tecmo project to be revealed here, even if it isn’t Ninja Gaiden 4.
Persona 6
Instead of being a Koei Tecmo title, perhaps the Developer Direct’s mystery game is actually Persona 6. The developer of the Persona series, Atlus, has partnered up with Microsoft to reveal some of its major releases on multiple occasions, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if the company were to show up at the Developer Direct to discuss its next big game. Even if Persona 6 isn’t unveiled here, Atlus will have to make some announcements about it sooner or later, considering its current release schedule is quite empty.
Final Fantasy 9 Remake
Last but certainly not least, it’s possible that the long-rumored Final Fantasy 9 remake will finally be announced at Xbox’s upcoming event. While it’s hard to say how close this potential game is to being released, a reveal of it would make a lot of sense here, since it would show Square Enix’s newfound commitment to the Xbox ecosystem, which it has previously ignored. And who knows, given the rumors going around, maybe FF16 and FF7 Remake Xbox ports will be announced alongside the FF9 remake, if it does show up at the Developer Direct.
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