https://sickgaming.net/ Mon, 26 Oct 2026 03:08:08 +0000 MyBB https://sickgaming.net/thread-114187.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 17:00:00 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114187.html Becastled, we noticed a problem that emerged as players became more familiar with the game. They would find a strategy that worked on almost any level, and once they did, there was much less reason to use different buildings, units, or approaches.

When we started working on the Traits and Some Magic DLC, we wanted to change that.

That’s why one of the central additions in the DLC is a system of more than 40 traits. The goal isn’t simply to make you stronger. It’s to encourage you to build your strategy around the circumstances of each individual run.



One out of Three

Every few days and after a Blood Moon, you can choose one of three traits.

They are divided into three rarities: Common, Uncommon, and Rare. After a Blood Moon, the chance of seeing rarer options increases.

The simplest traits might provide a small economic boost or increase your unit’s health. But the ones we find most interesting offer a much stronger effect in exchange for a meaningful restriction.

Master of the Bow, for example, forces you to use only archers but significantly increases their damage.

Manifest Destiny reduces mood but allows you to acquire several upcoming zones for free.

Glass Cannon reduces your unit’s health while increasing their damage.

Then the combinations start to come into play. Glass Cannon can be combined with Blood Money and Master of the Bow to create archers capable of dealing huge amounts of damage.

Another run might go in a completely different direction. You could have incredibly powerful archers but no walls at all. Or your units might end up with so much health that they become extremely difficult to kill.

What’s important to us is that players respond to what they get instead of repeating the same strategy every time.



Why not Every Bonus is Purely a Bonus

We deliberately made some traits come with trade-offs.

If every choice only provides a positive effect, then all three options are essentially correct. We thought it would be much more interesting for the player to ask: Do I really want this powerful bonus if it also means accepting a serious restriction?

Is it worth spending resources on it right now? Can my existing strategy handle the new limitation? Will I have to rethink my army?

Those are the kinds of decisions that can create memorable runs. When an unusual combination of traits works, we want you to feel that it happened because of the choices you made, rather than because you simply collected a series of automatic upgrades.

We balanced the system through internal playtests and formulas in Google Sheets. With more than 40 traits, there are plenty of possible combinations, so we had to look not only at individual values but also at what happens when different effects start working together.

• 
  
• 
  

Mages: Lots of Damage, Little Room for Error

Traits and Some Magic also adds two new unit types: Mages and Clerics. Both can be recruited from the new Mage School.

From the beginning, Mages were designed around high risk and high potential impact. They’re easy to kill, but if used correctly, they can deal a huge amount of damage. Their area damage is especially useful against groups of enemies. A well-positioned Mage can take out many opponents in only a few attacks. The trade-off is their vulnerability. Walls can be a good place to position Mages, or they can stay behind other units where enemies have a harder time reaching them.



Clerics Can Help Keep your Army Alive

Clerics are fragile too, but instead of dealing damage, they provide healing.

One of the problems we wanted to address with Clerics was the constant loss of units, particularly during boss fights. Clerics give players a way to keep units alive longer and should be particularly useful for anyone trying to complete the game without losing a single unit.

I particularly like their synergy with Swordsmen. Together, they can form a very strong line of units, but that doesn’t make your army invulnerable. Enemy archers and certain other units can kill Clerics fairly quickly if you leave them exposed. So the new unit isn’t simply another option to add to your army. Its position on the battlefield becomes part of the decision.



How we Built More Than 40 Traits with a Small Team

One of the biggest constraints during the development of Traits and Some Magic was time, as well as the number of people working on the project. Some features we initially planned for the DLC had to be postponed.

That made it important for us to build the trait system in a way that didn’t require constant programmer involvement whenever we wanted to create new content.

As a result, designers can create new traits without developers having to implement each one. This saved us a significant amount of time and allowed the team to iterate on new options and test them more quickly during internal playtests.

We also experimented with another system, part of which still exists in the project. It allowed players to select modifiers before starting a game, with no limit on how many modifiers could be active.

Players could combine conditions to create almost impossible runs with numerous restrictions or, in the opposite direction, remove mechanics they didn’t want to use, such as mood or the unit limit.

We didn’t have time to complete this feature for the DLC, so it isn’t part of Traits and Some Magic. But the experiment reflects the direction we were thinking about during development: we wanted to give you more reasons to change the way you normally play.

Traits do that directly during a run. Sometimes they reinforce what you’re already doing. Sometimes they ask you to take a risk. And sometimes they can force you to abandon a strategy that previously seemed universal.

That’s exactly what we wanted them to do.

Traits and Some Magic is available now for Becastled. We can’t wait to see what strategies you come up with using the new traits, Mages, and Clerics.



Becastled

Pingle Studio

☆☆☆☆☆
62

★★★★★

$24.99

Get it now

Build a castle by day and defend it by night. Becastled combines cozy city-building with thrilling tower defense strategy. Lead the Sun Kingdom in its final stand against the Moon beasts and bring an end to the ancient conflict between light and darkness!
Rule over your own fantasy realm. Build a mighty keep, lay roads, gather resources, and grow a thriving settlement that will feed and shelter your people. Keep your subjects happy with taverns and decorations, and your economy strong with markets and workshops � all to support an army ready to fight at your command.
The countdown to war begins at dawn. There's not a moment to waste. Raise walls, station archers on the battlements, and mount ballistas and trebuchets atop your towers. Shape the terrain to your advantage, crafting layered defenses to withstand any assault.
The siege horns blare at sunset. How long will your fortress endure the night?
BUILD A CASTLE BY DAY
Transform a humble village into a thriving medieval city. Build farms and markets to keep your people fed and prosperous, and secure a steady flow of wood and iron. Raise walls and watchtowers, fortify the gates, and prepare your defenses for the siege to come. Adorn the streets with decorations to lift morale before the night falls. Develop a fantasy bastion where life flourishes under the sun!
KEEP YOUR PEOPLE HAPPY
Satisfied subjects work harder and fight with greater courage. Sawmills may sour the air, but lively taverns lift every spirit. Strike the right balance between comfort and function to keep your kingdom strong through each long night.
DEFEND AGAINST A SIEGE AT NIGHT
As daylight fades, the Moon beasts grow bolder. They�ll strike with battering rams, siege towers, and raging dragons. Defy their might with layered walls and iron gates. Rain fire upon them with catapults and disciplined archers. Hold the line until dawn � no matter the cost.
TRAIN AN UNSTOPPABLE ARMY
Forge sturdy weapons and armor to ready your warriors for the siege. Advance from simple infantry to powerful siege engines � mount ballistas and trebuchets atop your towers. Archers, swordsmen, and pikemen will fight to their last breath if trained and equipped well. But if the walls fall, every villager must rise to defend their home.
SHAPE THE LAND TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
Hills, rivers, and forests are your natural defenses. Choose your keep�s location wisely � it can set you on the path to an unbreakable stronghold. But be aware, as seasons change, these allies can betray you. A river may serve as a moat in summer, only to freeze in winter and become a bridge for your enemies. Each season brings unique weather effects that affect both defense and production. To survive the winter, you�ll need to stockpile enough supplies while the sun still shines.
BUILD, DEFEND, EXPAND, REPEAT
A thriving economy powers a stronger army. Expand your domain, claim new lands, and mine precious Sunstone to build and protect your people. But beware � stretch your borders too thin, and you�ll leave your realm exposed.
As your settlement grows, you will push back the forces of the night. But will you have the strength to end the ancient war between the Sunfolk and the creatures of the Moon?

The post How More Than 40 New Traits Change Your Strategy in Becastled appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> Becastled, we noticed a problem that emerged as players became more familiar with the game. They would find a strategy that worked on almost any level, and once they did, there was much less reason to use different buildings, units, or approaches.

When we started working on the Traits and Some Magic DLC, we wanted to change that.

That’s why one of the central additions in the DLC is a system of more than 40 traits. The goal isn’t simply to make you stronger. It’s to encourage you to build your strategy around the circumstances of each individual run.



One out of Three

Every few days and after a Blood Moon, you can choose one of three traits.

They are divided into three rarities: Common, Uncommon, and Rare. After a Blood Moon, the chance of seeing rarer options increases.

The simplest traits might provide a small economic boost or increase your unit’s health. But the ones we find most interesting offer a much stronger effect in exchange for a meaningful restriction.

Master of the Bow, for example, forces you to use only archers but significantly increases their damage.

Manifest Destiny reduces mood but allows you to acquire several upcoming zones for free.

Glass Cannon reduces your unit’s health while increasing their damage.

Then the combinations start to come into play. Glass Cannon can be combined with Blood Money and Master of the Bow to create archers capable of dealing huge amounts of damage.

Another run might go in a completely different direction. You could have incredibly powerful archers but no walls at all. Or your units might end up with so much health that they become extremely difficult to kill.

What’s important to us is that players respond to what they get instead of repeating the same strategy every time.



Why not Every Bonus is Purely a Bonus

We deliberately made some traits come with trade-offs.

If every choice only provides a positive effect, then all three options are essentially correct. We thought it would be much more interesting for the player to ask: Do I really want this powerful bonus if it also means accepting a serious restriction?

Is it worth spending resources on it right now? Can my existing strategy handle the new limitation? Will I have to rethink my army?

Those are the kinds of decisions that can create memorable runs. When an unusual combination of traits works, we want you to feel that it happened because of the choices you made, rather than because you simply collected a series of automatic upgrades.

We balanced the system through internal playtests and formulas in Google Sheets. With more than 40 traits, there are plenty of possible combinations, so we had to look not only at individual values but also at what happens when different effects start working together.

• 
  
• 
  

Mages: Lots of Damage, Little Room for Error

Traits and Some Magic also adds two new unit types: Mages and Clerics. Both can be recruited from the new Mage School.

From the beginning, Mages were designed around high risk and high potential impact. They’re easy to kill, but if used correctly, they can deal a huge amount of damage. Their area damage is especially useful against groups of enemies. A well-positioned Mage can take out many opponents in only a few attacks. The trade-off is their vulnerability. Walls can be a good place to position Mages, or they can stay behind other units where enemies have a harder time reaching them.



Clerics Can Help Keep your Army Alive

Clerics are fragile too, but instead of dealing damage, they provide healing.

One of the problems we wanted to address with Clerics was the constant loss of units, particularly during boss fights. Clerics give players a way to keep units alive longer and should be particularly useful for anyone trying to complete the game without losing a single unit.

I particularly like their synergy with Swordsmen. Together, they can form a very strong line of units, but that doesn’t make your army invulnerable. Enemy archers and certain other units can kill Clerics fairly quickly if you leave them exposed. So the new unit isn’t simply another option to add to your army. Its position on the battlefield becomes part of the decision.



How we Built More Than 40 Traits with a Small Team

One of the biggest constraints during the development of Traits and Some Magic was time, as well as the number of people working on the project. Some features we initially planned for the DLC had to be postponed.

That made it important for us to build the trait system in a way that didn’t require constant programmer involvement whenever we wanted to create new content.

As a result, designers can create new traits without developers having to implement each one. This saved us a significant amount of time and allowed the team to iterate on new options and test them more quickly during internal playtests.

We also experimented with another system, part of which still exists in the project. It allowed players to select modifiers before starting a game, with no limit on how many modifiers could be active.

Players could combine conditions to create almost impossible runs with numerous restrictions or, in the opposite direction, remove mechanics they didn’t want to use, such as mood or the unit limit.

We didn’t have time to complete this feature for the DLC, so it isn’t part of Traits and Some Magic. But the experiment reflects the direction we were thinking about during development: we wanted to give you more reasons to change the way you normally play.

Traits do that directly during a run. Sometimes they reinforce what you’re already doing. Sometimes they ask you to take a risk. And sometimes they can force you to abandon a strategy that previously seemed universal.

That’s exactly what we wanted them to do.

Traits and Some Magic is available now for Becastled. We can’t wait to see what strategies you come up with using the new traits, Mages, and Clerics.



Becastled

Pingle Studio

☆☆☆☆☆
62

★★★★★

$24.99

Get it now

Build a castle by day and defend it by night. Becastled combines cozy city-building with thrilling tower defense strategy. Lead the Sun Kingdom in its final stand against the Moon beasts and bring an end to the ancient conflict between light and darkness!
Rule over your own fantasy realm. Build a mighty keep, lay roads, gather resources, and grow a thriving settlement that will feed and shelter your people. Keep your subjects happy with taverns and decorations, and your economy strong with markets and workshops � all to support an army ready to fight at your command.
The countdown to war begins at dawn. There's not a moment to waste. Raise walls, station archers on the battlements, and mount ballistas and trebuchets atop your towers. Shape the terrain to your advantage, crafting layered defenses to withstand any assault.
The siege horns blare at sunset. How long will your fortress endure the night?
BUILD A CASTLE BY DAY
Transform a humble village into a thriving medieval city. Build farms and markets to keep your people fed and prosperous, and secure a steady flow of wood and iron. Raise walls and watchtowers, fortify the gates, and prepare your defenses for the siege to come. Adorn the streets with decorations to lift morale before the night falls. Develop a fantasy bastion where life flourishes under the sun!
KEEP YOUR PEOPLE HAPPY
Satisfied subjects work harder and fight with greater courage. Sawmills may sour the air, but lively taverns lift every spirit. Strike the right balance between comfort and function to keep your kingdom strong through each long night.
DEFEND AGAINST A SIEGE AT NIGHT
As daylight fades, the Moon beasts grow bolder. They�ll strike with battering rams, siege towers, and raging dragons. Defy their might with layered walls and iron gates. Rain fire upon them with catapults and disciplined archers. Hold the line until dawn � no matter the cost.
TRAIN AN UNSTOPPABLE ARMY
Forge sturdy weapons and armor to ready your warriors for the siege. Advance from simple infantry to powerful siege engines � mount ballistas and trebuchets atop your towers. Archers, swordsmen, and pikemen will fight to their last breath if trained and equipped well. But if the walls fall, every villager must rise to defend their home.
SHAPE THE LAND TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
Hills, rivers, and forests are your natural defenses. Choose your keep�s location wisely � it can set you on the path to an unbreakable stronghold. But be aware, as seasons change, these allies can betray you. A river may serve as a moat in summer, only to freeze in winter and become a bridge for your enemies. Each season brings unique weather effects that affect both defense and production. To survive the winter, you�ll need to stockpile enough supplies while the sun still shines.
BUILD, DEFEND, EXPAND, REPEAT
A thriving economy powers a stronger army. Expand your domain, claim new lands, and mine precious Sunstone to build and protect your people. But beware � stretch your borders too thin, and you�ll leave your realm exposed.
As your settlement grows, you will push back the forces of the night. But will you have the strength to end the ancient war between the Sunfolk and the creatures of the Moon?

The post How More Than 40 New Traits Change Your Strategy in Becastled appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114181.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 15:00:00 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114181.html
The co-op climbing game PEAK, is officially out today on XBOX Series X|S. A game built on working together with your troop to traverse the various biomes on an island after a crash landing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryd_iONL_GA

PEAK is a collaboration between two studios, Aggro Crab and Landfall, together, we make Team PEAK.

Aggro Crab is an American studio based in Seattle, Washington, known for their games Another Crab’s Treasure and Going Under. Landfall is a Swedish studio based in Stockholm, known for games like Content Warning, Haste, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, Stick Fight: The Game, and many more.

Both studios became friends after meeting at a game developer conference in 2022, instantly kicking it off. After the success of Another Crab’s Treasure and Content Warning, the teams thought that it could be cool to collaborate on a small project together. This idea came to life a couple of months later as part of a game jam.

A game jam is a timed event where individuals or teams create a game from scratch within a strict deadline, often following a secret or shared theme. Initially, the theme for the game had been discussed by the devs while sitting in a hot tub in Sweden, a couple of months before heading to South Korea for the jam.

The result was PEAK, a co-op climbing game where the slightest mistake can spell your doom. You play solo or as a group of lost nature scouts, with your only hope of rescue from a mysterious island being to scale the mountain at its center.



As we say in Scoutmaster Myres’ guidebook: Never abandon a friend in need. So, we made sure that not only can you play with your fellow XBOX scouts…This release also comes with crossplay! Grab your friends to form a scout troop across multiple platforms, and get climbing to the PEAK. You’ll need to rely on your friends to have any hope of scaling the mountain, which changes every single day. Help each other up ledges, or place ropes and climbing spikes to make the way easier for those who come after.

The Mountain Takes no Prisoners! Climb through 4 biomes on your way to the PEAK, each with their own life-threatening obstacles. This release comes with ALL content updates, including additional biomes, cosmetics and features. You’ll need to scavenge for questionable food to survive, and manage your injuries carefully – every setback limits your stamina, making it harder to climb.



PEAK was developed with friendship in mind from the very beginning. Originally made from a one month game jam in South Korea, three Aggro Crab devs and four Landfall devs locked themselves in a rented apartment, fueled by Korean BBQ and coffee to make the chaotic climbing game that’s made it to XBOX Series X|S at long last. Grab your troop, Bing Bong, and we’ll see you at the PEAK.





PEAK

Evil Landfall?

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$9.99

Get it now

PEAK is a co-op climbing game where the slightest mistake can spell your doom. Either solo or as a group of lost nature scouts, your only hope of rescue from a mysterious island is to scale the mountain at its center. Do you have what it takes to reach the PEAK?

"WORK TOGETHER

Need a Hand? You’ll need to rely on your friends to have any hope of scaling the mountain, which changes each day you play. Help each other up ledges, or place ropes and climbing spikes to make the way easier for those who come after."

"CLIMB

The Mountain Takes no Prisoners! Climb through 4 biomes on your way to the PEAK, each with their own life-threatening obstacles. You’ll need to scavenge for questionable food to survive, and manage your injuries carefully – every setback limits your stamina, making it harder to climb."

"SURVIVE

Prepare For the Worst: Discover a variety of helpful survival items, from energy drinks to climbing spikes to the mysterious Anti-Rope. You’ve got no hope of making it to the PEAK unless you press every advantage given to you."

"A NEW ISLAND EACH DAY

The game's map rotates out every 24 hours! Try out the new layout each day, or give the same island multiple attempts in a day until you conquer it."

"EARN BADGES

A Well-Seasoned Scout: Show off your survival prowess with dozens of badges to earn and cosmetics to unlock."

"CLIMBING IS BETTER WITH FRIENDS

Multiplayer in PEAK is friends-only – invite up to three other scouts online to climb together, or face the mountain alone if you're really brave!"

FEATURES
Online, cross-platform co-op and offline single player
Climb with a total of 4 friends
Communicate through proximity chat 
A variety of biomes to ascend through
A bunch of questionable foods
Lots of different climbing items
Campfires and marshmallows
Character customization
Ghosts

The post The Power of PEAK Friendship, Coming to XBOX Today appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>
The co-op climbing game PEAK, is officially out today on XBOX Series X|S. A game built on working together with your troop to traverse the various biomes on an island after a crash landing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryd_iONL_GA

PEAK is a collaboration between two studios, Aggro Crab and Landfall, together, we make Team PEAK.

Aggro Crab is an American studio based in Seattle, Washington, known for their games Another Crab’s Treasure and Going Under. Landfall is a Swedish studio based in Stockholm, known for games like Content Warning, Haste, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, Stick Fight: The Game, and many more.

Both studios became friends after meeting at a game developer conference in 2022, instantly kicking it off. After the success of Another Crab’s Treasure and Content Warning, the teams thought that it could be cool to collaborate on a small project together. This idea came to life a couple of months later as part of a game jam.

A game jam is a timed event where individuals or teams create a game from scratch within a strict deadline, often following a secret or shared theme. Initially, the theme for the game had been discussed by the devs while sitting in a hot tub in Sweden, a couple of months before heading to South Korea for the jam.

The result was PEAK, a co-op climbing game where the slightest mistake can spell your doom. You play solo or as a group of lost nature scouts, with your only hope of rescue from a mysterious island being to scale the mountain at its center.



As we say in Scoutmaster Myres’ guidebook: Never abandon a friend in need. So, we made sure that not only can you play with your fellow XBOX scouts…This release also comes with crossplay! Grab your friends to form a scout troop across multiple platforms, and get climbing to the PEAK. You’ll need to rely on your friends to have any hope of scaling the mountain, which changes every single day. Help each other up ledges, or place ropes and climbing spikes to make the way easier for those who come after.

The Mountain Takes no Prisoners! Climb through 4 biomes on your way to the PEAK, each with their own life-threatening obstacles. This release comes with ALL content updates, including additional biomes, cosmetics and features. You’ll need to scavenge for questionable food to survive, and manage your injuries carefully – every setback limits your stamina, making it harder to climb.



PEAK was developed with friendship in mind from the very beginning. Originally made from a one month game jam in South Korea, three Aggro Crab devs and four Landfall devs locked themselves in a rented apartment, fueled by Korean BBQ and coffee to make the chaotic climbing game that’s made it to XBOX Series X|S at long last. Grab your troop, Bing Bong, and we’ll see you at the PEAK.





PEAK

Evil Landfall?

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$9.99

Get it now

PEAK is a co-op climbing game where the slightest mistake can spell your doom. Either solo or as a group of lost nature scouts, your only hope of rescue from a mysterious island is to scale the mountain at its center. Do you have what it takes to reach the PEAK?

"WORK TOGETHER

Need a Hand? You’ll need to rely on your friends to have any hope of scaling the mountain, which changes each day you play. Help each other up ledges, or place ropes and climbing spikes to make the way easier for those who come after."

"CLIMB

The Mountain Takes no Prisoners! Climb through 4 biomes on your way to the PEAK, each with their own life-threatening obstacles. You’ll need to scavenge for questionable food to survive, and manage your injuries carefully – every setback limits your stamina, making it harder to climb."

"SURVIVE

Prepare For the Worst: Discover a variety of helpful survival items, from energy drinks to climbing spikes to the mysterious Anti-Rope. You’ve got no hope of making it to the PEAK unless you press every advantage given to you."

"A NEW ISLAND EACH DAY

The game's map rotates out every 24 hours! Try out the new layout each day, or give the same island multiple attempts in a day until you conquer it."

"EARN BADGES

A Well-Seasoned Scout: Show off your survival prowess with dozens of badges to earn and cosmetics to unlock."

"CLIMBING IS BETTER WITH FRIENDS

Multiplayer in PEAK is friends-only – invite up to three other scouts online to climb together, or face the mountain alone if you're really brave!"

FEATURES
Online, cross-platform co-op and offline single player
Climb with a total of 4 friends
Communicate through proximity chat 
A variety of biomes to ascend through
A bunch of questionable foods
Lots of different climbing items
Campfires and marshmallows
Character customization
Ghosts

The post The Power of PEAK Friendship, Coming to XBOX Today appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114173.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:15:45 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114173.html
TRANSCRIPT

SPEAKER 1: Games in this podcast range from E to M.
[ XBOX sound ]
LINA MADRID: Hey everyone, welcome to the official XBOX podcast, the only podcast coming to you from inside XBOX.
I’m here today at Infinity Ward to cover all things Modern Warfare 4.
You excited for campaign?
Getting sweaty in multiplayer?
How about the new DMZ mode?
We’re covering everything.
All right, Ghosts, let’s roll out.
[ Music ]
Jack, Mark, welcome.
Thank you so much for being here.
MARK GRIGSBY: Thank you.
JACK O’HARA: Thanks for having us.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
MARK GRIGSBY: Welcome to the Ward Room.
LINA MADRID: Honestly, thank you for having me here.
This is such a cool room too.
We’ve got Ghost back there just watching us.
MARK GRIGSBY: Sure.
He’s always watching.
LINA MADRID: Let’s start with Infinity Ward itself.
The studio has been making Call of Duty games for — MARK GRIGSBY: Since the beginning, centuries, yes.
LINA MADRID: What do you think defines an Infinity Ward Call of Duty game?
JACK O’HARA: The people that make it, that’s what helps define it.
MARK GRIGSBY: That’s a good one, yes.
LINA MADRID: That was really good.
Ooh, I got chills.
JACK O’HARA: For us, you know, we spend a lot of time paying attention to the small details.
We spend a lot of time trying to be as authentic as possible to the subject matter for the launch of the game.
We’ve done a lot of research on Korea, the military in Korea.
We want to make sure that all of that comes through in the games we’re making.
MARK GRIGSBY: Then just the energy, just keeping the energy at a high level so everyone feels that same vision that we’re going for, the overall vibes.
LINA MADRID: Vibes need to be high.
Vibes definitely need to be high, yeah.
With Modern Warfare 4, stepping into the shoes of Private Park.
The opening mission has us in South Korea.
It looks beautiful, and we actually get a moment to kind of see the city at the peak of normalcy, which was really interesting.
I would love to know how you landed on focusing Modern Warfare 4 on the Korean peninsula for the majority of the game.
Also, what were some authentically Korean elements you really wanted to capture?
JACK O’HARA: When we started setting off to make this game, we knew we wanted to go to a fresh setting.
We wanted to go somewhere where we hadn’t been before, in order to reinvigorate a little bit Modern Warfare and go somewhere different.
Then we started talking about Asia, and then we started trying to hone in on where exactly, and then, really, we started dialing in on the fact that, you know, we’re in what’s called a Hallyu wave.
That’s the spread of Korean culture throughout the world.
It started in the ’90s with K-dramas making their way into Hong Kong and Shanghai and places like that.
Now we all eat Korean food.
We watch Korean movies.
We watch K-dramas.
We have a lot of Koreans who work here across the company in various different jobs.
We have a Slack channel that we call Korean culture where people can go in who are not Korean and say, hey, I’m making this thing.
How do I make this authentic?
I was just looking in there, and there’s two people having a conversation because, at IW, we always like to have, when the Juggernaut is there, he’s playing death metal in his ears, and so we’re, well, now we’re going to make some Korean death metal.
There’s two people having a conversation there about what the lyrics of the death metal song should be in Korean, right?
You know, looking through, there’s people discussing, are these snacks authentic?
Does this sign on the wall look authentic?
Then we started to dial in on the fact that, we’re always looking to make our games feel like they’re ripped from the headlines, which means not copied because you don’t want to feel trite, but you want it to feel like it could happen in our world, in the world that we live in today.
Korea, I remember coming across a picture from, I think it was CNN, that showed all the artillery batteries in North Korea on the border that are within range of Seoul.
It’s kind of crazy because when we talk to South Koreans, they don’t really think about it that much.
It’s this thing that’s in the background, seems unlikely, yet every able-bodied male is conscripted.
They serve in the military, and those military units are often cooperating with U.S.
troops because there’s such a huge U.S.
troop presence there.
All these things just kind of made a perfect for us for Modern Warfare.
LINA MADRID: I pointed to Ghost, who’s kind of watching us as we conduct this, but what I really found interesting throughout the campaign is you have Price and Ghost.
These are fan favorites.
We’ve been through everything together, and then there’s a really interesting juxtaposition between them, their missions, and then you have Private Park and his squad.
So how do you go about telling a cohesive story from two very distinct perspectives?
JACK O’HARA: It was definitely a challenge, and we kind of set this challenge off to start with because we were really interested in showing that fresh new perspective.
Obviously, we have to stay true to Modern Warfare and have our main characters there.
At the end of the last game, MW3, in the franchise, Price had just killed a general in the Pentagon.
It’s kind of hard to come back from that, right?
So we couldn’t just pretend that didn’t happen.
It was kind of also interesting and new to show Task Force 141 in a different light, which is Price on the run.
The squad’s been disbanded, or most of it, and so that was really interesting because it’s showing a new perspective for them.
We’re showing the new ground perspective, and then these two stories start off.
You’re not sure if they’re related, and then over the course of the campaign, you realize that these two groups are having a big impact on each other’s lives, even if they’re not fighting side by side.
LINA MADRID: You have to think of kind of the whole package, right?
With Modern Warfare 4, how do you honor these things that people from the past, you know, they love, while still managing to surprise people with this new campaign?
MARK GRIGSBY: Well, we’re fans of our characters and our stories as much as our fans out there in the wild, so we want to be true to that.
We want to make sure that we honor what we’ve created, what we love, but we also have to push, and we look at ourselves.
We go, all right, does that feel wrong?
We’re constantly asking ourselves, does that feel right?
Does that feel wrong?
Does that feel right for this character, and then we bring it back and go, all right, but what if we did this?
There’s been multiple times in the process where we were in a room constantly, you know, we’re fighting and stuff.
We don’t fight that much, but we fight.
LINA MADRID: You discuss very — MARK GRIGSBY: We discuss very, very passionately.
LINA MADRID: Passionately, yes, yeah, yeah.
MARK GRIGSBY: Someone might say something, and you’re like, oh, that’s really cool.
Then it grows into something else, and then we come back the next time, and maybe it changed again.
Somebody wanted something else, but we finally start finding those things that make us go, oh, ooh, wow, right?
LINA MADRID: Yeah, and we’re hoping that hits the public the same way.
I also went, ooh, ooh, wow, when I was playing, so yeah.
MARK GRIGSBY: Cool, cool.
LINA MADRID: One final question for you.
Imagine all the enemies in the campaign drop their weapons and give the player a moment of peace.
What would you want that player to then go run out and do, explore, maybe see a piece of the map, or maybe there’s some Easter eggs to take a look at?
MARK GRIGSBY: I mean, a lot of people have put a lot of attention, again, that attention to detail in the world that they’ve created.
A lot of people take a moment, look around before you shoot the next person.
DMZ, the DMZ level, Hajin, there’s so much detail in that map.
Whenever I’m in it, I’m running around, I’m checking things out, hoping that no one shoots me.
It would be great if no one’s in there so I could really explore all the different areas of that map.
That map is pretty badass, so — LINA MADRID: Awesome.
Well, thank you again for being here.
MARK GRIGSBY: Thank you.
JACK O’HARA: Thank you.
Of course, this is cool.
LINA MADRID: Let’s go.
Jack, Jacky, welcome, we actually had a Jack before, so now we have three Jacks that we’re interviewing.
This is great.
JACK HOPPUS: We’re everywhere.
LINA MADRID: I’m going to be collecting you all, basically.
JACKY REYNOLDS: Yeah, it’s a requirement to get hired here.
LINA MADRID: Okay.
Got it.
I played multiplayer, and my God, does it feel good.
JACK HOPPUS: You were crushing.
You were crushing.
LINA MADRID: Thank you.
We played together.
You heard it here first, but there were a couple of new mechanics that really surprised me, like the Gunny System.
How does a system like that help lend a hand to maybe a new player, but also, at the same time, reward those who branch out and experiment on their own?
JACK HOPPUS: Yeah, I mean, Gunsmith is a part of our creative class system that we’ve had for a bit, and we love the complexity and the depth that it brings to building your weapons, but sometimes you just want to go in and play.
You don’t want to sit in menus, or maybe you just unlocked a bunch of attachments for your gun, and you don’t want to, “Alt-Tab” to another website and find out what the meta build is.
Sometimes you just want to feel how good the gun is immediately, and Gunny was a tool that we used a lot internally as well.
Even amongst our more high-skill players that really love Gunsmith, hardcore players at the studio, they love Gunny because they can immediately tell the power of a weapon.
It’s been really fun to just see the random, crazy weapon builds that it’ll give you.
Sometimes you’ll get a build for quick scoping, and you play with it a bit, and you’re like, you know what, I want to change out the scope on this one, or, you know, maybe I want a new stock on this.
It’s a great launch pad for a new weapon build, but it’s also kind of good if you just want to, in the heat of the fray, you know, not sit in creative class for a long time.
You just want to immediately get a gun, so we love Gunny here at the studio.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, less reading, which is great for me.
Kill Block, we’ve got to talk about.
The shiny new mode, right, so 500 different slabs, over 500 that we designed for it.
How do you even come up with an idea like that?
Who said, “Let’s do a roulette mode with over 500 options?” JACKY REYNOLDS: One of our creative directors, Jeff Smith, who’s made a bunch of classic maps, like Vacant and Crash, he kind of had this idea — I think it was his last project — of what if we had a living map that could change every time you play it?
We got to work on all the level designers’ game, and we’re able to make all these individual pieces.
They’re, like, what if we could bring this part of a map from a classic part of the game, so you’ll see a crash slab or a high-rise slab from traditional modern warfare games.
When we stood this thing up, we found that it would work really, really great with gunfight, because every time the loadouts change, the map will also change, and so we’ve been having a ton of fun playing it on the studio, and the best part is that Kill Block is also set up to support a lot of our respawn modes, our TDMs, our Dominations, Search and Destroy.
JACK HOPPUS: Search and Destroy is so much fun on Kill Block.
It’s insane.
JACKY REYNOLDS: Kill Block is kind of a whole new way for us to think about making maps.
JACK HOPPUS: Just based off the amount of combinations we have, you can kind of get the stars aligned, and you get these crazy combos where the entire mid lane is all open, where it’s got a middle slab that has an open mid and the two ends both do, too.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACK HOPPUS: You spawn in, and you see almost them exactly about to spawn, and you’re, I’ve got sniper, am I going to try to quick scope, or do I run to the side and get a flank route?
With traditional maps that we’ve made throughout the years, you kind of get this map knowledge where you can understand, okay, here’s the flank route that I should take, or here’s the one spot where I love to snipe.
With Kill Block, because that changes every time, you get almost slab knowledge, where you’re, oh, okay, I’m on this end slab.
I’ve played this before.
I can get up on the shipping container here, and the mid now allows me to use the shipping container to snipe down here, so you can kind of build this in your brain and accumulate this knowledge in a way that, when they align in a dope way, you can feel like you’re like, oh, I’m a genius.
I’m a genius.
I can take this flank route now, and we love it at the studio.
We always find these cool new combinations that we haven’t seen yet, and we’re, like, oh, this is so sick.
Like Jacky was saying, it’s super fun to play on modes like Search and Destroy and Kill Confirmed.
It’s a real pleasure.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, and then another mode, Ground War, Combat Outpost, name as large as the map, right?
Was there any back and forth when talking about how do we appeal to people like me who like to just snipe in the open field, or the tank demons, or even the respectable people who like to rat in a corner?
JACKY REYNOLDS: Yeah, ground war, it kind of lets us do a lot of the things that we want to do, but we can’t really do in your 6v6 encounters.
We’ve got a great vehicle sandbox.
We’ve got all these great killstreaks, and we’ve got, loving being a sniper, we want to give you these long-range opportunities that you have.
Ground war has always been, like, a great way for us to do that, and this project, we wanted to take ground war to Hajin.
With Hajin, we have so many awesome places for players to check out, and so bringing that in a ground war context, it lets us leverage the map and the best parts of ground war while bringing something new with Combat Outpost.
Combat Outpost, as you’re taking these points, you can stay on them for a little bit longer to get sort of team-wide buffs.
The first one you get is a UAV.
The second one that you’ll get is a care package for your team.
Then the third one you’re going to get is a tank that drops down, and the tank is really great.
You can just run over lobbies with it.
JACK HOPPUS: Ground War provides this big infantry-style vehicular sandbox that players can play in that you can still use all your same weapons and killstreaks from our core 6v6 modes.
It’s always cool to see this big air show when people are calling in helicopters and crossfires, and people are driving cars, and you’re coordinating with your team in a way that you can go from playing our intimate 6v6 modes and then also hop over to Combat Outpost is a complete different flavor profile.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, is there anything else that maybe you haven’t been asked that you really want to talk about, nerd out about?
JACK HOPPUS: I mean, I’m just excited for players to play all of our maps.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACK HOPPUS: We’ve got a bunch of stuff that we’re stoked on for launch, and it’s been super fun playing in the studio.
I just can’t wait to be out there with the players playing right alongside them.
JACKY REYNOLDS: I’m excited for post-launch as well.
I think we’ve got a lot of really cool stuff coming right out the gate.
Like, even before Season 1, we’ve got, you know, some stuff coming around Halloween, and we’ve got stuff coming through the rest of the year, so yeah, we’re stoked.
LINA MADRID: All right.
You know, this is the Official XBOX Podcast, so what is this?
JACK HOPPUS: Oh.
That’s our XBOX Blueprint.
It’s inspired by the cool — when we were growing up, the cool plastic shell, the clear interior, where you could see the interior of the consoles and of the cartridges, too, and controllers.
It’s so sick, and the weapons seem completely cooked with this one.
It’s kind of a harkening back to this plastic shell era of hardware, and it looks sick in-game.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACKY REYNOLDS: And it’s on the M4, so you know it’s going to be good.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
Yeah, it looks beautiful.
I mean, just in time for the 25th anniversary, so we got that.
JACK HOPPUS: It’s sick, though.
When they showed us some of the early renders of it, it was like — LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACK HOPPUS: You can see the bullets in the magazine.
LINA MADRID: Yes, yes.
JACK HOPPUS: The attention to detail is next level.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, definitely.
All right.
Well, thank you so much.
JACK HOPPUS: Yeah, thank you.
JACKY REYNOLDS: Totally.
LINA MADRID: I got to play DMZ.
It was a lot of fun.
I got Sherpa’d around, kind of shown the sites, some tips and stuff, but this is the new Extraction Mode.
Could you kind of set the scene, and also, for people who already love extraction games, what sets DMZ apart?
JOE CECOT: We’ve said that it’s our action extraction shooter, right?
And when we worked on Warzone way back in the day, we looked at Battle Royale and the tension and all of that, but we wanted people to get in fights, and that’s where kind of the gulag came from.
It gave you an extra chance, so you didn’t hesitate as much to get in that initial fight.
In developing the DMZ beta and in developing DMZ, we wanted to make sure that the same thing was true.
You didn’t mind fighting AI.
You didn’t mind going into dangerous areas, right?
So we’ve leaned in really hard to make sure we’re valuing your time, and whether you live or die, you’re progressing in DMZ.
You’re getting more powerful.
You’re having more fun.
It’s kind of like our philosophy around making an extraction shooter in Call of Duty.
GEOFF SMITH: Yeah, we always try to find rough edges in anything we do and iron those out from core MP to Battle Royales to this genre, and it’s the bringing your teammates back even if they’re dead.
It’s the MIA and these different things like Joe was saying and just really helping make it more accessible but still keep the tension and the depth of some of these.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, and we’ve heard there are story missions, the dynamic ops that really add layers to that experience, but are there any other sorts of ways that you keep each extraction fresh for players?
I know I saw there was the trait tree and a few perks that could really change up your play style.
GEOFF SMITH: We meticulously worked with single player to start this whole thing off and create this inciting incident that helped inform us what happened in the world and how could we set dress this world as to where did all the people go, and why does it look like this?
We wanted something that would drive the look of the world, and so you play through parts of it in single player.
All those parts are frozen in time for you to come back to and say, oh, wow, I was walking down this restaurant street.
I took this beach and took the city back.
I went through the trenches and fought through those.
We found in this genre that exploration and discovery of just the environment is a really big element, and it just helps the map become a character.
Added with the weather system, it just creates great replayability in that and many of our other systems with the trait tree.
JOE CECOT: Yeah, what I actually want to dive in is we’ve leaned in really hard to make sure that there’s this rich sandbox, and one of our directors, John Mundy, he likes to say, in DMZ you go in with a plan; you come out with a story, and it’s kind of this idea that you have these dynamic operations and they’re meant to give you some direction.
If you feel like you need that, you have it.
There’s a mission you can go do, but as you’re traveling through the world, a convoy might roll by.
A Deathstalker might fly by through the sky.
A player might come through, and you might fight, or you might say, hey, what are you working on?
We have another designer, Roman, who is amazing, and he’s Mr.
Loot, and not only has he placed all the places where loot can spawn and all the containers and whatever, but he’s really created this storytelling aspect to where loot is, why it’s there.
When you’re playing in Core MP, that experience doesn’t go directly into DMZ.
We want to make sure to preserve that extraction shooter experience, but when you’re playing in DMZ, all experience you run there actually does progress your Core MP rank, but the cool thing is your weapon levels are one-to-one between the two.
So you can actually work on your camo grind in both.
You can level up your guns in both, and leveling up the gun actually unlocks attachments in Gunsmith.
But in DMZ, the zag is that you have to use cash, in-game cash, to actually buy that gun and to actually customize that gun, or you can find a gun on deployment, bring it back, and bring it to your Gunsmith and add attachments.
As you’re playing with guns, you’re picking up the weapons off other players or off the hostiles in the environment.
You’re actually leveling those guns, increasing the ability to customize them so that you can then build better, more powerful, higher-rarity weapons to bring back in.
LINA MADRID: Nice.
Yeah.
One final question before I let you go.
When are we going to hear more about the dog from the opening?
JOE CECOT: Oh, my God.
LINA MADRID: Because that is keeping me up at night, and that’s on you.
GEOFF SMITH: That is on us, Rex.
That is on us.
You will see Rex again.
LINA MADRID: Okay.
All right.
GEOFF SMITH: There are plans for Rex.
We’re just not going to share them yet.
LINA MADRID: Good.
Well, thank you so much for coming to the podcast today.
It was a pleasure.
JOE CECOT: We could talk about DMZ for hours.
We’re really excited for everyone to hop in and play it and then to go into live seasons and kind of let it evolve.
LINA MADRID: Awesome.
Thanks again for coming.
JOE CECOT: Thank you.
LINA MADRID: Huge thanks again to Infinity Ward for having us out to play Call of Duty all day, and you can experience it for yourselves October 23rd.
See you in the next.
[ XBOX sound ]

The post Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 w/Devs – Campaign, Multiplayer, DMZ, and More | Official XBOX Podcast appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>
TRANSCRIPT

SPEAKER 1: Games in this podcast range from E to M.
[ XBOX sound ]
LINA MADRID: Hey everyone, welcome to the official XBOX podcast, the only podcast coming to you from inside XBOX.
I’m here today at Infinity Ward to cover all things Modern Warfare 4.
You excited for campaign?
Getting sweaty in multiplayer?
How about the new DMZ mode?
We’re covering everything.
All right, Ghosts, let’s roll out.
[ Music ]
Jack, Mark, welcome.
Thank you so much for being here.
MARK GRIGSBY: Thank you.
JACK O’HARA: Thanks for having us.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
MARK GRIGSBY: Welcome to the Ward Room.
LINA MADRID: Honestly, thank you for having me here.
This is such a cool room too.
We’ve got Ghost back there just watching us.
MARK GRIGSBY: Sure.
He’s always watching.
LINA MADRID: Let’s start with Infinity Ward itself.
The studio has been making Call of Duty games for — MARK GRIGSBY: Since the beginning, centuries, yes.
LINA MADRID: What do you think defines an Infinity Ward Call of Duty game?
JACK O’HARA: The people that make it, that’s what helps define it.
MARK GRIGSBY: That’s a good one, yes.
LINA MADRID: That was really good.
Ooh, I got chills.
JACK O’HARA: For us, you know, we spend a lot of time paying attention to the small details.
We spend a lot of time trying to be as authentic as possible to the subject matter for the launch of the game.
We’ve done a lot of research on Korea, the military in Korea.
We want to make sure that all of that comes through in the games we’re making.
MARK GRIGSBY: Then just the energy, just keeping the energy at a high level so everyone feels that same vision that we’re going for, the overall vibes.
LINA MADRID: Vibes need to be high.
Vibes definitely need to be high, yeah.
With Modern Warfare 4, stepping into the shoes of Private Park.
The opening mission has us in South Korea.
It looks beautiful, and we actually get a moment to kind of see the city at the peak of normalcy, which was really interesting.
I would love to know how you landed on focusing Modern Warfare 4 on the Korean peninsula for the majority of the game.
Also, what were some authentically Korean elements you really wanted to capture?
JACK O’HARA: When we started setting off to make this game, we knew we wanted to go to a fresh setting.
We wanted to go somewhere where we hadn’t been before, in order to reinvigorate a little bit Modern Warfare and go somewhere different.
Then we started talking about Asia, and then we started trying to hone in on where exactly, and then, really, we started dialing in on the fact that, you know, we’re in what’s called a Hallyu wave.
That’s the spread of Korean culture throughout the world.
It started in the ’90s with K-dramas making their way into Hong Kong and Shanghai and places like that.
Now we all eat Korean food.
We watch Korean movies.
We watch K-dramas.
We have a lot of Koreans who work here across the company in various different jobs.
We have a Slack channel that we call Korean culture where people can go in who are not Korean and say, hey, I’m making this thing.
How do I make this authentic?
I was just looking in there, and there’s two people having a conversation because, at IW, we always like to have, when the Juggernaut is there, he’s playing death metal in his ears, and so we’re, well, now we’re going to make some Korean death metal.
There’s two people having a conversation there about what the lyrics of the death metal song should be in Korean, right?
You know, looking through, there’s people discussing, are these snacks authentic?
Does this sign on the wall look authentic?
Then we started to dial in on the fact that, we’re always looking to make our games feel like they’re ripped from the headlines, which means not copied because you don’t want to feel trite, but you want it to feel like it could happen in our world, in the world that we live in today.
Korea, I remember coming across a picture from, I think it was CNN, that showed all the artillery batteries in North Korea on the border that are within range of Seoul.
It’s kind of crazy because when we talk to South Koreans, they don’t really think about it that much.
It’s this thing that’s in the background, seems unlikely, yet every able-bodied male is conscripted.
They serve in the military, and those military units are often cooperating with U.S.
troops because there’s such a huge U.S.
troop presence there.
All these things just kind of made a perfect for us for Modern Warfare.
LINA MADRID: I pointed to Ghost, who’s kind of watching us as we conduct this, but what I really found interesting throughout the campaign is you have Price and Ghost.
These are fan favorites.
We’ve been through everything together, and then there’s a really interesting juxtaposition between them, their missions, and then you have Private Park and his squad.
So how do you go about telling a cohesive story from two very distinct perspectives?
JACK O’HARA: It was definitely a challenge, and we kind of set this challenge off to start with because we were really interested in showing that fresh new perspective.
Obviously, we have to stay true to Modern Warfare and have our main characters there.
At the end of the last game, MW3, in the franchise, Price had just killed a general in the Pentagon.
It’s kind of hard to come back from that, right?
So we couldn’t just pretend that didn’t happen.
It was kind of also interesting and new to show Task Force 141 in a different light, which is Price on the run.
The squad’s been disbanded, or most of it, and so that was really interesting because it’s showing a new perspective for them.
We’re showing the new ground perspective, and then these two stories start off.
You’re not sure if they’re related, and then over the course of the campaign, you realize that these two groups are having a big impact on each other’s lives, even if they’re not fighting side by side.
LINA MADRID: You have to think of kind of the whole package, right?
With Modern Warfare 4, how do you honor these things that people from the past, you know, they love, while still managing to surprise people with this new campaign?
MARK GRIGSBY: Well, we’re fans of our characters and our stories as much as our fans out there in the wild, so we want to be true to that.
We want to make sure that we honor what we’ve created, what we love, but we also have to push, and we look at ourselves.
We go, all right, does that feel wrong?
We’re constantly asking ourselves, does that feel right?
Does that feel wrong?
Does that feel right for this character, and then we bring it back and go, all right, but what if we did this?
There’s been multiple times in the process where we were in a room constantly, you know, we’re fighting and stuff.
We don’t fight that much, but we fight.
LINA MADRID: You discuss very — MARK GRIGSBY: We discuss very, very passionately.
LINA MADRID: Passionately, yes, yeah, yeah.
MARK GRIGSBY: Someone might say something, and you’re like, oh, that’s really cool.
Then it grows into something else, and then we come back the next time, and maybe it changed again.
Somebody wanted something else, but we finally start finding those things that make us go, oh, ooh, wow, right?
LINA MADRID: Yeah, and we’re hoping that hits the public the same way.
I also went, ooh, ooh, wow, when I was playing, so yeah.
MARK GRIGSBY: Cool, cool.
LINA MADRID: One final question for you.
Imagine all the enemies in the campaign drop their weapons and give the player a moment of peace.
What would you want that player to then go run out and do, explore, maybe see a piece of the map, or maybe there’s some Easter eggs to take a look at?
MARK GRIGSBY: I mean, a lot of people have put a lot of attention, again, that attention to detail in the world that they’ve created.
A lot of people take a moment, look around before you shoot the next person.
DMZ, the DMZ level, Hajin, there’s so much detail in that map.
Whenever I’m in it, I’m running around, I’m checking things out, hoping that no one shoots me.
It would be great if no one’s in there so I could really explore all the different areas of that map.
That map is pretty badass, so — LINA MADRID: Awesome.
Well, thank you again for being here.
MARK GRIGSBY: Thank you.
JACK O’HARA: Thank you.
Of course, this is cool.
LINA MADRID: Let’s go.
Jack, Jacky, welcome, we actually had a Jack before, so now we have three Jacks that we’re interviewing.
This is great.
JACK HOPPUS: We’re everywhere.
LINA MADRID: I’m going to be collecting you all, basically.
JACKY REYNOLDS: Yeah, it’s a requirement to get hired here.
LINA MADRID: Okay.
Got it.
I played multiplayer, and my God, does it feel good.
JACK HOPPUS: You were crushing.
You were crushing.
LINA MADRID: Thank you.
We played together.
You heard it here first, but there were a couple of new mechanics that really surprised me, like the Gunny System.
How does a system like that help lend a hand to maybe a new player, but also, at the same time, reward those who branch out and experiment on their own?
JACK HOPPUS: Yeah, I mean, Gunsmith is a part of our creative class system that we’ve had for a bit, and we love the complexity and the depth that it brings to building your weapons, but sometimes you just want to go in and play.
You don’t want to sit in menus, or maybe you just unlocked a bunch of attachments for your gun, and you don’t want to, “Alt-Tab” to another website and find out what the meta build is.
Sometimes you just want to feel how good the gun is immediately, and Gunny was a tool that we used a lot internally as well.
Even amongst our more high-skill players that really love Gunsmith, hardcore players at the studio, they love Gunny because they can immediately tell the power of a weapon.
It’s been really fun to just see the random, crazy weapon builds that it’ll give you.
Sometimes you’ll get a build for quick scoping, and you play with it a bit, and you’re like, you know what, I want to change out the scope on this one, or, you know, maybe I want a new stock on this.
It’s a great launch pad for a new weapon build, but it’s also kind of good if you just want to, in the heat of the fray, you know, not sit in creative class for a long time.
You just want to immediately get a gun, so we love Gunny here at the studio.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, less reading, which is great for me.
Kill Block, we’ve got to talk about.
The shiny new mode, right, so 500 different slabs, over 500 that we designed for it.
How do you even come up with an idea like that?
Who said, “Let’s do a roulette mode with over 500 options?” JACKY REYNOLDS: One of our creative directors, Jeff Smith, who’s made a bunch of classic maps, like Vacant and Crash, he kind of had this idea — I think it was his last project — of what if we had a living map that could change every time you play it?
We got to work on all the level designers’ game, and we’re able to make all these individual pieces.
They’re, like, what if we could bring this part of a map from a classic part of the game, so you’ll see a crash slab or a high-rise slab from traditional modern warfare games.
When we stood this thing up, we found that it would work really, really great with gunfight, because every time the loadouts change, the map will also change, and so we’ve been having a ton of fun playing it on the studio, and the best part is that Kill Block is also set up to support a lot of our respawn modes, our TDMs, our Dominations, Search and Destroy.
JACK HOPPUS: Search and Destroy is so much fun on Kill Block.
It’s insane.
JACKY REYNOLDS: Kill Block is kind of a whole new way for us to think about making maps.
JACK HOPPUS: Just based off the amount of combinations we have, you can kind of get the stars aligned, and you get these crazy combos where the entire mid lane is all open, where it’s got a middle slab that has an open mid and the two ends both do, too.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACK HOPPUS: You spawn in, and you see almost them exactly about to spawn, and you’re, I’ve got sniper, am I going to try to quick scope, or do I run to the side and get a flank route?
With traditional maps that we’ve made throughout the years, you kind of get this map knowledge where you can understand, okay, here’s the flank route that I should take, or here’s the one spot where I love to snipe.
With Kill Block, because that changes every time, you get almost slab knowledge, where you’re, oh, okay, I’m on this end slab.
I’ve played this before.
I can get up on the shipping container here, and the mid now allows me to use the shipping container to snipe down here, so you can kind of build this in your brain and accumulate this knowledge in a way that, when they align in a dope way, you can feel like you’re like, oh, I’m a genius.
I’m a genius.
I can take this flank route now, and we love it at the studio.
We always find these cool new combinations that we haven’t seen yet, and we’re, like, oh, this is so sick.
Like Jacky was saying, it’s super fun to play on modes like Search and Destroy and Kill Confirmed.
It’s a real pleasure.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, and then another mode, Ground War, Combat Outpost, name as large as the map, right?
Was there any back and forth when talking about how do we appeal to people like me who like to just snipe in the open field, or the tank demons, or even the respectable people who like to rat in a corner?
JACKY REYNOLDS: Yeah, ground war, it kind of lets us do a lot of the things that we want to do, but we can’t really do in your 6v6 encounters.
We’ve got a great vehicle sandbox.
We’ve got all these great killstreaks, and we’ve got, loving being a sniper, we want to give you these long-range opportunities that you have.
Ground war has always been, like, a great way for us to do that, and this project, we wanted to take ground war to Hajin.
With Hajin, we have so many awesome places for players to check out, and so bringing that in a ground war context, it lets us leverage the map and the best parts of ground war while bringing something new with Combat Outpost.
Combat Outpost, as you’re taking these points, you can stay on them for a little bit longer to get sort of team-wide buffs.
The first one you get is a UAV.
The second one that you’ll get is a care package for your team.
Then the third one you’re going to get is a tank that drops down, and the tank is really great.
You can just run over lobbies with it.
JACK HOPPUS: Ground War provides this big infantry-style vehicular sandbox that players can play in that you can still use all your same weapons and killstreaks from our core 6v6 modes.
It’s always cool to see this big air show when people are calling in helicopters and crossfires, and people are driving cars, and you’re coordinating with your team in a way that you can go from playing our intimate 6v6 modes and then also hop over to Combat Outpost is a complete different flavor profile.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, is there anything else that maybe you haven’t been asked that you really want to talk about, nerd out about?
JACK HOPPUS: I mean, I’m just excited for players to play all of our maps.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACK HOPPUS: We’ve got a bunch of stuff that we’re stoked on for launch, and it’s been super fun playing in the studio.
I just can’t wait to be out there with the players playing right alongside them.
JACKY REYNOLDS: I’m excited for post-launch as well.
I think we’ve got a lot of really cool stuff coming right out the gate.
Like, even before Season 1, we’ve got, you know, some stuff coming around Halloween, and we’ve got stuff coming through the rest of the year, so yeah, we’re stoked.
LINA MADRID: All right.
You know, this is the Official XBOX Podcast, so what is this?
JACK HOPPUS: Oh.
That’s our XBOX Blueprint.
It’s inspired by the cool — when we were growing up, the cool plastic shell, the clear interior, where you could see the interior of the consoles and of the cartridges, too, and controllers.
It’s so sick, and the weapons seem completely cooked with this one.
It’s kind of a harkening back to this plastic shell era of hardware, and it looks sick in-game.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACKY REYNOLDS: And it’s on the M4, so you know it’s going to be good.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
Yeah, it looks beautiful.
I mean, just in time for the 25th anniversary, so we got that.
JACK HOPPUS: It’s sick, though.
When they showed us some of the early renders of it, it was like — LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACK HOPPUS: You can see the bullets in the magazine.
LINA MADRID: Yes, yes.
JACK HOPPUS: The attention to detail is next level.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, definitely.
All right.
Well, thank you so much.
JACK HOPPUS: Yeah, thank you.
JACKY REYNOLDS: Totally.
LINA MADRID: I got to play DMZ.
It was a lot of fun.
I got Sherpa’d around, kind of shown the sites, some tips and stuff, but this is the new Extraction Mode.
Could you kind of set the scene, and also, for people who already love extraction games, what sets DMZ apart?
JOE CECOT: We’ve said that it’s our action extraction shooter, right?
And when we worked on Warzone way back in the day, we looked at Battle Royale and the tension and all of that, but we wanted people to get in fights, and that’s where kind of the gulag came from.
It gave you an extra chance, so you didn’t hesitate as much to get in that initial fight.
In developing the DMZ beta and in developing DMZ, we wanted to make sure that the same thing was true.
You didn’t mind fighting AI.
You didn’t mind going into dangerous areas, right?
So we’ve leaned in really hard to make sure we’re valuing your time, and whether you live or die, you’re progressing in DMZ.
You’re getting more powerful.
You’re having more fun.
It’s kind of like our philosophy around making an extraction shooter in Call of Duty.
GEOFF SMITH: Yeah, we always try to find rough edges in anything we do and iron those out from core MP to Battle Royales to this genre, and it’s the bringing your teammates back even if they’re dead.
It’s the MIA and these different things like Joe was saying and just really helping make it more accessible but still keep the tension and the depth of some of these.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, and we’ve heard there are story missions, the dynamic ops that really add layers to that experience, but are there any other sorts of ways that you keep each extraction fresh for players?
I know I saw there was the trait tree and a few perks that could really change up your play style.
GEOFF SMITH: We meticulously worked with single player to start this whole thing off and create this inciting incident that helped inform us what happened in the world and how could we set dress this world as to where did all the people go, and why does it look like this?
We wanted something that would drive the look of the world, and so you play through parts of it in single player.
All those parts are frozen in time for you to come back to and say, oh, wow, I was walking down this restaurant street.
I took this beach and took the city back.
I went through the trenches and fought through those.
We found in this genre that exploration and discovery of just the environment is a really big element, and it just helps the map become a character.
Added with the weather system, it just creates great replayability in that and many of our other systems with the trait tree.
JOE CECOT: Yeah, what I actually want to dive in is we’ve leaned in really hard to make sure that there’s this rich sandbox, and one of our directors, John Mundy, he likes to say, in DMZ you go in with a plan; you come out with a story, and it’s kind of this idea that you have these dynamic operations and they’re meant to give you some direction.
If you feel like you need that, you have it.
There’s a mission you can go do, but as you’re traveling through the world, a convoy might roll by.
A Deathstalker might fly by through the sky.
A player might come through, and you might fight, or you might say, hey, what are you working on?
We have another designer, Roman, who is amazing, and he’s Mr.
Loot, and not only has he placed all the places where loot can spawn and all the containers and whatever, but he’s really created this storytelling aspect to where loot is, why it’s there.
When you’re playing in Core MP, that experience doesn’t go directly into DMZ.
We want to make sure to preserve that extraction shooter experience, but when you’re playing in DMZ, all experience you run there actually does progress your Core MP rank, but the cool thing is your weapon levels are one-to-one between the two.
So you can actually work on your camo grind in both.
You can level up your guns in both, and leveling up the gun actually unlocks attachments in Gunsmith.
But in DMZ, the zag is that you have to use cash, in-game cash, to actually buy that gun and to actually customize that gun, or you can find a gun on deployment, bring it back, and bring it to your Gunsmith and add attachments.
As you’re playing with guns, you’re picking up the weapons off other players or off the hostiles in the environment.
You’re actually leveling those guns, increasing the ability to customize them so that you can then build better, more powerful, higher-rarity weapons to bring back in.
LINA MADRID: Nice.
Yeah.
One final question before I let you go.
When are we going to hear more about the dog from the opening?
JOE CECOT: Oh, my God.
LINA MADRID: Because that is keeping me up at night, and that’s on you.
GEOFF SMITH: That is on us, Rex.
That is on us.
You will see Rex again.
LINA MADRID: Okay.
All right.
GEOFF SMITH: There are plans for Rex.
We’re just not going to share them yet.
LINA MADRID: Good.
Well, thank you so much for coming to the podcast today.
It was a pleasure.
JOE CECOT: We could talk about DMZ for hours.
We’re really excited for everyone to hop in and play it and then to go into live seasons and kind of let it evolve.
LINA MADRID: Awesome.
Thanks again for coming.
JOE CECOT: Thank you.
LINA MADRID: Huge thanks again to Infinity Ward for having us out to play Call of Duty all day, and you can experience it for yourselves October 23rd.
See you in the next.
[ XBOX sound ]

The post Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 w/Devs – Campaign, Multiplayer, DMZ, and More | Official XBOX Podcast appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114165.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:00:00 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114165.html

• FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is available now on XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC. Play it on both console and PC at no extra cost with XBOX Play Anywhere. Try it for free with a demo of the full first chapter, which carries over on purchase.
  
• Adapting the story of former mobile exclusive FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS into a wholly reimagined and rebuilt console RPG experience, it’s a charming, nostalgic return to the series’ aesthetic, narrative, and mechanical roots, thoughtfully modernized.
  
• It’s also the first time Square Enix has applied its HD-2D hybrid visual style to the FINAL FANTASY series.
  

It’s 1996. I’m happily traversing via chocobo and airship a magical world full of moogles, espers, crystals and magitek. I’m dazzled by the vibrant pixel art.

It’s 2026. I’m happily traversing via chocobo and airship a magical world full of moogles, espers, crystals and magitek. I’m dazzled by the vibrant pixel art.

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is the first time that Square Enix has applied its trademarked “HD-2D” style to its flagship franchise. Like in Triangle Strategy and the Octopath Traveler games, it combines expressive 2D pixel art sprites with 3D environments, cinematic cameras, dynamic lighting, particle effects, and depth of field into a compelling, hybrid aesthetic.







Several RPGs experimented with a similar look back on the PS1 (including Square’s own Xenogears), and the HD-2D games aren’t so much a throwback as they are emissaries from a parallel universe where pixel art was never supplanted by full 3D and instead evolved. With nearly a decade of practice in the style, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE might be the best and most pushed it’s looked yet.

The story is an adaptation of FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS, a free-to-play mobile gacha RPG that ran from 2015 to 2025, but this is no simple port or visual upgrade. Developers Square Enix and LANCARSE have built and balanced the combat/progression systems and world anew on top of that original story into a fully featured, single-player, single-purchase RPG. It’s a love letter to the series and a nostalgic return to its foundational roots with a modern upgrade, much like FINAL FANTASY IX did over 26 years ago.



First Fantasy

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE follows childhood friends Rain and Lasswell, knights for the idyllic Kingdom of Grandshelt. That idyll is shattered when a mysterious, powerful, armored man attacks the castle, steals a magical relic, and destroys the sacred Earth Crystal under the kingdom’s protection, throwing everything into chaos. Joined eventually by Fina, an amnesiac spellcaster with some connection to all of this,  and a party of unique individuals each with their own reason to stop the impending chaos, they set out to stop the Sworn Six from destroying the world’s other elemental Crystals, each protected in different lands.

Beyond being a visual throwback, this back-to-roots story is a direct return to the original style of archetypal fantasy narrative that dominated the first five entries in the series before FINAL FANTASY VI (my first and still personal favorite) started to really widen the dramatic and narrative scope of their storytelling ambitions. A party of four or more heroes endeavors to save the world-infrastructural elemental Crystals from some great peril. It’s a comfortable mythopoetic space that’s still very open-ended and easy to iterate for a classic-style RPG.

Like in the classic games, the high-fantasy melodrama of the overarching plot is balanced out by a brighter tone that’s often quite lighthearted from scene to scene. This levity keeps it fun and easy to play through but also helps land the heavier emotional beats by contrast.



Everyone Line Up

In addition to returning to the series’ aesthetic and narrative roots, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is also going back to classic, menu-driven combat. It’s not even Active-Time Battles, like the series iterated from FINAL FANTASY IV on, but fully turn-based, with a timeline on top of the screen showing the upcoming action order of allies and enemies. This adds a satisfyingly strategic layer to combat as you can preemptively react to the enemy, prioritizing targets and minimizing incoming harm.

A central new combat mechanic is that every enemy has a stagger meter. Every attack available to you indicates proportionally how much damage it does to both health and stagger. When you deplete an enemy’s stagger meter, they are stunned, losing their action for the round and taking more damage. The character that staggers an enemy gets a bonus action at the end of the round, and if you stagger every surviving enemy, you trigger a “sweeping stagger,” which gives your whole team a bonus end-of-round action.

Combined with a classic framework of elemental weakness/resistance and status effects (poison, blind, silence, charm, etc.), with targeting weaknesses doing more health and stagger damage, this creates a very satisfying old-school combat flow. Characters also progress in a very traditional fashion, gaining predetermined stats and a fixed, unique list of skills and spells as they level up.



Visions of the Past

Lest you worry about a lack of customization, however, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE has it in the form of Visions. These are the echoes of past FINAL FANTASY characters who lend Rain and his allies their powers in battle. So far, I’ve seen the Warrior of Light (I), Cloud (VII), Terra (VI) and Zidane (IX), with many more left to find scattered around the world in shrines. Each of your party members can have one Vision assigned at a time, gaining access to their abilities. Triggering a sweeping stagger also allows you to unleash its special Resonance attack, complete with a full 3D summon-style cutscene.

Fighting alongside Visions increases that character’s mastery level with them, unlocking more abilities, which can then be equipped up to a fixed point limit even with a different vision equipped. The combination of a character’s base skills and their Vision’s plus any others you’ve unlocked and equipped, gives quite a bit of latitude in how you construct each character’s kit, which I found myself situationally changing as I went to match the demands of whatever dungeon I was in.

It’s the most obvious echo of the game’s gacha roots in FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS, but stripped of all randomness and monetization. What’s left is just the compelling hook of wanting to find more cool characters to play with, especially if, like me, you have a longstanding history with the games. FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is very rewarding to fans in general, at every level chock-full of clever little nods and references to across the series’ whole history, like a bard you meet off-handedly describing himself as “spoony.”



Conveniences of the Future

Like so many of the best remakes and nostalgic media, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE succeeds by capturing your memory of the originals, rose-tinted glasses and all. All sorts of thoughtful little modernizations shave off those corners and bits of friction that can make the earlier games a little bit of a slog to replay. Enemy weaknesses and resistances are shown forever once you’ve found them, making it much easier to blaze through repeat combats, which are also accelerated by variable speed and skippable summon cutscenes. You can also avoid unnecessary random battles entirely by fast traveling to any previously visited location from outside of dungeons.

All these touches add up to make a smooth experience that respects my time. It’s a charming throwback, with a satisfying and thoughtful rhythm of play that I’ve missed in modern RPGs, but in a sleek and modern package. Throw in a bit of nostalgic fan service for good measure, and I expect to be enjoying this for quite a while.

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is available now on XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC. Play it on both console and PC at no extra cost with XBOX Play Anywhere. Try it for free with a demo of the full first chapter, which carries over on purchase.





FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE Digital Deluxe Edition

SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.

☆☆☆☆☆
1

★★★★★

Get it now

Pre-order Bonus: Magitek Airship & Squire Starter Pack
This set contains an item that transforms your airship’s appearance into a magitek vessel, along with useful items to aid you at the start of your journey.

Pack Contents:
• Magitek Airship Passkey x1
• Knight’s Greatsword x1
• Chestplate of Preparation x1 (Increases EXP gained in battle by a certain amount)
• Magicite Shard x1
• Tent x3
• Mist Potion x3

*These bonuses are available only to customers who pre-order the product and are not available to customers who purchase the product after release.
*After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.
*The airship’s appearance can be changed by turning the Magitek Airship Passkey “ON” under the Items section of the main menu.

———————
This product is a bundle that includes the FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE base game along with the Magitek & Grimoire Deluxe Pack, which contains an item that transforms your chocobo's appearance into magitek armor, an item exclusive to this pack that unlocks a certain character's Fel Meteor Limit Burst, and useful items to aid you at the start of your journey.

Digital Deluxe Edition Contents:
▼ FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE Base Game
▼ Magitek & Grimoire Deluxe Pack
　 Pack Contents:
　 • Magitek Armor Key x1
　 • Archwitch’s Grimoire x1
　 • Mastery Ring x1
　 • Tent x5
　 • Mist Potion x5
　 • Mist Ether x5
　 • Phoenix Down x5
　 • Remedy x3

*After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.
*The chocobo’s appearance can be changed by turning the Magitek Armor Key “ON” under the Items section of the main menu.
*The content included in this bundle is also sold separately. Please be careful to avoid making duplicate purchases.

———————
Early Purchase Bonus: Squire Kickstart Pack
This set contains useful items to aid you at the start of your journey.

Pack Contents:
• Blessed Cuirass x1 (Increase gil obtained by a certain amount)
• Mist Ether x1

*These bonuses are available only to customers who purchase the product by November 5, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time.
*After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.





FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE

SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Pre-order Bonus: Magitek Airship & Squire Starter Pack
This set contains an item that transforms your airship’s appearance into a magitek vessel, along with useful items to aid you at the start of your journey.

Pack Contents:
• Magitek Airship Passkey x1
• Knight’s Greatsword x1
• Chestplate of Preparation x1 (Increases EXP gained in battle by a certain amount)
• Magicite Shard x1
• Tent x3
• Mist Potion x3

*These bonuses are available only to customers who pre-order the product and are not available to customers who purchase the product after release.
*After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.
*The airship’s appearance can be changed by turning the Magitek Airship Passkey “ON” under the Items section of the main menu.

———————
Return to the pixel‑art world of FINAL FANTASY, evolved from its classic roots. Travel with companions bound by fate and call on Visions to aid you in battle to uncover the truth behind a force that threatens to bring everything to ruin.

◆ Cinematic pixel art
What if FINAL FANTASY had continued to push the limits of pixel art? The first FINAL FANTASY to join the HD‑2D lineup, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE delivers a visually striking experience that feels both nostalgic and new, enhanced by dynamic camera angles and pixelized 3D models that make every moment more dramatic and immersive.

◆ A return to the familiar
A classic RPG adventure unfolds in a world filled with beloved FINAL FANTASY elements—airships, crystals, espers and moogles woven into the fabric of the story, and so much more.

◆ Strategic turn-based battles
Exploit enemy weaknesses to stagger them—breaking their defenses to seize extra turns and gain the upper hand with powerful Resonance attacks in cinematic battles shaped by smart choices.

◆ FINAL FANTASY legends
Bolster your team with Visions, echoes of beloved FINAL FANTASY characters, who fight alongside you with unique skills and abilities for deep party customization.

◆ Hours of side content to discover
The world is full of secrets, including the wandering swordmaster Gilgamesh, a Colosseum with deadly monsters and rewards to match, the Chamber of Arms with formidable foes sealed within legendary weapons, and a showdown with Ultima Weapon.
———————
Early Purchase Bonus: Squire Kickstart Pack
This set contains useful items to aid you at the start of your journey.

Pack Contents:
• Blessed Cuirass x1 (Increase gil obtained by a certain amount)
• Mist Ether x1

*These bonuses are available only to customers who purchase the product by November 5, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time.
*After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.

The post FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is a Delightful Return to the Series’ Classic Roots appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>

• FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is available now on XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC. Play it on both console and PC at no extra cost with XBOX Play Anywhere. Try it for free with a demo of the full first chapter, which carries over on purchase.
  
• Adapting the story of former mobile exclusive FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS into a wholly reimagined and rebuilt console RPG experience, it’s a charming, nostalgic return to the series’ aesthetic, narrative, and mechanical roots, thoughtfully modernized.
  
• It’s also the first time Square Enix has applied its HD-2D hybrid visual style to the FINAL FANTASY series.
  

It’s 1996. I’m happily traversing via chocobo and airship a magical world full of moogles, espers, crystals and magitek. I’m dazzled by the vibrant pixel art.

It’s 2026. I’m happily traversing via chocobo and airship a magical world full of moogles, espers, crystals and magitek. I’m dazzled by the vibrant pixel art.

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is the first time that Square Enix has applied its trademarked “HD-2D” style to its flagship franchise. Like in Triangle Strategy and the Octopath Traveler games, it combines expressive 2D pixel art sprites with 3D environments, cinematic cameras, dynamic lighting, particle effects, and depth of field into a compelling, hybrid aesthetic.







Several RPGs experimented with a similar look back on the PS1 (including Square’s own Xenogears), and the HD-2D games aren’t so much a throwback as they are emissaries from a parallel universe where pixel art was never supplanted by full 3D and instead evolved. With nearly a decade of practice in the style, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE might be the best and most pushed it’s looked yet.

The story is an adaptation of FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS, a free-to-play mobile gacha RPG that ran from 2015 to 2025, but this is no simple port or visual upgrade. Developers Square Enix and LANCARSE have built and balanced the combat/progression systems and world anew on top of that original story into a fully featured, single-player, single-purchase RPG. It’s a love letter to the series and a nostalgic return to its foundational roots with a modern upgrade, much like FINAL FANTASY IX did over 26 years ago.



First Fantasy

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE follows childhood friends Rain and Lasswell, knights for the idyllic Kingdom of Grandshelt. That idyll is shattered when a mysterious, powerful, armored man attacks the castle, steals a magical relic, and destroys the sacred Earth Crystal under the kingdom’s protection, throwing everything into chaos. Joined eventually by Fina, an amnesiac spellcaster with some connection to all of this,  and a party of unique individuals each with their own reason to stop the impending chaos, they set out to stop the Sworn Six from destroying the world’s other elemental Crystals, each protected in different lands.

Beyond being a visual throwback, this back-to-roots story is a direct return to the original style of archetypal fantasy narrative that dominated the first five entries in the series before FINAL FANTASY VI (my first and still personal favorite) started to really widen the dramatic and narrative scope of their storytelling ambitions. A party of four or more heroes endeavors to save the world-infrastructural elemental Crystals from some great peril. It’s a comfortable mythopoetic space that’s still very open-ended and easy to iterate for a classic-style RPG.

Like in the classic games, the high-fantasy melodrama of the overarching plot is balanced out by a brighter tone that’s often quite lighthearted from scene to scene. This levity keeps it fun and easy to play through but also helps land the heavier emotional beats by contrast.



Everyone Line Up

In addition to returning to the series’ aesthetic and narrative roots, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is also going back to classic, menu-driven combat. It’s not even Active-Time Battles, like the series iterated from FINAL FANTASY IV on, but fully turn-based, with a timeline on top of the screen showing the upcoming action order of allies and enemies. This adds a satisfyingly strategic layer to combat as you can preemptively react to the enemy, prioritizing targets and minimizing incoming harm.

A central new combat mechanic is that every enemy has a stagger meter. Every attack available to you indicates proportionally how much damage it does to both health and stagger. When you deplete an enemy’s stagger meter, they are stunned, losing their action for the round and taking more damage. The character that staggers an enemy gets a bonus action at the end of the round, and if you stagger every surviving enemy, you trigger a “sweeping stagger,” which gives your whole team a bonus end-of-round action.

Combined with a classic framework of elemental weakness/resistance and status effects (poison, blind, silence, charm, etc.), with targeting weaknesses doing more health and stagger damage, this creates a very satisfying old-school combat flow. Characters also progress in a very traditional fashion, gaining predetermined stats and a fixed, unique list of skills and spells as they level up.



Visions of the Past

Lest you worry about a lack of customization, however, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE has it in the form of Visions. These are the echoes of past FINAL FANTASY characters who lend Rain and his allies their powers in battle. So far, I’ve seen the Warrior of Light (I), Cloud (VII), Terra (VI) and Zidane (IX), with many more left to find scattered around the world in shrines. Each of your party members can have one Vision assigned at a time, gaining access to their abilities. Triggering a sweeping stagger also allows you to unleash its special Resonance attack, complete with a full 3D summon-style cutscene.

Fighting alongside Visions increases that character’s mastery level with them, unlocking more abilities, which can then be equipped up to a fixed point limit even with a different vision equipped. The combination of a character’s base skills and their Vision’s plus any others you’ve unlocked and equipped, gives quite a bit of latitude in how you construct each character’s kit, which I found myself situationally changing as I went to match the demands of whatever dungeon I was in.

It’s the most obvious echo of the game’s gacha roots in FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS, but stripped of all randomness and monetization. What’s left is just the compelling hook of wanting to find more cool characters to play with, especially if, like me, you have a longstanding history with the games. FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is very rewarding to fans in general, at every level chock-full of clever little nods and references to across the series’ whole history, like a bard you meet off-handedly describing himself as “spoony.”



Conveniences of the Future

Like so many of the best remakes and nostalgic media, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE succeeds by capturing your memory of the originals, rose-tinted glasses and all. All sorts of thoughtful little modernizations shave off those corners and bits of friction that can make the earlier games a little bit of a slog to replay. Enemy weaknesses and resistances are shown forever once you’ve found them, making it much easier to blaze through repeat combats, which are also accelerated by variable speed and skippable summon cutscenes. You can also avoid unnecessary random battles entirely by fast traveling to any previously visited location from outside of dungeons.

All these touches add up to make a smooth experience that respects my time. It’s a charming throwback, with a satisfying and thoughtful rhythm of play that I’ve missed in modern RPGs, but in a sleek and modern package. Throw in a bit of nostalgic fan service for good measure, and I expect to be enjoying this for quite a while.

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is available now on XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC. Play it on both console and PC at no extra cost with XBOX Play Anywhere. Try it for free with a demo of the full first chapter, which carries over on purchase.





FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE Digital Deluxe Edition

SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.

☆☆☆☆☆
1

★★★★★

Get it now

Pre-order Bonus: Magitek Airship & Squire Starter Pack
This set contains an item that transforms your airship’s appearance into a magitek vessel, along with useful items to aid you at the start of your journey.

Pack Contents:
• Magitek Airship Passkey x1
• Knight’s Greatsword x1
• Chestplate of Preparation x1 (Increases EXP gained in battle by a certain amount)
• Magicite Shard x1
• Tent x3
• Mist Potion x3

*These bonuses are available only to customers who pre-order the product and are not available to customers who purchase the product after release.
*After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.
*The airship’s appearance can be changed by turning the Magitek Airship Passkey “ON” under the Items section of the main menu.

———————
This product is a bundle that includes the FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE base game along with the Magitek & Grimoire Deluxe Pack, which contains an item that transforms your chocobo's appearance into magitek armor, an item exclusive to this pack that unlocks a certain character's Fel Meteor Limit Burst, and useful items to aid you at the start of your journey.

Digital Deluxe Edition Contents:
▼ FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE Base Game
▼ Magitek & Grimoire Deluxe Pack
　 Pack Contents:
　 • Magitek Armor Key x1
　 • Archwitch’s Grimoire x1
　 • Mastery Ring x1
　 • Tent x5
　 • Mist Potion x5
　 • Mist Ether x5
　 • Phoenix Down x5
　 • Remedy x3

*After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.
*The chocobo’s appearance can be changed by turning the Magitek Armor Key “ON” under the Items section of the main menu.
*The content included in this bundle is also sold separately. Please be careful to avoid making duplicate purchases.

———————
Early Purchase Bonus: Squire Kickstart Pack
This set contains useful items to aid you at the start of your journey.

Pack Contents:
• Blessed Cuirass x1 (Increase gil obtained by a certain amount)
• Mist Ether x1

*These bonuses are available only to customers who purchase the product by November 5, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time.
*After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.





FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE

SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Pre-order Bonus: Magitek Airship & Squire Starter Pack
This set contains an item that transforms your airship’s appearance into a magitek vessel, along with useful items to aid you at the start of your journey.

Pack Contents:
• Magitek Airship Passkey x1
• Knight’s Greatsword x1
• Chestplate of Preparation x1 (Increases EXP gained in battle by a certain amount)
• Magicite Shard x1
• Tent x3
• Mist Potion x3

*These bonuses are available only to customers who pre-order the product and are not available to customers who purchase the product after release.
*After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.
*The airship’s appearance can be changed by turning the Magitek Airship Passkey “ON” under the Items section of the main menu.

———————
Return to the pixel‑art world of FINAL FANTASY, evolved from its classic roots. Travel with companions bound by fate and call on Visions to aid you in battle to uncover the truth behind a force that threatens to bring everything to ruin.

◆ Cinematic pixel art
What if FINAL FANTASY had continued to push the limits of pixel art? The first FINAL FANTASY to join the HD‑2D lineup, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE delivers a visually striking experience that feels both nostalgic and new, enhanced by dynamic camera angles and pixelized 3D models that make every moment more dramatic and immersive.

◆ A return to the familiar
A classic RPG adventure unfolds in a world filled with beloved FINAL FANTASY elements—airships, crystals, espers and moogles woven into the fabric of the story, and so much more.

◆ Strategic turn-based battles
Exploit enemy weaknesses to stagger them—breaking their defenses to seize extra turns and gain the upper hand with powerful Resonance attacks in cinematic battles shaped by smart choices.

◆ FINAL FANTASY legends
Bolster your team with Visions, echoes of beloved FINAL FANTASY characters, who fight alongside you with unique skills and abilities for deep party customization.

◆ Hours of side content to discover
The world is full of secrets, including the wandering swordmaster Gilgamesh, a Colosseum with deadly monsters and rewards to match, the Chamber of Arms with formidable foes sealed within legendary weapons, and a showdown with Ultima Weapon.
———————
Early Purchase Bonus: Squire Kickstart Pack
This set contains useful items to aid you at the start of your journey.

Pack Contents:
• Blessed Cuirass x1 (Increase gil obtained by a certain amount)
• Mist Ether x1

*These bonuses are available only to customers who purchase the product by November 5, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time.
*After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.

The post FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is a Delightful Return to the Series’ Classic Roots appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114157.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:00:00 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114157.html Dying Light 2: Stay Human – Reloaded Edition, Let’s Build a Zoo, and Tropico 6 are available this weekend for XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members to play from Thursday, October 22 until Sunday, October 25.

Both Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin are free for all XBOX players to try with a three-hour timed trial (XBOX Game Pass Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential membership not required). 

Riders Republic is free for all XBOX members to try from October 22 until October 26 (XBOX Game Pass Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential membership not required).

How to Start Playing

Scroll down and find and install the games on each of the individual game details page on XBOX.com. Clicking through will send you to the Microsoft Store, where you must be signed in to see the option to install with your XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential membership. To download on console, click on the Subscriptions tab in the XBOX Store and navigate down to the Free Play Days collection on your XBOX One and XBOX Series X|S.

Keep the Fun Going

Purchase the game and other editions at a limited time discount and continue playing while keeping your Gamerscore and achievements earned during the event! Please note that discounts, percentages, and title availability may vary by title and region.

Free Play Days (Game Pass Membership Required)

Dying Light 2: Stay Human – Reloaded Edition
Fifteen years after the virus won, civilization has fallen back into the Dark Ages. Explore one of the last standing cities, shape it with your choices, and face the consequences as you decide its fate.

Want to stay in the City a little longer? Dying Light 2: Stay Human is available now at 80% off for a limited time.



Dying Light 2: Stay Human – Reloaded Edition

Techland

☆☆☆☆☆
9854

★★★★★

$59.99

$11.99

Get it now

Let’s Build a Zoo
It’s time to build a zoo! Let out your wild side, and create your own animal empire with this cute, expansive management sim. Import and breed rare creatures, hire the right staff, keep your visitors happy, and deal with plenty of weird and wonderful events. Then try your hand at DNA Splicing, and stitch together over 300,000 different types of animal, ranging from the majestic Giraffephant to the peaceful PandOwl! You can grab the full game, plus DLCs, Dinosaur Island and Aquarium Odyssey, for up to 65% off too!





Let's Build a Zoo

No More Robots

☆☆☆☆☆
204

★★★★★

$19.99

$6.99

Get it now

Tropico 6
Ahead of the highly anticipated launch of Tropico 7 on January 28, El Prez invites you to visit its beloved predecessor, Tropico 6!

For the first time in the series’ history, experience archipelagos of islands, connected by bridges, tunnels, cable cars, and whatever else the magical mind of El Presidente can conceive. Play Tropico 6 for free from October 22 until October 25 and enjoy a 75% discount on the base game and up to 60% discount on its DLC until November 2.



Tropico 6

Kalypso Media

☆☆☆☆☆
3186

★★★★★

$39.99

$9.99

Get it now

Xbox One X Enhanced

Free Trial

Free Play Days For All

Monster Hunter Stories
Blending turn-based RPG action and deep storytelling, you’ll become a hero known as a Monster Rider, where you will live alongside monsters and form lifelong bonds with them. Things take a dark turn as a calamity known as the Black Blight appears, threatening the entire world and upending peaceful lives that were taken for granted… Both Riders and Hunters alike will be put to the test in order to challenge this threat.



Monster Hunter Stories

CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

☆☆☆☆☆
77

★★★★★

$29.99

$9.89

Get it now

Free Trial

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
A new adventure awaits you in this second installment of the turn-based RPG series set in the world of Monster Hunter! Assuming the role of a young Monster Rider who can use a Kinship Stone to form strong bonds with monsters, players can gain experience and improve their skills to form deeper connections with these wonderful creatures. “When the wings unfurl, disaster will befall the land.” Your life will never be the same after your fateful encounter with the legendary Rathalos.



Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

☆☆☆☆☆
58

★★★★★

$39.99

$9.99

Get it now

Free Trial

Riders Republic
Jump into an extreme sports multiplayer open-world across America’s National Parks. From bike races to snow parks and many more sports including skates and dirt bikes, your journey starts now! Celebrate Riders Republic’s 5th Anniversary with exclusive Ubisoft-themed rewards, a special concert featuring DJ Henri PFR, and more. It all kicks off with a free weekend October 22 to October 26.



Riders Republic



UBISOFT

☆☆☆☆☆
1

★★★★★

Get it now

PC Game Pass

Ultimate Game Pass

Don’t miss out on these exciting Free Play Days for XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members! Learn more about Free Play Days here and stay tuned to XBOX Wire to find out about future Free Play Days and all the latest XBOX gaming news. 

The post Free Play Days – Dying Light 2, Riders Republic, Monster Hunter Stories, Let’s Build a Zoo, and More appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> Dying Light 2: Stay Human – Reloaded Edition, Let’s Build a Zoo, and Tropico 6 are available this weekend for XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members to play from Thursday, October 22 until Sunday, October 25.

Both Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin are free for all XBOX players to try with a three-hour timed trial (XBOX Game Pass Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential membership not required). 

Riders Republic is free for all XBOX members to try from October 22 until October 26 (XBOX Game Pass Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential membership not required).

How to Start Playing

Scroll down and find and install the games on each of the individual game details page on XBOX.com. Clicking through will send you to the Microsoft Store, where you must be signed in to see the option to install with your XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential membership. To download on console, click on the Subscriptions tab in the XBOX Store and navigate down to the Free Play Days collection on your XBOX One and XBOX Series X|S.

Keep the Fun Going

Purchase the game and other editions at a limited time discount and continue playing while keeping your Gamerscore and achievements earned during the event! Please note that discounts, percentages, and title availability may vary by title and region.

Free Play Days (Game Pass Membership Required)

Dying Light 2: Stay Human – Reloaded Edition
Fifteen years after the virus won, civilization has fallen back into the Dark Ages. Explore one of the last standing cities, shape it with your choices, and face the consequences as you decide its fate.

Want to stay in the City a little longer? Dying Light 2: Stay Human is available now at 80% off for a limited time.



Dying Light 2: Stay Human – Reloaded Edition

Techland

☆☆☆☆☆
9854

★★★★★

$59.99

$11.99

Get it now

Let’s Build a Zoo
It’s time to build a zoo! Let out your wild side, and create your own animal empire with this cute, expansive management sim. Import and breed rare creatures, hire the right staff, keep your visitors happy, and deal with plenty of weird and wonderful events. Then try your hand at DNA Splicing, and stitch together over 300,000 different types of animal, ranging from the majestic Giraffephant to the peaceful PandOwl! You can grab the full game, plus DLCs, Dinosaur Island and Aquarium Odyssey, for up to 65% off too!





Let's Build a Zoo

No More Robots

☆☆☆☆☆
204

★★★★★

$19.99

$6.99

Get it now

Tropico 6
Ahead of the highly anticipated launch of Tropico 7 on January 28, El Prez invites you to visit its beloved predecessor, Tropico 6!

For the first time in the series’ history, experience archipelagos of islands, connected by bridges, tunnels, cable cars, and whatever else the magical mind of El Presidente can conceive. Play Tropico 6 for free from October 22 until October 25 and enjoy a 75% discount on the base game and up to 60% discount on its DLC until November 2.



Tropico 6

Kalypso Media

☆☆☆☆☆
3186

★★★★★

$39.99

$9.99

Get it now

Xbox One X Enhanced

Free Trial

Free Play Days For All

Monster Hunter Stories
Blending turn-based RPG action and deep storytelling, you’ll become a hero known as a Monster Rider, where you will live alongside monsters and form lifelong bonds with them. Things take a dark turn as a calamity known as the Black Blight appears, threatening the entire world and upending peaceful lives that were taken for granted… Both Riders and Hunters alike will be put to the test in order to challenge this threat.



Monster Hunter Stories

CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

☆☆☆☆☆
77

★★★★★

$29.99

$9.89

Get it now

Free Trial

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
A new adventure awaits you in this second installment of the turn-based RPG series set in the world of Monster Hunter! Assuming the role of a young Monster Rider who can use a Kinship Stone to form strong bonds with monsters, players can gain experience and improve their skills to form deeper connections with these wonderful creatures. “When the wings unfurl, disaster will befall the land.” Your life will never be the same after your fateful encounter with the legendary Rathalos.



Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

☆☆☆☆☆
58

★★★★★

$39.99

$9.99

Get it now

Free Trial

Riders Republic
Jump into an extreme sports multiplayer open-world across America’s National Parks. From bike races to snow parks and many more sports including skates and dirt bikes, your journey starts now! Celebrate Riders Republic’s 5th Anniversary with exclusive Ubisoft-themed rewards, a special concert featuring DJ Henri PFR, and more. It all kicks off with a free weekend October 22 to October 26.



Riders Republic



UBISOFT

☆☆☆☆☆
1

★★★★★

Get it now

PC Game Pass

Ultimate Game Pass

Don’t miss out on these exciting Free Play Days for XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members! Learn more about Free Play Days here and stay tuned to XBOX Wire to find out about future Free Play Days and all the latest XBOX gaming news. 

The post Free Play Days – Dying Light 2, Riders Republic, Monster Hunter Stories, Let’s Build a Zoo, and More appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114147.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:00:00 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114147.html

• The free Edgerunners 2 Update to Cyberpunk 2077 is available now.
  
• It includes content inspired by “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2”, the second installment of the hit anime series now streaming on Netflix, along with dual wielding, more customization options, cross-platform mod support, and more.
  
• Cyberpunk 2077 now supports XBOX Play Anywhere, with one purchase enabling play on both XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC, and your saves transferring seamlessly between the two.
  

“Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2” premiered on Netflix on October 20, bringing a whole new cast of characters to Night City for a dark, gritty ride. And now we’re bringing a little piece of that story into Cyberpunk 2077, too! The free Edgerunners 2 Update is here, with content inspired by the anime, new ways to fight, more customization options, and plenty of other additions.

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get into it. And don’t worry if you haven’t watched the new anime yet  — no “Edgerunners 2” spoilers ahead!



Step Into an Edgerunners 2 Story

One of the things we love about Night City is that there’s always another story unfolding somewhere. V may be central to the events of Cyberpunk 2077, but they’re hardly the only merc in town, fighting to survive and make a name for themselves on those neon-soaked streets. Every fixer has clients, every crew has gigs to take care of, every Night City merc has their story — and sometimes, those stories collide in unexpected ways.

That’s exactly what happens in the brand-new quest introduced with the “Edgerunners 2” Update. What begins as just another gig from Wakako turns into an action-packed, high-stakes mission that sees V cross paths with Weak Kingsley, a famed Night City merc and one of the main characters of “Edgerunners 2.” We won’t spoil what happens, but during the course of this mission, V has a chance to assist Weak and his crew during a risky gig that takes place in a brand-new location: Night City Prison.

The new “Edgerunners 2” gig is more than a chance to encounter characters from the anime in the game — it serves as a prequel to the events of the series. So, play the quest before watching the anime, and you’ll have a little extra context going into Episode 1. Already seen the show? Then with this gig, you’ll get to revisit part of Weak’s story with a broader perspective of him and his crew.

And there’s even more forEdgerunnersfans in this update. For starters, you can find and equip Weak’s full outfit — vest, glasses, coat, pants, the works — and get your hands on his signature revolver, Coronation. We’ve also added a new radio station, HKGN 102.FM, featuring official tracks from both “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners” and “Edgerunners 2.” So if you’re planning to spend a few more hours cruising around Night City after watching the show, we’ve got your soundtrack covered.



Pack Twice the Heat with Dual Wielding

What’s better than blasting your way through a warehouse full of gangoons with a revolver, dealing one headshot after another? Doing it with two revolvers, obviously.

That’s right — dual wielding is here! With the Edgerunners 2 Update, you can raise hell with a pistol or revolver in each hand. That’s a whole new vibe — and a whole new level of awesome.

But dual wielding isn’t just about looking cool. It brings a new playstyle and a fresh way to approach combat — in fact, it’s one of the most significant gameplay additions to the game’s combat since Update 2.0 introduced throwing knives. So if you’ve been looking for an excuse to shake up your fighting style, this might just be it.

Jackie would be proud.



Chrome Out Your… Chrome

Cyberware enhances your stats and abilities — but what if it could take your style to the next level, too? That’s where glamdocs come in. These new vendors let you customize the appearance of your cyberware, with 40 styles in different colors to choose from. Fancy a new look for your chrome? Pay them a visit at one (or all) of the five locations across Night City and see what catches your eye.

In a city that lives and dies by appearances, V really can’t afford to pass up any opportunity to shake up their look. On top of cyberware customization, we’ve also added 20 new hairstyles and several clothing sets to give your V the best chance of standing out, even in Night City.

Slot in Some Mods

We know how creative the Cyberpunk 2077 community can be, and we’re always curious to see what players come up with. That’s why we’re introducing cross-platform mod support through mod.io integration.

The update adds a Mods panel where you can browse and install supported community-created content directly in the game. It’s a new way to experiment with your experience, and we’re looking forward to seeing how it develops as more mods become available and receive support over time!



Keep Exploring

We’ve covered some of the bigger additions, but there’s still plenty to find in the Edgerunners 2 Update.

If you’re the sort of player who likes to poke around every corner of Night City, we’ve got a few things for you. There are 12 new minor arcana tarot cards to track down, and Night City Tours offer a closer look at the city’s history, narrated by none other than its late founder, Richard Night. You’ll also find fun facts, quotes, and insights at various landmarks around the city. Turns out there’s still plenty to learn about a place, even after spending hundreds of hours in it.

We’ve also made a couple of changes that should make life a little easier. V’s item stash now has filters, so finding that one piece of gear buried among everything you’ve collected should be less of a chore. We’ve also introduced separate save libraries for each V, making it easier to keep your different playthroughs organized.

And don’t forget Photo Mode! There are new dual-wielding poses waiting for you there, along with frames inspired by Cyberpunk TCG that let you create your own card art. Seems like a good excuse to get some shots of your new look, doesn’t it?

See You in Night City!

That’s a lot of new stuff to try out, and we’re looking forward to hearing what you think. The Edgerunners 2 Update is out now, so you can jack in straight away and check it out for yourself!

One more thing before you go: Cyberpunk 2077 is now available with XBOX Play Anywhere! A single digital purchase lets you play on both XBOX consoles and Windows PC, with your progress carrying over between platforms. Handy if you’ve got gigs to finish and more than one place to play.

That’s it from us. Grab your gear, fire up the game, and we’ll see you in Night City!





Cyberpunk 2077

CD PROJEKT RED

☆☆☆☆☆
20320

★★★★★

$59.99

$17.99

Get it now

Xbox One X Enhanced

IMPORTANT: While Cyberpunk 2077 base game is available on Xbox One, this version of the game received its last patch on November 8th, 2022 and is no longer supported. An Xbox Series X|S console is required in order to download and apply Cyberpunk 2077 patches released after that date — as well as to buy and play the Phantom Liberty expansion pack.

Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure RPG set in the megalopolis of Night City, where you play as a cyberpunk mercenary wrapped up in a do-or-die fight for survival. Improved and featuring all-new free additional content, customize your character and playstyle as you take on jobs, build a reputation, and unlock upgrades. The relationships you forge and the choices you make will shape the story and the world around you. Legends are made here. What will yours be?

CUSTOMIZE YOUR CYBERPUNK WITH UPDATE 2.2!
Express yourself with free Update 2.2! Customize your character with new variants of cosmetic cyberware, tattoos, and makeup. Take your ride to the next level with Rayfield’s exclusive CrystalCoat technology, letting you swap colors on luxury and sports cars. Plus, dive into the enhanced photo mode to capture every moment in stunning detail.

CREATE YOUR OWN CYBERPUNK
Become an urban outlaw equipped with cybernetic enhancements and build your legend on the streets of Night City.

EXPLORE THE CITY OF THE FUTURE
Night City is packed to the brim with things to do, places to see, and people to meet. And it’s up to you where to go, when to go, and how to get there.

BUILD YOUR LEGEND
Go on daring adventures and build relationships with unforgettable characters whose fates are shaped by the choices you make.

CLAIM EXCLUSIVE ITEMS
Claim in-game swag & digital goodies inspired by CD PROJEKT RED games as part of the My Rewards program.

The post From the Anime to the Game — Free Update Brings Edgerunners 2 Content and More to Cyberpunk 2077! appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>

• The free Edgerunners 2 Update to Cyberpunk 2077 is available now.
  
• It includes content inspired by “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2”, the second installment of the hit anime series now streaming on Netflix, along with dual wielding, more customization options, cross-platform mod support, and more.
  
• Cyberpunk 2077 now supports XBOX Play Anywhere, with one purchase enabling play on both XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC, and your saves transferring seamlessly between the two.
  

“Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2” premiered on Netflix on October 20, bringing a whole new cast of characters to Night City for a dark, gritty ride. And now we’re bringing a little piece of that story into Cyberpunk 2077, too! The free Edgerunners 2 Update is here, with content inspired by the anime, new ways to fight, more customization options, and plenty of other additions.

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get into it. And don’t worry if you haven’t watched the new anime yet  — no “Edgerunners 2” spoilers ahead!



Step Into an Edgerunners 2 Story

One of the things we love about Night City is that there’s always another story unfolding somewhere. V may be central to the events of Cyberpunk 2077, but they’re hardly the only merc in town, fighting to survive and make a name for themselves on those neon-soaked streets. Every fixer has clients, every crew has gigs to take care of, every Night City merc has their story — and sometimes, those stories collide in unexpected ways.

That’s exactly what happens in the brand-new quest introduced with the “Edgerunners 2” Update. What begins as just another gig from Wakako turns into an action-packed, high-stakes mission that sees V cross paths with Weak Kingsley, a famed Night City merc and one of the main characters of “Edgerunners 2.” We won’t spoil what happens, but during the course of this mission, V has a chance to assist Weak and his crew during a risky gig that takes place in a brand-new location: Night City Prison.

The new “Edgerunners 2” gig is more than a chance to encounter characters from the anime in the game — it serves as a prequel to the events of the series. So, play the quest before watching the anime, and you’ll have a little extra context going into Episode 1. Already seen the show? Then with this gig, you’ll get to revisit part of Weak’s story with a broader perspective of him and his crew.

And there’s even more forEdgerunnersfans in this update. For starters, you can find and equip Weak’s full outfit — vest, glasses, coat, pants, the works — and get your hands on his signature revolver, Coronation. We’ve also added a new radio station, HKGN 102.FM, featuring official tracks from both “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners” and “Edgerunners 2.” So if you’re planning to spend a few more hours cruising around Night City after watching the show, we’ve got your soundtrack covered.



Pack Twice the Heat with Dual Wielding

What’s better than blasting your way through a warehouse full of gangoons with a revolver, dealing one headshot after another? Doing it with two revolvers, obviously.

That’s right — dual wielding is here! With the Edgerunners 2 Update, you can raise hell with a pistol or revolver in each hand. That’s a whole new vibe — and a whole new level of awesome.

But dual wielding isn’t just about looking cool. It brings a new playstyle and a fresh way to approach combat — in fact, it’s one of the most significant gameplay additions to the game’s combat since Update 2.0 introduced throwing knives. So if you’ve been looking for an excuse to shake up your fighting style, this might just be it.

Jackie would be proud.



Chrome Out Your… Chrome

Cyberware enhances your stats and abilities — but what if it could take your style to the next level, too? That’s where glamdocs come in. These new vendors let you customize the appearance of your cyberware, with 40 styles in different colors to choose from. Fancy a new look for your chrome? Pay them a visit at one (or all) of the five locations across Night City and see what catches your eye.

In a city that lives and dies by appearances, V really can’t afford to pass up any opportunity to shake up their look. On top of cyberware customization, we’ve also added 20 new hairstyles and several clothing sets to give your V the best chance of standing out, even in Night City.

Slot in Some Mods

We know how creative the Cyberpunk 2077 community can be, and we’re always curious to see what players come up with. That’s why we’re introducing cross-platform mod support through mod.io integration.

The update adds a Mods panel where you can browse and install supported community-created content directly in the game. It’s a new way to experiment with your experience, and we’re looking forward to seeing how it develops as more mods become available and receive support over time!



Keep Exploring

We’ve covered some of the bigger additions, but there’s still plenty to find in the Edgerunners 2 Update.

If you’re the sort of player who likes to poke around every corner of Night City, we’ve got a few things for you. There are 12 new minor arcana tarot cards to track down, and Night City Tours offer a closer look at the city’s history, narrated by none other than its late founder, Richard Night. You’ll also find fun facts, quotes, and insights at various landmarks around the city. Turns out there’s still plenty to learn about a place, even after spending hundreds of hours in it.

We’ve also made a couple of changes that should make life a little easier. V’s item stash now has filters, so finding that one piece of gear buried among everything you’ve collected should be less of a chore. We’ve also introduced separate save libraries for each V, making it easier to keep your different playthroughs organized.

And don’t forget Photo Mode! There are new dual-wielding poses waiting for you there, along with frames inspired by Cyberpunk TCG that let you create your own card art. Seems like a good excuse to get some shots of your new look, doesn’t it?

See You in Night City!

That’s a lot of new stuff to try out, and we’re looking forward to hearing what you think. The Edgerunners 2 Update is out now, so you can jack in straight away and check it out for yourself!

One more thing before you go: Cyberpunk 2077 is now available with XBOX Play Anywhere! A single digital purchase lets you play on both XBOX consoles and Windows PC, with your progress carrying over between platforms. Handy if you’ve got gigs to finish and more than one place to play.

That’s it from us. Grab your gear, fire up the game, and we’ll see you in Night City!





Cyberpunk 2077

CD PROJEKT RED

☆☆☆☆☆
20320

★★★★★

$59.99

$17.99

Get it now

Xbox One X Enhanced

IMPORTANT: While Cyberpunk 2077 base game is available on Xbox One, this version of the game received its last patch on November 8th, 2022 and is no longer supported. An Xbox Series X|S console is required in order to download and apply Cyberpunk 2077 patches released after that date — as well as to buy and play the Phantom Liberty expansion pack.

Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure RPG set in the megalopolis of Night City, where you play as a cyberpunk mercenary wrapped up in a do-or-die fight for survival. Improved and featuring all-new free additional content, customize your character and playstyle as you take on jobs, build a reputation, and unlock upgrades. The relationships you forge and the choices you make will shape the story and the world around you. Legends are made here. What will yours be?

CUSTOMIZE YOUR CYBERPUNK WITH UPDATE 2.2!
Express yourself with free Update 2.2! Customize your character with new variants of cosmetic cyberware, tattoos, and makeup. Take your ride to the next level with Rayfield’s exclusive CrystalCoat technology, letting you swap colors on luxury and sports cars. Plus, dive into the enhanced photo mode to capture every moment in stunning detail.

CREATE YOUR OWN CYBERPUNK
Become an urban outlaw equipped with cybernetic enhancements and build your legend on the streets of Night City.

EXPLORE THE CITY OF THE FUTURE
Night City is packed to the brim with things to do, places to see, and people to meet. And it’s up to you where to go, when to go, and how to get there.

BUILD YOUR LEGEND
Go on daring adventures and build relationships with unforgettable characters whose fates are shaped by the choices you make.

CLAIM EXCLUSIVE ITEMS
Claim in-game swag & digital goodies inspired by CD PROJEKT RED games as part of the My Rewards program.

The post From the Anime to the Game — Free Update Brings Edgerunners 2 Content and More to Cyberpunk 2077! appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114137.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:03 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114137.html
This preview gives XBOX Insiders who do not have an active Game Pass subscription an early look at the new option before it rolls out more broadly in November. During the preview, XBOX Insiders can purchase cloud playtime, stream games on supported devices, and share feedback to help us continue improving the experience.

Cloud playtime is available to Insiders at introductory launch pricing:

• 10hrs for $3.99
  
  

• 25hrs for $7.99
  
  

• 50hrs for $11.99
  
  

Cloud playtime packs provide an ad-free cloud gaming experience, including shorter wait times, high-quality streaming, and playtime that remains available until it’s used.

As we previously shared, XBOX Insiders can also try cloud gaming for free with ads, giving players another option for accessing cloud gaming without a Game Pass subscription.

Thanks to all the XBOX Insiders who participate and share feedback as we continue testing more ways to play with XBOX Cloud Gaming.

[i]*Availability, purchasing options, eligible games, and cloud gaming features may vary by market, device, account eligibility, and preview ring. Requires cloud playable game purchase or for select-games, free-to-play access. Requires supported device.[/i]

How to Get XBOX Insider Support and Share Your Feedback

Thanks to XBOX Insiders for all of the feedback. You can also visit aka.ms/XBOXplayervoice to share what you think.

If you’re an XBOX Insider looking for support, please join our community on the XBOX Insider subreddit. Official XBOX staff, moderators, and fellow XBOX Insiders are there to help. We recommend adding to threads with the same topic before posting a brand new one. This helps us support you the best we can!

If you aren’t part of the XBOX Insider Program yet and want to help create the future of XBOX and get early access to new features, join the Program today by downloading the XBOX Insider Hub for XBOX Series X|S & XBOX One or Windows PC. For more information on the XBOX Insider Program, follow us on X at @XBOXInsider and keep an eye on this blog for all the latest news.

Other resources:

• Get the XBOX Insider Hub app
  
  
• XBOX Insider FAQ
  
  
• How to provide feedback as an XBOX Insider
  
  

For more information: follow us on X at @XboxInsider and this blog for announcements and more. And feel free to interact with the community on the XBOX Insider SubReddit.

The post Cloud Playtime Now Available to Test with XBOX Insiders appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>
This preview gives XBOX Insiders who do not have an active Game Pass subscription an early look at the new option before it rolls out more broadly in November. During the preview, XBOX Insiders can purchase cloud playtime, stream games on supported devices, and share feedback to help us continue improving the experience.

Cloud playtime is available to Insiders at introductory launch pricing:

• 10hrs for $3.99
  
  

• 25hrs for $7.99
  
  

• 50hrs for $11.99
  
  

Cloud playtime packs provide an ad-free cloud gaming experience, including shorter wait times, high-quality streaming, and playtime that remains available until it’s used.

As we previously shared, XBOX Insiders can also try cloud gaming for free with ads, giving players another option for accessing cloud gaming without a Game Pass subscription.

Thanks to all the XBOX Insiders who participate and share feedback as we continue testing more ways to play with XBOX Cloud Gaming.

[i]*Availability, purchasing options, eligible games, and cloud gaming features may vary by market, device, account eligibility, and preview ring. Requires cloud playable game purchase or for select-games, free-to-play access. Requires supported device.[/i]

How to Get XBOX Insider Support and Share Your Feedback

Thanks to XBOX Insiders for all of the feedback. You can also visit aka.ms/XBOXplayervoice to share what you think.

If you’re an XBOX Insider looking for support, please join our community on the XBOX Insider subreddit. Official XBOX staff, moderators, and fellow XBOX Insiders are there to help. We recommend adding to threads with the same topic before posting a brand new one. This helps us support you the best we can!

If you aren’t part of the XBOX Insider Program yet and want to help create the future of XBOX and get early access to new features, join the Program today by downloading the XBOX Insider Hub for XBOX Series X|S & XBOX One or Windows PC. For more information on the XBOX Insider Program, follow us on X at @XBOXInsider and keep an eye on this blog for all the latest news.

Other resources:

• Get the XBOX Insider Hub app
  
  
• XBOX Insider FAQ
  
  
• How to provide feedback as an XBOX Insider
  
  

For more information: follow us on X at @XboxInsider and this blog for announcements and more. And feel free to interact with the community on the XBOX Insider SubReddit.

The post Cloud Playtime Now Available to Test with XBOX Insiders appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114126.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 15:00:00 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114126.html Tomb Raider team at Crystal Dynamics, author of 20 Years of Tomb Raider, and a fan who has cosplayed the character more than a dozen times, she has spent her career at the intersection of Lara’s past and her future. With Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis on the horizon, the anniversary is a chance to look at how one adventurer has been carried forward across thirty years.

Born in Derby

It began in 1996 with Core Design, a small studio in Derby, England. A tiny team of six primary developers, with additional art and audio support, built the original Tomb Raider and, in the process, created one of gaming’s most enduring icons. “They changed the face of the industry, and they changed the face of what we expect from our protagonists,” Marie says. “They are responsible for creating the franchise that we all love thirty years later.”

Lara was the vision of designer Toby Gard, conceived as a heroine defined by intelligence and athleticism, and her impact reached far beyond the screen almost immediately. By the late nineties she was appearing in magazines dressed by Alexander McQueen and Gucci, effectively the first virtual model. “Lara Croft has always been a curious and complex figure,” Marie says. “She’s an academic who values reason yet is willing to accept the seemingly impossible. She’s effortlessly cool and witty but will geek out when unearthing history. Lara contains multitudes.” That combination, created by Core Design, is the foundation that everything since has been built on.



Stewards of a Legacy

For nearly two decades, Crystal Dynamics has carried that legacy forward. Taking over the franchise, the studio faced a defining challenge: how to move Lara into each new era without losing what made her Lara. “There’s that foundation of what makes Lara, Lara,” Marie says. “It’s the passion for uncovering the unknown, the sense of wonder and discovery, her physical prowess, even her quippiness. That foundation of who Lara is has always been there. It’s about pushing and pulling the different levers in the different situations and the different stages of her life.”

That stewardship took shape first across the Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld trilogy, which modernized Lara’s movement and storytelling while protecting her core. Then, in 2013, Crystal Dynamics did something bolder: it rebooted the character entirely with the Survivor trilogy. For Marie, that reinvention is personal. She wrote the cover story that first revealed it to the world. “I was working at Game Informer magazine and I wrote the cover story on the Survivor Series. I was the first journalist in the world to be introduced to it,” she says. “I just saw the vision and I fell in love with it.”

What won her over was watching Lara become the hero players already knew. “You get to see her doubt herself, push through her own fear to find true bravery,” Marie says. “You can see the building blocks falling into place.” The reboot also brought in a whole new audience. “We now have fans that tell us they grew up playing the reboot games as children, that the 2013 game was their first introduction to the franchise,” she says. “It’s a huge honor to add to that legacy.”

Reimagining What Core Started

Now Crystal Dynamics returns to where it all began. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is the studio’s reimagining of the 1996 original, developed in collaboration with Flying Wild Hog, built to represent every version of the iconic Lara Croft at once. “It’s a culmination of everybody’s passion and thirty years of history,” Marie says, “a chance for longtime fans to relive the story and for newer players to finally see where the legend began.”

Thirty years on, Marie sees a character with as much ahead of her as behind. “Lara Croft has inspired millions of people around the world, including myself, since she debuted in 1996,” she says. “She has a bright future ahead of her, just as bright as her legacy. We are just getting started.”



Pre-order Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis

Lara Croft’s greatest adventure begins February 12, 2027. Pre-orders are live now on the XBOX Store, so secure your edition before launch.

• XBOX Series X|S Pre-Order: Standard | Deluxe
  
  

Want to go deeper? Watch our ongoing series of mini-documentaries on the making of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis on our official YouTube channel: youtube.com/@PlayTombRaider.



Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Deluxe Edition

Amazon Game Studios

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$69.99

Pre-order

Pre-order to get the Survivor Outfit (early unlock) plus 48-hour Early Access

Deluxe Edition:
– Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Base Game
– Parisian Fugitive Outfit
– DLC Story Pack*

Experience the pinnacle of adventure with Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a stunning reimagining of the 1996 genre-defining game.

As Lara Croft, harness your wits and athleticism to explore exotic locations lost to time—from the jungles of Peru to the ancient ruins of Greece, the deserts of Egypt, and a mysterious Mediterranean island shrouded in myth. Traverse treacherous landscapes, solve deadly contraptions, and face lethal predators as you hunt for the scattered pieces of the Scion, an artifact of immeasurable power.

Whether you're a veteran raider or new to Lara's world, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis delivers jaw-dropping visuals powered by Unreal Engine 5, modern game design, and new surprises, while honoring the spirit and atmosphere of Lara Croft's debut adventure.

*Exact release timing of the DLC Story Pack to be announced at a later date.



Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Standard Edition

Amazon Game Studios

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$59.99

Pre-order

Pre-order to get the Survivor Outfit (early unlock)

Standard Edition
– Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis base game

Experience the pinnacle of adventure with Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a stunning reimagining of the 1996 genre-defining game.

As Lara Croft, harness your wits and athleticism to explore exotic locations lost to time—from the jungles of Peru to the ancient ruins of Greece, the deserts of Egypt, and a mysterious Mediterranean island shrouded in myth. Traverse treacherous landscapes, solve deadly contraptions, and face lethal predators as you hunt for the scattered pieces of the Scion, an artifact of immeasurable power.

Whether you're a veteran raider or new to Lara's world, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis delivers jaw-dropping visuals powered by Unreal Engine 5, modern game design, and new surprises, while honoring the spirit and atmosphere of Lara Croft's debut adventure.

The post Thirty Years of Lara Croft appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> Tomb Raider team at Crystal Dynamics, author of 20 Years of Tomb Raider, and a fan who has cosplayed the character more than a dozen times, she has spent her career at the intersection of Lara’s past and her future. With Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis on the horizon, the anniversary is a chance to look at how one adventurer has been carried forward across thirty years.

Born in Derby

It began in 1996 with Core Design, a small studio in Derby, England. A tiny team of six primary developers, with additional art and audio support, built the original Tomb Raider and, in the process, created one of gaming’s most enduring icons. “They changed the face of the industry, and they changed the face of what we expect from our protagonists,” Marie says. “They are responsible for creating the franchise that we all love thirty years later.”

Lara was the vision of designer Toby Gard, conceived as a heroine defined by intelligence and athleticism, and her impact reached far beyond the screen almost immediately. By the late nineties she was appearing in magazines dressed by Alexander McQueen and Gucci, effectively the first virtual model. “Lara Croft has always been a curious and complex figure,” Marie says. “She’s an academic who values reason yet is willing to accept the seemingly impossible. She’s effortlessly cool and witty but will geek out when unearthing history. Lara contains multitudes.” That combination, created by Core Design, is the foundation that everything since has been built on.



Stewards of a Legacy

For nearly two decades, Crystal Dynamics has carried that legacy forward. Taking over the franchise, the studio faced a defining challenge: how to move Lara into each new era without losing what made her Lara. “There’s that foundation of what makes Lara, Lara,” Marie says. “It’s the passion for uncovering the unknown, the sense of wonder and discovery, her physical prowess, even her quippiness. That foundation of who Lara is has always been there. It’s about pushing and pulling the different levers in the different situations and the different stages of her life.”

That stewardship took shape first across the Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld trilogy, which modernized Lara’s movement and storytelling while protecting her core. Then, in 2013, Crystal Dynamics did something bolder: it rebooted the character entirely with the Survivor trilogy. For Marie, that reinvention is personal. She wrote the cover story that first revealed it to the world. “I was working at Game Informer magazine and I wrote the cover story on the Survivor Series. I was the first journalist in the world to be introduced to it,” she says. “I just saw the vision and I fell in love with it.”

What won her over was watching Lara become the hero players already knew. “You get to see her doubt herself, push through her own fear to find true bravery,” Marie says. “You can see the building blocks falling into place.” The reboot also brought in a whole new audience. “We now have fans that tell us they grew up playing the reboot games as children, that the 2013 game was their first introduction to the franchise,” she says. “It’s a huge honor to add to that legacy.”

Reimagining What Core Started

Now Crystal Dynamics returns to where it all began. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is the studio’s reimagining of the 1996 original, developed in collaboration with Flying Wild Hog, built to represent every version of the iconic Lara Croft at once. “It’s a culmination of everybody’s passion and thirty years of history,” Marie says, “a chance for longtime fans to relive the story and for newer players to finally see where the legend began.”

Thirty years on, Marie sees a character with as much ahead of her as behind. “Lara Croft has inspired millions of people around the world, including myself, since she debuted in 1996,” she says. “She has a bright future ahead of her, just as bright as her legacy. We are just getting started.”



Pre-order Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis

Lara Croft’s greatest adventure begins February 12, 2027. Pre-orders are live now on the XBOX Store, so secure your edition before launch.

• XBOX Series X|S Pre-Order: Standard | Deluxe
  
  

Want to go deeper? Watch our ongoing series of mini-documentaries on the making of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis on our official YouTube channel: youtube.com/@PlayTombRaider.



Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Deluxe Edition

Amazon Game Studios

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$69.99

Pre-order

Pre-order to get the Survivor Outfit (early unlock) plus 48-hour Early Access

Deluxe Edition:
– Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Base Game
– Parisian Fugitive Outfit
– DLC Story Pack*

Experience the pinnacle of adventure with Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a stunning reimagining of the 1996 genre-defining game.

As Lara Croft, harness your wits and athleticism to explore exotic locations lost to time—from the jungles of Peru to the ancient ruins of Greece, the deserts of Egypt, and a mysterious Mediterranean island shrouded in myth. Traverse treacherous landscapes, solve deadly contraptions, and face lethal predators as you hunt for the scattered pieces of the Scion, an artifact of immeasurable power.

Whether you're a veteran raider or new to Lara's world, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis delivers jaw-dropping visuals powered by Unreal Engine 5, modern game design, and new surprises, while honoring the spirit and atmosphere of Lara Croft's debut adventure.

*Exact release timing of the DLC Story Pack to be announced at a later date.



Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Standard Edition

Amazon Game Studios

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$59.99

Pre-order

Pre-order to get the Survivor Outfit (early unlock)

Standard Edition
– Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis base game

Experience the pinnacle of adventure with Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a stunning reimagining of the 1996 genre-defining game.

As Lara Croft, harness your wits and athleticism to explore exotic locations lost to time—from the jungles of Peru to the ancient ruins of Greece, the deserts of Egypt, and a mysterious Mediterranean island shrouded in myth. Traverse treacherous landscapes, solve deadly contraptions, and face lethal predators as you hunt for the scattered pieces of the Scion, an artifact of immeasurable power.

Whether you're a veteran raider or new to Lara's world, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis delivers jaw-dropping visuals powered by Unreal Engine 5, modern game design, and new surprises, while honoring the spirit and atmosphere of Lara Croft's debut adventure.

The post Thirty Years of Lara Croft appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114117.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 18:00:00 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114117.html

• Gauntlet mode arrives in Fountains.
  
• Tips and tricks to survive the ultimate challenge.
  
• Fountains and other Crunching Koalas titles on sale today.
  

So, what exactly is the Gauntlet Mode? Think of it as the ultimate proving ground for warriors who crave a real challenge. Originally designed on PC to accommodate the most demanding souls-like connoisseurs, it’s now arriving on XBOX just after the console version’s premiere.

It’s your turn to test your mettle!

Built for the most demanding players, the Gauntlet gives you something to sink your teeth into after the credits roll. It’s a place to push your skills to the limit, and emerge victorious… or not at all.

A bit confused about what Fountains is like? This gameplay should clear things up.

Entering the Gauntlet

Along the main story, a new character appears: a very literal one. The NPC who runs the show looks exactly like a medieval gauntlet protecting a noble knight’s hand in combat. However, first you’ll need to prove you’re worthy of entrance. After defeating the final boss, have a chat with the gauntlet keeper and the challenge begins.



The Run

Here’s the deal. Fountains has ten boss fights, and the Gauntlet throws every single one of them at you back-to-back. If you own the Shattered Shape expansion, you’ll be able to choose that variant of the Gauntlet and face those bosses too. Each boss stalks their own arena, and every victory teleports you straight to the next showdown.

You’re not walking into this unprepared, though. Bring in your equipment and stock up on consumables. After your third fight, you’ll land in a rest area. Recharge your healing flasks, swap your gear and take a breath before the next round. The same safe haven awaits after the sixth fight, and again after the ninth. Then comes the tenth and final fight – the final boss of the game.

And since every consumable you use during a run is returned to you when it ends, you can spend them without a second thought.



Tips & Tricks

A few tips from the team before you dive in.

Treat every run like a lab. The Gauntlet is a trial you can repeat as often as you like, so use that freedom. Test strange builds, try bold strategies and learn what works.

Pack more than one loadout. Every boss has its own tricks, and the build that melts one might crumble against another. Bring a few sets and switch them up at the rest areas.

Spend your consumables, but spend them smart. They return after the run, but that doesn’t make them infinite during it. Don’t hoard them for a “later” that might never come. Use them boldly and make every one count.



That’s the Gauntlet! Keep a cool head, keep trying and don’t let a defeat shake you. Only the best will pass the test.

Haven’t picked up the game yet? There’s never been a better time. Fountains: Extended Edition (containing the base game and the DLC) is now 20% off, so you can jump in and take on the challenge yourself!

On the Go? We’ve Got You.

Love gaming wherever you are? Other XBOX Play Anywhere compatible titles from Crunching Koalas are on sale too, all with a -50% discount!

Heading Out – Hit the highway in a genre-bending road trip adventure that fuses high-speed racing with narrative storytelling. Outrun your fears across a mythic America, balancing roguelike routes and limited resources, all set to a jazz-and-rock Americana soundtrack and a comic-inspired art style.

Kamikaze Lassplanes– A visual novel and an arcade shoot-’em-up in one. Meet Alba and Hannah, charismatic Lassplanes who transform into deadly war planes you pilot. Your story-branching choices decide the fate of the war, and of your heart.

Once Upon a Jester – A musical comedy adventure starring best friends Sok and Jester, who plot to steal the Royal Diamond by becoming the kingdom’s best improv theatre act. Perform improvised shows, befriend a cast of wacky, fully voiced characters and sing your heart out to an original indie soundtrack.

Want to give Gauntlet mode a try yourself? The Gauntlet update is live now in Fountains!





FOUNTAINS

Crunching Koalas

☆☆☆☆☆
7

★★★★★

$14.99

Get it now

The Fountain of Youth was hidden away. Nonetheless, it is fated that a Usurper will slay the Ageless and unearth it once more.

FOUNTAINS is a soulslike action-RPG built around fighting your way through a maze-like interconnected, seamless world. You'll take the role of a hooded stranger, recently imprisoned by a tyrannical regime. Will you escape and uncover the mysteries of this war-torn empire?

Demanding, but fair combat
Tight, responsive combat puts every tool and tactic in your arsenal to the test, rewarding precision and quick thinking. Your enemies will hit hard and punish hesitation, turning each fight into an intense back-and-forth where the tide of battle can shift in an instant. Adjustable difficulty settings let you feel that thrill at exactly the intensity you crave, no matter your experience.

Exploration that rewards curiosity
The world of FOUNTAINS is one, seamless, giant dungeon. It is a tightly packed labyrinth which twists and loops back on itself. You'll always discover something new: items, powers and upgrades to unlock new parts of the world.

Leave Your Mark
FOUNTAINS features an online message system. Leave hints throughout the world to help out your fellow players, or trick them into doing something foolish!

– Souls-like action combat set in a metroidvania-style interconnected world.
– Find new abilities and tools to help you to defend yourself and to traverse the world.
– Rich dark fantasy lore told through exploration and environmental storytelling.
– Online message system for community interaction.
– Secrets are everywhere, so always keep an eye out!

The post Think You’ve Beaten Fountains? Prove it in the Gauntlet appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>

• Gauntlet mode arrives in Fountains.
  
• Tips and tricks to survive the ultimate challenge.
  
• Fountains and other Crunching Koalas titles on sale today.
  

So, what exactly is the Gauntlet Mode? Think of it as the ultimate proving ground for warriors who crave a real challenge. Originally designed on PC to accommodate the most demanding souls-like connoisseurs, it’s now arriving on XBOX just after the console version’s premiere.

It’s your turn to test your mettle!

Built for the most demanding players, the Gauntlet gives you something to sink your teeth into after the credits roll. It’s a place to push your skills to the limit, and emerge victorious… or not at all.

A bit confused about what Fountains is like? This gameplay should clear things up.

Entering the Gauntlet

Along the main story, a new character appears: a very literal one. The NPC who runs the show looks exactly like a medieval gauntlet protecting a noble knight’s hand in combat. However, first you’ll need to prove you’re worthy of entrance. After defeating the final boss, have a chat with the gauntlet keeper and the challenge begins.



The Run

Here’s the deal. Fountains has ten boss fights, and the Gauntlet throws every single one of them at you back-to-back. If you own the Shattered Shape expansion, you’ll be able to choose that variant of the Gauntlet and face those bosses too. Each boss stalks their own arena, and every victory teleports you straight to the next showdown.

You’re not walking into this unprepared, though. Bring in your equipment and stock up on consumables. After your third fight, you’ll land in a rest area. Recharge your healing flasks, swap your gear and take a breath before the next round. The same safe haven awaits after the sixth fight, and again after the ninth. Then comes the tenth and final fight – the final boss of the game.

And since every consumable you use during a run is returned to you when it ends, you can spend them without a second thought.



Tips & Tricks

A few tips from the team before you dive in.

Treat every run like a lab. The Gauntlet is a trial you can repeat as often as you like, so use that freedom. Test strange builds, try bold strategies and learn what works.

Pack more than one loadout. Every boss has its own tricks, and the build that melts one might crumble against another. Bring a few sets and switch them up at the rest areas.

Spend your consumables, but spend them smart. They return after the run, but that doesn’t make them infinite during it. Don’t hoard them for a “later” that might never come. Use them boldly and make every one count.



That’s the Gauntlet! Keep a cool head, keep trying and don’t let a defeat shake you. Only the best will pass the test.

Haven’t picked up the game yet? There’s never been a better time. Fountains: Extended Edition (containing the base game and the DLC) is now 20% off, so you can jump in and take on the challenge yourself!

On the Go? We’ve Got You.

Love gaming wherever you are? Other XBOX Play Anywhere compatible titles from Crunching Koalas are on sale too, all with a -50% discount!

Heading Out – Hit the highway in a genre-bending road trip adventure that fuses high-speed racing with narrative storytelling. Outrun your fears across a mythic America, balancing roguelike routes and limited resources, all set to a jazz-and-rock Americana soundtrack and a comic-inspired art style.

Kamikaze Lassplanes– A visual novel and an arcade shoot-’em-up in one. Meet Alba and Hannah, charismatic Lassplanes who transform into deadly war planes you pilot. Your story-branching choices decide the fate of the war, and of your heart.

Once Upon a Jester – A musical comedy adventure starring best friends Sok and Jester, who plot to steal the Royal Diamond by becoming the kingdom’s best improv theatre act. Perform improvised shows, befriend a cast of wacky, fully voiced characters and sing your heart out to an original indie soundtrack.

Want to give Gauntlet mode a try yourself? The Gauntlet update is live now in Fountains!





FOUNTAINS

Crunching Koalas

☆☆☆☆☆
7

★★★★★

$14.99

Get it now

The Fountain of Youth was hidden away. Nonetheless, it is fated that a Usurper will slay the Ageless and unearth it once more.

FOUNTAINS is a soulslike action-RPG built around fighting your way through a maze-like interconnected, seamless world. You'll take the role of a hooded stranger, recently imprisoned by a tyrannical regime. Will you escape and uncover the mysteries of this war-torn empire?

Demanding, but fair combat
Tight, responsive combat puts every tool and tactic in your arsenal to the test, rewarding precision and quick thinking. Your enemies will hit hard and punish hesitation, turning each fight into an intense back-and-forth where the tide of battle can shift in an instant. Adjustable difficulty settings let you feel that thrill at exactly the intensity you crave, no matter your experience.

Exploration that rewards curiosity
The world of FOUNTAINS is one, seamless, giant dungeon. It is a tightly packed labyrinth which twists and loops back on itself. You'll always discover something new: items, powers and upgrades to unlock new parts of the world.

Leave Your Mark
FOUNTAINS features an online message system. Leave hints throughout the world to help out your fellow players, or trick them into doing something foolish!

– Souls-like action combat set in a metroidvania-style interconnected world.
– Find new abilities and tools to help you to defend yourself and to traverse the world.
– Rich dark fantasy lore told through exploration and environmental storytelling.
– Online message system for community interaction.
– Secrets are everywhere, so always keep an eye out!

The post Think You’ve Beaten Fountains? Prove it in the Gauntlet appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114107.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 17:00:00 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114107.html

• Explore the new Woodpile adventure area and face returning Termites, new O.G.R.R. variants, and the Centipede boss.
  
• Saddle up on the new Potato Beetle Buggy, give your base a new look with Painting and the Splotcher, and upgrade weapons and armor to higher Tiers using the new Bismuth resource and Yoking Press.
  
• Discover new SCA.B Themes, collectible figurines, stations, and more throughout Brookhollow Park.
  

Survive the Rot and Ruin Update

Brookhollow Park is getting a little more rotten. The Rot and Ruin Update expands Grounded 2 with a new area to explore, dangerous creatures to face, another Buggy to saddle up on, and new ways to customize both your gear and your home away from home.



Explore the Woodpile

A new adventure awaits in the Woodpile, where towering structures and winding passages have become home to a familiar threat. Termites are back, including Workers, Soldiers, the mighty Termite King, and new O.G.R.R. variants. But these aren’t exactly the Termites you remember. Keep an eye out for new attacks and some particularly strange behavior as you make your way deeper into their territory.



And Termites aren’t the biggest thing lurking among the rot. One of the community’s most requested creatures is finally crawling into the Park. Prepare to face the Centipede, a formidable new boss with plenty of legs and even more reasons to run.



Saddle Up on the Potato Beetle

Need some backup? The Potato Beetle Buggy is ready to roll. Bigger than the Ladybug Buggy and built for close-range combat, this Potato Beetle Buggy can unleash a spread of projectiles against creatures in front of it and use its Healing Roar to help keep you in the fight. It can also haul resources and contribute materials to blueprints while you’re out building across the Park.



Paint the Park

Your base, your colors. Painting gives builders a new way to personalize their creations by crafting paint and putting it to use with a new paintball gun we are calling the Splotcher. Walls, floors, roofs, stairs, doors, and other structures can take on a fresh coat of color, giving you even more ways to make your corner of Brookhollow Park your own.

Take Your Gear Further

The Fall Update also introduces a new way to keep your favorite equipment growing alongside you. Weapons and armor can be upgraded to higher Tiers using Bismuth, a new resource connected to the strange forces of Raw Science beneath the Park. Gather it, refine it, and put it to work at the new Yoking Press to make your equipment even stronger.

And there’s still more to discover, including new SCA.B Themes, collectible miniatures, new stations, and more when Rot and Ruin arrives in Grounded 2 this fall.

Grounded 2 (XBOX Game Preview) is available now for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and Game Pass. Also available on Steam through Early Access and PlayStation 5. Version 1.0 will arrive in 2027.





Grounded 2 (Game Preview)

Xbox Game Studios

☆☆☆☆☆
3867

★★★★★

$29.99

Get it now

PC Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass

Shrunk again, but the world is much larger. Survive a sprawling open world alone or in co-op with friends. Craft weapons, forge armor, and build bases while exploring the park on your trusty Buggy mounts. Unravel hidden mysteries and face unexpected threats. But something else is out there—and it hasn’t forgotten you.
Shrunk to the size of an ant, you’ll find once-familiar spaces turned into a sprawling, uncharted frontier. Survive alone or in co-op with friends, crafting weapons, forging armor, and building bases as you explore manmade playgrounds overgrown by nature. Traverse this new realm on trusty Buggy mounts—your capable allies—and uncover the mysteries lurking beneath bright colors and towering structures. But stay wary: something else is out there, and it hasn’t forgotten you.

Survive, Adapt, Overcome
The world is relentless, but so are you. Shape your adventure with unique archetypes, each offering distinct abilities to match your playstyle. Whether you rely on precision, cunning, or sheer strength, you’ll need every advantage to survive against the threats lurking in the park.

Stronger Together
The perils of the park are daunting alone, but with friends, every challenge becomes an adventure. Work together to build, fight, and uncover the secrets buried beneath the grass. Whether you’re facing danger side by side or continuing your journey in a shared world, survival is always better with allies.

Because Walking is Bogus
They scurry, they fight, and now—they help you survive. Hatch, raise, and ride your own insect friends – Buggies! Saddle up and traverse through the park, fight on them or alongside them in battle, or use them to gather resources and build your base. The right partner could mean the difference between thriving and barely surviving.

A Shadow That Follows You
The threat is always there—watching, learning, waiting. You don’t know where it’s coming from, only that it never leaves. The deeper you dig, the closer it gets. Some mysteries should stay buried, but it’s too late now. It knows you’re looking. And it’s ready. Every answer drags you deeper, every step invites something closer. You were never alone. You thought you were in control. You were wrong.

The post Grounded 2: 100 Reasons to Run in the Rot and Ruin Update appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>

• Explore the new Woodpile adventure area and face returning Termites, new O.G.R.R. variants, and the Centipede boss.
  
• Saddle up on the new Potato Beetle Buggy, give your base a new look with Painting and the Splotcher, and upgrade weapons and armor to higher Tiers using the new Bismuth resource and Yoking Press.
  
• Discover new SCA.B Themes, collectible figurines, stations, and more throughout Brookhollow Park.
  

Survive the Rot and Ruin Update

Brookhollow Park is getting a little more rotten. The Rot and Ruin Update expands Grounded 2 with a new area to explore, dangerous creatures to face, another Buggy to saddle up on, and new ways to customize both your gear and your home away from home.



Explore the Woodpile

A new adventure awaits in the Woodpile, where towering structures and winding passages have become home to a familiar threat. Termites are back, including Workers, Soldiers, the mighty Termite King, and new O.G.R.R. variants. But these aren’t exactly the Termites you remember. Keep an eye out for new attacks and some particularly strange behavior as you make your way deeper into their territory.



And Termites aren’t the biggest thing lurking among the rot. One of the community’s most requested creatures is finally crawling into the Park. Prepare to face the Centipede, a formidable new boss with plenty of legs and even more reasons to run.



Saddle Up on the Potato Beetle

Need some backup? The Potato Beetle Buggy is ready to roll. Bigger than the Ladybug Buggy and built for close-range combat, this Potato Beetle Buggy can unleash a spread of projectiles against creatures in front of it and use its Healing Roar to help keep you in the fight. It can also haul resources and contribute materials to blueprints while you’re out building across the Park.



Paint the Park

Your base, your colors. Painting gives builders a new way to personalize their creations by crafting paint and putting it to use with a new paintball gun we are calling the Splotcher. Walls, floors, roofs, stairs, doors, and other structures can take on a fresh coat of color, giving you even more ways to make your corner of Brookhollow Park your own.

Take Your Gear Further

The Fall Update also introduces a new way to keep your favorite equipment growing alongside you. Weapons and armor can be upgraded to higher Tiers using Bismuth, a new resource connected to the strange forces of Raw Science beneath the Park. Gather it, refine it, and put it to work at the new Yoking Press to make your equipment even stronger.

And there’s still more to discover, including new SCA.B Themes, collectible miniatures, new stations, and more when Rot and Ruin arrives in Grounded 2 this fall.

Grounded 2 (XBOX Game Preview) is available now for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and Game Pass. Also available on Steam through Early Access and PlayStation 5. Version 1.0 will arrive in 2027.





Grounded 2 (Game Preview)

Xbox Game Studios

☆☆☆☆☆
3867

★★★★★

$29.99

Get it now

PC Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass

Shrunk again, but the world is much larger. Survive a sprawling open world alone or in co-op with friends. Craft weapons, forge armor, and build bases while exploring the park on your trusty Buggy mounts. Unravel hidden mysteries and face unexpected threats. But something else is out there—and it hasn’t forgotten you.
Shrunk to the size of an ant, you’ll find once-familiar spaces turned into a sprawling, uncharted frontier. Survive alone or in co-op with friends, crafting weapons, forging armor, and building bases as you explore manmade playgrounds overgrown by nature. Traverse this new realm on trusty Buggy mounts—your capable allies—and uncover the mysteries lurking beneath bright colors and towering structures. But stay wary: something else is out there, and it hasn’t forgotten you.

Survive, Adapt, Overcome
The world is relentless, but so are you. Shape your adventure with unique archetypes, each offering distinct abilities to match your playstyle. Whether you rely on precision, cunning, or sheer strength, you’ll need every advantage to survive against the threats lurking in the park.

Stronger Together
The perils of the park are daunting alone, but with friends, every challenge becomes an adventure. Work together to build, fight, and uncover the secrets buried beneath the grass. Whether you’re facing danger side by side or continuing your journey in a shared world, survival is always better with allies.

Because Walking is Bogus
They scurry, they fight, and now—they help you survive. Hatch, raise, and ride your own insect friends – Buggies! Saddle up and traverse through the park, fight on them or alongside them in battle, or use them to gather resources and build your base. The right partner could mean the difference between thriving and barely surviving.

A Shadow That Follows You
The threat is always there—watching, learning, waiting. You don’t know where it’s coming from, only that it never leaves. The deeper you dig, the closer it gets. Some mysteries should stay buried, but it’s too late now. It knows you’re looking. And it’s ready. Every answer drags you deeper, every step invites something closer. You were never alone. You thought you were in control. You were wrong.

The post Grounded 2: 100 Reasons to Run in the Rot and Ruin Update appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114096.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:21:52 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114096.html

October 20, 2026 · 1 min read










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October 20, 2026 · 1 min read










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The Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) Presents the Forged in Valor Series, A Look into the Making of the Valor Pack Opens in a new tab
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DMZ Early Access Starts October 20]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114087.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:45:48 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114087.html
The show included the reveal of A Game About Digging a Hole Together, the sequel to the popular subterranean sandbox adventure, and Magenta Down, a new sci-fi adventure. We also announced that several CRITICAL REFLEX titles are heading to XBOX soon, including the frosty cooking sim, Arctic Eggs, which is available today! 

Many of the ID@XBOX games featured during today’s showcase will also support XBOX Play Anywhere at launch – so you can enjoy them across console and PC at no additional cost. 

Check out the full recap of everything shown during the event below! 

A Game About Digging a Hole Together 

Revealed during today’s ID@XBOX and IGN show, A Game About Digging A Hole Together is a minimalist experience about digging a hole at the beach, now with friends. Dig together, collect resources, sell them, upgrade your equipment and search for a promised treasure buried deep beneath the sand. A Game About Digging A Hole Together is heading to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and Game Pass on December 4, 2026. 

Chronoscript: The Endless End 

Chronoscript: The Endless End is an innovative, exploration-based action-adventure game comprised of two worlds: a 3D rendered grand residence littered with thousands of manuscript pages, and the 2D pen-and-ink illustrated worlds within them. Face off against the Ruined, twisted remnants of those who lost their lives in the waking world. Grow stronger through exploration and battle, and immerse yourself in the winding narrative of the Immortal Vampire and her Editor. A unique approach to spatial perspective awaits you. Chronoscript: The Endless End arrives summer 2027 for XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC. 

Croak 

Tongue-grapple and pinball-bounce the frog prince across levels to reach the Witch’s Banquet in this hand-drawn 2D precision platformer. Each whimsical world has its own wacky boss, hidden collectibles, and a unique traversal ability. Hungry for a little competition? Take on your friends and the fastest frogs in the world on the online speedrunning leaderboard. CROAK will be available March 2027 for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, day one with Game Pass, and supports XBOX Play Anywhere. 

CRITICAL REFLEX Montage 

Three unconventional, yet critically acclaimed indie hits from CRITICAL REFLEX are coming to XBOX, with two titles heading to Game Pass and one available today for purchase.  

Arctic Eggs: Make an omelette out of beer bottles, bullets and cigarettes in this dystopian, physics-and-patience-driven frying sim set in a surreal Antarctic city. Oh, and there are eggs too. Available on XBOX Series X|S today. 

Mouthwashing: Take responsibility for the dying crew of a shipwrecked space freighter in this psychological horror drama. Coming to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX On PC, XBOX One, and XBOX Game Pass on October 29, 2026. 

No, I’m Not a Human: Interrogate door-knocking strangers to spot deadly shape-shifting impostors in an apocalyptic anxiety thriller. Coming to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX One, and XBOX Game Pass in 2027. 

Learn more about what CRITICAL REFLEX is bringing to XBOX in our deep dive here. 

Drill Keeper 

Play as a heroic Drill Keeper in this deck-building roguelike siege defense game as you travel the galaxy securing vital resources for your people. As a dutiful symbol of the future, you’ll build fortresses around your mining operations to protect them from the dangers lurking in the depths of distant planets, designing labyrinthine pathways and traps to stall and bewilder the enemy. Build powerful synergies in your deck as it grows over a run, optimize your dig strategy to acquire resources for immediate and future use, and experiment with a multitude of heroes and factions. Drill Keeper launches summer 2027 for XBOX on PC and Game Pass. 

Graytail 

Graytail is a mystery action-adventure in a 2.5D pixel-art world. A famous pilot has vanished somewhere in the Pacific. A detective with a headache that never stops takes the case, with the pilot’s daughter at his side. Grab your cane, get on your motorbike, and uncover the island’s secrets. The deeper you dig, the less you can trust. Greytail launches November 2027 for XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC, and will support XBOX Play Anywhere. 

Love is a Roguelite 

Love is a Roguelite (or LIAR for short) unveiled its world premiere trailer, delivering a unique hybrid where turn-based tactics meet deckbuilders and dating sims, set within a procedurally generated love story. Powered by the proprietary LoveSync system where your choices matter, you’ll manage relationships alongside tactical card combat, utilizing multiple character classes and exploring 16 distinct romantic pairings across diverse gender and species variations.  

You’ll need to complete multiple successful runs to reveal the complete story when Love is a Roguelite launches in Fall 2027 for XBOX Series X|S and XBOX PC.

Magenta Down

From the creators of Unto The End, Magenta Down is an atmospheric sci-fi adventure set on a harsh, remote exoplanet. Endure injury and radiation exposure with scarce supplies as you search for a way to save yourself and your crew. Magenta Down is coming to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC in early 2027 – learn more from the developers in our deep dive.

Mr. Magpie’s Harmless Card Game 

 Clock in for a sinister roguelike deckbuilder where you’ll build your deck, push your luck, and combine powerful “synergies” to tip the odds in your favour. Every choice is an opportunity to demonstrate your value. With Matt Mercer providing the voice of Mr. Magpie, your deeply unsettling host, you can look forward to a workplace experience where nothing is quite as it seems. It’s just a harmless card game.  

Mr Magpie’s Harmless Card Game is coming to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and Game Pass in early 2027, and will support XBOX Play Anywhere. 

Mr. Records 

Mr. Records is an uplifting adventure where every vinyl transports you into a world of memories and emotion, where you will jump, slide, and move though psychedelic landscapes in time with the music. Alongside his loyal dog Buzz, George welcomes a colourful cast of characters to his record store each day. As new records are unlocked, each sale deepens his connection with customers, uncovering heartfelt stories, revealing important life lessons, and forging lasting friendships along the way.   

Mr Records is coming to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC in spring 2027. 

Paper Shredder 

Shred your company’s paperwork to earn a $1,000,000 payout. Paper Shredder is an incremental game where a sheet-after-sheet grind scales into mass document destruction. Shred, sweep, upgrade, and cut down tower-high piles of confidential records to uncover what’s buried beneath. If you want the job, Paper Shredder is coming to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and XBOX Play Anywhere this winter! 

Red Kiss 

In Red Kiss, you’ll dispatch mysterious vampire spies and uncover the dangerous thrills of Cold War Berlin. The house’s alluring leader, Daddy, gave you a taste of his team, alongside a first look at the recently resurrected Fritz. You’ll be able to fulfill your darkest impulses as you tap into their powers, gain your agents’ trust, and manipulate your way through this (blood)thirsty tactical narrative RPG. Red Kiss is coming soon to XBOX Series X|S, will arrive day one on Game Pass, and supports XBOX Play Anywhere. 

Rustown 

Five years after the “idiot virus” pandemic, many survivors live with lasting cognitive difficulties. Pushed out of society, they have gathered in Rustown. Jian comes to the city after receiving a letter from her father, who disappeared three years ago and whom she thought was dead. In this story-driven stealth adventure, players explore Rustown, avoid danger without fighting, and uncover clues while getting to know its residents. Jian’s search reveals conflict and prejudice, but also people who care for one another. Developed by Plotrick, Rustown is coming to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC on June 30, 2027, with XBOX Play Anywhere support. 

Scramble Knights Online 

Adventure together with your friends in this MMO-lite action RPG! Explore the shared online kingdom of Terracott as a knight-in-training. Work together to take on quests, conquer dungeons, slay monsters, discover rare loot, and return home to forge powerful new gear before setting out on your next quest. Scramble Knights Online launches October 26, 2026 for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and Game Pass. 

Shrek 2 Remastered

DreamWorks’ Shrek 2 Remastered is now available for pre-order on XBOX Series X|S. 

The cult-classic, button-mashing co-op adventure is back with all your favorite characters, improved graphics, and new features. Create timeless snapshots using the new Photo Mode and unlock cheats in Cheat Mode to make your playthrough a seamless experience. Journey through the fairytale kingdom of Far Far Away from Shrek’s swamp to Fiona’s castle and everywhere in between, in a classic action-adventure experience inspired by the DreamWorks Animation movie. 

Shrek 2 Remastered arrives on XBOX Series X|S November 10, 2026. Get up to 20% off the pre-order with XBOX Game Pass (non-members receive a 10% discount) now through November 9. 

VANRAN 

VANRAN is a dark fantasy action RPG focused on brutal boss encounters and intense close-range combat. Fight deadly enemies, climb colossal monsters, strike their weak points, and bring them down. Cut through blood and steel, rise from the depths, and start your rebellion again. Vanran is coming to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC in early 2027. 

Waveling Island

Waveling Island is a cozy creature-collecting sim set on a beautiful, hand-drawn pixel-art island packed full of mysterious creatures called Wavelings. Craft, battle, make friends, explore and uncover the island’s secrets when Waveling Island comes to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC in early 2027.  

The Wolf Among Us Remaster 

The Big Bad Wolf is back. Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us Remastered brings Fabletown back with a new story trailer that gives a first look at Bigby’s redesigned werewolf form. The definitive edition of Telltale’s acclaimed detective thriller remasters Bigby’s first investigation with enhanced visuals, upgraded animation and audio, an all-new Noir Mode, behind-the-scenes bonus content, and playable deleted scenes restored from the original 2013 production. The Wolf Among Us Remastered launches digitally October 29, 2026 on XBOX Series X|S and XBOX One. 

ZERO PARADES: Director’s Cut 

ZERO PARADES: Director’s Cut, ZA/UM’s award-winning espionage RPG, is coming to XBOX! Play as Hershel Wilk, a brilliant, burnt-out spy recalled for one last shot at redemption. The definitive edition includes around 40,000 words of new story, Backstage Mode and full English voice-over. ZERO PARADES: Director’s Cut arrives on Xbox Series X|S and XBOX on PC on November 3. 

The post ID@XBOX x IGN Showcase Recap: All the News and Announcements appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>
The show included the reveal of A Game About Digging a Hole Together, the sequel to the popular subterranean sandbox adventure, and Magenta Down, a new sci-fi adventure. We also announced that several CRITICAL REFLEX titles are heading to XBOX soon, including the frosty cooking sim, Arctic Eggs, which is available today! 

Many of the ID@XBOX games featured during today’s showcase will also support XBOX Play Anywhere at launch – so you can enjoy them across console and PC at no additional cost. 

Check out the full recap of everything shown during the event below! 

A Game About Digging a Hole Together 

Revealed during today’s ID@XBOX and IGN show, A Game About Digging A Hole Together is a minimalist experience about digging a hole at the beach, now with friends. Dig together, collect resources, sell them, upgrade your equipment and search for a promised treasure buried deep beneath the sand. A Game About Digging A Hole Together is heading to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and Game Pass on December 4, 2026. 

Chronoscript: The Endless End 

Chronoscript: The Endless End is an innovative, exploration-based action-adventure game comprised of two worlds: a 3D rendered grand residence littered with thousands of manuscript pages, and the 2D pen-and-ink illustrated worlds within them. Face off against the Ruined, twisted remnants of those who lost their lives in the waking world. Grow stronger through exploration and battle, and immerse yourself in the winding narrative of the Immortal Vampire and her Editor. A unique approach to spatial perspective awaits you. Chronoscript: The Endless End arrives summer 2027 for XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC. 

Croak 

Tongue-grapple and pinball-bounce the frog prince across levels to reach the Witch’s Banquet in this hand-drawn 2D precision platformer. Each whimsical world has its own wacky boss, hidden collectibles, and a unique traversal ability. Hungry for a little competition? Take on your friends and the fastest frogs in the world on the online speedrunning leaderboard. CROAK will be available March 2027 for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, day one with Game Pass, and supports XBOX Play Anywhere. 

CRITICAL REFLEX Montage 

Three unconventional, yet critically acclaimed indie hits from CRITICAL REFLEX are coming to XBOX, with two titles heading to Game Pass and one available today for purchase.  

Arctic Eggs: Make an omelette out of beer bottles, bullets and cigarettes in this dystopian, physics-and-patience-driven frying sim set in a surreal Antarctic city. Oh, and there are eggs too. Available on XBOX Series X|S today. 

Mouthwashing: Take responsibility for the dying crew of a shipwrecked space freighter in this psychological horror drama. Coming to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX On PC, XBOX One, and XBOX Game Pass on October 29, 2026. 

No, I’m Not a Human: Interrogate door-knocking strangers to spot deadly shape-shifting impostors in an apocalyptic anxiety thriller. Coming to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX One, and XBOX Game Pass in 2027. 

Learn more about what CRITICAL REFLEX is bringing to XBOX in our deep dive here. 

Drill Keeper 

Play as a heroic Drill Keeper in this deck-building roguelike siege defense game as you travel the galaxy securing vital resources for your people. As a dutiful symbol of the future, you’ll build fortresses around your mining operations to protect them from the dangers lurking in the depths of distant planets, designing labyrinthine pathways and traps to stall and bewilder the enemy. Build powerful synergies in your deck as it grows over a run, optimize your dig strategy to acquire resources for immediate and future use, and experiment with a multitude of heroes and factions. Drill Keeper launches summer 2027 for XBOX on PC and Game Pass. 

Graytail 

Graytail is a mystery action-adventure in a 2.5D pixel-art world. A famous pilot has vanished somewhere in the Pacific. A detective with a headache that never stops takes the case, with the pilot’s daughter at his side. Grab your cane, get on your motorbike, and uncover the island’s secrets. The deeper you dig, the less you can trust. Greytail launches November 2027 for XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC, and will support XBOX Play Anywhere. 

Love is a Roguelite 

Love is a Roguelite (or LIAR for short) unveiled its world premiere trailer, delivering a unique hybrid where turn-based tactics meet deckbuilders and dating sims, set within a procedurally generated love story. Powered by the proprietary LoveSync system where your choices matter, you’ll manage relationships alongside tactical card combat, utilizing multiple character classes and exploring 16 distinct romantic pairings across diverse gender and species variations.  

You’ll need to complete multiple successful runs to reveal the complete story when Love is a Roguelite launches in Fall 2027 for XBOX Series X|S and XBOX PC.

Magenta Down

From the creators of Unto The End, Magenta Down is an atmospheric sci-fi adventure set on a harsh, remote exoplanet. Endure injury and radiation exposure with scarce supplies as you search for a way to save yourself and your crew. Magenta Down is coming to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC in early 2027 – learn more from the developers in our deep dive.

Mr. Magpie’s Harmless Card Game 

 Clock in for a sinister roguelike deckbuilder where you’ll build your deck, push your luck, and combine powerful “synergies” to tip the odds in your favour. Every choice is an opportunity to demonstrate your value. With Matt Mercer providing the voice of Mr. Magpie, your deeply unsettling host, you can look forward to a workplace experience where nothing is quite as it seems. It’s just a harmless card game.  

Mr Magpie’s Harmless Card Game is coming to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and Game Pass in early 2027, and will support XBOX Play Anywhere. 

Mr. Records 

Mr. Records is an uplifting adventure where every vinyl transports you into a world of memories and emotion, where you will jump, slide, and move though psychedelic landscapes in time with the music. Alongside his loyal dog Buzz, George welcomes a colourful cast of characters to his record store each day. As new records are unlocked, each sale deepens his connection with customers, uncovering heartfelt stories, revealing important life lessons, and forging lasting friendships along the way.   

Mr Records is coming to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC in spring 2027. 

Paper Shredder 

Shred your company’s paperwork to earn a $1,000,000 payout. Paper Shredder is an incremental game where a sheet-after-sheet grind scales into mass document destruction. Shred, sweep, upgrade, and cut down tower-high piles of confidential records to uncover what’s buried beneath. If you want the job, Paper Shredder is coming to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and XBOX Play Anywhere this winter! 

Red Kiss 

In Red Kiss, you’ll dispatch mysterious vampire spies and uncover the dangerous thrills of Cold War Berlin. The house’s alluring leader, Daddy, gave you a taste of his team, alongside a first look at the recently resurrected Fritz. You’ll be able to fulfill your darkest impulses as you tap into their powers, gain your agents’ trust, and manipulate your way through this (blood)thirsty tactical narrative RPG. Red Kiss is coming soon to XBOX Series X|S, will arrive day one on Game Pass, and supports XBOX Play Anywhere. 

Rustown 

Five years after the “idiot virus” pandemic, many survivors live with lasting cognitive difficulties. Pushed out of society, they have gathered in Rustown. Jian comes to the city after receiving a letter from her father, who disappeared three years ago and whom she thought was dead. In this story-driven stealth adventure, players explore Rustown, avoid danger without fighting, and uncover clues while getting to know its residents. Jian’s search reveals conflict and prejudice, but also people who care for one another. Developed by Plotrick, Rustown is coming to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC on June 30, 2027, with XBOX Play Anywhere support. 

Scramble Knights Online 

Adventure together with your friends in this MMO-lite action RPG! Explore the shared online kingdom of Terracott as a knight-in-training. Work together to take on quests, conquer dungeons, slay monsters, discover rare loot, and return home to forge powerful new gear before setting out on your next quest. Scramble Knights Online launches October 26, 2026 for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, and Game Pass. 

Shrek 2 Remastered

DreamWorks’ Shrek 2 Remastered is now available for pre-order on XBOX Series X|S. 

The cult-classic, button-mashing co-op adventure is back with all your favorite characters, improved graphics, and new features. Create timeless snapshots using the new Photo Mode and unlock cheats in Cheat Mode to make your playthrough a seamless experience. Journey through the fairytale kingdom of Far Far Away from Shrek’s swamp to Fiona’s castle and everywhere in between, in a classic action-adventure experience inspired by the DreamWorks Animation movie. 

Shrek 2 Remastered arrives on XBOX Series X|S November 10, 2026. Get up to 20% off the pre-order with XBOX Game Pass (non-members receive a 10% discount) now through November 9. 

VANRAN 

VANRAN is a dark fantasy action RPG focused on brutal boss encounters and intense close-range combat. Fight deadly enemies, climb colossal monsters, strike their weak points, and bring them down. Cut through blood and steel, rise from the depths, and start your rebellion again. Vanran is coming to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC in early 2027. 

Waveling Island

Waveling Island is a cozy creature-collecting sim set on a beautiful, hand-drawn pixel-art island packed full of mysterious creatures called Wavelings. Craft, battle, make friends, explore and uncover the island’s secrets when Waveling Island comes to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC in early 2027.  

The Wolf Among Us Remaster 

The Big Bad Wolf is back. Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us Remastered brings Fabletown back with a new story trailer that gives a first look at Bigby’s redesigned werewolf form. The definitive edition of Telltale’s acclaimed detective thriller remasters Bigby’s first investigation with enhanced visuals, upgraded animation and audio, an all-new Noir Mode, behind-the-scenes bonus content, and playable deleted scenes restored from the original 2013 production. The Wolf Among Us Remastered launches digitally October 29, 2026 on XBOX Series X|S and XBOX One. 

ZERO PARADES: Director’s Cut 

ZERO PARADES: Director’s Cut, ZA/UM’s award-winning espionage RPG, is coming to XBOX! Play as Hershel Wilk, a brilliant, burnt-out spy recalled for one last shot at redemption. The definitive edition includes around 40,000 words of new story, Backstage Mode and full English voice-over. ZERO PARADES: Director’s Cut arrives on Xbox Series X|S and XBOX on PC on November 3. 

The post ID@XBOX x IGN Showcase Recap: All the News and Announcements appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114075.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:27:00 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114075.html

• Two critically-acclaimed CRITICAL REFLEX indie hits are coming to XBOX just in time for Halloween: Arctic Eggs is available today, while Mouthwashing arrives on October 29.
  
• Mouthwashing has become one of the most acclaimed indie horror games of recent years, selling more than 800,000 copies on Steam and taking home multiple awards.
  No, I’m Not a Human, the viral paranoia horror that has sold more than one million copies on PC, is coming to XBOX and Game Pass in 2027. 
  

The nights are getting darker, the weather is getting harsher… Can you feel it? Halloween is almost here, and there’s never been a better excuse to turn off the lights, lock the doors, and play something that fills your head with dread and despair.

Luckily, we have you covered. From doomed spaceships and apocalyptic paranoia to Antarctic cooking, CRITICAL REFLEX delivers all kinds of indie weirdness.

In today’s ID@XBOX and IGN Showcase, we revealed that three more of our unconventional indie hits are coming to XBOX, with two arriving just in time for Halloween, and one more bringing its own particular brand of paranoia to the platform in 2027.

Critically-acclaimed psychological horror hit Mouthwashing is coming to XBOX Series X|S and Game Pass at the end of the month – don’t miss one of the most talked-about indie horror games of recent years.

Meanwhile, Arctic Eggs is on XBOX Series X|S today, and asks a much more important question: can you make an omelette out of eggs, bullets and beer bottles?

And then there’s No, I’m Not a Human (coming in 2027), where the end of the world is happening outside your front door, and absolutely everyone looks suspicious.

So get ready for plenty of terrifying gameplay on XBOX.

Prepare for One of Indie Horror’s Most Talked-About Nightmares

There are horror games that scare you. And then there’s Mouthwashing.

Developer Wrong Organ’s psychological horror hit takes place aboard doomed space freighter The Tulpar, where five crew members are left stranded with dwindling supplies, no hope of rescue, and plenty of secrets.

Since launching on PC in 2024, Mouthwashing has sold more than 800,000 copies and picked up multiple awards, including Best Narrative and Players’ Choice at the Horror Game Awards.



Explore the dying ship, uncover the crew’s fractured history, and piece together exactly what happened aboard the Tulpar.

The deeper you go, the harder it becomes to tell delusion from reality – and the more uncomfortable the answers get.

Whether you’ve already experienced Mouthwashing or somehow managed to miss out on the PC phenomenon, October 29 is your chance to find out what all the screaming is about.

Mouthwashing launches on XBOX Series X|S, XBOX On PC, XBOX One, and XBOX Game Pass on October 29, 2026.

Can You Fry Eggs On Top of Mount Everest?

Arctic Eggs has scrambled its way onto XBOX Series X|S today!

The Water Museum’s surreal cooking game drops you into a bizarre Antarctic city where eggs, beer bottles, bullets, and pretty much anything else you can find can become an ingredient.



It’s strange, funny, surprisingly satisfying, and makes you really appreciate how much precision and effort goes into frying an egg (or any remotely egg-shaped object).

And there’s no waiting around to play it. Arctic Eggs is available now on XBOX Series X|S.

Knock Knock… Who’s There?

The apocalypse has transformed the outside world into a deadly wasteland, leaving you with one simple rule:

Stay inside.

Unfortunately, people keep knocking.



Interrogate your visitors, look for signs that something isn’t quite right, and decide who gets to come inside. Just make sure you choose correctly.

Developer Trioskaz’s viral paranoia horror No, I’m Not A Human has already sold more than one million copies on PC, and is coming to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX One, and XBOX Game Pass in 2027.

Your Next Obsession Awaits 

Whether you’re looking for psychological horror, apocalyptic paranoia, or surreal cooking, CRITICAL REFLEX has something suitably strange waiting for you on XBOX.

Arctic Eggs is available now on XBOX Series X|S.

Mouthwashing arrives October 29, day one with XBOX Game Pass.

No, I’m Not a Human is coming to XBOX and Game Pass in 2027.

And that’s not all. Militsioner is also making its way to XBOX and Game Pass in 2027. For a closer look at the colossal policeman, surreal town, and everything else waiting inside, check out its dedicated XBOX Wire article.

Whatever your idea of a good Halloween game, CRITICAL REFLEX has something suitably strange waiting for you. CRITICAL REFLEX TIME is also now live, offering an exclusive look at some of our other upcoming games coming to XBOX – catch up on the showcase and see what’s next. 

Happy Halloween!

The post Three CRITICAL REFLEX Hits Are Coming to XBOX, And One Arrives Today  appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>

• Two critically-acclaimed CRITICAL REFLEX indie hits are coming to XBOX just in time for Halloween: Arctic Eggs is available today, while Mouthwashing arrives on October 29.
  
• Mouthwashing has become one of the most acclaimed indie horror games of recent years, selling more than 800,000 copies on Steam and taking home multiple awards.
  No, I’m Not a Human, the viral paranoia horror that has sold more than one million copies on PC, is coming to XBOX and Game Pass in 2027. 
  

The nights are getting darker, the weather is getting harsher… Can you feel it? Halloween is almost here, and there’s never been a better excuse to turn off the lights, lock the doors, and play something that fills your head with dread and despair.

Luckily, we have you covered. From doomed spaceships and apocalyptic paranoia to Antarctic cooking, CRITICAL REFLEX delivers all kinds of indie weirdness.

In today’s ID@XBOX and IGN Showcase, we revealed that three more of our unconventional indie hits are coming to XBOX, with two arriving just in time for Halloween, and one more bringing its own particular brand of paranoia to the platform in 2027.

Critically-acclaimed psychological horror hit Mouthwashing is coming to XBOX Series X|S and Game Pass at the end of the month – don’t miss one of the most talked-about indie horror games of recent years.

Meanwhile, Arctic Eggs is on XBOX Series X|S today, and asks a much more important question: can you make an omelette out of eggs, bullets and beer bottles?

And then there’s No, I’m Not a Human (coming in 2027), where the end of the world is happening outside your front door, and absolutely everyone looks suspicious.

So get ready for plenty of terrifying gameplay on XBOX.

Prepare for One of Indie Horror’s Most Talked-About Nightmares

There are horror games that scare you. And then there’s Mouthwashing.

Developer Wrong Organ’s psychological horror hit takes place aboard doomed space freighter The Tulpar, where five crew members are left stranded with dwindling supplies, no hope of rescue, and plenty of secrets.

Since launching on PC in 2024, Mouthwashing has sold more than 800,000 copies and picked up multiple awards, including Best Narrative and Players’ Choice at the Horror Game Awards.



Explore the dying ship, uncover the crew’s fractured history, and piece together exactly what happened aboard the Tulpar.

The deeper you go, the harder it becomes to tell delusion from reality – and the more uncomfortable the answers get.

Whether you’ve already experienced Mouthwashing or somehow managed to miss out on the PC phenomenon, October 29 is your chance to find out what all the screaming is about.

Mouthwashing launches on XBOX Series X|S, XBOX On PC, XBOX One, and XBOX Game Pass on October 29, 2026.

Can You Fry Eggs On Top of Mount Everest?

Arctic Eggs has scrambled its way onto XBOX Series X|S today!

The Water Museum’s surreal cooking game drops you into a bizarre Antarctic city where eggs, beer bottles, bullets, and pretty much anything else you can find can become an ingredient.



It’s strange, funny, surprisingly satisfying, and makes you really appreciate how much precision and effort goes into frying an egg (or any remotely egg-shaped object).

And there’s no waiting around to play it. Arctic Eggs is available now on XBOX Series X|S.

Knock Knock… Who’s There?

The apocalypse has transformed the outside world into a deadly wasteland, leaving you with one simple rule:

Stay inside.

Unfortunately, people keep knocking.



Interrogate your visitors, look for signs that something isn’t quite right, and decide who gets to come inside. Just make sure you choose correctly.

Developer Trioskaz’s viral paranoia horror No, I’m Not A Human has already sold more than one million copies on PC, and is coming to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX One, and XBOX Game Pass in 2027.

Your Next Obsession Awaits 

Whether you’re looking for psychological horror, apocalyptic paranoia, or surreal cooking, CRITICAL REFLEX has something suitably strange waiting for you on XBOX.

Arctic Eggs is available now on XBOX Series X|S.

Mouthwashing arrives October 29, day one with XBOX Game Pass.

No, I’m Not a Human is coming to XBOX and Game Pass in 2027.

And that’s not all. Militsioner is also making its way to XBOX and Game Pass in 2027. For a closer look at the colossal policeman, surreal town, and everything else waiting inside, check out its dedicated XBOX Wire article.

Whatever your idea of a good Halloween game, CRITICAL REFLEX has something suitably strange waiting for you. CRITICAL REFLEX TIME is also now live, offering an exclusive look at some of our other upcoming games coming to XBOX – catch up on the showcase and see what’s next. 

Happy Halloween!

The post Three CRITICAL REFLEX Hits Are Coming to XBOX, And One Arrives Today  appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114066.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:02:16 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114066.html

• Magenta Down is an atmospheric sci-fi adventure about traversing a hostile exoplanet to save yourself and your missing crew.
  
• The developers provide a glimpse into their design goals and approach.
  
• Magenta Down is coming in 2027 to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC.
  

Magenta Down is designed around a simple premise: you and your crew have crashed and are now scattered across the surface of a harsh, remote exoplanet. With limited supplies and surrounded by hostile terrain, can you find your crew and escape?

We wanted to create an atmospheric journey about moving forward and enduring the consequences of the decisions you make along the way. For us, that’s what makes an adventure interesting, facing difficult decisions with imperfect knowledge and living with the repercussions.



While enduring the planet’s weather and radiation, you’ll need to manage your current condition and decide where to head next. That might mean moving towards flashing lights because they often mark a downed supply pod, or the beacon of a recently rebooted antenna array in hopes of learning where the next industrial outpost is located.

Whether you’re moving across the surface or making your way through a decommissioned mining facility, these traversals can be tense. For example, getting caught in a storm will greatly increase your radiation exposure while also limiting your visibility. As your Geiger counter crackles and your radiation meter ticks upward, it becomes increasingly important to be on the lookout for signs of creatures, valuable supplies, and places where you can shelter from a storm.

In addition to the environment, the planet’s creatures offer a distinct challenge. If aggravated, they are extremely fast and dangerous. Combat, however, is about standing your ground and picking the right moment to attack, rather than precision aiming or complex button inputs. We like the balance this creates between tension and accomplishment, while still being accessible.



Over the course of the journey, we provide various ways to learn about the challenges ahead, prepare for them, and mitigate the threats you face. Whether that means gathering information from a crash location or facility before you journey out, making strategic use of scarce supplies, or simply being careful and observant, we’ve worked hard to build a concise, focused journey that rewards thoughtful and deliberate gameplay.

Magenta Down is coming in 2027, and we’re looking forward to sharing more as we get closer to release.

The post Magenta Down: A Journey Across a Hostile Exoplanet appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>

• Magenta Down is an atmospheric sci-fi adventure about traversing a hostile exoplanet to save yourself and your missing crew.
  
• The developers provide a glimpse into their design goals and approach.
  
• Magenta Down is coming in 2027 to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC.
  

Magenta Down is designed around a simple premise: you and your crew have crashed and are now scattered across the surface of a harsh, remote exoplanet. With limited supplies and surrounded by hostile terrain, can you find your crew and escape?

We wanted to create an atmospheric journey about moving forward and enduring the consequences of the decisions you make along the way. For us, that’s what makes an adventure interesting, facing difficult decisions with imperfect knowledge and living with the repercussions.



While enduring the planet’s weather and radiation, you’ll need to manage your current condition and decide where to head next. That might mean moving towards flashing lights because they often mark a downed supply pod, or the beacon of a recently rebooted antenna array in hopes of learning where the next industrial outpost is located.

Whether you’re moving across the surface or making your way through a decommissioned mining facility, these traversals can be tense. For example, getting caught in a storm will greatly increase your radiation exposure while also limiting your visibility. As your Geiger counter crackles and your radiation meter ticks upward, it becomes increasingly important to be on the lookout for signs of creatures, valuable supplies, and places where you can shelter from a storm.

In addition to the environment, the planet’s creatures offer a distinct challenge. If aggravated, they are extremely fast and dangerous. Combat, however, is about standing your ground and picking the right moment to attack, rather than precision aiming or complex button inputs. We like the balance this creates between tension and accomplishment, while still being accessible.



Over the course of the journey, we provide various ways to learn about the challenges ahead, prepare for them, and mitigate the threats you face. Whether that means gathering information from a crash location or facility before you journey out, making strategic use of scarce supplies, or simply being careful and observant, we’ve worked hard to build a concise, focused journey that rewards thoughtful and deliberate gameplay.

Magenta Down is coming in 2027, and we’re looking forward to sharing more as we get closer to release.

The post Magenta Down: A Journey Across a Hostile Exoplanet appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114059.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:00:00 -0200 xSicKxBot]]> https://sickgaming.net/thread-114059.html



Plan Your Next Visit to Hajin

Check out the interactive Hajin DMZ Tac Map on Call of Duty Blog

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s new DMZ mode is here! Following the release of Campaign Early Access last week, Modern Warfare 4’s new action extraction mode is arriving early ahead of its global launch of October 23 for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, Steam, Battle.net, and other platforms.

If you’re unfamiliar, DMZ is the new extraction mode available exclusively with Modern Warfare 4 where you’ll deploy to the massive Hajin map, gather valuable resources, and extract before enemy forces eliminate your Operator. Success will depend on not only what you bring into each deployment, but how you recruit, develop, and protect your Operators. This guide will cover many of the starting basics to help get your boots on the ground and into action. Let’s get started.



Recruitment and Preparing for Active Duty

Your first task: Assign an Operator to one of your Active Duty slots – the Operator you pick is locked to that slot until they are dismissed by you in favor of a replacement recruit. Starting out, you’ll begin with two Active Duty Operator slots, and another unlocks as you progress through your DMZ Player Levels.

When building out your Operator roster, a key strategy you want to consider is to have multiple specialized roles and builds — by having Operators built around different playstyles, you can select the one best suited to each deployment.

Operators are more than cosmetic: each is an individual character who grows stronger by surviving deployments and earning DMZ XP. As you progress an Operator, their Dog Tag quality improves and you earn Trait Points to spend across three Trait Trees, enabling specialized builds for different playstyles.



Collect ’em All: Dog Tags

Every Active Duty Operator carries a Dog Tag that can be removed after elimination by an enemy combatant during a DMZ deployment. Dog Tag quality rises as the Operator progresses, completes exfils, and is the key to earning Traits. Any Dog Tags you collect will appear in your Loadout profile, which records the Dog Tag type, any bounty on the Operator, and the human Operators you’ve eliminated.

The Cost of Recovery: MIA Operators

If your Operator is eliminated during a deployment, they become MIA (Missing in Action) and cannot deploy until recovered or dismissed. To recover them, open their profile at the FOB’s Active Duty station and pay the required DMZ Cash from your in-game Bank. The cost increases with the number of invested Trait Points, making experienced Operators more expensive to recover.

A recovered Operator keeps all selected Traits but loses their gear, so you must equip a new Loadout before deploying again. Alternatively, you can dismiss the MIA Operator and recruit a replacement. This creates a risk/reward: the longer an Operator survives, the more specialized and valuable they become, raising the stakes of every deployment. Don’t worry if you run out of equipment; you’re able to secure a Free Loadout every time you deploy, if you need one.



Understanding the Three Trait Trees

Every Operator who completes a successful exfil will earn one Trait Point. Those points can then be spent across the Warfighter, Scout, and Survivalist Trait Trees, and sustained deployments in Hajin lets an Operator develop across more than one tree.

After leveling up your Dog Tag in DMZ by acquiring enough XP, you’ll automatically “bank” one Trait point that you can choose to either save up or spend at any time through the Operators Station and the Traits menu. Though you might want to keep these Trait Points until you can better understand which traits you really want to invest in later, most might prefer to receive a Trait benefit as soon as possible.

The first point unlocks the initial Trait in a selected tree; later points can advance that tree or be used to unlock the other two trees. Once chosen, a Trait is locked in, and alternatives on the same branch cannot be obtained. There is a total of 66 Traits to unlock, but any given Operator can earn no more than 18. Increased Trait investment raises the cost of recovering that Operator if they become MIA.



Our Favorite Traits

Most Traits are hidden and randomized and, according to Call of Duty Blog, there is considerable variety as Operators progress. Traits can eventually become permanent through DMZ Prestige (more on that in a minute), but here’s some of the favorites we’ve learned about and ways you could employ them, organized by tree:

Warfighter Traits

Great if you want to strengthen your direct engagement and survivability in the DMZ.

• Adrenaline Burst resets Tactical Sprint after a kill.
  
  
• Equipment Professional slowly recharges equipped Lethals and Tacticals.
  
  
• Combat Resistance reduces explosive damage and the effects of enemy Tacticals.
  
  
• Viper Sense warns you when enemy players are nearby.
  
  
• Quick Fix reduces the health-regeneration delay after killing an enemy Operator or hostile.
  
  
• Possum provides a once-per-match self-revive from death.
  
  

Scout Traits

A great Tree to invest in if you want to create an agile Looter who can grab supplies and exfil quickly to help acquire ingredients back at the FOB. These are focused on resource acquisition, detection, and field preparation.

• AI Drop Rare Loot gives AI enemies a small chance to drop Rare loot.
  
  
• Extra Loot from Hostiles lets enemies occasionally drop an Uncommon printer ingredient (with a small chance for a Rare).
  
  
• Extra Container Loot provides a chance to find an additional item in containers.
  
  
• Thermal Padding hides you from UAVs.
  
  
• UAV Upgrade converts a UAV into a longer-lasting Advanced UAV.
  
  
• Overwatch prevents UAV Towers from expiring.
  
  

Survivalist Traits

These are great all-rounder Traits that improve upkeep, recovery, and exfil options.

• Metabolism slowly regenerates lost health sections.
  
  
• Faster Revive increases revive speed.
  
  
• Consumable Duration Increase extends consumable effects and gear durability.
  
  
• Impact Smokes releases smoke when you’re downed.
  
  
• Free Tourniquet prevents the first tourniquet used in a match from reducing health.
  
  
• Numb the Pain applies a painkiller effect on revives.
  
  
• Die Hard automatically calls an exfil when you’re near the pick-up point and grants unlimited bleed-out time while in Last Stand.
  
  

Reaching Prestige

Once your Active Duty Operator has earned 18 Trait Points, obtained the required DMZ Cash to cover the cost, and equipped the required collection of rare gear, you may Prestige them – this is separate from the Standard Level 1–55 Player Progression and tied to a specific Operator, giving you a long-term path for developing them across many deployments. Just make sure any items you want to keep are removed from the Backpack because its contents will be wiped!

When all requirements are met, all Trait Points are reset. In exchange, that Operator receives a Permanent Prestige Trait that is randomly selected from the available Trait pool and belongs only to the Operator who earned it. It remains on that Operator even if they are dismissed, moved to another Active Duty slot, or given a different Operator Skin. It’s a permanent foundation on which you can rebuild the Operator and gradually develop a roster of highly specialized characters.

After your first Prestige, you can earn Trait Points again for another Prestige – just know that each successive level requires more valuable equipment and a greater DMZ Cash cost to qualify for that additional Prestige level.



DMZ rewards smart preparation just as much as sharp shooting. Develop Operators for different roles, study the Trait Trees, utilize points as you acquire them, and weigh the recovery cost before risking your most experienced build on the battlefield. With every successful exfil, you’ll move closer to Prestige and a Permanent Trait that can shape future deployments. Gear up and we’ll see you in Hajin!









Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 – Vault Edition

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$99.99

Pre-order

Pre-order loyalty discount for previous Call of Duty® owners: 10% off Modern Warfare® 4 Vault Edition for eligible players*.

Pre-order any digital edition and receive:

– Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint – Unlock the Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 at launch. Show off the Xbox 25th Anniversary Edition on Xbox Series X|S only**
– Items for immediate use in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 and Call of Duty®: Warzone



***. Also available in Modern Warfare® 4 at launch:
— Hunter Killer Operator Skin – Immediately unlock the Hunter Killer Operator Skin
— Gilded Pearl Camo Pack – Immediately unlock the Moonlit Pearl weapon camo. Plus, get access to unlock the Gilded Ruin weapon camo.
– Campaign Early Access, starting October 16th****
– DMZ Early Access, starting October 20th****

The Vault Edition includes:

– Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4
– Hostile Alliance Operator Pack
— 4 Operator Skins: Price, Valeria, Ghost, Blix
– Special Forces Operator Pack
— 4 Operator Skins representing the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and South Korea, each with voice packs in their local languages
– Signature Weapon Collection
— 5 Signature Weapons
– BlackCell (1 Season)*****
— Includes: Battle Pass, 20 Tier Skips, 1,100 CP and more
– DMZ Deployment Bonus
— Additional bonus content in DMZ

War erupts on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea launches a full-scale invasion that threatens to destabilize the world in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4.

A young squad of South Korean soldiers fight to survive on the collapsing front lines, while half a world away a vengeful Captain Price wages a personal war from the shadows as he stays one step ahead of those hunting him. As Price’s off-book mission collides with the forces behind the invasion, the war spreads beyond anyone’s control.

Modern Warfare® 4 pushes the series into darker and more dangerous territory, where consequence and escalation bring long-running storylines to a powerful and emotional breaking point.

– Campaign drops players into trench warfare in Korea, close-quarters combat in New York, high-octane chases through Paris, SAS night raids in Mumbai, and city-wide assaults to reclaim occupied territory.
– Multiplayer delivers grounded, precise combat where fluid movement, player choice, and greater control define every engagement.
– In DMZ, players operate as an off-the-books asset behind enemy lines, where every extraction run into contested territory forces hard choices about which objectives to pursue, what to secure, and when to get out.

Available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC, not available on Xbox One. Not on Xbox Game Pass this year.

Online Multiplayer requires a Game Pass Essential subscription (sold separately).

TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required for PC, other security measures may be enforced. Learn more at https://support.activision.com/tpm.

*Based on MSRP, discount applied at checkout. To qualify, must own and have played one of the following Call of Duty® titles on the same Xbox account as being used for current Pre-order: Modern Warfare® (2019), Modern Warfare® 2 Campaign Remastered (2020), Black Ops Cold War, Vanguard, Modern Warfare® II (2022), Modern Warfare® III (2023), Black Ops 6, or Black Ops 7. Offer subject to change, applies to Pre-orders only. Offer valid until 23rd October 2026. Visit support.activision.com/mw4 for full details.

**Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox on PC required to redeem. The Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint features an Xbox 25th Anniversary visual treatment when used on Xbox Series X|S. On all other supported platforms, the Blueprint will appear with its authentic mil-spec visual treatment. Must be redeemed by October 23rd, 2027.

***Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 or Call of Duty®: Warzone



on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox PC required to redeem. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 23rd, 2027.

****Actual play time subject to possible outages and applicable time zone differences. Actual platform availability and start date subject to change.

*****BlackCell, Battle Pass, Call of Duty® Points and Tier Skips will be accessible in Modern Warfare® 4 upon availability of the Season 1 Battle Pass in-game. Redemption applies to one Season of the Modern Warfare® 4 Battle Pass only.

Content, features, services, online play, and support not available in all regions, and may vary, change, or terminate.

Requires an Activision account and acceptance of the Activision Software License and Services Agreement. A mobile phone number linked to your Activision account may be required to play Modern Warfare® 4.

Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates.

For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.

©/TM/® 2026 Activision Publishing, Inc. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software ('Id Technology'). Id Technology © 1999-2026 Id Software, Inc.









Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$69.99

Pre-order

Pre-order any digital edition and receive:

– Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint – Unlock the Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 at launch. Show off the Xbox 25th Anniversary Edition on Xbox Series X|S only*
– Items for immediate use in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 and Call of Duty®: Warzone



**. Also available in Modern Warfare® 4 at launch:
— Hunter Killer Operator Skin – Immediately unlock the Hunter Killer Operator Skin
— Gilded Pearl Camo Pack – Immediately unlock the Moonlit Pearl weapon camo. Plus, get access to unlock the Gilded Ruin weapon camo.
– Campaign Early Access, starting October 16th***
– DMZ Early Access, starting October 20th***

War erupts on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea launches a full-scale invasion that threatens to destabilize the world in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4.

A young squad of South Korean soldiers fight to survive on the collapsing front lines, while half a world away a vengeful Captain Price wages a personal war from the shadows as he stays one step ahead of those hunting him. As Price’s off-book mission collides with the forces behind the invasion, the war spreads beyond anyone’s control.

Modern Warfare® 4 pushes the series into darker and more dangerous territory, where consequence and escalation bring long-running storylines to a powerful and emotional breaking point.

– Campaign drops players into trench warfare in Korea, close-quarters combat in New York, high-octane chases through Paris, SAS night raids in Mumbai, and city-wide assaults to reclaim occupied territory.
– Multiplayer delivers grounded, precise combat where fluid movement, player choice, and greater control define every engagement.
– In DMZ, players operate as an off-the-books asset behind enemy lines, where every extraction run into contested territory forces hard choices about which objectives to pursue, what to secure, and when to get out.

Available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC, not available on Xbox One. Not on Xbox Game Pass this year.

Online Multiplayer requires a Game Pass Essential subscription (sold separately).

TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required for PC, other security measures may be enforced. Learn more at https://support.activision.com/tpm.

*Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox on PC required to redeem. The Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint features an Xbox 25th Anniversary visual treatment when used on Xbox Series X|S. On all other supported platforms, the Blueprint will appear with its authentic mil-spec visual treatment. Must be redeemed by October 23rd, 2027.

**Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 or Call of Duty®: Warzone



on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox PC required to redeem. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 23rd, 2027.

***Actual play time subject to possible outages and applicable time zone differences. Actual platform availability and start date subject to change.

Content, features, services, online play, and support not available in all regions, and may vary, change, or terminate.

Requires an Activision account and acceptance of the Activision Software License and Services Agreement. A mobile phone number linked to your Activision account may be required to play Modern Warfare® 4.

Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates.

For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.

©/TM/® 2026 Activision Publishing, Inc. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software ('Id Technology'). Id Technology © 1999-2026 Id Software, Inc.

The post Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 – How to Get Started as an Operator in DMZ appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>



Plan Your Next Visit to Hajin

Check out the interactive Hajin DMZ Tac Map on Call of Duty Blog

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s new DMZ mode is here! Following the release of Campaign Early Access last week, Modern Warfare 4’s new action extraction mode is arriving early ahead of its global launch of October 23 for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, Steam, Battle.net, and other platforms.

If you’re unfamiliar, DMZ is the new extraction mode available exclusively with Modern Warfare 4 where you’ll deploy to the massive Hajin map, gather valuable resources, and extract before enemy forces eliminate your Operator. Success will depend on not only what you bring into each deployment, but how you recruit, develop, and protect your Operators. This guide will cover many of the starting basics to help get your boots on the ground and into action. Let’s get started.



Recruitment and Preparing for Active Duty

Your first task: Assign an Operator to one of your Active Duty slots – the Operator you pick is locked to that slot until they are dismissed by you in favor of a replacement recruit. Starting out, you’ll begin with two Active Duty Operator slots, and another unlocks as you progress through your DMZ Player Levels.

When building out your Operator roster, a key strategy you want to consider is to have multiple specialized roles and builds — by having Operators built around different playstyles, you can select the one best suited to each deployment.

Operators are more than cosmetic: each is an individual character who grows stronger by surviving deployments and earning DMZ XP. As you progress an Operator, their Dog Tag quality improves and you earn Trait Points to spend across three Trait Trees, enabling specialized builds for different playstyles.



Collect ’em All: Dog Tags

Every Active Duty Operator carries a Dog Tag that can be removed after elimination by an enemy combatant during a DMZ deployment. Dog Tag quality rises as the Operator progresses, completes exfils, and is the key to earning Traits. Any Dog Tags you collect will appear in your Loadout profile, which records the Dog Tag type, any bounty on the Operator, and the human Operators you’ve eliminated.

The Cost of Recovery: MIA Operators

If your Operator is eliminated during a deployment, they become MIA (Missing in Action) and cannot deploy until recovered or dismissed. To recover them, open their profile at the FOB’s Active Duty station and pay the required DMZ Cash from your in-game Bank. The cost increases with the number of invested Trait Points, making experienced Operators more expensive to recover.

A recovered Operator keeps all selected Traits but loses their gear, so you must equip a new Loadout before deploying again. Alternatively, you can dismiss the MIA Operator and recruit a replacement. This creates a risk/reward: the longer an Operator survives, the more specialized and valuable they become, raising the stakes of every deployment. Don’t worry if you run out of equipment; you’re able to secure a Free Loadout every time you deploy, if you need one.



Understanding the Three Trait Trees

Every Operator who completes a successful exfil will earn one Trait Point. Those points can then be spent across the Warfighter, Scout, and Survivalist Trait Trees, and sustained deployments in Hajin lets an Operator develop across more than one tree.

After leveling up your Dog Tag in DMZ by acquiring enough XP, you’ll automatically “bank” one Trait point that you can choose to either save up or spend at any time through the Operators Station and the Traits menu. Though you might want to keep these Trait Points until you can better understand which traits you really want to invest in later, most might prefer to receive a Trait benefit as soon as possible.

The first point unlocks the initial Trait in a selected tree; later points can advance that tree or be used to unlock the other two trees. Once chosen, a Trait is locked in, and alternatives on the same branch cannot be obtained. There is a total of 66 Traits to unlock, but any given Operator can earn no more than 18. Increased Trait investment raises the cost of recovering that Operator if they become MIA.



Our Favorite Traits

Most Traits are hidden and randomized and, according to Call of Duty Blog, there is considerable variety as Operators progress. Traits can eventually become permanent through DMZ Prestige (more on that in a minute), but here’s some of the favorites we’ve learned about and ways you could employ them, organized by tree:

Warfighter Traits

Great if you want to strengthen your direct engagement and survivability in the DMZ.

• Adrenaline Burst resets Tactical Sprint after a kill.
  
  
• Equipment Professional slowly recharges equipped Lethals and Tacticals.
  
  
• Combat Resistance reduces explosive damage and the effects of enemy Tacticals.
  
  
• Viper Sense warns you when enemy players are nearby.
  
  
• Quick Fix reduces the health-regeneration delay after killing an enemy Operator or hostile.
  
  
• Possum provides a once-per-match self-revive from death.
  
  

Scout Traits

A great Tree to invest in if you want to create an agile Looter who can grab supplies and exfil quickly to help acquire ingredients back at the FOB. These are focused on resource acquisition, detection, and field preparation.

• AI Drop Rare Loot gives AI enemies a small chance to drop Rare loot.
  
  
• Extra Loot from Hostiles lets enemies occasionally drop an Uncommon printer ingredient (with a small chance for a Rare).
  
  
• Extra Container Loot provides a chance to find an additional item in containers.
  
  
• Thermal Padding hides you from UAVs.
  
  
• UAV Upgrade converts a UAV into a longer-lasting Advanced UAV.
  
  
• Overwatch prevents UAV Towers from expiring.
  
  

Survivalist Traits

These are great all-rounder Traits that improve upkeep, recovery, and exfil options.

• Metabolism slowly regenerates lost health sections.
  
  
• Faster Revive increases revive speed.
  
  
• Consumable Duration Increase extends consumable effects and gear durability.
  
  
• Impact Smokes releases smoke when you’re downed.
  
  
• Free Tourniquet prevents the first tourniquet used in a match from reducing health.
  
  
• Numb the Pain applies a painkiller effect on revives.
  
  
• Die Hard automatically calls an exfil when you’re near the pick-up point and grants unlimited bleed-out time while in Last Stand.
  
  

Reaching Prestige

Once your Active Duty Operator has earned 18 Trait Points, obtained the required DMZ Cash to cover the cost, and equipped the required collection of rare gear, you may Prestige them – this is separate from the Standard Level 1–55 Player Progression and tied to a specific Operator, giving you a long-term path for developing them across many deployments. Just make sure any items you want to keep are removed from the Backpack because its contents will be wiped!

When all requirements are met, all Trait Points are reset. In exchange, that Operator receives a Permanent Prestige Trait that is randomly selected from the available Trait pool and belongs only to the Operator who earned it. It remains on that Operator even if they are dismissed, moved to another Active Duty slot, or given a different Operator Skin. It’s a permanent foundation on which you can rebuild the Operator and gradually develop a roster of highly specialized characters.

After your first Prestige, you can earn Trait Points again for another Prestige – just know that each successive level requires more valuable equipment and a greater DMZ Cash cost to qualify for that additional Prestige level.



DMZ rewards smart preparation just as much as sharp shooting. Develop Operators for different roles, study the Trait Trees, utilize points as you acquire them, and weigh the recovery cost before risking your most experienced build on the battlefield. With every successful exfil, you’ll move closer to Prestige and a Permanent Trait that can shape future deployments. Gear up and we’ll see you in Hajin!









Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 – Vault Edition

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$99.99

Pre-order

Pre-order loyalty discount for previous Call of Duty® owners: 10% off Modern Warfare® 4 Vault Edition for eligible players*.

Pre-order any digital edition and receive:

– Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint – Unlock the Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 at launch. Show off the Xbox 25th Anniversary Edition on Xbox Series X|S only**
– Items for immediate use in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 and Call of Duty®: Warzone



***. Also available in Modern Warfare® 4 at launch:
— Hunter Killer Operator Skin – Immediately unlock the Hunter Killer Operator Skin
— Gilded Pearl Camo Pack – Immediately unlock the Moonlit Pearl weapon camo. Plus, get access to unlock the Gilded Ruin weapon camo.
– Campaign Early Access, starting October 16th****
– DMZ Early Access, starting October 20th****

The Vault Edition includes:

– Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4
– Hostile Alliance Operator Pack
— 4 Operator Skins: Price, Valeria, Ghost, Blix
– Special Forces Operator Pack
— 4 Operator Skins representing the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and South Korea, each with voice packs in their local languages
– Signature Weapon Collection
— 5 Signature Weapons
– BlackCell (1 Season)*****
— Includes: Battle Pass, 20 Tier Skips, 1,100 CP and more
– DMZ Deployment Bonus
— Additional bonus content in DMZ

War erupts on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea launches a full-scale invasion that threatens to destabilize the world in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4.

A young squad of South Korean soldiers fight to survive on the collapsing front lines, while half a world away a vengeful Captain Price wages a personal war from the shadows as he stays one step ahead of those hunting him. As Price’s off-book mission collides with the forces behind the invasion, the war spreads beyond anyone’s control.

Modern Warfare® 4 pushes the series into darker and more dangerous territory, where consequence and escalation bring long-running storylines to a powerful and emotional breaking point.

– Campaign drops players into trench warfare in Korea, close-quarters combat in New York, high-octane chases through Paris, SAS night raids in Mumbai, and city-wide assaults to reclaim occupied territory.
– Multiplayer delivers grounded, precise combat where fluid movement, player choice, and greater control define every engagement.
– In DMZ, players operate as an off-the-books asset behind enemy lines, where every extraction run into contested territory forces hard choices about which objectives to pursue, what to secure, and when to get out.

Available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC, not available on Xbox One. Not on Xbox Game Pass this year.

Online Multiplayer requires a Game Pass Essential subscription (sold separately).

TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required for PC, other security measures may be enforced. Learn more at https://support.activision.com/tpm.

*Based on MSRP, discount applied at checkout. To qualify, must own and have played one of the following Call of Duty® titles on the same Xbox account as being used for current Pre-order: Modern Warfare® (2019), Modern Warfare® 2 Campaign Remastered (2020), Black Ops Cold War, Vanguard, Modern Warfare® II (2022), Modern Warfare® III (2023), Black Ops 6, or Black Ops 7. Offer subject to change, applies to Pre-orders only. Offer valid until 23rd October 2026. Visit support.activision.com/mw4 for full details.

**Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox on PC required to redeem. The Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint features an Xbox 25th Anniversary visual treatment when used on Xbox Series X|S. On all other supported platforms, the Blueprint will appear with its authentic mil-spec visual treatment. Must be redeemed by October 23rd, 2027.

***Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 or Call of Duty®: Warzone



on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox PC required to redeem. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 23rd, 2027.

****Actual play time subject to possible outages and applicable time zone differences. Actual platform availability and start date subject to change.

*****BlackCell, Battle Pass, Call of Duty® Points and Tier Skips will be accessible in Modern Warfare® 4 upon availability of the Season 1 Battle Pass in-game. Redemption applies to one Season of the Modern Warfare® 4 Battle Pass only.

Content, features, services, online play, and support not available in all regions, and may vary, change, or terminate.

Requires an Activision account and acceptance of the Activision Software License and Services Agreement. A mobile phone number linked to your Activision account may be required to play Modern Warfare® 4.

Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates.

For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.

©/TM/® 2026 Activision Publishing, Inc. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software ('Id Technology'). Id Technology © 1999-2026 Id Software, Inc.









Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$69.99

Pre-order

Pre-order any digital edition and receive:

– Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint – Unlock the Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 at launch. Show off the Xbox 25th Anniversary Edition on Xbox Series X|S only*
– Items for immediate use in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 and Call of Duty®: Warzone



**. Also available in Modern Warfare® 4 at launch:
— Hunter Killer Operator Skin – Immediately unlock the Hunter Killer Operator Skin
— Gilded Pearl Camo Pack – Immediately unlock the Moonlit Pearl weapon camo. Plus, get access to unlock the Gilded Ruin weapon camo.
– Campaign Early Access, starting October 16th***
– DMZ Early Access, starting October 20th***

War erupts on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea launches a full-scale invasion that threatens to destabilize the world in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4.

A young squad of South Korean soldiers fight to survive on the collapsing front lines, while half a world away a vengeful Captain Price wages a personal war from the shadows as he stays one step ahead of those hunting him. As Price’s off-book mission collides with the forces behind the invasion, the war spreads beyond anyone’s control.

Modern Warfare® 4 pushes the series into darker and more dangerous territory, where consequence and escalation bring long-running storylines to a powerful and emotional breaking point.

– Campaign drops players into trench warfare in Korea, close-quarters combat in New York, high-octane chases through Paris, SAS night raids in Mumbai, and city-wide assaults to reclaim occupied territory.
– Multiplayer delivers grounded, precise combat where fluid movement, player choice, and greater control define every engagement.
– In DMZ, players operate as an off-the-books asset behind enemy lines, where every extraction run into contested territory forces hard choices about which objectives to pursue, what to secure, and when to get out.

Available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC, not available on Xbox One. Not on Xbox Game Pass this year.

Online Multiplayer requires a Game Pass Essential subscription (sold separately).

TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required for PC, other security measures may be enforced. Learn more at https://support.activision.com/tpm.

*Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox on PC required to redeem. The Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint features an Xbox 25th Anniversary visual treatment when used on Xbox Series X|S. On all other supported platforms, the Blueprint will appear with its authentic mil-spec visual treatment. Must be redeemed by October 23rd, 2027.

**Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 or Call of Duty®: Warzone



on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox PC required to redeem. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 23rd, 2027.

***Actual play time subject to possible outages and applicable time zone differences. Actual platform availability and start date subject to change.

Content, features, services, online play, and support not available in all regions, and may vary, change, or terminate.

Requires an Activision account and acceptance of the Activision Software License and Services Agreement. A mobile phone number linked to your Activision account may be required to play Modern Warfare® 4.

Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates.

For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.

©/TM/® 2026 Activision Publishing, Inc. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software ('Id Technology'). Id Technology © 1999-2026 Id Software, Inc.

The post Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 – How to Get Started as an Operator in DMZ appeared first on XBOX Wire.]]>