Hellblade II & Avowed reported to be Xbox’s next major releases after Starfield

Avowed and Senua's Saga: Hellblade II are reportedly set to follow Bethesda’s Starfield as the next major first-party releases for Xbox, with the Fable reboot only entering full production "recently."

The details:

• In a recent podcast, Video Games Chronicle (VGC) Editor-in-Chief Andy Robinson claimed that the gaming giant intends to release Avowed and Hellblade II after Starfield, with the latter arriving first. Hellblade II has been in development at Ninja Theory for several years, so it's likely to be near the final stages of completion. Obsidian Entertainment's RPG Avowed was announced in 2020 and is set to release after Hellblade's sequel, though we're not sure how long after.
• Jordan Miller, a VGC journalist and the podcast's co-host, also stated that Playground Games' reboot of the Xbox-exclusive RPG franchise, Fable, is "miles away" and has only recently started full production, with the studio still discussing the game's concept as soon as 2022. Alleged management issues have also caused internal delays and issues with the game's production. It now appears that the title has been inspired by CD Projekt Red's The Witcher franchise, with Miller stating that "the term Witcher-like was thrown around a lot to me," implying that some familiar elements from the series may be present in the project.
• According to the podcast, the reboot of Perfect Dark is still far away from release, which is to be expected given that The Initiative suffered from massive turnover rates, with around half of the development team leaving the studio according to a VGC report last year. Senior staff members who left included the game's director, Dan Neuburger, and two senior writers.
• Rare's Everwild is in a similar situation, with development "restarted from scratch" in 2021 following the departure of creative director Simon Woodroffe the previous year, with the studio now aiming for an optimistic 2024 release date. The developer has enlisted the help of Lucid Games to work on future content for its multiplayer pirate game Sea of Thieves, allowing the developer to focus more on the new IP.

What else is going on at Xbox?

• Microsoft announced a 10-year legally binding agreement with Nintendo to bring Xbox's console franchises, including Activision's Call of Duty, to Nintendo platforms. It's unclear when the first Call of Duty for Nintendo fans will be released, but the company could be releasing a successor to the Switch very soon, allowing Activision to use the extra power to bring the FPS franchise to the console.
• Microsoft's Vice Chairman and President Brad Smith claimed that Sony's PlayStation controls 70% of the global console market during a closed hearing at the European Commission in Brussels. The conference was held to allow Microsoft to demonstrate to EU regulators that its ongoing acquisition of Activision-Blizzard would not significantly harm the success of its competitors.