Developer_Direct: Xbox Is Poised To Have A Stellar 2026

With its 25th anniversary on the horizon, Xbox is hoping to have a way better 2026 than it did in 2025, and one way it can do that is by dropping some good games, and based on this latest Developer_Direct, they are definitely cooking.

Thursday, Jan. 22, team green kicked off the new year with its first of what will probably be many Developer_Direct presentations, which gives a deep look into the games currently in development at studios under the Xbox banner.

For this edition, we got our first look at gameplay from Playground Studios’ Forza Horizon 6, Fable, Beasts of Reincarnation from Pokémon creator Game Freak, and Kiln, a unique party game from Double Fine, which was a surprise announcement, but unfortunately, we didn’t get a shadow drop.

So let’s dive into the presentation.

Forza Horizon 6

The intense, fun racing action that the Forza Horizon franchise has become best known for shifts to Japan in the 6th installment of the racing video game franchise.

The UK studio, Playground Games, revealed that players will start as a tourist before accomplishing their first goal of joining the Horizon car racing festival, and from there, you build your career while unlocking other areas.

Playground happily revealed that Japan will be the largest map that fans of the series will experience, promising to deliver an accurate representation of Japan, a product of its partnership with consultants.

The developers even visited Japan to get reference material.

At launch, Forza Horizon will feature 550 vehicles, giving you a better-balanced roster of cards and new cosmetics.

As in previous Forza Horizon games, players will find houses with customizable garages. What’s new in Forza Horizon 6 are Estates, which Playground describes as flat areas of lines where players can build anything they want using in-game credits.

Friends can also visit your estate to check out what you have built.

Forza Horizon 6 launches on May 19 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Steam, and with Game Pass Ultimate.

It comes to PlayStation later in 2026.

To learn more about Forza Horizon 6, head here.

Beast of Reincarnation

Following Forza Horizon 6 was Beast of Reincarnation, the new action RPG from Pokémon developer Game Freak.

Beast of Reincarnation, directed by Kota Furushima, is a huge pivot from the monster collecting games the studio has become well known for.

In the game, players take on the role of Emma the Sealer, who is affected by the blight, granting her the ability to manipulate plants, and her dog companion, Koo, as they embark on a journey through post-apocalyptic Japan to save what’s left of humanity from extinction.

Beast of Reincarnation is due out summer 2026 on Xbox Series X and S, PC, and PlayStation. It will aslo launch day on Xbox Game Pass.

To learn more about the game, head here.

Kiln

Double Fine Productions isn’t done blessing us with weird, but very unique video games. Kiln was a surprise announcement during the Developer_Direct.

Introduced by studio head, Tim Schafer, he revealed in the game that players can looking forward to creating others as well as destroying everything.

Kiln is described as an online multiplayer “pottery” party brawler in which players take control of a variety of pots that can be created on the in-game potter’s wheel.

Double Fine first talked about the game in 2017, so this was the studio’s opportunity to reintroduce it to the world and show how far they have come since then. We must say it does look like it’s going to be a lot of Fine.

Now, does it have staying power? That remains to be seen.

Kiln launches in spring 2026 on Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Double Fine is promising to update the game following its launch and also revealed a closed beta is on the way.

To learn more about Kiln head here.

Fable

Playground Games wasn’t done, and saved the best for last with its highly anticipated Fable game. The studio has enlisted a new team to carry on the work of the shuttered Lionhead Studios to get its reboot of Fable over the finish line.

In the game, your adventure begins as a child who grows up in a sleepy rural village, before you embark on an adventure as Albion’s first hero in a generation.

Playground reveals that its first RPG will be a true open-world experience because, when the game starts, there will be no area you cannot reach.

We also got to see character customization, combat, and chicken-kicking. Regarding combat, players will have a range of melee and ranged attacks, plus powerful magic spells.

It wouldn’t be a Fable game if you couldn’t do things like buy a house, get married, get a job, or make money, and thankfully, Playground Games got all of that in its reboot.

Playground Games was also happy to announce that the game will feature a “living population” of 1,000 NPCs who go about their daily lives.

Playground claims you speak with all of the fully-voiced NPCs, offer them jobs in your business, and evict them as a landlord.

As part of the game’s new reputation system, they will also form opinions on you after seeing how you carry yourself throughout town, so be wary about kicking too many chickens. Your decisions will also change the world of Albion for the rest of your playthrough.

Fable is due out on Xbox Series X and S, PC, and PlayStation 5 in autumn 2026.

To learn more about the game, head here.