Category: Xbox News

Microsoft Flight Simulator was built from the ground up to achieve three key goals: realism, accuracy, and authenticity of flight. Today, we’re excited to share that Virtual Reality for Microsoft Flight Simulator is now available on your favorite VR headset for PC, offering simmers the deepest and most immersive virtual flight experience in the new simulator to date.

The flight sim community has been a very active and insightful partner in shaping how the team approached VR, and continues to be a critical partner in our continued development as we make further improvements and add new features to the simulation. Adding VR to Microsoft Flight Simulator was a direct result of community feedback, and we look forward to continued involvement in the future of the franchise with us.

Our goal was to make this update accessible to as many VR players as possible. To achieve this goal, we have worked to make this free update compatible across a wide range of supported devices, including most Windows Mixed Reality headsets (including the HP Reverb G2), Oculus, Valve, and HTC headsets. To access VR, make sure you have downloaded the latest update for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Grab your VR headset and try this captivating experience today on Xbox Game Pass for PC, Windows 10, and Steam. Feel free to share your first impressions with us on the dedicated forums or check out our FAQ if you have questions. For the latest information on Microsoft Flight Simulator, stay tuned to @MSFSOfficial on Twitter.

Microsoft Flight Simulator: Standard

Xbox Game Studios

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

This title does not support Korean, Vietnamese, Thai or Indonesian localization. Microsoft Flight Simulator is the next generation of one of the most beloved simulation franchises. From light planes to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and stunning aircraft in an incredibly realistic world. Create your flight plan and fly anywhere on the planet. Enjoy flying day or night and face realistic, challenging weather conditions. MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR IS A MUST PLAY*: • 10/10 IGN – “Microsoft Flight Simulator is legitimately incredible. It’s difficult to fully describe how amazing it feels to jump into a plane and have the freedom fly to and from literally any place in the entire world.”
• Essential EUROGAMER – “a once in-a-generation wow moment”
• 100/100 GAMING TREND
• 100/100 PLAYER 2
• 5/5 GUARDIAN – “This game captures the wonder of flight”
• 5/5 VG 24/7
• 10/10 PRESS-START
• 10/10 AUSGAMERS
• 5/5 VGC – “phenomenal looking, remarkably detailed simulator”
• 9/10 AREAJUGONES
• 9/10 PC INVASION
• 4.5/5 ATTACK OF THE FANBOY
• 9/10 GAMEBLOG
• 10/10 WCCFTECH – “a technical marvel that brings the whole world to life and the best example of cloud based gaming so far.”
• 18/20 JEUXACTU
• 9/10 EVEREYE
• 9.3/10 SPAZIOGAMES
• 4/5 DAILY STAR – “the definition of revolutionary”
• 4.5/5 TWINFINITE

The Holidays are upon us and World of Warships: Legends is bringing a bunch of events and the legendary battleship Massachusetts just in time for the occasion. There’s plenty of things to get stuck into, including a new season of Ranked Battles, a special Bureau Project, and more.

The highlight of the update is undoubtably the new Big Mamie campaign. Featured as the final reward for this long campaign, the Premium Tier VII Battleship Massachusetts (affectionately known as “Big Mamie”) is a World War II American classic. One of the South Dakota-class battleships, she is armed with nine 16-inch (406mm) guns and has excellent armor protection. Plus, she has an effective battery of secondary guns, unique for a US battleship. In real life, she is preserved as a museum ship in Fall River, MA. For the first time, this campaign also has a second premium ship — the Japanese light cruiser Yahagi. Fast and well-armed for Tier IV, the Yahagi is available at milestone 40 of the campaign. The Big Mamie campaign will run for six weeks and has 120 milestones to reach, lots to do over the holidays!

In the background, there’s a special event running throughout the update to collect unique Icebreaker Coins for even more rewards, including the Tier VII Russian battleship Lenin. Renowned for its icebreaker armor along the bow, this ship is tough and mounts nine 16-inch guns in a forward arrangement similar to the British battleship Nelson. There is also some gear available alongside three rental Legendary-tier ships: Conqueror, Worcester, and Gearing! You can collect Icebreaker coins by participating in the various holiday events, such as the new season of Ranked battles, fighting in or against Legendary-tier ships, opening Super Santa Containers, or by finishing Icebreaker Havoc missions that become available after finishing the Big Mamie campaign.

Speaking of Ranked Battles, we’ve changed the rules around to shake things up! This time, you can partake in competitive 5v5 battles with a limit of one destroyer per team. It will be an intense season, with each player’s actions having a larger impact on the team’s outcome.

We are also remembering a dramatic battle in the northern Atlantic this December—the Battle of North Cape. A special bureau project is available to unlock unique ice-covered arctic skins for three ships: the Scharnhorst, Duke of York, and Edinburgh. Duke of York and Scharnhorst fought each other during the confrontation, and ultimately the British ship won out the harsh duel. Although she wasn’t involved in the battle, Edinburgh is closely related to the Belfast, another ship that fought in the battle and is available to all players. Be sure to start this project as soon as you can, it will only be available until February 1st.

The Holiday update is bringing a much-requested feature in the form of an in-game armor viewer! You can now see the layout and thickness of each ship’s armor in-game to help you create builds and counter strategies to maximize the effectiveness of your ships in battle.

Brace yourselves for an event filled holiday season in World of Warships: Legends and keep turning the tide!

World of Warships: Legends

Wargaming.net

☆☆☆☆☆ 120

★★★★★

Experience epic naval action in World of Warships: Legends, a global multiplayer free-to-play online game in which you can master the seas on the decks of history’s greatest warships! Recruit Legendary Commanders, upgrade your vessels, and stake your claim to naval domination alongside and against players from around the world. FREQUENT UPDATES
New content in the form of ships, Campaigns, Bureau Projects, events, and more arrive regularly! Each update brings new features to shake things up in-game. FEATURE RICH
Develop Legendary warships such as Yamato from the ground up in the Bureau, compete in Ranked Battles seasons for exclusive patches and extra rewards, and finish epic Campaigns to gain powerful new ships! CHOOSE YOUR COMBAT STYLE
Take control of over 120 destroyers, cruisers, and battleships—a range that’s perfect for every playstyle, whether it be an all-guns-blazing approach, more careful and methodical attacks, or tactics that are unique to you. TURN THE TIDE IN EPIC 9V9 BATTLES
Join forces with friends to challenge players around the world, and work together across consoles to devise strategies and plan attacks via voice chat. Cooperate to outgun your opponents and Turn the Tide of battle!

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 Launches “Xbox: Beyond Generations” Filmed Experiment
Perhaps one of the greatest struggles older people face today is a lack of human connection; whether it’s due to living far apart from family members, or even a lack of close family and friends at all, loneliness among our older generation is a growing problem… Read more

Free Play Days – Black Desert, Unturned, and Resident Evil Resistance
Experience an epic medieval MMORPG or get your zombie survival-horror fix, all in this weekend’s Free Play Days. Black Desert, Unturned, and Resident Evil Resistance are available for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to play… Read more

Secret Neighbor Winter Holidays Update is Here
For any new home invaders in our midst, Secret Neighbor is an online multiplayer social horror game where the goal is to work together with other players to get into your suspicious neighbor’s basement. This isn’t just any senseless breaking and entering though… Read more

The Undertaker is Now Available in WWE 2K Battlegrounds
Celebration of the Deadman’s 30th anniversary continues as wrestling fans can now get their hands on the Undertaker. While we may have seen the last of this version of Undertaker laying out AJ Styles at WrestleMania, fans can continue to lay waste… Read more

Unlock Free Outfits and Take Flight: Fortnite – Operation Snowdown Starts Today!
‘Tis the first day of Snowdown, when all through the tundra were Snowmando Outposts full of loot and decor. Remember Crackshot’s Winterfest last year in Fortnite? This year, Crackshot’s right-hand snowman, Snowmando, has arrived to the island… Read more

Skater XL Mod Maps and Gear Available Now on Xbox
We are extremely stoked to announce the release of update 1.1, which integrates mod content into the core experience of Skater XL. We have always thought of Skater XL as a community driven game, and making user generated content as accessible as possible… Read more

Torchlight III’s Snow and Steam Update Brings a Storm of Sought-After Updates
Torchlight III has just released a smoldering new update full of winter-related content, a rework for the Forged class, and a large list of bug fixes. In this blog, we’ll dive into what you can expect to find in the latest Snow & Steam update… Read more

Online Sensation Neoverse is Now Available with Xbox Game Pass
We’re thrilled to announce the fantastic and breathtaking challenge of Neoverse is now available for players on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Game Pass members. The world of Neoverse is a deck-building, action, rogue-lite game where… Read more

Xbox Unveils Two Custom Controllers Inspired by Hit Disney+ Series, The Mandalorian
To celebrate the finale of “The Mandalorian” Season 2 on Disney+, Xbox teamed up with Lucasfilm Games to create two new epic Mandalorian-themed Xbox Wireless Controllers, giving Star Wars fans and gamers alike the chance to win a set of the exclusive… Read more

Drive High-Speed in LGV Méditerranée with Train Sim World 2
Today we are launching the first French route for Train Sim World 2, with the sun-soaked LGV Méditerranée: Marseille – Avignon. This high-speed line runs across the South of France with the TGV Duplex carrying passengers at speeds of up to 320 km/h… Read more

Hide, Seek, and Survive: PUBG Season 10 is Available Now
In PUBG Season 10, we’re bringing the new map called Haven, an industrial island in the rust belt of America. There is a carbon steel works, coal yards, industrial and residential zones, an overpass, and docks where you can hide, seek, and survive… Read more

Get Ready for Destruction in Colossus Down for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S
Have you ever wanted to change the world? Remove everything you don’t like so you can do things your way? If so, you may have one thing or two in common with Nika. She is a smart seven-year-old girl who doesn’t like the world she lives in, so she… Read more

Microsoft Flight Simulator is Fastest Growing Entry in the Series with Over 2 Million Players to Date
Microsoft Flight Simulator is Microsoft’s longest running franchise with a history of 38 years, and we are proud to announce that the latest entry is the fastest to grow to over 2 million pilots. This was possible thanks to the incredible community of fans, real-world pilots… Read more

Spellbreak Chapter 1: The Spellstorm
Spellbreak is a competitive, free-to-play, third-person spellcasting game where you unleash powerful magic as you battle other players for supremacy. With the launch of Spellbreak’s first chapter today, I’m excited to dive into some of the many new… Read more

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone Season One Bring New Maps, Weapons, and More
Following its epic launch for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is fast approaching the start of the first content drop in Season One, featuring free-to-acquire weapons and seven free maps. And there’s new content for… Read more

Smite’s Newest Hunter Brings Mischief in the Latest Update
Danzaburou, the Legendary Tanuki, is the newest god to join Smite’s Japanese Pantheon – now available on Xbox One! This trickster is ready to bring godly shenanigans to the Battleground. With a sly grin and big belly, Danazburou is a cheerful bake-danuki… Read more

Rocket League’s Frosty Fest is Now Live
Get ready to chill in Rocket League‘s coolest in-game event, Frosty Fest! If you’re new to Rocket League since the free to play launch, Frosty Fest is the annual festive in-game event that brings good tidings, themed items, and now limited time modes… Read more

Synthetik: Ultimate – Classic Top-Down Shooter Meets Roguelike
Who misses the good old days of classic top down shooters? We certainly did, and that’s why we made Synthetik: Ultimate – a fresh shooter roguelite that captures the intensity and richness of a late ’90s title while not missing out on the comforts… Read more

Spread Cheer, Get Gear: The Dawning Returns to Destiny 2
Destiny 2 players have been spending lots of time recently braving the chilly bite of winter while exploring Europa’s harsh frozen landscapes. Starting today they can find a warm respite with the return of the Dawning, our annual free holiday event where… Read more

Big ‘80s Action with a Huge World of Tanks Update
As members of the team behind World of Tanks Console, we don’t believe there is such a thing as “too big.” Heck, World of Tanks features 40-ton steel beasts decimating each other in explosive battlefield matches. So, when we say that our December… Read more 

Xbox and Bungie Broke the Guinness World Records Title for Largest Projected Video Game Display
As players continue to work with the Exo Stranger in harnessing the dark power of Stasis in Destiny 2: Beyond Light, we powered the dreams of one gamer and broke a Guinness World Records title for “Largest Projected Video Game Display” to celebrate… Read more

Ghostrunner Winter Pack DLC and Hardcore Mode Details
The time has come for you to climb Dharma Tower once again with an exciting new game mode launching December 17, and a new set of skins in the Ghostrunner Winter Pack DLC coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S today for only $1.99… Read more

The Van Saar Gang Brings Advanced Tech to Necromunda: Underhive Wars
The agents of House Van Saar are the latest to join the fray in the violent depths of the underhive! Flaunting high-tech weaponry and unprecedented discipline, Van Saar fighters are also clad in signature protective suits that increase their regenerative… Read more

Spread the Joyous Spirit in Trove’s Snowfest Event
Trove’s merriest event is upon us and brings new mysteries, rewards, and beautifully decorated world. Feast your eyes on the Hub that is now a winter wonderland and share the joy with us in Snowfest until December 29. Deep within Delves, our… Read more 

Ark II is Coming to Xbox Series X|S as a Console Launch Exclusive
Last week at The Game Awards, Studio Wildcard took their next dinosaur-sized step with the Ark franchise and thrilled the world by announcing Ark II. The reveal trailer (above) was fully captured in-engine and showcases some of the features… Read more

Update on EA Play: Coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC in 2021
When we originally set out to write this blog post, which would announce the availability of EA Play on PC with Xbox Game Pass, it looked a little bit different. Unfortunately, what had been a celebratory post is now one asking for a little more patience… Read more

LeBron James, Bugs Bunny, and Xbox Invite Fans to Create a Space Jam: A New Legacy Video Game
Microsoft and Space Jam: A New Legacy are coming together for an epic partnership in the leadup to the film’s release in 2021. In celebration of the new movie, Xbox, Bugs Bunny and LeBron James are teaming up to help YOU create an original… Read more

Creating My Hidden Things, Now Available for Xbox One
Our small team had produced about 10 prototypes before we finally came up with the current version of the project. First, I dug up my old Doodle-style works, which the team thought were cool, so I had an idea how to integrate them into gameplay… Read more

1000 Days of Play! Sea of Thieves Celebrates with Free Gifts, New Audio Book and More
Millions of treasures taken. Scores of skeletons smashed. More bunches of bananas cronched than we can possibly count – it’s been a wild ride across the waves in the 1000 days since Sea of Thieves hit shelves and storefronts for players around the world to enjoy… Read more

Embark Together on a Wild, Genre-Bending Co-Op Journey in It Takes Two
Embark on the craziest journey of your life in It Takes Two, coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on March 26, 2021. With Friend’s Pass, invite someone who you’d like to share this genre-bending, mind-blowing, co-op only platform adventure with… Read more

Seasons Greetings, friends!

For any new home invaders in our midst, Secret Neighbor is an online multiplayer social horror game where the goal is to work together with other players to get into your suspicious neighbor’s basement. This isn’t just any senseless breaking and entering though, he’s hiding something and it’s up to you and the other kids to find out what. There’s only one problem, one of your friends is the neighbor in disguise…

With the most festive of holiday seasons just around the corner we’ve got some special surprises to drop under the tree, and you won’t even have to wait until Christmas day to unwrap them! So let’s dive in!

Do you want to build a snowman? ❄️

There’s nothing better than waking up to a snow day, and it looks like Raven Brooks has gotten its first snow of the year! In this winter update you’ll find the spooky decor swapped for something with a little more holiday cheer. The halls are decked, the gifts are wrapped with care, and you can deck someone with carefully wrapped gifts… wait.

Possible personal injury cases aside, we invite you to engage in more chilly shenanigans by building a snowman. You can create up to four sizes of snowballs, and can use these to build your own snow-army… or you can throw them into the faces of the nearest unsuspecting player. Your call.

Speaking of throwing, what’s a holiday season without snowball fights with your friends? So grab a couple of snowballs and send ‘em flying! Just be sure to hop back indoors and warm up every so often.

No we didn’t get you a pony

Snowballs and snowmen are cool, but they aren’t the star on top of the tree. We have a special present for all our OG Hello Neighbor fans and lore hounds this year and it comes in the form of a new map! The new map is based on the neighbor’s house from Act 1 of Hello Neighbor and… the basement is open?!

We know you’ve always wondered what is actually in the basement, and now you can see for yourself! Explore the Peterson house and creep through the basement for more clues. But just because you’ve made it to the basement doesn’t mean the story is over. If you know what you’re looking for it may help to shed some light on the neighbor, Nicky’s disappearance, and the bigger mystery of what is going on in Raven Brooks. But be careful that you don’t wind up with more questions than answers.

Bundle up boys and girls!

Of course with every holiday update there are plenty of new cosmetics to nab. This year we’re bringing double denim back, and we’re not in the least bit sorry. You can find a set of denim digs for every kid class, as well as a few new standalone outfits for them. The new Butcher Neighbor class also gets a bit spoiled this update with a couple of new outfits!

We’ve got lots to unwrap this holiday season so keep a sharp eye out, stay warm, and we hope you enjoy the new Secret Neighbor Winter update!

Secret Neighbor

tinyBuild

☆☆☆☆☆ 200

★★★★★

$19.99 $7.99

Xbox Game Pass

A group of kids are trying to break into their suspicious Neighbor’s basement to rescue their missing friend. Only problem is that one of the kids is a traitor – a Secret Neighbor in disguise. His job is to gain the trust of other players and betray them. Kids win if they get into the basement. Playing as a child: – Collect keys
– Save you friends from the Neighbor
– Cooperate but don`t trust anyone If you are lucky enough to play as Neighbor: – The house is your territory! Use it to separate, scare and confuse intruders.
– Use your gadgets to get advantage over the kids’ team.
– Gain trust amongst your foes and attack in the right moment.
– Protect your basement!

Celebration of the Deadman’s 30th anniversary continues as wrestling fans can now get their hands on the Undertaker. While we may have seen the last of this version of Undertaker laying out AJ Styles at WrestleMania, fans can continue to lay waste to their opponents as him in WWE 2K Battlegrounds.

The new attire now gives fans three alternate attires of the Undertaker to unlock, which includes his old school gear from his 1990 debut. His base character is already available to all players right out of the gate without needing to unlock, giving players four versions in total, of the Undertaker to choose from.

But that’s not all! Today’s game update also includes the debut of Underataker’s unholy brother Kane, allowing fans to dominate the tag team scene with the Brothers of Destruction.

Also included in today’s update is Billie Kaye, who’s base character is unlocked for all players, Andrade, the Survivor Series arena theme and additional vanity items, such as masks for your created character.

In case you missed it, we also released a batch of new Superstars over the last two weeks, which featured NBA 2K21 cover star “Laheem” Lillard, Gronkster, Macho Man Randy Savage, Rhea Ripley, and The Boogeyman! It’s never a dull moment in WWE 2K Battlegrounds.

Finally, next week we’ll be releasing more WWE Superstars, including Edge, who was previously only available as a pre-order bonus, Peyton Royce, and Buddy Murphy.

As we head into the holiday season, be sure to be on the lookout for additional superstars and stay tuned for our next announcement about which group of characters are coming next.

Now head on over to the battlegrounds and make your opponents rest in peace by picking up WWE 2K Battlegrounds for Xbox One, or play it on the Xbox One Series X|S via backwards compatibility!     

WWE 2K Battlegrounds

2K

☆☆☆☆☆ 31

★★★★★

$39.99 $23.99

The world of WWE is your battleground with all-new, over the top, in-your-face arcade action as your favorite WWE Superstars and Legends battle it out in outlandish interactive environments around the world. Compete in your favorite match types with an arsenal of exaggerated maneuvers, special abilities, and devastating power-ups, including Steel Cage, Royal Rumble, Fatal Four Way and more, as Mauro Ranallo and Jerry “The King” Lawler call all the mayhem! Are you ready to enter the battleground? Brawl Without Limits!
Take your favorite WWE Superstars and Legends into battle with unrestrained, unhinged, and in-your-face pandemonium! Pull off over-the-top moves and use your special abilities to destroy your opponent while battling in interactive environments! Battle It Out Across the Globe! Play through an all-new story mode told through original comic strips, alongside Paul Heyman and Stone Cold Steve Austin and help lead the charge to find the next WWE Superstars! Battle as unique and colorful new characters against established WWE Superstars to test your mettle and show your skills while unlocking new characters and Battlegrounds along the way. It’s Your Battleground!
Make WWE 2K Battlegrounds your own with tons of customizable parts as you create, customize, and edit your own original created characters and Battlegrounds! Loads of Match Types!
Wage war in a wide variety of your favorite match types with fun, new twists, including Steel Cage, Royal Rumble, Fatal Four Way and the all-new Battlegrounds Challenge! Local and Online Battles! Compete in Online Tournaments or stake your claim as King of the Battleground and survive the online melee against players from around the world! Plus, battle it out in local multiplayer and dominate your friends!

We are extremely stoked to announce the release of update 1.1, which integrates mod content into the core experience of Skater XL. We have always thought of Skater XL as a community driven game, and making user generated content as accessible as possible to players on all platforms is our next step in that direction. It has been an exciting experience to work with Xbox on this, being one of only a few games to bring mod content to the console.

In this major update, we have integrated a mod browser into the main menu of the game, allowing push-button access to browse, download, and install mods without ever leaving the game. This integration makes it easier than ever for players on all platforms to get involved in the community and utilize the contributions of the amazing Skater XL creator community.

In addition to ‘Optimized by Easy Day’ versions of Applewood Park, Quebec Skate Plaza, and Riverfern maps, players on Xbox will have access to over 250 pieces of mod gear, with frequent uploads of new items. 

As new mods are uploaded and vetted for copyright, quality and age rating, and maps are optimized and rebuilt to run on console hardware, they will be made available on the browser, creating a steady stream of fresh content and endless reasons to come back and see what’s new.

New stuff is not just limited to community created items; we have also added some new brands to the official gear lineup that can now be found in the character customizer. You can now rock gear from Uma Landsleds (Evan Smith’s new board brand), Illegal Civ, Cariuma Footwear, Macba Life and Am Grip. We are very stoked to continue to grow our partnerships with some of the best brands in skateboarding.

We genuinely appreciate the support of the Skater XL Xbox community and are excited to see what the integration of mod content brings to the platform. We love seeing all your clips and look forward to more creativity incorporating these mods.

For anyone interested in learning how to be a mod creator or to upload their own mods using the Mod.io website, please check out the community-run Skater XL modding Discord for more info.

We hope everyone has a happy holiday, and we’ll see you with more updates in 2021!

Skater XL

Easy Day Studios

☆☆☆☆☆ 68

★★★★★

$39.99 $31.99

Skater XL is the evolution of skateboarding gameplay. With it’s Independent Foot Control System and unique physics-based gameplay, skate gamers finally have the expressive controls they have always dreamed of. Dive into skateboarding paradise with levels that feature famous skate landmarks and environmental elements, including Downtown LA, the ginormous The Big Ramp, Easy Day High School, and community created maps like Grant Park, Hüdland and Streets. Play as some of today’s top skateboarding pros Tiago Lemos, Evan Smith, Tom Asta and Brandon Westgate, or customize and create your own skateboarding legend with gear from more than 30 real skate brands. Skater XL is truly the skateboarding world’s digital counterpart. Skater XL features include: Freedom Of Expression – Skater XL’s physics-based controls don’t have any pre-programmed tricks – only the movement through the thumbsticks. Each thumbstick is connected to the corresponding foot of the skater and as the player moves the stick, the board instantly responds. Much like a musical instrument, the player has complete freedom, whether it be pushing to nail a line or skating free from. Real Life Iconic Locations – Skater XL levels are all inspired real-world skate areas and designed to ensure a constant flow of skate lines. From the DTLA Map with skateboarding landmarks around the Staples Center and LA Convention Center, to Easy Day High School’s sprawling campus of iconic skate spots like the Wallenberg Big 4 and the ‘Leap of Faith’, to the humongous ‘Big Ramp,’ where skaters can soar higher than a hawk. Play As Real-Life Skate Pros – Select from renowned pros Tiago Lemos, Brandon Westgate, Evan Smith, and Tom Asta, all with their own distinct gear that fits their style. Customizable Characters – The possibilities are endless to personalize the Skater XL experience. Players can customize their entire look, including their skater’s gear with different tees, hoodies, hats and shoes from over 30 of the most recognized skate brands like Vans, Santa Cruz, DC Shoes, Independent, Lakai and many more. Trick Challenges – Hundreds of challenges with progressive difficulties, to help build your bag of tricks as you move further toward the completing them all. Can check off the entire list?? Thriving Community – Join the thriving ecosystem of players creating, sharing and collaborating around the passion of Skater XL! Legit Soundtrack – Modest Mouse, Getter, Interpol, Animal Collective, Future Islands and Band Of Horses headline the distinctive music that blends well with the Skater XL’s West Coast vibe and fluid physics-based control mechanics.

‘Tis the first day of Snowdown, when all through the tundra were Snowmando Outposts full of loot and decor.

Remember Crackshot’s Winterfest last year in Fortnite? This year, Crackshot’s right-hand snowman, Snowmando, has arrived to the island to continue his benevolent legacy. From December 18 (now!) until January 5, play in Operation Snowdown to unlock free Locker items — including two free outfits — and enjoy some gameplay throwbacks as a gift to the community!

The Winter of Our Free Locker Content

In Operation Snowdown, you’ll be joining Snowmando on the cold frontlines: complete his new quests over the course of the event to unlock rewards like the ice-skating inspired Toe Pick pickaxe, the perfectly-wrapped Shield Surprise back bling, as well as gliders, wraps, another pickaxe and back bling, and more.

Completing nine Operation Snowdown quests will unlock Snowmando’s outfit, and completing 12 will unlock the Frost Squad outfit – inspired by the unclad tree branches of winter. Both of these outfits are free!

Fa-la-la-la Flight

Having many battles in his past, Snowmando snows how to have a good time. For Operation Snowdown, he’s brought in his custom X-4 Stormwings, allowing you to become a plane pilot in Fortnite once again!

Snowmando’s also brought in his Sneaky Snowmando props, allowing you to disguise yourself as an ordinary snowman, as well as his cold feet-giving Chiller Grenades and loot-filled Presents! throwables.

Snowdown for LTMs

Operation Snowdown not only features a rotation of returning limited time modes but also the Snowdown Shuffle, a playlist that’ll put you in a Snowdown LTM at random. And yes, with planes making their return, one of these LTMs is fan-favorite Air Royale!

There’s also a brand new LTM in the mix: in the new Shockwave mode, players must compete to knock opponents into the (extra-strong) storm as it shrinks down to nothing. And if you missed the Pickaxe Frenzy tournament from a couple months back (or just want more of it), you can play Pickaxe Frenzy in its first-time LTM form.

Season’s Felicitations

During this event, we hope you enjoy Snowmando’s quests, the return of planes and past LTMs, and the new and returning holiday outfits. Have a holly Snowdown and New Year, thanks for being awesome, and we’ll see you in 2021!

Fortnite

Epic Games Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Xbox One X Enhanced

Xbox Live Gold required. Currently in Early Access. The hunt is on in Fortnite Chapter 2 – Season 5: Zero Point. Join Agent Jones as he enlists the greatest Hunters across Realities like The Mandalorian to stop others from escaping the loop. Battle for honor in an ancient arena, take on bounties from new characters, and try out new Exotic weapons that pack a punch. Your targets are waiting. Join the Hunt. Fortnite is the completely free multiplayer game where you and your friends collaborate to create your dream Fortnite world or battle to be the last one standing. Play both Battle Royale and Fortnite Creative for FREE. Download now and jump into the action. This download also gives you a path to purchase the Save the World co-op PvE campaign during Fortnite’s Early Access season.

Perhaps one of the greatest struggles older people face today is a lack of human connection; whether it’s due to living far apart from family members, or even a lack of close family and friends at all, loneliness among our older generation is a growing problem world-wide. While it’s no surprise that the virtual worlds of gaming have become places where gamers can build and maintain real-world relationships, these worlds can also provide a vital connection between older and younger family members. In gaming we believe in the power of play to bring people together.

“Games are a source of joy, inspiration, and social connection,” says Head of Xbox Phil Spencer. “They have the power to bring us together, create empathy, and strengthen our social fabric.”

With Xbox: Beyond Generations, our aim is to highlight the relationship-building potential of modern games, and to encourage younger people to start gaming with older family members.

For older people, loneliness has become a serious problem — one that has a knock-on effect on their physical health. According to Age UK, almost 2 million older people in the UK are expecting to feel lonely this holiday. And it is a global issue; a sense of isolation is something many older people all over the world face daily.

Xbox: Beyond Generations aims to bridge that generational divide in families. The initiative launches with a short documentary film, “Howard & Dhillon’s Story,” which follows the story of a real family on their journey towards re-connecting with each other via gaming. Grandfather Howard and his grandson Dhillon, who live nearly three hours’ driving distance apart, used to have a close relationship when both were younger. But as Howard became less physically able to do activities with Dhillon, they drifted apart. 

“My grandad, with his knee injury, can’t run around with us in the garden anymore. We stopped doing the things that kept us really close,” says Dhillon.

Over the course of four weeks, we witness the rekindling of the relationship they once had. Howard and Dhillon’s ability to go on virtual road trips in Forza or sail on virtual ships together in Sea of Thieves—shared activities that are no longer possible for them to do in real life—becomes the catalyst for opening up to each other about their lives and forming a deeper bond, something hard to replicate via regular calls.

To help ignite this spark of connection within families, Xbox is partnering with multiple charities around the globe dedicated to supporting the needs of older people. In the UK, Xbox will support Age UK, and their work internationally through Age International. Donations are being made to enable our charity partners to carry out vital work for older people and their communities providing emotional, social and practical support.

Everyone can bring about change. There are a number of ways in which you can help play a part.  Age UK and Age International are in need of donations to fund their vital work, so if you’re able, please donate today. Or consider becoming an Age UK Digital Buddy – someone who helps older people get familiar with technology and use it to connect with friends, family, and get the support they most need.

“At Age UK and Age International our mission is simple – we support older people who need us the most, especially those who have no one else to turn to,” says Age UK Fundraising Director Laurie Boult. “Technology can really help us all connect, but sometimes the most vulnerable older people need more than that. That’s where we come in. We help provide emotional, social, and practical support to older people in more than 25 countries, with programmes ranging from emergency humanitarian aid, to access income and pensions, healthcare, advocacy and influencing governments to consider the needs of older people.”

Perhaps one of the simplest things many of you can do to make a difference is to see the value and potential in older people, quite literally. This holiday season—a time when many will be booting up a new console- rather than leave an old console to gather dust, consider giving it to an older family member. And maybe challenge them to a game or two. It could be the thing that sparks a whole new chapter in your relationship.

Torchlight III has just released a smoldering new update full of winter-related content, a rework for the Forged class, and a large list of bug fixes. In this blog, we’ll dive into what you can expect to find in the latest Snow & Steam update.

Snow & Steam Update

The Snow & Steam update is the largest patch to come to Torchlight III since the game launched on October 13th; it not only brings an assortment of new pets and fort decorations to the frontier, but also includes a large update to the Forged class, a new Style Station for customizing your look, and updates to the end game – Fazeer’s Dun’djinn’s Challenge Dungeons.

Winter Themed Contract, Pets, & Fort Decorations

A new, limited-time contract has been added alongside this update that includes a large assortment of winter-themed pets and fort decorations!

Earning fame for this new contract (which is gained by killing unique monsters) will earn you a large list of new content, including snow-based decorations for your fort, an Ugly Sweater Cat variant, and an assortment of consumable and currency based rewards. During this update, the recently added spooky pets will become unavailable to find on the frontier, but may return again after the Snow & Steam season has passed.

New Legendary Gear

The winter season is also blowing in additional ice-sharp legendary gear. These legendaries are permanent additions to the game and can only be found by level 47+ characters.

You can now expect to find an entirely new Winterweave armor set on the frontier, along with a new Mace, Sword, Shield, and Focus.

Forged Rework, Fazeer Improvements, Fort Updates, Transmog, Pet Enhancements, Bug Fixesand More

In addition to the winter updates, the Forged class has received a major revamp. The team has revised the class in order to support more viable melee builds, which includes changing some of its skills and revamping the HUD to accommodate for the new ‘steam’ resource.

You can read all about the Forged updates and makeover at torchlight3.com where we have posted detailed patch notes and developer insights into this change. Speaking of makeovers…

The Style Station is now available as soon as you have unlocked your fort; this new transmog feature can transform your same-as-everyone-else gear into a unique fashion statement. Don’t have room for this new decoration in your current fort layout? No longer an issue!

Fort basements have been added to expand upon your current setup; now you can enjoy the extra space without worrying about having to cram everything you own all on the top floor. And while we are on the subject of forts…

Your creativity has now entered the third dimension! In addition to the newly added fort basements, you can now arrange your fort decorations vertically, meaning you can now place objects on top of other objects with ease.

Long-awaited improvements are have finally come to Fazeer’s Dun’djinn! Players adventuring into the Challenge Dungeons after the update will notice more affixes, a revamped quest system (no more missing quest items!), and increased rewards/difficulty.

And that’s not all! There are also enhancements coming to pets, including an option to have your pets fetch potions, impressive pet cages, and more pet skills. We’ve also dropped a bunch of other updates to address drop rates, itemization, movement skills, and a large list of player-reported bugs.

More Coming to Torchlight III!

More update news will be coming in the next few months, so Torchlight III recommends following their Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, and Discord for upcoming update news.

Torchlight III

Perfect World Entertainment

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$39.99 $19.99

It’s been a century since the events of Torchlight II, and the Ember Empire is in decline. In Torchlight III, Novastraia is again under threat of invasion and it’s up to you to defend against the Netherim and its allies. Gather your wits and brave the frontier to find fame, glory, and new adventures! Travel the Frontier – Brave the vast wilderness of Novastraia and all of its dangers either alone or with a group of friends!  Collect Epic Gear – Whether it’s armor, weapons, or even new pets…there’s always more to find as you battle through dungeons and take on dangerous foes.  Build Your Hero – With four unique classes to choose from and five available Relic subclasses, there are many different ways to build your hero and maximize your damage. You’ll also gather epic gear along your journey that you can customize to work with your hero’s unique make-up. Build & Upgrade Your Fort – It’s time to rebuild – and that includes you! Enjoy your very own fort, where you can upgrade gear and renovate your fort to show off to your friends and the world. Pets Are Back – Fight your way to fame and glory with your loyal companion! Add skills and equip them with gear to make them stronger. Each species comes in a myriad of colors and styles, so make sure to collect them all!