The ‘next-gen RPG’ from Xbox’s InXile could be a first-person shooter

The next-gen RPG from Xbox’s InXile studio could arrive in the form of a first-person shooter, new job listings suggest.

inXile was founded in 2002 by Interplay co-founder Brian Fargo and acquired by Microsoft in 2018.

The developer has previously said that its next game after strategy sequel Wasteland 3 – its first created entirely as a first-party Xbox studio – will be “a next-gen RPG” powered by Unreal Engine 5.

As reported by PC Gamer, a new job listing for a senior gameplay designer role suggests that the unannounced game will feature “powerful, tactile first-person weapons and unique combat abilities”. The job ad calls for someone who can “understand the moment-to-moment gameplay loops of first-person shooters and RPGs”.

Another job ad for a lead gameplay engineer mentions the new hire will work on “the studio’s next-generation action role-playing game”, with “first-person shooter gameplay features”.

InXile Entertainment is one of several Xbox studios currently working on RPG projects, including The Outer Worlds studio Obsidian and Fable developer Playground Games.

Speaking on a new Xbox podcast last week, head of Xbox Phil Spencer said that the addition of Bethesda to its stable of studios would give Xbox significant strength in the RPG genre.

Bethesda Softworks’ studios include Bethesda Game Studios (Fallout, Elder Scrolls), ZeniMax Online Studios (Elder Scrolls Online), Arkane (Dishonored, Prey) and more.

“When I think about our RPG capability with Obsidian, inXile, the work that Playground is doing which is now out there with Fable, and with what Bethesda can do… it’s massive capability,” Spencer said.

“I think about our FPS capability with Id, 343 and the work that we can do… it doubles the size of our first-party studios when Bethesda joins, which is pretty amazing to think about.”

He added: “And geography: I think about where they are, which is an important thing because I want to have teams from different places in the world.”

InXile Entertainment previously confirmed it will use Unreal Engine 5 for its next game project.

Microsoft’s first-party studios are heavily invested in Unreal Engine, with Rare, Ninja Theory, The Coalition and more all said to be working with the middleware.

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“I can’t wait to get [the deal] closed so that we can start working like one company.”