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!

Basketball Superstar Anthony Davis Unveils the Xbox One X NBA 2K20 Special Edition Bundle
Today in Los Angeles, California, in partnership with 2K, basketball superstar and this year’s NBA 2K20 cover athlete Anthony Davis unveiled three new Xbox One NBA 2K20 Bundles available for pre-order today and hitting store shelves starting September 6… Read more

Pre-order Torchlight II for Xbox One Today
Torchlight burst onto the scene 10 years ago, transporting us to its quirky and charming, steampunk and fantasy world. Since then the series has been adored by fans for its dynamic dungeons, unique aesthetic, and old-school ARPG gameplay. And now, Torchlight II… Read more

Xbox is Coming to gamescom 2019
Following this year’s incredible E3 and the breathtaking reaction we’ve had from our fans, we’re excited to let you know that Xbox will be coming to gamescom 2019 in Cologne, Germany. We’ll be bringing a great line up of games to the event from developers around the world… Read more

Gears of War Announces Details for Next Season of Gears Esports
This weekend, The Coalition announced that Gears Esports is partnering with PGL to create a Pro League for the upcoming 2019-2020 Season of Gears 5 Esports. Kicking off with the launch of Gears 5 worldwide on September 10 for Xbox One, Windows 10, and with Xbox Game Pass… Read more

Gears 5 Versus Multiplayer Tech Test Available Today
It’s finally here – The Gears 5 Versus Tech Test goes live today to give players their first taste of Versus multiplayer action. Starting at 10 a.m. PDT today, COG hopefuls can enlist in the Boot Camp training mode and then jump right into Arcade, the new game type… Read more

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2’s Tale of the Taco is Here
Get ready to dive into the fantastically tasty Tale of the Taco event happening right now in the biggest battle in the universe, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2, as part of our latest update. If you haven’t yet entered the Garden Warfare 2 fray, let me give you the overall zombified scoop… Read more

Xbox Super Game Sale Means Great Deals on Games, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and More
The Microsoft Store Ultimate Game Sale is now the Xbox Super Game Sale! Starting today, everyone can take advantage of a great deal on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, score big savings on a range of digital games for both Xbox and Windows 10, as well as save on select Xbox One S consoles… Read more

Ghost Recon Wildlands Unleashes Free Mercenaries Mode on Xbox One
Ghost Recon Wildlands has received one last, major free update before the October 4 launch of Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and it’s added a whole new way to play. Mercenaries, a new PvPvE free-for-all mode playable on Xbox Live (Gold required), drops eight players into Unidad territory… Read more

Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Resident Evil 4, and More 
Are you ever at a Summer BBQ and your friend asks you what kind of food you want off the grill? It can be seriously overwhelming. You’ve got hot dogs, burgers, meat skewers, maybe some corn on the cob with extra salt, lime, and cotija cheese to give it that extra flavor zing… Read more

Our First Look at a New Avengers Adventure
With the Marvel Cinematic Universe wrapping up its 10-year epic and passing the torch to Spider-Man – that opens the door for some of our favorite superheroes to embark on a new, interactive adventure. Developed by Crystal Dynamics (Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider)… Read more

How to Get the Most Out of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
This year has seen a number of big Xbox announcements, from our new approach to PC Gaming to all of the news we shared onstage at E3. For many of us, however, the most exciting news was that we created a brand-new membership plan that would benefit gamers… Read more

The Moon Rises: Io arrives in Paladins!
The Moon Goddess Io spent eons watching over the Realm, but no longer: Io has arrived in Paladins on Xbox One as the latest Support Champion! What are you waiting for – You can log in today to experience her lunar magic, fire mystical crescent arrows from her light bow… Read more

Play in the $1 Million Fortnite Xbox Cup Tournament Starting July 20
We’re excited to announce the Fortnite Xbox Cup is kicking off Saturday, July 20 on Xbox One! Any Xbox Live Gold member can compete in this Solos tournament for a chance to win part of the $1 million prize pool. Read the official rules here. Drop into Fortnite Battle Royale… Read more

The Sims 4 Island Living Sails to Xbox One
Simmers, today is the day! Your Sims can splash, swim, and sunbathe their lives away in The Sims 4 Island Living Expansion Pack, now available on Xbox One. What other adventures (and mischief) can your Sims get into while on the island of Sulani… Read more

Free Play Days – Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition
Jump into the co-op looter shooter that started it all! Enjoy a blend of FPS and RPG mechanics as you play one four characters who each have their own unique skillsets to use and master. Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition will be available for free this weekend… Read more

Join the Fishing Sim World: Pro Tour Today on Xbox One
Fishing Sim World: Pro Tour features an in-depth career mode allowing you to fulfil the dream of becoming the number 1 ranked angler in the world – this won’t be easy though as some of the world’s best anglers need to be beaten. Working your way through… Read more

Fortune and Glory Await in the High Skies of Dauntless on Xbox One
Today marks the release of our first content expansion since the launch of Dauntless on Xbox One a little over a month ago. Called High Skies, this update delivers a thrilling new game mode, stylish rewards, leaderboards… and the Stormchaser corsairs, a band of badass… Read more

New Reserve Yukon Valley is Bringing Gray Wolves and More to theHunter: Call of the Wild
Just in time for the summer holidays, the open-world hunting simulator theHunter: Call of the Wild released a new reserve for Xbox One titled Yukon Valley and I’m here to talk about some of the thoughts and inspirations behind the latest addition to the game… Read more

Next Week on Xbox: New Games for July 24 to 26
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox, where we cover all the new games coming soon to Xbox One! Every week the team at Xbox aims to deliver quality gaming content for you to enjoy on your favorite gaming console. To find out what’s coming soon to Xbox One… Read more

Just in time for the summer holidays, the open-world hunting simulator theHunter: Call of the Wild released a new reserve for Xbox One titled Yukon Valley and I’m here to talk about some of the thoughts and inspirations behind the latest addition to the game.

This is Yukon Vallen

Yukon Valley marks the 6th reserve for theHunter: Call of the Wild. As the name might suggest, it’s heavily inspired by the lovely state of Alaska, and the release saw the addition of seven new species to the animal roster.

Last year saw the release of two reserves, one set in the heated African Savanna and the other set in the rolling mountains of South America. Our challenge was therefore to figure out where the logical next step would be, and after listening to player feedback and doing our own research, Alaska just seemed to make the most sense. Additionally, following the successful free release of the Lion earlier this year, we knew players enjoyed the challenge of interacting with apex predators and wanted more. Evolving and building on these behaviors therefore felt like the logical next step, and no animal made more sense to us than the gray wolves, which had been requested by our community for some time.

Our inspiration for Yukon Valley

I’m a big fan of all the Discovery TV shows based in Alaska, to the point where while I never watch TV otherwise I watch these on a weekly basis. A lot of inspiration during the development of Yukon Valley was therefore drawn from these shows. However, we never try to recreate an existing area, rather use it as inspiration to create something fictional yet believable. Alaska is huge, and depending on where you are you will find different wildlife.

Some animals you can only find near the coast, and other live high up in the mountains, since the animal behaviors (how they spend their days) are based on their real life counterparts it’s important that they live in an equivalent environment.

This is what makes the new reserve different

We were able to utilize a lot of our learning from previous reserves to create the unique feeling of Yukon Valley. We know that to create a unique atmosphere and personality in a reserve, you must create a balance of contrasting biomes and interesting details to discover.

The dramatic landscapes seen in Alaska was therefore an amazing starting point for us when creating the distinctly unique look of Yukon Valley. From the snow covered peaks that frame the reserve to the crimson dwarf birch that coverers the hills, the region is filled with visual opposites. The yellow aspen and poplar forest contrasts the husks of the trees left behind in the forest fire. The seemingly untouched landscape is offset by the presence of rusted structures, old mining facilities and the train that crosses the region at regular intervals. In short, Yukon Valley is all about contrasts.

These are some of the environmental details we’re most excited about

We have actually added a new feature to Yukon Valley that I’m very excited about from an environmental design perspective. All of our reserves have had day-night cycles with dynamic weather, but never before have we had a reserve where a snowstorm can hit a region and leave behind a trail of freshly fallen snow. This will transform the landscape, shifting and reshaping the contrasts of the reserve itself, and creating new ones in turn.

The animals of Yukon Valley

The rich and diverse nature of Yukon Valley allows for an equally as vibrant mix of animals. Drawing inspiration from the species available in Alaska, the Caribou was an immediate pick due to it being a staple in the northernmost regions of the world. Alongside it, we needed the equally iconic Grizzly Bear, known for its ferocity and wicked temper. Other logical fits included the Plains Bison, the Moose, the Red Fox and Harlequin Duck. But above all the others, the crown jewel amongst them is none other than – the Gray Wolf.

This is why we chose gray wolves

Following the trend established from previous reserves, we wanted to focus our efforts on one species that introduced something new and exciting to players. One of the most requested animals from the community has for a long time been wolves, which held with it the opportunity to draw from learnings made since our last reserve and potentially create something completely new. With the gray wolves, we wanted to take the next logical step from the solitary Pumas of Parque Fernando and Lions of Vurhonga Savanna, introducing a different kind of predator whose primary threat towards the player stems from strength in numbers. The challenge lay in cementing their pack behaviour and hierarchical structure while also ensuring that they were exciting from a player experience perspective. And while it did take the team awhile to get the details right, we are happy with the end result and look forward to seeing how we can utilize these learnings for future reserves.

Some of the best bugs we encountered during development

This is a tough one, both because a lot of the bugs you end up tackling are fun for some and frustrating for others in the team. Some of the sillier ones we had for Yukon Valley included our train and seaplane wobbling uncontrollable as if the respective drivers were drunk, and the wolves getting chunks of their butts bitten off and walking around with a hole for a backside. And that’s not even beginning on the various behaviours that had to be tweaked and perfected for each animal, including the wolves shifting from docile to murderous with a vengeance, smelling your respawned hunter from miles away and chasing you down like something out of an action movie.

The future of theHunter: Call of the Wild

While I can’t go into any details, I can say that the team is busy bring more things to the community. We will continue to alternate between pure quality of life releases and paid extra content, continue with our community activities and listening to what our players feel about the current state of the game as well as future content.

theHunter: Call of the Wild is available now for Xbox One on the Microsoft Store. Click here for purchase details. Yukon Valley is available as a separate purchase. 

Ghost Recon Wildlands has received one last, major free update before the October 4 launch of Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and it’s added a whole new way to play. Mercenaries, a new PvPvE free-for-all mode playable on Xbox Live (Gold required), drops eight players into Unidad territory and challenges you to call for a rescue chopper, make your way to an extraction point, and be the first to escape. You’ll drop in without any items, gear, or weapons (except for a knife), but anything you can loot on-site will give you an edge as you match wits with other players and Unidad troops.

Each Mercenaries match unfolds in three phases, with the first being Recon. Here, your goal is to seek out intel, which can lead you to the locations of radio transmitters that shrink the size of the possible extraction zone, and help you narrow down where the chopper will appear. Intel can also pinpoint the location of a valuable loot cache, deploy a vehicle to your position, or reveal the positions of other players for a limited time. It’s up to you to choose which one is the most strategically valuable to you.

The player who activates three transmitters first will discover the extraction zone, triggering the next phase of the match, Helicopter Deployment. Once this phase begins, the chopper will begin to fly toward its landing zone. Only the player who activated the transmitters will know its location, but other players can still use transmitters to narrow down their search. When the chopper lands, its position will be revealed to all players, so get ready for a confrontation.

You can’t just climb into the chopper once you arrive; instead, you’ll need to fill a gauge by staying near it, extracting only when it’s full. You can’t fill the gauge while any other players are nearby, so you’ll need to defend the LZ from all comers. The good news is that your extraction gauge has checkpoints, so if you need to leave (or respawn), you won’t necessarily start over from scratch.

In addition to pushing players to loot gear and weapons (much of which is hidden behind new destructible doors), Mercenaries introduces a new health and armor system. Weapons that inflict penetration damage will cause you to start bleeding, at which point you’ll gradually lose health unless you can patch yourself up. Any medkits you find will heal your wounds and stop any bleeding, while bandages will just stop the bleeding. Syringes, meanwhile, won’t stop bleeding but will restore your health, buying you more time to find a bandage or medkit. To better protect yourself, you’ll want to scavenge some armor, which adds an armor meter to your health gauge that absorbs a percentage of any damage you take.

Complete a match of Mercenaries, and you’ll be awarded the Lone Wolf costume as thanks for trying the mode. You’ll also earn a Mercenary Patch for your first win, and subsequent wins can gain you the following items:

• Three wins: Mercenary Pants
• Five wins: Mercenary Heavy Vest
• 10 wins: Jacket Army Mercenary
• 15 wins: Mercenary Heavy Vest with Shoulder Pads
• 25 wins: Mercenary Backpack

Mercenaries is available now for all Ghost Recon Wildlands players on Xbox One, and caps off a long series of new modes, special events, and other free content updates that have been added to the game since launch. Jump in and start looting – that chopper only waits for the best.

Starting at 2:00 p.m. PST today, members of the Xbox One Preview Alpha Ring will begin receiving the latest 1908 Xbox One system update (Build: 19H1_RELEASE_XBOX_DEV_1908\18362.6039.190716-1920).

 

 

DETAILS:

• OS version released: 19H1_RELEASE_XBOX_DEV_1908\18362.6039.190716-1920
• Available: 2:00PM PDT 7/19/19
• Mandatory Date/Time: 3:00 AM PDT 7/20/19

 

Fixes:

 

Controllers

• A new version of controller firmware has been released for certain controller models.  Users should be prompted to update the controller automatically when it is connected to the console. You can also go to Settings>Kinect & devices>Devices & Accessories with the controller connected, then select the ellipsis button to see if a firmware update is available.

System

• Various stability fixes to the system.

 

Known Issues:

Audio

• Users who have Dolby Atmos enabled and console display settings set to 120hz with 36 bits per pixel (12-bit) are experiencing loss of Dolby Atmos audio in some situations.
  • Workaround: Disable 120hz or set Video Fidelity to 30 bits per pixel (10-bit) or lower.

 

Profile Color

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

Following this year’s incredible E3 and the breathtaking reaction we’ve had from our fans, we’re excited to let you know that Xbox will be coming to gamescom 2019 in Cologne, Germany. We’ll be bringing a great line up of games to the event from developers around the world with almost 200 gameplay stations in our booth, including the first public hands-on of both Minecraft Dungeons, Horde Mode in Gears 5 and fans in Germany can also try Project xCloud for the first time.

Here’s a quick overview of what we’ll be getting up to at the show this year:

Inside Xbox live from Cologne
To kick off the week, we’ll be hosting a special episode of Inside Xbox live from the Gloria Theatre in Cologne. Tune in Monday, August 19 at 5:00 p.m. CEST (8:00 a.m. PDT) for the latest news, games, accessories, and features that we can’t wait to tell you more about!

You can catch the show on xbox.com, Mixer, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Xbox Open Doors
Held at the Gloria Theatre on Wednesday, August 21 to Friday, August 23, Xbox Open Doors offers fans a multiday experience during the week of gamescom. Entry to Xbox Open Doors is free and fans will be able to participate in community events, game tournaments, panel sessions and other exciting experiences. Stay tuned for more information and announcements about Xbox Open Doors.

Xbox Booth
The Xbox booth will feature nearly 200 gaming stations with a fantastic line up of titles across a variety of genres and platforms, with many of these experiences coming to Xbox Game Pass for Console and Xbox Game Pass for PC at launch. If you’re coming to the show, make sure you pay us a visit – we’re in Hall 8 of the Koelnmesse (access via North entrance).

gamescom will be the first time that fans in Europe will have the chance to jump in and try out many of our newest gameplay experiences from Xbox Game Studios including Age of Empires II Definitive Edition, Battletoads, Bleeding Edge, Gears 5, Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC, Minecraft Dungeons and more. In addition, we’ll have several highly anticipated third-party games available to play at the booth, including Borderlands 3, Doom Eternal, NBA 2K20, and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. Fans at gamescom will also be amongst the first in Europe to get hands-on with Project xCloud and experience the true power of cloud gaming on mobile.

Lastly, at Xbox, we believe that gaming should be safe, inclusive, and accessible for all, and in that spirit we’re excited to announce that our booth is even more accessible to fans at the show this year. This includes Xbox Adaptive Controllers available for nearly every game on the booth, wheelchair access at every point of the booth and sign language interpreting support for all on-booth programming in both English and German.

Windows Gaming Powered by Xbox Game Pass
Featuring Xbox Game Pass for PC titles such as Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and more at our Xbox booth, you can also check out the latest PC gaming hardware at our booth dedicated to gaming on Windows PC. We’ll also have custom-built PCs from BoostBoxx by CSL, the latest gaming laptops and desktops from Acer and other partners showcasing high-quality components that deliver powerful PC gaming experiences. Fans can even try the goliath of gaming chairs, the Predator Thronos!

Visit the Xbox Official Gear Shop
Returning to gamescom in partnership with Game Legends, come and visit the Xbox Official Gear Shop in the gamescom fanshop arena. Fly your gaming colors and show off your fandom for Xbox and award-winning franchises like Gears of War, Halo, and Sea of Thieves with all new apparel and collectibles including the gamescom exclusive Xbox Green Tech Sphere pin!

Show opening times are as follows:

• Tuesday, August 20 – 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. CEST (press/trade only day)
• Wednesday, August 21 – 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CEST
• Thursday, August 22 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST
• Friday, August 23 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST
• Saturday, August 24 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST

Remember to keep your eyes on Xbox social channels for the latest news and updates surrounding Xbox at gamescom 2019 – Mixer, Facebook, Twitter – we’ll keep you updated with all the great activity happening from the show. Can’t wait to see you there!

Torchlight burst onto the scene 10 years ago, transporting us to its quirky and charming, steampunk and fantasy world. Since then the series has been adored by fans for its dynamic dungeons, unique aesthetic, and old-school ARPG gameplay. And now, Torchlight II is making its way to Xbox One!

Torchlight II features four character classes: Berserker, Embermage, Engineer, and Outlander. Customize your class and set out to avenge Torchlight with a lovable pet companion. Xbox One players will gain access to an exclusive new pet: the Molten Imp, a fiery little rascal with smoke and ember effects on its tail. Pre-ordering the game will also get you exclusive access to another pet: the beloved goblin Yapper. Torchlight fans might recognize Yapper from elsewhere in the Torchlight universe.

The interface and controls for Torchlight II have been completely overhauled for the Xbox One gamepad, making for a fast and refreshing action-packed experience. With Xbox Live, up to four players can play together to face the Torchlight world’s most imposing enemies. If you’re looking to get caught up with the story, the original Torchlight is still available on the Microsoft Store, and is backwards compatible!

Celebrate the 10^th anniversary of Torchlight with us and relive the glory of Torchlight II.

Torchlight II will be available worldwide on Xbox One on September 3, 2019. Click here to pre-order.

Torchlight is currently available for purchase on the Microsoft Store here.

Season 12 is now live and will take us right through the center of (northern hemisphere) Summer, which is the perfect excuse to stay inside and play Rock Band Rivals.

Rivals Mode – Themed Challenges from the Rock Band Catalog

Rivals Seasons are a set of eight themed Challenges played out week-to-week using portions of your existing song library. Players team up online, working together to promote their Crews and earn exclusive cosmetics for their band. For Season 12, we’re profiling the many tastes of the Harmonix staff. Each week a different person will craft a Challenge centered around their favorite songs in Rock Band’s expansive catalog. We’ve got folks from all over the company participating and it’s been really interesting to see what songs people pick for their week. It will be fun to see what weeks resonate most with players – there are bragging rights to be had!

Exclusive Rewards for your Avatar

For Season 12, your rewards will be colorful wings. As you climb the tiers, you’ll get increasingly expressive wings made from each tier’s material and gemstone. From Bronze crystals jutting out of your spine to body-sized Bloodstones floating in position, no one will be confused as to how great you were during Season 12. You’ll get the wings associated with every tier you were in during the Season, so the higher you climb, the more you earn. You’ve still got a bit of time to prep your Crew, so be sure you’re all set to start the Season off on the right foot.

Stay Connected

We also continue to poll our Companion App users, incorporating their feedback in everything from Season structure and quantity, to future rewards and even DLC releasing in Season 12! Don’t have the app yet? You can still download it to get in on the list – the app is completely free and links to your Xbox Gamertag to show account gameplay information. You can view weekly challenge data, see your activity feed, manage/moderate crews, and even engage in app-only features such as crew chat.  Thanks to everyone who’s participated in these surveys so far!

A new Season means new beginnings, and whether you’ve played Rivals before or not, it’s a great opportunity to jump in and see what the fuss is about. We’ll see you on the leaderboards in Season 12!

Have you ever heard of a hero that always needs to be saved? No? Well, then get ready for the first one. Hero (yeah that’s how he likes to be called) is the only guy standing between the planet’s safety and 11 monsters that are trying to bring havoc everywhere. Why does he always need to be saved? Simple. He’s as forgetful as they come. He’s about to fight an ice monster? For sure, he forgets the fuel for his flamethrower! How about fighting a flame-breathing dragon? Obviously, he leaves his fireproof shield at home! It’s in these situations that he calls for backup, and here’s where the Hero Express comes into play. They’re the best of the best when it comes to deliveries. Their motto? “Heroic deliveries, right on time!” Delivery Guy (yeah, stop asking! It’s his name!) is the one they always send in these dire times. He’s their best man when it comes to delivering packages fast in dangerous places and never fails to do his job splendidly! Do you have the skills to get Delivery Guy to the end of each track in this 2D physics driven driving game? Cause Hero Express is already available on Xbox One!

To get to the end of each track you need some skills, as you don’t want your vehicle to topple over and break the package you’re delivering (at least we hope you don’t!). But you can also upgrade your car with the coins collected on the track and make its 4 stats (engine, wheels, traction, and stability) more powerful. But in the end the skill is what gets you to the end of the track, so here’s a couple of tricks for you.

By using the left analog stick you can tilt the car midair to balance it, doing air tricks and landing safely. This is a pretty basic skill that any player learns pretty early in the game, but there’s an advanced trick to it. What you might not notice is that this trick works even when the car is touching the ground, thus being able to balance it or to do wheelies. As the car starts with traction only on the back wheels this can be used to climb high hills. Try tilting the analog back as to do a wheelie. This will minimize the impact between the front wheels and the hill, while also keeping the rear wheel steady on the ground. With this trick you can climb hills way higher than you normally could at your level!

A second trick is related to the Jumper item. It’s an item that can be collected to make high jumps and reach otherwise unreachable areas. Normally it’s used to get to alternative routes on the track, to get other items or to avoid pits that would result in a game over. The trick is to just keep a few of them (most times one is enough but you never know) until you reach a hill you can’t pass yet. When you start climbing it immediately use the jumper. This will hurl you upwards making you reach a higher point at a speed you wouldn’t normally have thus giving you higher chances to reach the hill’s top.

These 2 tricks aren’t really necessary to finish the tracks of course, but will help you beating them in no time. What to do after that then? Each track has a hard mode. A modified version of the track that’s way more difficult to beat. Sometimes it’s even longer and includes parts that weren’t there in normal mode. These hard versions will really put your skills to test and the tricks we talked about will be invaluable when challenging them.

If you like how Hero Express sounds then you should get ready for this crazy driving adventure.

Hero Express is available now for Xbox One the Microsoft Store. Click here for purchase details.

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!

Read the Final Chapter of The Sinking City’s Hero Origin Story
Hi everyone! Last week we shared part one of The Sinking City hero origin story and we heard you liked it. If you missed it, you can still read it here. In The Sinking City, you play as Charles Reed, a 1920s private investigator… Read more

Celebrate the First Anniversary of Defiance 2050 with the 99 Problems Event
Get ready, Arkhunters — The Motherlode is here! Hordes of 99ers have come out of their mines to scavenge arkfalls for precious loot, and their leader has made his way up to the surface with them. For the 1-year anniversary of Defiance 2050… Read more

FromSoftware’s Legendary Mech Game Metal Wolf Chaos Coming to Xbox One August 6
FromSoftware are known as titans of modern game development with some of the biggest, most influential releases over the past decade. Like most developers, they began as a smaller studio and much of their earlier work is unfamiliar… Read more

The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan Arrives August 30, Pre-order Today on Xbox One
Hey, Xbox fans! It’s great to speak to you all on this big day for us here at Supermassive Games. Along with our publishing partner Bandai Namco, we’re excited to announce that not only is Man of Medan releasing on August 30… Read more

Bask of the Glory of the ID@Xbox Platforming Paradise Sale
Summer is here and it’s time to bust out the shades because the ID@Xbox team have taken 50 of our best and brightest platforming games and put them on sale. From now through July 15 you can save up to 75% on action packed… Read more

Free-to-Play Fishing Planet Available Now as Xbox Play Anywhere Title
Hello there, dear friends! We are excited to tell you that now you have an opportunity to fish from the comfort of your living room along with your friends and catch real monsters that are lurking in the muddy waters… Read more

July 2019 Xbox Update Delivers New Features for Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Skill for Alexa
Summer is here which means sunshine, cookouts and of course, gaming with friends after a long day outside. Team Xbox has been busy cooking up new features for the July 2019 Xbox Update, which begins rolling out today… Read more

Digital Extremes Eclipses Past Updates with Deep Space Combat Demo at TennoCon 2019
To a crowd of more than 2,000 attendees and millions more watching at home, the Digital Extremes development team put on a show of epic proportions at its annual Warframe conference Saturday night in London, Ontario… Read more

Free Play Days: Rocket League
Start your engines, prepare your Rocket Boosts, and don’t forget to bring your friends. Rocket League, the hit sports/action hybrid and recipient of more than 150 Game of the Year nominations, will be available for free this weekend… Read more

Coming to You in Full Color and Cine-Sound: The Cuphead Show!
Hi, everyone! Chad Moldenhauer from Studio MDHR coming to you with an announcement so surreal I can honestly say I never thought I’d be making it… Cuphead will be coming to life as an original Netflix series, “The Cuphead Show!”… Read more

Xbox and Rockstar Energy Drink Unveil Second and Third Gears 5 Collector’s Series Cans
At E3 2019, Rockstar Energy Drink and Xbox unveiled plans to launch the largest fan inspired game promotion to date to support the upcoming launch of Gears 5. Today, ahead of the Gears Esports Invitational presented by ELEAGUE… Read more

The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut Arrives Digitally on August 27 and at Retail on September 6
inXile entertainment, the Xbox Game Studio led by Interplay founder and The Bard’s Tale series co-creator Brian Fargo, is proud to announce The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut is hitting Xbox Game Pass on August 27, with retail copies… Read more

Gears 5 Multiplayer Debuts at This Weekend’s ELEAGUE Gears Summer Invitational
In April 2019, Xbox and Turner Broadcasting announced that ELEAGUE, the premium esports content and live event brand from Turner and IMG, would produce the “ELEAGUE Gears Summer Series,” a six-part linear series… Read more

All the Details for Gears of War at San Diego Comic-Con
With Gears Pop! and Gears 5 releasing this year, join the developers and minds behind the Gears of War Universe as they discuss the past, present, and future of this storied franchise at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday… Read more

Next Week on Xbox: New Games for July 16 to 19
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox, where we cover all the new games coming soon to Xbox One! Every week the team at Xbox aims to deliver quality gaming content for you to enjoy on your favorite gaming console. To find out what’s coming soon… Read more

inXile entertainment, the Xbox Game Studio led by Interplay founder and The Bard’s Tale series co-creator Brian Fargo, is proud to announce The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut is hitting Xbox Game Pass on August 27, with retail copies landing in stores on September 6.

The Director’s Cut is loaded with new features, fixes, and content, making it the truly definitive edition of The Bard’s Tale IV. Along with an Unreal Engine update that has the game looking, playing, and sounding better than ever, The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut directly addresses feedback received from the game’s initial launch with thousands of fixes and tweaks included.

The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut will be available for purchase on August 27, or you can play on console with Xbox Game Pass, on PC with Xbox Game Pass for PC, or on both platforms with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. The Xbox One retail version will arrive on September 6.

New features of The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut include:

• A new end-game chapter that adds hours of additional content
• New enemies, items, and weapons, including dwarven master-crafted weapons
• Thousands of fixes and improvements across the game
• Refined and more feature-rich UI
• More class/gender character creation options
• Rebalanced combat and encounters
• Additional difficulty settings
• Full gamepad support across all platforms

What’s more, each version of The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut includes bonus in-game items.

Digital Standard Edition for PC (Xbox Game Pass for PC, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate) – $34.99

• The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut
• Digital Code Wheel
• Digital Guidebook
• Digital Manual
• In-game items:

Digital Edition for Xbox One (Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate) – $39.99

• The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut
• In-game items:

Retail Day One Edition for Xbox One – $39.99

The retail Day One Edition for Xbox One will include additional content. Quantities are limited. Content includes:

• The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut
• Physical poster map
• In-game items:
  • Fire Horn
  • Kael’s Axe
  • Red Boots
  • Bardic Brian Skin & Booty

Click here to learn more about The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut.