Xbox Developer Direct 2025: Ninja Gaiden 4 Announced, Doom: The Dark Ages Gets Release Date and More

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Microsoft held its Xbox Developer Direct 2025 showcase on Friday, sharing details about its upcoming first-party games and bringing some new announcements. Bethesda's first-person shooter Doom: The Dark Ages finally received a release date, and so did Compulsion Games' action-adventure title, South of Midnight. Both games also showed off new gameplay footage and shared pre-order details across supported platforms. Developer Sandfall Interactive also revealed the release date for their upcoming turn-based RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Finally, at the Developer Direct showcase, Team Ninja and Platinum Games announced it was working on the next Ninja Gaiden title, set to release in Fall 2025 across Xbox, PC and PS5. Ninja Gaiden 4 will be the first mainline entry in the beloved series in over a decade, after Ninja Gaiden 3 was released in 2012. The studio also announced Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, a remastered version of the original, out now across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S/X.

Here's everything that was announced at Xbox Developer Direct 2025 on Thursday:

First revealed at last year's packed Xbox Games Showcase, Doom: The Dark Ages finally received a confirmed release date at Xbox Developer Direct on Wednesday. Id Software confirmed that the long-awaited follow-up to Doom Eternal will launch May 15, 2025, across PC, Xbox Series S/X and PS5, with day one release on Game Pass.

In a developer deep dive, id Software shared extensive details about the game's combat design, exploration and story. Said to be the most ambitious Doom yet, the game will serve as a prequel to 2016's Doom and Doom Eternal and will be set in a dark fantasy/ sci-fi world.

Players will be encouraged to stand their ground and fight bigger and meaner demons, with the Doom Slayer now playing like a tank. To help players defend themselves and attack back, the game will equip them with a shield saw and plenty of medieval weaponry, in addition to the game's beefy guns. The game is also now up for pre-order