Let's Predict the Xbox First Party Road Map from 2021 and Beyond

So the biggest question surrounding the Xbox community right now is “when are these 23 studios going to start delivering”. I think it could be a good exercise to try and figure that out together. I will put together my own list and you can create yours, we can then have a healthy debate about what will happen.

2021: Halo Infinite, Psychonauts 2, Forza Horizon 5

2022: Starfield, Wolfenstein 3, Forza Motorsport, Project Typhoon, Deathloop Xbox version, Project Omen

2023: Fable, Avowed, Hellblade 2, State of Decay 3, Compulsion Games new project, Ghostwire Tokyo Xbox, Everwild, The Coalition UE5 project

2024: Gears 6, Perfect Dark, Id Software game, inXile’s RPG, Roundhouse Studios game, Forza Horizon 6 next gen exclusive, Indiana Jones, Project Dragon

2025 and Beyond: The Elder Scrolls and stuff we don’t know about yet.

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Seems pretty accurate to me. My only difference being maybe Avowed shoots for Q4 2022.

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It’s possible I think Covid just delayed everything by a year so I’m playing it safe

My guesses, still stuff we don’t know or I may have forgotten.

2021:

June: Psychonauts 2

August: MSFS, As Dusk Falls

September: Forza Horizon 5, Grounded full release.

October: Project Mara, maybe Wolfenstein 3

November: Halo Infinite

December: Age of Empires IV

2022:

February: Project Missouri

April: Omen

June: Starfield

July: XGSGP Spinoff

August: Typhoon

September: Deathloop Console

October: Forza Motorsport

November: Avowed (plz)

2023:

January: Compulsion

March: Everwild

April: Ghostwire Xbox

June: Hellblade 2

July: XGSGP New IP

August: Coalition Project

September: State of Decay 3

November: Fable

2024:

January: Project Dragon

March: Gears 6

April: Arkane Lyon

June: Perfect Dark

August: Roundhouse

September: Id next game

October: FH6

November: InXile RPG

2025:

Indiana Jones, ES6

Most of these look pretty realistic, but State of Decay 3 doesn’t have a chance at hitting 2023. It was in early preproduction in 2020 and has (hopefully) grown in scope since the last game.

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A few others to place:

  • 2021 - Grounded (officially)
  • 2021 - Microsoft Flight Simulator (console edition)
  • 2021 - As Dusk Falls
  • 2023 - Double Fine smaller project (seems like a safe bet)
  • 2023 - Project Mara
  • 2023/2024 - Obsidian game - Josh Sawyer project

Are we not including Age of Empires IV since it’s not console?

Also, I’m like 95% sure that a Banjo and Killer Instinct game will come out between now and the end of 2025. This also doesn’t take into account several likely second party publishing deals (like As Dusk Falls, MSFS, and “Project Typhoon”). By then, I don’t see how we aren’t absolutely swimming in XGS games to play on Game Pass.

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Forgot Age tbh but good call

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That would be pretty massive starting on 2022,cool to see. Hope it happens. Also hope a bit more publishing games pop up, if they are consistent with last gen then we’ve only seen like 10-20% of what they’re working on.

Keeping it AAA, as it becomes hard.

2021: Something Forza. Halo Infinite. Typhoon.

2022: Wolfenstein 3. Starfield. Forza Motorsport. Hellblade 2

2023: Arkane Austin. Avowed. FH 5. Everwild

  1. Fable. Compulsion. State of Decay 3.

  2. Perfect Dark. Fallout New Vegas remake. Inexile new IP. Gears 6

Gets really vague as there are many more games coming from XGP in particular

  • 2021: The year of Halo and Forza Horizon
  • 2022: The year of Bethesda (Starfield, Wolf 3, Omen, Deathloop)
  • 2023: The year of XGS (Hellblade, Avowed, Everwild, Forza Motorsport)

They’ll sprinkle some 2nd party games in there somewhere.

I don’t think we see Fable, Perfect Dark, State of Decay, Compulsion or InXile’s next game until at least 2024.

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I think even 2024 for InXile’s next game is too soon if what we hear about its ambition is true. Super excited to see what they will come up with as Wasteland 3 is fantastic.

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I don’t think Fable or especially Compulsion are out of the question for 2023 but agreed on the rest.

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There’s just so many question marks with Xbox having between 10 and 15 projects that haven’t even been announced.

Fai enough, if Global Publishing is a “valid” pick, you should add Fligh Sim to this year for sure and maybe As Dusk Falls (and AoE 4, even if releasing only on pc is the usual annoying “non parity” clause of XGS between pc and console). This year drought (4-5 at best vs 10+ of last year) could have been partially mended even just tearing up the annoying Sony timed exclusives contracts from Bethesda.

Not out of the question however I’m taking whatever I initially thought and adding a year to it for XGS. Which is fine. I’m hoping Fable is grand and ambitious. New team. Still working on the engine. I actually hope that one will cook awhile.

There’s going to be so many “good” games from independent devs, many of who will be on Game Pass, that I’m absolutely happy with XGS taking their good ole time to make games that fill gaps that won’t be provided by 3rd party. That means AAA stuff that either takes chances in game design (like Everwild) or has grand ambition. Either of those things will take time.

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You’ve got Zenimax Online making a big AAA game as well.

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2021

  • 2021-05-27T00:00:00Z Grounded
  • 2021-06-08T00:00:00Z The Elder Scrolls Online (Series X|S)
  • 2021-07-13T00:00:00Z Psychonauts 2
  • 2021-08-10T00:00:00Z Doom Eternal (Series X)
  • 2021-08-24T00:00:00Z Microsoft Flight Simulator
  • 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z Forza Horizon
  • 2021-11-15T00:00:00Z Halo Infinite

2022

  • 2022-03-15T00:00:00Z Wolfenstein III
  • 2022-09-13T00:00:00Z Deathloop
  • 2022-10-04T00:00:00Z Forza Motorsport
  • 2022-10-18T00:00:00Z Ghostwire Tokyo
  • 2022-11-08T00:00:00Z Starfield
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I will make my list in worst Case scenario And will not write multi platform games ( Psychonauts 2, deathloop , ghostwire Tokyo)
#############
2021
1-Halo infinite
2-Ms flight
3-Grounded
4-FH5
############
2022
1-Project omen
2-Starfield
3-Project typhoon
4-Forza motorsport
#############
2023
1-Avowed
2-Hellblade ii
3-Wolfenstein iii
4-ZeniMax Online new ip
5-The Coalition new ip or gears 6 ( i don’t know far they are but gears 4 , gears 5 took 3 years )
6-Everwild
7-Project dragon
###############
2024
1-Fable
2-Perfect dark
3-FH6
4-Id software next game
5-Inxile upcoming game ( Chad Moore game )
6-Upcoming game from double fine ( small game like rad 2019 team not Tim Schafer game )
7-Compulsion Games new ip 8-Josh Sawyer game 9- Killer instinct ( i think it will happen and from what we know microsoft is searching for studio and fighting games don’t took too long time as i know ) ##################
2025
1-The Coalition new ip or gears 6 ( I don’t know the scale of the new ip and will they be 2 big teams etc)
2-State of decy 2
3-343i something big not halo infinite
4- Roundhouse game
5- inxile game
6- Arkane lyon game
####################
2026 1- elder scrolls 6
2- double fine game ( tim Schafer)
3- the outer worlds 2
3- Project: Mara
4- indiana jones
5- Tango upcoming game
##################
And I will consider Mojang games is multi And we don’t know what xgsp could make ( and from jez there are four Games that are in working not included kojima game And we just putting project dragon and typhoon And they will work for sure on another games )
And there will be more acquisition…
And there will be small games like grounded
And I maybe forget some of games and i didn’t write some like As Dusk Falls

What was best year for microsoft first party made in xbox one generation in your opinion ?
I think 2021 ( worst one? ) will be not far from that year or maybe even better for some people
forza horizon and halo both are biggest franchise in xbox And there are years will be unbelievable and microsoft needs luck to Put them at a different time in the same year

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My predictions -

2021

  • Grounded (July/full release)
  • Flight Simulator (August/consoles)
  • Psychonauts 2 (September/multi-platform)
  • Forza Horizon 5 (October)
  • Halo Infinite (November)

2022

  • Project Omen (March)
  • Wolfenstein III (May)
  • Project Typhoon (July)
  • Forza Motorsport (September)
  • Deathloop (October)
  • Starfield (November)

2023

  • Everwild (March)
  • Ghostwire Tokyo (Spring)
  • Hellblade 2 (June)
  • Avowed (September)
  • Gears 6 (November)

2024

  • Fable (March)
  • State of Decay 3 (May)
  • Forza Horizon (September/platform ala Motorsport)
  • Perfect Dark (November)

2025

  • Compulsion Games New IP
  • InXile Entertainment New IP
  • The Outer Worlds 2 (September)
  • Indiana Jones (November)
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