Today, Xbox livestreamed their Partner Preview event, and showed off games and expansions coming up next from studios affiliated with them. There’s plenty of exciting things that were revealed here for owners of any gaming platform, but Xbox players can look forward to reportedly having Xbox Play Anywhere capabilities for all of the games covered during the show. As usual, intermixed with a couple of industry-leading production teams, the Partner Preview event featured some smaller but not weaker titles from studios who could end up punching way above their weight. Below is an ordered overview of what was announced.
First, it began with a reveal of Armatus, gothic looking third-person action shooter coming in 2026 to Xbox, Xbox Gamepass, Steam, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2. The trailer for the game showcases its rather niche story concept; one in which sci-fi assault rifles and modern Paris clash with frenzied demons and medieval plate armor. Its developer, Counterplay games, has yet to really make a name for itself with its previous title, Godfall, so it will be interesting to see how Armatus proves itself.
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, first-person co-op horror game steeped in homage to Lovecraft’s work, was announced to arrive on Xbox, Steam, and PS5 next summer. According to the game’s new page on Steam and publisher Nacon’s website, you and up to three other friends will be tasked with launching expeditions into a “cursed jungle” that ramp up in difficulty with how long you’re there. The Mound looks to be a somewhat strange turning point for developer Ace Studios, as although this won’t be their first FPS, and the studio prides itself on creating “bizarre” titles, compared to their zany catalogue of games, this new release looks like it might be their most serious and harrowing yet.
Dave The Diver is on Xbox platforms as of today, and was confirmed to get DLC soon next year called In the Jungle. Upon its release in 2023, the game made a big splash not only with fans–where its Steam rating currently sits around 95%–but also in the industry because of an interesting debate it sparked in the community. Despite it looking like an independent game with its charm and quirky mechanics, there was some deliberation on if it could be counted as an indie nominee for the Game Awards that year, as its developers are affiliated with the titan publisher Nexon. Regardless of that, players generally loved what Dave The Diver had to offer, and this new DLC could give more of what got the game nominated in the first place.
Crowsworn, a Hollowknight-esque platformer metroidvania, had its stylish 2D gameplay revealed and is slated to come out in 2026 on Xbox, Xbox Gamepass, Steam, PS5, and Nintendo Switch. This will be Mongoose Studio’s first swing in the gaming industry, and if it’s able to successfully capture some of the fervour players had for Silksong this year, it could strike a home run.
A voxelly, turn-based, dimension-hopping RPG called Echo Generation 2 was announced without launch time-frame for Xbox, Xbox Gamepass, and Steam. The prior title, while not incredibly popular, received good reviews from fans and critics alike who praised its energy and aesthetics. Echo Generation’s devotion to synth soaked retro nostalgia looks to be expounded upon in this sequel, so hopefully its charm will reach a wider audience.
A rather tongue in cheek trailer that started off with an ambiguous 3D fantasy cinematic with “next-gen graphics” and an “endless open world” quickly turned into a reveal for a new Vampire Survivors game called Vampire Crawlers. Although it jokes that it’s “Not another roguelike deckbuilder,” that’s exactly what it is, and it’s coming to Xbox, Xbox Gamepass, Steam, Epic Store, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch some time next year. Vampire Survivors won game of the year at BAFTA in 2023, and at one point had thousands of concurrent players on Steam and millions of downloads for its mobile version, so there could be quite a buzz about this game in anticipation for its release.
IOI Interactive showcased additional content for their upcoming third-person action game 007 First Light that honors the role Aston Martin vehicles have played in the James Bond films. First Light was revealed during Playstation’s State of Play event this June, and almost looks like IOI’s attempt to make a game with the same grandiosity and action as Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series but with a tinge of the espionage the studio pioneered in Hitman. Amazon MGM is overseeing the production of 007 First Light, so there’s some hefty finance behind this title. Whether or not that translates into a AAA hit on its release next March remains to be seen, but at least with this ode to James Bond’s affection for Aston Martin it shows that there’s some dedication to representing the series faithfully.
Roadside Research, a co-op game where you play as silly aliens prepping for Earth’s invasion, is coming early 2026 to Xbox, Xbox Gamepass, and Steam. According to the Steam page for the game, you’ll be spending your time with friends operating a gas station–all while fooling pesky humans with ingenious disguises (a sheet of paper with a player-drawn smiley face) so you can surveil them. Roadside Research boasts a “Dual Upgrade Path” for co-op and solo players to sink their hard-earned money into, and emphasizes the need to balance alien priorities and gas station duties to achieve success. This title could provide an excellent, lighthearted cool-off game to play with your friends after grappling with the horrors of The Mound next year.
There was a bombshell surprise release announcement of Total Chaos, first person survival horror game that is available starting today on Xbox, Xbox Gamepass, Steam, and PS5. The game has apparently been in development for over 20 years, and was originally a mod for Doom 2, but has now been formed into a full-fledged standalone title. And there’s some serious heavy-hitters at work here. Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka, Turbo Overkill creator Sam Prebble, and “…the visual effects talent behind Avatar, The Hobbit, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes” have all contributed to the production of Total Chaos.
Reanimal, a co-op horror game from the Little Nightmares team, was announced to release February 13th 2026 on Xbox, Xbox Gamepass, Steam, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2. The Steam page for the upcoming game asserts that it will “…take you on a darker, more terrifying journey than ever before,” which could be more than just marketing, as the current content rating of Reanimal sits at Mature, whereas the Little Nightmares trilogy are all rated Teen. This isn’t riveting in and of itself, but the change in rating could allow us to see a creative side of the studio that hasn’t been fully explored before.
Erosion, another voxelly game, was revealed and confirmed to come out in spring of 2026 on Xbox, Xbox Gamepass, and PS5. This top-down action game showcased in the trailer a mechanic similar to Sloclap’s Sifu, where every death advances the age of your character and provides unique advantages and disadvantages. Also of note is the fact that Erosion claims to be an open-world roguelite with destructible environments, which isn’t a very common combination, and could provide some stand-out gameplay moments next year.
Zoopunk was shown to be what looks like third-person hack and slash with anthropomorphic animals and confirmed without a release date to come to Xbox, Steam, Epic Store, and PS5. Except there’s more, as the official page for the game on Xbox claims that it’s a “team-based co-op” game, which isn’t very evident in the showcase. Interestingly, there will also be an AI system in Zoopunk that allows players to generate new artwork for their ships, according to this Nvidia article released earlier this year. Judging by the controversy Embark’s conservative usage of AI voice generation in Arc Raiders caused–as marked by this Eurogamer review–it will be interesting to see how players react, and what bearing it has on the game’s reception.
Clover Pit, a gambling slot-machine roguelite that was released on Steam this September, was announced to be available on Xbox and Xbox Gamepass today, and its upcoming Unholy Fusion DLC was teased to come out soon. The game claims to be “the demonic lovechild of Balatro and Buckshot Roulette,” and more or less lives up to that description; combining the first person perspective and gritty artstyle of the latter with the deck-building (with trinkets instead of cards) mechanics of the former. So far it’s received good reviews from players, although there have been some complaints recently about a balancing patch the developers made.
IOI Interactive put out another announcement for new free content for Hitman: World of Assassination; this time for a new Elusive Target Mission called Eminem vs. Slim Shady (of all people to feature in that game) to be released on December 1st everywhere you can play Hitman. In this content update, Agent 47 will team up with Eminem to combat his alter-ego in a mind-bending rendition of the rapper’s “Popsomp Hill Asylum” he conjured up for his Relapse album in 2009. It’s definitely a weird addition to the game, but it could end up being an entertaining distraction while fans wait for IOI’s 007 First Light.
There was also an extensive gameplay sequence showcased of a boss fight in the upcoming third-person action game Tides of Annihilation, which doesn’t have a launch date but is confirmed to come to Xbox. The game apparently puts an interesting spin on Arthurian Legend–think Excalibur and The Knights of The Round Table–and is set in modern-day London. It will be the first-ever title from developer-publisher Eclipse Glow Games, and what’s been shown here is promising enough to pique interest and stoke anticipation for further updates on the game’s progress.
Lastly, Raji: Kaliyuga, seemingly Hindu mythology inspired third-person action game and a sequel to Raji: An Ancient Epic, was revealed and confirmed without a release date to come out on Xbox, Xbox Gamepass, Steam, Epic Store, and PS5. Players of An Ancient Epic may be surprised by this trailer, as the sequel looks to take an interesting departure from its predecessor not only in gameplay format but in aesthetic. By changing its previously isometric perspective to a third-person one and developing its art direction into something far more realistic and gritty than the flatter style in the first game, it now seems reminiscent of one of the recent God of War games. As mentioned in the Xbox wire article for the showcase, the first game was lauded with awards, which could paint a good picture for Raji: Kaliyuga.