The Xbox Series X has a number of games registered for release later this year, from Microsoft Flight Simulator to Psychonauts 2. However, with the exception of Halo Infinite, the "big exclusives" category still seems to be a bit thin on the ground.

However, Xbox fans can rest assured that Microsoft plans to release more games this year.

This information comes from a new episode of The Iron Lords podcast via GamesRadar+. In this podcast, Jason Ronald, director of program management for Xbox, discusses the company's strategy for releasing games between now and the end of the year.

"Not every game that will be released this year has been announced yet," Ronald explained to the podcast's hosts.

While this is perhaps not the most shocking news, it is good to hear it from one of Xbox's top executives. Still, longtime Xbox fans may not be surprised by this news.

The gaming industry has yet to figure out how to announce games and hardware without a big trade show, but 2020 was still running on a traditional schedule. Companies announce big news in the summer and send out products in the fall.

There will be no physical E3 in 2021 either, but Microsoft showed us plenty of new games last year during its summer live stream. There is no reason to believe the company will not follow a similar policy this year.

As for which game Ronald is referring to, it's fun to speculate, but for now we can only speculate; Forza Horizon 4 has been out for three years now, so a Forza Horizon 5 doesn't seem impossible; with a new Forza mainline title on the horizon It would seem to be a reasonable option.

A new "Avowed" or "Fable" game may be much further away than Microsoft has announced. Given the number of studios at Microsoft's disposal, a new IP is not out of the question. Ronald could also be referring to third-party games with timed exclusives or additional features on Xbox.

In any case, whatever Microsoft has in store for later this year will be welcome; the Xbox Series X is an outstanding console, but Tom's Guide lamented the lack of games to sell the system at launch.

We may have to wait until the release of Halo Infinite to see a flagship game on the Series X, but if something exciting comes out sooner than that, so much the better.

Nintendo and Sony have done extensive livestreams this year about their upcoming game schedules, but Microsoft has yet to follow suit. Apparently the company is preparing a much bigger game, so expect some sort of announcement within the next few months.