Liam_Doolan

For anyone debating whether or not Battle.net is a "platform" - Blizzard often calls it this in official PR.

Even in the Xbox Wire post this story is based on, Microsoft refers to it as a platform:

"Avowed will also be made available for pre-order and purchase on Battle.net, Blizzard’s PC platform."

Hope that clears it up for everyone!

@jesse_dylan This is meant to read 'Dragon Quest III' as we are referencing the Japanese release in this sentence, but our game page for this title (which hyperlinks through to Nintendo Life's game page) goes by the US name "Dragon Warrior III" so it seems to have defaulted to that. I'll make sure this is updated today.

@SuntannedDuck2 The games and series you've mentioned (like NM3, Bayonetta and DMC) do it better.

As for the camera, it has moments where it freaks out, this seemed to happen more in cramped spaces.

@HarmanSmith Yeah, if you're a Suda51 fan it's an interesting slice of his history!

@InterceptorAlpha Sorry, to rephrase that - yes, since 2003 and admittedly there has been a significant gap since the last release (time flies). Also appreciate you don't mind the coverage!

And I will say I think there's enough history between Xbox (MS) & Valve in recent years (as can be seen in our related links) to justify the coverage.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Valve has been releasing games on Xbox platforms since 2003, so I'm sure there's at least some interest in the company's next mystery project. I'll add we've already covered Deadlock before as well.

Valve (Gabe included) and Microsoft also have a long history. As for PX, we dabble in some light PC coverage from time to time due to Xbox's links to various MS products and services such as Windows and cloud.

@InfamousOrange Yeah, basically - you're going to have a lot of voices whispering in your ears - to the point it's like "in your head" as @GamingFan4Lyf notes. It's just on a different level to a speaker setup in this case.

@Vilimeno In Sand Land there are different control options and you can remap buttons. You can also make adjustments to the HUD, on-screen controls, and minimap with options to hide them etc.

@BowsersBuddy As noted in the review, the game basically pieces together the major parts from the manga and anime anyway - so you don't need to be familiar with the source material, or know anything about anime/manga (in general) to enjoy it.

@trev666 Yeah, to clarify this new release also includes Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.

@GamingSince84 The Verge has now confirmed with MS that the 34 million Game Pass subscribers includes Xbox Game Pass Core subs (formerly Xbox Live Gold). I've added this info to the article.

Diablo IV also won't be available to Xbox Game Pass Core subscribers. Update here:

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2024/02/activision-blizzards-first-game-pass-release-has-been-confirmed-by-xbox

@Banjo- First line: "Season 2 of Halo on Paramount Plus". It's also tagged with Paramount, so you can see our past stories by clicking on that.

@InterceptorAlpha From the official site:

"Our vision for the future is bold and our commitment to our core live games – League of Legends, VALORANT, Teamfight Tactics, and Wild Rift – is more ambitious than ever."

@Phantasystar77 As already mentioned in the article, your existing premium content will remain in your library.

The 10th Anniversary Update will see the release of two versions of KI: Base Game (free-to-play) and Anniversary Edition, so there's no need to worry about being left out!

The team issued a notice on social media after the initial announcement and media release, so I've made some changes to the story and swapped out the old graphic with the new one.

Killer Instinct: "We heard your feedback about the free upgrades for digital KI Definitive Edition or Steam KI to KI Anniversary Edition looking like it cost more. Those editions do = free upgrade, this updated Image fixes the price box that caused the confusion. Remember, the balance changes will be in all versions (free). Thanks as always for the feedback!"

https://twitter.com/KillerInstinct/status/1727809203694387224

@shoeses Where did you get this quote from?

@OldGamer999 Here's a bit extra from the update page:

"We’ve also refreshed some existing Tours of Motorsport in the Builders Cup to feature the new Yas Marina layouts, including Built for Sport, Premium Performance, C8 Challenge and S Class Open Series. You’ll also get to experience the track in the new Prestige Tour, as well as the Forza GT and Forza Touring Car Spec Series in Featured Multiplayer, and Featured Rivals events."

@Wadeinca1 Oops! Updated now.

@Markatron84 Yes, this is noted in the text. The headline also mentions how it's "apparently" midway through development, so there's no guarantee or promise, necessarily.

I am optimistic we'll be seeing Indiana Jones much sooner than something like The Elder Scrolls 6 - which at this rate, I can't see us getting any time soon, like at all... maybe before the end of the decade if we're lucky, prob depends on how successful and long-lasting Starfield is as well. I mean they've got 10+ years out of Skyrim.

@Markatron84 I don't think this would be an offhand comment. The writer was given an exclusive with Todd Howard.

If we look at the timeline, Indiana Jones was announced in January 2021 and Bethesda confirmed the title was already "in development" at the time. We even got some basic concept artwork.

It's now 2023 and developer MachineGames has not worked on much else but some extra content for the Quake remasters. If this is the midway point of development, we would see it by about 2026 - 2027? Maybe a year earlier, if we're lucky. That's not even factoring in things like the final polishing stages, marketing & launch prep.

I assume Indiana Jones will be a much more more narrow project compared to the massive open-world scale of Starfield and series like The Elder Scrolls, so that could speed up development.

Of course, there could and always will be setbacks in game development, so who knows when we might actually see this... It's not always a bad thing when developers choose to hold off on gameplay reveals until they've got something substantial to show off.

Hopefully, we'll get a big reveal for this game sooner rather than later. I would definitely be up for an Uncharted-style experience, as a few of us have already mentioned here.

@__jamiie No, this is just a screenshot of the Astral Purple colour that's currently available on Xbox Design Lab.

@ArmoredMore We'll be sharing an update about our Starfield review later today.

@Markatron84 I think Blizzard's decision to release select titles on Steam could really help boost the life of certain communities. Apart from OW2, Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone would probably benefit as well.

@Moonglow Check these links:

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/07/classic-call-of-duty-matchmaking-appears-to-have-drastically-improved-on-xbox

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/07/xbox-360-call-of-duty-titles-see-huge-player-spikes-following-server-update

@Markatron84 Last I checked, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 was an Epic exclusive on PC. Crash Team Racing hasn't actually been released on PC (in general) and Crash Team Rumble appears to also be exclusive to console (at least for now, if not forever).

You can see the list of Activision games here on Steam, there seems to be about 50 titles: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Activision

@Sam_TSM If Matt Booty is saying fans were late/last to realise that big budget games now take longer than 2-3 years to develop, maybe it will finally click with some people when they read his latest comments.

It's also interesting to hear how Xbox has allocated what sounds like the majority of its QA staff to Starfield. The scale of this game is huge (even from a collaborative perspective), so it's understandable why games are now taking more than half a decade to craft.

@MaxC Piglins drop 'Lapis' which is what feeds the Flames of Creation - allowing you to spawn golems and mobs. One tip in the game advises you give "every Piglin you see a good thwacking" for this reason alone.

@Jenkinss @Leuke On Xbox Series X|S up to four players are supported in the co-op campaign. If you can join forces with some friends or family members, it's quite a fun experience. PvP is worth a go as well.

@Sol4ris As noted earlier in the review, Minecraft Legends is still a respectable effort and has received a 'good' score.

It's also a great introduction to strategy gaming for younger gamers and newcomers (even with the learning curve).

@EvilSilentFrame Updated the article to further clarify this - but yes, the warning is mostly about the gameplay.

Update: I've swapped out the statements. The Reddit one is similar but doesn't go into quite as much detail.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/comments/11ax9pa/a_note_on_baldurs_gate_3_for_xbox/

@stvevan To clarify - we reviewed the game on an Xbox Series X. And to be fair, there is a warning (at least in Skirmish) about possible performance issues when going beyond the limits with 200+ units. If you want to push the boundaries in certain games, I'd recommend PC.

@CGesange Yes, it's somewhat educational. The AoE series, in general, can be a fun introduction to history (for kids and adults).

@LonelyMuthaShutYo Age of Empires II is still an excellent game, but yes AoE IV will be released on Xbox at some point in 2023. We'll be updating our existing review with some Xbox impressions, I believe.

@Would_you_kindly I've added this in.

@Feffster Yep, that's included in this update.

@Tasuki In a Halo Waypoint blog in March, 343 mentioned how campaign network co-op would not be delivered until "later in Season 2":

"All this means that we will not be able to ship Campaign network co-op on May 3rd, at the start of Season 2. But we are still aiming to deliver Campaign network co-op later in Season 2, and we will share a release date for that and for split-screen co-op as soon as we can."

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2022/03/halo-infinite-dev-provides-update-on-co-op-and-forge-release
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As noted by 343 in today's update, this roadmap is very much an "evolving document" so dates and plans are subject to change.

@OliverOwen Yep, it's a bit of a running joke.

@OliverOwen Valve can't count to 3.

@Tasuki Yes, I'm aware of this 'real' version, but as noted on that same webpage it started out as a "game-within-a-game". In the context of the video game, it's still fictional.

@Richnj We didn't team up with the Push Square team for co-op.

@Xiovanni As mentioned, we've never got a proper face reveal.

I wouldn't really count Halo 4, either. We saw his eyes and that brief shot was only shown if you played on legendary difficulty.

By the sounds of it, this upcoming Paramount series will do a full face reveal and more. I'm guessing they want to give Pablo some screen time without a helmet on.

@Snake_V5 The producer didn't go into any extra detail, so I guess you can pass the message onto Atelier's publisher Koei Tecmo. So official social media accounts and support pages on the web.

That's one hell of a trailer.

Great list PJ!

If we're adding to it in the future, here are my picks: JSR:F, OutRun 2 and Conker: Live and Reloaded.

@BlueOcean Ah... if only it was on Switch. Fixed!

@BlueOcean That's a comment made by Push Square and they're referring to the FFIX re-release on PS4 and PC. That includes the Switch version and the one you mentioned on Xbox, I believe.

@UltimateOtaku91 If you like FPS, yes - just download this game. You've got nothing to lose considering it's free! I've recommended it to countless friends now and they've all enjoyed it. And yeah - it's relatively simple. It might take a while to become effective with portals but other than that, it's easy to pick up and play.

As for a BR mode, I'm not too sure - the beauty of this game is that it's channelling shooters of the past two decades, and as much as the BR experience has been part of that in recent times, I fear it would take focus away from what makes this game so great in the first place (the classic arena-based combat).

@VenomousAlbino The YouTube description says about a week later. I'm guessing TR didn't have the courage to specify this on social media - or perhaps someone else on the team posted this response on Twitter, so it's worded slightly differently. Either way, we probably won't be waiting long (at all) for this one, if it does come to Xbox.

@Vincent294 PC and Xbox. Sign up here:

https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/halo-insider

It's cool and all, but I'll be sticking with "The Original".

@Tasuki It will be coming in a future update. See our guide for more details:

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2021/06/everything_you_need_to_know_about_dungeons_and_dragons_dark_alliance_on_xbox_game_pass

@LtSarge I've updated the post with Jeff's latest tweet, cheers.

@gingataisen Yes, what you've read is correct.

The same level of decapitation and blood/gore that was featured in the original Sigma versions was not originally in the Master Collection releases, so they've patched it in as a day one update.

https://twitter.com/KoeiTecmoUS/status/1402970141122465795

@Xiovanni Don't worry, there appears to be no available stock on the NZ store.