Xbox Direct January 2024 recap: Avowed, Indiana Jones, and more

Xbox has a busy year ahead

The January 2024 Xbox Direct has come and gone, and it brought plenty of news about upcoming Xbox Series X|S games with it. Xbox’s first-party studios provided in-depth updates on Hellblade: 2, Bethesda’s Indiana Jones game, and more, and there was even a little surprise thrown in the mix. Okay, so we technically knew about that surprise already thanks to The Game Awards 2024, but it’s nice to see it show up on Xbox anyway.

Contents

1. Bethesda’s Indiana Jones game
2. Avowed trailer
3. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 behind the scenes
4. Ara: History Untold features
5. Visions of Mana on Xbox

Most anticipated Xbox Game Pass games coming in 2024

Bethesda’s Indiana Jones game

Bethesda finally showed off a little bit of their Indiana Jones game, officially called The Great Circle. It looks pretty excellent, and you can check it out for yourself in our Indiana Jones trailer recap.

Avowed trailer

Following 2023’s very brief glimpse into Obsidian’s dark fantasy RPG Avowed – and some insight into its troubled development, where it almost turned into a multiplayer game – the Outer Worlds maker showcased quite a bit more of their upcoming game. Check it out in full in our Avowed recap.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 behind the scenes

One day, we’ll actually see a chunk of Hellblade 2 in action. Today was not that day. Instead, Ninja Theory once again took us behind the scenes to see how they’re bringing Senua’s grim new journey to life and finally unveiled the Hellblade 2 release date.

Ara: History Untold features

Ara: History Untold, from former Firaxis and Civilization devs, is looking mighty fine in its latest trailer. Xbox gave us a glimpse at what’s in store for the grand strategy game, including new features and some actual gameplay.

Visions of Mana on Xbox

Square Enix surprised everyone with a brief look at Visions of Mana, the series' first release on Xbox. We see acclaimed monster designer Koichi Ishii's latest work and some unbearably cute monsters that we're supposed to be afraid of, plus an equally cute new horse-dog in the Visions of Mana trailer.

That's probably all we'll see from Xbox's first-party studios for a while. Microsoft usually holds these events once each quarter or so, and if 2023 is anything to go by, further announcements will likely come during Geoff Keighley's not-E3 presentation or in a separate, meaty Xbox showcase.