The Xbox Developer Direct 2025 showcase aired on January 23 and surprised fans with only four featured games. However, the way it was handled should set a precedent with other showcases in the future.
It has become a common expectation with gaming showcases that the thirty minutes to an hour of live footage be crammed so full of game announcements that only short clips of featured upcoming releases might be shown. This has created a system where trailers are substanceless, and often do not convey any actual understanding of the game they are displaying, leaving players frustrated and wanting at the end.
The 2025 Xbox Developer Direct seems to be challenging this model of trailer stuffing, using the showcase window to highlight and dive deeply into four upcoming games from different studios. This allowed developers time to talk, showcase real gameplay footage, and talk about the intent of each game and how it came into existence.
From the viewer’s perspective, I found myself more excited than I have been in a long time about upcoming releases because I understood what it was I was meant to be interested in.
Context makes players care
Sandfall InteractiveDuring the course of the Xbox Developer Direct, we were given deep dives into Ninja Gaiden 4, South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Doom: The Dark Ages. However, instead of being fed a ten-second trailer made mostly of obscure, cinematic shots, each game was given plenty of time for a breakdown.
We learned about the setting and gameplay mechanics of each title, were given important details about characters’ motivations and world settings, and what we as players could expect when diving into the titles. I found myself particularly excited for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for its character-motivated plotline and particularly interesting battle mechanics.
This is the most information I’ve gotten from a showcase that wasn’t specifically for one game in a long time. It’s refreshing to know what is being purchased, and exciting to know what to look forward to ahead of each game’s release date. This needs to be how every other developer models a showcase, because it would seriously help bring back the excitement of following games in development.
Nobody wants teasers
Over the past decade, the “teaser” type of trailer has become increasingly popular. These trailers don’t usually show finished gameplay, rarely give actual details to the plot, and often rely on cinematic shots and exciting animation rather than actual details about the item the developer is trying to sell.
Because of this, players are more and more frustrated when they spend money on expensive games only to find nothing in the title was what they were looking forward to. By not being clear about the game and its contents, the players are left to form their expectations and create ideas about what the game might hold for themselves, with only a few snippets to guide them.
This “Marvel Movie effect” of the trailer is designed to keep the majority of the game’s contents a mystery until launch, but it’s led to a level of dishonesty between players and developers that creates hurt feelings on both sides.
To help alleviate this, more showcases like the Xbox Developer Direct should be prioritized, and more details and actual gameplay footage for projects should be showcased. I know I want to buy all of these games now, and none of them were on my list before the stream.
It was so refreshing to leave knowing exactly what these games will offer, and exactly how excited I should be for them.