2026 signals a new era for Xbox. Long-time Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has retired, and his presumed successor, Xbox President Sarah Bond, has also left the company. In steps Asha Sharma, currently the President of Microsoft’s CoreAI product, who will be tasked with wrangling all of the first-party developers making games for the Xbox Series X/S and PC, as well as PlayStation, as Microsoft’s move into multiplatform publishing continues.
2025 was the year Xbox’s push to be present everywhere became clearer than ever, with The Outer Worlds 2, Doom: The Dark Ages, Ninja Gaiden 4, and Gears of War: Reloaded all coming to PS5 alongside their Xbox and PC releases. They were all part of last year’s pretty strong lineup, which also saw Avowed, Keeper, and South of Midnight launch exclusively on Xbox’s platforms. That’s not to say there were no missteps, though. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 turned out to be one of the most disappointing entries in the enduring shooter series, underperforming both critically and commercially.
But what about the rest of 2026 and the future of Microsoft as a games publisher beyond that? Well, there are currently numerous video games in development at Xbox across multiple divisions, from Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and Xbox Game Studios. To help keep track of them all, we’ve collected everything we know about every Xbox studio and their current projects below.
Playground Games
Playground Games is set for a big 2026, with the releases of two hugely anticipated games.
First up is Forza Horizon 6, which sees the open-world driving game head to the much-demanded setting of Japan. Launching on Xbox Series X/S and PC on May 19, before heading to PS5 later in the year, all signs point to it being another gorgeous masterclass in car heaven.
Then there’s Fable. Playground’s fantasy RPG reboot of Lionhead’s beloved series has no firm release date, but is aiming for a late 2026 release. The latest Xbox Developer Direct gave us a lengthy look inside the British studio’s interpretation of the world of Albion, and how it plans to bring that fairy tale magic into the modern generation. Launching simultaneously on Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PS5, Fable looks set to be one of the biggest games of the year.
Bethesda Game Studios
Officially, Bethesda Game Studios has just one big game on the horizon: The Elder Scrolls 6. The next mainline game in the beloved fantasy RPG series was announced way back in 2018 at a long-forgotten event called E3. Crucially, the announcement came simultaneously with the reveal of Starfield, and Bethesda was hard at work creating the space-faring RPG. The developer reiterated to the public many times that The Elder Scrolls 6 would not enter full production until after Starfield was released.
Now, following the launch of Starfield in 2023 and the expansion DLC Shattered Space in 2024, Bethesda is finally all-in on The Elder Scrolls 6. As part of The Elder Scrolls' 30th anniversary on March 25, 2024, Bethesda announced that the next Elder Scrolls was fully in development, and that there are even early builds of the game up and running.
More recently, in February 2026, Todd Howard spoke with Kinda Funny and confirmed that The Elder Scrolls 6 is in full development, with “the majority of the studio” working on the game. He also followed up by saying that it's “still a long way off”, but will see the fantasy RPG series return to “that classic style that we've missed, that we know really, really well.”
Obsidian Entertainment
Obsidian Entertainment had a bumper 2025. Not only did the Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity developer release two big RPGs in the form of Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2, but it also launched Grounded 2 into early access. The studio will work away on the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids-inspired sequel until its full release, but as for what’s beyond that, it's a mystery at the moment. Well, mostly: we can at least rule out another The Outer Worlds, as the second game achieved less-than-ideal sales and Obsidian has no plans to continue the series. But after a trio of releases, the teams have likely earned a small break to consider what comes next, though.
Halo Studios
Halo Studios, formerly known as 343 Industries, is currently working on multiple new Halo projects, but the only one we know about right now is Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the original Master Chief adventure. Containing only the single-player story from Bungie’s 2001 series starter, the most notable detail about it — aside from the stunning-looking Unreal Engine 5 upgrade —is that, for the first time ever, Halo will be playable on a PlayStation console. While there’s no firm release date, expect Xbox’s most famous mascot to land on Series X/S, PC, and PS5 later in 2026.
The Coalition
Xbox’s dedicated Gears of War studio is seemingly always busy. Canada-based The Coalition released Gears of War: Reloaded, a 4K remaster of the original Gears of War, for Xbox Series X and S, PC, and – for the first time ever – PS5 on August 26, 2025.
But this is just an appetizer for Gears of War: E-Day, the next mainline Gears of War game set 14 years before the events of the original. Marcus Fenix (John DiMaggio) and Dom Santiago (Carlos Ferro) will return in a prequel that finally tells the full story of Emergence Day, when monstrous creatures known as the Locust emerged from underground and destroyed the planet Sera.
Gears of War: E-Day is currently scheduled to release sometime in 2026.
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment remains focused on three core games: Diablo 4, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft. Following the cancellation of an unannounced fantasy survival project codenamed Odyssey back in 2024, Blizzard has narrowed its focus to concentrate on improving its most popular games.
Overwatch 2 is no more, thanks to the studio having reverted the hero shooter's title back to simply “Overwatch” early in 2026. It kick-started a new era for the game, with a refocused approach to story, a raft of new heroes, and revamped menu systems. The good news is that it all seems to be working, with Overwatch rising up the concurrent player charts once again. Whether it will ever truly recapture the glory of its early days from a decade ago remains to be seen, but Blizzard is certainly not giving up on it, nor its loyal playerbase.
Diablo 4 operates on a seasonal update schedule, with larger DLC expansions that add more significant upgrades and story content. The first expansion, titled Vessel of Hatred and released on October 7, 2024, added a massive new jungle region called Nahantu as well as a new Spiritborn character class that controls the ancient powers of the jungle to wield both long-range and melee abilities. Next up is April 2026’s Lord of Hatred expansion, which will be adding not one, but two new classes to Diablo 4, including the much-requested Paladin.
As for World of Warcraft, its newest expansion, Midnight, is imminent. Launching on March 2nd, it takes place in Quel'Thalas, home to the Blood Elf city of Silvermoon. Unlike recent expansions, Midnight will open with not one, but three raids, as well as eight brand new dungeons, as it looks to make a big impact on WoW.
Furthermore, Blizzard has committed to supporting World of Warcraft Classic, which recreates World of Warcraft at earlier release states. WoW Classic is currently on Cataclysm Classic, the fourth expansion ever released for WoW, with Mists of Pandaria Classic set for Spring 2026.
Arkane Studios
Arkane Studios, the developer behind the Dishonored series, was previously spread across two locations: one studio in Austin, Texas, which developed Prey, and another in Lyon, France, which most recently released Deathloop.
On May 7, 2024, Xbox closed Arkane’s Austin branch following the tepid release of its vampire co-op shooter, Redfall. However, Arkane Lyon remains open and continues work on the studio’s next game, Marvel’s Blade.
Announced at the 2023 Game Awards, Marvel’s Blade is an upcoming action-adventure game starring the iconic vampire hunter who’s on a mission to protect Paris from an oncoming vampire invasion. And in a big departure from the first-person games Arkane is typically known for, Blade will be playable in the third-person perspective. Deathloop director and studio head Dinga Bakaba will co-direct Blade alongside Arkane’s long-serving art director, Sebastien Mitton, and Bakaba has said he’s excited to bring Arkane’s unique take on Blade to life.
According to Arkane’s financial statements for 2024, Blade entered full production at the end of 2025.
Id Software
Released on May 15, 2025, Doom: The Dark Ages is a heavy metal, dark fantasy prequel to 2016’s Doom. Id Software intentionally went for a slower, tankier approach to combat with The Dark Ages, taking away some of the Doom Slayer’s speed and agility. In exchange, he has access to heavier weapons like a flail and shield he can throw at enemies, a la Captain America. There’s also our new favorite weapon, the skull-crushing Pulverizer, which uses enemy bones as ammo.
IGN gave the newest Doom game a 9, calling it “a new flavor of the legendary shooter series that’s heavier and more grounded, but no less energetic and exhilarating.” If you haven’t played Doom: The Dark Ages yet, it’s worth checking out for sure. Naturally, considering The Dark Ages was only released less than a year ago, there’s no word yet on the studio’s next game.
MachineGames
Swedish developer MachineGames blew everyone away with its stellar reboot of Wolfenstein back in 2014, and most recently surprised everyone with a new Indiana Jones video game – a totally different style of experience, aside from all the Nazis, of course.
Starring the famous archaeologist in a new, globe-trotting adventure, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was critically acclaimed thanks to its fantastic mix of first- and third-person gameplay, an uncanny performance by Troy Baker that sounds almost exactly like Harisson Ford circa-1980, and ultimately its ability to capture the exact tone of the better Indiana Jones movies in video game form. MachineGames followed up its hit release with the first story DLC, The Order of Giants, which arrived on September 4, 2025.
As for the studio’s future, it was reported in January 2026 that Wolfenstein 3 is in development, which could serve as the third instalment of the latest B.J. Blazkowicz trilogy, following the underwhelming Wolfenstein: Young Blood detour, a co-op game which starred his twin daughters.
Infinity Ward
Activision maintains a continuous development cycle to uphold an annual Call of Duty release cadence. That means the franchise’s key studios – Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Raven Software, and Sledgehammer Games – each trade off lead development duties on the newest Call of Duty game. The studios not working on this year’s instalment will be working on either next year’s game or the year after’s.
The last Call of Duty title Infinity Ward led development on was 2022’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The studio then assisted Sledgehammer Games on 2023’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Treyarch with 2025’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Last year’s entry, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, was co-developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, meaning those studios have been lead developers two years in a row. It wouldn’t be a leap to suggest Infinity Ward could be leading whatever 2026’s Call of Duty turns out to be.
Treyarch
Treyarch co-developed 2025’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. As one of the longest-serving developers at Activision, Treyarch has worked on Call of Duty games since as early as 2005’s Call of Duty 2: Big Red One. The studio is responsible for founding the very popular Black Ops sub-series, and is also responsible for developing Call of Duty’s Zombies – most recently for 2021’s Vanguard, 2023’s Modern Warfare 3, and Black Ops 6 and 7. Having only just put out Black Ops 7, it’s likely we won’t see anything new from Treyarch for at least a couple of years.
Raven Software
Raven Software is part of Activision’s stable of dedicated Call of Duty developers and is the co-developer of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which it worked on alongside Treyarch.
The two studios have a history working with each other, with Raven taking on campaign duties while Treyarch builds the multiplayer. This began with 2020’s Black Ops: Cold War, and the relationship continued into 2024’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. In our review, IGN gave Black Ops 6’s campaign a 9, calling it “the best Call of Duty campaign in many, many years.” Unfortunately, Black Ops 7 unfortunately couldn’t maintain that momentum, as we scored it a 6/10. With back-to-back shooters from the same studios not typically yielding good results for Call of Duty (see the recent one-two punch of Modern Warfare 2 and 3), we’ll see how long Raven gets given on the next one.
Sledgehammer Games
California-based Sledgehammer Games is another Call of Duty studio working under the Activision umbrella. It previously led development on 2023’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and before it, Call of Duty: Vanguard.
While Sledgehammer was listed as an assist studio on 2024’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, it was also reported that the studio lost 30% of its staff in a round of layoffs back in 2024, and it’s unknown whether Sledgehammer will be able to lead development on a new Call of Duty game going forward.
Compulsion Games
Following We Happy Few in 2018, Canadian-based Compulsion Games released its newest game, South of Midnight, on April 8, 2025.
South of Midnight is an action-adventure game set in a fantastical version of the Deep South. The game follows a young mystic named Hazel Flood on her journey to become a Weaver, a magical mender of broken spirits. Along the way, Hazel encounters numerous mythical creatures and enemies based on Southern Gothic folklore. IGN gave South of Midnight an 8 in our review, calling it “a straightforward but well-executed action-adventure game on the surface, with a simple but satisfying mix of combat and platforming.”
South of Midnight will soon be arriving on both Nintendo Switch 2 and PS5, but there’s been no word yet on what Compulsion Games is working on next.
Double Fine Productions
Double Fine had been keeping quiet following the release of Psychonauts 2 in 2021, but all that changed when the studio released its latest game, Keeper, a puzzle adventure starring a sentient, walking lighthouse, late in 2025. As for what the future holds, Double Fine announced its upcoming pottery-based multiplayer brawler, Kiln, at January 2026’s Xbox Developer Direct, proving there’s seemingly no genre the studio won't tackle. You just simply never know what Tim Schafer and co are going to deliver next.
Ninja Theory
UK-based Ninja Theory released Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 on May 21, 2024, the long-awaited sequel to 2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. With Senua’s story wrapped up, it was thought that Ninja Theory could be shifting focus to Project: Mara, a horror game the studio first teased back in January 2020. But that project has since been cancelled, and a new Hellblade game that is more of a ‘game’ is reportedly in the works instead.
Rare
Rare was deeply impacted by the 2025 company-wide layoffs at Microsoft. The famed developer behind games like Goldeneye 007 and Banjo-Kazooie has spent the better part of the past decade releasing regular updates for its popular online pirate game, Sea of Thieves. However, Rare was also working on Everwild, a third-person fantasy adventure game that was first announced in 2019.
At some point in 2021, it was reported that Everwild was experiencing development difficulties and underwent a complete reboot. However, following the layoffs at Microsoft, Xbox announced internally that Everwild would be canceled. In addition, longtime Rare director Gregg Mayles, who had reportedly been lead on Everwild following its reboot, resigned from the studio he first joined in 1989.
While work on Sea of Thieves will likely continue, it’s unclear what the next steps are for the venerable British studio.
Inxile Entertainment
After being acquired by Xbox in 2018, the RPG specialists at InXile Entertainment are finally getting ready to release their first game under the Xbox Game Studios banner, Clockwork Revolution.
The first-person RPG is set in a vibrant, steampunk version of the 19th century where crime and violence thrive. Amid an escalating turf war between local gangs, criminal kingpins, and the local government, you gain the ability to manipulate time, which will surely come in handy during the ensuing conflict.
Clockwork Revolution was first announced in 2023, and InXile says it’s the studio’s biggest game to date in terms of scope and budget. Based on the most recent gameplay trailer from Xbox’s Summer Games Showcase, it certainly appears to be a deep RPG with multiple dialogue options that affect the outcome of certain situations, a deeply customizable character creator, and numerous weapon modifications. However, Clockwork Revolution still doesn’t have a firm release window.
Mojang Studios
The Sweden-based studio behind Minecraft continues to release regular updates for its massively popular crafting game, with SpongeBob SquarePants, Stranger Things, and Bluey all making their world into its world over recent months.
In addition, Mojang produced a live-action Minecraft film, which was released in 2025. Starring Jack Black and Jason Mamoa, A Minecraft Movie ended up being the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time after 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Undead Labs
Seattle-based studio Undead Labs has been working on State of Decay 3 for the past several years. The third game in the popular zombie survival sim series, it was officially announced in 2020. However, there have been multiple reports of behind-the-scenes trouble at the studio leading to its slow development.
First, studio founder Jeff Strain left Undead Labs in 2021 to start up a new studio, Possibility Space (which faced its own internal struggles). This was followed by a 2022 investigation by Kotaku into a toxic work environment at the studio, which resulted in an internal Microsoft investigation and the departure of studio HR boss, Anne Schlosser. These issues have reportedly contributed to the delay of State of Decay 3, which still doesn’t have a release window.
ZeniMax Online Studios
The Maryland-based ZeniMax Online Studios has been releasing continuous updates to The Elder Scrolls Online since its launch in 2014. The MMORPG spinoff of Bethesda’s popular Elder Scrolls RPG series has quietly grown to become one of the biggest MMOs in the world, alongside games like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14.
Behind the scenes, it was reported that ZeniMax Online Studios was also impacted by the Microsoft layoffs in 2025. Not only has veteran studio boss Matt Firor stepped down from the company, but an unannounced game known only as Project Blackbird was also canceled.
While Bloomberg reported that Xbox executives were “blown away” by Project Blackbird, Xbox still announced internally that it was cancelling the game. Reports have since come out with more details about Project Blackbird. The game was set to be a new sci-fi MMO where players would navigate the politics of warring gangster factions on an alien planet where one side of the planet is engulfed in fire and the other covered in ice.
ZeniMax Online Studios was reportedly staffing up to begin full production on Project Blackbird before it was canceled. Earlier in 2026, former studio founder, Matt Firor, confirmed that he resigned from the company due to the game’s cancellation.
Turn 10 Studios
Washington-based Turn 10 Studios was once the home of Xbox’s racing sim Forza Motorsport, but all that appears to have changed following the 2025 layoffs at Microsoft. According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schrier, Turn10 reportedly lost nearly 50% of its staff in last year’s layoffs, and the studio is effectively “shuttered.”
Further reports suggest that the Forza Motorsport series will no longer be supported, and remaining Turn 10 staff will serve as an assist team on the spinoff series, Forza Horizon.
World’s Edge
World’s Edge was established by Xbox Game Studios in 2019 to be the stewards of the Age of Empires real-time strategy series. Since its inception, World’s Edge has released a number of remasters, starting with Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition in 2019, and the most recent being Age of Mythology: Retold. A remaster of the original Age of Mythology, it focuses on ancient civilizations and the gods they worshipped. It was released on September 4, 2024.
World’s Edge isn’t solely dedicated to remasters, though; it also released a new entry into the series, Age of Empires 4, back in 2021 to positive reviews. It’s unclear if its next step will be to continue working on its remasters (AoE2: Definitive Edition continues to receive expansion packs) or develop an entirely new project.
King
Sweden-based mobile game developer King remains in charge of one of the most successful mobile games of all time, Candy Crush. While King has taken brief detours away from the series, working on mobile games like 2021’s Crash Bandicoot: On the Run and 2020’s Knighthood, King continues to release new Candy Crush games, most recently Candy Crush Solitaire in 2025.
Despite its flagship series’ continued success, King was affected by the 2025 Microsoft layoffs, with 10% of its total workforce cut.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
