Torchlight II coming to PS4, Xbox One, and Switch with exclusive content

Torchlight II coming to PS4, Xbox One, and Switch with exclusive content 2

Torchlight II will be coming to consoles on September 3. The game was originally released back in 2012 and was a smash hit. Runic Games hasn’t done much with the series since then (i.e. nothing) since they were focusing on Hob for 2017. Panic Button and Runic will be paired to bring Torchlight II to … Read more

They Are Billions coming to PS4 and Xbox One, works “comfortably” with a controller, says Blitworks

They Are Billions for consoles? Yes.

They Are Billions is coming to console next month. The zombie RTS game will be ported over to PS4 and Xbox One. The port will be done by Blitworks, who has also worked on games like Super Meat Boy, Bastion, and Spelunky. The announcement trailer for the port to consoles has been released, and you … Read more

343 has no plans to include Halo 5 for The Master Chief Collection on PC

The Halo MCC for PC won't have Halo 5 packaged at this point.

343 Industries has no plans to bring Halo 5 to the lineup for The Master Chief Collection on PC. During an Inside Xbox session, 343 was there and announced that they’ll be bringing over The Master Chief Collection to the PC. And Halo reach would also be part of that lineup of games that’ll be … Read more

Halo Wars 2 and Halo Wars: Definitive Edition will be free this weekend for Xbox Gold subs

Halo Wars free.

Xbox Gold subs will get access Halo Wars: Definitive Edition and Halo Wars 2 for free this weekend. You can play a whole weekend of the Halo multiplayer games for free this weekend. The free weekend starts on Sunday, February 24 at 11:59 PT. You’ll be able to play the game throughout the weekend. And if you … Read more

Xbox Game Pass getting trio of titles next week

Xbox Game Pass getting trio of titles next week 5

Xbox Game Pass will be getting three more titles in the coming week.

The first game is The Gardens, which is already available today. The game is developed by The Voxel Agents and is a positively-received puzzle game which was previously available on PS4 and PC.

The next game is Mutant Year Zero, which drops on Tuesday, December 4. It’s a strategy game similar to XCOM in some ways and comes from The Bearded Ladies Consulting Team and is set to roll out on PC and PS4 on the same day. It’s a weird strategy game that has anthropomorphized animals and humans in the same universe.

The last game of the trio is Strange Brigade, which comes on Thursday, December 6. The game is a co-op game from Rebellion, which also made the Sniper Elite and Alien Vs. Predator games.

Game Pass is Microsoft’s library of all-you-can-play games currently with over 100 AAA and indie titles. The library includes all first-party games on launch day and many other popular games including Forza Horizon 4, Sea of Thieves, Halo 5: Guardians, Hitman, and State of Decay 2. Games are rotated but can be played as much as you want for a flat rate of $9.99 per month.

This service has been speculated to be coming to the PC eventually, but details are sparse.

PUBG on Xbox One is free for a limited time

PUBG on Xbox One is free for a limited time 6

With the rumor that PUBG will be appearing on PS4 in December and with Xbox’s XO18 event on Saturday, November 10, the once most popular battle royale game is now free on Xbox One.

The game is free to download for a limited time, which is perfect for players who were always tempted to buy the game on console but couldn’t decide between console and PC. With a normal price tag of $29.99, the game is now absolutely free to download. And keep forever.

PUBG on Xbox first released on September 4 with the V1.0 game update, but was previously available as early access or “game preview” ever since December 2017.

The weird part is that even though a smash hit like this is free, there has been no news from PUBG or Xbox yet making the announcement. But if you go to the Xbox Store, the game is listed as free for a limited time. This likely has to do with the “big PUBG news” announcement that’ll take place at XO18 this weekend- alongside the PUBG on PS4 rumor.

With the battle royale market being so fiercely competitive, this could be a marketing attempt to pull more players back to the game. Although it’ll likely never reach its former glory, there’s still a decent playerbase.

Fortnite, which is king in sheer number of players, is already free to play and always has been with no disadvantageous microtransactions. This is probably why the game took off. And Blackout mode from Call of Duty is another competitor that does battle royale to the extreme, but it comes with a hefty one-time payment of $60 ($45 at Target on Black Friday).

XO18 will take place this Saturday and the major announcements will roll out. Stay tuned for details and coverage of the panel.

Get the game free on the Microsoft Store right now for a limited time only.

Sunset Overdrive may be coming to PC; ESRB rating confirmed

Sunset Overdrive may be coming to PC; ESRB rating confirmed 7

While the majority of Microsoft first-party titles are on Xbox One and PC, Insomniac Games’ Sunset Overdrive is one of the few titles that never made it to the PC. Xbox One owners are just fine with the decision, but PC players are missing out on one of the more popular titles published by Microsoft.

However, the third-person wacky shooter may be finally coming to the PC. Gematsu reported earlier today that Sunset Overdrive has been rated by the ERSB for PC. The game was rated M for Mature, just like on the Xbox One- which is to no surprise.

While ratings leaked from Taiwan and Korea are often duds, an ESRB rating is basically confirmation that Sunset Overdrive will show up for the PC eventually in some way, form, or shape. A PC version was rated by the Korean Game Ratings Board back in May which only further solidifies the event.

Insomniac Games’ recent release Marvel’s Spider-Man has shattered sales records, so porting the game from Xbox One to PC may be a safe bet for their next project to keep the momentum going. They also may be bringing other Marvel games to consoles and PC. Many PC players haven’t experienced the Microsoft-published Sunset Overdrive yet, and when it comes to PC, they will. Even if it’s limited to the Microsoft Windows Store, players will likely be picking up a copy.

We’re not sure when Microsoft will unveil the PC port but hang tight for an announcement. Microsoft is holding XO18 soon, and that’ll be a perfect place for an announcement. They’ve recently revealed that they want to bring Xbox Game Pass to PC, their $9.99 a month library of rotating games which has fared well on Xbox One. Considering that Sunset Overdrive is part of the library, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it becoming available on the PC.

Sunset Overdrive is currently available for the Xbox One. You can check it out on Amazon. Or if you prefer to play the game with a ton of other titles, you can grab a Game Pass from Amazon.

 

This post contains affiliate links where barrelrolled may receive a small commission upon sales. (This helps us feed our writers the good brand of ramen noodles rather than the generic, store brand.)

Xbox Live Games with Gold – Battlefield 1 and Assassin’s Creed

Xbox Live Games with Gold - Battlefield 1 and Assassin's Creed 8

This month’s lineup of free games for Xbox Gold members is a decent one- with three AAA titles and one indie game. The marquee titles this time around is Battlefield 1, which is now free and even had the Premium Pass for free many times before.

The games are as follows:

  • Battlefield 1 (base game)
  • Assassin’s Creed
  • Race the Sun
  • Dante’s Inferno

DICE has been very generous as of late probably to get players hooked and ready for Battlefield V, which is just around the corner and players have been excited about the game.

Assassin’s Creed (the original) is also available this month and has changed so much in the past decade. Gamers can revisit the first game ever made in the long-running list of entries to experience where it all came from.

Dante’s Inferno is the next game on the list- a God of War-like action RPG with tons of hack-and-slash combat and difficult yet epic battles.

Last on the list is Race the Sun, an indie endless runner.

Battlefield 1 will be available to XBL Gold members for the entire month, with Race the Sun being available in the second half alongside Dante’s Inferno. Assassin’s Creed will be available alongside BF1– all in time for Thanksgiving.

Thank you, Microsoft. This lineup is pretty decent compared to the recent months. Perhaps they’ll

New titles coming to Xbox Games Pass; Sniper Elite 4, Sheltered, and more

New titles coming to Xbox Games Pass; Sniper Elite 4, Sheltered, and more 9

Microsoft has now announced a new batch of games which will be coming to Xbox Game Pass to start off the month. Xbox Game Pass is a subscription-based program that offers a rotating library of games for $9.99 a month. You can think of it as the Netflix of Xbox.

The most noteworthy title coming soon is Sniper Elite 4– which is the most recent entry in the series which was released just last year in 2017. The other games are indie skateboarding game Olli Olli 2 XL Edition and the post-apocalyptic game Sheltered. Lastly, Rise and Shine and Grip: Combat Racing will be the final additions.

Microsft has said that these titles won’t be the only game hitting the program as they have some hidden surprises to reveal during XO18, which will be shown off in a special edition of Inside Xbox during XO18.

This is a lot of good news for Game Pass, as it’s obvious Microsoft is trying to promote the program aggressively. With special entry offers and even rumors that they’re incorporating the service for PC gamers, it must be very profitable. Though we’re not sure when this will take place, we can keep our eyes peeled for an announcement at XO18.

Xbox One October 2018 update; New Avatars, Dolby Vision, Alexa support

Xbox One October 2018 update; New Avatars, Dolby Vision, Alexa support 10

The latest update for Xbox One is a huge one. Microsoft’s latest October 2018 update for the Xbox One is headlined by the return of Xbox Avatars with a new look and style.

The update went live today and introduces the “new Xbox Avatars.” This update was supposed to be launched last year since it’s been in development ever since the reveal at last year’s E3 conference. Microsoft has delayed the release and started a beta program with Xbox Insiders this June. Now, the update is live and ready to deploy.

So, let’s get to the details.

Players can now easily customize themselves with an expanded take on personalization. Your new Avatar will show up on your profile pages, feed, community posts, and pretty much anywhere you can make yourself show up. You can also switch back to the original Avatars if you don’t like the new ones- AKA Xbox 360 Avatars.

The new Avatars offer plenty of customizations such as a variety of body types, clothing, and gender-neutral selections. People with disabilities can also represent themselves with the use of prosthetics and such. Naturally, skin hair, clothing, and accessories can all be customized indivually to the player’s choice- all the way down to the color of the object. Players can also buy themed merchandise from popular games like Halo in the Avatar Store.

Besides Avatars, the new update also adds support for both Cortana and Alexa for voice control. This means you can ask Amazon’s Alexa to launch a game or shut down the Xbox. Players who use Amazon devices can now integrate it with their Xbox if they’d rather use Alexa over Microsoft’s Cortana.

Another feature is the awesome support for Dolby Vision. The update can be used for Xbox One X and S, but only for streaming apps, not 4K Blu-Rays. Right now, you can test out Dolby Vision in video apps like Netflix (if you have the right 4K HD plan). However, other apps will soon support the same update.

Lastly, there will be a special offer for players interested in Xbox- Microsoft will give a free Amazon Echo for players who buy select Xbox One S or X bundles at Amazon. This offer is limited to US residents only.

This is a huge update and adds a lot of improvement to the overall capabilities of Xbox’s online service and gives it the boot over Sony’s limited feature set. PS4 can only support HDR to HDR10 standards. Though, Sony has been making headlines recently with the ability to finally change PSN usernames and backward compatibility for the PS5.

Source: Polygon

Halo Infinite won’t be covered at X018: “Nothing currently planned”

Halo Infinite won't be covered at X018: "Nothing currently planned" 11

Microsoft’s X018 event takes place next month. It’s an event where they’ll step out and announce a variety of projects, reveals, and other goodies that fans will undoubtedly get hyped over. The event takes place during a special episode of Inside Xbox.

Fans have been speculating that there will surely be some Halo Infinite news during the show- the fourth game in the long-running Halo series that dates back to the original Xbox. If you’re one of them, you shouldn’t hold your breath. A tweet from 343 Industries Director of Community, Brian Jarrard, they have absolutely no news to reveal during the event, or is just covering up the news?

He said this in a tweet replying to a fan, saying that there’s “nothing currently planned for X018.” Jarrard did, however, mention about when and where they’ll end up giving out the news about the next Microsoft exclusive- just not at X018. So Halo fans, don’t get trigger finger primed just yet.

You can see the tweet here:

Halo Infinite’s reveal at E3 was one of the features of the entire presentation. Microsoft hasn’t really said anything else about the game since then. Then again, what if Jarrard is just covering up the excitement at XO18? We’ll find out.

Stay tuned for coverage.

Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 HD are now Xbox One backward compatible

Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 HD are now Xbox One backward compatible 12

Two new games made the list of Xbox One backward compatible titles. And they’re magnificent.

Both Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty HD and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD are now officially playable on the Xbox One and Xbox One X. If you have the physical copy of legendary titles, you can plug them into your console and start another epic espionage adventure. Both games were released as a set as part of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, which was released in 2011.

A tweet by Larry Hryb “The Xbox Guy” sparked the news:

This set is the second HD collection released by Konami that made the Xbox One backward compatibility list within the past few months. The other collection was the Silent Hill HD Collection which becomes available for backward compatible play back in July.

Now that Konami has two sets of HD collections available on the Xbox One, players can get those nostalgic feels once again. And for players who’ve never played- you now have a chance to redeem yourself on playing Konami’s top-tier games.

You can see the full list of backward compatible games here.

Funny how this news comes out just after yesterday when Solid Snake (David Hayter) told Vinny of Vinesauce to “squeeze my hog.”

 

 

Phil Spencer negotiating with Japanese creators to bring games to the States

Phil Spencer negotiating with Japanese creators to bring games to the States 13

Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, is over in Japan right now. But not for leisure- he’s actually responding to the drove of fan requests wanting to play Japanese games on the Xbox One (actually, probably a little bit of leisure). He’s meeting with developers, publishers, and other key figures in order to talk about bringing these much sought-after titles over to the west.

Often, Japanese games are presented during conferences like E3, but players in the rest of the world can only see what they can’t have. Every now and then, we get the odd port and translation, but we miss out on the AAA stuff.

Spencer mentioned in a tweet that he’s going back to Japan for more meetings. He plans to negotiate with local Japanese game devs and pubs to talk about game development and reveal the progress he’s made with local game creators.

Spencer says that he’s already been “making progress with creators” in Japan, so just from that, we can take away that there’s some hope for Japanese titles to finally be released in States.

He’s not doing this solo, either. Xbox Games Marketing General Manager, Aaron Greenberg, talked about similar concepts during an interview at Gamescom 2018. This is good news for those who have been wanting to get their control sticks on a copy of Powerstone.

Japan’s Xbox presence isn’t nearly as strong as the rest of the world, and Japanese gamers tend to stick to Sony, so there aren’t really that many exciting titles. Regardless, it may be an attempt to stay competitive for the PS5’s launch, where Sony is rumored to go all out- complete with backward emulation alongside other features.

Xbox Australia unveils an extremely rare PUBG-themed grease-proof controller

Xbox Australia unveils an extremely rare PUBG-themed grease-proof controller 14

The Australian branch of Xbox just unveiled a new PUBG-themed Xbox controller. But it’s not just another typical controller skinned with a game theme. This one is kinda special.

Too many times, I’m eating when I play games. Whether it’s during the loading screens, cutscenes, or even during mid-combat, I’ll take a bite of something and end up with some greasy or oily fingers. Occasionally, some of that food residue gets onto the controller, to which I’ll have to wipe off later. It’s not really an issue, but it does leave a nasty feeling to it.

This controller is said to be grease-proof. The solution to an issue all gamers have faced sometime or another. If it’s not grease, it’s probably sweat.

The PUBG controller features a gray/green design that’s glossy to the look. It’s line with a special coating that makes it grease-proof and any residue won’t collect on it. If it doesn’t, it’s easy to wipe off. This is something that’s actually useful for once, rather than those overpriced controllers that are just varying in colors and skins. This has an inherent functionality.

However, only 200 have been produced. And there’s no way to buy this thing. And you need to be in Australia. So it’s pretty limited if I had to say so.

Xbox One – Limited Edition Greaseproof Controller

Get ready to control the battleground with our limited edition Greaseproof controller celebrating the launch of PLAYERUNKOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS – Just reply below with your best ‘Winner Winner Chicken Dinner’ story for your chance to win 1 of 5 controllers. #Greaseproof

Posted by Xbox ANZ on Wednesday, September 5, 2018

However, if you don’t care about the theme and you just want the grease-proofing, you can get the two new black or grey/blue variations that were released a few weeks ago.

CoD: WWII Covert Storm event is live – new weapons, challenges, and events

CoD: WWII Covert Storm event is live - new weapons, challenges, and events 15

Earlier this week, Sledgehammer Games revealed a new in-game event for Call of Duty: WWII gamers. It’s called Covert Storm. And it’s a decent one. This event is now live for Xbox One, PC, and PS4.

Unlike the previous events, this one adds a ton of content for free, though it’s just a tad less than normal. Three new weapons have also been added:

  • AS-44 AR
  • Prot X-1 SMG
  • VMG 1927 LMG

The AS-44 can be earned by reaching the max level in the Commando Division.

Aside from weapons, newly animated camos and a community challenge are also now live in CoD. This content pack, however, has no new maps with the update. But then again, this is more likely the last event before the next Black Ops game rolls out in October.

For players who’ve already played their share of WWII, you may want to check out the trailer to see what’s new while your game is updating. It pretty much highlights everything that’s new in this update.

Forza Horizon 4 promo event in Australia goes all out

Forza Horizon 4 promo event in Australia goes all out 16

Xbox Austraila is giving players the chance to play video games on a huge screen. To be exact, they’re giving players the chance to play on a movie screen, but limited to just one AAA game- Forza Horizon 4.

They announced all of the details regarding this earlier this week:

“Xbox is celebrating the launch of Forza Horizon 4 in Australia with a real-world Forza Horizon Drive-in Cinema!

For one night only, we are giving fans the chance to be amongst the first in Australia to explore the fourth addition to the open-world playground racing series. This event promises to be part car show, part game experience and part cinema.

Start your evening with a GamePlay session to trial the game or watch game demonstrations on the big screen, played live from a Forza McLaren 720S! Check out some demonstration vehicles from our partners at McLaren and Porsche and visit the OMEN Rig for some additional GamePlay opportunities. Then grab some food or movie snacks available for purchase from the Forza Diner, before settling back into your car for a screening of the award winning 2015 Action film Mad Max: Fury Road.”

Fans of the series will be the first in Australia to play through the game in a real-world Drive-in Cinema. Players will be able to play the game in a movie theater for one night only. They’ll be able to watch game demos live from a Forza McLaren 720S complete with food, movie snacks, and beverages followed by a screening of Mad Max: Fury Road.

Ben Penrose, Art Director for Playground Games, will also be at this event to answer fan questions. The event takes place at the Skyline Drive-In Blacktown on Septemeber 7th in Blacktown, Australia. Entry is $20 with a car and additional riders cost 410 per person. The game will release October 2nd for PC and Xbox One.

More details can be found here.

Nintendo and Microsoft found to be in a “lovey-dovey” relationship; Cross-play now available

Nintendo and Microsoft found to be in a "lovey-dovey" relationship; Cross-play now available 17

NIntendo just released a new trailer that shows off cross-platform compatibility between the Switch and Xbox One. It depicts two players, one on each console. Both are working together in a rare promotion video that shows off the hardware and gameplay from Microsoft and Nintendo. As rare as this is, it’s freakin’ awesome to see.

The video ends with a weird message:

“Create Together, Explore Together, Survive Together, Better Together.”

Obviously, this is aimed towards how cooperative play across platforms can be fun. But then again, the PlayStation is still missing- to no surprise.

Fortnite was recently released for the Switch last week and it quickly was confirmed that you could like your Epic Games account to  PS4, you wouldn’t be able t log in or carry anything over to the Switch. Sony responded to the controversy and just threw a blanket “sorry not sorry” message to the community:

“We’re always open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience.”

Thankfully, Nintendo and Microsoft players don’t have to worry about this issue. nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime said:

“What competitors do is their decision to make. We believe being both developer-forward and fan-forward is in the best interest of the game.”

This was a much more direct approach the the issue. They then took it up a notch and went on their official Twitter account and had a conversation with Microsoft, to which then Mojang joined in. Nintendo Tweeted at Xbox asking them if they wanted to “build something” now that they can “play together” to which Xbox responded with a “our bodies are ready. What are we building?”

Afterwards, Minecraft jumps in and suggests something to build to which both Xbox and Nintendo agree upon. Crazy.

Minecraft, Rocket League, Paladins and more have all been cross-play compabiel now with select systems, such as PC, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. It’s a good time to be a Nintendo or Microsoft fanboy. With the start of Minecraft bonding the two rivals, this could be a new “lovey-dovey” relationship.

Currently Switch owners of Minecraft will be able to play with Xbox One players. And if you own the Minecraft Switch Edition,  you’ll also be able to upgrade to the new version at no charge.

Next-gen Xbox “Scarlett” will be a series of devices rather than a single unit

Next-gen Xbox "Scarlett" will be a series of devices rather than a single unit 18

E3 was a huge success as it got fans excited more than ever for official reports of upcoming games.

The next Xbox, codenamed Scarlett, was released at Microsoft’s press conference which showed off a broad range of game titles and very little time for the tech powering the games. Phil Spencer, the top dog of Xbox, suggested that a wave of next-gen projects are moving forward under that same esoteric name.

He spoke on the vibrant nature of the games industry and promised Microsoft’s commitment tot he future that involves AI, cloud-based streaming, and the next Xbox console.

He used the word “consoles” which suggests that it’ll be more than a single piece of the console. This means a whole multitude of devices. The speech focused on talking about games more than hardware and fans were fine with it. Halo Infinity, Cybperunk 2077, The Division 2, and even Fallout 76.

With such diverse games, the console has nothing to show for it at this point. We’ll have to scrap the tidbits of info like usual until time tells all the details.

Microsoft announces new Surface Pro devices, Andromeda, HoloLens, and next Xbox

Microsoft announces new Surface Pro devices, Andromeda, HoloLens, and next Xbox 19

Microsoft will have some pretty neat future hardware, as their plans have been leaked so we can all ogle at what we have in store.

In 2019, there’s a new version of HoloLens codenamed Sydney. The documents hint that it’ll hit the market for developers and possibly commercial availability also. it’ll be a lot cheaper than the current version, lighter, more comfortable, and with an improved display. It’ll also likely use a sensor package from Project Kinect for Azure announced at the Build developer conference last May and include the newer, second-gen holographic CPU.

Next, Microsoft’s pocketable two-screen device named Andromeda is supposed to hit the shelves in 2018. It’s a product in its own market which will define a new hardware form factor. Like the Surface Pro, it’ll be a completely different piece of hardware that’s currently not in existence. It’ll have to offer similar appeal to the Surface Pro and be able to be widely used at the same time.

There’s also a new line of Surface Pro devices with codenames Carmel, Libar, and Andromeda as mentioned already. Carmel is the next device in the like of the Surface Pro. It’ll feature new Intel CPUs as Intel is refreshing their mobile processors later this year. The two CPUs in question are codenamedWhiskeyy Lake and Amber Lake- with power consumptions of about 15W and 4.5W, respectively.

Lastly, the next Xbox was confirmed to be in development and is due for release in 2020 with the codename Scarlett. It’ll likely be a family of devices rather than a single piece of hardware that keeps backward compatibility for games, as that’s what Microsoft has a history of doing. It’ll also likely just be a faster version of the current Xbox One X- to put it simplified.