Player 2 vs The Xbox Developer Direct '26
Xbox kicks off its 2026 in its now-traditional way, airing its annual Developer_Direct showcase. The console manufacturer and third-party publisher brought three announced titles to the show in Forza Horizon 6, Fable, and Game Freak’s Beast Of Reincarnation, as well as stealth announcing another title, Double Fine’s newest title, Kiln. Player 2 editors Matt Hewson and Paul James came together to pick through each reveal, sharing their thoughts on all Xbox had to show.
Forza Horizon 6
Paul: I never used to care about the Forza games because I never considered myself a racing game guy, but as many people (including you, Matt) have said, over many years, Forza Horizon isn’t much of a racing game. It’s all about the experience and the freedom, and I fell in love with the open world and experience of Forza Horizon 5 when I jumped on the PS5 release. Now my engine is ready to fire up for Forza Horizon 6. Being a PlayStation focussed player, I’ll wait for the release on my preferred platform later in the year to dive in headlong, but I’ll dip my toes in slightly when it hits Xbox in May for sure.
Matt: We are finally off to Japan, and my word, it looks stunning. I can’t wait to spend a million hours drifting around the iconic locations on offer while trying my best not to ruin the ambience by crashing. The new customisation stuff isn’t usually my thing, but I certainly love to benefit from other people’s hard work, so I can’t wait to see what they come up with. In all, despite the fact that a Forza Horizon game is a bit of a known quantity, it was still an impressive showing and one that has a real chance of pushing the franchise into game of the year categories once again.
Beast of Reincarnation
Paul: I dunno that I trust Game Freak to deliver with Beast Of Reincarnation. Like, it sounds good, and I’m into what they’re going for, but every time someone from the team uttered the word Pokemon, in reference to their past work, I just cringed. This game is obviously much more ambitious than what the team has been doing with Pokémon games for many years now, but I think I need a demo or something to try out before I properly believe that this game can be good.
Matt: Look, I feel I am a bit more positive on this one. I am keen to see what the team can do without the hardware limitations that always come with developing for a Nintendo platform. The aesthetic is something I can get behind, and both the traversal powers and combat seem like they are on point (I especially liked the slowdown, attack-select mechanic). Obviously, in this guided demo type display, they could easily be hiding issues, but I am glass-half-full on this one and keen to see how it plays out at full release.
Kiln
Paul: A pottery X competitive multiplayer concept sure is something that only teams like Double Fine could come up with. I do love that Xbox have allowed this game to exist, given their seeming unwavering desire to cut small projects in favour of developing blockbusters only. I love the game’s personality, and that might actually help it to overcome my usual disinterest in competitive multiplayer titles, so we’ll see how it goes when this game comes out in a few short months.
Matt: It seems that Double Fine are back to their multiple small project ways. First, we had the very cool Keeper last year, and now Kiln. Something totally wild, unique and, above all, unmistakably a Double Fine joint. This is giving me party game vibes, and assuming that it has a pick-up-and-play control system, this one could be a massive hit among those of us who still love to game in the same lounge room with mates. I know my son will be super keen on it.
Fable
Paul: Day and date, PlayStation was an unexpected twist. I thought that, a bit like Forza Horizon 6, the game would have some kind of timed console exclusivity, but not to be. Setting the business machinations aside, I’m really loving the direction of Fable. I mean, visually, the look of the game is a little less exaggerated than I remember past games being, and that was a touch disappointing, but for what it is, the game looks stunning, and I’m right into all of the classic systems that are returning, paired with some pretty great-looking additions and refinements. This game has been sitting near the top of a lot of people’s most anticipated lists, and this showcase did nothing to shake the confidence in myself, and presumably, many others.
Matt: I have watched this presentation twice now and read the follow-up piece about it on Xbox wire and all I can say is, Playground is cooking. This appears to be everything I could have wanted from a modern Fable. The humour, the setting and the tone all feel pitch perfect. The combat and morality systems have been upgraded in seemingly spectacular ways, and the impressive “living” cast of NPCs feels almost groundbreaking. There are so many things I want to know more about, to dig into, but despite that, I can’t stop smiling. As a long-time fan of the franchise that still plays all three of the original games regularly, I have to say I am pumped for this version of Fable. Let’s just hope it is released plenty of time before GTA casts its shadow across all of gaming.
