Xbox: The State of Every First-Party Developer - Summer 2025 Update

2025 has not been the champion twelvemonth for Xbox. Microsoft’s caller monolithic company-wide layoff impacted up to 9,000 employees, astir fractional of whom worked astatine Xbox. Multiple games were cancelled, “AAAA” workplace The Initiative was unopen down, and countless talented unit lost.

It’s a unusual and uneasy contrast, then, to spot that Xbox has really had a beauteous bully twelvemonth erstwhile it comes to games. Its biggest first-party releases truthful acold this twelvemonth person been Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed, Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight, Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, and id Software’s Doom: The Dark Ages. The institution has besides pushed guardant its multiplatform plans with a fewer ports for the PlayStation 5, including the antecedently Xbox and PC exclusives Forza Horizon 5 and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2.

That bully concatenation of games looks acceptable to proceed arsenic galore developers and studios astatine Xbox proceed their hard work. There are galore video games successful improvement astatine Xbox crossed aggregate divisions today, from Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and Xbox Game Studios. To assistance support way of them all, we’ve collected everything we cognize astir each Xbox workplace and their existent projects below.

Arkane Studios

Arkane Studios, the developer down the Dishonored series, was antecedently dispersed crossed 2 locations: 1 workplace successful Austin, Texas, which developed Prey, and different successful Lyon, France, which astir precocious released Deathloop.

On May 7, 2024, Xbox closed Arkane’s Austin subdivision pursuing the tepid merchandise of its fearfulness co-op shooter, Redfall. However, Arkane Lyon remains unfastened and continues enactment connected the studio’s adjacent game, Marvel’s Blade.

Announced astatine the 2023 Game Awards, Marvel’s Blade is an upcoming action-adventure crippled starring the iconic vampire huntsman who’s connected a ngo to support Paris from an oncoming vampire invasion. And successful a large departure from the first-person games Arkane is typically known for, Blade volition beryllium playable successful the third-person perspective. Deathloop manager and workplace caput Dinga Bakaba volition co-direct Blade alongside Arkane’s long-serving creation director, Sebastien Mitton, and Bakaba has said he’s excited to bring Arkane’s unsocial instrumentality connected Blade to life.

According to Arkane’s fiscal statements for 2024, Blade entered afloat accumulation astatine the extremity of past year.

Bethesda Game Studios

Officially, Bethesda Game Studios has 1 large crippled connected the horizon: The Elder Scrolls 6. The adjacent mainline crippled successful the beloved phantasy RPG bid was announced mode backmost successful 2018 astatine a long-forgotten lawsuit called E3. Crucially, the announcement came simultaneously with the uncover of Starfield, and Bethesda was hard astatine enactment creating the space-faring RPG. The developers reiterated to the nationalist galore times that The Elder Scrolls 6 would not participate afloat accumulation until aft Starfield was released.

Now, pursuing the motorboat of Starfield successful 2023 and the enlargement DLC Shattered Space successful 2024, Bethesda is yet all-in connected The Elder Scrolls 6. As portion of The Elder Scrolls' 30th day connected March 25, 2024, Bethesda announced that the adjacent Elder Scrolls was afloat successful development, and that determination are adjacent aboriginal builds of the crippled up and running.

While The Elder Scrolls 6 is officially Bethesda’s lone project, Windows Central’s Jez Corden reports that the adjacent Fallout crippled has besides been greenlit. If that’s true, it comes with galore questions, including if the caller Fallout is being developed by Bethesda Game Studios oregon handled by different developer, overmuch similar however Obsidian Entertainment developed Fallout: New Vegas.

Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard Entertainment remains focused connected 3 halfway franchises: Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, and World of Warcraft. Following the cancellation of an unannounced phantasy endurance crippled codenamed Odyssey backmost successful 2024, Blizzard has narrowed its absorption to ore connected improving its astir fashionable games.

Overwatch 2 is inactive receiving regular updates. After Blizzard cancelled the planned PvE communicative mode backmost successful 2023, overmuch of the absorption has been connected improving the PvP competitory modes. Since the motorboat of Overwatch 2, Blizzard has released an mean of 3 caller playable heroes per year. The adjacent leader coming to Overwatch 2 is simply a caller enactment quality named Wuyang, who is scheduled to beryllium released arsenic portion of Season 18. And earlier this year, Blizzard released a caller competitory multiplayer format called Stadium, wherever teams of 5 combat successful a best-of-seven series, and successful each caller circular players tin acquisition caller upgrades for their heroes, akin to Riot’s Valorant.

Diablo 4 operates connected a seasonal update schedule, with larger DLC expansions that adhd much important upgrades and communicative content. The archetypal expansion, titled Vessel of Hatred, released connected October 7, 2024, added a monolithic caller jungle portion called Nahantu arsenic good arsenic a caller Spiritborn quality people that controls the past powers of the jungle to wield some long-range and melee abilities. The latest season, Sins of the Horadrim, launched conscionable past period and adds Nightmare Dungeon upgrades and Horadric Spells, among galore different caller additions.

As for World of Warcraft, Blizzard did thing unprecedented astatine BlizzCon 2023 and announced not one, but 3 expansions for the fashionable MMORPG. Starting with The War Within, released connected August 26, 2024, Blizzard kicked disconnected the Worldsoul Saga, an overarching communicative that volition unite the 3 expansions. The adjacent expansions successful the Saga are titled Midnight and The Last Titan, but truthful far, we don’t cognize erstwhile these entries volition launch.

Furthermore, Blizzard has committed to supporting World of Warcraft Classic, which recreates World of Warcraft astatine earlier merchandise states. WoW Classic is presently connected Cataclysm Classic, the 4th enlargement ever released for WoW.

Compulsion Games

Following We Happy Few successful 2018, Canadian-based Compulsion Games released its newest game, South of Midnight, connected April 8, 2025.

South of Midnight is an action-adventure crippled acceptable successful a fantastical mentation of the Deep South. The crippled follows a young mystic named Hazel Flood connected her travel to go a Weaver, a magical mender of breached spirits. Along the way, Hazel encounters galore mythical creatures and enemies based connected Southern Gothic folklore. IGN gave South of Midnight an 8 successful our review, calling it “a straightforward but well-executed action-adventure crippled connected the surface, with a elemental but satisfying premix of combat and platforming.”

There’s been nary connection yet connected what Compulsion Games is moving connected next.

The Coalition

Xbox’s dedicated Gears of War workplace has rather the engaged docket up of it. Canada-based The Coalition is gearing up for the merchandise of Gears of War: Reloaded, a 4K remaster of the archetypal Gears of War game. Reloaded is acceptable to merchandise connected Xbox Series X and S, PC, and – for the archetypal clip ever – PS5 connected August 26, 2025.

But this is conscionable an appetizer for Gears of War: E-Day, the adjacent mainline Gears of War crippled acceptable 14 years earlier the events of the original. Marcus Fenix (John DiMaggio) and Dom Santiago (Carlos Ferro) volition instrumentality successful a prequel that yet tells the afloat communicative of Emergence Day, erstwhile monstrous creatures known arsenic the Locust emerged from underground and destroyed the satellite Sera.

Gears of War: E-Day is presently scheduled to merchandise sometime successful 2026.

Double Fine Productions

Double Fine had been keeping quiescent pursuing the merchandise of Psychonauts 2 successful 2021, but each that changed erstwhile the workplace announced its adjacent game, Keeper.

Keeper was archetypal revealed astatine this year’s Xbox Summer Game Showcase and volition beryllium released connected October 17, 2025. Described arsenic a “story told without words,” Keeper is simply a puzzle escapade crippled starring a sentient lighthouse and a spirited seabird arsenic they marque their mode done a magical realm. If you saw the trailer for Keeper and thought it was breathtaking, you should cognize that Double Fine’s Lee Petty, the creation manager connected Brutal Legend and Broken Age, is the originative pb connected Keeper.

Halo Studios

Halo Studios, formerly known arsenic 343 Industries, is presently moving connected aggregate caller Halo projects, including an unannounced crippled made successful Unreal Engine 5.

Despite moving connected possibly the astir important Xbox bid of all, Endgadget reported that Halo Studios was impacted by the company-wide layoffs astatine Microsoft and that, down the scenes, determination are tensions implicit the absorption of the studio.

Provided things each stay steady, the existent program is for Halo Studios to uncover its caller crippled astatine the Halo World Championships successful October 2025.

Id Software

Texas-based id Software has already released 1 of IGN’s favourite games of 2025, Doom: The Dark Ages.

Released connected May 15, Doom: The Dark Ages is simply a dense metal, acheronian phantasy prequel to 2016’s Doom. Id Software intentionally went for a slower, tankier attack to combat with The Dark Ages, taking distant immoderate of the Doom Slayer’s velocity and agility. In exchange, helium has entree to heavier weapons similar a flail and shield helium tin propulsion astatine enemies, a la Captain America. There’s besides our caller favourite weapon, the skull-crushing Pulverizer, which uses force bones arsenic ammo.

IGN gave the newest Doom crippled a 9, calling it “a caller spirit of the legendary shooter bid that’s heavier and much grounded, but nary little energetic and exhilarating.” If you haven’t played Doom: The Dark Ages yet, it’s worthy checking retired for sure. Naturally, considering The Dark Ages was lone released this year, there’s nary connection yet connected the studio’s adjacent game.

Infinity Ward

Activision maintains a continuous improvement rhythm to uphold an yearly Call of Duty merchandise cadence. That means the franchise’s cardinal studios – Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Raven Software, and Sledgehammer Games – each commercialized disconnected pb improvement duties connected the newest Call of Duty game. The studios not moving connected this year’s installment volition beryllium moving connected either adjacent year’s crippled oregon the twelvemonth after.

The past Call of Duty rubric Infinity Ward led improvement connected was 2022’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The workplace past assisted Sledgehammer Games connected 2023’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Treyarch with past year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. This year’s entry, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, is co-developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, meaning the studios volition person been pb developers 2 years successful a row. It’s chartless whether Infinity Ward is assisting connected Black Ops 7 oregon moving connected different Call of Duty project.

Inxile Entertainment

After being acquired by Xbox successful 2018, the RPG specialists astatine InXile Entertainment are yet getting acceptable to merchandise their archetypal crippled nether the Xbox Game Studios banner, Clockwork Revolution.

The first-person RPG is acceptable successful a vibrant, steampunk mentation of the 19th period wherever transgression and unit thrive. Amid an escalating turf warfare betwixt section gangs, transgression kingpins, and the section government, you summation the quality to manipulate time, which volition surely travel successful useful during the ensuing conflict.

Clockwork Revolution was archetypal announced successful 2023, and InXile says it’s the studio’s biggest crippled to day successful presumption of scope and budget. Based connected the astir caller gameplay trailer from Xbox’s Summer Games Showcase, it surely appears to beryllium a heavy RPG with aggregate dialog options that impact the result of definite situations, a profoundly customizable quality creator, and galore limb modifications. However, Clockwork Revolution inactive doesn’t person a steadfast merchandise window.

King

Sweden-based mobile crippled developer King remains successful complaint of 1 of the astir palmy mobile games of each time, Candy Crush. While King has taken little detours distant from the series, moving connected mobile games similar 2021’s Crash Bandicoot: On the Run and 2020’s Knighthood, King continues to merchandise caller Candy Crush games, astir precocious Candy Crush Solitaire successful 2025.

Despite its flagship series’ continued success, King was affected by the Microsoft layoffs, with 10% of its full workforce cut.

MachineGames

Swedish developer MachineGames blew everyone distant with its stellar reboot of Wolfenstein backmost successful 2014, and astir precocious amazed everyone with the announcement that it was making a caller Indiana Jones video crippled – a wholly antithetic benignant of experience, speech from each the Nazis, of course.

Starring the celebrated archaeologist successful a new, globe-trotting adventure, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was critically acclaimed acknowledgment to its fantastic premix of first- and third-person gameplay, an uncanny show by Troy Baker that sounds astir precisely similar Harisson Ford circa-1980, and yet its quality to seizure the nonstop code of the amended Indiana Jones movies successful video crippled form.

MachineGames is pursuing up its deed merchandise with the archetypal communicative DLC, The Order of Giants, which was announced astatine this year's Xbox Summer Games Showcase and volition beryllium released connected September 4, 2025.

Mojang Studios

The Sweden-based workplace down Minecraft continues to merchandise regular updates for its massively fashionable crafting game.

The astir caller update for Minecraft, titled “Chase the Skies,” was released connected June 17, 2025, and adds 60+ biomes, caller buildable structures, and the quality to research the overworld from the skies with a caller equine called Happy Ghast.

In addition, Mojang produced a live-action Minecraft film, which was released earlier this year. Starring Jack Black and Jason Mamoa, A Minecraft Movie is presently the third-highest-grossing movie of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video crippled movie of each clip aft 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Ninja Theory

UK-based Ninja Theory released Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 connected May 21, 2024, the long-awaited sequel to 2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. With Senua’s communicative wrapped up, Ninja Theory could beryllium shifting absorption to Project: Mara, a fearfulness crippled the workplace archetypal teased backmost successful January 2020.

While Ninja Theory hasn’t shared excessively overmuch accusation astir the upcoming fearfulness game, the workplace explained successful a video diary that Project: Mara volition beryllium a “real-world and grounded practice of intelligence terror.” This is an country that’s of large involvement to Ninja Theory, arsenic some Hellblade and Senua’s Saga besides examined intelligence wellness successful large item by combining binaural audio effects for the psychosis-inflicted voices successful Senua’s caput with histrion Melina Juergens’ almighty performance.

Additionally, Windows Central reports that Xbox has greenlit different crippled from Ninja Theory alongside Project: Mara, but thing other is known astir that game.

Obsidian Entertainment

Obsidian Entertainment is having itself a precise engaged 2025. Earlier this year, the workplace released Avowed, a phantasy RPG acceptable successful the Pillars of Eternity universe. In IGN’s review, we gave Avowed a 7, calling it a reminder of wherefore we fell successful emotion with Obsidian’s RPG but yet a crippled that plays it “quite safe” overall.

Up adjacent is Grounded 2, a sequel to the 2022 online co-op crippled astir a radical of kids who are shrunk down to miniature size by a subject experimentation gone incorrect and indispensable past the dangers of their suburban backyard. Grounded 2 volition deed Early Access connected July 29, 2025.

Finally, the biggest crippled connected Obsidian’s calendar is The Outer Worlds 2. The archetypal Outer Worlds crippled was a sci-fi RPG co-directed by Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain, the creators of the archetypal Fallout series, and shares overmuch of Fallout’s morbid wit and world-building sensibilities. The Outer Worlds depicts a retro-futuristic mentation of outer abstraction that’s been poisoned by unchecked capitalism. All that whitethorn dependable a small excessively overmuch similar VaultTech, but it’s surely got its ain chiseled flavour.

The archetypal Outer Worlds became a sleeper hit, selling implicit 4 cardinal units and receiving galore Game of the Year grant nominations, and the sequel looks to grow connected that success. Based connected our IGN First previews, The Outer Worlds 2 maintains the irreverent code of the archetypal game, portion greatly expanding upon the game’s combat and exploration. It’s acceptable to merchandise connected October 29, 2025.

Playground Games

The UK-based Playground Games is champion known for its enactment connected Forza Horizon, an open-world arcade racer spinoff of Xbox’s much superior racing-sim, Forza Motorsport.

However, successful 2020, Playground Games was officially announced arsenic the developer down the upcoming Fable reboot. In the years since, we’ve sadly learned precise small astir it, contempt a fistful of trailers showcasing the comedic tone, semi-realistic creation style, pre-alpha gameplay, and personage cameos from celebrated UK comedians similar Matt King and Richard Ayoade. Originally planned to motorboat this year, Fable was precocious delayed into a 2026 merchandise window. We anticipation to spot overmuch much of the crippled successful the coming months.

Rare

Rare was profoundly impacted by the caller company-wide layoffs astatine Microsoft. The famed developer down games similar Goldeneye 007 and Banjo-Kazooie has spent the amended portion of the past decennary releasing regular updates for its fashionable online pirate game, Sea of Thieves. However, Rare was besides moving connected Everwild, a third-person phantasy escapade crippled that was archetypal announced successful 2019.

At immoderate constituent successful 2021, it was reported that Everwild was experiencing improvement difficulties and underwent a implicit reboot. However, pursuing the layoffs astatine Microsoft, Xbox announced internally that Everwild would beryllium canceled. In addition, longtime Rare manager Gregg Mayles, who had reportedly been pb connected Everwild pursuing its reboot, resigned from the workplace helium archetypal joined successful 1989.

While enactment connected Sea of Thieves volition apt continue, it’s unclear what the adjacent steps are for the venerable British studio.

Raven Software

Raven Software is portion of Activision’s unchangeable of dedicated Call of Duty developers and is the co-developer of the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which it is moving connected alongside Treyarch.

The 2 studios antecedently led improvement connected 2024’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, with Raven processing the single-player campaign. In our review, IGN gave Black Ops 6 a 9, calling it “the champion Call of Duty run successful many, galore years.” Will Raven and Treyarch beryllium capable to travel up connected their anterior game’s occurrence erstwhile Black Ops 7 is released aboriginal successful 2025? We’re excited to find out.

Sledgehammer Games

California-based Sledgehammer Games is different Call of Duty workplace moving nether the Activision umbrella. It antecedently led improvement connected 2023’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and earlier it, Call of Duty: Vanguard.

While Sledgehammer was listed arsenic an assistance workplace connected 2024’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, it was besides reported that the workplace mislaid 30% of its unit successful a circular of layoffs backmost successful 2024, and it’s chartless whether Sledgehammer volition beryllium capable to pb improvement connected a caller Call of Duty crippled going forward.

Treyarch

Alongside Raven Software, Treyarch is the co-developer of the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

As 1 of the longest-running developers astatine Activision, Treyarch has worked connected Call of Duty games since arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2005’s Call of Duty 2: Big Red One. Treyarch is liable for founding the precise fashionable Black Ops sub-series, and is besides liable for processing Call of Duty’s Zombies – astir precocious for 2021’s Vanguard, 2023’s Modern Warfare 3, and past year’s Black Ops 6.

Turn 10 Studios

Washington-based Turn 10 Studios was erstwhile the location of Xbox’s racing sim Forza Motorsport, but each that appears to person changed pursuing the caller layoffs astatine Microsoft. According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schrier, Turn10 reportedly mislaid astir 50% of its unit successful this year’s layoffs, and the workplace is efficaciously “shuttered.”

Further reports suggest that the Forza Motorsport bid volition nary longer beryllium supported, and remaining Turn 10 unit volition service arsenic an assistance squad connected the spinoff series, Forza Horizon.

Undead Labs

Seattle-based workplace Undead Labs has been moving connected State of Decay 3 for the past respective years. The 3rd crippled successful the fashionable zombie endurance sim series, it was officially announced successful 2020. However, determination person been aggregate reports of behind-the-scenes occupation astatine the workplace starring to its dilatory development.

First, workplace laminitis Jeff Strain near Undead Labs successful 2021 to commencement up a caller studio, Possibility Space (which faced its ain interior struggles). This was followed by a 2022 probe by Kotaku into a toxic enactment situation astatine the studio, which resulted successful an interior Microsoft probe and the departure of workplace HR boss, Anne Schlosser. These issues person reportedly contributed to the hold of State of Decay 3, which inactive doesn’t person a merchandise window.

World’s Edge

World’s Edge was established by Xbox Game Studios successful 2019 to beryllium the stewards of the Age of Empires real-time strategy series. Since its inception, World’s Edge has released a fig of remasters, starting with Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition successful 2019, and the astir caller being Age of Mythology: Retold. A remaster of the archetypal Age of Mythology, it focuses connected past civilizations and the gods they worshipped. It was released connected September 4, 2024.

World’s Edge isn’t solely dedicated to remasters, though; it besides released a caller introduction into the series, Age of Empires 4, backmost successful 2021 to affirmative reviews. It’s unclear if its adjacent measurement volition beryllium to proceed moving connected its remasters (AoE2: Definitive Edition continues to person enlargement packs) oregon make an wholly caller project.

ZeniMax Online Studios

The Maryland-based ZeniMax Online Studios has been releasing continuous updates to The Elder Scrolls Online since the game’s motorboat successful 2014. The MMORPG spinoff of Bethesda’s fashionable Elder Scrolls RPG bid has softly grown to go 1 of the biggest MMOs successful the world, alongside games similar World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14.

Behind the scenes, it was reported that ZeniMax Online Studios was besides impacted by the caller Microsoft layoffs. Not lone has seasoned workplace brag Matt Firor stepped down from the company, but an unannounced crippled known lone arsenic Project Blackbird was besides canceled.

While Bloomberg reported that Xbox executives were “blown away” by Project Blackbird, Xbox inactive announced internally that it was cancelling the game. Reports person since travel retired with much details astir Project Blackbird. The crippled was acceptable to beryllium a caller sci-fi MMO wherever players would navigate the authorities of warring gangster factions connected an alien satellite wherever 1 broadside of the satellite is engulfed successful occurrence and the different covered successful ice.

ZeniMax Online Studios was reportedly staffing up to statesman afloat accumulation connected Project Blackbird earlier it was canceled. And portion enactment volition proceed connected The Elder Scrolls Online, developers person shared online however devastating the quality of Project Blackbird’s cancellation has been.

The fallout of the Microsoft layoffs is inactive being felt passim the manufacture and volition apt signifier Xbox arsenic it heads into the adjacent generation. Not lone person games been canceled, but full studios, similar The Initiative, person been unopen down, and games similar the Perfect Dark reboot person gone with them. While determination are inactive Xbox games to look guardant to connected the horizon, the aboriginal of Xbox remains an unfastened question.

Matt Kim is IGN's Senior Features Editor.