Call of Duty reportedly Microsoft's mystery June Direct game, new Gears title also set to be revealed

Following Microsoft's announcement it's once again holding an Xbox Games Showcase this June, a new report has shed some light on what we can expect to see - including a new Gears of War game and a reveal for the next Call of Duty.

That's according to The Verge's Tom Warren, citing "sources familiar with [Microsoft's] plans". The publication reports, as has already been widely speculated, the next Call of Duty will be the focus of Microsoft's post-showcase Direct, which the company has so far only teased with the word "redacted". Previous rumours have suggested this'll be a new Black Ops game.

As for the showcase itself, The Verge says Microsoft will use the occasion to reveal a new entry in the Gears of War series - something we've known Gears studio The Coalition has been working on for a while - alongside a host of release dates for its bigger titles.

MachineGames' Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is reportedly targeting a December 2024 release, for instance, with Microsoft planning to launch one big game a month in the run-up to its arrival. Starfield's Shattered Space expansion is said to be aiming to launch in September (Bethesda's Todd Howard confirmed a "fall" release earlier this week), with Call of Duty in late October, then Avowed and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 expected in November.

All in all, it sounds like it'll be a busy one; The Verge's sources say this year's Xbox showcase will feature more games than the 2023 show, and will offer some clarity on Xbox's 2025 release line-up. Whether the long-awaited Fable reboot will make the list remains to be seen.

This year's Xbox Games Showcase will air on 9th June at 6pm UK time (10am PT, 1pm ET), with Microsoft's increasingly less mysterious "redacted" Direct to follow immediately after.