- Clockwork Revolution, developed by inXile Entertainment, has been officially confirmed as a permanent Xbox console exclusive — not a timed exclusive — targeting a 2027 release.
- The game will be available on Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam, and will be included with Xbox Game Pass on day one.
- It is a time-bending steampunk first-person RPG set in the city of Avalon, where players can travel between past and present to rewrite history.
- Clockwork Revolution is the second permanent Xbox console exclusive announced this year, following Gears of War: E-Day which released on October 6, 2026.
- The game was first revealed in 2023 and developed by the studio behind the Wasteland series and The Bard’s Tale remasters.
- No specific release date has been announced yet beyond the 2027 window.
Xbox has been making some pointed decisions about its exclusive strategy lately, and Clockwork Revolution is the latest and clearest signal of where that’s heading. After Gears of War: E-Day launched on October 6 as a permanent console exclusive, Microsoft has now officially confirmed that Clockwork Revolution — inXile Entertainment’s ambitious steampunk time-travel RPG — will also stay locked to Xbox consoles and PC when it releases in 2027. No PS5 version. No “console exclusive for a limited time” asterisk. This is a real exclusive, and it’s shaping up to be one of Xbox’s biggest bets for next year.
What Is Clockwork Revolution?
Clockwork Revolution is a first-person action RPG developed by inXile Entertainment — the studio acquired by Microsoft that previously made Wasteland 3 and the Bard’s Tale remaster series. It was originally revealed back in 2023 and has been one of the most anticipated games on Xbox’s slate ever since, winning the “most anticipated” award at the Xbox Games Showcase the following year despite not having a release date. It finally has one now: 2027.
The game is set in Avalon, a steampunk city powered by steam engines and ruled by a ruthless villain named Lady Ironwood, who has been secretly using time travel to enrich herself and keep the city’s people poor and powerless. You play as Morgan Vanette, a street-level gang member whose heist goes sideways and who ends up getting thrown back in time — discovering the truth about what Ironwood has done to history. From there, you wield a powerful time-manipulation device to travel between the past and present, changing the timeline to rewrite Avalon’s future however you choose.
The comparisons to BioShock Infinite are there in the concept — a retro-futuristic city, a charismatic villain in control of something unnatural, a first-person perspective, and big narrative swings built around history and power. But Clockwork Revolution has its own identity, leaning into the RPG side of things heavily, with a cast the developers describe as unforgettable and a world that reacts deeply to every choice. The time-travel mechanic as a core gameplay tool — not just a story beat — is what could really separate it from everything else in that BioShock-adjacent space if inXile executes it well.
Why the Console Exclusive Confirmation Matters
For a few years now, Xbox’s cross-platform strategy under Phil Spencer saw several major first-party games — including titles like Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush — eventually make their way to PlayStation. That approach was meant to bring Xbox games to more players, but it also diluted what it meant to own an Xbox. The arrival of Asha Sharma as Xbox’s new CEO has come with a clear reversal of that philosophy, at least for certain key titles.
Clockwork Revolution, like Gears of War: E-Day before it, has been explicitly confirmed as a permanent console exclusive. Microsoft isn’t hedging with “no current plans” language here — it’s confirmed there’s no PS5 version on the roadmap. That’s a meaningful statement about what Xbox wants Clockwork Revolution to represent for the platform. This is the game they want people to buy an Xbox to play.
The timing also lines up with Project Helix, Xbox’s next-generation console that has been confirmed in development and is expected to arrive in the 2027-2028 window. A major first-party exclusive RPG from an experienced studio would be a significant piece of that launch ecosystem — and Clockwork Revolution could end up being exactly that, whether it lands before or alongside the hardware.
inXile Entertainment and Why Clockwork Revolution Has a Chance
inXile isn’t a flashy studio but it has a legitimate track record in the RPG space. Game director Chad Moore and principal designer Jason Anderson — who previously created the steampunk RPG Arcanum back in 2001 — are leading development on Clockwork Revolution, which means the people making this game have literally been building steampunk worlds for over two decades. That pedigree matters when the genre demands intricate world-building, meaningful choices, and mechanical depth to back up its premise.
The trailers shown at the Xbox Games Showcase 2026 were the most detailed look at the game yet, showing off more of the Avalon setting, the time-travel mechanics in action, Morgan’s gang the Rotten Row Hooligans, and the narrative beats surrounding Lady Ironwood’s manipulation of history. The tone appears to sit somewhere between BioShock’s dark grandeur and something genuinely more off-kilter and character-driven — which tracks for an inXile production.
One standout detail from the latest trailer was the game continuing its tradition of not announcing a firm date. The previous trailers famously ended with the words “in due time” — a joke on the time-travel theme — and the 2026 showcase trailer did the same, before replacing it with “2027.” The studio clearly has a sense of humor about the long wait, and the fan reaction to that gag suggests goodwill remains high despite the development timeline.
What This Means for Xbox’s 2027 Lineup
With Gears of War: E-Day handling the blockbuster third-person action side of Xbox’s 2026 slate, Clockwork Revolution gives the platform a major first-person RPG exclusive to anchor 2027. That’s a meaningful one-two punch for a platform that has often been criticized for lacking the kind of genre diversity in its exclusives that PlayStation delivers year over year.
Clockwork Revolution will be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one, which is consistent with Microsoft’s Game Pass strategy for first-party titles. That means anyone subscribed to Game Pass can jump in the moment it launches without an additional purchase. For the millions of Game Pass subscribers, this is essentially a free major RPG exclusive in 2027 — and a reason to stay subscribed through that window.
For fans keeping tabs on everything across the console landscape, it’s a fascinating time to watch Xbox’s strategy evolve. If you’re curious about what’s going on at Xbox on the hardware side, our coverage of Project Helix and the Gen 10 family of devices has the full breakdown. And if GTA 6 is on your radar for the same general window, check out our piece on the confirmed GTA 6 features that have already been detailed. For the gaming calendar in the nearer term, our article on the Best Buy midnight launch for Zelda: Ocarina of Time covers the Switch 2’s biggest release of the year, which lands November 5.
When Is Clockwork Revolution Coming Out?
The honest answer is: 2027, but we don’t have a specific date yet. Microsoft and inXile have committed to the year but haven’t announced a month or season. Given that the game is already confirmed as an Xbox console exclusive launching on Game Pass, the pressure to deliver something polished is high — inXile is a studio that builds slowly but tends to ship finished products, and that reputation is worth protecting.
Clockwork Revolution will be available on Xbox Series X|S, PC (including Steam), and through Xbox Game Pass from day one. Pre-orders haven’t opened yet, but given the Game Pass day-one availability, PC and Xbox players will have the easiest path to get in at launch. For PS5 owners, the answer remains no — and Microsoft seems intent on keeping it that way.
