With Xbox set to do a Games Showcase and Starfield Direct in the near future, there's speculation as to what the company may be working on, and a mystery sequel hinted at in legal documents may take 10 years to develop. When Xbox initiated plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, tons of information was brought to the forefront like how pivotal the Call of Duty franchise is, and some insightful news about an upcoming game.
Since the early days of gaming, video games have taken years to develop, and that is a trend that has only expanded as the requirements to build a triple-A title increased. As video games have gotten more complex over the generations from 8-bit to 4K, higher budget projects like Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 take eight years take progressively more resources and skilled people. As Xbox is looking to draw in more gamers with acquisitions like the Activision Blizzard deal, more revelations have been made that it's looking to take its time in developing a title, potentially up to 10 years.
According to one of the details in the Xbox acquisition of Activision Blizzard slowly being accepted by various countries from around the world, one Microsoft executive has said that there's a "forthcoming title" from a redacted franchise that "may take up to a decade to develop." Other things that were redacted from this section of Xbox's legal filings include how long Halo Infinite was in the works, how much the 343 FPS cost to develop, and the particular Microsoft executive that was referenced in the sentence. Because the Xbox franchise remains obscured, it could be a number of titles that have been announced like Fable, Perfect Dark, or Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls 6, but it could just as easily be a completely unannounced project.
With Bethesda taking four years to make Fallout 3, seven for Fallout 4, and six to develop Skyrim, The Elder Scrolls 6 may be an easy contender for the 10-year development game hinted at in the legal filing, but it's not the only possibility. Each Xbox showcase highlights future content that fans of the platform can expect to see in the near future, often with day one Game Pass and DLC reveals. As this piece of Xbox's legal information pertaining to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard has come out, it could mean that the June Xbox Games Showcase will have at least one triple-A world premiere if the game with the 10-year development cycle hasn't been shown off yet.
Although It's currently unclear just what franchise the Xbox legal paperwork is referring to, the fact that it's related to triple-A development like Halo Infinite is the only thing helping fans narrow down their speculation. Given that some fans are concerned about Xbox's performance with games like Redfall at launch, there may be some concern for a game in ten years relying on both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S which may be nearing the end of their lifecycle at that time.
Source: IGN