Tag: Xbox

Excitement is building! Soon, Xbox Game Pass members will be able to build, create, and explore infinite worlds with Minecraft.

Beginning April 4, Xbox Game Pass members can join the Minecraft community of millions of players from around the world. Discover limitless ways to play and create anything you can imagine. Try to survive the night alone or share your adventure with friends in both split-screen or online multiplayer*. Build anything you can think of, explore your own unique overworld, discover mobs (both creepy and cute!) and play your Minecraft adventure your way!

Since its launch in 2009, the Minecraft community has remained one of the most active and passionate in gaming, attracting over 91 million players of all ages from virtually every country in the world. Those joining through Xbox Game Pass will enter a vibrant, global community that plays across 20 unique platforms like Windows 10, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and mobile. Xbox Game Pass players will also gain access to an ever-expanding array of content for purchase via the in-game Minecraft Marketplace, which contains over 1,000 pieces of content from 60 distinct creators.

Plus, with Minecraft´s free content updates, you´ll always find new environments to explore, tools to create, and mobs to meet. Last summer, the Update Aquatic filled Minecraft´s oceans with new items, blocks, and mobs like Turtles and Dolphins, and the upcoming Village & Pillage update will expand the game even further later this spring. There´s no better time to bring Minecraft to Xbox Game Pass!

Join Xbox Game Pass Today

Xbox Game Pass is the new way for you to discover your next favorite game. Enjoy Minecraft and over 100 other great games for one low monthly price. Plus, even more games are added all the time, including highly-anticipated Xbox One exclusives the day they’re released. If you haven’t tried Xbox Game Pass, join today and get your first month for $1.

For more information on Minecraft, stay tuned to Xbox Wire and Minecraft.net. To stay up to date on all the gaming goodness constantly coming at you from Xbox Game Pass, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram. And don’t sleep on the Game Pass mobile app, where you can seamlessly discover and download your next favorite game to your home console, so it’s ready to play when you are.

*Online multiplayer on Xbox requires Xbox Live Gold, sold separately.

Today, on our March episode of Inside Xbox, we made a big announcement about one of the world’s most popular games coming to Xbox Game Pass, revealed some major news regarding Halo: The Master Chief Collection, unveiled some of our plans for E3 2019, introduced a gorgeous new controller, shared info on new modes coming to State of Decay 2, and much more. For a full recap, read on below or watch the replay of Inside Xbox episode above when the VOD is available.

Minecraft is Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass

Beginning April 4, Xbox Game Pass members can join the Minecraft community of millions of players from around the world. Discover limitless ways to play and create anything you can imagine. Plus, with Minecraft´s free content updates, you´ll always find new environments to explore, tools to create, and mobs to meet. Last summer, the Update Aquatic filled Minecraft´s oceans with dolphins, turtles and more, and the upcoming Village & Pillage update will expand the game even further later this spring. With over 100 great games, including Minecraft, there´s never been a better time to be an Xbox Game Pass member and discover your next favorite game. If you haven’t tried Xbox Game Pass, join today and get your first month for $1.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is Coming to PC and Adding Halo: Reach

On today’s show, the crew was joined by Brian Jarrard from 343 Industries, who shared a couple of pieces of exciting news. First, we announced that Halo: The Master Chief Collection is officially coming to PC! Built specifically for the PC audience, players will be able to experience generation-defining campaigns and iconic multiplayer modes, many for the first time, on Microsoft Store and Steam. On PC, titles within Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be released individually over time to ensure that we are partnering with the community and investing the time into development to create a premier PC experience. We’ll have more to share during the Halo Championship Series Invitational at SXSW on March 15-17. We also announced that we’re bringing Halo: Reach to Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One and PC! Players will be able to experience this legendary title in stunning 4K/60fps and we’ll have more to share in the future.

Are You Ready for E3 2019?

At Xbox, planning for E3 2019 has kicked into high gear and we couldn’t be more excited for what we have in store for our fans.  As you may have heard, Bonnie Ross head of 343i, recently confirmed we’ll learn more about Halo Infinite at the show.  Our community team is hard at work getting ready for the return of Xbox FanFest, one of our favorite events at E3.  And we’re stoked to announce that in collaboration with AEG and L.A. Live, Microsoft Square will soon be renamed Xbox Plaza and will be a big part of what we have in store for E3 in June.  Cool, right?  We’ll have more to share on how Xbox Plaza is shaping up, all things FanFest and so much more goodness on E3 2019 in coming weeks and months ahead so be sure to stay tuned to Xbox Wire, This Week on Xbox and Inside Xbox for all the latest info.

The Phantom White Special Edition Joins the Xbox Wireless Controller Family

Controller announcements The Xbox Wireless Controller – Phantom White Special Edition is the second controller in our Phantom Series following the Phantom Black Special Edition.  The design is the optimal blend of luxury and Sci-Fi, embodying a new slant on technical beauty. You can grab the Phantom White Special Edition at retailers worldwide beginning April 2 for $69.99 USD, or pre-order yours today at select retailers, including your local Microsoft Store or online.

State of Decay 2 Lets You Choose Your Own Apocalypse

During today’s Inside Xbox segment, we revealed more about the two all-new terrifyingly awesome difficulty levels coming to State of Decay 2 with the free Choose Your Own Apocalypse Update (that we mentioned late last year) coming to Xbox Game Pass members and current players starting on March 26. Dread Zones will offer exciting challenges for experienced players, such as deadlier zombies, plague-infected juggernauts, a faster-acting blood plague, and fewer resources to scavenge. Want the ultimate challenge? Nightmare Zones are grueling endurance tests for hardcore players, featuring wandering groups of freaks and hostile humans capable of scoring lethal headshots against your survivors.

A Closer Look at the Future with Project xCloud

On today’s episode of Inside Xbox, we gave viewers their first real look at Project xCloud, a vision for game-streaming technology that will complement our console hardware and give gamers more choice in how and where they play. We’re developing Project xCloud not as a replacement for the video game console, but as a way to provide the same choice and versatility that lovers of music and movies enjoy today. We’re adding more ways to play Xbox games. We’re excited to share more about the technology in the coming months, including the first details of how and when you can help us to test it in real-world scenarios later this year.

Spatial Sound and the Wireless Display App are Changing the Game

As you might have heard, Xbox One currently supports Spatial Sound that’s specifically mixed for Dolby Atmos. During today’s show, we announced that the team is working to bring Spatial Sound to your whole Xbox One experience, regardless of whether it was specifically mixed for it. That includes all your games, movies, TV shows, and music content. Think as it as up-scaling for sound. To put it in simplest term: In the near future, all the content you experience through Xbox One is going to sound like it’s been mixed for Spatial Sound. We also announced that the team is in the process right now of rolling out the Wireless Display app, which is available in the Microsoft Store today. This app lets you project from your desktop or laptop PC or even your tablet onto the biggest and best screen in the house. Go check it out now!

DayZ Shambles Out of Xbox Game Preview

Bohemia Interactive’s DayZ has been a big hit on Xbox Game Preview, so we were happy to share on today’s episode that this intense RPG shooter will be coming out of XGP on March 27. Yes, you and your friends will be able to take on zombie hordes, as well as other players, in an attempt to stay alive. You’ll need to scavenge the world for weapons, food, water, weapons, and medicine, dealing with both zombies and competing players as you try to survive the outbreak. It’s one of the most intense experiences on Xbox One, and we’re excited for the full version to be released.

We hope you enjoyed the show, and we’ll see you next month!

Back in October we formally unveiled our work on Project xCloud: a vision for game-streaming technology that will complement our console hardware and give gamers more choices in how and where they play. Since then, we’ve been heads down and hard at work, preparing to launch the first public trials later this year. At the same time, we wanted to stay transparent about our progress and chat with the Inside Xbox team, showing you the first public demo of the technology in action.

One of the great developments in entertainment over the last decade is how easy and common it’s become to read, listen, or watch your digital content (often via streaming). We’ve seen this revolutionize the way people experience music and video, letting them dive in from wherever they wish and on whichever device is most convenient to them at the time. Applying this approach to the world of video games is a more challenging endeavor.  Games by their very nature are interactive entertainment. – And that interactivity is a substantial difference from watching TV or listening to music. We now find ourselves at an inflection point, where current technology can deliver a console-quality experience with the right cloud infrastructure, content and community in place.

We’re developing Project xCloud not as a replacement for game consoles, but as a way to provide the same choice and versatility that lovers of music and video enjoy today. We’re adding more ways to play Xbox games. We love what’s possible when a console is connected to a 4K TV with full HDR support and surround sound – that remains a fantastic way to experience console gaming.  We also believe in empowering gamers to decide when and how to play.

We believe in the future where you will be able to seamlessly access content on your phone, tablet or another connected device.  Imagine that you just began a single-player campaign the day before heading out of town and want to keep playing from where you left off.  Maybe you just need a few more minutes to wrap up that weekly challenge before you head into work, but your bus just won’t wait.  Or maybe the living-room television is occupied by someone else in the household when you arranged to play co-op with your friends.

While our vision for the technology is complementary to the ways in which we use consoles today, Project xCloud will also open the world of Xbox to those who may not otherwise own traditional, dedicated gaming hardware. True console-quality gaming will become available on mobile devices, providing the 2 billion-plus gamers around the world a new gateway to previously console- and PC-exclusive content.  We can achieve this vision with the global distribution of Microsoft’s datacenters in 54 Azure regions and the advanced network technologies developed by the team at Microsoft Research. We’re excited about our ability to deliver a best-in-class global streaming technology.

Project xCloud is an integral part of our vision for placing you the gamer at the center of your experience, giving you more choice in how and when you play. We’re excited to share more about the technology and our progress in the coming months, including the first details of how and when you can help us test it in real-world scenarios later this year.

There’s so much more to come, so stay tuned. We’ll be in touch.

It’s that time of year again where talented game developers from around the world come together for the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, and the ID@Xbox team is ready to kick off another showcase of amazing titles from independent developers in the ID@Xbox program.

We’re looking forward to this year at GDC, with 13 newly announced titles joining us in San Francisco and a total of 30 games featured across the Microsoft Booth, in the lower level of the South Hall, and our Developer Showcase event for media. We’re excited to share a closer look at newly announced titles for Xbox One including Beholder 2, Boomerang Fu, CrossCode, Dead Static Drive, Door Kickers: Action Squad, HyperDot, Mowin’ & Throwin’, StarCrossed, Stela, The Forgotten City, Totem Teller, UnderMine and Unrailed.

Check out the full list below for a complete look at the developers and games that are joining us in San Francisco, or swing by to check out these amazing games in-person!

Afterparty (Night School Studio) – Xbox Game Pass
In Afterparty, you are Milo and Lola, recently deceased best buds who suddenly find themselves staring down an eternity in Hell. But there’s a loophole: outdrink Satan and he’ll grant you re-entry to Earth.

Beholder 2 (E-Home Entertainment/Alawar Premium Limited) – Announced Today for Xbox One
You are a newly employed department officer within the Ministry of a totalitarian State. While you are poised to have an illustrious career and possibly become Prime Minister someday, the way up won’t be easy. So, how high up the career ladder will you climb? The choice is still yours to make!

Boomerang Fu (Cranky Watermelon Pty Ltd) – Announced Today for Xbox One & Windows 10
Boomerang Fu is a frantic physics-based boomerang brawler for 1-6 players. Choose from an adorable cast of cheery food characters to slice and dice with boomerangs. Discover a ridiculous range of power-ups like wildfire, disguises and telekinesis. Stack them together between rounds to form dangerous combinations.

Buildings Have Feelings Too (Merge Games Ltd/Black Staff Games)
Buildings Have Feelings Too is a light-hearted city builder where you take the role of a building. Help other buildings establish businesses, improve the neighborhood and eventually create a thriving city! Resource management and friendship, all wrapped in buildings with their own personalities and dreams.

Cake Bash (High Tea Frog) – Xbox One X Enhanced
Fight to be the tastiest cake! Cake Bash is a party game for up to four players with very unique hazards – bash your friends, dash away from danger and have a delicious time!

Cat Quest II (PQube/The Gentlebros)
Cat Quest II is an open world action-RPG set in a fantasy realm ruled by animals. Play as a cat and dog as you explore both their kingdoms solo, or with a friend! Quest in a world plagued by war, and go on a catventure like never before!

CrossCode (Deck13 Interactive/Radical Fish Games) – Announced Today for Xbox One, Xbox One X Enhanced
A retro-inspired 2D Action RPG set in the distant future. CrossCode combines 16-bit SNES-style graphics with butter-smooth physics, a fast-paced combat system, and engaging puzzle mechanics, served with a gripping sci-fi story.

Dead End Job (Headup GmbH/Ant Workshop) – Xbox One X Enhanced
Dead End Job sends you into a madcap, Ren & Stimpy-esque world to bust up ghosts. It’s a procedurally generated twin-stick shooter that straps a vacuum pack to your back and puts a plasma blaster in your hand. For you, it’s just another day in the office.

Dead Static Drive (Fanclub) – Announced Today for Xbox One, Xbox One X Enhanced
Grand Theft Cthulhu. An existential road trip adventure game through a nightmare, nostalgic Americana world. Drive through a fictional USA, stopping in small towns, gas stations, and rundown city limits. What starts as a road trip evolves into a game of survival against a progressively oppressive world.

Devil’s Hunt (1C Publishing EU/Layopi Games) – Xbox One X Enhanced
Based on original novel by Paweł Leśniak “Equilibrium,” this third-person action game resurrects the everlasting fight between light and darkness, good and evil, as full-fledged war between Angels and Demons seems imminent and our world is the proposed battleground.

Door Kickers: Action Squad (Killhouse Games/PixelShard) – Announced Today for Xbox One
Door Kickers: Action Squad is an old school side scroller with a touch of strategy and tactics on top of the ridiculous SWAT style action. Literally kick the doors down, blast the bad guys and rescue hostages in explosive Single Player and Coop Multiplayer – with Couch play included.

Family Man (No More Robots/Broken Bear Games)
When pushed to the limits of your own morality, how far would you go for your family?  You owe the mob money and have 30 days to repay. Will you flip burgers and scrape the money together… or get your hands dirty, for more cash, but push your family away?

Hunt: Showdown (Crytek) – Xbox One X Enhanced
Hunt: Showdown is a competitive first-person PvP bounty hunting game with heavy PvE elements, from the makers of Crysis. Set in the darkest corners of the world, it packs the thrill of survival games into a match-based format.

HyperDot (GLITCH/Tribe Games) – Announced Today for Xbox One & Windows 10, Xbox Play Anywhere
Dodge everything in minimal action arcade game, HyperDot.  Quickly evade enemies and test your skills in over 100 hand-crafted trials during campaign mode, outlast your friends in multiplayer battles, or build complex challenges with the custom level editor.

Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Thunderful/Megagon Industries) – Xbox One X Enhanced
Just you and your bike! Take it on a thrilling ride down an unspoiled landscape while descending multiple unique mountains – each offering several different trails to explore. Race, jump, slide and try not to crash while finding your own way down the mountain.

Minion Masters (BetaDwarf) – Xbox Play Anywhere, Xbox One X Enhanced
Dive into 1v1 – or bring a friend to 2v2 – battle in this dangerously addictive fast-paced hybrid of deckbuilder, MOBA, and tower-defense.

Mowin’ & Throwin’ (House Pixel Games) – Announced Today for Xbox One
Mowin’ & Throwin’ is a surprisingly fun pure party game experience where you control lawn gnomes in a chaotic contest to wreck each other’s yards. Go head to head or team up with a real-life friend to take down your other friends.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun (Zen Studios) – Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Play Anywhere, Xbox One X Enhanced
Operencia: The Stolen Sun embraces everything you love about classic first-person dungeon-crawlers, enhancing the old-school turn-based RPG experience with modern sensibilities set to a backdrop inspired by Central European mythology.

Raji: An Ancient Epic (SUPER.com/Nodding Head Games) – Xbox One X Enhanced
Raji: An Ancient Epic is an action adventure game set in Ancient India. Raji, a young girl is chosen by the gods, to stand against the demonic invasion of the human realm, her destiny to rescue her younger brother and face the demon lord Mahabalasura.

Silver Chains (Headup GmbH/Cracked Heads) – Xbox One X Enhanced
Silver Chains is a first-person horror game with a strong emphasis on story and exploration. Search for clues within an old abandoned manor to unravel the truth about the terrible events which have happened here.

Sparklite (Merge Games Ltd/RedBlue Games)
Sparklite is a roguelite brawler-adventure. Using an arsenal of gadgets, guns, and gear, they will battle foes in top-down action combat, solve puzzles, and explore dangerous corners of the world in search of missing gyrocopter parts in an effort to save the Sparklite.

StarCrossed (Whitethorn Digital/Contigo Games Inc.) – Announced Today for Xbox One
StarCrossed is an action arcade game with a magical girl aesthetic and a cooperative twist. Join our cast of 5 space-faring heroes as they travel from planet to planet, working together to strengthen their bond and defeat a looming evil that threatens the galaxy!

Stela (SkyBox Labs) – Announced Today for Xbox One & Windows 10, Xbox One X Enhanced
Stela is a cinematic, atmospheric platformer about a young woman witnessing the final days of a mysterious ancient world.

The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller) – Announced Today for Xbox One, Xbox One X Enhanced
A re-imagining of the award-winning, critically acclaimed mod with over two million downloads on Xbox One and PC. Like Russian Doll or Groundhog Day in a mythological Roman city, where everyone will die again and again, unless you break the cycle. Cleverly exploit a time loop to solve an ancient mystery. Re-write history.

The Sojourn (Iceberg Interactive/Shifting Tides) – Xbox One X Enhanced
The Sojourn is a thought-provoking first-person puzzle game in which you traverse the parallel worlds of light and darkness in search of answers to the nature of reality. Venture into an enchanting world and face life’s obstacles by solving dozens of unique puzzles through four beautifully crafted chapters.

Totem Teller (Grinning Pickle) – Announced Today for Xbox One, Xbox One X Enhanced
Join a wandering muse in search of inspiration. Gather listeners and retell stories in beautiful, broken places. Recover lost folklore or discard it forever. These stories are yours. Truth is in the telling.

UnderMine (Thorium Entertainment) – Announced Today for Xbox One & Windows 10
Raise up your pickaxe and delve deep into the UnderMine, uncovering its secrets, one peasant at a time. In this action-adventure roguelike, mine gold and discover new combinations of items to take on traps and monsters awaiting below. Rescue friends to unlock permanent upgrades and be the peasant that makes it out alive.

Unrailed! (Daedalic Entertainment/Indoor Astronaut) – Announced Today for Xbox One & Windows 10
Unrailed! is a multiplayer co-op game where you work together with your friends to gather resources and build a train track across endless procedurally generated worlds. Master random encounters with its inhabitants, upgrade your train and keep it from derailing!

Void Bastards (Humble Bundle/Blue Manchu) – Xbox Game Pass
You make the decisions in Void Bastards, a new kind of strategy-shooter. Lead your ragtag prisoners through derelict spaceships and myriad other dangers. Make the right choices about what to do, where to go and when to fight. Master combat, manage ship controls, scavenge supplies, craft improvised tools and more!

Xenosis: Alien Infection (NerdRage Studios) – Xbox One X Enhanced
You are a deep space salvage hunter who discovers the remains of the Starship Carpathian. The ship’s AI will be worth a lifetime of credits. As you dock the port locks down, you are trapped inside. You receive a harrowing transmission from somewhere. A warning, you are not alone.

What games are you most excited to see at GDC? Let us know on Twitter at ID@Xbox!

To celebrate the upcoming release of Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel,” Xbox and Marvel Studios are excited to announce the Xbox One X Captain Marvel Custom Console Sweepstakes!

Xbox is thrilled to be celebrating one of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most powerful heroes, timed with the movie’s much anticipated release tomorrow. If you’re a fan of Marvel, this sweepstakes is your opportunity to game in style with Captain Marvel at your side on the world’s most powerful console.

Visit our Xbox Twitter channel to see the custom Captain Marvel Xbox One X console and enter for your chance to win! For more details, including eligibility, please visit the official rules for terms and restrictions.

Set in the 1990s, Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel” is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that follows the journey of Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes. While a galactic war between two alien races reaches Earth, Danvers finds herself and a small cadre of allies at the center of the maelstrom. The film stars Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Rune Temte, Algenis Perez Soto, Mckenna Grace, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, and Jude Law.

Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel” is produced by Kevin Feige and directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jonathan Schwartz, Patricia Whitcher and Stan Lee are the executive producers. The story is by Nicole Perlman & Meg LeFauve and Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck & Geneva Robertson-Dworet, and the screenplay is by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck & Geneva Robertson-Dworet. “Captain Marvel” opens on March 8, 2019 in U.S. theaters.

Stay tuned to Xbox Wire for future sweepstakes opportunities and don’t forget to catch the premiere of Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel”!

Inside Xbox is back on Tuesday, March 12, at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET with even more exclusive news, content, interviews and footage you won’t see anywhere else!

We’ll have some exciting news involving Halo: The Master Chief Collection! The hourlong episode will also feature DayZ, One Piece World Seeker and of course, Xbox Game Pass! Of course, there’s much more that we can’t reveal just yet, so be sure to tune in live on Mixer, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter on Tuesday, March 12^th at 2 p.m PT / 5 p.m. ET.

Hey, Xbox Game Pass members, we’ve got even more video games coming your way because well… that’s what we do. Honestly, would you have it any other way? Whether you want to soar through explosions in a rainbow-colored wingsuit or stroll through hordes of Bloatflies in an irradiated ocean (no judgment, if that’s what you’re into), we’ve got you covered. All that is in addition to the 100+ great games you already have at your fingertips. If you can’t wait, we should also mention that you can remotely install these games to your home console right when they drop by using the Xbox Game Pass mobile app. Then they’ll be ready to play as soon as you are.

Alright, enough talk. Let’s get to the games:

Just Cause 4 (March 6)

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Rico Rodriguez gliding to Xbox Game Pass on March 6! Xbox One players will be able to play as the rugged rogue agent and venture to the Island of Solis where you can unleash chaos in a number of explosive & creative ways. With Rico’s newly customizable grappling hook, you’ll be able to stride, glide and ride through exotic landscapes besieged by extreme weather, pushing you and enemy Black Hand militia to their limits as you lead an army of chaos. Lightning-ridden rainforests, roaring deserts, howling snowstorms…Oh and did we mention tornados!? Take in the sights and stay a while. Just Cause 4 is an open world sandbox designed for exploratory, experimental, over-the-top fun, ready for you on Xbox Game Pass.

LEGO Batman 2 (March 6)

Calling all crime fighters! Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Superman, and more playable DC Comics characters than you can shake a shark repellent covered stick at, are back to save Gotham City. Play as different members of the Justice League in this open world single or multiplayer game, while stopping Lex Luthor, Joker, and more notorious villains in their tracks.

F1 2018 (March 14)

The official videogame of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship, F1 2018 challenges you to make headlines as you become immersed in the world of F1 more than ever before. You will have to build your reputation both on and off the track, with time-pressured media interviews that influence your career in the sport. Do you exhibit sportsmanship or showmanship? Will you develop your team to the top or send your agent to target a rival team and driver? F1 2018 puts you in control of your destiny. Featuring all of the official teams, the drivers and all 21 circuits of the thrilling 2018 season. 2018 sees the return of the French and German Grand Prix to the calendar meaning that you can now race at Circuit Paul Ricard for the first time ever in the series while the Hockenheimring makes a return.

Fallout 4 (March 14)

Returning to your Xbox Game Pass library in a shiny set of Power Armor, Fallout 4 drops you back into the Commonwealth as you set out to search for your missing son. Explore the wasteland, fight vicious Deathclaws and gain new abilities to help shape the fate of a post-apocalyptic Boston. The more you explore, the more you discover, so be sure to scour every inch of the game’s huge map. After all, there will always be another settlement that needs your help.

So many games, so little time. Hopefully that’ll be enough to satisfy your gaming palate… for now! If you want to stay up-to date on all the gaming goodness coming at you every week, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and download the mobile app. And no worries if you get lost between now and our next drop, ‘cause we’ll keep the LEGO Bat-Signal on for ya!

Join Xbox Game Pass Today

Xbox Game Pass is the new way for you to discover and play your next favorite game. Enjoy over 100 great games for one low monthly price. Plus, even more games are added all the time, including highly-anticipated new Xbox One exclusives the day they’re released. If you haven’t tried Xbox Game Pass, join today and get your first month for $1.

Get ready to suit up and start an incredible adventure! Anthem has just launched on Xbox One, and we’ve got the details you need to get a successful head start in this dangerous and beautiful new world.

Javelins

Javelins are at the center of both combat and mobility in Anthem. They’re built to protect you from almost anything the world can throw at you as well as allow you to soar through the sky, swim through underwater tunnels, and unleash your power against enemies.

There are four javelins, the Ranger (the most balanced and versatile suit), Interceptor (an agile melee specialist), Colossus (the hard-hitting tank), and Storm (and elegant long-range fighter), and each has its own specific strengths and weaknesses. You’ll unlock your first at level 2, another at level 8, a third at level 16, and finally, a fourth at level 26.

Gear and Weapons

Once you’ve unlocked your javelins, you’ll need to add gear and weapons and (if you want) give it a unique look with the game’s customization and personalization options. You can find them in the Forge (accessible at Fort Tarsis or the Launch Bay) under the Loadout and Appearance tabs. You can save multiple loadouts with gear and weapon combinations that may come in handy in specific combat situations.

Gear comes in six rarity levels: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Masterwork, and Legendary. The rarer the gear, the more powerful it is and the higher the chance it will come with inscriptions (randomly rolled stat boosts and bonuses) or added ability bonuses (you can spot these in orange text on the description).

You’ll very likely spend a great deal of time searching for the gear you need, but keep in mind that crafting is an option, too. You can dismantle and salvage gear you don’t need, take on Challenges, visit the Crafting Shop, and explore the world to find nodes to harvest for crafting materials.

Once you have the right materials, you can start crafting. Completing Challenges will also help you unlock blueprints, to make exactly what you need. Of course, the rarer the gear, the more difficult the Challenge.

Combat and Combos

Next, it’s time to learn about your javelin’s capabilities, particularly the combinations of moves that lead to powerful and devastating combo attacks. There are two foundations for any successful combo, the primer (generally an elemental attack that inflicts a status effect on your enemies) and the detonator (basically the trigger that sets off the combo).

Keep in mind that the javelin that primes an enemy or group of enemies does not have to detonate it; any member of the squad can. Once it’s been triggered, your enemies will need to be primed again before your squad can use another detonator. And, unsurprisingly, lower level enemies will be much easier to prime than higher level ones.

Stronger Together

Teamwork is one of the major foundations of Anthem, and the farther you progress in the game the more important it will become. This is especially true for Strongholds, challenging dungeons with multiple objectives to complete in order to progress all the way to a climactic final battle. While Strongholds are the toughest challenges you’ll face, they’ll also give you the greatest rewards. Taking them on with your squad of four increases your likelihood of finding amazing weaponry and gear.

Using a headset and mic with your squad is the easiest way to make the most of everyone’s combat abilities and take out even the strongest enemies. Communicating with one another means lining up the perfect combos, covering teammates under fire, and flanking enemies more effectively.

Unleash Your Power

Now’s your time, Freelancer, so suit up and start exploring the world of Anthem today!

Anthem is available today on Xbox One via the Microsoft Store. Click here for purchase details.

It’s time to step up your boom, Agents! Crackdown 3 is now available with Xbox Game Pass on both Xbox One and Windows 10 PC.

In the latest entry in the Crackdown franchise, longtime fans will feel right at home in the quest to take back New Providence from the cruel and corrupt TerraNova Corporation. Crackdown 3 is all about over-the-top fun, tons of explosions, and punching the baddies right in the face. You’ll need to deploy everything in your arsenal, whether it’s collecting those iconic green agility orbs to run faster and jump higher, knocking some heads together to increase strength, or causing an endless amount of mayhem and destruction against your enemies with unique and bombastic weapons at your disposal to build your firearm skill. Did we mention Oblivion? Just a fun little gadget that shoots a black hole at enemies. No big deal.

Crackdown has always been about freedom and this holds especially true in Crackdown 3. Right from the start, you choose how you want to free the city. There are 21 playable Agents to select from – including the man, the myth the legend, the one and only Terry Crews as Commander Isaiah Jaxon. If you feel lucky, you can take on final boss Elizabeth Niemand right from the start or soften up her defenses by eliminating her lieutenants. That sense of freedom applies to choosing your Agent as well. Each Agent has specific attributes that boost skills faster. Want to quickly unlock all of the Agency Vehicle forms? Pick an Agent who specializes in Driving and sideswipe your foes off the road. And with Agent saves separate from world saves, you can switch out your Agent based on the challenge at hand. Agents can take on TerraNova alone or jump in with a friend in two-player co-op via Xbox Live for double the trouble!

If you’re looking for even more mayhem, you’ll want to check out Wrecking Zone. Wrecking Zone is powered by Azure cloud which enables two teams of five to battle it out in fully-destructible environments, with cross play enabled across both Xbox One and Windows 10. Whether you’re knocking bridges to the ground, blasting walls from across the map or simply flying through the skies to meet your opponents in aerial combat, players will find no shortage of mayhem across the game’s two modes, Agent Hunter and Territories.

Crackdown 3 is available today with Xbox Game Pass on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. Existing Xbox Game Pass members can download Crackdown 3 on their console or with the Xbox Game Pass mobile app, and new members can sign up today and receive two full months for $2 to join in on the action.

For more information on Crackdown 3, be sure to stay tuned to Xbox Wire.

With Xbox Game Pass there’s no shortage of games for you to fall in love with this Valentine’s Day. From sailing to driving to jumping, even combine harvesting, there’s bound to be room in your heart for a few of these titles. We’ve highlighted some of our Xbox Game Pass favorites that we think you’ll fall in love with, too. We’d love to hear what Xbox Game Pass titles you love most by reaching out to us on Xbox Game Pass Twitter and Instagram.

Gears of War 4

There are countless reasons to love Gears of War 4: amazing characters, non-stop action, and awesome Lancers. But one of the reasons it really makes our heart skip a beat is the couch multiplayer you can experience with a loved one by your side. Whether it’s co-op or competitive multiplayer, you can have each other’s backs or go after each other for bragging rights. It’s also a great time to jump on board as we get ready to deepen our relationship with Gears 5 – which will launch with Xbox Game Pass the same day it’s available on Xbox One and Windows 10 later this year.

Human Fall Flat

Another couch co-op crowd-pleaser that’s best played with a group of friends as you wobble and tumble in physics-based puzzle mayhem. But what really makes us fall (pun intended) for Human: Fall Flat are its incredibly adorable character designs, which when seen tumbling, falling, splatting, flying through the air also cause us to break into gut-busting laugher at their expense. And laughter, they say, is the quickest way to someone’s heart.

Laser League

You know that squiggly feeling you get in your stomach at the sight of a certain special someone? Yeah, well, that’s the feeling you get after being shot by laser. And now you’re out of the match and your team is falling behind. You went ahead and got distracted by that attractive, neon-blue clad opponent and you let your guard down for a fraction of a second. And in a game where split-second decisions are key, you blew it. Where were we… oh, yes. Laser League is great. You should play it.

Portal Knights

There are few things we love more than joining friends to embark on an action RPG adventure full of crafting, epic enemies, and massive new worlds. Which is a big reason for our love for Portal Knights, which offers near endless adventure thanks to its randomly generated 3D sandbox worlds. Best of all, these adventures can be had with some couch co-op or online with up to four players. Perfect for a night out on the medieval town.

Mortal Kombat X

Get over here and warm up that sub-zero heart of yours with the epic Mortal Kombat X. As one of the longest-running fighting game franchises, this series continues to impress and innovate causing us to fall in love with it, time and time again. And with Mortal Kombat 11 on the horizon, now’s the best time to dust off those controllers and renew some of your deepest rivalries, er, we mean vows. Toasty!

Rocket League

If you and your special someone are looking for one of the best pick-up-and-play games available today, you can do little wrong  by booting up some Rocket League and letting those sparks fly. And by sparks we mean the giant soccer balls you’re “kicking” in net, and by flying we mean your sweet rides as they tumble through the air. Seriously, it’s great. Go play it together.

Spintires: Mudrunner

On the surface, this physics-based driving game has all the ingredients for one amazing off-road experience as you wrestle these epic vehicles across some of the harshest terrain. But underneath all of this is a trust exercise, with only your compass and map to help guide you to safety – something that will always have your back and support you if you happen to lose your way. Yeah, we might be overthinking the whole giant trucks in the mud bit, but it’s that simplicity that makes us appreciate the life lessons this game is teaching us.

Forza Horizon 4

One of the many reasons we love Forza Horizon 4 is that it lets us run free across a beautiful historic Britain. Perfect for those romances that let the two of you test your love at a brisk 200mph across winding roads all season(s) long. Or, if you’re still looking for someone special this Valentine’s Day, you never know who you’ll meet in the game’s massive, shared open world.

Sea of Thieves

Perhaps the perfect test of a relationship is a bold ocean voyage into the unknown. So, hop online with your loved one(s) and work in harmony, surviving storms, sharks and skeleton crews to forge your very own pirate legend. Or just take a ship built for two and seek out a secluded island getaway… with a shovel in hand and an unpatched eye trained to catch the gleam of half-buried treasure.

Join Xbox Game Pass Today

With over 100 great games for one low monthly price, including highly-anticipated new Xbox One exclusives the day they’re released, including the highest-rated* Xbox exclusive of this generation Forza Horizon 4, plus more games added all the time, Xbox Game Pass gives you the ultimate freedom to play. If you haven’t tried Xbox Game Pass, join today and get your first month for $2, and discover your next favorite game.

For the latest Xbox Game Pass news, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, download the Xbox Game Pass app for Android and iOS and keep it tuned here to Xbox Wire. And for a limited time only, new members can get two months of membership for $2.