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Get Ready to Shred: New Details on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, Plus Play the Foundry Demo Today
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Ara: History Untold’s Biggest Update and First DLC Available Today for Xbox PC and Steam
Reading Time: 9 minutesChicken. Pork. Beef. Bread. Milk. None of these plants or animals existed in the Americas before European contact. Earth’s geography has always been imbalanced, and Ara: History Untold aims to vividly illustrate this asymmetry with the free version 1.4 update and first DLC, Untold Scenarios, available today for Xbox PC and Steam.
Version 1.4 of Xbox Game Studios’ ambitious historical 4X strategy game is the first update designed and developed by strategy and simulation experts Stardock Entertainment, who assumed production leadership in April. The companion DLC highlights what the game can now achieve.
Geography is Destiny
The free update overhauls the game’s map generator, making each randomly generated world more distinct. Meanwhile, the Untold Scenarios DLC features maps with resources positioned realistically, causing societies to evolve very differently. In the Mongol Invasion scenario, you will step into the boots of Genghis Khan, leading the Mongols who, uniquely, cannot found new cities. Without Settlers, you must conquer territory, using specialized technologies and units to dominate the Asian steppes.
Europe at the Crossroads, another scenario, places historical figures into critical positions at the dawn of the Enlightenment. How might history unfold if Caesar, Alexander the Great, and Elizabeth I led 18th-century Europe instead of Louis XIV, William III, and Peter the Great?
Living Strategy
Upon loading version 1.4, you will immediately notice the new Living Strategy view. Previously, Ara featured two modes: the detailed Living World and the icon-based Strategic View. The new Living Strategy mode combines these, clearly showing units scaled on the map to enhance visibility and strategic clarity.
Simulation Meets Strategy
Ara’s Living World has always been a vibrant simulation. Farmers, bakers, and soldiers are individually simulated entities with their own needs and behaviors. Version 1.4 leverages this deep simulation to dramatically reduce micromanagement. You now have the option to let citizens autonomously supply their homes and shops, removing the need for constant manual decisions about resource allocation.
Additionally, computer opponents have significantly improved thanks to Stardock’s experience crafting AI for strategy games like Galactic Civilizations, Fallen Enchantress, and The Political Machine. Opponents now play uniquely based on their traits, employing sophisticated economic and military strategies to challenge you from ancient times through technological singularity.
Prettier, Yet Faster
Oxide’s Nitrous engine has also been enhanced, dramatically improving performance, particularly in late-game scenarios. Smarter culling, optimized shaders, and refined simulations ensure a smoother experience, while visual enhancements make units and cities noticeably sharper and more detailed than ever.
If you’re a fan of history or strategy games, there’s never been a better time to rewrite history. Shape the past, influence the present, and rewrite the future – Ara: History Untold’s free 1.4 Update and Untold Scenarios DLC are available today!
Ara: History Untold is available on Xbox PC, Steam, and with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Unknown Scenarios DLC is available for $9.99 SRP (base game required to play).
Ara: History Untold – Untold Scenarios
Xbox Game Studios
Dive into eight compelling scenarios that immerse you deeply into pivotal and speculative moments of human history. From the vast steppes of Mongolia to Europe's Enlightenment, each scenario provides specialized gameplay, meticulously detailed historical context, and thrilling strategic dilemmas that demand your creativity, adaptability, and cunning. Key Features: · Historical and Hypothetical Worlds: Experience dramatic, detailed historical contexts and intriguing "what-if" scenarios, each carefully crafted for strategic depth. · Scenario-Specific Units and Technologies: Master unique units, like the Mongol Horse Archers, Royal Sentinels, or Indigenous Guerrilla fighters, unlocking new tactics tailored to each historical period. · Strategically Rich Maps: Adapt to dynamic challenges and historically accurate resource distributions that profoundly affect your strategic choices. Featured Scenarios: The Mongol Invasion Conquer without settlement as Genghis Khan using unstoppable Mongol units like Horse Archers and Wallbreakers, bolstered by the powerful "Yassa Doctrine." Or, stand defiant as Catherine the Great of Russia, strategically deploying knights and defenses to halt the relentless Mongol advance. Bronze Age Collapse Guide your civilization through the mysterious chaos of 1200 BC, navigating societal breakdowns triggered by droughts, raids, and calamities. Utilize an expanded Bronze Age tech tree, deploying unique units such as Royal Sentinels, Slingers, and Sea Raiders, to keep your people alive amid turmoil. Europe at the Crossroads Navigate the dynamic, resource-rich landscape of Enlightenment Europe with legendary leaders like Caesar or Alexander the Great. Begin with extensive Renaissance infrastructure but limited exclusively to advanced, era-specific units, forcing you to strategize carefully in a rapidly evolving historical context. American Expansion Face the stark contrasts of the 18th-century Americas. Choose settlers with European technology yet minimal infrastructure, or indigenous nations like the Cherokee, whose efficient guerrilla units grant immediate strategic advantages. Balance the long-term growth of your settlements against immediate tactical necessity. Clash of Continents Challenge your adaptability and innovation in a brutally realistic world map reflecting the harsh resource inequalities of 3000 BC. Iconic historical figures like Julius Caesar and Joan of Arc must strategically overcome severe resource shortages, testing every aspect of your strategic ingenuity. Islands Scenario Manage isolated island cultures with dramatically distinct resource pools, emphasizing diplomacy and strategic trade. Military might alone won’t secure survival—careful resource management and diplomatic acumen are essential. Last Survivor (Rome vs. Imperial China) Engage in an intense, improbable showdown between two ancient empires on a compact, resource-constrained battlefield. Fight fiercely for crucial resources like horses, balancing aggressive tactics with resource-conscious strategies to emerge as the sole survivor. Terra Reimagine Earth's geography in a scenario where continents connect differently and horses never vanished from North America. Explore exaggerated continents like Mega Britain and lush Africa, making rapid, impactful strategic decisions from the late Neolithic, reshaping human history in fascinating ways. Forge a new history, face unparalleled strategic challenges, and rewrite the past—or imagine an entirely new future—in Ara: History Untold – Untold Scenarios DLC.
Ara: History Untold Deluxe Edition
Xbox Game Studios
Build a nation and lead your people throughout history to the pinnacles of human achievement as you explore new lands, develop arts and culture, conduct diplomacy, and go head-to-head with your rivals to prove you are the greatest ruler ever known. It's Your World Now. The Deluxe Edition Includes • Ara: History Untold Base Game • Exclusive Leader Collection – featuring five exclusive leaders not included in the base game including: Charlemagne, Genghis Khan, Yoo Gwan Soon, Hildegard and Boudicca. • Modern Leader Skin Set – enhance five Ara: History Untold leaders (Elizabeth I, Genghis Khan, Nefertiti, Sappho and George Washington) with the Modern Leader Skin Set, featuring modern versions of their in-game costumes. With your pre-order of the Deluxe Edition receive the Gilded Leader Skin Set.
Ara: History Untold Standard Edition
Xbox Game Studios
PC Game PassBuild a nation and lead your people throughout history to the pinnacles of human achievement as you explore new lands, develop arts and culture, conduct diplomacy, and go head-to-head with your rivals to prove you are the greatest ruler ever known. It's Your World Now. Ara: History Untold is an evolution in historical grand strategy, featuring beloved classic PC strategy mechanics alongside innovative gameplay like a national crafting economy, true simultaneous turn resolution, a non-linear technology tree, and cloud-backed synchronous/asynchronous multiplayer – all with an expansive and vibrant presentation where you can zoom out from surveying the very edges of your empire all the way down to your citizens living their daily lives. In Ara, there are no pre-set paths to victory, leading to endless possibilities. Your choices will define the world you create, your experience, and your legacy. Explore an Immersive Living World Explore a dynamic living world filled with life and charm across sweeping landscapes ranging from tropical jungles to sand-swept deserts as you discover the resources you need to develop your nation. Witness the world come to life in vivid, realistic detail as citizens move throughout the world and react dynamically to times of health and sickness, war and peace, wealth and despair with unique biomes, cultures, and eras representing the diversity of human experience. Build Your Nation Serve your people and grow your prestige with numerous Improvements, from forges to libraries, citadels to cathedrals, public parks to industrial factories – as well as a global variety of the greatest architectural Triumphs ever conceived and built by human hands. Guide your people through the eras of human discovery Nurture your people’s brilliance and invention as you progress your Nation through twelve unique Technology Eras, making the hard choices about where to focus your Nation’s greatest minds. As you near the end of each Era, you’ll have to decide how fast to push your scientists along the path to the future – at the risk of the present. Oversee a rich and detailed national economy Harvest the bounty of the natural world and deploy the labor of your people with a depth-filled National Crafting system. Will you manufacture Amenities – like lavish feasts – to provide your cities and citizens with powerful benefits, or invest in the creation of Equipment – the weapons of war – to prepare your Armies to defend your nation or conquer your rivals? Whatever paths you choose you’ll need to carefully optimize your resources and production to achieve the most efficient systems if you want to outpace your rivals to fortune and lasting glory. Rule Your Way Choose from dozens of history’s most influential figures to embody as you reshape the world through your choices. The unique and varied global Leaders and Nations in Ara emphasize a wide variety of different playstyles. Experiment with gameplay-impacting Traits and powerful Leader Abilities drawn from the effect they had on world history. Whether friend or foe, each Leader has a distinct personality based on their historical background that informs their AI behaviors. Experience True Simultaneous Turns Every turn each nation's actions and choices resolve simultaneously, leading to suspense, anticipation, unique outcomes, and surprising twists on the classic turn-based formula. The fate of your people will be determined by your decisions and your ability to predict your opponent’s next move, putting your skill as a leader to the ultimate test. Defend your people by land, sea, and air Warfare in Ara is presented in the Living World, as thousands of years of military conflict reflect the progress and martial prowess of your people. Develop technologies to advance your weaponry against your rivals, hone your wartime economy and industry to gain the edge, and outthink your opponent’s strategies as maneuvers resolve authentically at once thanks to the power of True Simultaneous Turns. Prove Your Worth in Online Multiplayer Combining the speed and surprise of True Simultaneous Turns with the power of the cloud – multiplayer in Ara is fast, seamless, and able to be enjoyed asynchronously with a wide range of options to tailor you and your friend’s experience to the way you want to play together. A Microsoft Account is required to play online multiplayer.
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The Elder Scrolls Online: Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1 is Available Now
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Elder Scrolls Online: Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1 is Available Now
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Digging Deeper: The Inspirations Behind Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest
Reading Time: 6 minutes Digging Deeper: The Inspirations Behind Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest
Summary
- Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest arrives today for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC.
- The DLC expansion is set 11 years after the original game, with a new main character.
- Learn about the new inspirations behind this haunting new story.
Back in 2023, we shared some of the inspirations behind our narrative horror Still Wakes the Deep, which inspired its themes and structure, both in its grounded ’70s setting and its more fantastical horror elements. We took inspiration from a wide variety of sources, from classic horror films like The Thing and Annihilation to more unusual sources like Kes and Rosemary’s Baby.
For our new story expansion, Siren’s Rest, we wanted to explore the Beira D oil rig in a whole new setting, which comes with its own set of inspirations. Set in 1986, 11 years after the events of the original game, you’ll play as saturation diver Mhairi, who sets off on a journey beneath the North Sea to discover what happened on the Beira D. The ocean is a rich vein for exploring all kinds of tales, and these are just a few things that helped us craft this new story:
Thalassophobia
The fear of deep water is the origin of the entire psychological palette of Siren’s Rest. And for any players who haven’t felt this… we hope that Siren’s Rest will give them a chance to get a taste of this phobia.
We trawled through hundreds of articles of people experiencing this condition, people creating art about it, portraying it in a variety of thrilling and sensual ways. One thing that struck us: many thalassophobic photographs juxtapose a human with some yawning abyss or some looming form. The feeling you have isn’t just that this is a scary setting – rather, you feel a sense of enveloping dread for the person. Whoever that person is in that photograph, no matter how nonchalant they appear… you feel that they are in way over their heads (literally). They are facing their doom. That sense of overconfidence against the unknowable depths is something we wanted to capture in the game.
Even just an image like this we found on Reddit of an oceanic abyss gets the creative juices flowing. Also, did you know that a thick mysterious cloud called a brine pool can form in the bottom of the sea that creates these strange images? We wanted to hold that tension, between beauty and dread, at the heart of every visual design choice.
‘Last Breath’ (2018) and Saturation Diving
Saturation diving – named for the technique used to extend how long a diver can remain underwater – is an extraordinary profession. Dangerous, meticulous, weirdly poetic – everything deserving art to be made about it. It’s as dangerous as an astronaut going on a spacewalk… but far darker and far less well known. You are under tremendous pressure, literally, that messes with your mental state. You see things. You hear things. And all you are is a tiny flickering flame amid the everdark. This tension, loneliness, and thrill are all portrayed beautifully in the documentary ‘Last Breath’.
And for a more day-to-day explanation, just check out this Reddit AMA that was done a few years ago. Understanding what it means to live and work under such extreme conditions helped ground our narrative in real human stakes, even as the story veers into the surreal.
‘Blue Planet II –The Deep’
This episode of ‘Blue Planet II’ served as a powerful entry point for us into the mystery and otherworldliness of the ocean’s most unreachable places. Nature’s own level design and art design is off the charts! The strange colours, mysterious beings. Our wonderful Earth with its impossible underwater geographies provided us with a visual vocabulary for portraying the bottom of the sea not as some strange spectacle, but with this all-consuming silent awe…
Dante’s ‘Inferno’
As clear a metaphor as it gets, right? Dante’s descent through Hell, in gripping 14th Century poetic language, of increasing delusion as one moves further into tender darkness – influenced how we approached the structure of Siren’s Rest.
“Love, which quickly arrests the gentle heart,
Seized him with my beautiful form
That was taken from me, in a manner which still grieves me.”‘The Descent’ (2005)
This film is two decades old and still stands up incredibly well. It’s a Dante’s ‘Inferno’ story brought up to the modern-day. Definitely not for the faint-hearted, for sure! Its classic structure and masterful rhythm of making tense progress in unfamiliar, claustrophobic physical spaces is a huge inspiration.
Submerged corridors, the pitch-black crevices of the story’s setting, technical, sophisticated characters whose psyches are run ragged, the mix of terror and hope and dread – it’s all there.
‘The Lighthouse’ (2019)
A recent dark masterclass in isolation, yearning, and the mind tricks that these feelings can conjure up. The film portrays two men (played by Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) unravelling under the weight of routine, myths, and their own strange company. Those parallel the emotional current running beneath Siren’s Rest – a deep, almost delirious human longing – for connection, for redemption, for closure…
A central relationship between two characters who are equally isolated, equally alone with their thoughts and expectations – that stuck with us. The surreal juxtaposition between the raw, unforgiving environment, the arcane chores needed for survival, and the distantly warm conjuring of lost memories… we certainly hoped to capture that.
The Unexplained Ocean Sound, “Julia”
Sometimes even just a sonic phenomena can serve as an inspiration. A low-frequency sound, recorded by NOAA on March 1st 1999 and dubbed “Julia”, remains unexplained. The sound was loud enough to be detected across the Pacific Ocean and lasted for about two minutes and 43 seconds. An absolute treasure trove of strange explanations exists, spanning from giant sea creatures to aliens, naturally.
Julia’s inclusion in our early discussions around Siren’s Rest served as a symbol of the unknown – the uncanny idea that something might be out there, massive or silent, beyond our comprehension…
Màiri Mhòr nan Òran
The Hebridean poet Màiri Mhòr nan Òran shares a name with our protagonist, and her work comprises much of the emotional tone of Siren’s Rest. Her verses, rooted in exile, land, and longing, speak to the cultural and personal ruptures at the heart of this new story. They anchor the narrative in a Scottish identity that feels both deeply local and profoundly mythic – a legacy we feel incredibly privileged to portray.
The Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest DLC expansion arrives today for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC.
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Xbox + AMD: Powering the Next Generation of Xbox
Reading Time: 2 minutes Xbox + AMD: Powering the Next Generation of Xbox
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Minecraft: Vibrant Visuals and Chase the Skies Drop Out Now
Reading Time: 2 minutes Minecraft: Vibrant Visuals and Chase the Skies Drop Out Now
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Coming to Game Pass: Rematch, Warcraft I & II: Remastered, Warcraft III: Reforged, Call of Duty: WWII, and More
Reading Time: 7 minutesHope you all completed your bingo card for the Xbox Games Showcase and Outer Worlds 2 Direct – between Xbox Play Anywhere, Game Pass, and World Premieres, that was almost a full row there! We’re on a roll and have more games for you to prep your download queue, so let’s get to them.
Available Today
FBC: Firebreak (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game PassAvailable on day one with Game Pass! A cooperative first-person shooter set within a mysterious federal agency under assault by otherworldly forces. As a years-long siege on the agency’s headquarters reaches its boiling point, only Firebreak – the Bureau’s most versatile unit – has the gear and the guts to plunge into the building’s strangest crises, restore order, contain the chaos, and fight to reclaim control.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (Console and PC)
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass StandardCrash fourward into a time-shattered adventure with your favorite marsupials. Neo Cortex and N. Tropy are back at it again and launching an all-out assault on not just this universe, but the entire multiverse! Crash and Coco are here to save the day by reuniting the four Quantum Masks and bending the rules of reality.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game PassAvailable on day one with Game Pass! Lost in Random: The Eternal Die blends dynamic real-time action, tactical combat, and risk-reward dice mechanics for thrilling second-to-second battles. Unravel an original stand-alone story as Queen Aleksandra, the once great ruler of Random, on a mission for vengeance and redemption.
Coming Soon
Star Trucker (Xbox Series X|S) – June 18
Now with Game Pass StandardHop into the driver’s seat of your rocket-powered big rig as you haul cargo, scavenge for salvage, and interact with an eclectic cast of star-hopping truckers in this Americana-infused journey on the ultimate open road – space!
Wildfrost (Console) – June 18
Now with Game Pass StandardTake on the elements in Wildfrost, a tactical roguelike deck builder! Collect and upgrade card companions, ready to withstand waves of deceptively cute Pengoons, Gobblers, and brutish boss monsters. Test your skills in daily challenges and build up the town of Snowdwell, unlocking more cards to aid in your fight against the everlasting frost…
Rematch (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – June 19
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game PassAvailable on day one with Game Pass! Step onto the pitch in Rematch, a third-person, team-based football game where every pass, volley, and tackle matters. Designed for 5v5 online play, Rematch puts you in full control of one athlete, with no offsides, no fouls, and no downtime. Pass smart, play with purpose, and win together.
Volcano Princess (Cloud, Console, and PC) – June 24
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game PassPrepare the next monarch by finding her hobbies, training her for battle, and befriending the citizens she’ll one day protect. Dive into an all-new parenting-simulator-RPG adventure, where every decision you make will not only affect the future of your daughter but that of an entire empire!
Against the Storm (Cloud and Console) – June 26
Game Pass UltimateCurrently available on Xbox PC and coming soon to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta)! A dark fantasy city builder where you must rebuild civilization in the face of apocalyptic rains. As the Queen’s Viceroy, lead humans, beavers, lizards, foxes, and harpies to reclaim the wilderness and secure a future for civilization’s last survivors.
Warcraft I: Remastered (PC) – June 26
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game PassExperience the inciting war between Orcs and Humans that shook Azeroth to its core. Defend the realm as the noble Alliance, or seek to conquer it as the bloodthirsty Horde, across thrilling faction campaigns or custom skirmish games. Warcraft I: Remastered features updated hand-painted art, widescreen battles, and rebalanced classic music. Enjoy modern UI tweaks, enhanced controls, and never-before-seen 1994 concept art!
Warcraft II: Remastered (PC) – June 26
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game PassCaptain your own fleet in the second Warcraft title created in 1995, now remastered with vivid, all-new visuals and modernized controls! War between orc and man rages on across the seas, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance as the great tacticians of the Horde and the Alliance clash. Only one thing is certain: winning this war will demand unprecedented cunning, courage, and nerves of steel.
Warcraft III: Reforged (PC) – June 26
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game PassWarcraft III: Reforged features a thorough visual overhaul, a suite of contemporary social and matchmaking features, and more. Command the Night Elves, Undead, Orcs, and Humans and relive epic battles, explore vast campaigns, build armies, and challenge friends in multiplayer matchmaking!
Call of Duty: WWII (Console and PC) – June 30
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass StandardCall of Duty: WWII is a thrilling experience that redefines World War II. Land in Normandy on D-Day and battle across Europe through iconic locations in history’s most monumental war. Experience classic Call of Duty combat, the bonds of camaraderie, and the unforgiving nature of war against a global power throwing the world into tyranny.
Little Nightmares II (Cloud, Console, and PC) – July 1
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass StandardReturn to a world of charming horror in Little Nightmares II, a suspense adventure game in which you play as Mono, a young boy trapped in a world that has been distorted by the humming transmission of a distant tower. Will you dare to face this collection of new, little nightmares?
Rise of the Tomb Raider (Cloud, Console, and PC) – July 1
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass StandardMaking a return to the Game Pass library! Featuring epic, high-octane action moments set in the most beautifully hostile environments on earth, Rise of the Tomb Raider delivers a cinematic survival action adventure where you will join Lara Croft on her first tomb raiding expedition.
DLC / Game Updates
Fallout 76: Gone Fission – Available now
Head over to angler’s rest to begin your angler journey. Combine different baits and rods to catch over thirty new fish and perhaps even hook a Local Legend. Enjoy your hard-earned gains by cooking up new recipes or proudly displaying trophies at your C.A.M.P.Minecraft: Chase the Skies – Available today
Experience the joy of soaring above the Overworld with Minecraft’s Chase the Skies drop! Fly with your happy ghast, build high into the clouds, leash a caravan of camels together, find wandering friends with the Player Locator bar, and more. Players on Bedrock Edition can also soak in breathtaking views with Minecraft‘s biggest official visual refresh – Vibrant Visuals.Dead by Daylight: Five Nights at Freddy’s – Available today
Dead by Daylight: Five Nights at Freddy’s brings Springtrap – once known as William Afton – into The Fog as The Animatronic. A brutally efficient new Killer featuring unique gameplay mechanics and 3 fear-inducing Perks, Springtrap specializes in map wide surveillance, unrelenting pursuit, and delivering the jump-scares you love to hate.Leaving June 30
The following games are leaving the Game Pass library soon. Be sure to check them out before they go or use your membership discount to save up to 20% on your purchase to keep them in your library.
- Arcade Paradise (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Journey to the Savage Planet (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- My Friend Peppa Pig (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- Robin Hood: Sherwood Builders (Cloud, Console, and PC)
- SteamWorld Dig (Cloud and Console)
- SteamWorld Dig 2 (Console and PC)
We’re adding more games over time to the Stream Your Own Game collection for Game Pass Ultimate members. Visit Xbox.com/Play to see the list of available cloud playable games to stream on supported devices if you own them.
As always, we’ll keep you up to date with the latest reminders of when “coming soon” turns into “available today” (and will give you a virtual high five if you did get Bingo during the Xbox Games Showcase!) on @Xbox, @GamePass, and @XboxGamePassPC. Will talk to you here soon!
The post Coming to Game Pass: Rematch, Warcraft I & II: Remastered, Warcraft III: Reforged, Call of Duty: WWII, and More appeared first on Xbox Wire.
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Deconstructing Robots at Midnight
Reading Time: 4 minutesSummary
- Fast, punchy action RPG set in retro-futuristic world.
- Fluid combat mechanics with two distinct modes of play.
- A scrappy and inquisitive protagonist heavily influenced by 1990s anime.
Robots at Midnight isn’t set in your typical post-apocalyptic, sci-fi future. The luxury planet of Yob, now in ruins, is a hostile wasteland teeming with dangers. Among the crumbling infrastructure of cottage homes and state-of-the-art railway systems, we find our protagonist, Zoe, stranded on a planet built by machines, who must survive as the only human against a tide of sentient robots. Zoe’s journey is more than just a series of encounters; there are hidden paths and secrets to uncover on this forgotten world.
Against the colorful – but broken – setting, a moving personal journey exists for our game’s hero as the story progresses. Will she make it home before midnight?
The developers at Finish Line Games aimed to create a vibrant action game with combat inspired by From Software games. The vision is to provide an accessible experience for a range of players and deliver a rich experience for more seasoned gamers familiar with challenging game titles like Elden Ring. “It had to offer the free movement that players expect, but also a flexible, engaging challenge,” says Creative Director Eric Frech. This led the development team to explore different layers of challenge. The ‘Hero Mode’ offers play-through focused on exploration and discovery, allowing players to delve into the mysteries and lore of Yob. But the harder ‘Master Mode’ caters to players who love the high-stakes challenge of pushing their skills to the limit against more difficult enemies.
Designing combat for Robots at Midnight’s environment also meant embracing a fun, dynamic feel. The MITT, Zoe’s space-gauntlet, is more than just her primary weapon; it’s an extension of her determination. Her encounters with robots demand smart thinking – in addition to quick reflexes. Zoe will encounter useful items easily along her path, while other items require some hunting to be discovered.
Ultimately, Yob is more than just a setting for Zoe to clobber robots at midnight; it’s a world with mysteries to unravel and lore to discover. Zoe’s fight for a brighter dawn in a world of hostile automatons is a journey of discovery, determination, and overcoming the odds. To that end, Frech proudly stated, “We aimed to build a wholly unique experience that lingers long after the last boss fight.”
Using all the resources at your disposal, can you get Zoe home before midnight? Robots at Midnight is available June 19 on Xbox.
Robots at Midnight
Snail Games USA
$19.99Robots at Midnight is a retro-futuristic Action RPG set on the planet Yob, a world left in ruins and haunted by the machines once built to serve it. After twenty years in cryo-sleep, Zoe wakes to find a world she barely recognizes. To survive and to save what’s left, she must track down her missing father, lost during the cataclysmic event known only as The Blackout. Along the way, she’ll take on gangs of corrupted robots, confront towering bosses, and uncover long-buried truths about Yob. Just be home before midnight. [Combat with Fluid Movement]
The MITT is a powerful piece of old-world tech made for Space exploration, now repurposed for survival. Launch off enemies, soar through the air, and smash through bots with momentum-based combat that keeps you constantly moving. Whether in battle or traversal, fast, fluid movement is your greatest weapon. Find your rhythm. Sharpen your skills. Discover what you’re really made of. [Choose Your Challenge]
Whether you’re new to action RPGs or a seasoned fighter, Robots at Midnight adapts to your playstyle. Hero Mode offers a more forgiving, story-driven experience, while Master Mode pushes your reflexes and tactics to the edge with high-stakes combat. Whichever path you choose, prepare for a fight. [Explore and Uncover Hidden Lore]
Waking up on a ruined planet isn’t the hard part, figuring out what happened is. Step into Zoe’s sneakers and investigate the mystery behind Yob’s downfall. Discover lost technologies, unravel the threads of the past, and determine your place in a future that moved on without you.The post Deconstructing Robots at Midnight appeared first on Xbox Wire.
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EA Play: EA Sports FC 25 Is Now Available with Game Pass Ultimate
Reading Time: 3 minutesEA Play and Game Pass Ultimate Members can experience more ways to win for the club in EA Sports FC 25, with unrivaled authenticity brought to life through a roster of 19,000+ players across 700+ teams in more than 120 stadiums and over 30 leagues. Members can team up with friends in their favorite modes – including the new 5v5 Rush – and manage their club to victory as FC IQ delivers more tactical control than ever before.
Dive into the action with groundbreaking features like teaming up with friends in 5v5 Rush to play Ultimate Team, Clubs, and Kick-Off. FC IQ delivers greater strategic control and more realistic collective movement at the team level, while a new AI model, powered by real-world data, influences player tactics through all-new Player Roles.
And they can enjoy more ways to play with Samsung devices. Members can stream EA Sports FC 25 directly to Samsung Smart TVs via Samsung Gaming Hub and the Xbox app, making it easier than ever to jump into the action.
The pitch is yours. Start playing today with your Game Pass Ultimate membership.
Member Rewards
From mighty charm vibes to showing out on the ice, check out this month’s member rewards for the pitch and beyond. Members can score EA Sports FC 25 rewards including the limited time Supercharge Pack, Ultimate Team Draft Token, and the Shapeshifters FC Left Leg Tattoo & Clubs Coins.
Also available is the Apex Legends Gold Tribal Mask Weapon Charm and the Battlefield 2042 Headgear: No Slouch. They can also get a Madden NFL 25 Ultimate Team Pack, 5,000 XP for F1 25, and an NHL 25 WOC Battle Pass XP Modifier & CHEL Coins.
Membership for EA Play is included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscriptions.
Whether you’re scoring an unbelievable hat-trick in the EA Sports FC franchise, showing no mercy on suburban battlegrounds in the Battlefield series or timing a perfect hit to dominate the gridiron in the Madden NFL franchise, you can feel the thrill with EA for just $5.99 a month. Membership unlocks unlimited access to a collection of top titles, trials of select new games, in-game member rewards and more. Members also save 10% off EA digital purchases—including game downloads, points packs, and DLC.
For more details on all the EA Play member benefits this month, visit: EA Play Member Benefits. Conditions, limitations and exclusions apply – see EA Play Terms for details.
The post EA Play: EA Sports FC 25 Is Now Available with Game Pass Ultimate appeared first on Xbox Wire.
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New Pinnacle Bosses in Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas, and Tips To Take Them On
Reading Time: 6 minutesSummary
- Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas is available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One on June 13.
- Secrets of the Atlas sets Path of Exile up for a new series of Endgame Bosses, Crafting Systems, Unique Items and much more as the game also steps into a new storyline to prepare for many future expansions.
- The expansion brings back a fan-favourite character and introduces three new Pinnacle Endgame Bosses that will truly put your skills to the test.
The new Path of Exile expansion, Secrets of the Atlas, arrives on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One today. Explore a new additive Atlas storyline, face three new Pinnacle Endgame Bosses, and find a perfect companion in a new Mercenaries of Trarthus challenge league. Here, we’ll also share some tips on how to approach these powerful new foes.
Secrets of The Atlas
With one of Path of Exile’s most iconic characters, Zana, returning after many years from a mysterious disappearance, you will search for her and begin a new saga of the Endgame.
Bringing back Zana sets Path of Exile up for a new series of Endgame Bosses, Crafting Systems, Unique Items and much more as we also step into a new storyline to prepare for many future expansions.
The Secrets of the Atlas expansion comes with three very unique, very distinct bosses that now act as the Endgame Pinnacle content for this expansion.We wanted to have Zana be integral to these and have her memories be the source of their design. Specifically, very potent memories coming from places of either trauma or even admiration.
We took some concepts of Memories she had and translated them into new bosses.
The first memory sees Zana trying to get her father’s attention while he’s working and accidentally tipping over a candle, burning some of his books.
The books burn, he douses the flames and then angrily retaliates, yelling at her, at this moment she truly felt fear and that acts as a potent memory which has now malformed into her father turning into a boss named The Incarnation of Fear. The boss is strong, scary and physically powerful, depicting how she saw him in this moment.
The Incarnation of Fear is a physically powerful being capable of taking you down just using his fists. On top of that he is infused with intense flames that he can channel into powerful beams and spheres to block your movement and restrict your positioning.
This fight relies on you to intelligently consider where you are standing at all times, and make sure you aren’t restricting your playspace in a way that would result in your demise. All while trying to avoid his powerful physical attacks.
The second and third memories are similar, one is an Incarnation of Neglect, where he was lost in his work and thus ignoring Zana and refusing to give her attention.
The Incarnation of Neglect uses devices and machinery to his advantage. He summons powerful laser beams that will sweep through the arena, causing you to perform almost a dance to avoid dying.
Every so often he uses a number of puzzle boxes to do an advanced version of this skill, testing your reaction times and making sure you’re able to maneuver with precision.
If you’re able to survive these, he will channel powerful explosions and beams from his staff using shocking lightning and arctic ice magic, get hit by these and you will be slowed, or even frozen, and that will surely cause you to be eviscerated by the lasers.
Another is the Incarnation of Dread, a more positive memory, but one where she saw her father getting praise and being idolized by others. She was happy for him, but was afraid she would never achieve his standards and forever be in his shadow.
The Incarnation of Dread is a tactically complicated fight but one that is befitting of its role as a Pinnacle Boss. It uses a combination of all of the Elements and Chaos to try to defeat you.
Using its large limbs to slam you, tear you apart, all the way to using its neck which can literally split in two to create portals to summon magical homing projectiles it will prove formidable. Its most terrifying ability however is its bullet-hells, which will truly test the skill of the player as they must dodge and weave through waves of projectiles in order to stay alive, while trying to kill him and interrupt his abilities.
Each of these requires a well-designed, well-built and thought out endgame character to have the best chance. However, the world is your oyster, either invest heavily in defence to protect yourself from their disastrous abilities, or stack offence to try to burn them down quicker, or take something well-balanced in the middle and get the best of both worlds!
Step into the Memories
In this Endgame storyline, you will meet a mysterious new character named Eagon, who is trying to discover his own origins. Using a gauntlet of his own creation, Eagon is able to link to memory threads and open portals to new areas for you to investigate. These areas are influenced by the same memories which created the pinnacle bosses, who wait for you at the end of each memory thread. Defeating them will grant you new unique items, memory-influenced maps, and new crafting currencies you can use to manipulate the influence these memories have on items.
Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas is available today on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.
Path of Exile
Grinding Gear Games
Xbox One X EnhancedEarn devastating skills and valuable items as you fight your way through the dark continent of Wraeclast. With unrivaled character customization, Path of Exile is an award-winning online Action RPG created by hardcore gamers, for hardcore gamers.The post New Pinnacle Bosses in Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas, and Tips To Take Them On appeared first on Xbox Wire.
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Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 — Returning Skaters
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe post Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 — Returning Skaters appeared first on Xbox Wire.
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Lost in Random: The Eternal Die – 10 Tips for the Perfect Roll
Reading Time: 8 minutesThe wait is over – Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is now open for Advanced Access on Xbox Series X|S and Game Pass! Pre-order the Fortune Edition today to start playing early, or mark your calendar for the full launch on June 17.
Set within the eerie depths of the Black Die – a realm ruled by strange odds and ominous forces – your journey as Queen Aleksandra begins now. But Mare the Knight doesn’t play fair – it’ll take more than fast reflexes and a lucky roll to survive…
Lucky for you, this handy article is here to help! So, whether you’re a new Dice Wielder stepping into Mare’s twisted domain for the first time or already deep into your hundredth run, these top 10 tips will help you sharpen your strategy, strengthen your synergies, and bend fate in your favour.
Ready to beat the odds? Let’s roll.
1. Pick Your Weapon Wisely
Your playstyle starts with your weapon choice. Visit Rack in the Sanctuary (brace yourself for puns) to unlock new weapons and purchase powerful enhancements. Each starting weapon brings something unique:
- Sword of Sixtopia – Broken but deadly, and incredibly versatile.
- Lance of Lady Luck – Delivers fast, long-range jabs.
- Helleven’s Hammer – Slower, but packs a serious punch.
- Sevendipity Striker – Great for keeping enemies at a distance.
Try different weapon + relic + card combos to find your favourite setup. There’s no universal “best” build – only the best build for you.
2. Use your Full Arsenal
In the chaos of battle, it’s easy to rely solely on your weapon – but don’t forget your cards, relics, and Fortune herself. Mastering your full toolkit is key to surviving, especially early on.
That includes relics! Relics are temporary buffs that shape your build each run. Use relics to power up everything from your cards to your die to your charged attacks, or even gain passive boosts. With 100+ relics to discover, the opportunities for builds are endless (well, probably not mathematically – but you do the math!).
You won’t always get what you want – relic drops are random after all – so be open to adapting your playstyle. What works great against enemy groups might fall short against single-target bosses, so experiment with different relics and upgrades to find what clicks for you.
Dev Tip: Use the relic colour-matching system to gain bonus effects and amplify your build. If you’re unsure which relic to choose, match by colour – it’s a reliable shortcut.
3. Upgrade for Glory
Each weapon has four unique upgrade paths, unlocked at Rack’s weapon station back at the Sanctuary. Want to up that damage? Prefer elemental attacks? Or maybe you’d rather go on the defensive with some added damage reduction or health regen? These upgrades let you tailor your loadout to suit your run – and your playstyle.
4. Charge It Up
Did you know that all weapons have a powerful charge attack? If not, you may be missing out on some major damage boosts!
Mashing attack buttons is fine, but charged attacks deal massive damage – especially when boosted by the right relics. Mastering the timing can feel tricky at first, especially in the heat of battle, but once you start staggering enemies or triggering synergies, you’ll wonder why you ever played any other way.
5. Perfect Your Card Game
Card attacks are powerful – but perfect card attacks? That’s where the magic really happens. Nail the timing to earn bonus effects like extra hits or amplified damage. The best part? These stack beautifully with relic boosts for some truly random – and satisfying – results.
6. Throw Fortune Into Battle
Fortune isn’t just a charming die with a lot to say (in dice-speak, of course) – she’s a weapon in her own right. Throw her to damage enemies (based on your roll), and use relic builds to stack the odds in your favour.
- Going for a high-roller strategy? Stack relics that reward high numbers.
- Feeling unlucky? Build a loadout that turns low rolls into powerful effects.
- Or go more random! The choice is yours!
Whatever your style, Fortune is more than moral support – she hits hard when you let her.
7. Experiment with Blessings
During your runs, you’ll find small dice-like creatures called Dicelings, the scattered children of Aama. Return them to her in the Sanctuary to unlock permanent upgrades for Aleksandra. Think of them as tiny dice-shaped blessings… if you’re kind enough to help.
Dev Tip: Make sure to experiment with Aama’s blessings.The ones that help during your first runs won’t always be the best later on – so make sure to explore different combinations as you improve.
8. Explore Everything (and Talk to Everyone)
Every floor of the Black Die hides secrets – optional encounters, hidden lore snippets, rare relics, and delightfully strange NPCs. Some offer quests, others just unsettling lore, and a few might reward you with game-changing bonuses.
Don’t rush. Interact. Investigate. If you think you’ve seen it all, look again. The Black Die always has one more card to play.
9. Check the Legend
In your inventory menu, there’s a little feature many players miss: the Legend – a quick guide to status effects, relic traits, card abilities, and more. Not sure what Poison really does? Can’t remember how Conjuration bonuses work? The answers are in the Legend. Use it. Mare’s games are weird enough – no need to guess.
10. Learn From Every Death
Death is never the end – it’s just another roll. Each enemy you face in the Black Die has unique attack patterns, behaviours, and weaknesses. Pay attention. Learn. Then rebuild your loadout next run with strategies that counter them. It’s a roguelite, after all – failure is part of the fun!
Dev Tip: Learn enemy patterns and watch for red circles – they signal danger. Use dash to reposition or breathe. If you’re using a melee weapon, try dashing out, throwing Fortune, and dashing back in. A great way to soften up your enemies before that final blow!
What is Lost in Random: The Eternal Die?
Is it a spin-off? Is it a sequel? The answer is: kind of both!
The Eternal Die is a standalone spinoff that can be enjoyed without any knowledge of its predecessor Lost in Random. While the story picks up where the last one left off, this time you play as Queen Aleksandra – the antagonist from the original game. And to match this new hero, we’ve also switched up the genre – The Eternal Die will take you on a roguelite adventure through the twisted realms of Mare the Knight. But don’t worry, you’ll still find that magical experience that you loved about Lost in Random. Expect a tougher challenge, but with the same love and care for the whimsical world of Random.
Whether you’re diving in today with Advanced Access or gearing up for launch, remember: in Mare’s world, the odds may be twisted – but the perfect roll is out there. Your fate lies ahead. All that’s left is to throw the die.
Pre-order the Fortune Edition now on Xbox Series X|S to play today! And don’t fret Game Pass members: Advanced Access is available to you.
And if you’re not quite ready to join us yet: See you on June 17 for the next chapter of Lost in Random: The Eternal Die!
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die
Thunderful Publishing
$24.99A GAME OF CHANCE, A TEST OF SKILL
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die blends dynamic real-time action, tactical combat, and risk-reward dice mechanics for thrilling second-to-second battles. Unravel an original stand-alone story as Queen Aleksandra, the once great ruler of Random on a mission for vengeance and redemption. Wield an arsenal of four unique weapons, unleash powerful card-based abilities, harness elemental relics and strategically roll your trusted die-companion, Fortune, to shift the tide of battle. Or take on high-stakes wager games where the right roll could lead to incredible rewards… or crushing consequences. Even death isn’t final – return to the Sanctuary to unlock new weapons, buy powerful upgrades, and take on quests from your allies to prepare for your next run. A DARK FANTASY BROUGHT TO LIFE
Explore four dynamic biomes, each teeming with danger, secrets, and unpredictable challenges. Lose yourself in a haunting world of gothic whimsy, vivid landscapes, and an enchantingly atmospheric soundtrack. With alternative endings to discover and a fully voiced cast of quirky characters, The Eternal Die invites you back into the world of Random for another unforgettable chapter. KEY FEATURES
– Fast-paced, second-to-second combat that blends real-time action with tactical decision-making.
– A unique dice-roll mechanic that shifts battles in unexpected ways.
– Four diverse and fully upgradeable weapons each with distinct playstyles.
– 100+ elemental relics and 15 powerful card-based abilities to customise your build.
– Four randomly-generated biomes filled with secrets, enemies, and high-stakes challenges.
– 30+ unique enemy types and 4 ruthless world bosses, each demanding skill and strategy.
– Randomly generated encounters, evolving relic synergies, and adjustable difficulty settings let you play your way.
– A dark fantasy world brought to life in a Burtonesque style featuring hauntingly beautiful environments and an enchanting soundtrack.The post Lost in Random: The Eternal Die – 10 Tips for the Perfect Roll appeared first on Xbox Wire.
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Fallout Shelter: Celebrate A Decade in The Vault, Together
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe post Fallout Shelter: Celebrate A Decade in The Vault, Together appeared first on Xbox Wire.
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Next Week on Xbox: New Games for June 16 to 20
Reading Time: 15 minutes Next Week on Xbox: New Games for June 16 to 20
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox PC, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!
FBC: Firebreak
Remedy Entertainment
FBC: Firebreak Deluxe Edition Upgrade
Remedy Entertainment
FBC: Firebreak – June 17
Game Pass / Optimized for Xbox Series X|SA cooperative first-person shooter set within a mysterious federal agency under assault by otherworldly forces. As a years-long siege on the agency’s headquarters reaches its boiling point, only Firebreak – the Bureau’s most versatile unit – has the gear and the guts to plunge into the building’s strangest crises, restore order, and blast their way back from the brink.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die
Thunderful Publishing
$24.99 Lost In Random: The Eternal Die – Fortune Edition
Thunderful Publishing
$28.99 $24.64Lost in Random: The Eternal Die – June 17
Game Pass / Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play AnywhereLost in Random: The Eternal Die blends dynamic real-time action, tactical combat, and risk-reward dice mechanics for thrilling second-to-second battles. Unravel an original stand-alone story as Queen Aleksandra, the once great ruler of Random on a mission for vengeance and redemption. Start playing today by picking up the Fortune Edition.
TRON: Catalyst
Big Fan Games
Tron: Catalyst pulls you back into the world of Disney’s “Tron” to battle multiple opposing factions in the latest imaginative story from Bithell Games (Thomas Was Alone, Subsurface Circular, Tron: Identity). Tron: Catalyst is an all-new story-driven, isometric action adventure game, set in the immersive and diverse locations of the Arq Grid.
Gex Trilogy
Limited Run Games
Gex Trilogy – June 16
Optimized for Xbox Series X|SGex Trilogy reproduces all three original games in exacting detail, precisely the way you remember them. Assuming you’ve gone senile and remember them having high-definition native 16:9 widescreen visuals and fully analog controls. Which they didn’t. No, this is the Gex series the way it was meant to be played.
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army
SEGA
$49.99Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army – June 19
The story of apprentice detective and Devil Summoner extraordinaire Raidou Kuzunoha XIV returns in this remastered classic! Call upon your demons to solve supernatural mysteries and dispose of enemies.
REMATCH
Sloclap, Kepler Interactive
Rematch – June 19
Game Pass / Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play AnywhereCredible Football, with an arcade twist. Feel like an amazing athlete, easily performing all the iconic moves of football. Non-stop action with no fouls, no offsides, no pauses… no time to rest.
Revival: Recolonization
HeroCraft PC
$29.99 $23.99Revival: Recolonization – June 16
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart DeliverySet in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth, Revival is a 4x strategy game where the world and its rules can change at key moments, creating a deep and highly replayable experience. Explore a transformed planet, negotiate or conquer new territories and bring the light of civilization to regressing human colonies to prepare mankind for war with a despotic entity.
Date Everything! – Pre-Order
Team17
$29.99 $26.99Date Everything! – June 17
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play AnywhereCan’t wait to get down and dirty with your fireplace? Long for the sweet embrace from your fridge? Date Everything! brings an exciting new twist to the dating simulator genre. Your BFA in customer service unfortunately goes to waste as you lose your job to AI. But… a mysterious stranger sends a gift – magical glasses called ‘Dateviators’ – which make your house come alive and dateable!
Gatewalkers
A2 Softworks
Gatewalkers is a unique mixture of co-op game, survival and RPG. You, as a Gatewalkers, travel across different worlds in order to save your own. Explore procedurally generated worlds, face hostile inhabitants and challenges like extreme weather conditions, toxic atmosphere, lack of water and more.
Jewel Match Solitaire Collector's Edition
Ocean Media
Jewel Match Solitaire Collector’s Edition – June 17
Jewel Match Solitaire is the ultimate relaxing Solitaire game! Return to the world of Jewel Match in this beautiful new Solitaire adventure! Journey across an ancient land to rebuild epic castles of old. Over 320 levels in all, plus many Solitaire variants including Klondike, Spider, Freecell, Pyramid, and more!
Knights of the Round Peg
Ocean Media
Knights of the Round Peg – June 17
Step into the enchanting world of Knights of the Round Peg, where players embark on a musical journey alongside a brave knight through 80 captivating levels. Equipped with a lute and a quiver of musical notes, the knight bravely embarks on a journey, encountering peg-filled challenges along the way.
Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game
Shine Group and Radical Theory
Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game – June 17
Optimized for Xbox Series X|SRooftops & Alleys is more than just a game about Parkour & Freerunning. It’s the adrenaline rush of landing an impossible trick combo, defying gravity, and feeling like you’re flying… until you crash face-first into a dark alley 30 meters below.
Soulstone Survivors
Digital Bandidos
Soulstone Survivors – June 17 – Optimized for Xbox Series X|S
A fast-paced action roguelite that thrusts you into epic battles against relentless hordes and colossal bosses. Harness the power of the Void to craft unique builds, unlock powerful weapons, and push your characters to new heights — all in pursuit of godlike abilities.
CarX Street
CarX Technologies
$29.99CarX Street – June 18
Optimized for Xbox Series X|SConquer mountain slopes, vast highways, and bustling city streets in CarX Street. Build the car of your dreams with fine-tuning that reveals the full potential of CarX Technology physics. Take part in thrilling races, offline or online, and enjoy realistic gameplay and dynamic controls.
Dustwind: Resistance
Z-Software GmbH
$19.99Dustwind: Resistance – June 18
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play AnywhereLead a squad of warriors and your loyal dog, Diesel, against a brutal raider army. Pause and issue orders at any time. Choose your weapons, skills, and tactics. Shoot, chop, kick, or bite. Go in guns blazing or use stealth. Set traps, throw grenades, or crush enemies with an armored car. Deploy turrets and barricades to defend your home. The only thing you can’t do is surrender.
Football Mini Stars
Silesia Games Sp. z o.o.
Enter a colorful world that’s looking for a new football star! Defeat your opponents with your amazing skills and take the cup home! Get through the tutorial, master the game controls and choose your team to start your football career. Defeat all your opponents while collecting achievements and have fun with the different game modes.
No Sun To Worship
Hyperstrange
No Sun to Worship – June 18
Optimized for Xbox Series X|SNo Sun To Worship is a minimalist, stealth-action game that captures the brilliance of the first pioneers of the stealth genre and recreates their retro-aesthetic charm within an echo of a dying world.
Jewel Match Twilight Solitaire
Ocean Media
Jewel Match Twilight Solitaire – June 18
It was a dark and stormy night… for Solitaire! Jewel Match gets spooky in this new Solitaire adventure! Discover and rebuild eerie derelict castles, but beware of vampires roaming the land. Over 200 levels in all, plus 50 bonus mahjong levels to unlock! Dozens of unique game play variations mix up the classic Solitaire such as locked and frozen cards.
Pathfinders: Memories
Mens Sana Interactive
Pathfinders: Memories – June 18
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play AnywherePathfinders, supported by scientist Albert New, time travel to study past civilizations and gather relics for a human history museum. They face obstacles, traps, and enemies. Your task is to memorize these hazards and chart a safe course. Can you meet the challenge?
Without a Voice (Xbox & PC)
Eastasiasoft Limited
Without a Voice – June 18
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart DeliveryWithout a Voice is a thought-provoking visual novel adventure told through detailed character portraits, scripted dialogue of more than 15,000 words, lush backdrops and a dozen unlockable event illustrations. Make key decisions to decide how the story plays out and discover 8 possible endings to this tale of love and intrigue between its leading ladies.
Architect Life: A House Design Simulator
Nacon
$39.99Architect Life: A House Design Simulator – June 19
Make the most of your extensive creative freedom, with a huge variety of materials, structures and items, and above all innovative construction tools which will enable you to design and customize your buildings, from the shape of each room to detailed roof drawings.
Crazy Cats vs. Crazy Cyborgs
Xeneder Team
Crazy Cats vs. Crazy Cyborgs – June 19
In this arcade shoot ’em up game you play as Princess Anna, the savior of cat people. Fight against the attack of Crazy Cyborgs for 12 boss rush levels!
Chronicles of the Wolf
PQube Limited – PIXELHEART Corporation
$19.99 $17.99Chronicles of the Wolf – June 19
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart DeliveryPlay Mateo Lombardo, the last apprentice of the Rose Cross Order, on a quest to hunt the infamous Beast of Gévaudan. This dark and thrilling platforming adventure blends fast-paced combat, challenging exploration, and deep storytelling, making it a must-play for fans of the genre.
Robots at Midnight
Snail Games USA
$19.99Robots at Midnight – June 19
Optimized for Xbox Series X|SA retro-futuristic action RPG set on the planet Yob, a world left in ruins and haunted by the machines once built to serve it. After twenty years in cryo-sleep, Zoe wakes to find a world she barely recognizes. To survive and to save what’s left, she must track down her missing father, lost during the cataclysmic event known only as The Blackout. Along the way, she’ll take on gangs of corrupted robots, confront towering bosses, and uncover long-buried truths about Yob.
Jewel Match Solitaire: Winterscapes
Ocean Media
Jewel Match Solitaire: Winterscapes – June 19
Grab a hot drink and cozy up to the fire. It’s cold outside and you’re snowed in with a game of Solitaire! Travel the icy land and rebuild 5 frosty locations across 200 levels, plus unlock 12 bonus game variants such as Yukon and Emperor!
Through the Nightmares
Pingle Studio
Through the Nightmares – June 19
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart DeliveryDive into the world of dreams in Through the Nightmares! This is a hardcore platformer where you play as the Sandman, a size-shifting spirit said to bring people good dreams. Several children are lost in the kingdom of Morpheus, the mad god of dreams, who turns sleep into a prison. To bring the children back to their families, the Sandman must descend to a place where even the most secret of fears come to life…
Star Overdrive Pre-Order Standard Edition
Dear Villagers
$34.99 $27.99Star Overdrive – June 19
Optimized for Xbox Series X|SSet off on a high-speed Hoverboard adventure in Star Overdrive, where fast-paced action collides with the mysteries of a distant alien world. After intercepting a cryptic distress signal, you, the protagonist Bios, find yourself stranded on an enigmatic planet called Cebete. Armed with your versatile Keytar and advanced Hoverboard, you’ll navigate diverse biomes, confront challenges, evolve your hidden powers, and uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of your beloved Nous.
Vessels of Decay
Headup
Vessels of Decay – June 19
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart DeliveryCivilization has ended, and something else awakens in its place. From the world’s decay, ancient creatures stir, rise, and roam the land. Vessels of Decay is a post-apocalyptic action adventure following the story of Freja and Mud. In this retro-inspired tale, you’ll confront creatures of Scandinavian myth and folklore and explore the ruins of the civilization they inhabit.
Agarta
Dolores Entertainment
Agarta – June 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart DeliveryAgarta has been designed to show you how valuable and important every decision you make in your individual life, every choice you make is. Because every choice you make is also a renunciation and you cannot undo any decision.
Bag Hero
Happy Player
$9.99 $7.99Bag Hero – June 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart DeliveryBlast through monster hordes with crazy weapons in a wild bullet hell! It’s chaotic, casual, and seriously fun! Each run takes just 20 to 30 minutes — perfect for relaxing anytime! Whether you’re unwinding after a long day or just killing time, it’s a great way to de-stress.
Candivity
QubicGames S.A.
$4.99 $3.99Candivity – June 20
Xbox Play AnywhereYou’re about to dive into a sugary adventure! Combine sweets and prepare yourself for sugar overload! Race to merge the biggest candy while using clever tactics to slow down your opponent. Unleash tricky power-ups and prove who’s the ultimate candy master!
Knight Quest: Goblins Raid
Afil Games
Knight Quest: Goblins Raid – June 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|SPut on your armor, grab your sword, and get ready to face what no sane knight would dare: noisy goblins, deadly traps, and platforms that seem to have a mind of their own. In Knight Quest, you are the hero the kingdom needs – even if no one warned you how complicated this mission would be.
Rogue Loops
NAISU
$7.99 $6.39Combine a multitude of skills and relics to create a wide range of powerful synergies, each offering unique advantages in your quest to escape the loop! With each buff you choose, the loop grows stronger by forcing you to select a curse. Your success hinges on making strategic decisions that enhance your power while managing the increased challenges posed by the loop, guiding you toward ultimate victory!
Rusty Rangers
Games Harbor
$14.99Rusty Rangers – June 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart DeliveryNo one remembers what the world looked like before, except for a team of brave rangers. Now chaos and unpredictability reign everywhere – harmless creatures in the past bring destruction, and the world around is constantly changing, repeatedly nullifying the familiar environment around.
Machinetrix
RAFAEL V.F
Machinetrix – June 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|SYou’re a combat robot activated in the last moments of the Matrix, where corrupted codes have given rise to cyber monsters thirsty for destruction. Combining intense action, retro-futuristic style and roguelite elements, this is a challenge where every decision matters — and each upgrade can mean the difference between survival and total defragmentation.
The Samurai Quest
Fa Games
The Samurai Quest is a 2D pixel art platformer that combines action, precision, and exploration in a campaign with 30 progressively challenging levels. Take on the role of an agile and skilled samurai who faces traps, enemies, and demanding obstacles in search of hidden ninja stars in each stage.
Little Strays
COMMANDO PANDA
$19.99Little Strays – June 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart DeliveryPlay as a fearless stray in a city falling apart where every day is a fight to survive. Abandoned warehouses and silent streets hide danger and helpless kittens. Scavenge for food, rescue the lost, and protect the vulnerable.
Capybara Goes to Space
PedroFStudio
Capybara Goes to Space – June 20
Capybara Goes to Space is a lighthearted 2D platformer where you guide Capy, a laid-back astronaut capybara, through a strange alien planet in search of scattered spaceship parts. The world is full of bizarre creatures, radioactive traps, and mysterious landscapes that challenge your reflexes and curiosity. As you explore, you’ll uncover secret paths, dodge dripping toxic goo, and outsmart hilarious alien enemies.
Word Quest: Medival
Gametry LLC
Word Quest: Medieval – June 20
Dive into the captivating world of Word Quest, the ultimate word puzzle game. Discover concealed words among letter grids across 200+ levels while guiding a valiant knight. Unveil hidden words to empower the knight in battles against foes. With escalating challenges and immersive visuals, challenge yourself or compete globally to become the ultimate wordsmith and defender. Word Quest is more than a game; it’s an immersive journey to sharpen your mind and vocabulary skills.
Pipes Master
Gametry LLC
Test out your skills, and push them to the next level, while you try to connect the parts with into continual pipe. There are 250 unique levels, so there is always something new to enjoy, and the gameplay is very exciting and rewarding. Every new level is a true challenge, and you have dozens of them to choose from. Let’s play!
The post Next Week on Xbox: New Games for June 16 to 20 appeared first on Xbox Wire.
Website: LINK
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Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 – Meet the New Skaters
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe new generation of skateboarding talent is a testament to the sport’s impact as young skaters from around the world take up the reigns by shredding in prestigious tournaments and sick skate videos. New skaters bring new tricks, new approaches to skating and style, and the promise of a bright future for the sport.
“To be in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 is an honour because it’s such a fun and iconic game,” says Chloe Covell, who became the youngest Women’s Street Gold Medalist in X Games history at just 13 years old. “The game has influenced the skate scene in the past, so if people are playing the new game, it’ll encourage them to get involved and want to skate in real life, for the new generation.”
“[The original] Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 in particular had a huge influence on my skateboarding, from teaching me all the trick names as a kid to inspiring me to link tricks together to get a high score in competitions,” shares Andy Anderson, who has become known for his unique style of skating that blends classic tricks with modern twists. “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater has had an unbelievable impact on the world. The inclusion of freestyle tricks in the game may be the single most important action [that helped] to keep Freestyle Skateboarding alive in a world focused on Street Skateboarding.”
“It really feels like I’ve been living as a real life ‘Create a Skater’ in Career Mode, and I finally achieved the goal where you get to be in the actual game! I couldn’t be happier.”
When Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 launches this July, these are the new skaters ready to carry the torch and keep that combo meter climbing.
Website: LINK
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Kingdom Two Crowns Game Pass for Xbox Series X|S
Reading Time: 6 minutesExperience the Majesty of Kingdom Two Crowns anytime with Xbox Play Anywhere!
Explore the majestic splendour of Kingdom Two Crowns anywhere you like, on any Xbox device, wherever you might be. And for double the fun, hit up this renowned strategy game in coop mode!
Launching with new features to support cross-device play for Xbox Series X|S, the ever-popular and much-acclaimed side-scrolling micro-strategy title from Raw Fury has also made a glorious return to Game Pass.
As the third instalment in the series, Kingdom Two Crowns not only added cooperative play but set the score for the title’s gameplay: explore, build, defend, conquer. With its island-hopping adventuring, inspired by different historical periods, prospective monarchs get more magical mounts to travel the world, more subjects to rule, more structures to build, more technology to unlock and more kingdoms to rule. An experience enchanted by an incredible soundtrack and alluring visuals.
A proud monarch oversees their prosperous Kingdom in the Call of Olympus DLC. Rule your fantasy Kingdom as a mounted monarch with the drop of a coin, and enjoy the eminently atmospheric roguelite strategy of Kingdom Two Crowns in all its pixel art splendor. We’ve collected some tips that are good to know before you dive in!
An arachnid mounted monarch is attacked by the Greed, stealing their coins in the Call of Olympus DLC. Beware the Greed – and Your Own Greed
Expand your camp carefully by building up your defenses and protect your followers from the sinister force outside. Take care to avoid and escape from the Greed who will steal your crown and end your reign.
We recommend expanding slowly and building out your walls gradually to not overextend yourself. The Greed will arrive in the darkness to attack your camp, and everything that’s not safe within your secure boundaries will be ripe for the taking. But worse than losing a few coins is letting the Greedlings get into your camp and cause chaos.
You Can Never Have Too Much Gold – Until you Have Too Much Gold
Gold coins don’t only represent the amount of money your ruler has; it also represents their health! Collect coins by exploring and employing followers, but make sure that you’re spending those coins just as fast as you’re earning them – you can only hold so many coins, and if you have too many they’ll fall on the ground and drop into the water.
If you have a few extra gold coins and the Greed are in pursuit, try dropping some coins on the ground – it might distract Greedlings from attacking you and stealing your crown.
Prepare Yourself for the Second Island
There are some resources that can only be found on the second island that your ruler can get to but take care before you take off! As your kingdom grows and expands, so strengthens the Greed you will find across new islands.
Recruit enough people to have a secure base on your first island and prepare to explore even more when you jump off the boat onto your second.
Give the Person with the Donkey a Coin
Just trust us on this one.
A desperate monarch with a torch is chasing a series of large Greed in the Dead Lands free DLC. With all this knowledge, you should be able to take on any challenge that you find in Kingdom Two Crowns. And with Game Pass, any device will do. So why not set forth from the comfort of your chair? And recruit your subjects in the local cafe? Arm your soldiers on the way to work? Defend against a horde of monsters on the beach?
Pinky promise, you’ll never get bored. There is a whole lot of additional content of the Kingdom world to explore:
- Embark on your own odyssey with the mythmaking Kingdom Two Crowns: Call of Olympus, inspired by ancient Greece.
- Unleash the power of the Norse gods and ride to battle on the back of Fenrir, the massive wolf, with the premium Kingdom Two Crowns: Norse Lands expansion.
- Short of coin, brave Monarch? Dive into the DLCs Dead Lands, with its eerie setting and otherworldly mounts, or get absorbed into the delicate spirit of feudal Japan in Shogun – both DLCs are free, always. For your royal enjoyment.
Kingdom Two Crowns with Game Pass is the gateway to enjoy deep, atmospheric pixel art-infused complex micro-strategy – wherever, whenever.
Collect coins, set forth, and explore, brave Monarch.
Kingdom Two Crowns
Raw Fury
$19.99 $15.99
Xbox One X Enhanced
PC Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass
Build – Explore – Defend – Conquer A shroud of mystery envelops these uncharted medieval lands where ancient monuments, relics and mythical creatures await. Echoes of bygone eras speak of past greatness and in Kingdom Two Crowns, part of the award-winning franchise Kingdom, you embark on an adventure as the Monarch. In this side-scrolling journey atop your steed, you recruit loyal subjects, build your kingdom and protect your crown from the Greed, monstrous creatures looking to steal your kingdom’s treasures. Journey alone of together – in Kingdom Two Crowns, a duo of Monarchs can work cooperatively to build and forge a Kingdom that stands the test of time. BUILD
Lay the foundation of a mighty Kingdom with towering walls, protecting towers while cultivating prosperity through building farms and recruiting villagers. In Kingdom Two Crowns expanding and growing your Kingdom grants access to new units and technologies. EXPLORE
Venture into the unknown beyond the protection of your borders, through secluded forests and ancient ruins to seek treasures and hidden knowledge to aid your quest. Who knows what legendary artifacts or mythological beings you will find. DEFEND
As the night falls, shadows come to life and the monstrous Greed assaults your kingdom. Rally your troops, muster your courage, and steel yourself, for each night will demand ever-growing feats of tactical mastermind. Deploy archers, knights, siege weapons, and even newfound Monarch abilities and artifacts to hold against the waves of Greed. CONQUER
As the monarch, lead assaults against the source of the Greed to secure your islands. Send your groups of soldiers to clash with the enemy. A word of caution: make sure your troops are prepared and sufficient in numbers, as the Greed will not go down without a fight. UNCHARTED ISLES
Kingdom Two Crowns is an evolving experience that includes several free content updates: • Shogun: Journey to lands inspired by the architecture and culture of feudal Japan. Play as the mighty Shogun or Onna-bugeisha, enlist the ninja, lead your soldiers to battle atop the mythological Kirin, and form new strategies as you brave the Greed hiding in thick bamboo forests. • Dead Lands: Enter the dark lands of Kingdom. Play as unique Monarchs, including the Shardbinder Miriam, with powerful traits from the gothic horror action-RPG Bloodstained. • Challenge Islands: Representing the greatest challenge ever seen for hardened veteran monarchs. Take on five challenges with different rules and objectives. Can you survive long enough to claim the gold crown? Your adventure is only the beginning. Explore more untold stories and settings in the additional DLCs and content available for the game. Oh Monarch, stay vigilant for dark nights are still to come, protect your crown!Website: LINK
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Pragmata Brings a Thrillingly New Idea to Third-Person Shooters
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe third-person shooter genre is a rich lineage, with developers building on the “right” way to combine gunplay, exploration, and puzzle-solving over the course of decades. We’ve seen these games adopt slow motion, cover mechanics, and much more, often iterating on their peers to evolve over time. But that also means it’s very rare to see a new game in the genre pop up with an idea I’ve simply… never seen before. Enter, Pragmata.
Playable for the first time at Summer Game Fest 2025, Capcom’s long-awaited game finally showed off what it’s all about – and at the heart of it all was a gameplay mechanic that feels legitimately new.
Pragmata sees you controlling two characters at once: Hugh is an astronaut, stranded in a Lunar base packed with seemingly malfunctioning automata; Diana is a mysterious android in the form of a child, who saves Hugh and promptly piggybacks on his armored spacesuit, offering her ability to hack elements of the base – including those marauding robots.
Combined, they become an incredibly effective unit – Hugh does the shooting, Diana does the hacking, and both are combined as you play. Even the weakest enemies are covered in hard-to-penetrate armor, but after a quick hack, that armor can be opened up and weakpoints exposed. In practice, it means that every single enemy in Pragmata isn’t just a target – they’re a puzzle.
Hold down the left trigger to aim your gun and hover the crosshair over an enemy, and a holographic grid puzzle appears on the right of the screen – your job is to guide your cursor across the grid (using the face buttons as directional inputs) to a target square, at which point Diana will complete the hack. Along the way there might be blockers, or extra nodes that can be toggled to expose the weakpoints for longer, meaning you’ll need to be strategic and efficient.
The key here is in how well-balanced this system is – the game doesn’t stop or slow down as you’re hacking, turning each puzzle into a true part of the action loop, rather than a distraction from it. But, equally, no hacking puzzle felt overly complex, meaning I was never frustrated by having to complete it while also avoiding enemy attacks.
Taken altogether, and it’s a genuinely fresh way to approach combat, and one that has huge potential for the game going forward. My hands-on took place in the early parts of the game, meaning enemy hacks were fairly basic, but even here there were nuances. Levels are tightly packed knots of corridors and wider arenas, with loot and lore to find – and some of that loot ties directly into your hacking.
One consumable you’ll find is Decode – for each pickup you have, the next hack you perform will add an extra square to the grid that makes your hack more effective if you pass over it, but gets used up when you do. It starts making you ask the question: do I need to make this enemy easier to defeat, or should I save this for later?
As you’d hope, the traditional gunplay around all of this innovation is well thought-out, too. While I only had the opportunity to test out a few weapons in my time with the game, there’s more than enough to pique curiosity here. For a start, after the expected pistol and shotgun variants, the third weapon I acquired was a Stasis Net, a gun that fires out an area-of-effect projectile that slows and shocks anything inside – perfect for firing off into a crowd before beginning my hacks, before switching to apunchier weapon to finish them off. There also appears to be a level system for guns, presumably letting you swap in better versions of the same weapons as you find them.
Hugh is also a more mobile character than you might expect from his cumbersome-looking armor – he’s equipped with thrusters that let him dash, boost into the air, and hover. One enemy type will smash the ground to send out a shockwave, which necessitates you thinking vertically as well as laterally – a kind of thinking more familiar from platformers than shooters.
And at the heart of it all, Hugh and Diana already feel like a genuinely interesting dynamic to follow across a whole game – even aside from the mystery surrounding them, there’s a humor and warmth to their dialogue that lends Pragmata a lightness of touch at odds with its clinical, industrial world.
As a full package, this was the perfect way to reintroduce a game first announced as far back as 2020 – Pragmata has moved from being a curiosity, firmly into my most-anticipated list.
Pragmata comes to Xbox Series X|S in 2026.
Website: LINK
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Free Play Days – Towerborne, Bassmaster Fishing and Construction Simulator
Reading Time: 3 minutesGet ready to build, battle, and bait your way through this weekend with Free Play Days! Bassmaster Fishing and Construction Simulator are available this weekend for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core members to play from Thursday June 12 until Sunday, June 15.
Additionally, Towerborne is free for all Xbox members to try during Free Play Days for All from June 12 until June 18.
How To Start Playing
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, Standard and Core 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 (Xbox Game Pass Membership Required)
Bassmaster® Fishing
Dovetail Games – Fishing
$39.99 $7.99
Bassmaster Fishing
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S, Smart Delivery, Xbox Play Anywhere
Cast out at the same time as the real pros this weekend as they compete in the 2025 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite. Grab those shades, attach that lure and get ready to reel in a prize catch – Bassmaster is coming to Free Play Days! In Bassmaster Fishing, anglers can relive the thrill of big bass fishing in locations around the USA. If you’re casting out this weekend – Tight lines!
Construction Simulator
astragon Entertainment GmbH
$39.99 $19.99
Construction Simulator
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S, Smart Delivery, Xbox Play Anywhere
Control more than 90 officially licensed construction machines from 24 globally recognized brands and fulfill your dream of becoming a successful contractor! Whether you prefer the EU or US setting, you can look forward to over 100 missions and nearly endless construction fun – playable solo or with up to three friends in multiplayer mode!
Free Play Days For All
Towerborne (Game Preview)
Xbox Game Studios
PC Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass
Towerborne
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Play Anywhere
Towerborne is a new kind of Looter Brawler, combining side-scrolling combat with action RPG loot progression and endless customization. You are an Ace, born anew from the spirit realm with special skills, grit, and determination. Unite with other Aces and fight as one to defend the Belfry, humanity’s last refuge, from the dark forces outside its walls. Can you become the Ace humanity needs to survive?
Don’t miss out on these exciting Free Play Days for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core 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.
Website: LINK
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There Are No Ghosts at the Grand: Renovate by Day, Hunt Ghosts by Night
Reading Time: 6 minutesSummary
- There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a surreal first-person mystery where you renovate a haunted hotel by day and hunt ghosts by night.
- Use talking power tools to uncover secrets, solve puzzles, and battle supernatural threats.
- Explore a spooky English seaside town filled with side quests, hidden locations, and strange characters.
Revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase, There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a surreal, first-person, narrative-driven mystery. It’s part-renovation game, part-ghost story, part-musical. See the trailer below, and read on for a full breakdown of our unique new game:
You play as a young American man, Chris David, who unexpectedly inherits The Grand, a dilapidated British seaside hotel along the English east coast.
Players will help Chris renovate and restore the old hotel using a set of talking power tools. But be warned… beneath the veneer of paper and paint you apply during the day, something horrible shivers and slithers in the night.
30 Days and 30 Nights to Complete the Renovations
To renovate the hotel, players will have access to exaggerated power tools such as the sand blaster, paint sprayer, furniture cannon, and the daisy chain gun, to blast the hotel back to its former glory. This isn’t a simulation though, players don’t have to be exact. Decorating and renovating is fast, fluid and fun. You don’t have to get every spot – just enough is close enough.
But with only 30 days and 30 nights to complete the job, choose each room carefully – because when the time runs out something will come for you.
Luckily, players are not alone. Meet your AI DIY assistant, Robert C MacBrushy. He’s a cross between Star Trek’s Scotty and Microsoft’s Clippy. He’s also an expert in all things DIY – and the supernatural, but we’ll come back to that.
With MacBrushy’s help, players will smash out old windows, blast broken furniture, splash paint and paper across walls, and shoot furniture cleaner across the room, like some crazy cross between Mary Poppins and Marcus Fenix. But sometimes, you’ll need to slow down and think, as you’ll also come across environmental puzzles that will need a little lateral thinking, and some hidden clues to solve.
Progress is made through the game by completing rooms and revealing their secrets, but you can only decorate by day. At night, you have other problems to deal with.
Decorator by Day, Ghost Hunter by Night
In There are No Ghosts at the Grand, the main character, Chris, has a secret. Although he inherited the hotel, he’s not just here to renovate… not really.
At night, once the decorating is done for the day, he searches for something. Clues hidden behind walls, old blueprints revealing hidden spaces, strange doors leading to strange places. Players will help him whilst also trying to figure out what’s really going on. There’s something unpleasant lurking in the hotel, something ancient that leaves multi-legged footprints across freshly painted walls. Scuttling can be heard in those walls, furniture moves by itself. At night, the hotel isn’t safe.
But don’t worry, Robert C. MacBrushy is here to help with this too. At night, when the world changes, so do your power tools, and they have hidden modes that have special effects on certain supernatural denizens. Unleash the vacuum on vengeful spirits. Expose invisible assailants with the paint sprayer. Take out an unpleasant spook with a well aimed bookcase to the face with the furniture cannon. If you learn how to use your tools, you can survive the night.
Quirky Characters and a Sarcastic, Australian Cat
At its heart, There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a story about people and the baggage they leave behind. You’re never alone as you explore the hotel and the surrounding town, and you’ll meet each of our game’s quirky characters as you delve deeper into the hotel.
Each character is a custodian of a particular room that you can unlock: from Colin, the elderly caretaker in the lounge, to his daughter Lily in the garden. You’ll meet the town mayor, Maddie in the boathouse, and Adam the police officer in the cinema room, watching re-runs of old buddy cop films.
Presiding over them all is Mr Bones, the hotel’s cat, and perhaps its most mysterious resident. Like the hotel itself, he’s a creature of duality. By day, he’s an ordinary cat who follows you around and likes belly rubs. By night, he’s a sarcastic and mercurial character who waxes lyrical (in a deep Australian accent) about the hotel’s many secrets and hidden places. But is he a friend or foe?
Each character has their own story, questline, and agenda, which you can help or hinder as you play. They also each have their own song because There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is also a musical.
A Musical Ghost Story
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a musical, but not in the traditional musical theatre sense. Think of it more like a cool, dusty album of British ska and punk songs from the 1980s that you might find in your dad’s record collection.
These are songs with attitude, bite, and hummable hooks. Each character will introduce themselves through song, the style of which is unique to them, from spooky ska to wartime jazz, and even skater punk.
You’ll be able to duet with them and make dialogue choices in verse to explore their story further. The songs are full gameplay sequences involving player action and choices, whilst the lyrics and furniture go flying.
Exploring Kingswood-on-Sea
Players won’t be spending all their time in the Grand Hotel. Right outside the door lies the village of Kingswood-on-Sea, a crumbling, spooky, seaside town, full of secrets and side activities.
This small open world lets players leave the hotel at any time, even at night, to explore its abandoned shops, winding streets and hidden mysteries. You can restore an abandoned minigolf course and play a round or two, comb the beach with a half-working metal detector, or find shops to renovate and restore, each with unique rewards.
The streets of Kingswood-on-Sea are full of strange little secrets, and they reward curiosity. Find a rusty old scooter that you can restore and ride through the village, discover an old fishing boat that players can fix up and take out into the shallow coastal waters, or explore the hidden coves and sunken bays. It even has a winch to dredge for lost treasures, if you can find the locations hinted at in clues found in the hotel.
Just… be back before nightfall. Under the inky blackness of the frozen North Sea, something stirs in the depth, and it slithers onto the land at night.
Summing It All Up
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a game about restoration and ruin. About strange townsfolk and suspicious upholstery. About music, memory, ghosts, and the awkward legacy of inherited property. It’s a spooky, funny, slightly tragic mystery, wrapped in ska riffs, talking tools, and night-time terrors.
You’ll renovate. You’ll investigate. You’ll duet. It’s a musical where you can skip the songs, a comedy with a dark secret, and a game that lies to you constantly, with a narrator you shouldn’t quite trust. If you’re very lucky, or very unlucky, you might just uncover the truth about the Grand Hotel. Assuming the Grand doesn’t uncover something about you first.
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a ghost story where the ghosts might be memories, or lies, or something crawling up the beach in the moonlight. The Grand Hotel is waiting, and is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, and Game Pass in 2026. Just… don’t trust the upholstery.
Website: LINK
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Aniimo: Breaking Down This Beautiful Creature Collector – Sign Up for a Closed Beta!
Reading Time: 4 minutesSummary
- Learn more about Aniimo, the creature collecting action-RPG revealed at Xbox Games Showcase.
- Aniimo is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud as an Xbox Play Anywhere title in 2026.
- Sign up for a closed beta today!
It’s been an exciting time for the whole Aniimo team as, during the Xbox Games Showcase, we were finally able to open the doors of Aniimo to players and welcome them to our passion project; an open world creature collecting action-RPG.
This is truly the game of our dreams. We’ve been focused on crafting something new and unforgettable, laying the foundations for a magnificent open world with immense potential. All of us are excited to have players join us in discovering the world of Aniimo, and getting them involved in the next step of development by sharing valuable feedback with us during an upcoming closed beta test.
If you’re keen to know more, let me break down our new game for you:
The Aniimo
Thanks to Aniimo, we have discovered a fascinating bunch of creatures called, you’ve guessed it, Aniimo. These are magical beings who we are getting to know better every day. The Aniimo have captured our curiosity, and we’re constantly learning more about them – their personalities, abilities, charm, our own emotional connections with them and how they adapt to Idyll, the world that they live in. One example is Budclaw, a shy crab-like Aniimo who is good at digging and navigating different terrains, but can’t see too well underground. That’s a good trick to know because if it hits a rock it will go dizzy and be easier to catch. Another is Nimbi, the cloud-shaped sheep who reacts to its environment, making it incredibly light and able to jump to huge heights – but who behaves very differently in thunderstorms.
This world is so rich and detailed that we’re still seeking more Aniimo out, learning about them, capturing them, battling with them, developing and evolving them, and we’re excited to be able to now have players join us on this journey of discovery.
The Gameplay
When players join us in the world of Idyll they will gradually embark on their own unique journey of exploration. This is a multiplayer game in a fully open world. Players can choose the areas they want to explore, and the narrative will be shaped by their choices. Everyone’s adventure will be different.
There are two battle modes in the game. By capturing an Aniimo you can engage in real-time battles with other Aniimo, and grow your own Aniimo’s strength and skills. But beyond having a creature with incredible abilities and powers, wouldn’t it be even better if you could experience those powers for yourself? By “twining” with the Aniimo, a spiritual connection takes place, essentially enabling us to become our chosen creature, and experience the game in a totally new way.
We can move through the world as an Aniimo, battle as an Aniimo and explore the world of Idyll through the unique features of the Aniimo we have twined with. This feature also immerses us more fully in the Aniimo’s society – the everyday exchanges and habits that the Aniimo have developed amongst themselves.
The Open World
Idyll is a huge, living world, but there are bigger reasons for travelling around it than simply to see the sights. Each Aniimo reacts to the different environments and conditions and adapts their behavior accordingly. For example, an Aniimo may be able to leverage terrain to burrow and dodge attacks, or use special vision to spot danger, which takes the discovery of the world to a whole new level.
Join the Closed Beta
This is just the beginning! We can’t wait to welcome players to Idyll and introduce you to the Aniimo! Our closed beta test will open for PC players later this summer and more information on how to participate can be found here.
Aniimo
Kingsglory Games
Aniimo is a next-gen open-world creature-catching ARPG set to launch in 2026.
Website: LINK
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At Fate’s End: The Spiritfarer Team’s Next Game Invites You to Fight the Ones You Love
Reading Time: 7 minutesSummary
- At Fate’s End is an upcoming action-adventure game about love, rivalry, and loyalty among siblings.
- As Shan, you’ll decide the fate of your family with crucial narrative choices and dramatic sword-fights.
- Thunder Lotus’ Creative Director discusses how the team is building on the success of its previous game, Spiritfarer.
When we set out to create At Fate’s End, we knew we didn’t want to make just another story about royal succession. We wanted something more personal; something that captured the strange mix of love, rivalry, resentment, and loyalty that can exist between siblings. The result is a game where the biggest battles aren’t just about swords and powers – they’re about family; what we inherit from it, what we lose because of it, and whether it’s ever truly possible to break away.
In this game, you play as Shan, the youngest daughter of the ruling Hemlock dynasty. The Hemlocks don’t just govern the game’s world, they command God-Swords, powerful living weapons passed down through generations. To wield such swords, each heir must give something up, often a part of their body, or something deeper. A sword doesn’t just bond with its wielder. It changes them. And to command her sword Aesus, Shan had to give up her voice. In return, Aesus copies the powers of the other Swords and reveals hidden truths.
This is crucial, given that in the beginning of the game, Shan has been unexpectedly, controversially named Princess of Swords: your mission is to confront your six siblings, to take their God-Swords, and to return the seven blades to the castle to begin a new cycle of rule. It’s a ritual of succession that’s equal parts tradition, test, and bloodshed.
Now, Shan’s siblings aren’t motivated to simply hand rulership – and their blades – to their kid sister. Their reasons vary; as with all sibling relationships, there’s a complex shared history, and a fair bit of emotional baggage – not to mention their own personal ambition. So this will take some persuasion – and some good old-fashioned sword dueling. But armed with Aesus, players can attempt to not only match Shan’s siblings in battle, but they can also see what they’re trying to hide.
In At Fate’s End, combat strikes a balance between strategy and intensity. The powers Shan inherits, drawn from the Tarot-inspired Major Arcana of her siblings, give players the freedom to mix quick, responsive action with thoughtful, time-suspended tactical moves. Whether you prefer agile strikes, calculated maneuvers, or a seamless blend of both, the system adapts to your playstyle by letting you choose which option to equip.
While Shan will face plenty of more straightforward encounters on her journey, the heart of the experience lies in the high-stakes duels against her powerful siblings and a roster of deadly duelists. These aren’t just fights, they’re emotional, mechanically rich showdowns that define the soul of the game.
Each sibling represents a unique challenge, both in combat and emotionally. First, the Shan must uncover three secrets about each of them: dark, painful, complicated truths that shaped them. Some are rooted in failure. Others are born from betrayal or grief. Players won’t just fight these characters, they’ll investigate them, piece together their stories, and decide what version of them to believe.
This choice is visualized through Tarot-inspired Minor Arcana cards. Each sibling’s story is symbolized as a card, and players choose whether to keep its Upright or Reversed side, two sides of the same truth. Upright might reflect compassion, forgiveness, or hope. Reversed might embrace bitterness, rejection, or pride. These choices shape the relationship between Shan and each sibling, and ultimately, the shape of the world she’s meant to rule.
All this may admittedly seem like a big shift from our previous game, Spiritfarer, where combat didn’t exist at all. Spiritfarer was designed to be a peaceful experience, slow, contemplative, warm. We designed Spiritfarer so that hugging a character, cooking them their favorite meal, or building their personal space on the boat would make players feel something through interaction, not just dialogue.
From a certain perspective, the idea of secrets being uncovered through a Tarot-inspired system in At Fate’s End is an evolution of our approach to bringing meaning and depth to the relationships between characters in Spiritfarer. But more fundamentally, in both games, we want mechanical actions (investigating, choosing sides of a card) to feel like emotional choices. To give weight to interactivity, and allow game mechanics to carry the message, not the other way around. In this sense, the games are similar – it’s the themes and the relationships explored that are different.
In At Fate’s End, we’ve chosen to explore tension, conflict, and choice in more direct ways than in Spiritfarer. We knew that meant bringing in combat, but we didn’t want it to overshadow the emotional storytelling, we wanted it to serve it. That’s why combat is paced carefully, why it ties into narrative decisions, and why every duel ends not just in victory or defeat, but in conversation. The combat here is still about power fantasy and catharsis, but overall, it’s about the cost of inheritance, and what it means to confront the people who shaped you.
Our experience with Spiritfarer showed that players deeply connected with characters not because their arcs were wildly dramatic, but because they felt real. The small details such as regret over a failed relationship, anxiety about death, longing for unspoken closure, resonated.
Now with At Fate’s End, we had the certainty that we had to lean into emotional nuance. Let characters be contradictory, not be afraid to write siblings who are kind one moment and cutting the next. People don’t need perfect arcs. They need honest ones.
So, one of our core goals was to make each sibling feel real. Their stories are inspired by our own experiences growing up with siblings: the petty fights, the moments of closeness, the quiet rifts that form over time. This too mirrored our approach to Spiritfarer, which took inspiration from lived experiences with grief offered by members of the team. In At Fate’s End, we also looked to historical accounts of royal families—where betrayal and love often lived side by side. We wanted each encounter in the game to feel like peeling back layers of a shared childhood shaped by power and pressure.
As developers, we wanted to explore a story where power doesn’t come from dominance alone, but from understanding. Shan’s journey will eventually raise a larger question for players: Is this cycle of succession and sacrifice worth repeating, or is it time to end it?
We can’t wait for you to step into Shan’s journey—and decide what kind of future you’ll shape. We hope you’ll keep your eyes peeled for updates about the project! At Fate’s End will be released in 2026 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Xbox PC (also coming day one to Game Pass).
At Fate’s End
Thunder Lotus
At Fate’s End is an action-adventure game where you fight the ones you love and your skill tree is your family tree. Explore a lush fantasy world, defeat the foul creatures of the realm, and face your estranged siblings in intense, emotional duels to decide your family’s fate. Wield your blade. Confront your kin. Decide your fate.
At Fate’s End is an action-adventure game where you fight the ones you love. Wield the legendary God Sword Aesus as Shan, the deft young heiress of the Hemlock clan. Explore a lush, hand-crafted fantasy world. Defeat the foul creatures of the realm in combat. Solve intricate narrative puzzles, uncover painful truths, and hone both your blade skills and knowledge to face your estranged siblings in intense, emotional duels – and ultimately decide your family’s fate. Battle with both swords and words.
Your blade may cut deep, but you journey will demand more than combat prowess. Shape confrontations through tactical dialogue and psychological insight, using your deep knowledge of your family’s secrets to gain the upper hand. Your skill tree is your family tree.
Each sibling you defeat — or reconcile with — shapes your destiny. Collect seven swords of power to expand your arsenal of abilities and ultimately shape your family’s legacy. From the Spiritfarer Team.
From the acclaimed team behind Spiritfarer, At Fate’s End weaves tight, visceral action with rich narrative depth, exploring the complicated bonds between brothers and sisters in a world where swords clash and family wounds run deep. Fight with your sword. Speak with your soul. Face your family — at fate’s end.Website: LINK
