"We're going to try and be more consistent with what we do": The head of Xbox Game Studios on the Developer Direct reveals, multiplatform strategy, and hard lessons learned from 2025

Halo: Combat Evoled screenshot showing a grunt running away from an explosion in the sand.

2026 is going to be an important year for Xbox Game Studios. The publisher has aligned its four biggest franchises to land within a single calendar year, with new installments to the Fable, Forza, Halo, and Gears franchises readying for release. This all comes as questions swirl around the burgeoning multiplatform strategy and Xbox's decision to cease development of Everwild and Perfect Dark last year.

Coming off the back of yesterday's Xbox Developer Direct, I sat down with Craig Duncan – the head of Xbox Game Studios. Duncan has a lot of great insights to share on the wider Xbox strategy. He led Rare for well over a decade, overseeing the launch of Sea of Thieves and other titles, before taking over as head of XGS in 2024 following the retirement of Alan Hartman.