Xbox confirms January Developer Direct with deep dives on Fable, Forza Horizon 6 and Game Freak’s new RPG

Microsoft has officially announced its next Xbox Developer Direct live stream, confirming that Playground Games’ Fable reboot, Forza Horizon 6, and Game Freak’s new action RPG Beast of Reincarnation will appear at the showcase later this month.

The details:

• The latest Xbox Developer Direct will take place on January 22 and will be streamed live at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK, with Microsoft billing the show as a developer-led deep dive into several of its biggest 2026 releases rather than a traditional trailer reel.
• As part of the announcement, Microsoft confirmed that Playground Games will appear with both of its major projects, promising the “first extended look” at Fable and debut gameplay for Forza Horizon 6, which was revealed last year and is set in Japan.
• The showcase will also feature “the first in-depth look” at Beast of Reincarnation, a new action RPG from Pokémon studio Game Freak, which is set in near-future Japan and currently scheduled to launch in 2026 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC with publisher Fictions.
• While the Developer Direct is being promoted around these three titles, the show will likely feature additional announcements and smaller updates, and past iterations of the format have occasionally included surprise reveals or shadow drops alongside the pre-announced games. Recently, it has been claimed that a Fallout: New Vegas remaster is in the works, with a shadow drop likely.