Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Creative Director Discusses the Scene Everyone Can't Wait to See

Spoilers ahead for the original Final Fantasy 7 and potentially Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth!

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth creative director Tetsuya Nomura has opened up about that one scene everyone can't wait to see play out, saying that he was "able to do what I truly wanted to show in this title."

We are obviously talking about one of the most iconic scenes in the history of gaming - the death of Aerith by Sephiroth - and while Nomura wasn't going to reveal how this scene will play out in Rebirth, he did share with Game Informer some thoughts behind the decision in the original game and this new remake.

"Beginning with the original Final Fantasy VII, when we had started working on it, it was already decided from the get-go that 'life' would be the central theme," creative director Tetsuya Nomura says. "I knew that we had to depict life and death within this title.

"Prior to Final Fantasy VII, there have been other titles where characters have experienced tragedy, but many of them have come back or been revived in some ways. But I believe that loss is something that happens unexpectedly, and it's not something so dramatic or drawn out, but is something in which a person that you have just conversed with is suddenly gone and never to come back. I believe that the person who dies should not return in this title, and that is what we did with the original."

For Rebirth, Nomura is very proud of what the team came up and believes "the way we have depicted it brings about a new emoition and a new feeling for both players who have played the original Final Fantasy VII and newcomers." As previously mentioned, Nomura also added that he was "able to do what I truly wanted to show in this title.

While we don't yet know if Aerith will make it to the credits of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, it has been confirmed that this game will end with that fateful encounter at The Forgotten Capital. Along the way, as director Naoki Hamaguichi reveals, "players will see the characters interact and deepen their bonds with each other. That is the focal point."

We don't have too much longer to wait for the answer to this question, as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be released on PS5 on February 29, 2024. To help with the wait, have a look at our hands-on impressions of part two of the FF7 remake trilogy.

For more, be sure to check out seven reasons why Final Fantasy VII Rebirth might let you save Aerith, how the original Final Fantasy VII Remake already started veering into its own extremely meta path, and our documentary - Resurrecting Aerith - about the urban myths surrounding her death and the fans who have spent 25 years trying to rewrite her fate.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

PokéNational Geographic Gives a Taste of What Real-Life Pokemon Might Be Like

As a massive Pokémon fan, I've often daydreamed about what Pokémon would be like if they were real. Films like Detective Pikachu and games like Pokémon GO have offered different flavors of this daydream, but one of my recent favorite imaginings has to be the YouTube series PokéNational Geographic, created by Elious Entertainment.

PokéNational Geographic is a series of short YouTube videos, each featuring a different Pokémon and structured like a National Geographic documentary segment. There are episodes on Mimikyu, Baltoy, Magikarp, Phantump, Sobble, and Magnemite available at the time this is written, all under two minutes each, featuring a close-up look at a realistic-looking Pokémon and some Pokedex-driven facts about its habitat and behavior. There's also a "full episode" published recently that combines several existing segments into one five-minute episode.

My absolute favorite of these so far has to be Mimikyu, but the Magikarp one is pretty good as well just for how thoroughly it roasts the useless fish Pokémon. The series seems pretty experimental so far in terms of format and length, but it has been updating somewhat regularly, so hopefully we get even more of these clips to enjoy in the future.

IGN reached out to Elious Entertainment for comment on how and why these were made, but didn't receive a response.

I personally hope we get lots more of these clips. They remind me a bit of Pokémon Snap (and New Pokémon Snap) in their take on the Pokémon world as a wild one where Pokemon largely go about their business in nature without much concern for humans. I love the idea of someone producing a detailed nature documentary about their wild habits; it's a look at these fantasy creatures that's both familiar and alien at the same time.

For more Pokémon chatter, we recently reviewed the new Indigo Disk DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which we said was "a blast to play alone and with friends, but it’s still held back by all the same technical issues that made Pokémon Scarlet and Violet a disaster."

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Tekken 8 Colorblind Filter Is Causing Vertigo and Migraines for Disabled Players

A recently revealed colorblind filter for Tekken 8 is negatively impacting disabled players with issues like nausea and migraines. While accessibility tools like colorblind options help to differentiate important on-screen information like opponents and their health bars, this setting is preventing some disabled individuals from viewing matches altogether.

X/Twitter user SJS | Gatterall shared a 38-second clip of a brief match with the filter activated, stating, “Why is no one talking about the colorblind accessibility of Tekken 8. Literally no game has done this.”

Why is no one talking about the color blind accessibility of Tekken 8. Literally no game has done this. pic.twitter.com/i8qdUYwpPP

— SJS | Gatterall (@itwhiffed) December 27, 2023

The video showcases a match with the background stylized after an uncolored comic panel. The fighter on the left is defined by vertical black lines that consistently move, and their opponent on the right is defined by horizontal black lines that follow the movement of the player. Currently, the video has over 9 million views.

Members of the disabled community took to the social media platform to voice their concerns. Game Accessibility Lead at EA, Morgan Baker, posted “Please stop tagging me in the Tekken 8 ‘colorblind’ stripe filters. It’s already induced an aura migraine for me, and I can’t afford to get another one right now, or worse. Appreciate y’all.”

Accessibility consultant and advocate Ian Hamilton echoed Baker’s statement, encouraging other X/Twitter users to stop sharing the video to prevent harming others. In a reply to his post, Hamilton discussed the overall problems of colorblind filters, stating “[I]f you have achromatopsia then you're sensitive to brightness and contrast. Filters aren't how to approach colourblindness in general, the other filters have issues too, e.g. the tritanopia one changed everything to green and purple with isn't helpful for tritanopia.”

Other X/Twitter users expressed their concerns, as well. User One-Winged Bard stated “Terrible migraine since I saw that s**t... Can't even sleep because of the pain....” Accessibility and DEI consultant, Tarja
Porkka-Kontturi posted “Striped filter gave me instant vertigo just from a 2-3 second clip that I accidentally saw. It’s hazardous.”

Game Director of the Tekken series, Katsuhiro Harada took to X/Twitter to defend the varying colorblind filters. In an extensive post, he noted his team has received “positive feedback” relating to the accessibility settings, arguing that “A few people, albeit very few, have either misunderstood the accessibility options we are trying, or have only seen the video without actually trying them out in the demo play.” He also noted that he and his team have “never claimed or publicized that these options cover all players' color vision (although it has been talked about by a favorable community as a result).”

For more information on Tekken 8, check out the official story trailer, Yoshimitsu’s official reveal and gameplay trailer, as well as IGN’s final preview of the game ahead of its launch on January 26, 2024 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A demo is currently available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam.

Grant Stoner is a disabled journalist covering accessibility and the disabled perspective in video games. When not writing, he is usually screaming about Pokémon or his cat, Goomba on Twitter.

What to Expect From PlayStation in 2024

Sony had a curious 2023. The PlayStation 5 had blockbuster console exclusives, such as the superb Spider-Man 2 and the flashy Final Fantasy 16. It also saw the release of the PlayStation VR 2, an impressive piece of virtual reality tech but one barely supported by a games library. Long-term PlayStation man and current CEO Jim Ryan also stepped down, with his full-time replacement yet to be named. So, what will 2024 have in store? There are plenty of exciting games to look forward to, as well as a good deal of mystery. Let’s take a look at what we know is coming next year, as well as theorize as best as we can about what surprises might be in store.

The Games We Know Are Coming

Ah, nothing like two dozen hours of emotional turmoil to wash those winter blues away. January may well signal the start of a new year, but Sony is doing its best to make us question exactly what year it is with yet another The Last of Us re-release. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is the PS5 version of the critically acclaimed sequel that comes with graphical improvements, previously cut “lost levels”, and a whole new roguelike mode titled No Return. It’s not necessarily a huge splash to kick the year off with, but there’s set to be enough new stuff in there for The Last of Us fans (like me) to enjoy when it arrives on January 19. (See all PS Plus games annoucned for January 2024).

From remaster to remake/reimagining(?) now with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. The second instalment of Square Enix’s return to Cloud’s adventure is scheduled to land on February 29. Taking us outside the walls of Midgar, Rebirth promises another helping of stellar RPG action that’s set to honour the original’s beloved cast of characters and unique locations, yet tease us with the different turns it may take on the journey.

Just before that, though, is console-exclusive Helldivers 2, which is coming on February 8. A third-person squad-based shooter, cooperation will be key as you look to blast away monstrous alien threats from every corner of the galaxy.

Pacific Drive is set to skid onto our screens on February 22. An atmospheric survival game with a twist, it's a first-person driving game that takes you around an eerie Pacific Northwest as you aim to dodge the metal monsters that lurk in its woods and escape for good.

Rise of the Ronin swiftly follows a bumper February when it launches on March 22. Team Ninja brings its Ninja Gaiden and Nioh action heritage to this stylish sword-slashing RPG that takes place during one of the darkest parts of Japanese history.

Believe it or not, that’s actually all of the PlayStation console exclusives we have release dates locked in for. But that’s not to say there aren’t others coming in 2024. Among them is the eagerly anticipated Silent Hill 2 Remake being developed by Bloober Team. Hopefully, it won’t be too long until we see Pyramid Head and the gang again soon.

Then there’s Stellar Blade, which was meant to have been released in 2023. Seemingly taking cues from the likes of Nier Automata and Bayonetta, this Korean open-world action RPG is set to offer ferociously fast combat in a sci-fi setting.

Concord is a PS5 console exclusive from Sony’s newly acquired Firewalk Studios. Very little is known about this multiplayer shooter apart from a colourful teaser shown off in the summer, but with Bungie pedigree at the studio, it’s one to definitely keep on your radar

Ubisoft’s Foamstars is exclusive to both PS4 and PS5 and looks set to give Sony their very own rival to Splatoon. The team-based bubble-shooter looks set to be a good time, with enough interesting tweaks to make it stand out from its squid-like cousin.

If the colourful chaos of Foamstars looks like too much fun to you, then why not check out the excruciating-looking Baby Steps (I mean this in the best way possible.) From the creative minds behind indie darlings Ape Out and Getting Over It, the physics-based gameplay looks hilariously frustrating as we help one man in a romper suit across a terrain desperate to trip him up at every step.

Of course, there will also be a steady stream of non-exclusive games scheduled to head the PS5’s way in 2024 as well. These include Dragon’s Dogma 2, Star Wars Outlaws, Black Myth Wukong, Tekken 8, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II to name but a few. We certainly won’t be running out of things to play next year.

Hopes and Dreams

After Insomniac brightened our October with the wonderful Spider-Man 2, many of us were hoping that 2024 would give us our first proper look at the studio’s upcoming Wolverine game. Sadly, Logan’s PS5 adventure has already been partially spoiled by an extensive hacking scheme, which also revealed Insomniac’s major Marvel plans for the next decade. It suggests that Wolverine may be further away than we originally thought, but – if plans haven’t been totally destroyed by the theft of so much data – there’s a chance we may see the developer’s next game in its Spider-Verse, reportedly featuring Venom as the protagonist, sometime next year.

But what about the games we aren’t so sure about? Ones that haven’t leaked, or those that don’t have a release date currently penciled in? How about the ones yet to even be revealed by the studios making them. Let’s have some fun, take a look into the crystal ball, and speculate like wild.

We know Death Stranding 2, or just DS2 as it is currently named, is on the way. Will it come out in 2024? Who knows. What we do know is that Hideo Kojima’s attention will be split between the post-apocalyptic sequel and his freshly revealed OD. But seeing as DS2 got a much more developed trailer a year prior to the Xbox exclusive, we can infer that it could be out ahead of it.

However long until DS2, it certainly won’t be as long a wait as fans of the 1994 shooter Marathon have endured. Bungie’s first team-up with Sony since their $3.7 billion acquisition is to revive Marathon’s long-dormant sci-fi gunplay in the form of the currently fashionable PvP extraction shooter. Apart from knowing it’s set in the year 2850 and a glimpse at a beautifully designed trailer hinting at strong art direction, we really don’t know much else. It would be a huge surprise to see it in 2024, but we can dream.

Haven Studios, recently founded by Jade Raymond, announced their first game Fairgame$ in the summer of 2023. A co-operative heist shooter, it’s a PS5 console exclusive that we’d be surprised to see released next year.

Then there’s the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remake, which has suffered a tumultuous couple of years by all accounts. We’d be shocked beyond belief if this emerged next year, if indeed at all if rumours are to be believed, but we can always close our eyes, use the Force, and will it onto our screens. Who knows, it might work.

But what are all of the Sony first-party studios up to? I hear you ask. Well, there’s a long list of mystery projects to dig through in that regard. We don’t necessarily expect any of these developers to release new games in 2024, but we can expect some reveals dotted throughout the year. Let’s take a quick look:

We know that Naughty Dog has now canceled their multiplayer The Last of Us game, meaning something else must be in the pipeline. Will we see a new single-player entry into either TLOU or Uncharted series? Or maybe something completely new?

Sony Santa Monica treated fans to the free God of War Ragnarok Valhalla DLC at the very end of 2023, but what else does it have cooking up?

It’s been over three years since Ghost of Tsushima took us to feudal Japan. Will Sucker Punch return for a sequel or perhaps treat us to something new again?

What have Returnal developer, Housemarque, got up their arcade shooter sleeves next?

What next for Days Gone developer Sony Bend?

Will Bluepoint Games reveal another fantastic remake or surprise us with an original project?

What wonderfully creative place will the recently re-organised Media Molecule take us to?

Will Astro Bot finally be released from his shiny white-walled PS5 prison and be allowed to play with the rest of us? Give that little guy another platformer, please, Team Asobi.

On one hand, it’s frustrating to not know exactly what we’ll be playing for most of 2024, but on the other hand, it’s exciting, and I, for one, can’t wait to find out what adventures these PlayStation Studios and more, have waiting for us next.

Hardware and Tech

With the launch of the PS VR2, a new slimmed-down PS5 model, the PlayStation Portal, the DualSense Edge controller, and the PlayStation Access controller, it was certainly a busy tech-filled 12 months for Sony. That means we wouldn’t be surprised if 2024 was a quieter year when it comes to new hardware. But, that won’t stop us from speculating.

The PlayStation 4 Slim and Pro were released three years after the launch of the original PS4. We’ve just hit that point in the PS5’s lifetime, and have received the equivalent of the former of those redesigned consoles. That means it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to see a PS5 “Pro” pop up sometime next year.

Although we might not have seen the current model pushed to its limits just yet, we all know we watched that GTA 6 trailer and thought to ourselves “Rockstar is going to make my PS5 sound like a jet engine, isn’t it”. (In case you missed it, see 99 Details From the GTA 6 Trailer). With Rockstar’s latest slated for a 2025 release, perhaps a souped-up PlayStation 5 hitting store shelves towards the end of 2024 would make for logical timing.

Apart from that, it’s all pure guesswork. What new tech innovation or fresh piece of hardware would you like to see from Sony? I think a controller with a battery charge that lasts more than an hour or two would be fantastic.

Let us know in the comments what you think, as well as what games you’re most excited about playing on PlayStation in 2024.

Simon Cardy wishes you all a happy new year. Follow him on Twitter at @CardySimon.

TOTK's Master Sword and Hylian Shield: How to Get the Tears of the Kingdom's Best Weapons

There are plenty of unique weapons in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and even more so when you consider all of the combinations of fused weaponry you can make. But, there's one weapon combo to rule them all — the iconic Master Sword and Hylian Shield, a staple for The Legend of Zelda series. And, just like in the previous games, obtaining the Master Sword in TotK requires a bit of legwork before Link can wield it in all its glory.

Note: There are some major story spoilers included in this article. Proceed at your own risk!

How to Get the Hylian Shield in Tears of the Kingdom

The Hylian Shield is the best defensive shield you can obtain in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Thankfully, this one is a bit easier to obtain than the Master Sword. You'll find the Hylian Shield located north of Hyrule Castle, inside the Hyrule Field docks.

Just west of Hyrule Castle, you'll find a small wooden dock where you can set sail using a nearby boat, or by building your own creation. Sail towards the north side of Hyrule Castle until you reach a cave. Once inside the cave, head up the staircase near the back wall. But, beware, you'll need to defeat a cluster of Gloom Hands before you can obtain the Hylian Shield.

After defeating the Gloom Hands, you'll need to light the large brazier in the center of the room. You can toss in a Fire Fruit or Torch, or simply carry the flame from one of the smaller braziers to light the large brazier in the center. Once lit, a chest will appear containing the Hylian Shield.

How to Get the Master Sword in Tears of the Kingdom

In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the Master Sword is located atop the Light Dragon, a new entity that soars through the skies of Hyrule. The Light Dragon follows a static path around Hyrule (see the map below), and can be spotted by looking up towards the sky at any point during your journey.

Link can reach the Light Dragon's location by utilizing one of the many Skyview Towers scattered across Hyrule to reach the sky. Then, simply fall down and land on the Light Dragon and make your way towards its head to reach the Master Sword's location.

But, before you go expecting to get the Master Sword so easily, there is a prerequisite that you'll need to consider. In order to retrieve the Master Sword this time around, you'll need to have two full stamina wheels. This requires finding at least 20 Light of Blessings from any of the Shrines scattered across Hyrule -- which are traded in to a Goddess Statue to expand your Stamina wheel. Once you have the necessary amount of stamina, apporach the Master Sword and press and hold the A button to retrieve it from the Light Dragon's head.

While Link can theoretically retrieve the Master Sword at any point (assuming you have the required stamina), there are other ways to retrieve the Master Sword in Tears of the Kingdom. The most straightforward option is to complete the main quests up until Guidance from Ages Past and Find the Fifth Sage, which will naturally lead you to recover the Master Sword in the main quests Trail of the Master Sword and Recovering the Hero's Sword.

If you're feeling eager enough, you can instead get the Master Sword early in TotK without doing the aforementioned main quests by simply collecting all The Dragon's Tears.

For even more help in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, check out our guide for tracking down the best TotK armor sets, guidance for finding all TotK Shrine locations and solutions, and even how to get to the final boss in TotK early (if you're feeling up to the challenge, of course).

Matthew Adler is a Commerce, Features, Guides, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Steam Reveals Its Best-Selling and Most Played Games of 2023

Steam has revealed its "Best of 2023" list that reveals the best-selling games on the platform alongside which titles were played the most on PC, Steam Deck, VR, Controller, and more.

While Steam doesn't rank the games that were in each category, its "Best of 2023" list does group them into Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze tiers. The top 12 games in each category are placed in Platinum, the next 12 are in gold, the next 26 games are in Silver, and the last 50 are in Bronze. As for how the lists are compiled, Steam has only looked at data from January 1, 2023, through December 15, 2023.

The first category is the Top Sellers by gross revenue, and the Platinum tier includes Apex Legends, Baldur's Gate 3, Starfield, Hogwarts Legacy, Lost Ark, Cyberpunk 2077, Dota 2, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Destiny 2, Counter-Strike 2, Sons of the Forest, and Call of Duty HQ (MW III, MW II, and Warzone).

New Releases in 2023 by gross revenue is next and the Platinum tier incudes Street Fighter 6, Starfield, Cities: Skylines II, Remnant II, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, Payday 3, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, FC 24, Hogwarts Legacy, Sons of the Forest, and Baldur's Gate 3.

Most Played followed and is measured by peak concurrent players. The Platinum Tier consists of games that had over 300,000 peak players and includes Goose Goose Duck, Sons of the Forest, Hogwarts Legacy, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Counter-Strike 2, Baldur's Gate 3, Destiny 2, Apex Legends, Dota 2, Starfield, and Lost Ark.

The top Early Access graduates by gross revenue include Sun Haven, Ready or Not, Baldur's Gate 3, Wartales, Marvel Snap, Everspace 2, My Time at Sandrock, Farlight 84, Against the Storm, Dave the Diver, Demonologist, and Disney Dreamlight Valley.

The top Steam Deck games by daily active players include Elden Ring, Dave the Diver, Hogwarts Legacy, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, Baldur's Gate 3, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Grand Theft Auto V, Half-Life, Starfield, Vampire Survivors, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, and Cyberpunk 2077.

The most played games by daily active controller players include Call of Duty HQ, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, Rocket League, FIFA 23. Hofwarts Legacy, Elden Ring, FC 24, Street Fighter 6, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Starfield, NBA 2K23, and Apex Legends.

Lastly, the top VR-exclusive experiences measure by gross revenue include Boneworks, Blade & Sorcery, Bonelab, Beat Saber, Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2, Gorilla Tag, Half-Life: Alyx, VTOL VR, Pavlov, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR, Into the Radius, and Ghosts of Tabor.

For more, be sure to check out which of these games became winners in IGN's Best of 2023 awards, including Baldur's Gate 3 as best PC game.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

What to Expect from Xbox in 2024

The Xbox Series X and S are no longer new. Year 4 has begun, and thus we are officially into the middle portion of what we expect (courtesy of Microsoft’s lawyers accidentally leaking the company’s own product roadmap) to be an eight-year console generation. So where do we stand? In last year’s version of this piece, I wrote, “2023 is a year of serious promise for Xbox, but it comes with an understandable sense of urgency from Xbox owners.” That urgency remains for 2024, following the mixed reception for Starfield, the most important launch for Xbox since, arguably, Halo 3 in 2007. But there’s even more reason to be optimistic coming out of 2023, as Hi-Fi Rush kicked the year off with a unique and award-nominated rhythm-action game that nobody saw coming; Microsoft survived legal challenges from multiple regulatory agencies and closed its Activision-Blizzard-King acquisition; and Xbox Game Pass continued to win and win. And looking ahead to 2024, that positive momentum looks set to continue and, with any luck, snowball.

Third-Party Exclusive Check-In

Let’s start with what we know for sure, and that begins with a Q1 release window for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, the Xbox-exclusive AAA FPS sequel whose Ukrainian developers have had to heroically contend with Russia’s invasion into their country. It’s the closest thing to a locked-in release date that Xbox has for 2024 as of now, though perhaps that will change soon if Microsoft holds another Xbox Developer Direct in January.

Replaced is another extremely promising third-party Xbox exclusive that’s had development understandably affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as high expectations generated by its impressive showings thus far. The 2.5D cyberpunk-style, pixel-art action-adventure has evoked similarly positive vibes to another Xbox exclusive that’s been in the works for quite some time: The Last Night (which, sadly, still has no release date). Replaced, though, will almost certainly drop straight onto Xbox Game Pass sometime in 2024.

Remember Contraband, the Xbox-exclusive open-world co-op game from Avalanche (the developers of Just Cause) that was announced at the 2021 Xbox Showcase? It hasn’t been seen or heard from since, and probably shouldn’t be counted on for 2024, barring a surprise re-reveal and quick road to launch. The same can be said for the Vin Diesel-led Ark 2. Oh, and while it’s not exclusive, it’s worth noting that Square Enix will ship a highly anticipated RPG in 2024 that hits Xbox the same day as PlayStation: Visions of Mana, the next in the beloved roleplaying series started decades ago by Secret of Mana.

The Games Are Coming from Inside the House!

In terms of Microsoft’s internal owned-and-operated studios, Team Xbox has learned the hard way that buying studios isn’t quite the fast-forward button on getting exclusive games to your platform that it had hoped. Still, that faucet is flowing now, with the Xbox Series X’s first officially announced game, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, finally nearing the finish line and set to release sometime in 2024. It’s powered by Unreal Engine 5, and while it won’t be the first UE5 game to ship on Xbox Series, it could easily end up being the prettiest, most dramatic, and most emotional next-gen showpiece yet.

Avowed is also set to be released in 2024, and Obsidian’s impressive track record suggests it’s going to be quite good. While it isn’t The Elder Scrolls 6 and it isn’t trying to be, it is nevertheless a first-person fantasy RPG from a studio on a serious hot streak. Since Microsoft acquired the Orange County RPG experts, the following bangers have shipped: The Outer Worlds (a multiplatform release under an arrangement made with Take-Two’s Private Division label prior to Microsoft’s acquisition, but the in-development sequel will only ship on Xbox platforms), Pentiment, and Grounded. Avowed is set in Obsidian’s own Pillars of Eternity RPG universe, and it guarantees that Xbox fans will get at least one big exclusive role-playing game in 2024.

Finally, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will follow up the highly acclaimed 2021 entry to once again bring your aviation dreams a bit closer to reality.

Ask Again Later

And while nothing else is confirmed for 2024 as of this writing, a host of exciting possibilities remain. The talented team at MachineGames set Wolfenstein aside to work on an Indiana Jones project, which is being executive-produced by renowned Bethesda game director Todd Howard. It was announced with a vague CGI teaser a full three years ago, and it seems like 2024 will be the year we finally hear more about it. Might it also ship in the coming year? It’s definitely possible, particularly when you take into account the fact that MachineGames’s last full-game project, Wolfenstein: The New Colossus, was released way back in 2017. Fingers crossed we’ll be cracking Indy’s whip sometime in the next 12 months.

Meanwhile, it seems that Bethesda didn’t just make a deal with Disney for one game. Arkane’s Lyon division will be following up 2021’s outstanding Deathloop with Marvel’s Blade, which was just announced at this year’s Game Awards. It’s an unexpected studio-to-license pairing, for sure, and let’s hope it enjoys a better fate than the poor-selling critical darling Marvel’s Midnight Suns from Firaxis.

Fingers crossed we’ll be cracking Indiana Jones’ whip sometime in the next 12 months.

I think we’re unlikely to hear anything from inXile’s steampunk RPG Clockwork Revolution and Compulsion Games’s bayou-based action-adventure South of Midnight, seeing as how both were just announced at Xbox’s 2023 Summer Showcase. Same for Hideo Kojima’s OD project, which was officially revealed at The Game Awards. And while Fable feels like the biggest game in Xbox’s first-party portfolio not named The Elder Scrolls 6, it too still seems like we’re going to have to wait a while to play it.

And then there are three announced Xbox exclusives that have each reportedly suffered significant speed bumps in the course of development: Rare’s Everwild, Undead Labs’ State of Decay 3, and The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics’ Perfect Dark. None are remotely likely to see the light of day in 2024, but perhaps we’ll get a new trailer or gameplay video from at least one of them this year.

More optimistically, we stand a very good chance of at least three major first-party Xbox games getting announced between now and 2025: Gears of War 6, the rumored Doom: Year Zero, and the next game from Psychonauts 2 developer Double Fine. After 2019’s stellar Gears 5 (which has a key story point that needs resolving), The Coalition told us in 2021 that they were moving over to Unreal Engine 5 (unsurprisingly) and that they wouldn’t be making any announcements for quite some time. It’s been three years since then; it’s time for Gears 6 to become official, and I think it’ll happen at the 2024 Xbox Summer Showcase.

The next first-person shooter from id Software, meanwhile (note: while we don’t know a thing about id’s next game, I will print out this article and eat it if it’s anything but an FPS), looks like it might be a Doom prequel, given the leaked Doom: Year Zero title. This is to say nothing of some of the other projects from that apparently old document, such as a remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a third Dishonored game, and more.

As for Double Fine, they earned significant critical acclaim for Psychonauts 2, and given when that game came out – August of 2021 – there’s a reasonable chance that Tim Schafer and the talented team at the San Francisco-based studio tell us what they’ve been up to since.

Hardware and Services in 2024

Here’s a fun reminder: every single game mentioned above will be released on Xbox Game Pass at launch. Microsoft’s game subscription service continues to be an incredible value for gamers, and 2024 should do nothing to change that – particularly if and (more likely) when Activision and Blizzard games start going into Game Pass. Diablo 4 on Game Pass? Likely to happen in 2024. Pre-Modern Warfare 3 (2023) Call of Duty games on Game Pass? Fair chance it happens in 2024. The next major Call of Duty entry, likely called Call of Duty: Black Ops Gulf War if the leaks are accurate, day one on Game Pass next Fall? It’s possible! More certainly, we can expect Sony’s own outstanding baseball sim, MLB The Show 24, to once again hit Xbox Game Pass on day one. So too does Microsoft have a number of other third-party games teed up to debut on the service, such as Flintlock: Siege of Dawn, Persona 3 Reload, 33 Immortals, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and others.

As for the aforementioned Xbox product roadmap leak, if it holds true, we can expect an Xbox Series X refresh in the Fall, codenamed Brooklin. This will include not just a smaller, rounder Series X – one with 2TB of built-in storage but without an optical disc drive, at that – but it will also include a new Xbox controller that includes haptic feedback and a rechargeable battery. A Series S refresh, codenamed Ellewood, may also be on the way, and if so it will launch first in the Summer, followed by the Brooklin in the Fall.

Buckle Up

With a ton of new studios and franchises in the fold courtesy of the Activision-Blizzard acquisition, a steady stream of first- and third-party games firing from the Game Pass cannons, and a ton more big games still further out on the horizon, the future remains brighter than ever for Xbox gamers. This year, though, more of that promising future should start to become the fantastic present. Onward and upward, my friends.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.