Category: Xbox News

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!

Xbox Game Pass: Sea of Thieves, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Super Lucky’s Tale and More Coming in March
Hello, fellow gamers! Welcome to your action-packed March Xbox Game Pass update. On January 23 we announced a major expansion to Xbox Game Pass that underscores our commitment to deliver our fans the ultimate gaming membership – by launching all new Xbox One exclusive games from Microsoft Studios into Xbox Game Pass on the same date as their global release… Read more

Be More Pirate with the Xbox One S Sea of Thieves Bundle
Last month, gamers worldwide got to experience fantastical pirate adventures firsthand, as Rare welcomed the community into the Sea of Thieves Closed Beta. As we approach the global launch of one of the most anticipated Xbox One exclusives for 2018, we’re thrilled to announce the Xbox One S Sea of Thieves Bundle, offering prospective pirates the best value in games… Read more

Deep Rock Galactic is Available Now on Xbox Game Preview
We’re absolutely thrilled to share the news with you that Deep Rock Galactic, our co-op, dwarven mining FPS is officially available as a console launch exclusive on Xbox Game Preview! In celebration of this momentous day, we thought we’d fill you in on where our intergalactic mining operation is now, and all the epic plans we have for the development of Deep Rock Galactic… Read more

Summer Comes Early in Super Lucky’s Tale’s All-New Adventures on “Gilly Island”
Since the launch of Super Lucky’s Tale, people have been asking us when they can expect more of the loveable fox’s adventures. The answer is – today! Lucky is back and this time he is in Gilly Island, an all-new chapter of the game set in a tropical paradise which just so happens to be in need of some rescuing. What’s more, Super Lucky’s Tale is now part of Xbox Game Pass… Read more

Co-Op Horror Coming to Xbox One in 2019 with The Blackout Club
Hey Xbox fans! We’re excited to announce our next game, The Blackout Club, will be coming to Xbox One! The Blackout Club is a brand new co-operative horror experience, something that unites up to four players against an ever-changing and horrifying evil, set within a small modern town. We think it’s going to add a terrifying twist to your friends’ gaming sessions… Read more

New Enhanced Xbox 360 titles and feature come to Xbox One Backward Compatibility
Starting today, four new Xbox 360 titles will be enhanced for Xbox One X, which includes The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Forza Horizon, Fable Anniversary, and Crackdown, the newest addition available now in the Xbox One Backward Compatibility library. We’re also excited to release a new graphics setting for enhanced Xbox 360 titles on Xbox One X… Read more

Darwin Project Available March 9 in Xbox Game Preview
Hey Xbox players! Scavengers Studio here, checking in from Montreal, Canada, where winter’s going back and forth between “ok I’m going away now” and “haha jk here’s another blizzard.” But we’re not here to talk about the weather. We’re here to announce that Darwin Project’s release on Xbox One is just around the corner! You’ll be able to step in the arena… Read more

The Future is Now with the Xbox Wireless Controller – Combat Tech Special Edition
Whether you’re catching up on your gaming with a new subscription to Xbox Game Pass or streaming an intense round of PUBG on Mixer, we’ve got a controller that fits every style. Last spring, we debuted the Xbox Wireless Controller Tech Series – a line of special edition controllers inspired by military technology and performance patterns found in combat vehicles… Read more

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Available Now on Windows 10
With a roster of fan-favorite characters, a variety of single and multiplayer modes, and fluid tag-based gameplay allowing you to switch characters during battle, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is the next chapter of the popular fighting game series featuring characters and locations from the iconic universes of Marvel and Capcom. Join your favorite heroes… Read more

Once Upon a Time… an Age of Empires Retrospective
With the release of Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Windows 10, Xbox Wire goes back in time to help you discover the story behind a saga that became a legend. This article was authored by and originally appeared on Xbox Wire France. The year is 1997. The Spice Girls have a top-selling album, France has yet to win the soccer World Cup… Read more

Get Tactical and Stealthy in Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
We’re very excited to announce Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, a tactical adventure game that combines the turn-based combat of XCOM with story, exploration, stealth, and strategy. The game will be hitting Xbox One in 2018. Today we’re excited to share the first bits of information along with the first screenshots and the cinematic reveal trailer… Read more

Remastered Classics Turok and Turok 2 Available Now on Xbox One
When they were first released, Turok and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil really stood out to me as offering a unique experience different from other FPS titles of the time. I can still remember spending countless hours playing Turok at my local Funcoland store! So having the opportunity to work on the remasters of these classic titles was something that I was really eager to do… Read more

Nine Parchments Blasting its Way to Xbox One March 7
For you co-op enthusiasts out there, Nine Parchments is a game that’s going to scratch your itch! You’ll play as one of the wizarding students of the Astral Academy, the school for Wizards in the beautiful Trine world. As a terrible explosion rocks the Academy, all the powerful spell parchments are blown out into the world and into the hands of dangerous creatures… Read more

Tips and Tricks to Help You Survive in Immortal Redneck
We’re incredibly excited to crush all of our new players — I mean, bring our rogue-lite first-person shooter Immortal Redneck to Xbox One! I could tell you all about how the game is about a redneck who awakens to find himself mummified in an Egyptian tomb, but our game isn’t focused on a story. We just wanted to provide an exciting backdrop to blast things… Read more

Bridge Constructor Portal Available Now on Xbox One
What’s going to be Portal in Bridge Constructor Portal? You might ask yourself this question just as we did when we started to work on this game. Of course, we chose the Aperture Science Laboratories as the game’s setting to bring up good old memories. Also, GLaDOS had to be there to accompany and support the players in her typically charming way… Read more

Episodic Dungeon Crawler Korgan Coming Soon to Xbox One
Korgan is an episodic dungeon-crawler that started development in 2016. The game was close to two years in development with only one developer — a solo project. This was probably my most personal, epic quest ever and I really had a lot of fun while developing the game — because it’s hard and will punish you when you least expect it… Read more

Starting at 6 p.m. PST today, members of the Xbox One Preview Update Alpha ring will begin receiving the latest Xbox One system update (1804.180227-1801). This update includes brand new features as detailed in our earlier post.  Read on to learn more about fixes and known issues in the latest system update.

Fixes:

Installation

• Fixed several issues to improve the reliability and usability of game installations, updates, and content management.
  • Fixed an issue which impacted transferring content between drives.
  • Enabling the download 4K updates checkbox will now cause 4K updates to show up in the Updates tab of My games & apps.
  • Fixed an issue where installations interrupted due to slow network conditions could fail to automatically resume.
  • Fixed an issue where a “You need to free up space” dialog was displaying too often.
  • Fixed a bug where all items in the install Queue could show as “Queued” without making progress.

Profile Color

• Fixed an issue which sometimes caused an incorrect Profile color to be used when powering on the console.

Known Issues:

Black Screen

• When resuming from connected standby (with the console in Instant-On mode), you may encounter a black screen on the TV or monitor. You can avoid this issue by powering on the console prior to powering on the TV or monitor.
• Workaround 1: If stuck in this state, unplug and reinsert the HDMI cord into the back of the console, then power the TV off/on.
• Workaround 2: Disable IR blasting in Settings to prevent this issue from reoccurring.

System Update

• When installing a system update, you may encounter an E200 error at the last stage of the installation.
• Workaround: Unplug and re-plug the power cord, then power on the console normally—the console should go through the standard start up sequence and land on the dashboard.

Pins

• If Microsoft Edge was pinned prior to downloading the 1804 update, attempting to launch Microsoft Edge from the existing pin will fail.
• Workaround: Delete the old Microsoft Edge pin and re-pin Microsoft Edge.

Dolby Atmos

• You may notice audio drops in receivers using Dolby Atmos for Home Theater.

Netflix

• If Netflix crashes when first launched, check for an app update on the Store or from My games & apps.

HBO Go

• If HBO GO crashes when first launched, check for an app update on the Store or from My games & apps.

Settings

• When accessing the Language & location page in Settings, it may take a long time for the page to load.

Store

• When browsing Add-Ons in the Store, the Show All page may appear blank

Pi-Hole

• Pi-hole users may encounter issues signing in, creating, or recovering accounts upon downloading the 1804 update. This is due to a new configuration file which is downloaded from a URL Pi-hole blocks by default.
• Workaround: Add clientconfig.passport.net to the Pi-hole allowed IP address list.

Hello, Insiders! We are very excited to tell you about Robocraft Infinity, an awesome game that is coming to Xbox One very soon. In fact, Freejam and the Xbox Insider Program are teaming up to host an open beta this weekend for all Xbox Insiders! We met with Andy Griffiths, Communications Manager for Freejam Ltd., and asked him about Robocraft Infinity and Freejam.

Independent Studios are very popular this day and age, and it’s so cool to see awesome games come from them! How long has Freejam been a studio, and can you give us a little backstory?

Indie studios are certainly blazing the way when it comes to exciting, experimental game concepts, and we like to think of Freejam as being part of that trend-setting wave.

Freejam started life in 2013 in Portsmouth, UK. Our five founders had an awesome idea of building a unique sandbox experience where players could choose from dozens of different weapons, movement types and cubes and then take those weapons into combat online – think LEGO with guns! After two months in development, we popped the game that came to be called Robocraft onto PC through Steam and the game soon became massively popular. That core build-em-up concept, where players could build something very personal to them and use that vehicle was something our fans told us they hadn’t seen before.

As the game grew, so did our team and now Freejam has over 50 developers on staff and multiple projects in production, including not only the original Robocraft (PC) that we still regularly update but also Cardlife, Robocraft Royale and of course Robocraft Infinity, which is launching exclusively for Xbox One in the coming months.

Fast forward several years, and Robocraft (PC) has accumulated over 13 million users worldwide and received countless content updates – the best of which we’re bringing to Robocraft Infinity.

Where did Robocraft Infinity come from and what is the experience you are trying to create for players? If there’s a cool story, like this started in your basement, we’d love to hear about it!

Like most good development ideas, Robocraft Infinity as a concept really came from the fans. Since Robocraft has been available on PC, we have constantly been asked when we were going to take the game to consoles. Players across the world kept telling us that they wanted to play the game on the sofa with their friends, and we felt that the Xbox One was the perfect platform for us. Our game engine, Unity, plays very nicely with the Xbox One and very soon in Infinity’s development we got the basic Robocraft experience in place. This gave us ample time to build on the concept, optimize the experience for gamepad and make it very different from its PC cousin.

Fundamentally we want players to feel empowered, inspired and excited when they play Robocraft Infinity. Empowered to create the robots of their dreams, be it a cool T-Rex armed with a Chaingun Shredder, super-fast race car, intergalactic spaceship or anything playfully inspired by their favorite TV show, game series or meme. Inspired by the creations they see in the in-game community and the competition they meet in battle. Excited by what future components we’ll give them to create new robots and improve their existing designs.

Ultimately, we view Robocraft Infinity as not only a place where you can have awesome 5 vs 5 online battles, but also a regularly evolving sandbox for player expression.

What is your favorite robot in the game? Is there one that’s underestimated that should definitely be checked out by new players?

When you start out in Robocraft Infinity, you have four different robots to choose from; one of which is a massive green T-Rex. That guy is made up of lots of blocks and is perfect for soaking up damage and sitting on a point. He’s probably my favorite at the moment, but to be honest I find a new build that I like every time I play. One of our Alpha Testers, FlyingPig, managed to create an awesome Flying Spider bot that could not only zoom across the map super quickly, but he could also snipe enemies from afar with his Laser Leviathans. That’s one of the great things about Robocraft Infinity, you never know what kind of enemy you’ll face next!

Why should players participate in the upcoming beta weekend?

We are really, really close to launching Robocraft Infinity. We believe that all the major game-breaking bugs have been squashed, and we’re looking for help from the awesome Xbox Insider community to weed out the annoying ones that we may have overlooked.

We’ve done some mass tests for around 100 people to test our server infrastructure. We believe we can support over 10,000 players [at once], but we need to test that before being confident we’re ready for launch.

Help us, Xbox Insiders – you are our only hope!

What players will see when they take part in the beta is almost the full game experience. Players can build robots, view the Factory, and take part in both of our match types – Battle Arena and Team Deathmatch. We’re confident that anyone who has always liked building robots or who enjoyed smashing together LEGOs as a kid will get a kick out of our game.

The Xbox Insider Team has definitely been enjoying the game, and we’re all very excited to open it up to all Xbox Insiders starting this weekend! The playtest schedule is as follows:

• Begins: Friday, March 2nd, 12:00PM UTC (4:00AM PST)
• Ends: Monday, March 5th, 11:59AM UTC (3:59AM PST)

While there are no requirements for joining (outside of being an Xbox Insider), we’d encourage you to keep an eye out for the title in our “Insider content” tab on Xbox One, as the number of spots offered for this playtest are limited and available on a first-come-first-served basis. Thanks to Freejam for giving us their time and providing us with a super cool game, and thanks Xbox Insiders for helping us make it even greater! See you in game.

-Ashley

We’re incredibly excited to crush all of our new players — I mean, bring our rogue-lite first-person shooter Immortal Redneck to Xbox One!

I could tell you all about how the game is about a redneck who awakens to find himself mummified in an Egyptian tomb, but our game isn’t focused on a story. We just wanted to provide an exciting backdrop to blast things. So instead of regaling you with tales about the protagonist’s exploits, I want to give you some pointers to allow you to jump straight into the action and start blasting mythical creatures like a pro.

First of all, play aggressively! Immortal Redneck isn’t exactly a stealth game, so charge headlong into battle and learn to circle-strafe. This means running sideways while training your fire on enemies. You don’t exactly want to stand there slack-jawed and soak up incoming bullets. However, keep in mind that while you want to be assertive, health doesn’t automatically regenerate in Immortal Redneck. Cover can be your friend, but it’s more important to constantly be on the move and keep an eye out for health drops.

Next, the various scrolls you can find in the pyramids are usually good, but there’s also a chance they will complicate your run. Sure, you might get a helpful scroll like Bullet Back, which gives you one bullet back for every two consecutive hits, but what if you get Wall Street Wolf, which doubles the money you earn but takes 75 percent of your health? Taking a scroll is always a gamble, so hope for the best but expect the worst. If you happen to find a scroll in a challenge room, though, it will always be beneficial.

And while this is a rogue-lite and you only have one life to get through a pyramid before starting over, the gold earned during runs can be spent on skills and Favors that will make your next run both more fun and more successful. More damage and more health can make a huge difference. But be sure you spend your cash between runs, as whatever you don’t use disappears. There’s no need to pinch pennies here!

Those Favors I just mentioned are Immortal Redneck’s classes: all nine of them allow you to choose a god from ancient Egyptian mythology and take on their abilities and weapons. Apis, the god of strength, will give you a rusty revolver, an Uzi, Gatling gun, and grenade launcher. His powers also confer extra health and the ability to carry an additional weapon, but at the cost of never being able to double jump. Neith, the Goddess of Hunting, can send a falcon to attack your foes while also using a sniper rifle and tranquilizer gun. Since each one has different abilities, it’s best to try out different playstyles with them.

Hopefully, these tips help make your first foray into Immortal Redneck’s take on ancient Egypt just a little bit easier. Not too much easier though! We want you to earn your way to the top of those pyramids, which you’ll be able to do starting today on Xbox One.

As we mentioned in our “Best of 2017” post nearly two months ago, one of our biggest goals in the past year has been recognizing our Xbox Insiders for everything you do! Every one of you has helped shape the Xbox One console, services and game library by participating in the Xbox Insider Program. Last summer, we began rewarding actionable bug reports with XP, and now we want to double down on these efforts by highlighting the ways in which you impacted our recent 1802 Preview, specifically in regards to “Next Achievements” and “Scheduled Themes.”

Scheduled Themes

We announced this feature as part of the 1802 Preview last month, mentioning that “you asked, and we listened.” That’s right: Scheduled Themes were a product of Xbox Insider feedback we received back in September when the Light Theme became available on Xbox One.

Here’s some of the feedback that guided us, and we’ve made sure to attribute it to the Xbox Insiders who took the time to provide it:

• “Maybe be able to set a timer. The light theme is very intense at night and it would be nice to be able to automatically switch from light to dark or vice versa during a certain time.”- E Mc Sq
• “I’d like to see an option to automatically switch between Dark and Light themes based on the local time set in the Xbox One (with the correct time zone).” – lightsup55

As of now, this feature has not yet been released to our general audience, giving us more time to look into your feedback.

Next Achievements

The Next Achievements feature, which allows Xbox One users to view and sort a cross-games list of upcoming Achievements, was also influenced by its time in Preview. Specifically, the option to hide certain games and Achievements from the list was implemented after our teams received Xbox Insider feedback such as:

• “I hid some games with 0 Gamerscore, but the Achievements showed up on the list. They should have been hidden.” – McLustig
• “[We should] be able to hide Achievements from the list.” – Prewow

As always, we appreciate your feedback! Keep taking our system update and game-based Quests and Surveys, and we’ll keep listening.

With the release of Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Windows 10, Xbox Wire goes back in time to help you discover the story behind a saga that became a legend. This article was authored by and originally appeared on Xbox Wire France.

The year is 1997. The Spice Girls have a top-selling album, France has yet to win the soccer World Cup, and Minitels are as popular as PCs. But all of this is about to change, as is the world of strategic videogames.

A small development studio decides to try and do something new with real-time strategy games (RTS). Tony Goodman and his colleagues at Ensemble Studios have an idea: to take the foundations of the genre made popular by Warcraft and Command and Conquer — the most famous of the harvest-build-conquer games – and apply them to a game about human history like Civilization.

And thus, Age of Empires was born. It was an ambitious game in isometric 2D that offered players the chance to guide one of twelve civilizations from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. In other words, players had to transform a tribe of hunter-gatherers into a great imperial force. Doing so would require managing their (non-renewable) resources, developing their technology, and building armies while also resisting opposing units – all in real time as opposed to taking turns like in other history-based games.

While there were several game modes available, players fondly remember experiencing history via RTS gameplay in several campaign scenarios. These campaigns covered four great civilizations: In the first, ancient Egypt, players had to help villagers on the banks of the Nile construct the great pyramids through twelve missions. The scene then changed to Mesopotamia, with eight scenarios inspired by the history of Babylon. The eight objectives of Ancient Greece went from founding the city of Athens to the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great. Finally, the eight missions of the Japanese campaign concentrated on the rise and fall of the Yamato Imperial Court.

In addition to campaigns, it was possible to play against the computer on randomly-generated maps or in a “death match.” Multiplayer via LAN or internet – one of the game’s strong points – could accommodate up to eight people simultaneously, and players really appreciated being able to create their own scenarios and share them with the community, especially as the editor was considered one of the best available at the time.

Despite all these new features, the game’s publisher Microsoft was cautious about the success of this new concept, expecting around 400,000 copies to be sold over the game’s lifespan. To everyone’s surprise, success was immediate. Upon its release in October 1997 in North America, followed by the rest of the world in February 1998, Age of Empires was a critical and commercial success, with one magazine calling it “Microsoft’s greatest masterpiece”. On GameRankings, the game earned an overall score of 87%. AoE quickly became the top-selling game not only in France, but also the USA, United Kingdom, and Germany, with over 3 million copies sold in three years, making it one of the ten biggest hits of 1998. To this day, Age of Empires remains one of the top-selling franchises – reaching over $1 billion in sales along with Halo, Gears of War and Minecraft. Age of Empires left a lasting impression on the world of RTS games, so much so that it encouraged numerous other licenses such as Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds and Cossacks to follow the same format. It also made Microsoft one of the biggest names in videogames.

The Beginning of a New Era

After the Rise of Rome expansion set in Ancient Rome, Ensemble Studios released Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings on September 30, 1999. This too was an instant success with Microsoft announcing sales of over two million copies in just three months, and AoK stayed in the Top 20 sales for over two-and-a-half years. The game even surpassed its predecessor on GameRankings with a score of 92%.

For many players, this new episode remains the most popular of the entire saga. Critics loved the choice of era — the Middle Ages — and the numerous improvements to the game system. The animations had been reworked and improved as well as the sound effects – one of the series’ strong points – remained just as realistic.

Age of Empires II had a second lease of life in 2013, when an HD remake was published on Steam, together with three new extensions, and the episode continues to be successful to this day: more than 5 million copies of Age of Empires II: HD Edition have now been sold on Steam, and there are still around 400,000 active players!

A Temporary Change of Scenery

But let’s go back to the beginning of the century. In 2001, Microsoft was preparing to launch the first Xbox. To reinforce its gaming division, the company bought Ensemble Studios to demonstrate its investment into game development, and in 2002 released Age of Mythology, which experimented with the now-classic Age formula by moving away from actual historical events to concentrate on Greek, Egyptian, and Nordic folklore – allowing fantastical units like cyclopses, mummies and frost giants to fight alongside archers and cavalry. The gameplay innovation and 3D game engine delighted players and specialists, so much so that over a million copies were sold in less than four months.

In 2005, Ensemble Studios returned to its favorite theme: history. Situated in the colonial era between 1492 and 1850, Age of Empires III invited us to discover the New World by establishing a colony in one of eight civilizations. Once again, the game was warmly received and praised for its incredible graphics, great sound effects, and multiplayer mode directly integrated with the interface. The game was also a commercial success, with over two million copies sold in two years. Age III received two extensions: The WarChiefs in 2006 and The Asian Dynasties in 2007 as well as an HD re-release on Steam in 2012. This sold 2.4 million copies and still has nearly 100,000 active players today.

Posterity

In 20 years of existence, the Age of Empires series has taken nearly 30 million players through seven centuries of history. Today, the first game is getting a welcome new lease on life with Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. This new version contains not only all the original game content, but also lots of new features. The most noticeable improvements are the graphics and animation, both of which have been entirely remastered for 4K displays on modern devices. The gameplay has been modernized – for example, there are several levels of zoom and a new interface – and the content hasn’t been forgotten either, with completely revised rhythm and narration, new options to share and find custom scenarios and campaigns built with the scenario editor, brand new competitive modes and, of course, lots of multiplayer options. Even the soundtrack, which was celebrated 20 years ago for the historical research that went into it, has been re-orchestrated and expanded. To top all of this, those nostalgic for the original can choose ‘classic’ mode, allowing them to relive the experience exactly as it was imagined twenty years ago.

And this is just the beginning. At gamescom 2017, Microsoft announced they were working on definitive editions of Age of Empires II and III as well as the eagerly-awaited Age of Empires IV developed by Relic Entertainment.

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. This coming week we can go hunting for space minerals with Deep Rock Galactic as it enters Xbox Game Preview, take a supernatural journey to ancient Egypt in Immortal Redneck, or get nostalgic for some dinosaur hunting action with the console launch exclusives Turok and Turok 2. These are just a few of the excellent games coming to Xbox One next week. Read more about these titles below and click on their profiles for pre-order details.

Games

February 27, 2018

Put on the mummified boots of a redneck tourist who wakes up in ancient Egypt after a supernatural accident. A mix of old-school FPS action and rogue-lite elements, fight through dangerous pyramids, destroy a variety of monsters, and figure out what happened to this Immortal Redneck.

Games

February 27, 2018

Xbox One X Enhanced – Race across a variety of environments from all over the world in three racing challenges including cross country, stadium events, and unique courses set in the wild. Take your racing skills online against other players and compete for the title of Gravel World Champion!

Games

February 27, 2018

The Inkies have returned with a new scheme to rid the world of color and it’s up to you to stop them! Play across 12 levels on a new color-packed adventure where custom paints, patterns, and music bring the world to life as Blob fights to restore peace to his colorful home.

Games

February 28, 2018

Shoot and loot your way across nine four-player co-op missions with your friends, taking out members of the WarSwarm, a hive-mind of alien AI that has waged war on humans in this sci-fi shoot ’em up. Pick up perks, loot your enemies, and upgrade your ship to support your comrades in battle to become the ultimate damage dealer and save the galaxy.

Games

February 28, 2018

Xbox Game Preview / Xbox Play Anywhere / Xbox One X Enhanced – Space Dwarves! Have your attention? Great! Deep Rock Galactic is a new co-op FPS that features destructible environments in procedurally-generated caves and (naturally) an endless horde of alien monsters that guard valuable minerals for you and your team of Dwarves to collect.

Games

February 28, 2018

With a mix of gothic horror and challenging turn-based RPG mechanics, Darkest Dungeon challenges you to successfully manage a group of flawed heroes through twisted forests, crypts, and dungeons. Battle not only the monsters you’ll face, but the physical and mental toll each successive adventure into the dark takes on your fledgling group of knights, mages, and thieves.

Games

February 28, 2018

Return to the Aperture Science Enrichment Center for a slew of new challenging puzzles, this time as a bridge constructor. As a new Aperture Science employee under the tutelage of GLaDOS, it’ll be up to you to build bridges, slides, ramps and a variety of other constructions across 60 test chambers, utilizing the series’ signature tools like portals, propulsion gel, faith plates and more all in the name of science.

Games

February 28, 2018

As the character I, who has lost all his friends (the 25 other letters of the alphabet), embark across 75 ultra-challenging levels in this deceptively cute and difficult platformer, featuring a unique switch-mechanic that you must master if you hope for I to ever see his friends again.

Games

March 02, 2018

Combining elements of permadeath, random world generation, and hack ‘n’ slash across an overarching story, The Story Goes On drops you into the storybook of a crazed author. Utilize 50+ items to survive battles against dozens of enemies across randomly generated worlds and dungeons.

Games

March 02, 2018

Manage your own fantasy retail shop! Start from scratch with a limited inventory, effectively price your goods, and arrange your displays to attract the most customers to grow your business. Employ staff, find the right price for your wares, and keep the shop looking great. And always be on the lookout for ways to expand.

Games

March 02, 2018

Inspired by the real-world locations of northern Mexico, Mulaka is a new 3D action-adventure game based on the culture of the Tarahumara. Pulling from the region’s rich mythology, embark on an epic journey of a Sukurúame (shaman) as you draw upon the power of gods to fight against the corruption of your land.

Games

March 02, 2018

Graduating from Xbox Game Preview – Take command of a full cast of tragic heroes across an apocalyptic wonderland. Combining elements of fast-paced gameplay, turn-based strategy, and co-op adventure. Find loot, customize your crew, and fight in tournaments to survive this hostile world that is home to electrobots, vampires, and cupcake people.

Games

March 02, 2018

Console Launch Exclusive – The classic returns! Restored and enhanced with a new visual engine for Xbox One, return as the time-traveling warrior Turok who has found himself lost in a savage land of conflict. Find the eight pieces of the shattered Chronoscepter scattered across this world to put an end to the Campaigner’s evil crusade… and fight a ton of dinosaurs, naturally.

Games

March 02, 2018

Console Launch Exclusive – Once again, it’s up to Turok to restore peace to this ancient world. Having awoken an ancient evil, Turok must stop the evil Primagen from merging Earth with the nether world. Fight prehistoric raptors, evil flesh eaters, and do battle with the mother of all beasts — you must defeat them all to save this land once and for all!

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!

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition Now Available Worldwide on Windows 10 PCs
Welcome back to history! Today is an exciting day for us at Microsoft, as we celebrate the legacy of Age of Empires with today’s release of Age of Empires: Definitive Edition worldwide on Windows 10 PCs. We created Age of Empires: Definitive Edition as a homage to all Real Time Strategy (RTS) fans and to PC gamers everywhere… Read more

New Games with Gold for March 2018
Welcome to another Games with Gold reveal for Xbox One and Xbox 360! In March on Xbox One, take control of Sergeant Rex Power Colt’s cyber commando kids as they drive and shoot their way through a variety of environments in Trials of the Blood Dragon, then experience one of the most innovative and award-winning shooters in Superhot… Read more

Save on Awesome Games During the EA Publisher Sale
Xbox and EA fans! The Microsoft Store’s EA Publisher Sale is one of the most anticipated sales of the year, and it’s starting soon. Running for one week only, from February 20 to February 26, the sale offers the best prices on EA titles including Star Wars Battlefront II, FIFA 18, Madden 18, Battlefield 1 Revolution, Need for Speed Payback, Mass Effect Andromeda and more… Read more

Getting Started in Age of Empires: Definitive Edition
If you’re like us, you’re excited about booting up Age of Empires: Definitive Edition available now on Windows 10. Perhaps, like some of us, your Age skills have gotten a bit rusty. Or maybe you’ve never played the classic real-time strategy game at all! Not to worry: the Age of Empires: DE team put together a quick primer to help you come out on top in this celebration of gaming history… Read more

Xbox One Storytellers: MachineGames Talks Wolfenstein
It’s hard to match the narrative scope and immersive experience that a compelling story-driven game has over other storytelling mediums, allowing players not only to fall into the world of a well-crafted story but to experience it firsthand. These types of games can empower someone with a new perspective, or let us live a double-life as a superhero… Read more

Return to Albion for Free and Make Your Fable Fortune
After seven months working closely with the feedback of our dedicated Xbox Game Preview users, we’re excited to not only announce Fable Fortune is graduating with version 1.0 from Game Preview to a full release — and the game will be free starting today, February 22 for Xbox One and Windows 10… Read more

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet Available Now on Xbox One
Calling all Gun Gale Online Players! It’s been a long time coming, but Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet is finally available on Xbox One. In the newest video game of Reki Kawahara’s fan-favorite franchise, you will venture into the futuristic world of Gun Gale Online, a dangerous landscape fraught with peril like supersonic flying bullets, quick photon swords, and powerful rocket launchers… Read more

Fortnite Battle Royale – Battle Pass Season 3 is Live on Xbox One
Season 3 of Fortnite Battle Royale has launched an all-new space-themed Battle Pass! We also released our massive v.3.0.0 update which includes a whole slew of new features and improvement that every Victory Royale seeker will appreciate. With v.3.0.0, all Xbox One and Xbox One X players will now be able to experience Fortnite at 60 fps… Read more

Mods Coming to Your Town in Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Edition
Hello once again, mayors! We hope you’ve been having fun building new cities and infusing them with your own mixture of sensibility and style. Our favorite thing about working with Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Edition is getting to see the creative ways that our players bring their towns together, and we’ve enjoyed seeing what you’ve shared… Read more

Retro-Future Survival Management Game Symmetry Now Available on Xbox One
The first time we thought about creating Symmetry was during one evening when we played a board game called “K2,” in which the main goal was to ascend the mountain summit and bring the whole team back to the base safely. Once we mixed the concept with our love to sci-fi themes, we could begin our work… Read more

The Ys Series is Coming Soon to Xbox One with Ys Origin
We’re really happy that Japanese RPG lovers will soon be able to play this amazing game series on Xbox. Created more than 30 years ago by Nihon Falcom, Ys is one of the greatest game series ever — the first episode was originally released on the NEC PC-8801 — and as you can see by looking on the internet, this is some old-school hardware… Read more

Punishing Platformer Roguelike Xenon Valkyrie+ Available Now on Xbox One
A few months ago, I was contacted by a Spanish game developer, Daniel Fernandez Chavez (Diabolical Mind), who had created an interesting game for the PC. Considering we use the same middleware (GameMaker Studio), he figured I could port and publish his game on consoles. I accepted! Xenon Valkyrie+ is a platformer roguelike in the same vein as Spelunky… Read more

Creators Corner: Dreaming Sarah
Xbox Live Creators Program empowers passionate developers everywhere to share their games with the world. In the Creator’s Corner series, Xbox Live Creators Program developers will share what inspires and motivates them to design and create their games, what challenges and creative solutions they pursue to bring their games to fruition… Read more

Xbox CosPups Join Gaming Heroes to Celebrate the Year of the Dog
February 16 marks the start of Chinese New Year; a 15-day season of festivities across Greater China and within Asian communities worldwide, seeing people celebrate with family, feasting, fireworks, and good fortune rituals shared. This Lunar New Year we celebrate the Year of the Dog… Read more

Turning Jurassic World and Jurassic Park into Prehistoric Pinball Perfection
Greetings from Zen Studios! As you may know, we launched Pinball FX3 last fall alongside three great new tables in the Universal Classics Pinball collection. Half the fun of creating new experiences based on “Back to the Future,” “E.T.,” and “Jaws” came from conceptualizing how we would represent your favorite scenes from those movies in pinball form… Read more

Unleash Your Inner Ninja with an Exclusive New Avatar on Roblox
It’s a well-established fact that ninjas are the coolest warriors in the entire universe. They’re stealthy, mysterious, and versatile in battle! Naturally, it only seemed fitting to introduce one of our own renegade ninjas on Roblox as a unique playable avatar! Sharpen those kunai and get ready to hone your fighting techniques, Robloxians… Read more

Five Tips to Mastering Single-Player in Metal Gear Survive
With the launch of Meal Gear Survive, you can now experience the full depth of the game’s features, mechanics, and modes. Even if you already played co-op during Metal Gear Survive’s beta, the single-player experience brings new elements of exploration and survival accompanied by Metal Gear’s signature stealth-action gameplay… Read more

Xbox Live Sessions: Chandler Riggs and Brendan Greene to Play PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on Xbox One X
Xbox and “The Walking Dead” fans, get ready for another epic Xbox Live Sessions featuring Chandler Riggs! Chandler will join the interactive livestream hosted on the Mixer Xbox Channel on Thursday, February 22 at 2 p.m. PT to take on PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) on Xbox One X… Read more

Sci-fi Mystery The Station Available Now on Xbox One
I can’t express how excited I am for you to jump into the mystery adventure of The Station and solve what happened onboard a futuristic space station, sent to research a newly discovered sentient alien civilization. After losing contact with the crew, you’re sent to investigate and will discover a mystery that will decide the fate of two civilizations… Read more

It’s hard to match the narrative scope and immersive experience that a compelling story-driven game has over other storytelling mediums, allowing players not only to fall into the world of a well-crafted story but to experience it firsthand. These types of games can empower someone with a new perspective, or let us live a double-life as a superhero. Narrative-driven games allow us to become someone we’re not, which is perhaps the biggest reason we enjoy these experiences. Now, with the power of Xbox One X, creators are able to bring us even closer to their vision. With our Xbox One Storytellers series, we’ll sit down with some of the industry’s greatest creators to talk about the strength of storytelling within games, their inspirations, and how they see the genre growing in the years ahead. Today, we’ll be talking to Jens Matthies, Creative Director at MachineGames.

Is there a secret to crafting a compelling single-player narrative?

Yes, there are many secrets! The type of genre will put limitations on which kind of methodologies you can deploy, but in general, I consider “player/protagonist parity” most important. In short, this means aligning the player’s motivations with the main character’s motivations through shared experiences.

Do you think single-player experiences create a better sense of immersion than multiplayer experiences?

No, I think immersion can be created just as effectively in a multiplayer game. However, there’s a level of intimacy that is hard to reach in multiplayer. You can get really personal when it’s just the game and the player when the experience isn’t filtered through social considerations.

How do you balance your narrative goals with your gameplay goals?

That is the hardest challenge. It is always very tempting to sacrifice gameplay on the story altar, or vice versa. Our strategy is making sure to have empowered representatives championing the various aspects of the game. We meet and negotiate with each other until we find a solution that satisfies our mutual needs. This takes patience, respect, and charitability, but it is always worth it in the end.

Have things like branching missions and multiple unique endings changed single-player game development?

I would say there’s an eternal increase in the complexity of triple-A games, but I think this change is something you need to thrive on in order to be a good developer.

Are there any genres you think story doesn’t matter, or ones you think fit the goal of telling a story better than others?

Yes, there are many types of game that do not need a story. A timeless classic like Tetris for example.

What sort of benefits do more powerful consoles and PCs offer to single-player storytellers?

Fundamentally, increased power enables the developer to more accurately realize their vision. When I started in this business 20 years ago, making the jaw of a character waggle as they spoke was the cutting edge. These days I obsess over the design of each character’s teeth.

Were there any particular single-player experiences in your gaming life that inspired you to create or really struck a chord with you?

For sure! Games like Space Quest, Half-Life and Ico have been hugely inspiring to me.

Is there a specific game’s single-player level or narrative moment you consider close to a perfect narrative experience?

I think The Last of Us is as close to perfection as it gets. There’s a moment when Joel falls down an elevator shaft and ends up in a flooded basement. He calls up to Ellie, asking her “Are you ok?” She shouts back down to him “No!” This moment sums up their characters and relationship in a way that cannot be translated into writing. Of course, the scene is written in the script, but it is the perfect harmony of stellar performances, clarity of vision, and flawless execution that turns these two modest lines of dialogue into a perfect moment.

How have single-player/narrative games changed most over the last 10 years?

The bar has been raised sky high in terms of storytelling ambition. We see a lot more complexity in themes and execution, and much better integration between story and gameplay.

How do you see single-player games evolving over the next 10 years?

I’d love to see a continued emphasis on intimacy in the stories we tell. The video game format is the closest we have to experiencing things from a different perspective than your own. To step into the shoes of another person. When done right, it can be very powerful.

Greetings from Zen Studios! As you may know, we launched Pinball FX3 last fall alongside three great new tables in the Universal Classics Pinball collection. Half the fun of creating new experiences based on “Back to the Future,” “E.T.,” and “Jaws” came from conceptualizing how we would represent your favorite scenes from those movies in pinball form. Your kind reviews make us feel like we did a pretty good job there—and we’re not done adapting iconic Universal films yet! My friends…

Welcome to Jurassic World Pinball.

Don’t let the name of this three-pack fool you! In addition to Jurassic World Pinball, we’ve also got two more: Jurassic Park Pinball and Jurassic Park Pinball Mayhem, inspired by the movie that started it all.

Much like the classic films in Universal Classics Pinball, we loved turning our favorite scenes from “Jurassic World” and “Jurassic Park” into gameplay. And they all feature some epic movie moments – so hold on to your butts and enjoy some of our favorite examples!

From “Jurassic World”

Other than watching “Jurassic World” again and again on Blu-ray (always a fine idea), we can’t think of a better way to tide ourselves over until the release of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” on June 22, 2018, than to top the leaderboards on the Jurassic World Pinball table.

Take a Ride in the Gyrosphere
The genetically modified Indominus Rex looms as a constant threat on the table — you’ll have to avoid her many times! One of the highlights is our re-creation of the thrilling Gyrosphere ride through the valley taken by the kids in the film. For this mode, the pinball literally turns into the Gyrosphere, and you must use all the power you have in your flippers to avoid the deadly dinosaur. To put it simply: don’t get eaten.

“See, Charlie? That’s Whatcha Get!”
“Jurassic World” surprised us all with Chris Pratt’s character, Owen, having found a way to train – and befriend – the deadly Raptors on the island. But they’re not gonna remain friendly unless you feed them a healthy diet of digital spherical steel. Nail those shots, listen to Owen’s dialogue directly from the film…and brace yourself for the Part Raptor mode when the clever girls join forces with the Indominus Rex and decide to turn on you.

Making a Big Splash
Remember that huge aquatic dinosaur in the film that eats an entire great white shark in one bite? That’s the Mosasaurus, and like Owen’s Raptors, she’s also got quite the appetite for pinballs. Hit the shots and enjoy the show!

And it gets even better! You’ll get an Achievement if you can make this happen by defeating the wizard mode…

From “Jurassic Park”

We’re truly honored to be part of Universal’s yearlong 25^th anniversary celebration for “Jurassic Park.” It’s been such a thrill for our team to adapt iconic scenes like these to pinball gameplay.

“Must Go Faster!”
See that conveyor belt? That’s no T. rex treadmill – rather, it’s a fun way to relive some of the most exciting moments from “Jurassic Park” while keeping all the action on the table! The scene depicted above – where Dr. Ian Malcolm and team step on the gas to escape the T. rex – is one of our all-time favorites! Of course, the action itself is downright intense…but it’s the actual movie dialogue that really sells the scene.

Stampede!
Another “Jurassic Park” T. rex scene we love involved her pursuit of a herd of Gallimimus – with Dr. Alan Grant and the kids caught in the middle. You know what that means for pinball gameplay, don’t you? Multiball! With the T. rex terrorizing each of the four stampeding dinosaurs – er, pinballs – that pass her, you’ve got more to worry about than just making sure they don’t pass through your flippers!

Wrath of the Raptors
And what would a “Jurassic Park” table be without the dinosaur that has become one of the most famous and feared cinematic creatures in pop culture today? “We’re being hunted,” you’ll hear Muldoon say as you face the Raptors yourself, trying to get him and Ellie safely to the maintenance building (spoiler alert: even if you win, only one of ‘em makes it…).

At the same time, we’re just as excited about the classic film scene in the kitchen with the kids doing their best to stay alive by outsmarting the clever girls. You’ll need to nail spatulas, ladles, and other silverware in the game to distract them and survive.

And Total Mayhem Ensues!
You won’t be reliving any iconic film scenes on the Jurassic Park Pinball Mayhem table, but there’s a very good reason for that – it’s an entirely original experience! Enjoy all-new colossal moments on Isla Nublar, including a chance to fight a T. rex as a Stegosaurus!

Jurassic World Pinball is available now and we can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it. Let us know on Twitter at @pinballfx and @zen_studios, or on Facebook at. Also, keep your eyes open for news on tournaments where you can win great prizes, no matter your skill level! See you on the leaderboards, everyone…