A DICE developer has revealed that there are a number of Xbox announcements still in the pipeline for 2021, and that the Xbox Series X/S console exclusive lineup is deeper than it appears right now. Despite the fact that both the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 have been available for months now, both platforms are still looking for their first major exclusive release. Both Xbox Series X/S and PS5 have been criticized for their lackluster launch lineups, and there's a sense that 2021 will be a make or break year for console gaming's future prospects as a result.
Luckily, it's not as though Microsoft and Sony haven't indicated their respective plans for the current-gen consoles. Both platforms have major, exciting exclusives in the works, and Xbox and PlayStation have been gradually rolling out teaser trailers and updates as their release dates near. For Xbox Series X/S specifically, the Halo Infinite delay has been difficult to recover from, and further pushbacks on promising games like The Medium have also hurt. Recently, Xbox outlined its future plans for 2021, revealing every Xbox exclusive game on the way.
In response to a ResetEra thread about the announcement, DICE developer elenarie, also known as Angel Kavazov, stated that there were multiple announcements still coming for Xbox exclusives in 2021. The developer provided no further context, however, so just what is being hinted at will remain a mystery until either leaks emerge or an announcement from official channels is made. The original Xbox Wire post the thread was made in response to also highlights that same line of thought, suggesting the Xbox console family has "so much more in store" for fans.
While that statement isn't a lot to go on, it's also interesting to examine the context in which it was made. The ResetEra thread had been fairly negative about the Xbox announcement, with many suggesting the lack of depth in Xbox exclusives could be an issue in 2021. A confident response from a developer about the future announcements still coming for Xbox exclusives should make things a little bit better for Xbox fans, even if they'd much rather have genuine evidence that these potential exclusives are coming.
It will also inevitably lead to speculation about what Xbox exclusives are yet to be announced. Hellblade is conspicuous by its absence on the official Xbox Wire list, though it's likely Microsoft doesn't want to commit to that game coming out in 2021 before then having to delay it - if it's ready at any point this year, it will no doubt then become a focal point of the platform's marketing. Xbox has also acquired a fair number of studios over the last several years and any number of them could be working on new IPs to help reinvigorate the Xbox exclusive designation. Without anything to go on, however, fans will simply need to take elenarie at their word and hope those announcements, when they do come, are as exciting as they seem to be right now.