New gaming IP is being teased by an Xbox executive, and the unannounced game(s) will apparently "blow your mind." The tease was given in a new interview and highlights an aggressive push from Microsoft to stay competitive with Sony's marquee first party titles. Although the tease was kept vague, there are plenty of rumors circulating that could give hints as to who is making the mystery Xbox IP and what it could entail.
Hitman developer IO Interactive is reportedly working with Xbox on a brand-new fantasy IP that would be exclusive to the platform. Rumors suggest that it's very early days for the project and it's still being prototyped, so it could vastly change at any moment or be scrapped entirely. Nonetheless, new job listings and a new studio for IO seems to suggest that the company is juggling more games beyond its upcoming Project 007 title. That's only on possibility of many for this most recent Xbox tease, but
The tease was offered up by Xbox's general manager of Gaming Services Marketing, Ben Decker, in an interview with GamesRadar. The executive noted the importance of investing in exclusives for Xbox Game Pass, as players are keen on subscribing for new games at a low cost on day one. Xbox is expected to have a big E3 showing in 2021, which will likely reveal some major games coming to Game Pass in the near future (such as the rumors hanging over Battlefield 6). Decker also stressed the importance of console exclusives, giving strong hints toward the future when saying:
"That's why we made the investments that we have. We have 23 studios across Xbox and Bethesda, working on Halo, Forza, Fallout, and new IP that we haven't even talked about yet that's gonna blow your mind. We can deliver all of that into Game Pass on day one."
There's no telling what Xbox is planning, but it's also worth considering that Valve recently teased Steam for consoles. While not likely, it's possible that Xbox and Valve are collaborating in some way, which would be unprecedented but welcome after Valve's critically acclaimed return to traditional game development with Half-Life: Alyx. Gabe Newell has expressed his admiration and support for Xbox in the past, so it's not hard to imagine a partnership forming between Microsoft and Valve in the future.
Whether or not those or other hypothetical situations come to fruition is anyone's guess at this point, but it's clear Xbox is actively acting on the criticism it received during the Xbox One era. Although it championed services and an impressive ecosystem, last-generation exclusives were lackluster and in short supply. It seems that the company is investing in its future heavily by going out of its way to buy and/or partner with some of the biggest developers in the industry. Although it'll likely be some time before these plans are announced - and likely even longer until they're realized - the future of Xbox may be quite bright.
Source: GamesRadar