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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteXbox’s Developer_Direct 2025 livestream aired on Thursday, January 23, 2025, at 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern and 6 p.m. UK time. It was a free presentation in which game developers talked about upcoming titles, how they were made and who was making them. The show featured DOOM: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, plus a fourth game that Xbox kept under wraps until the broadcast. Xbox’s official recap later identified that game as Ninja Gaiden 4.
Schedule and time zones
Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief Joe Skrebels announced the event on January 9, 2025, in a Xbox Wire post. He wrote that the show was “presented by the game creators themselves,” offering “an in-depth look at upcoming titles, how they’re being created, and who’s creating them.” Xbox then published a watch guide on January 21, 2025 that gave the start time for each major region.
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| Region | Start time | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific Time (PT) | 10:00 a.m. | Thursday, January 23, 2025 |
| Eastern Time (ET) | 1:00 p.m. | Thursday, January 23, 2025 |
| United Kingdom | 6:00 p.m. | Thursday, January 23, 2025 |
Xbox also said regional Xbox and Bethesda streams would run around the world. The sources reviewed do not list local start times for those regional feeds, so readers outside the three zones above should check the regional channel for their own time.
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The announcement named three games and teased a fourth. The table below uses the studio locations given in the announcement and the platform and release details from Xbox’s current game pages.
#1 Best Overall
- MODERNIZED DESIGN — Experience the modernized design of the XBOX Wireless Controller with sculpted surfaces and updated geometry that enhances comfort and control during long gaming sessions.
- PRECISION PERFORMANCE — Stay on target with a hybrid D-pad and textured grips on triggers, bumpers, and back case for improved accuracy and handling.
- SHARE BUTTON: Seamlessly capture and share content such as screenshots, recordings, and more with the new Share button.
- VERSATILE CONNECTIVITY — Connect via USB-C for plug-and-play on console and PC, or quickly pair and switch between supported devices with XBOX Wireless and Bluetooth support.
- BUILT-IN AUDIO SUPPORT — Plug in compatible headsets using the 3.5mm audio jack for direct voice chat and immersive in-game sound.
| Game | Developer and location (as announced) | Platforms and release date (per Xbox pages) |
|---|---|---|
| DOOM: The Dark Ages | id Software, Richardson, Texas | Xbox Series X|S and Windows; May 15, 2025. Listed with Game Pass availability on the official Xbox page. |
| South of Midnight | Compulsion Games, Montreal | Not stated in the Xbox sources cited for this article. |
| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Sandfall Interactive, Montpellier | Xbox Series X|S and PC; April 24, 2025. Listed with Game Pass availability on the official Xbox page. |
| Ninja Gaiden 4 | Surprise reveal; the studio’s location was not named in the announcement | Not stated in the Xbox sources cited for this article. Xbox’s recap identifies it as the fourth game teased in the announcement. |
The release dates above are the ones Xbox’s pages listed when they were reviewed. They are past dates now, so the pages are the place to confirm current platforms and whether a title is still in Game Pass, since catalog inclusion changes over time.
Where the show streamed
Xbox listed a set of official channels for the broadcast:
Rank #2
- Versatile compatibility: supports Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One X/S consoles and PC Win10 and above (including the game platform Steam).
- Precise control: features Hall joysticks and Hall triggers for a comfortable feeling, long service life and improved game accuracy.
- Plug and Play Convenience: Wired USB connection (removable) for easy setup and instant play without the need for additional drivers.
- Customizable experience: Includes 2 custom backbuttons that allow users to eliminate false triggers and improve their gaming experience.
- Impressive gameplay: Provides a pulsating vibration trigger and an asymmetric vibration grip motor for intense tactile feedback.
- Xbox YouTube and Xbox Twitch channels
- Bethesda YouTube and Bethesda Twitch channels
- XboxASL Twitch channel
- Xbox Facebook page
- A simultaneous Steam stream
- A Bilibili stream for viewers in China
- Regional Xbox and Bethesda streams in other markets
Xbox said its YouTube stream would run at 4K/60, but it also warned that bandwidth could cause dips in quality. Viewers with slower connections should expect the stream to drop to a lower resolution at times.
Captions, languages and accessibility options
The main Xbox YouTube stream carried English captions. Live-language coverage was spread across regional channels, and the watch guide listed these languages: Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Czech, French, Canadian French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Castilian Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.
Rank #3
- MODERNIZED DESIGN — Experience the modernized design of the XBOX Wireless Controller with sculpted surfaces and updated geometry that enhances comfort and control during long gaming sessions.
- PRECISION PERFORMANCE — Stay on target with a hybrid D-pad and textured grips on triggers, bumpers, and back case for improved accuracy and handling.
- SHARE BUTTON: Seamlessly capture and share content such as screenshots, recordings, and more with the new Share button.
- VERSATILE CONNECTIVITY — Connect via USB-C for plug-and-play on console and PC, or quickly pair and switch between supported devices with XBOX Wireless and Bluetooth support.
- BUILT-IN AUDIO SUPPORT — Plug in compatible headsets using the 3.5mm audio jack for direct voice chat and immersive in-game sound.
Xbox warned that some of these languages might not be available live. It said it would add any missing language tracks to YouTube as soon as possible, so a replay may carry tracks that were not live on the day.
Accessibility options announced in the guide were:
- An English audio-described version on the Xbox YouTube channel
- American Sign Language (ASL) on the Xbox YouTube channel and the XboxASL Twitch channel
- British Sign Language (BSL) on the Xbox YouTube channel
Surprise releases and the recap
Xbox’s January 23, 2025 recap confirmed Ninja Gaiden 4 as the fourth game and said a remastered Ninja Gaiden 2 Black was surprise-released during the show. The recap is Xbox’s official summary of the event and the best starting point for anyone looking for what was shown.
Rank #4
- MODERNIZED DESIGN — Experience the modernized design of the XBOX Wireless Controller with sculpted surfaces and updated geometry that enhances comfort and control during long gaming sessions.
- PRECISION PERFORMANCE — Stay on target with a hybrid D-pad and textured grips on triggers, bumpers, and back case for improved accuracy and handling.
- SHARE BUTTON: Seamlessly capture and share content such as screenshots, recordings, and more with the new Share button.
- VERSATILE CONNECTIVITY — Connect via USB-C for plug-and-play on console and PC, or quickly pair and switch between supported devices with XBOX Wireless and Bluetooth support.
- BUILT-IN AUDIO SUPPORT — Plug in compatible headsets using the 3.5mm audio jack for direct voice chat and immersive in-game sound.
The sources reviewed do not confirm whether the full broadcast remains available on every channel. Anyone looking for the show itself should check the Xbox and Bethesda YouTube channels directly, and use the recap for the game-by-game record.
Recommended Free Tools
Playing the featured games
Watching the show did not require a subscription or a physical product. The featured games are sold digitally, and Xbox’s pages for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and DOOM: The Dark Ages list Game Pass availability at the time of review. Game Pass access depends on the title’s current catalog status and the subscriber’s region, so check the game’s Xbox page before you subscribe.
Quick Recap
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