There’s now more reason to get excited for Xbox’s Developer Direct.
It’s a little over a week before we get Microsoft’s first big presentation for January 23, 2025. Just yesterday, we reported on a rumor from Jez Corden that Microsoft has a secret fourth game for the Xbox Developer Direct, that is a part of a legendary Japanese franchise.
It would be natural to speculate if the game that Corden is referring to could be a Final Fantasy game. Since Square Enix pivoted to a new multiplatform approach to their games, they brought Final Fantasy XIV to Xbox Series X|S, and promised to bring even more games moving forward.
But it seems we have reason to believe that Microsoft fans could be getting better than that. Responding to a Twitter user asking if that secret fourth game is Final Fantasy related, Corden replied with the “Why not both?” meme.
Jez didn’t necessarily confirm this 100 %, but he’s clearly hinting that Square Enix is presenting a Final Fantasy game at the event, and it would still be a different game from the one he shared the rumor about. That makes at least two Japanese games for this Xbox themed show.
And that would certainly be great progress for the platform holder, which has struggled to gain a foothold in Japan. And that’s true not only for console sales, but also in terms of getting Japanese studios interested in making games for them.
Of course we have also seen Microsoft is also making inroads with other big Japanese game companies, including Capcom, Konami, and Sega, particularly with their subsidiary Atlus. It’s a huge contrast to the past, when Xbox’s claim to fame was nabbing exclusives from Cave’s shooters, or Tecmo Koei Dead or Alive titles, and not much else.
But then, the question remains on what this legendary Japanese franchise could possibly be. Truthfully, this may turn out to be a niche RPG that Japanophiles will evangelize online, but may not necessarily lead to huge game sales.
Since we brought it up, we do think gamers would be genuinely excited if Microsoft unveils a Dead or Alive or Ninja Gaiden project of some sort at the event. Even if it turns out to be multiplatform, as those games now are, Tecmo Koei have earned that brand association to make such an announcement resonant.
We’re sure we’re not the only ones who can come up with a dream list of classic Japanese game revivals that were never even brought to the West, ranging from Policenauts to Twilight Syndrome to Bahamut Lagoon, the latter of which also happens to be owned by Square Enix. So we’ll see if Microsoft turns out to have two games to reveal at the Xbox Developer Direct, if not more.
