Fable 4 & other upcoming multi-plat hits to be shown at Xbox Direct in 2 weeks

Xbox consoles have had a rough time of it these past few years, but the Xbox brand itself has become the largest third-party game publisher in the industry and owns several major series under its umbrella, including Doom and The Elder Scrolls—so even if you aren't an Xbox console player, news of the upcoming Xbox Developer Direct should catch your eye.

At time of writing, three major games from two big developers are confirmed to be showcased at Xbox Developer Direct: the long-awaited fourth mainline Fable game and Forza Horizon 6 from Playground Games, and Beast of Reincarnation from Pokemon developers Game Freak. That's right—Xbox is showing off the latest and greatest new property from the devs of Nintendo's cash cow Pokemon franchise, and the title looks much more high-budget and technically-ambitious than recent Pokemon releases.

Xbox's place in the industry does raise some questions and room for speculation about this upcoming Developer Direct, though. We know for sure that the three games listed above will be featured, but there is reason to believe that other games under the Xbox umbrella may be featured during the Direct on January 22nd at 10 AM Pacific Time, too. During The Game Awards 2025, eagle-eyed viewers noticed a subtle tease for Gears of War: E-Day during an Xbox Game Pass promotional video, and that game is still confirmed for a 2026 release date.

In a December 2025 interview with Variety, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty also promised that "we've got a lot of stuff that we're shipping next year. In fact, usually Dev Direct is about highlighting what's coming up for the year ahead. This year, we've got more stuff coming up than we can fit in one show." While the three games confirmed to be highlighted are indeed major releases, these comments hint that we could see a lot more than just these titles during the show.

On a personal note, I'm hoping for news on the Ninja Gaiden 4 DLC. The Two Masters. Ninja Gaiden 4 is published by Xbox Game Studios and co-developed by series veterans Team Ninja and genre veterans Platinum Games, and in my humble opinion it's quite good despite niche status—and Two Masters is slated to drastically expand the depth of its two playable characters, Ryu Hayabusa and Yakumo. News on other Two Masters content or release date is sadly quiet, though, so hopefully the Xbox Developer Direct is used as an opportunity by the various Xbox-owned or Xbox-partnered developers to show off what's coming next.