Category: Xbox News

This week we’re excited to invite all owners of Kingdom: New Lands on Xbox One to participate in the Closed Beta for Kingdom Two Crowns! There’s limited space available for this Closed Beta, so please follow the steps under HOW TO PARTICIPATE to join in now.

Kingdom is a 2D sidescrolling strategy/resource management hybrid with a minimalist feel wrapped in a beautiful, modern pixel art aesthetic. Kingdom Two Crowns introduces a new campaign mode where rulers work to build a kingdom that lasts until The Greed are defeated for good. Find new units and defense technologies, explore new environments for hidden secrets, and more!

In a new co-op experience, rulers choose between a solo experience or seek the assistance of a friend in local or online multiplayer. A challenge awaits all who seek it for first-time rulers and longtime fans. Be brave, for Two Crowns reign stronger than one!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

1. On your Xbox One console, sign in and launch the Xbox Insider Hub app (or install the Xbox Insider Hub app from the Store first if necessary).
2. From the main landing page, navigate to Insider content > Games > Kingdom Two Crowns.
3. Select Join.
4. Wait for the registration to complete (Pending will disappear) to be redirected to the Store and install Kingdom Two Crowns!

NOTE:

• You must be signed in with an account that owns Kingdom: New Lands on Xbox One to join the Kingdom Two Crowns Closed Beta via the Xbox Insider Hub.
• Space is limited for the Kingdom Two Crowns Closed Beta, and will be offered on a first-come first-served basis.

In the Kingdom Two Crowns Closed Beta we’re looking for feedback on:

• The difficulty levels of the game, with regards to defeating The Greed, acquiring currencies, and unlocking special items. How should we adjust these things? How can we improve on them? What would make the game more enjoyable and challenging for you?
• What did you like the most with the game? A specific feature? Ability to play with a friend? Visual style? Audio and music? Campaign structure? Please give examples to your feedback.
• What did you not like and how would like it to be improved?

Submit feedback, suggestions, and issues you encounter via Report a problem (hold down the Xbox button on the controller and select Report a problem from the power menu).

Thanks for being an Xbox Insider!

We know you’re busy and might miss out on all the exciting things we’re talking about on Xbox Wire every week. If you’ve got a few minutes, we can help remedy that. We’ve pared down the past week’s news into one easy-to-digest article for all things Xbox! Or, if you’d rather watch than read, you can feast your eyes on our weekly video show above. Be sure to come back every Friday to find out what’s happening This Week on Xbox!

Sunset Overdrive Comes to Windows 10 PC and Steam Today
Today fans of Insomniac Games and PC gaming have reason to celebrate as we announce the release of Sunset Overdrive on Windows 10 and Steam. Sunset Overdrive, the critically-acclaimed Xbox One game that originally launched in 2014, is available today on the Windows Store, Steam, and at participating retailers… Read more

Personalize an Xbox Design Lab Controller on Your Xbox One Starting Today
The holidays are almost here, and Xbox Design Lab is the perfect gift for yourself or the gamer in your life.  Xbox Design Lab is a customization program that offers over a billion ways to customize your very own Xbox Wireless Controller.  Starting today, you can access the design experience right from your Xbox One… Read more

State of Decay 2 New Free Zedhunter Update Available Now
Today, to celebrate and thank the 4 million strong State of Decay 2 community, we’re releasing the Zedhunter Update to Xbox Game Pass subscribers and current players for free. Players will get this pack, which adds a wealth of new options and ways to enjoy the game, as part of a content update beginning today… Read more

Big Announcements from Hi-Rez Expo and a Free Smite Bundle to Celebrate
The biggest weekend of the year is here for Hi-Rez Studios! We just kicked off our annual Hi-Rez Expo, live from DreamHack Atlanta, featuring the world championships for both our mythological MOBA Smite and our fantasy hero shooter Paladins. I’m thrilled to tell you about our biggest announcements… Read more

November 2018 Xbox Update Rolling Out Today
Following an info-rich X018 event with a ton of announcements, we’re releasing some new Xbox One features that start rolling out today. The November 2018 Xbox Update adds new ways to play some of your favorite games with mouse and keyboard support, more console interaction with Xbox Skill updates… Read more

The Visual Storytelling Behind the Spyro Reignited Trilogy on Xbox One
Bringing Spyro the Dragon to life on Xbox One in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy was an incredibly fun project for the art department at Toys for Bob. We wanted to take the opportunity to do more than just give the world and the characters a shiny new coat of paint. We had to literally re-design and build everything… Read more

Hitman 2 Now Available on Xbox One
Agent 47 is back in Hitman 2, and we’re getting ready to celebrate! Hitman 2 is now available around the world for everyone to play. We’re very happy and excited to release the next adventure for Agent 47, and we’re especially proud to build on the success of our previous game, while also incorporating… Read more

Play NBA 2K19 Free This Weekend with Xbox Live Gold
Get into the game and explore the most authentic NBA basketball experience with NBA 2K19, free this weekend only for Xbox Live Gold members! Starting Thursday, November 15 at 12:00 a.m. PST and running until Sunday, November 18 at 11:59 p.m. PST, Xbox Live Gold members in Xbox One markets… Read more

Saving Planet Earth in Ark: Extinction, Available Now on Xbox One
Everyone here at Studio Wildcard is thrilled to finally be sharing our third titanic expansion pack Ark: Extinction with our dedicated Xbox One players today. This has been a long time coming! Players will return to where our story began and now concludes, on Earth. However, our home is not the place we once knew it to be… Read more

Plan for the Destruction of All Things That Aren’t Awesome in MechaNika on Xbox One
Nika Allen is a smart seven-year-old girl that has always been overlooked by her family at home, teachers, and kids at school. In addition to despising all these people, she also hates tacky clothes, fruits and vegetables, programmed obsolescence, stripped screws, history books, and repetitive video games… Read more

Return the Wasteland Today – Fallout 76 Available Now on Xbox One
The online prequel to the epic Fallout series, Fallout 76 throws you into a multiplayer-filled wasteland where you all must work together (or not) to survive the constant threat of nuclear annihilation, all the while experiencing the largest, most dynamic open world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe… Read more

The Sims 4 Seasons Launches on Xbox One Just in Time for the Holidays
The holidays are almost here, and with them is The Sims 4 Seasons for Xbox One! Let’s dive into all the family fun your Sims will have, as well as a unique holiday we threw in for some *ahem* alternative fun. First off, it’s important to note that this expansion pack has a brand-new calendar, which includes all upcoming holidays… Read more

Tune-In to the Halo Championship Series 2018 Finals at DreamHack Atlanta
A little over three years ago, Halo 5: Guardians launched worldwide. Over that time, the game has evolved in surprising ways, and provided competitive Halo fans with an incredible wealth of storylines, whether controversial or comical, incredible or unforgettable. It was never going to be easy to live up to the legendary… Read more

Six Steps to Mastering Eternal Without Ever Spending a Dime
When we set out to make Eternal, we were guided by a couple of core ideas. The first was that strategy card games can be both deep and engaging, as well as smooth and polished. We love card games, and we wanted a fast-paced game that provided a huge amount of replayability and an awesome community… Read more

Play the Overwatch Free Trial with Xbox Live Gold Starting November 20
It’s time to assemble your team and join the exciting world of Blizzard’s acclaimed team-based shooter Overwatch! We’re calling on prospective agents from across the Xbox community to dive in during our longest Overwatch free trial yet on Xbox One. From Tuesday, November 20 at 11:00 a.m. PST… Read more

Festive Fun Returns to Madden Ultimate Team with Harvest: Turkey Bowl
It’s time to dive back into Madden Ultimate Team with a festive push delivered by Harvest: Turkey Bowl. From November 16 to November 30, Harvest is back with more content to boost your Ultimate Team roster, ways to earn new players, and dominate the gridiron competition. For those new to Ultimate Team… Read more

Next Week on Xbox: New Games for November 20 to 23
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox, where we cover all the new games coming soon to Xbox One! Every week the team at Xbox aims to deliver quality gaming content for you to enjoy on your favorite gaming console. To find out what’s coming soon to Xbox One, read on below and click on each of the game profiles for pre-order details (dates are subject to… Read more

Hello Xbox Insiders!

From the entire Xbox Insider team to you, thank you for everything you do to help make Xbox and the Xbox Insider Program even better. Earlier this week, Team Xbox made the 1811 build available to the public, and we could not have done it without your feedback. Throughout the year, Xbox Insiders across the globe have helped shape exciting new features like Voice Skills, Avatars, and Mouse + Keyboard support.

As a way of saying thank you for all you’ve done, we’re awarding 50 XP to Xbox Insiders who have provided actionable feedback that directly helped us improve 1811. Did you file great feedback during the 1811 Preview window? We’ll be sending out system messages to those of you who went above and beyond, and we’ll be awarding XP within the Xbox Insider Hub over the course of the day.

So what makes for helpful feedback? Check out this video we created that guides you through the “Report a problem” flow and feedback process.

To summarize: The more details you share in your report, the better prepared we are to go investigate the issue.

What are some things that will most help us in our investigations?

• The name of the game/app
• Clear steps that you took to hit the issue
• Any error codes you may have experienced
• Specific settings you were using (i.e. Dolby Atmos for audio issues)

One more thing to keep in mind: Please do not put personal information in your report. While we review every single piece of feedback that comes in, we would ask that for immediate issues, you follow the support process as outlined at https://support.xbox.com/.

-Austin

Interested to know more about good feedback or how you’ve helped shape Xbox? Catch up on some previous posts here on the Xbox Insider Blog!

The biggest weekend of the year is here for Hi-Rez Studios! We just kicked off our annual Hi-Rez Expo, live from DreamHack Atlanta, featuring the world championships for both our mythological MOBA Smite and our fantasy hero shooter Paladins.

I’m thrilled to tell you about our biggest announcements, but first: You can get the new Smite Arena Bundle free on the Microsoft Store for a limited time! With this bundle’s seven gods you’ll be able to turn your foes to stone as Medusa, summon the might of a volcanic eruption as Pele, or resurrect fallen teammates as Khepri, the Dawn Bringer. The bundle also includes eight great skins, all free!

You may be asking, “Why call it the Arena Bundle?” That’s because of Smite’s biggest announcement: An all-new map for the insanely popular 5v5 Arena mode! This fast-paced brawl is a non-stop clash of the gods, with no complications.

And the new Arena map is available in-game right now! The map’s completely redone visuals both look better and improve gameplay clarity. Even better, the new Arena map tells a story of the ongoing battle between Hera, the Greek Queen of the Gods, and Bellona, the Roman Goddess of War… with the occasional rampaging Minotaur to make things interesting.

A new Arena map wasn’t enough for Smite. Prepare to enter a land called Avalon with Smite’s 99th and 100th gods: King Arthur and Merlin. These two legendary heroes from Arthurian mythology will bring an entirely new dimension to the battleground of the gods when they release early next year.

Paladins kicked off HRX by announcing its 40th Champion (and its most ambitious yet): Imani, the Last Warder. Perhaps more than any other Champion, the dragon mage Imani captures the true essence of Paladins: The shooting elements of modern games crossed with the magic of a fantasy world. This stance switcher slings fireballs and ice bolts… and summons a massive dragon, which is just cool.

Imani’s introduction is part of a new direction for Paladins, driven by the game’s fantasy world. Her arrival was foretold by a lore story arc that began back in August. This consistent story, which evolves from month-to-month, will drive a 2019 full of new Champions, maps, and game modes which combine to tell an ongoing tale.

These monthly major updates will also introduce long-requested features like clans, in-game tournaments and persistent lobbies. And Paladins has so much more in store for 2019, I can’t fit it all in this post. Check out our 2019 teaser video to get a taste for what’s in store for Paladins!

Imani won’t drop until Season 2 begins in January, but the beat has already dropped in Paladins with the Remix Battle Pass, which went live on Thursday as part of the 1.8 update. Check it out and get some sweet skins for Strix, Jenos, Seris, and… a Vulpin from an alternate reality named Pepper?

Realm Royale, our fantasy class-based battle royale, entered closed alpha on Xbox One earlier this year. Today, Realm Royale is taking the next step towards release by entering closed beta on Xbox One! Realm Royale closed beta keys are being sent out every day. Sign up for the Realm Royale Closed Beta here!

Both Paladins and Smite made one more major announcement: The introduction of democratically elected player councils. These councils embrace the philosophy of Hi-Rez Studios of player-driven development and will help guide the direction of both Smite and Paladins. Learn more about Paladins’ Assembly of Champions and Smite’s Olympians, and how you can join!

Don’t miss another moment of Hi-Rez Expo. We’re happy to have partnered with Mixer to stream every moment of HRX 2018 and give away some free loot! If you link your Hi-Rez Account to your Microsoft Account and watch either the Smite channel or the Paladins channel, you can get SPL Bellona and Coldsnap Furia free!

When we set out to make Eternal, we were guided by a couple of core ideas.

The first was that strategy card games can be both deep and engaging, as well as smooth and polished. We love card games, and we wanted a fast-paced game that provided a huge amount of replayability and an awesome community.

The second was that card games can be both collectible and honestly free-to-play. As an independent studio in a genre full of much larger competitors, we’ve worked hard to make Eternal the most generous SCG on the market, so players can play however they want (including competing at the highest levels) without ever having to spend a dime.

Everyone here at Dire Wolf Digital plays Eternal as a free-to-play player – we play the game the same way you do, and don’t give ourselves any shortcuts in terms of cards, gems, or gold. And we’ve learned a thing or two about how to get the most out of the game’s generous reward system. So here are the six key steps to playing how the dev team plays Eternal and competing at the highest levels as a truly free-to-play player.

Step 1: Get Your First Win of the Day

The first time you win a PvP game each day (in either Casual or Ranked queues), you get an entire pack of cards! Players are matched by overall experience and skill level, so don’t be afraid to jump into a PvP game to check it out heads-up play. All it takes is one win, and you’ll get an entire pack from the latest set! On top of that, every win after your first of the day earns you even more gold and cards.

Step 2: Complete Daily Quests

Every day in Eternal brings a new Daily Quest with special objectives based on the decks you choose. You can usually complete a Quest in a few quick games, and doing so will give you a nice bonus in the form of cards, packs, or even a theme deck!

Step 3: Level Up in Gauntlet

Grab one of the theme decks that you’ll get from playing and hop into an always-free Gauntlet to level up your skills against Eternal’s tactical AI. You’ll earn rewards as you play, and if you take down one of the extra tough Bosses, you’ll get a special level-up bonus. When you’re ready to start brewing up your own decks, try them out in Gauntlet first to see how you do. (And if, like me, you’re not that into deck-building, no worries, many of us use the theme decks available in-game to get the hang of playing or even to do our daily quests.)

Step 4: Draft, Draft, Draft

To really kickstart your collection, you’ll want to Draft. In an Eternal Draft, you build a deck on the fly by selecting 48 cards from a series of packs… and you get to keep all the cards you pick! So if you’ve got your eye on beefing up your Rakano Warcry theme deck, you can prioritize choosing cards in Draft that will help you in other game modes!

Step 5: Play Sealed

Every month, a new Sealed League kicks off and runs all month long. In Sealed League, you get a whole pile of packs (that you get to keep!) to build your deck from. Each week, you also get new packs to spice things up along the way. On top of that, you earn packs as prizes. That’s a whole lotta packs! Sealed is a great way to quickly expand your collection and discover new cards that you may have overlooked. And because everybody is only playing with the packs they opened, newer players can compete on a level playing field with even the most experienced players! In addition to all those packs, every Sealed League rewards participants with a new card back you can use to spruce up your decks.

Step 6: Go Gold

Draft and Sealed require gold to enter…so go earn some gold! Besides Daily Quests and Gauntlets, the fastest way to earn gold in Eternal is to battle other players in the Ranked queue. Get in there and use what you’ve learned to take down the competition and bust open some reward chests! The gold you earn there can be put towards Tournaments, Campaigns, Events, Totems, and everything else Eternal has to offer!

If you follow those six steps, you’ll find your card collection and your account balance growing steadily and quickly – and you’ll play some sweet games in a variety of game modes while you do it!

So, welcome the Eternal community and thanks for playing on Xbox One! With a new set on the way and the first Eternal Championship Qualifier coming in just a couple of weeks and rolling out to Xbox shortly thereafter, there’s never been a better time to discover your new favorite card game. We’ll see you in the game!

Eternal arrives on Xbox One Wednesday, November 21.

The holidays are almost here, and with them is The Sims 4 Seasons for Xbox One! Let’s dive into all the family fun your Sims will have, as well as a unique holiday we threw in for some *ahem* alternative fun.

First off, it’s important to note that this expansion pack has a brand-new calendar, which includes all upcoming holidays! Each one contains traditions to complete that help your Sim have an awesome time celebrating.

When chilly weather rolls around, so do holidays! Harvestfest is in the Fall, and Sims gather around the table for the grand meal. Sims can decorate their home for this special day with wreaths, flowers, and a pumpkin trio while the turkey’s cooking in the oven. Plus, there are lots of other goodies to make and bake for the whole family. Oh, and don’t look now, but you may find yourself encountering a certain straw-filled friend made especially for your garden. He’s friendly, though, so there’s no need to feel spooked. Halloween already happened, remember?

When Winter blows into town, so does Winterfest! Make your Sim’s home a special place to celebrate with a holiday pack and decoration box that lets you customize every room. Your Sims can also give gifts, sip hot cocoa, and warm their toes by the fireplace. The latter is key if you’d like a visit from Father Winter, too. You won’t want to miss his legendary holiday cheer, sure to brighten up every kid in the neighborhood.

And for even more ways to chill out, for the first time in The Sims 4, we’re introducing ice skating. Tricks, spins, and awkward falls await your Sims when you place the skating rink in any lot. Plus, Sims can arm themselves with hats and gloves, then head outside to make a snowpal and snow angels.

With that, let’s get into one holiday that’s a little, shall we say, different: The Neighborhood Brawl. It’s a (not so) time-honored tradition where Sims get together to practice their left hooks. On each other! It gets pretty crazy out in those streets, and your Sim may even draw a crowd during the fight. But, getting into fights bring many Sims restored confidence. And that’s worth a few bumps and bruises. There’s even a special song to sing on this particular occasion.

“So, why do Sims have a holiday for fighting,” you may ask? Because they’re Sims, of course! Sims do crazy things, especially at the hands of Simmers like yourselves.

We hope you’re getting ready for some serious celebrating with The Sims 4 Seasons expansion pack, available now on the Microsoft Store.

Everyone here at Studio Wildcard is thrilled to finally be sharing our third titanic expansion pack Ark: Extinction with our dedicated Xbox One players today. This has been a long time coming!

Players will return to where our story began and now concludes, on Earth. However, our home is not the place we once knew it to be. The planet has been ravaged by Element, corrupting the fauna and flora alike. Now host to peculiar creatures both organic and technological, as well as gigantic roaming Titans, our harrowing survivors must find a way to defeat these beasts and save Earth’s future from total annihilation.

With every expansion pack we’ve set out to bring our players an entirely new experience that feels different to the one prior, but still captures the original game’s essence. We have stayed along the path of sci-fi fantasy but we’ve also focused more heavily on the technological advancements that have transpired on the planet during our time away from home.

At the heart of Extinction you’ll find a towering but decaying metropolis still protected by a force of robotic guards known as Scouts and Enforcers. Outside of the city there are three Proto-Arks, the earliest iterations of the Ark project. Two of them were successful, the desert and the tundra, while the third, the forest, fell into a crater under the surface of the Earth and became a dark but flourishing home to many species of plants and critters. Between these regions lies the unprotected terrain of wastelands and sulfur fields, a perilous region where creatures corrupted by Element plague and destroy anything in their path.

To aid players on their dangerous adventures they will be able to recruit many new and perhaps bizarre creatures. One such creature is the Managarmr, capable of leaping great distances through the air. Another is the Velonasaur, serving as a living turret; it can forcefully eject toxic spines from its face to protect itself and its master from threats. Even the massive Titans themselves are tameable if you can manage to take them down.

We remain extremely grateful for the passion and dedication of fans everywhere. The studio has grown considerably since launching Ark: Survival Evolved on Xbox One nearly a year-and-a-half ago. We truly cannot wait to see the feedback from survivors as they explore Extinction. We look forward to seeing how these new items and creatures will impact the game and community. Build giant pistol and sword-wielding mechanical armor suits, cryo your creatures and carry massive dinosaurs around in your pocket, build tek-enhanced bridges across impossible gaps, the world is yours to discover — and that’s what we believe is Ark’s greatest aspect. We create the tools and the environment; you create the adventures.

One of Ark’s core values has always been survival. How far will humanity go to ensure not only its survival but its domination? We invite you to dive into the final chapter and complete your conquest. Gain sought-after answers to advance the storyline and finally determine the true purpose of the Ark network. Welcome home, survivors!

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Ark: Extinction is now available digitally on the Microsoft Store as an Xbox Play Anywhere title – buy once and play on both Xbox One and Windows 10. Ark: Extinction requires a copy of Ark: Survival Evolved to play.

Starting at 2:00 p.m. PDT today, members of the Xbox One Preview Beta, Delta and Omega Rings will begin receiving a new 1811 Xbox One system update (181109-1527). Read on for more about the fixes and known issues in the latest 1811 system update.

Fixes:

 

System

• Fixes to improve the stability of the console to fix the issue that some users were seeing consoles shutting down after taking a system update.
• Fixes to stop the console freezing when accessing the console Settings menu.  Users will no longer see the Settings menu freeze or fail to load.

Known Issues:

 

Audio

• We are tracking audio issues in which some games have audio that cuts in and out
• Audio settings reverting to a previous settings after taking an update – Workaround is to please turn on your Audio Receiver prior to turning your Xbox One and the settings will not revert.

 Profile Color

• Sometimes users may encounter the incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.

Starting at 6:00 p.m. PDT today, members of the Xbox One Preview Alpha Ring will begin receiving a new 1811 Xbox One system update (181109-1527). Read on for more about the fixes and known issues in the latest 1811 system update.

Fixes:

 

System

• Fixes to improve the stability of the console to fix the issue that some users were seeing consoles shutting down after taking a system update.
• Fixes to stop the console freezing when accessing the console Settings menu.  Users will no longer see the Settings menu freeze or fail to load.

Known Issues:

Audio

• We are tracking audio issues in which some games have audio that cuts in and out
• Audio settings reverting to a previous settings after taking an update. Workaround is to please turn on your Audio Receiver prior to turning your Xbox One and the settings will not revert.

 Profile Color

• Sometimes users may encounter the incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.

This weekend, the Xbox community came together to take part in X018, a global celebration of all things Xbox filled with news, first looks, and plenty of surprises. More than 10,000 fans joined us at the fourth-annual Xbox FanFest: Mexico City to get a closer look at the future of Xbox through hands-on events and panels featuring members of Team Xbox, streamed live on Inside Xbox.

The big news of the day was the announcement that two game development studios with storied histories will join Microsoft Studios to create exclusive games for Xbox fans. Coupled with the five new studio partners we announced at E3, the future of Xbox exclusives is looking bright.

X018 showcased a lineup of upcoming titles with something for every gamer, including a first-look at Crackdown 3’s multiplayer mode, and new content from Just Cause 4, Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, and many more. What’s more, we’ve now got over 327 titles enhanced for Xbox One X, the world’s most powerful console. From exclusive blockbusters like Forza Horizon 4 to holiday standouts like Fallout 76, there’s no denying the biggest games of the holiday season play best on Xbox One.

Xbox also revealed deep console and game discounts for the holidays, as well as access to more than 100 games for one low monthly price through Xbox Game Pass – the best value in gaming. The team announced a number of awesome new titles coming to Xbox Game Pass soon, including hits like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG).

So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at today’s big news:

Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment Join Microsoft Studios

As part of our commitment to bringing a steady stream of new, exclusive games to our fans, Matt Booty announced Microsoft’s intent to acquire two game development studios – Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment. The teams at Obsidian and inXile share a distinguished reputation for creating deep, engaging role-playing games. As part of Microsoft Studios, Obsidian and inXile will have the support and freedom to fully realize creative ambitions on both existing franchises and new projects. These two creative teams will continue to operate autonomously and bring their unique talents, IP and expertise to Microsoft Studios as they build new RPG experiences for our players and fans. You can learn more about Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment in our full announcement post here. 

Crackdown 3 Announces Xbox Game Pass Launch on February 15 with Explosive Debut of Wrecking Zone Multiplayer

X018 provided a first look at the over-the-top antics and explosive gameplay of Crackdown 3’s Wrecking Zone, an all-new multiplayer mode where environmental destruction is your secret weapon to take down your enemies. Developed by Microsoft Studios in collaboration with Sumo Digital and Elbow Rocket, Crackdown 3 will bring super-powered Agents to New Providence, an action-packed open-world, to take down a criminal corporation using an explosive set of weapons and abilities. Step up your boom in the campaign on your own or with a friend to unleash cooperative mayhem when Crackdown 3 launches on February 15, 2019. Crackdown 3 is available at launch with Xbox Game Pass and globally on Xbox One and Windows 10.

As a special thanks to our fans, and to celebrate our X018 announcements, we will be offering the original Crackdown to all fans free of charge from now until November 30th. Experience the original now with Xbox One X enhancements. Head to the Microsoft Store now to get your copy!

The Hits Keep on Coming with Xbox Game Pass

Today, Microsoft announced the general availability of the Xbox Game Pass app on iOS and Android, enabling you to seamlessly browse and download new games to your home console via your mobile device, so you can quickly jump into gameplay the next time you turn on your Xbox One. We are also excited to continue to expand and diversify the Xbox Game Pass catalog by making the popular blockbuster title PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) available to all members beginning on November 12. In addition, Thief of Thieves is officially available on Xbox One and in Xbox Game Pass starting today and we’re bringing Agents of Mayhem, MXGP3 and Thomas Was Alone to you starting on November 22.

We are also excited to bring unique gaming experiences like Ori and the Blind Forest, Kingdom Two Crowns and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice to Xbox Game Pass this December and we announced additional new games from independent developers launching through the ID@Xbox program that will come to Xbox Game Pass the day they debut on Xbox One. Starting this holiday, this list includes Aftercharge, Supermarket Shriek, Mutant Year Zero, Pathologic 2, The Good Life, Void Bastards, and Secret Neighbor. Furthermore, we confirmed Ori and the Will of the Wisps will be available in Xbox Game Pass timed to its global release on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC in 2019.

And if all that isn’t enough to whet your Xbox Game Pass appetite, we also have an exciting offer you don’t want to miss. Starting today through January 3, you can sign up for Xbox Game Pass and receive your first full month for just $1. With a growing catalog of over 100 great games and new titles added every month, now has never been a better time to become an Xbox Game Pass member. Check out our full Xbox Game Pass post for complete details!

Xbox Delivers Its Biggest Black Friday Deals Ever

The holidays are almost here, and this year shoppers around the world will be able to give more as Xbox is back with our biggest Black Friday sale ever. Xbox is offering deep discounts up to $100 off select Xbox One consoles, bringing Xbox One X down to its lowest price ever starting at $399.99. But the savings don’t stop there. Can’t decide what gift to give to the gamer in your life this holiday? Give the gift of more than 100 titles, including access to Xbox exclusives the same day they launch, for one monthly price at an even better value with deals on Xbox Game Pass.

Score your first month of Xbox Game Pass for just $1. Because gaming is better together, we’re also offering a big discount on Xbox Live Gold that lets you get one month for just $1. And of course, it wouldn’t be Black Friday without discounts on your favorite Xbox games, so we’re offering savings on titles such as Forza Horizon 4, Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2 and more. Check out the full Black Friday post for more details.

The Biggest Blockbuster Games Play Best on Xbox One

During today’s show, we shared looks at a number of new games coming to Xbox One, as well as updates on some fan favorites:

Take a Trip to Fortune Island in Forza Horizon 4

Ben Thaker-Fell, Chief Designer of the Forza Horizon series, announced the first expansion for Forza Horizon 4, “Fortune Island”, which will release on Dec. 13 on Xbox and Windows 10 PCs. “Fortune Island” takes players on an all-new adventure in the remote northern reaches of the British Isles, where they will encounter extreme conditions including fierce lightning storms, perilous cliffside dirt roads, and sweeping paved mountain switchbacks under the mystical glow of the aurora borealis in search of hidden treasure.

Forza Horizon 4 players will also be able to drive all five of Ken Block’s high-powered, custom-built Ford vehicles from the upcoming GymkhanaTEN, the 10th installment of the award-winning, Gymkhana viral video franchise. These rides began rolling out in Forza Horizon 4 earlier this month for Car Pass members with the release of the 1977 Ford GymkhanaTEN, F-150 Hoonitruck and the 1993 Ford Escort Cosworth Group A. Coming in November for all players are the 1965 Ford Hoonicorn Mustang V2 and the 2017 Ford Fiesta RS and arriving in December is the 2016 Ford GymkhanaTEN Focus RS RX.

Forza Horizon 4 “Fortune Island” will be available as part of the Forza Horizon 4 Expansions Bundle which provides players with two game expansions at a reduced cost of $34.99 . Owners of Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition and  Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Add-Ons Bundle  will receive Fortune Island at no additional cost. Xbox Game Pass subscribers, who do not already own one of the bundles, are eligible for 10% off a bundle or 10% off an individual purchase of Fortune Island.

Minecraft Marketplace Gets Bigger and Better

Helen Chiang, Head of Minecraft, dropped in to talk about Minecraft’s record-breaking year – a new game announcement, releasing major vanilla game updates, and surpassing 91 million monthly players. On top of all of this, Helen shared insight into the ever-expanding Minecraft Marketplace, bringing Marketplace partner PixelHeads along with her. PixelHeads, one of the most popular official Minecraft partner teams, stopped by to talk about their creations and how they got their start in game development and the Marketplace. During the show, the Minecraft team was proud to announce that the Marketplace has reached 77 partners who have driven more than 13 million purchases for their creations since it launched last June! Viewers also got a very special look at the history behind Cats and Pandas in Minecraft, which will release next month.

Battle Rival Crews in The Arena in Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves is changing in a big way with its fifth free content update since launch, ‘The Arena.’ Releasing in early 2019, ‘The Arena’ is an all-new competitive game mode that allows players to test their pirating skills in fast-paced matches against rival crews. Each match is a fun, frenetic and action-packed race to find treasure that brings together all the most exciting elements of Sea of Thieves – on demand. ‘The Arena’ also includes a new-tavern area together with a new Trading Company – the Sea Dogs – which will offer new goals, rewards and opportunities to progress to Pirate Legend. Sea of Thieves is available on Xbox One, Windows 10 and Xbox Game Pass as an Xbox Play Anywhere title.

Unveiling the Zedhunter Pack in State of Decay 2

Today, we got a first look at the next content pack for State of Decay 2 launching November 16^th, the Zedhunter Pack. This new pack adds the powerful and silent crossbow as a new zombie-slaying weapon along with additional melee weapons, facilities, blood plague consumables, and gameplay updates like the ability to respect your skills all into the main game. As part of our continued commitment to supporting the four million players in the State of Decay 2 community, Zedhunter will be free for all players – owners of either Standard or Ultimate Edition along with Xbox Game Pass members. Looking forward, we also announced that we are working on a more challenging player experience coming in 2019. Stay tuned for additional details on this difficulty setting and more.

Shoot Your Way to Safety in Void Bastards

Premiered during Inside Xbox and inspired by BioShock and System Shock 2, Void Bastards is a revolutionary new strategy-shooter that will test your wits as well as exercise your aim coming to Xbox as a console launch exclusive. Can you lead the misfit prisoners of the Void Ark through the derelict spaceships and myriad dangers of the Sargasso Nebula? Will you make the right choices about what to do, where to go and when to fight? Master combat, manage ship controls, scavenge supplies, craft improvised tools and much more! Void Bastards will also come to Xbox Game Pass coinciding with its launch on Xbox One.

Battlefield V

A trailer was debuted highlighting the Xbox One X enhancements for the highly-anticipated title, “Battlefield V,” coming from Electronic Arts and DICE. Featuring 4K Ultra HD and HDR support on Xbox One X, leading to enhanced visuals allowing you to lead your squad to victory in the highest fidelity Battlefield title ever. It’s the best looking console experience launching worldwide on November 20, but EA Access members can jump in to the Battlefield V Play First Trial beginning November 9.

Our First Look at Devil May Cry 5’s ‘Void Mode’

Devil May Cry 5 producer Matt Walker joined director Hideaki Itsuno from Capcom’s head office in the vibrant city of Osaka to show off the rich culture of the city and share how the team draws from their surroundings. Itsuno provided insight into how Capcom’s action games are influenced by the Osaka area, before giving Inside Xbox a first look at the comprehensive training mode he’s created for Devil May Cry 5 – dubbed ‘The Void’. As a first for Xbox fans, Itsuno gave a personal tour of Nero’s Devil Breakers, including the bonus Devil Breakers available in the Deluxe Edition content of Devil May Cry 5.

Two Highly Anticipated Fighters Join the Jump Force Roster

Bandai Namco gives Inside Xbox an exclusive first look at some never-before seen special moves of two of the most anticipated characters slated to appear in Jump Force. Bandai Namco Entertainment America’s LATAM Community Manager Diego Paramio will give us a play-by-play to accompany the world debut of the Awakening Transformations of two legendary Dragon Ball characters that will be playable in Jump Force: SSGSS Vegeta and Golden Frieza! This is the first time fans will be able to see these two highly anticipated characters going into their respective super-powered modes and showing off their mightiest special moves!

As another special treat, Bandai Namco also premiered the first footage of SSGSS Goku in action in Jump Force! You won’t want to miss it!

Just Cause 4 Brings the Thunder

The new Just Cause 4 CGI cinematic trailer sums up the blockbuster action Just Cause 4 delivers. Rico Rodriguez faces his biggest challenge yet in Solís, leading the Army of Chaos against the ruthless Gabriela Morales.  Just Cause 4 is the biggest, most varied and creative Just Cause ever. Everything you love about the series is back and beefed up: insane physics, unmatched levels of destruction and the player’s trademark parachute, wingsuit and grapple. This December, Just Cause 4 brings the thunder on Xbox One and Xbox One X.

A Familiar Face Comes to Kingdom Hearts III

KINGDOM HEARTS III revealed the return of Winnie the Pooh in a brand new trailer at the Microsoft Fan Fest in Mexico City! The trailer also revealed ominous hints of Master Xehanort and Organization XIII’s nefarious activities. Sora, Donald, Goofy as well as many other Disney and Pixar heroes (like from Big Hero 6, Tangled, and Pirates of the Caribbean and more) will need to stand strong together and fight to save the light from the impending darkness. Attendees were able to play a demo that featured segments from the Hercules and Toy Story worlds. KINGDOM HEARTS III comes out January 29, 2019.

A Closer Look at The Forge in Shadow of the Tomb Raider

You may have already experienced Lara Croft’s defining moment, but Shadow of the Tomb Raider continues with The Forge – the first of seven, monthly DLC adventures. Join Narrative Director Jason Dozois and Senior Associate Producer Jo Dahan as they take Lara and her newfound friend, Abi on a co-op journey through the fiery tower of The Forge on Inside Xbox.

The Xbox One Backward Compatibility Catalog Continues to Grow

Today, we shared that on November 13, four, new Backward Compatible titles will be getting enhanced for Xbox One X. Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and LIGHTNING RETURNS: Final Fantasy XIII will be entirely new to the Back Compat catalog, while Civilization Revolution will be receiving an (Xbox One X Enhanced) update to take advantage of the world’s most powerful console. To date, gamers have enjoyed playing well over 1 billion hours of Backward Compatible games and we look forward to continuing to grow the collection including more than 500 Xbox 360 games, 25 Xbox One X Enhanced Xbox 360 titles, and 32 Original Xbox classics.

Play Your Way with Mouse and Keyboard Support

Support for mouse and keyboard input on Xbox One will arrive next week, with select titles enabled at launch for Insiders and even more coming. On today’s IX episode, Epic detailed how Fortnite will be one of the first titles to offer mouse and keyboard input alongside previously announced Warframe in today’s update, with Bomber Crew, Deep Rock Galactic, Strange Brigade, Vermintide 2, War Thunder and X-Morph Defense adding support in November, and Children of Morta, DayZ, Minion Master, Moonlighter, Vigor, Warface, and Wargroove adding support in the future. When the update launches next week, all developers will have the tools they need to create tailored mouse and keyboard experiences for their games as they see fit to ensure a fair and fun experience for fans.

Additionally, we shared that the best mouse and keyboard experience on Xbox One will be available through Designed for Xbox mice and keyboards. These are created for living room or desktop scenarios, come equipped with a dedicated Xbox key, and support the new Xbox Dynamic Lighting feature – enabling immersive in-game lighting effects. Razer will be the exclusive partner to ship a Designed for Xbox mouse and keyboard and will formally introduce the product at CES in January.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller Launches Worldwide

We’re very proud to announce that the Xbox Adaptive Controller is launching in 17 new markets in 2019, including Mexico. New countries to offer the acclaimed controller include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Slovakia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey and UAE. We’ll be bringing you more details on the worldwide launch of the Xbox Adaptive Controller soon.

#givewithXbox

We also announced #givewithXbox, a holiday-timed campaign from Xbox that aims to bring the joy of gaming to everyone. Beginning today and ending December 9, Xbox will donate $5 USD of Xbox products, up to $1 million, for every photo shared on social media about what gaming together means using the hashtag #givewithXbox. The donations will be split amongst four inspirational charities who help bring gaming to everyone: Child’s Play, Gamers Outreach, SpecialEffect and Operation Supply Drop. Xbox is committed more than ever to gaming for everyone and making Xbox a place where everyone has fun. So, jump in with Xbox to help even more people play this holiday season.

‘Winter of Arcade’ Returns this December

Last but not least, we’re thrilled to announce ‘Winter of Arcade’, where from December 6th to December 21st we will providing special incentives on select ID@Xbox titles to help you fill out your library. Tune into The Game Awards on December 6 live on Mixer for more info.