Tag: Xbox

On Thursday, Xbox will partner with Reach Out WorldWide (ROWW) to host the fourth annual Game4Paul charity fundraiser, a livestream full of games, exclusive sweepstakes and more that will support ROWW’s mission to provide natural disaster relief across the globe. The livestream will also honor the life and legacy of actor and ROWW founder, Paul Walker. Tune in on Thursday at 1 p.m. PDT on the Mixer Xbox Channel to catch all the action with some of Paul’s friends and family, including actors Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson and Sung Kang from “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, and Paul’s brother and CEO of ROWW, Cody Walker.

We’re expecting this to be the biggest Game4Paul yet, and the livestream has a full lineup of guests and exclusive rewards from the new Forza Horizon 4, as well as Fallout 76, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Xbox partners including Fandango, Samsung and V-MODA. You’ll have the chance to win this limited edition Game4Paul Xbox One X signed by none other than Vin Diesel. For a chance to win this custom console, buy a ticket now at Game4Paul.com. All proceeds will benefit ROWW, so check out the full list of rewards and ways you can contribute to this important cause.

ROWW was founded by Paul Walker to deploy quick and efficient humanitarian relief in the chaos after natural disasters. ROWW has a team deployed in Indonesia now providing medical aid and water to those affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami. Concurrently, ROWW has a team in North Carolina assisting with the clean-up efforts from Hurricane Florence.  You can make a difference by donating to ROWW to provide one million gallons of clean water, medical supplies and other tools needed to start rebuilding these communities.

Also airing during the Game4Paul livestream is an exclusive Xbox Game Pass Challenge featuring Vin Diesel and Cody Walker! Vin and Cody had to complete challenges in a variety of games, all of which are available in the Xbox Game Pass catalog, including completing the motocross showcase challenge in the new Forza Horizon 4, as well as challenges in Cluster Truck, Super Mega Baseball, and Rocket League. For each challenge Vin and Cody completed, they earned $10k for ROWW. Tune in to find out how much money they raised for ROWW during the livestream! And get the inside scoop from Vin on his latest action film, Bloodshot, set to release in 2020.

We can’t wait to see all the games, challenges, prizes and support for ROWW come together – it’s sure to be a fun, memorable and impactful event. Don’t miss Game4Paul airing on Mixer Xbox Channel, Twitch Xbox Channel and Cody Walker’s Facebook Page on Thursday at 1 p.m. PDT.

At gamescom 2018, we gave a first glimpse at Forsaken Shores, our latest free content update coming to Sea of Thieves. As part of our ongoing commitment to deliver new Sea of Thieves content throughout the year and beyond, Forsaken Shores offers our biggest update yet at no charge for those who own the game or access it through Xbox Game Pass. There has never been a better time to set sail and adventure with other pirates in the Sea of Thieves community.

Today, Forsaken Shores invites players to venture into a new volcanic region called The Devil’s Roar. This perilous and challenging area of the Sea of Thieves will have players encountering volcano eruptions raining down hot rocks and flowing lava, terrifying earthquakes, unpredictable geysers that can fling players into the air and dangerous super-heated water around islands.

Also new to Forsaken Shores is the Row Boat, which will be key to assisting the navigation of this dangerous new region, but also enriching all journeys across every area of the world. Players can also take on new Devil’s Roar Voyages, with increased challenge that allows players to reap greater rewards.

This permanent new content will be introduced into Sea of Thieves with a time-limited campaign, running for four weeks from today, September 27, where players will be able to discover exactly what happened to the first crew that managed to make their way to The Devil’s Roar. As part of the campaign, players can also find new quests with the Merchant Alliance, taking on Cargo Runs across the world, keeping their cargo safe and delivering it in pristine condition for the highest rewards. Cargo Runs will arrive in week three of the campaign and remain a permanent fixture of the Merchant Alliance moving forward.

This Forsaken Shores campaign and content update will be available free and without charge to all Sea of Thieves players who have bought the game across the Xbox One family of devices or on Windows 10 PC, or who have access to it as part of Xbox Game Pass. Simply download and install the latest Sea of Thieves update to get access. And don’t worry, if you’re unable to take part in the time-limited campaign, all the features introduced with this campaign will remain in the Sea of Thieves world for everyone to see and experience.

In celebration of the launch of Forsaken Shores, the Xbox team asked Matt Berry to deliver our most epic update yet. Matt eschewed the traditional tropes of a pirate performance and instead, bellowed out each point out in his unique fashion. The second the first syllable was uttered on set there were smiles all round, so we hope you have as much fun watching the above video as we had making it.

We are also proud to announce that Sea of Thieves will officially support Traditional Chinese as an official language option starting on November 8. We believe that by enabling the game in more languages, more players will be able to enjoy Sea of Thieves the way they are most comfortable, so they can fully immerse themselves in their very own pirate adventure.

Thank you to the entire Sea of Thieves community for your patience in waiting for Forsaken Shores. The team worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that Forsaken Shores lives up to our collective quality and performance standards. We cannot wait to explore the Devil’s Roar with you. See you on the seas.

New to Sea of Thieves? Join the adventure at xbox.com/seaofthieves, and visit the Sea of Thieves website at SeaofThieves.com to embark on an epic journey with one of gaming’s most welcoming communities.

Gears Pro Circuit Season 2 makes its first appearance on the West Coast this week with the Gears Pro Circuit San Diego Open, taking place from September 28th-30th at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center. The top Gears teams from around the world will all be in attendance as they battle it out for a piece of the $250,000 prize pool.

OpTic Gaming comes into the event as the favorite to take home the title following their dominating performance in New Orleans and winning the last seven online 2Ks. Echo Fox coming in as the second seed is looking to avenge their loss in New Orleans and take home the championship. Ghost Gaming and Spacestation Gaming, Europe’s top team, both feature new team members as they look to run the table to the Championship Match on Sunday.

San Diego also marks the Gears Pro Circuit debut of 2v2 Gnashers Only on Boxes. Featuring a $10,000 prize pool, this side tournament will take place during the Gears Pro Circuit San Diego Open and will have some of the top players in Gears looking to prove their CQB dominance. Anyone with an event pass (spectator or team) is eligible to compete for free. Registration will be from 10am-1pm PDT, on Saturday, September 29^th at the main registration table on a first come, first serve basis. Make sure to get their early as the tournament is capped at 96 teams and will start at 2:00 PM PDT on Saturday.

Share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-JcwyhoRTw

Watch all the action at http://live.gearsofwar.com starting at 2:00 PM PDT on Friday, September 28, then into the weekend on both Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 AM PDT.

Visit https://gearsofwar.com/en-us/esports and follow @EsportsGears on Twitter to keep up-to-date with the latest information about Gears Esports and the Gears Pro Circuit San Diego Open!

At Xbox, we’re committed to bringing gamers more choice in what they play, who they play with and how they play. We’re also equally committed to providing developers with the best platform to create and deliver the best gaming experience on Xbox. Today we’re announcing a new way to play games on Xbox: we’re enabling mouse and keyboard support on Xbox One for select Xbox Insiders in the coming weeks.

With this new input support at the platform level, developers can now build mouse and keyboard support in their games if and how they choose. It’s important to note that mouse and keyboard support for games is added on a title-by-title basis, entirely at developers’ discretion. For all other titles, nothing changes. Mouse and keyboard input is not enabled by default for games. Each development team knows their titles best and we support them in creating the right experience for their games as they see fit, to ensure an optimal and fair gaming experience. Warframe will be one of the first titles testing mouse and keyboard input when the feature arrives to Insider in the coming weeks.

While most wired or wireless USB keyboards and mice will work on Xbox One, we know access to best-in-class hardware is a must. That’s why we’re partnering with a premiere peripheral manufacturer in the gaming hardware space – Razer – to bring you the best possible mouse and keyboard experience for this new functionality. We’ll have more to share soon on this partnership, but for now check out Razer’s website and our Xbox Twitter and Facebook pages for a sneak peek.

We’ve been working closely with studios of all sizes to ensure mouse and keyboard experiences on console are fun, fair and correctly balanced, and look forward to introducing more games with support for mouse and keyboard input in the future. Tune into the November 10 edition of Inside Xbox for more details about additional titles supporting mouse and keyboard, and to learn more about our partnership with Razer.

Features like mouse and keyboard support come to life with the right fan feedback. So, as always, please share feedback with us and with your favorite developers to ensure we’re getting this right. If you’d like to test out this experience on Xbox, you can join the Xbox Insider program. For more on the latest news from Xbox, stay tuned to Xbox Wire.

Back in 2007, to celebrate the first anniversary of Xbox 360, our Xbox team down under kicked off a program called Konsoles [sic] for Kids.

The idea was simple. Tap a local designer to jazz up some custom Xbox 360 consoles, get them autographed by some of the country’s top talent and auction them off for charity. Back then, we partnered with the likes of Peter Jackson, Russell Crowe, The Wiggles and a few others with a goal to raise $30,000 for Make-A-Wish.

This year, with the same great cause at heart, we’re taking this idea to a whole new level. Rallying some of the biggest names in sports, entertainment and the Internet at large, Xbox and Make-A-Wish have teamed up for the 2018 “Consoles for Kids” Charity Auction. Think Ninja, Post Malone, Ronda Rousey, iJustine, Dwayne Johnson. Charlie Puth, Carmelo Anthony and some of the squad of Liverpool FC. Jack Black, Prince Royce, Wiz Kahlifa. And on. And on. Some of our favorite gaming studios are even getting in on the action – the Master Chief and the team at 343 Industries, Todd Howard and the team at Bethesda and our Minecraft friends at Mojang. Each has inspired, signed and some even helped design custom Xbox One X consoles* that are being auctioned off to help raise money for Make-A-Wish.

From September 19 to October 3, Charitybuzz.com/makeawish is hosting the Xbox and Make-A-Wish “Consoles for Kids” Charity Auction. 100% of the proceeds go to Make-A-Wish. Check out who else has signed up and joined the cause:

Sports and Entertainment

• Caleb McLaughlin – Caleb is all about self-motivation and believing in yourself, this console is inspired by his motto #beyourbiggestfan.
• Carmelo Anthony – What’s better than a signed console by Melo himself? A signed console AND signed pair of sneakers 😉
• Charlie Puth– ATTENTION: How long can you resist this signed console by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Charlie Puth?
• Dwayne Johnson & Emily Blunt– You can’t get any more solid than this custom Jungle Cruise Xbox One X signed by The Rock and Emily!
• Justine Ezarik (iJustine) – Justine is all about expressing herself in the tech space in creative and unique ways, she hopes this custom console will inspire others to get creative!
• Jack Black – This console is inspired by Jack Black’s passion for live music performances…whether shredding on guitar, blazing a high pitched vocal or blowing a classic sax solo…JB always gives it 💯
• Ludacris – Our most Ludacris Xbox One X console yet – signed by the man himself.
• Liverpool F.C. – “You’ll never walk alone” with this exclusive Liverpool FC Xbox One X console and copy of PES 2019.
• Ninja & Marshmello – It’s a bird, it’s a plane it’s a…Fortnite glider?! Streaming legends Ninja and Marshmello teamed up to sign this all-things Fortnite custom console signed with love, (X_X) and celebrating their E3 2018 Pro Am victory!
• Post Malone – This console is inspired by Post Malone’s epic and inspirational performances from all around the world!
• Prince Royce – This console is fit for a Prince (or Princess), inspired by Prince Royce’s iconic sound and style!
• Ronda Rousey – Feel like a champion with this WWE Superstar’s one of a kind console!
• SMOSH – America’s most popular comedy YouTube channel partners with Xbox to bring you this custom signed Xbox One X.
• Usain Bolt – The fastest man and the most powerful console in the world come together for one gold-featured, signed console.
• Wiz Khalifa – Show your true colors by adding our dopest Xbox One X to your collection, signed by Wiz!

Game Development Teams

• Battlefield V – Join the action on the front lines in Battlefield V with this custom Xbox One X console, signed by the team at DICE in Sweden.
• Fallout 76 – Signed by Todd Howard at Bethesda, this console features a tricentennial artwork befitting the brave pioneers of Vault 76.
• Halo – Join the Master Chief on his quest to save humanity with this Xbox One X console, signed and designed by the team at 343 Industries.
• Minecraft – Enjoy this Limited Edition Xbox One S console in all of its blocky goodness, signed by the team at Mojang.
• Rocket League – Go for the goal and celebrate more than three years of Rocket League with this unique Xbox One X, signed by the team at Psyonix!

This is a special opportunity to make donations that can transform lives of kids with critical illnesses while also showing support for the games, entertainers, and athletes you love. Never before have I seen such an array of talent come together to support such a cause, and on behalf of Team Xbox, we’re privileged to support it. Thanks to Charitybuzz for hosting and to Make-A-Wish for letting us play a small part in granting wishes to help kids build strength to fight illnesses and improve their quality of life. We know it’s a game changer and together we want to help change the game.

To learn more about the “Consoles for Kids” Charity Auction, go to charitybuzz.com/makeawish. To learn more about donating to Make-A-Wish, visit wish.org.

*With the exception of the Limited Edition Minecraft Xbox One S, all consoles are Xbox One X

With Xbox Game Pass, you can experience the ultimate value and freedom to play over 100 great games, including new Xbox One games from Microsoft Studios the day they release.

Microsoft is excited to announce a special offer that unites Forza and Xbox Game Pass fans. Starting today, get the best deal of the season for Xbox Game Pass and Forza games, just in time to hone your skills for the Forza Horizon 4 launch on October 2. For a limited time, get a year of Xbox Game Pass ($120 value), Forza Horizon 3, and Forza Motorsport 7 to keep – all for just $99. This offer is open to new as well as existing Xbox Game Pass members, starting September 13 through September 30, so get it today!

You can take advantage of this offer on Xbox.com or from your Xbox One console. You can begin playing games with Xbox Game Pass immediately and will receive codes to download Forza Horizon 3 and Forza Motorsport 7 via Xbox Message Center, likely within 7-10 days, but no later than October 21, 2018.

If you have a knack for racing or have just always been interested in giving the Forza series a try, this is the offer for you. Not only will you receive access to Forza Horizon 4 the day it launches on October 2, but you can also check out the most recent titles from the Forza Horizon and Motorsport series with this limited-time offer.

Forza Motorsport 7 lets you experience the thrill of motorsport at its limit with the most comprehensive, beautiful, and authentic racing game ever made. Forza Horizon 3 puts you in charge of the Horizon Festival where you can customize everything, hire and fire your friends, and explore Australia in over 350 of the world’s greatest cars. Make your Horizon the ultimate celebration of cars, music, and freedom of the open road. How you get there is up to you!

From recent blockbusters to critically-acclaimed indie titles, Xbox Game Pass lets you discover and download games you’ve always wanted to play or revisit favorites that you’ve been missing. With new games added every month, and the option to cancel anytime, Xbox Game Pass is your ticket to endless play.

Stay tuned to Xbox Wire for more news on Xbox Game Pass and all things Forza Motorsport. For the latest in Xbox Game Pass news, follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Until next month, game on!

Here at Team Xbox, we’ve had a long history in offering voice controls as a way to interact with your Xbox console through Kinect and headsets. Today, starting with select Xbox U.S. Insiders, we’re expanding voice support by introducing the Xbox Skill, which enables you to navigate and interact with Xbox One using voice commands through your Cortana and Alexa-enabled devices.

With the Xbox Skill, you can use voice commands to power your Xbox One console, adjust volume, launch games and apps, start and stop broadcasts on Mixer, capture screenshots, and more. It’s the fastest way to get into your games and one of the easiest ways to interact with your console for everyday tasks. For example, if you have the skill enabled on your Echo and you’re a part of the Insider preview, just say “Alexa, start Rocket League.” and this command will automatically turn on your console, sign you in, and launch your game.

The Xbox Skill integrates with your Cortana and Alexa-enabled device such as a Windows 10 PC, Amazon Echo, Harman Kardon Invoke, Sonos One, or Cortana and Alexa apps on iOS and Android, enabling voice commands to control your Xbox One console.

For Xbox Insiders* in the U.S. who want to try the Xbox Skill with Cortana or Alexa, here’s how to get started:

If you use Cortana:

1. Sign into the Xbox you want to control.
2. On your Windows 10 PC, click here and sign in with your Microsoft account to link the skill.
3. Try your first command! “Hey Cortana, tell Xbox to open Netflix.”

If you use Alexa:

1. Sign into the Xbox you want to control.
2. Click here, sign in with your Amazon Account, and click Enable.
3. Sign in with your Microsoft account to link the skill.
4. Let Alexa discover your console, then follow the instructions to pair your console with Alexa.
5. Try your first command! “Alexa, start Rocket League.”

Wondering what else the Xbox Skill can do? Just say “Ask Xbox what can I say?” to discover more commands for your console. For a full list of commands, troubleshooting assistance, and to give the team feedback and ideas, you can visit the Xbox Insider Subreddit.

As always, your feedback is important to us and our partners as we continue to evolve this experience and grow our voice integration across devices, digital assistants and voice services.

*Note to Xbox Insiders: We will be rolling the Xbox Skill out to Xbox Insider rings gradually. If the Digital Assistant setting is visible on your console in Settings -> Devices, then you are currently eligible to test the Xbox Skill. If it doesn’t appear, then please be patient as we are working quickly to add more Insider rings to the beta.

Xbox is bringing games, gear, and more to downtown Seattle for PAX West August 31 – September 3. Whether you’re joining us in person or following along on social media and Mixer, here’s what you can expect:

Xbox Booth
North Hall, 4^th Floor, Booths 403, 411, 417

Experience a few of the games that make up Xbox One’s diverse line-up at the Xbox booth. We’ll have playable demos of Forza Horizon 4, The Division 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Devil May Cry 5, NBA 2k19, Metro Exodus, Kingdom Hearts III, Tunic, Ooblets, Kingdom Two Crowns, Generation Zero, Bendy and the Ink Machine, Supermarket Shriek, My Time Portia, and some new DLC from State of Decay 2. You will also have the opportunity to earn a Cuphead Pinny Arcade pin, participate in a Tomb Raider-themed scavenger hunt, guess the amount of Nuka Cola caps in a Fallout 76 experience, visit the Game Pass vending machine, and pick up exclusive Xbox Official Gear for the first time at PAX.  (PAX Badge required)

Mixer
North Hall, 4^th Floor, Booth #425

Drop by booth #425 in the North Hall to meet up with some of your favorite broadcasters and Mixer Partners, and for a chance to win swag in the HypeZone LIVE! In addition to that, there’s also going to be a main stage at PAX featuring our Mixer Partners, developers, and so much more. Can’t make it to PAX West in person? No problem! Watch all the action happening at PAX West via Mixer.com/Mixer and Mixer.com/HypeZoneLIVE!

Want the full rundown? Make sure to get all the latest details from the official Mixer blog, right here: https://blog.mixer.com/2018/08/22/mixer-pax-west-2018/

Xbox PAX West Panels

Find out more about streaming and the Xbox Adaptive Controller at these panels featuring Xbox and Mixer members. (PAX West badge required.)

Building Your Streaming Community
Wyvern Theater, Saturday, September 1 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Building a community comes with many challenges and hurdles, good news is we’re here to help! We’ve gathered a council of content creators to discuss the ins-and-outs of building a great online community in your own livestreams. We’ll be smashing myths and sharing the facts about streaming to help you set a foundation for a positive and effective community.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller: Designed with the Community
Sasquatch Theater, Sunday, September 2 from 12:30pm-1:30pm

The Xbox Adaptive Controller is the newest controller by Xbox, created to help people with limited mobility play. Larry Hryb will lead a conversation with pivotal community experts and representatives of game accessibility organizations like AbleGamers and Stack Up, along with one of the controller’s creators.  We’ll describe the journey of designing the controller leveraging the input of gamers with disabilities from the start… and where we need to go next.

Xbox One Summer of PUBG Tour

The Xbox One Summer of PUBG tour will be making their final stop in Westlake Center during PAX West. No badge required to visit! Check out the PUBG bus and enter to win it or one of many other prizes. More information can be found here.

Xbox PAX West Sweepstakes

Enter for a chance to win one of 11 Xbox Design Lab controllers, influenced by some of our favorite games. Xbox Design Lab allows you to create your own personal controller from over a billion different color combinations, metallic finishes, and rubberized grips. Check it out and design your own controller at xboxdesignlab.xbox.com.

There are two ways to enter:

• Take a photo of your favorite Xbox Design Lab controller in the Xbox booth and share via Twitter using #XboxPAX #XboxDesignLab #Sweepstakes. Don’t forget to follow @Xbox while you’re at it!
• Follow @Xbox or @XboxCanada on Twitter and retweet one of their tweets mentioning the sweepstakes and including #XboxPAX #XboxDesignLab #Sweepstakes.

You have until September 3rd to enter. The contest is open to anyone from the US or Canada. Click through for the Official Rules.

See you at PAX West! For more Xbox news, follow @Xbox on Twitter, visit the Xbox PAX West website, and stay tuned to Xbox Wire.

Many of gaming’s most compelling stories come from those who’ve helped to create our favorite Xbox One games. In our Inside Xbox One X Enhanced series, these creators will share the behind-the-scenes accounts of the work involved in enhancing these epic games for Xbox One X, how they’ve helped chart the course of the world’s most powerful console, and what that means for the future of gaming. Today, we’ll be chatting with Eidos-Montreal Programming Director Frédéric Robichaud on the highly anticipated Shadow of the Tomb Raider which sees Lara Croft’s defining moment as she becomes the Tomb Raider.

What specifically is your development team doing to enhance Shadow of the Tomb Raider for Xbox One X?

To ensure that Shadow of the Tomb Raider looked crisp and amazingly polished on Xbox One X, we have worked incredibly hard to fully support HDR mode. We’ve revamped the entire pipeline to be HDR from the get go: realistic lights intensity calibration, HDR textures and global illumination energy conservation.

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we offer two modes for players: High Resolution and High Framerate mode. With the GPU power of the Xbox One X, we were able to get 4K at a constant 30 FPS and with the CPU boost, we are targeting 60 FPS with full HD (1080p) in High Framerate mode.

We’ve been able to improve the quality of certain algorithms on the Xbox One X like stochastic screen-space reflections and atmospheric effects. With the extra memory, we have increased the shadow maps and texture resolution to enhance the visual quality.

Audio wise, we are fully supporting Dolby Atmos to create real 3D audio immersion.

How do these enhancements impact the gaming experience, and why did your development team choose to focus on these enhancement areas?

The recent Tomb Raider games are known for their high quality graphics and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, as the final entry in the origin trilogy, pushes the visual boundaries more than ever before. Supporting 4K was mandatory for us. Players that do not own a 4K TV will still see the visual improvements, mostly with less aliasing and more details in the image.

If the player chooses the High Framerate mode, they will enjoy the fluidity and reactivity of the controls in a seamless gameplay experience.

The audio immersion is perfect with Dolby Atmos, especially in the jungle areas which are dense with wildlife like the locusts below and birds above. Spatial audio is best experienced with a home theater system; however, all players will still hear those effects and an overall increase in audio fidelity.

How do you expect fans of Shadow of the Tomb Raider will respond to playing it on Xbox One X with these enhancements?

Those playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider on the Xbox One X will be blown away by the visual quality in High Resolution mode or the fluidity if they choose the High Framerate mode. Players will not want to go back to the previous generation of consoles!

What enhancement were you most excited about to explore leveraging for Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Xbox One X?

Without a doubt, High Framerate mode. Maximizing the CPU power to target 60 FPS with a huge, living crowd like in the Cozumel café or Paititi was an interesting challenge. A lot of optimization to our engine was done to achieve these stunning results.

What does 4K and HDR mean for your game, games in the future and development at your studio?

We completely revamped our pipeline to integrate HDR from the beginning of production. Shadow of the Tomb Raider looks more real and better than ever before because of 4K and HDR. Better resolution, less aliasing, more intensity and more nuance.  We hope that players are blown away by the visual fidelity of the most recent edition to the Tomb Raider franchise.

It is only the beginning; 4k and HDR will become standard to all the games, especially when all developers begin to follow a common HDR standard.

Thanks to Frédéric for taking the time to chat with us about Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which releases on September 14. We’ll bring you more interviews with more developers in the future, as well as more on Shadow of the Tomb Raider, so stay tuned to Xbox Wire!