Square Enix Makes Surprise Appearance at Xbox Developer Direct

Square Enix recently revealed during the Xbox Developer Direct that Visions of Mana will be released for Xbox during the upcoming summer. During the event, Microsoft unveiled more information about the upcoming Indiana Jones game developed by MachineGames, and details about Avowed and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. However, the appearance of Visions of Mana was the biggest surprise of Xbox Developer Direct.

Visions of Mana was originally announced during The Game Awards last month. The new entry in the Mana franchise received a short trailer at the time, which showcased a bit of its world and combat. However, the trailer did not reveal much in-depth information about its gameplay or a possible release date.

In its surprise appearance at Xbox Developer Direct, Square Enix unveiled new details about the upcoming Visions of Mana, confirming a Summer 2024 release. The company unveiled a video featuring over six minutes of developers talking about the upcoming title and new gameplay footage. In the video, the series producer Masaru Oyamada talked about the combat and exploration in the action RPG and announced that the game will feature over a hundred songs, many of them created by artists who worked on previous games of the franchise. The series creator Koichi Ishii also appeared in the video and explained a bit about the process of creating the iconic monsters of the franchise. When talking about exploration, the creators revealed the new “pikuls,” which will serve as mounts as the player explores the world and were designed by Ishii.

The upcoming release of Visions of Mana for Xbox marks an exciting time for JRPG fans who play on the platform, as this franchise traditionally does not appear on the console. This surprise appearance is consonant with Square Enix’s plans to bring more games to Xbox. Last year, the Japanese company confirmed that Final Fantasy 14 would be available for Xbox in 2024 and that the team would try to bring games to Xbox whenever possible.

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