Author: dpugh007

  • Introducing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks Plus New Titles for Console and PC

    Today, we’re announcing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks, a new exclusive member benefit starting March 18 that provides even more value for our Ultimate members. When we launched Xbox Game Pass in June 2017, we did so with the goal of creating a membership that provides the best value in gaming. Our members have told us they love discovering new games but they also want new in-game content. Through Perks, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will now regularly receive new benefits including DLC, in-game content and more – all free and included with membership.

    To kick
    things off, this month members can redeem these Perks for free:

    Phantasy Star Online 2: Enter the world of one of Japan’s biggest online RPGs with a special content bundle, which includes unique emotes, in-game cosmetics including an Xbox jacket, a gold ticket Mission Pass and in-game currency with a Meseta Crystal. Available to members in the US and Canada only.

    World of Tanks: Mercenaries: A global multiplayer free-to-play game dedicated to tank warfare in the mid-20th century. Start your journey with three powerful tanks and more!

    Sea of Thieves: The essential pirate experience, from sailing and fighting to exploring and looting – everything you need to live the pirate life and become a legend in your own right. With Perks, you get a free Ori-inspired Ancestral Sails, Figurehead, Hull, and Flag to adorn your ship.

    Smite: Become divine in the #1 MOBA on Xbox, with a bundle that unlocks five Gods, special character skins and voice packs so you can ride into the battle of the Gods in style. With Smite, join a community of 30 million players and defend your portal in showdowns in the Collesium.

    We’ll announce new Perks in the future alongside updates to the
    Xbox Game Pass catalog, so stay tuned. There’s no need to register or sign-up
    for the Perks program; as long as you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member, you
    can find your Perks on
    your console within the Xbox Game Pass tab, in the new Xbox (beta) app on
    Windows 10 PC, or within the Xbox Game Pass mobile app. If you are not a member
    of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can join today and get your first month
    for just $1
    .

    As always, when we try something new, we want your feedback; please
    let us know what you think of the Perks program. Your feedback drives the
    evolution of Xbox Game Pass, and we appreciate the time you take to help us improve.

    And now, I’m excited to share the upcoming titles joining Xbox Game
    Pass this month.


    Xbox Game Pass PC Coming Soon

    Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass for PC

    Astrologaster
    A comedy game set in Shakespeare’s London, play as ‘Doctor’ Simon Forman and treat his patients using astrology and win him a medical license. Explore Simon’s life, relationships, and his work. Make story choices strategically or just for fun – but be warned your choices will have consequences (and unpredictable side effects) in this story-driven adventure game based on a truly ridiculous story.

    Bleeding Edge – Xbox Play Anywhere
    Grab your team and tear it up in Bleeding Edge, an electrifying online brawler where every fighter comes mechanically enhanced for mayhem! Choose your fighter from a diverse cast of colorful characters from the edges of society: burn rubber as bold and beautiful Buttercup with her detachable saw blade arms, wreak havoc as Black-Metal rocker Niđhöggr with his electrifying guitar solos or slash up the streets as Daemon, New York’s most wanted assassin. Come join the cybernetic clash of the century!

    Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
    It’s morphin time! Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid pits current and classic rangers and villains in 3 vs. 3 tag battles. Test your skills online against friends and players from around the world for endless replayability. Experience authentic but re-imagined Power Rangers battle sequences like never before.

    The Surge 2
    On the way to Jericho City, your plane is shot down by a mysterious storm and crash-lands in the outskirts. You wake up weeks later in a derelict detention facility inside the city. Robots are on a rampage and a dark, expanding nanostorm looms over the cityscape. In this hardcore, brutal melee combat game, The Surge 2 challenges you to unravel its hidden secrets.


    Xbox Game Pass Console Coming Soon

    Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass for Console

    March 19

    Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
    Aerial combat has never looked or felt better than this. Soar through photorealistic skies with full 360-degree movement. Weather and environments affect your aircraft and HUD, making those dogfights just that more realistic. Take to the skies and become an ace pilot!

    Kona
    Northern Canada, 1970. A strange blizzard ravages Atamipek Lake. Step into the shoes of private detective to investigate surreal events in an eerie village while battling the elements to survive.

    The Surge 2 – Xbox One X Enhanced
    Your plane is shot down by a mysterious storm and crashes in the outskirts of Jericho City. Waking up weeks later in a derelict detention facility inside the city, you find that robots are on the rampage and a dark, expanding nanostorm looms over the city. The Surge 2 challenges you to unravel its hidden secrets in this hardcore, brutal melee combat game.

    March 24

    Bleeding Edge – Xbox One X Enhanced / Xbox Play Anywhere
    Join the cybernetic clash of the century! Choose your fighter from a diverse cast of colorful characters from the edges of society: burn rubber as bold and beautiful Buttercup with her detachable saw blade arms, wreak havoc as Black-Metal rocker Niđhöggr with his electrifying guitar solos or slash up the streets as Daemon, New York’s most wanted assassin. Then grab your team and tear it up in Bleeding Edge, an electrifying online brawler where every fighter comes mechanically enhanced for mayhem.

    March 26

    Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
    Experience authentic but re-imagined Power Rangers battle sequences like never before. Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid pits current and classic rangers and villains in 3 vs. 3 tag battles. You can also test your skills online against friends and players from around the world for endless replayability. It’s morphin time!

    And we’re sorry to see them go, so get some game time in on these while they’re still in our library, these are the games leaving our libraries soon:

    Console

    • Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
    • Cities: Skylines
    • The Golf Club 2
    • LEGO Worlds
    • Operencia: The Stolen Sun
    • Vampyr

    PC

    • Battle Chef Brigade
    • Cities: Skylines
    • Kingsway
    • Operencia: The Stolen Sun
    • Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You
    • Vampyr

    Thank you for all your feedback and your dedication to playing some amazing games. To keep up with the latest with Xbox Game Pass, you can download the mobile app and the new Xbox (Beta) app on your Windows 10 PC. Be sure to keep an eye on our Twitter and Instagram for more games to come.

    Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

    Microsoft Corporation


    $14.99

    $1

    Get all the benefits of Xbox Live Gold, plus over 100 high-quality console and PC games for one low monthly price. With games added all the time, there’s always something new to play. With a huge variety of games from every genre, there’s something for everyone. Enjoy exclusive member deals and discounts. Play together with friends on the most advanced multiplayer network and discover your next favorite game.

    Use your active Xbox Game Pass Ultimate plan membership to play games on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate includes Xbox Game Pass for Console, Xbox Game Pass for PC (Xbox Game Pass for PC not available in South Korea), and Xbox Live Gold.

    Note: Purchase Xbox Game Pass Ultimate automatically upgrades your existing Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass membership(s) to Ultimate at a conversion ratio each based on days remaining. Learn how this works at www.xbox.com/gamepass. Future code redemptions are also subject to a conversion ratio. Conversion ratio subject to change. All conversions to Ultimate are final: Once converted, you cannot re-convert your Ultimate membership back to a previous membership. Maximum 36 months of redeemed Ultimate per account at a time, including any converted time from Xbox Live Gold and/or Xbox Game Pass (for PC or console).

    Game titles and number vary over time and by country. Membership continues to be charged at the then-current price (subject to change; plus applicable taxes) unless cancelled. Cancel any time to stop your next scheduled charge; see account.microsoft.com/services. Notice before purchase of add-ons, DLC, consumables, virtual currency, or subscriptions (sold separately): If your membership terminates or a game is removed from the catalog, you must reactivate your membership or buy the game separately to continue using these items. ISP fees may apply. Age restrictions apply. Xbox Game Pass discounts are based on Microsoft Store price and are not combinable with other offers and are not redeemable for cash. Discount offers exclude titles within 30 days of launch and are not available with select titles. Service, features, and requirements may change or be retired. Subject to the Microsoft Services Agreement (microsoft.com/msa).

    Sign in for your available offers. Promotional offers may not be valid for all members and are only available for a limited time. Offers not valid in Quebec and Russia; other geographic restrictions may apply. After promotional period, subscription continues to be charged at the then-current regular price (subject to change), unless cancelled. Plus applicable taxes.

    Related:
    State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition Available Now
    Final Bleeding Edge Beta Available Today With Xbox Game Pass
    Next Week on Xbox: New Games for March 17 to 20

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • The Mighty Fahkumram Breaks Bones in Tekken 7 Next Week

    He’s not messing around.

    Tekken 7’s final Season 3 DLC character, Fahkumram, has a release date and a new trailer. The brutal looking fighter comes with a new stage called the Cave of Enlightenment, as well as a couple of unique costumes.

    He launches next week, on the 24th March. Hopefully he’s not borderline broken like previous DLC character Leroy Smith, and let’s also hope that the Tekken World Tour gets back on track after postponing events due to the coronavirus. We want to see this guy in action.

    Read the full article on pushsquare.com

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Poll: So, Er, Was That PS5 Deep Dive Audience Real or Not?

    The big question.

    Forget about backwards compatibility, raytracing, and teraflops for a hot minute – was that audience real or not? You’ve got to cut Sony a little bit of slack here: it originally intended today’s PlayStation 5 deep dive to be presented in front of a live audience of game developers – it never could have accounted for coronavirus culling GDC this year.

    Still, the most shocking part of today’s presentation – assuming you ignore the fact that over 600k people watched it live and very few will have had a clue what lead architect Mark Cerny was talking about – was that it took place in front of a green screen, with fake silhouettes in the “audience”. Except, were they fake?

    Read the full article on pushsquare.com

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • PS5 Is ‘The Most Exciting Hardware in 20 Years’

    “Awesome,” says developer.

    Now that Sony has officially announced that we’ll be getting PlayStation 5 information tomorrow (the 17th March at the time of writing), some juicy quotes are beginning to pop up online as the hype train leaves the station.

    Read the full article on pushsquare.com

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Guide: PS5 Deep Dive Update – Dates, Times, and Where to Watch

    New PS5 information incoming.

    Sony has just announced it will be revealing some new information about PlayStation 5. The platform holder has been quiet for a long time, but it now seems it’s ready to divulge some fresh facts about its upcoming next-gen console. Below, we’re going to give you all the details about this so-called “deep dive”, including when and where you can watch it.

    Read the full article on pushsquare.com

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Random: PlayStation Hand Sanitizer Is Particularly Pertinent Right Now

    Wash your mitts.

    If there’s one good thing coronavirus may bring, it’s more people caring about their personal hygiene. While there’s very little that we, as individuals, can do about the spread of this dangerous disease – we can at the very least keep ourselves clean. As such, this official PlayStation hand sanitizer – posted on Reddit by the appropriately named Owwmyfingers – feels particularly pertinent right now.

    The 15ml bottle was handed out to attendees at PlayStation Experience a few years back, and is 62 per cent alcohol so should be effective in the fight against COVID-19. It’s one of those interesting pieces of paraphernalia, alongside the PlayStation branded spring water we glugged a couple of summers ago.

    Read the full article on pushsquare.com

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Adds Free Ezio Armour Set in Strange 4GB Update

    Requiescat in pace.

    Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has received a lot of support since it first launched in October 2018. Between numerous, significant updates and a hefty amount of DLC, Ubisoft has done a fantastic job of keeping the already massive open world game relevant. Truth be told, we thought Odyssey was done and dusted, but a somewhat strange 4GB patch — which released a few days back on PlayStation 4 — suggests that something’s in the works.

    Read the full article on pushsquare.com

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Xbox Series X Will Use Proprietary SSD Expandable Storage Cards, but Only for Next-Gen Games

    During today’s big Xbox Series X spec reveal, Microsoft confirmed that the mystery slot in the back of the upcoming console will be used to house a proprietary NVMe SSD card designed to increase the internal storage, which is currently 1TB by default. However, you’ll still be able to use USB 3.1 and external HDD for last-gen games.

    As detailed in a Digital Foundry report on the Xbox Series X, the next-gen console utilizes “Velocity Architecture” that turns games storage into additional memory. While internal storage for the Xbox Series X will be set at 1TB, Microsoft is offering a custom solution.

    [widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=developers-share-what-most-excites-them-about-next-gen-tech&captions=true”]

    Owners will be able to use proprietary NVMe SSD cartridges to increase the storage capacity. However, the SSD will only be necessary for Xbox Series X games specifically because of the need to optimize next-gen titles for Velocity Architecture.

    Microsoft’s Larry Hryb revealed in a Tweet that owners can continue to use USB3.1 and external HDD to run Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox games directly from the external device. This should mean that players who already use external storage devices to house Xbox One or older generation games can easily migrate them to the Xbox Series X.

    [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/16/xbox-series-x-controller-has-a-new-d-pad-and-should-be-easier-to-hold-ign-now]

    A potential downside of the proprietary NVMe SSD, however, is that buyers will likely only be able to purchase the SSD cartridges directly from Microsoft or official partners. Meaning you likely can’t just purchase third-party alternatives that could potentially be cheaper or more readily available.

    With new games easily clearing 100GB of storage, space will become more valuable as game generations progress. But without an official price for the NVMe SSD, it remains to be seen what financial impact this will have on Series X owners.

    Check out IGN’s Next-Gen Console Watch series for the latest in next-gen console news.

    [poilib element=”accentDivider”]

    Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter or email at mkim@ign.com

    Powered by WPeMatico