Since 2023,Xboxhas 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, theXboxDeveloper 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 atDoom: The Dark Ages,South of Midnight, andClair Obscur: Expedition 33, in addition to one other mystery game.
Microsoft revealedin an official Xbox blog postthat 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 allegedin 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.
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 isNinja Gaiden 4. Now, to those out of the loop, this prediction may sound kind of ridiculous. After all, a new mainlineNinja Gaidengame hasn’t been released in more than a decade, and even though the franchise technically isn’t dead (a 2D spin-off calledNinja Gaiden Rageboundwas 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 newNinja Gaidengame.
The thing is, just because Team Ninja isn’t makingNinja Gaiden 4doesn’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. SinceDeveloper Directs tend to show gamesthat 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’tNinja Gaiden 4.
Persona 6
Instead of being a Koei Tecmo title, perhaps the Developer Direct’s mystery game is actuallyPersona 6. The developer of thePersonaseries, 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 ifPersona 6isn’t unveiled here,Atlus will have to make some announcementsabout it sooner or later, considering its current release schedule is quite empty.
Final Fantasy 9 Remake
Last but certainly not least, it’s possible thatthe long-rumoredFinal Fantasy 9remakewill 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, maybeFF16andFF7 RemakeXboxports will be announced alongside theFF9remake, if it does show up at the Developer Direct.
Xbox Series X
Microsoft’s ninth-generation console, the Xbox Series X is a powerful machine that can support 4K resolution and 60 fps, depending on the game. Released alongside the Xbox Series S, the Series X has a Custom AMD Zen 2 CPU, a Custom RDNA 2 GPU, and 16 GB of RAM.
