Yesterday saw the leak of several unannounced and unconfirmed Xbox games that are supposedly in development. Due to a vulnerability in Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud gaming service, people could access information about games not yet released. While Nvidia’s since plugged the leak, a few surprises managed to sneak out.
One of the surprises appears to be the unannounced Xbox game codenamed Project Oxide. While there is little information about the game, it seems to be a strategy title secretly in development at a Microsoft studio.
This is the first public mention of Project Oxide, however, Windows Central reports that it’s known internally as Project Indus. Microsoft is publishing the game, which appears to be a strategy simulation game at least partially inspired by the city-building genre. Project Oxide is also reportedly in the very early stages of development, so an official announcement is likely still a long way off.
The description of a strategy city-builder is somewhat evocative of survival strategy series like Tropico or Frostpunk. Assuming the “Oxide” title means anything, one possibility is Microsoft’s working on a space-themed strategy survival game, perhaps along the lines of Surviving Mars or Aven Colony. There could also be some meaning behind the “Indus” codename. The Indus Valley was one of the early cradles of civilization. Perhaps Microsoft is working on a competitor for Civilization 6 and Humankind. Both genres are successful enough that Microsoft might hope to break into one or the other.
Project Oxide is one of several titles that came up during the Nvidia leak yesterday. SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik compiled the information and shared it on Twitter, though he cautioned it might not be one hundred percent accurate. Among other things, the leak claims that Gears of War 6 is in development. Additionally, the leak seemed to reveal a PC port of Halo 5: Guardians, though 343 Industries has since stated this was not the case.
The database also included codenames tied to known Xbox Game Studios projects. Project Holland, for example, refers to Playground Games’ Fable reboot announced last year. There’s also Project Typhoon, which refers to Avalanche Studios’ upcoming heist game Contraband. Meanwhile, Project Woodstock is likely to be the next Forza game. Finally, the leak also mentions an “unannounced” title suspected to be The Initiative’s Perfect Dark reboot.
As for Project Oxide, Microsoft is already resurrecting the Age of Empires franchise. That means it is not surprising the publisher might be interested in expanding its catalog of strategy titles. But exactly what this expansion might look like, or if it will even see the light of day, is still anyone’s guess.
Project Oxide is rumored to be in development.
Source: Windows Central