Tomorrow, Microsoft will be going live with its Xbox Developer Direct, in which the console maker is said to be showing off 4 titles in total – including DOOM: The Dark Ages and South of Midnight. According to one insider, Microsoft is keeping its cards close to its chest, with “a few other surprises” said to be announced during the event.

Ahead of the premiere of the Xbox Developer Direct on Thursday the 23rd (6PM UK Time), industry leakers ‘Insider-Gaming’ have revealed some of the announcements set to be made during the showcase.

Alongside the release date for DOOM: The Dark Ages – which is supposedly planned to arrive on the 15th of May – Insider-Gaming has reported that:

“As well as the four game announcements, a few other surprises will be announced during the event or in the coming days.”

Microsoft has been known to offer a surprise announcement or two during its previous Xbox Developer Directs. That said, given the fact that the 4th game has remained shrouded in mystery so far, it is interesting to see that they also have ANOTHER surprise in store.

We won’t have to wait long to find out what exactly this is.

KitGuru says: Are you excited for the Developer Direct? Which of the 3 announced titles are you most interested in? What do you think this ‘surprise’ could be? Let us know down below.

L'année 2025 démarre timidement pour l'abonnement Xbox Game Pass, mais Microsoft aura de belles cartouches à dégainer ces prochains mois.

Twice a month, Microsoft updates its Xbox Game Pass library with a line-up of new/returning titles. Following the addition of Diablo, UFC 5 and My Time at Sandrock, the second set of Game Pass titles dropping throughout the rest of January has now been announced.

While the first half of January saw a relatively modest line-up of titles added to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft seems to be upping the ante for the second half of the month, with a total of 14 games dropping over the next week and a bit – the full list of which can be viewed below:

Available now:

• Lonely Mountain: Snow Riders (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – Day-one Ultimate addition
• Flock (Console) – Game Pass Standard
• Gigantic: Rampage Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Game Pass Standard
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Console) – Game Pass Standard
• Magical Delicacy (Console) – Game Pass Standard
• Tchia (Xbox Series X|S) – Game Pass Standard
• The Case of the Golden Idol (Console) – Game Pass Standard
• Starbound (Cloud and Console) – Game Pass Standard

Coming soon:

• Eternal Strands (Cloud, Console, and PC) [January 28] – Day-one Ultimate addition
• Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) [January 28] – Day-one Ultimate addition
• Shady Part of Me (Cloud, Console, and PC) [January 29] – Game Pass Standard
• Sniper Elite: Resistance (Cloud, Console, and PC) [January 30] – Day-one Ultimate addition
• Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) [January 31] – Day-one Ultimate addition
• Far Cry New Dawn (Cloud, Console, and PC) [February 4] – Game Pass Standard

As always, a small selection of titles will also be leaving the service at the end of the month, namely:

• Anuchard
• Broforce Forever
• Darkest Dungeon
• Death’s Door
• Maquette
• Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem

While the first half of the month was somewhat disappointing for Game Pass subscribers, Microsoft seems to be making up for it now, with a major drop of games coming across both Game Pass Standard and Ultimate. Hopefully they keep this up for the rest of the year.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the line-up? Which of the day-one additions will you be hopping into first? Let us know down below.

Throughout the current console generation, Microsoft has released a ton of different custom and unique Xbox Series X|S controllers. Joining the line-up next is the Pulse Cipher Special Edition controller – featuring a throwback translucent design.

Making the announcement on the Xbox Wire Blog, Brianna Lowder – the Marketing Manager for Xbox Accessories – said “Introducing the newest iteration of the Cipher series, Xbox Wireless Controller – Pulse Cipher Special Edition! Like its predecessors, Sky Cipher and Ghost Cipher, Pulse Cipher provides players with a nostalgic transparent look infused with a futuristic twist. Despite being third in the series, this controller is special in its own right.”

Set to arrive in early February, those interested can go ahead and preorder the controller right now for £69.99 – slightly more costly than a standard controller (£59.99 RRP). That said, there’s no denying that by now Xbox has a strong line-up of special edition controllers.

Of course for a relatively basic video game controller, £70 is a pretty penny to spend – especially as the accessory does not include gyro aiming, advanced haptics or anything of the sorts.

Still, for those who miss the classic days of transparent controllers during the PS2/Xbox era, the red Cipher special edition should more than scratch that itch when it arrives next month.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this latest controller? Do you like translucent tech? Are Xbox controllers worth their asking price? Let us know down below.

De Xbox à PlayStation en passant par la Switch, choisir son camp n’est jamais simple. D'autant plus que ces consoles ont de plus en plus de déclinaisons avec les années. Pour vous aider à y voir plus clair, Numerama a fait le tri des informations essentielles (prix, catalogues de jeux, performances…) afin de vous guider vers LA console de salon qui vous fera vibrer.

De Xbox à PlayStation en passant par la Switch, choisir son camp n’est jamais simple. D'autant plus que ces consoles ont de plus en plus de déclinaisons avec les années. Pour vous aider à y voir plus clair, Numerama a fait le tri des informations essentielles (prix, catalogues de jeux, performances…) afin de vous guider vers LA console de salon qui vous fera vibrer.

If there’s anything that Capcom likes doing, it's re-releasing older Resident Evil games to modern consoles. Be it through remasters, remakes or simple ports, you’d be hard pressed to find a console which doesn’t include Capcom’s best-selling franchise. It seems this trend will continue, with new ESRB ratings having popped up for multiple older RE titles.

As reported by VGC, the ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) recently published a new listing for Resident Evil 6 coming to the Xbox Series consoles.

Since then, more listings have been uncovered, including for the likes of the Resident Evil Origins Collections (RE1+0); RE4 and most curiously Resident Evil 7.

All of these games are of course playable on both the Xbox Series X|S and PS5, however – aside from RE7 – the games are all backwards compatible versions of their 8th-gen releases; and so it would perhaps be nice to have full 4K60fps upgrades for these titles.

We will have to wait and see what Capcom’s plans wind up being.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of these new listings? Do any of these games need a current-gen re-release? Let us know your thoughts down below.