With the first ever Developer_Direct in the rear view for us, it's time to pick apart all the games (and surprises) shown off! We saw Redfall, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends, Elder Scrolls Online, and even a surprise drop from Tokyo Gameworks with Hi-Fi Rush. With these games, Xbox has a healthy and full first half of 2023 - a strange sight for fans of the ecosystem. Is this the format for the future of Xbox and how can it be improved? Did Xbox show enough gameplay and did they get the pace of the showcase right? The Dukes have plenty of thoughts on all that was (and wasn't) shown! Outside of Developer_Direct, 343 confirmed they will continue to be stewards of the Halo franchise moving forward in a somewhat ominous message to fans. What is the right next step for such a precious IP and does Xbox overhead need to be more involved? Following the public humiliation surrounding Halo Infinite's launch, should Xbox continue to scale them down into a game publisher? Reports are saying things may be headed in that direction. With all this Xbox news plus hands-on thoughts with new releases in Forspoken and Dead Space Remake, it's one of Defining Duke's busiest weeks yet!

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