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Tag: Xbox

  • New Xbox CEO On Company Strategy: “The Plan’s The Plan Until It’s Not The Plan” – Kotaku

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    In her introduction email to Xbox employees, Asha Sharma, the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming and former president of Microsoft’s CoreAI, promised a return to Xbox. This, among many other things about the announcement, raised some questions, with perhaps the most relevant being, “What does that even mean?”

    Windows Central sat down with Sharma and new CCO Matt Booty to ask just that. Instead of clarifying her plans, Sharma offered vaguely positive-sounding platitudes that amounted to little of substance. “For me, the spirit of ‘Return to Xbox’ is about returning to the spirit that the team was founded on,” Sharma said. “It’s that spirit of surprise, it’s the spirit of building something nobody else was willing to try—I’ve heard ‘renegade,’ ‘rebellion,’ and ‘fun’ used. That’s what I was thinking about when I wrote that.”

    Sharma did, at least, acknowledge that she has a lot of work to do before making any big decisions, but it’s bizarre that Microsoft would just set her loose for interviews when she admits she still has so much to learn about Xbox. When asked about Xbox getting rid of game exclusives and whether or not that policy might be revised, she said, “Right now, I need to learn, candidly. About the ‘why’ of these decisions, what we were optimizing for, and what the data says about the Xbox strategy today. That’s the honest answer. I’m looking at lifetime value, not just what happened in a previous moment, or in short term efficiencies and things like that. The plan’s the plan until it’s not the plan.”

    On the subject of AI, Sharma reiterated that she wouldn’t “flood [the Xbox] ecosystem with slop,” and said she stands by what she wrote in her introduction email. Booty jumped in with further clarification, adding, “We’ve got no pressure from Microsoft, there are no directives on AI coming down.”

    Overall, the interview is light on concrete details about Sharma’s vision for Xbox. As she said, “I think from here, the work is proof over promise.” We’ll just have to wait and see what that work actually looks like.

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    Jen Lennon

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  • Nothing About The Big Xbox Shakeup Makes Sense

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    When big news happens there’s an inevitable rush to put it in context and explain it. One approach is to take the news at face value and begin rationalizing it. Another approach is to assume there’s some hidden logic at work and unearth whatever that is. We’ve seen both of these when it comes to Xbox’s big leadership shakeup and neither offers a completely satisfying answer to the basic question everyone’s been asking themselves a version of since Friday afternoon: what the hell?

    Phil Spencer is retiring. Sure. Makes sense. He’s been at Microsoft for 38 years. God bless him. But for it to be announced on a Friday afternoon via a series of memos and weird media “exclusives?” Odd way to put a pin in the career of one of gaming’s longest-serving and most visible executives. Not even an Official Xbox Podcast episode to break the news and offer Spencer the chance to share it in a more personal way with the millions of fans who have been following his vision for Xbox and gaming for over a decade now.

    A report from The Verge explains some of this weirdness. The announcement was originally supposed to happen on Monday February 23 instead, but reporting from IGN forced Microsoft to move up its timeline. Most employees learned about the move from social media first as a result. Spencer has reportedly been planning to retire for almost a year now. Microsoft just happened to choose the end of February to pull the rip cord. Microsoft head of comms Frank Shaw shut down rumors last July that Spencer was retiring “anytime soon,” calling them made-up. Was he lying then, or now?

    A celebration cut short

    All the stranger considering Spencer will technically still be hanging around in an advisory role through the summer to help with the transition as new Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma takes the reigns. Will he be teaching her how to get all the achievements in Brotato? Spencer’s public-facing role at Xbox has felt ceremonial for a while now, yet he’s bailing out before the console’s 25 year anniversary celebrations get underway?

    For all its stumbles and challenges in recent years, 2026 is supposed to be a victory lap for Xbox. Game Pass’ price hike was wildly unpopular but its been on a tear of great releases. Xbox console sales are tanking but people are intrigued by the PC gaming future that devices like the Xbox Ally X are pointing to. And the games, a perennial Achilles’ heel for the tech giant, are here. Forza Horizon 6, Gears of War: E-Day, the Halo: Combat Evolved remake, and Fable are making good on the company’s promise of quarterly tentpoles. They’re not exclusive, but they’re each a celebration of franchises that have defined Xbox across four console generations.

    Then there’s the curious case of why Xbox president Sarah Bond resigned on Friday. Spencer’s goodbye email was the only one to mention her. Even Xbox’s long-time third musketeer Matt Booty declined to thank her for her service to the company and the platform. Hours after the news was out, Bond shared her statement on LinkedIn. She didn’t mention Booty either.

    “This moment also presents a unique opportunity for fresh eyes and new leadership to guide the team into its next chapter,” she wrote. “I’ve had the privilege of spending time with Asha over the last few weeks as we’ve planned for this transition, and I’ve seen firsthand her deep commitment to our players, developers, and brand.”

    A convenient scapegoat

    The Verge reports that Bond was seen as “tough to work with” and that some employees were “relieved that Bond is leaving Microsoft.” Curiously, it lays much of the blame for Xbox’s recent strategic blunders at the feet of Xbox’s most junior leader. “Bond had tried to push mobile and cloud over console, to reach potentially millions more Xbox customers, but the result has been a classic case of chasing tomorrow’s customers by neglecting today’s,” writes Tom Warren, though he later notes that Bond’s actions were “under Spencer’s direction.”

    I think you’d be hard pressed to find an Xbox fan anywhere who believes even for a minute that Microsoft’s multiplatform “play anywhere” pivot to cloud, PC, and mobile was a bottom-up movement spearheaded by Bond rather than a mandate incentivized from the top down as CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood demanded aggressive growth targets and strict profit margin discipline following the $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Many have noticed how convenient it would be for Microsoft to pin the erosion of Xbox as a meaningful concept on someone who’s no longer at the company and her retiring boss.

    It might be easier to square any of this if Microsoft’s own messaging on this moment and what it signals sounded any more coherent than the rest of the Xbox Series X/S generation. “We will recommit to our core Xbox fans and players, those who have invested with us for the past 25 years, and to the developers who build the expansive universes and experiences that are embraced by players across the world,” Sharma wrote in her introductory memo to staff and fans. She promised “a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are.”

    Then just a sentence later she continued beating the “play anywhere” drum. “Gaming now lives across devices, not within the limits of any single piece of hardware,” she wrote. “As we expand across PC, mobile, and cloud, Xbox should feel seamless, instant, and worthy of the communities we serve. We will break down barriers so developers can build once and reach players everywhere without compromise.”

    A renegade spirit for the AI age

    No mention of other consoles like PS5 and Switch 2. Is Microsoft ending its experiment with exclusivity? “Hear you,” Sharma told an Xbox fan over the weekend when he told her to bring back console exclusivity. The new Microsoft Gaming CEO has been saying all the right things to build trust with Xbox’s core audience, but the platform has zigged and zagged so much over the last five years that no one’s going to believe words until they’re backed up by actions, and even then what will stop Microsoft from pivoting again while gaming remains a rounding error relative to its other businesses and the emerging AI market?

    Affordable hardware. Killer games. Those are the ingredients a console platform needs to thrive and flourish. Microsoft has shown time and again it’s either not committed to those two things or is unable to execute on them. Bond may have been a poor messenger for the future of Xbox, but it will take more than messaging to save Xbox. And the way this entire Xbox reorg has been rolled out suggests that even the messaging will continue to be a mess.

    “I want to return to the renegade spirit that built Xbox in the first place,” Sharma wrote in her memo. One person who doesn’t believe that is an actual renegade who built the first Xbox, Seamus Blackley. “I expect that the new CEO, Asha Sharma, her job is going to be as a palliative care doctor who slides Xbox gently into the night,” he told Games Beat today. “The job of all these people is to just gently usher all of these business units into the new world of AI. That’s what you’re seeing here.”

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    Ethan Gach

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  • Xbox head Phil Spencer is leaving Microsoft

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    Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, is retiring, Satya Nadella has announced. Asha Sharma, the President of Microsoft’s CoreAI division is taking over Spencer’s role, while Sarah Bond, the current President of Xbox, is resigning.

    “I am long on gaming and its role at the center of our consumer ambition, and as we look ahead, I’m excited to share that Asha Sharma will become Executive Vice President and CEO, Microsoft Gaming, reporting to me,” Nadella says. “Over the last two years at Microsoft, and previously as Chief Operating Officer at Instacart and a Vice President at Meta, Asha has helped build and scale services that reach billions of people and support thriving consumer and developer ecosystems. She brings deep experience building and growing platforms, aligning business models to long-term value, and operating at global scale, which will be critical in leading our gaming business into its next era of growth.”

    In a thread on X, Spencer shared his thoughts on Sharma’s new position. “I’m excited for [Asha Sharma] as she steps into the CEO role,” Spencer wrote. “She’s joining an incredible group of people; teams full of talent, heart, and a deep commitment to the players they serve. Watching her lean in with curiosity and a real desire to strengthen the foundation we’ve built gives me confidence that our Xbox communities will be well supported in the years ahead.”

    Alongside Sharma, Matt Booty, the current head of Xbox Game Studios, is getting promoted to Chief Content Officer, and will report to Sharma. Sarah Bond, who like Spencer served as a public face for the Xbox brand and was assumed to be his successor, is leaving Microsoft to “begin a new chapter.” Bond has yet to make a public statement about her resignation.

    Spencer joined Microsoft in 1988, and has worked on Xbox since at least 2001. He assumed responsibility for Microsoft’s gaming brand and its various studios and associated subscription products in 2013, before becoming an Executive VP of Gaming in 2017 and later CEO of Microsoft Gaming in 2022. Spencer’s biggest impact on Xbox will likely be remembered as the creation of Game Pass, Microsoft’s “Netflix for Games” and the wave of studio acquisitions Microsoft completed from 2018 to 2022, which included smaller studios like Double Fine and the massive $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard King.

    While Microsoft has plenty of developers and IP to fall back on, it’s struggled to compete with the likes of Sony and Nintendo during the current console generation. Microsoft’s gaming division has gone through widespread layoffs, its revenue continued to fall throughout 2025 and it raised the prices of both its consoles and Game Pass Ultimate, which likely won’t help things going forward. Sharma is in many ways inheriting a broken-down car.

    As far as her plans go, Sharma’s email to staff that was included in Nadella’s announcement is light on details. Sharma says she plans to continue developing “great games,” wants to “recommit” to core Xbox fans and “invent new business models and new ways to play.” Whether that’s enough to turn Xbox’s fortunes around remains to be seen.

    Update, February 20, 4:52PM ET: Added statement from Phil Spencer shared on X.

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    Ian Carlos Campbell

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  • Overwatch – 10 Years, More Heroes, Big Updates | Official Xbox Podcast

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    The post Overwatch – 10 Years, More Heroes, Big Updates | Official Xbox Podcast appeared first on Xbox Wire.

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    Joe Skrebels, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief

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  • Overwatch: The New Year-Long Narrative, Explained – Xbox Wire

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    Summary

    • Overwatch narrative lead Miranda Moyer tells us more about The Reign of Talon: the first complete, year-long story arc for Overwatch. 
    • The new narrative launches with immediate global conflict as Talon challenges Overwatch, and will introduce 10 new heroes, each woven directly into the unfolding story. 
    • Get ready for an Overwatch story that keeps you at the edge of your seat, with non-stop action, evolving characters, and plot twists. 

    Today, Blizzard’s Overwatch Spotlight announced the start of an exciting new story‑driven era for Overwatch, highlighted by a year-long narrative arc called The Reign of Talon, all‑new UI/UX design, and much more. Be sure to check out the full video for all of the details. As an extra treat, we’re joined by Lead Narrative Designer Miranda Moyer to dive deeper into what this new story‑driven chapter means for Overwatch. 

    For the first time in Overwatch’s history, we’re telling a complete story.   

    I don’t say that lightly. Over the past decade, Overwatch’s narrative has been about possibility – introductions, hints, and setups. We’ve met heroes, discovered conflicts, and learned just enough to know there was something bigger happening beyond the edges of the screen. But this year, we’re doing something we’ve never done before: telling a story with a clear beginning, middle… and yes, an end.  

    That means things move. When something happens in the world of Overwatch now, it doesn’t sit untouched. Objectives are set, and met. You’ll see outcomes unfold across seasons. We’re finally seeing payoff for parts of the Overwatch world that you’ve maybe wondered about for years. This evolving story will be brought to life through a variety of mediums – including Hero Trailers, motion comics, and more – so you can experience each chapter in unique ways. All these pieces will be available on our dedicated narrative viewer, organized in chapters that guide you through the year’s epic narrative.  

    At the center of this year’s Overwatch narrative is a global conflict that’s impossible to ignore. Vendetta has seized control of Talon, overthrowing Doomfist and rejecting the clandestine nature in which he operated. Where Talon once skulked in the shadows, Vendetta believes in acting loudly, decisively, and without restraint. Her goal is explicit: she wants the world, and she believes Overwatch is the only force standing in her way. Because of that, we’re not winding up to conflict: we’re starting with it. Talon strikes early, attempting to remove Overwatch from the equation.

    What’s fresh about the way we’re telling this story is how deeply our heroes are embedded in it. Every new character plays a direct role in the narrative. Those new faces are also a great vehicle to continue the stories of established ones. We’re touching so many parts of the world of Overwatch, and the more stories we develop, the more opportunities we’ll have to progress the journeys of heroes both new and longstanding.

    One of the biggest highlights for Overwatch this year is the introduction of 10 new heroes. In Season 1, which begins February 10, you’ll meet five of them at once: each with their own narrative thread which helps set the tone for what’s to come. 

    • Domina operates on the edges of Talon’s chaos, not publicly aligned with Vendetta (for fear of unsavory headlines), but more than willing to profit from the destruction she causes.
    • Emre is caught in a far more dangerous position, coerced into cooperation under the threat of catastrophic loss.
    • Mizuki finds himself torn between old obligations and the people who have become his family. 
    • Anran enters the fight on Overwatch’s side, driven and connected to the story in deeply personal ways.  
    Overwatch Concept Art
    • And then there’s Jetpack Cat, a long-running meme turned mobile support. She’s worth keeping an eye on, both for the future of her curious tale (tail?), as well as to make sure she isn’t knocking anything off counters. 

    This year’s narrative is about convergence—threads coming together, tensions peaking, and long-running questions colliding in ways that matter. Both established and new heroes will see movement in their stories, evolving amid this conflict. For Overwatch, this is the most ambitious narrative we’ve taken on. Each piece builds on the last, pushing characters and conflicts forward. 

    Join us on this new journey, and jump into Season 1 on February 10 and see it unfold for yourself. 


    Overwatch®

    Overwatch®

    Blizzard Entertainment

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    2000

    ★★★★★

    Xbox One X Enhanced

    Xbox Game Pass

    Overwatch® is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based hero shooter game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 or 6v6 battlefield brawl featuring new heroes and maps, different ways to play, and unique cosmetics! Lead the charge, ambush your enemies, or aid your allies as one of Overwatch®’s 40+ distinct heroes. Team up with friends, take them into battle across 25+ futuristic maps inspired by real-world locations, and master multiple unique game modes.

    Overwatch® – Season 20: Vendetta

    Give the Gift of Vengeance

    Embrace the season in a flurry of festivity with a new DPS Hero, Winter Wonderland modes, holiday event, merry Mythics, and more!

    Season 20 carves a cold path with Vendetta, the ruthless new melee DPS villain fueled by ambition and revenge. But it’s not all frosty edges—celebrate the holidays in the return of Winter Wonderland! Make some merry Mischief & Magic on a whimsical new wintery map, with a midway mode twist where the props fight back in Mischief & Magic Wonderland. Earn Winter Tokens through the Winter Wonderland event to unlock festive holiday skins for Tracer, Junkrat, and Torbjörn, then step into Stadium for a fresh map with new Heroes, updates, and prizes. Top it all off with Mythic Divine Desperado Cassidy and Orisa’s Mythic Capsule Cannon packing a cascade of cheer, plus more frosty skins as you jingle all the way through Battle Pass tiers. ‘Tis the season to deck your enemies’ halls, claim your vengeance, and unwrap your rewards!

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    Joe Skrebels, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief

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  • Here’s Why You Should Care About the Next-Gen Xbox Launch

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    Xbox is in freefall, but Microsoft’s gaming platform could redeem itself as soon as next year. During AMD’s Q4 2025 earnings call on Tuesday, the chipmaker’s CEO, Lisa Su, said that “development of Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox featuring an AMD semi-custom SoC is progressing well to support a launch in 2027.”

    Up until now, Xbox President Sarah Bond had only been ready to tell us the next Xbox console was indeed in development and would deliver a “premium experience.” The console likely won’t conform to any one game launcher. Instead, it could allow players to access platforms like Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG as well as Xbox. Essentially, it will be a PC with a less-upgradable “semi-custom” AMD SoC (system on a chip). 

    Why is AMD talking about this console even before Xbox can start its next-gen media blitz? Likely because gaming hardware will be in the doldrums all throughout 2026. Su said the company expects a “decline by a significant double-digit percentage as we enter the seventh year of what has been a very strong console cycle.” 

    2026 may be an odd year for gaming hardware

    The Steam Machine should arrive early this year, according to AMD. © Valve

    The year will start off with the launch of Valve’s long-awaited Steam Machine. Su said the device will arrive early this year, confirming what Valve had already indicated to Gizmodo and others about release timing. 

    Valve’s PC/console hybrid will sport another “semi-custom” AMD chip, though in this case it will be based on older GPU microarchitecture, namely RDNA 3.5. Valve has claimed it will be powerful enough for 4K gaming with the help of upscaling, though judging purely by specs, it may not be as powerful as graphics-obsessed gamers may demand. Later this year, we may see new handheld gaming PCs sporting an Intel Panther Lake chip, but that may be it for new gaming hardware. 

    The difficulty will be getting gamers excited for new gaming hardware, especially if it costs anything more than the current generation of consoles. More than five years after launch, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X cost more, not less, due to last year’s tariffs. A gaming-ready PC is now enormously expensive due to the ongoing memory shortage. We still don’t know the price of the Steam Machine, but based on Valve’s statements to this point, it likely won’t be cheap. 

    The next-gen Xbox may be even costlier. Numerous leaks from reliable sources like Moore’s Law is Dead on YouTube suggest that Microsoft’s PC-like console will use AMD’s newfangled RDNA 5 microarchitecture. The specs we’ve seen from leaks—including GPU core counts—support that this could indeed be a powerful machine for playing games at 4K with ray tracing enabled. 

    The industry may be even worse off without Xbox

    Microsoft Corp. Xbox Event Ahead Of 2019 E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo
    Xbox President Sarah Bond has made it seem like the next-gen console will be a premium device. Graphics alone may not be enough to move new hardware. © Patrick T. Fallon / Bloomberg via Getty Images

    Specs are one thing, but next-gen hardware success will depend on whether Microsoft can give gamers a real reason to care. If consoles become a “premium” device built only for the most-dedicated gamers with deep pockets, it will price out many more potential players. Judging by Xbox’s reported slowdown in hardware and services revenue, just because they can’t afford a new console doesn’t mean players will run out to buy an increasingly expensive Game Pass subscription. Xbox needs to offer gamers a whole new way to play, something that re-energizes Xbox as a lifestyle brand, rather than just another manufacturer of gaming hardware.

    The gaming industry needs a win. A total of 33% of U.S.-based game developers who responded to the annual State of the Games Industry Report said they were laid off in the last two years. Many of those were due to Microsoft’s own cuts. Among its many in-house and partnered studios, Microsoft is responsible for major developers from Blizzard to Bethesda down to former indie darlings like Double Fine and Obsidian. Xbox’s slow demise will make a bad time for the gaming industry worse.

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    Kyle Barr

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  • Blitz for Days in EA Sports Madden NFL 26 with EA Play, Available February 5 – Xbox Wire

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    See why Madden NFL 26 is Built From Sundays. Get unlimited access with EA Play starting February 5, then score a Supercharge Pack in Ultimate Team by March 6.

    Members can blitz for days with unlimited access to all the new explosive gameplay and feature updates.

    • EA Sports Madden NFL 26 is available on the Play List on February 5. Play with Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox PC Game Pass or Ultimate with EA Play.
    • Members can also score a Supercharge Pack in Ultimate Team, available from Feb 5-Mar 6.
    • Keep building your roster all year long with monthly Ultimate Team packs.

    Game Pass Ultimate members can get unlimited access today, as well as 10% off EA digital purchases, including Madden Points.

    Snag your Supercharge Pack, filled with 6 Elite player items, simply by entering Ultimate Team before March 6. Get a head start on building your roster so you can take on Challenges, H2H games, and more.

    Build a lasting legacy and take the reins as a coach in Franchise. Play your way from the Draft to the Super Bowl in Superstar. Craft the roster of your dreams in Ultimate Team. However you want to define football success, Madden NFL 26 is waiting. Start playing today.

    What’s New in Madden NFL 26?

    Built From Sundays

    Madden NFL 26 leverages a new AI-powered machine learning system trained by real play calls and game situations over nearly a decade to deliver more explosive gameplay—with new coach and player-specific traits, authentic playstyles, and adaptive counters that match on-field tendencies and strategies of professional quarterbacks and coaches.

    True Gameday Experience

    Get hyped for kickoff with stadium enhancements across the league. New run-outs feature real team traditions, with authentic crowd chants, unique stadium themes, and extreme weather that impacts gameplay and strategy.

    Dance down the tunnel in Minnesota, or steal the spotlight during the pre-game light show in Baltimore. New presentation elements and custom broadcast packages depend on your matchup and add depth to each game’s unique storyline.

    Franchise Updates

    Create your coaching legacy by choosing from four exciting new archetypes, or step into the shoes of your favorite pro head coach, each bringing their authentic strategies to Franchise. Customize your Weekly Strategy by selecting new coach abilities every week that offer different tactical advantages and evolve as you level them up. Earn more abilities and fine-tune your game plans each week, tailoring them more precisely to your opponents as you progress. New Play Sheets add a strategic layer to play-calling, a coach Approval Rating system holds you more accountable for your decision-making, new Trainer abilities offer new ways to control Wear & Tear recovery, and new Weekly Recaps hosted by Scott Hanson keep you updated on league news.

    Membership for EA Play is included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscriptions at no extra cost.

    Whether you’re scoring an unbelievable hat trick in the EA SPORTS FC franchise, showing no mercy on suburban battlegrounds in theBattlefield 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.

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    Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • World War Z x The Walking Dead Lurches onto Xbox Today – Xbox Wire

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    When two of the most iconic zombie universes collide, the result is something uniquely intense, atmospheric, and unmistakably thrilling. Today we’ve launched World War Z x The Walking Dead, bringing four legendary survivors into the heart‑pounding co‑op action of World War Z.

    Players on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One can step into the boots of Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon, Michonne, and Negan as they fight through three new story chapters inspired by some of the most iconic locations in AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

    The Prison

    Once a symbol of stability and hard‑won peace for Rick’s group, the Prison became one of the earliest and most dramatic battlegrounds in AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” In the crossover’s opening chapter, players return to this fortified correctional facility as a rescue mission spirals into a desperate fight for survival. Narrow hallways, cell blocks, and open yards create a mix of tight encounters and massive swarms — a perfect showcase for the new Walkers.

    World War Z x The Walking Dead
    World War Z x The Walking Dead
    Walkers – The Walking Dead – Season 3, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

    The Alexandria Safe Zone

    Alexandria has long represented hope — a walled community striving to rebuild civilization. But when Rick, Daryl, Michonne, and Negan arrive in this chapter, they find the settlement engulfed in flames and overrun by Walkers. Players will navigate and extinguish burning structures, defend panicked survivors, and push through increasingly dire challenges as the Safe Zone teeters on the brink. It’s a homecoming turned nightmare.

    World War Z x The Walking Dead
    World War Z x The Walking Dead
    Walkers – The Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 9 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

    Grady Memorial Hospital

    The final chapter takes the survivors to Grady Memorial Hospital, a location remembered for tense standoffs and its inhabitants’ moral flexibility. In World War Z, the hospital becomes a claustrophobic maze of dark corridors, abandoned wards, and sudden ambushes. Players will desperately search for much needed medicine — but will they make it out alive?

    World War Z x The Walking Dead
    World War Z x The Walking Dead
    – The Walking Dead _ Season 5, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

    A New Breed of Undead

    This crossover doesn’t just bring iconic characters — it transforms the battlefield. The standard Zeke that you face are now replaced by the slower, more methodical, and menacing Walkers from The Walking Dead, creating a threat that forces players to rethink every corridor, choke point, and fallback plan. A new special enemy, the Spiked Walker, adds even more tension. Armored, relentless, and capable of inflicting bleeding damage, it demands precision and teamwork to bring down safely.

    World War Z x The Walking Dead
    World War Z x The Walking Dead
    Gino Crognale as Walker – The Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 10 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

    A Crossover Years in the Making

    By blending WWZ’s frenetic Swarm Engine technology with the atmospheric dread of “The Walking Dead”, we’ve aimed to create a crossover that feels both familiar and entirely new. The result is hopefully a campaign that honors the legacy of both franchises while offering Xbox players a fresh, high‑stakes survival experience. If you own a copy of World War Z, you can pick up World War Z x The Walking Dead right now on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One!


    World War Z

    World War Z

    Mad Dog Games, LLC

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    515

    ★★★★★


    $29.99

    $9.89

    Xbox One X Enhanced

    Xbox Game Pass

    Humanity is on the brink of extinction. From New York to Moscow and Jerusalem, the undead apocalypse continues to spread. As the end looms, a hardened few bands together to defeat the horde and outlive the dead.

    World War Z is a heart-pounding co-op third-person shooter for up to 4 players featuring swarms of hundreds of zombies. Based on the Paramount Pictures film, World War Z focuses on fast-paced gameplay while exploring new storylines from around the world.

    Battle swarms of hundreds of zombies – the Swarm Engine™ seamlessly renders hordes of zombies in incredible firefights. Advanced gore systems offer gruesomely satisfying action.

    Co-op story-driven campaigns – survive around the world, as unique groups tell their stories of perseverance.

    Fight other players for survival – several intense Player vs Player vs Zombies game modes complement the co-op campaigns.

    Grow stronger – unlock powerful weapon upgrades and level 16 character classes to take on greater challenges.

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    Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • People of Note Welcomes Joe Zieja, Erika Ishii, Debra Wilson and More to the Cast! – Xbox Wire

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    Summary

    • Musical turn-based RPG People of Note launches later this year for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud as an Xbox Play Anywhere title.
    • Check out one if its newly revealed musical numbers, Mashup.
    • The star-studded cast of actors and singers now includes Erika Ishii and Amanda Angeles (Synthia), Joe Zieja (Sharp), Heather Gonzales and Lexxe (Cadence), Jason Charles Miller (Fret), and Debra Wilson (Martell).

    The cast of People of Note, our upcoming musical turn-based RPG, just got bigger!

    Today, we’re happy to announce the rest of the cast joining our pop diva protagonist on her grand adventure into stardom.

    To celebrate this announcement, we’re unveiling the next musical number from the game: Mashup, where Cadence tries recruiting old garage rocker Fret into her band:

    As you can hear, People of Note’s cast includes not only massively talented voice actors, but an equally dazzling lineup of singers and musicians! As not every voice actor is a singer (and vice versa) there were moments where we had to find a matching pair to bring a single character to life. This was an additional challenge most productions don’t face: even if their voices sounded similar, we needed their natural energies and attitudes to match both the characters AND each other.

    Erika Ishii (from Halo: Infinite and Deathloop), who voices our EDM bandmate Synthia, is a great example: she brings her orchestral music background and general JRPG nerddom into perfect harmony with vocalist Amanda Angeles, who comes from a traditional musical theatre background.

    “As a lifelong devotee of musical theater, Final Fantasy fan, cosplayer, and orchestra nerd (or orc dork, as we dubbed ourselves), I’m thrilled to be part of my dear friend’s vibrant and clever game,” Erika explained. “Jason and the team have been working passionately to make the game we always wanted to play, and I can’t wait for everyone to discover the world of Note.”

    People of Note screenshot

    Joe Zieja does it all in People of Note, both acting and singing as the snobby music manager and politician, Sharp! Joe is known for voicing Bruce Banner in Marvel Rivals and Wriothesley in Genshin Impact, but as a longtime musician, he’s more than capable of belting out the powerful notes required of such a mainstay in the political scene of Chordia!

    “When they asked ‘can you play a British ‘80s pop star in his 50s, and sing like one too?’ my answer was an enthusiastic ‘maybe?’ Trusting myself behind the mic as an actor is one thing – trusting myself behind the mic as a singer was a totally new experience for me in a video game. I came out of our sessions PUMPED. I can’t wait for fans to meet this insufferable has-been!”

    People of Note screenshot

    As seen in the Mashup clip above, Cadence (played by Heather Gonzalez and Lexxe) recruits Fret, an old-school garage rocker, to the band. Fret is voiced and sung by Jason Charles Miller, but you might be surprised to learn he also literally wrote and produced the song you just heard, in addition to most of the musical numbers! You’ll meet Fret as he’s fending off Martell, voiced by Debra Wilson of The Outer Wilds 2 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, second-in-command of the Homestead forces.

    Debra Wilson taps into that internal song when channeling her dangerous and driven character. “Everything in the known Universe is sound and vibration… and so it is with music!” waxes Debra. “This game was a privilege to be part of to tell this ‘funky’ story that places music at the forefront of every character, and captivates our own ‘song of life!!’ Play on, baby! Play on!”

    People of Note screenshot

    We’re so excited for players to witness all the spectacular performances from our cast above, and the many more we’re highlighting on our socials. In case you missed it, we previously released Under the Lights, People of Note’s jaw-dropping opening musical number:

    We’ll be rolling out more musical performances in the future, which you don’t want to miss!

    Find out more by checking out Annapurna Interactive on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, YouTube, and online at https://annapurnainteractive.com/en/games/people-of-note .

    People of Note launches later this year for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud as an Xbox Play Anywhere title. Add People of Note to your wishlist on the Microsoft Store below.


    People of Note

    People of Note

    Annapurna Interactive

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    In this turn-based RPG musical, join Cadence as she recruits an ensemble of musicians on her quest for stardom. Experience turn-based combat like never before, where each battle is a musical performance with evolving combat conditions and genre-bending mashup attacks!

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    Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • Indie Selects Anniversary Celebration – Our Yearly Selects, a Huge Indie Sale, and Xbox Dynamic Backgrounds – Xbox Wire

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    Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • Highguard Is Out Today – and We’ve Played a Lot of It – Xbox Wire

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    Summary

    • Highguard is a free-to-play 3v3 first-person raid shooter, available today on Xbox Series X|S.
    • It is the independently published debut of Wildlight Entertainment, a new studio comprising veterans from Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Call of Duty.
    • Wildlight told us about their ambitious plans to support the game with monthly content updates, adding new characters, maps, modes, and more.

    Lots of games offer intense, competitive, squad-based action, but I can’t think of any besides Highguard where I can sling spells and bullets from the back of a majestic, galloping bear as I charge in to destroy an enemy fortress.

    Highguard turned a lot of heads with its flashy reveal at the end of the Game Awards last month, but many were left wanting to know more about this mysterious debut from Wildlight Entertainment, a new studio of Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Call of Duty veterans. The developers are first to admit that the intervening month has been quiet, but are confident that the game they’ve toiled over in secret for four years will speak for itself on release today.

    I spent a whole day playing the game and interviewing its lead developers and studio founders last week, and I am here to tell you exactly what we’re all about to play with Highguard.

    Ready to Raid

    As a “PvP raid shooter,” Highguard is built around a new and interesting gameplay loop in which two teams of three players fortify bases, ride out on mounts to gather resources and gain power, and initiate a series of raids to try and destroy the opposing team’s base first. It’s a little bit MOBA, a little bit survival shooter, and a little bit Capture the Flag, among other influences.

    Game Director and studio Co-Founder Chad Grenier tells me that the mode’s genesis came from team members enjoying the thrill of raiding an enemy base in multiplayer survival classic Rust, and wanting to distill that into a refined, competitive, repeatable experience. “Every match is about escalation: fortifying, venturing out, clashing, then mounting coordinated raids and defenses until only one base is left standing.”

    Each round starts with a minute locked in your base to selectively fortify walls, before being cut loose to find better gear and harvest crystals that can be turned in at shops all over the map to also change and upgrade your kit. The maps are wide open, and I very rarely ran into members of the other team until after several minutes into a match, when a storm would form over one of several predetermined locations, where the Shieldbreaker soon materialized. This magical sword is your key to victory—teams fight to grab it first and run it to the enemy base (“like reverse Capture the Flag,” according to Grenier) and insert it into one of several slots around their magical perimeter shield, initiating a raid.

    Highguard

    A siege tower immediately materializes from a portal, which cracks a segment of the base’s shield for the invaders to enter, also serving as their forward base for respawns during the raid. The invading team’s objective is then to breach the base (which is full of breakable walls), plant bombs on one of three key spots, and defend them until they go off. Two of the points will do substantial damage to the base’s life total, while successfully destroying the main, centrally fortified point will take it out entirely. The match ends when only one base remains standing.

    If both bases are still there when the raid ends, the match resets and another Shieldbreaker starts to form, but with new and improved gear found scattered around the map and in shops. Each of these phases is on a tight timer, on which respawns for both teams will be capped until the next phase begins, which keeps things moving. My matches ran anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, with some of the longer ones being quite dramatically swingy.

    The tempo variation between the phases and escalating power over the course of the match gave it a distinct and pleasant rhythmic cycle of rising anticipation in preparation leading into tense raids with higher and higher stakes. Lead Designer Mohammad Alavi says that this was deliberately tuned to make it enjoyably sustainable, where the same number of hours of nonstop PvP deathmatch would be more exhausting for most players.

    Highguard

    Need for Steed

    Most of Wildlight’s creative leadership and design team worked on Apex Legends, and it shows in how buttery smooth the action feels.

    There are 10 weapons available at launch, all of which will feel familiar to a seasoned FPS player. With slots for two at a time, I tended to use the Ranger sniper rifle and Paladin automatic shotgun to cover long- and close-range engagements, as matches would inevitably include both. You also have one of three raid tools (a rocket launcher, an explosive sledgehammer, or a zipline gun), which provide limited-use tactical utility or base destruction. Everything looks and sounds as good as you would expect from so many genre veterans, and the difference in approach between each piece of the arsenal is immediately noticeable.

    Respawn games are also famous for their movement tech, and Highguard carries that legacy confidently. In addition to the expected running, jumping, sliding, and mantling, the big new mobility addition is mounts, which you can summon and dismiss at will in most parts of the map. There were horses, bears, panthers, and gryphons available to choose from, though the differences are cosmetic. I rode a large, brown bear clad in bone armor, and I loved my chonky, beautiful son.

    Mounts are a necessity for covering the maps’ huge distances efficiently, and also lend themselves to fun gameplay moments that I’ve never experienced in a shooter before, like being able to mount up and dramatically gallop off to head the enemy off at the pass as I see the Shieldbreaker icon on the minimap moving up towards our base.

    Highguard

    Choices, Choices

    Adding to the sense of flexibility and choice, players also choose to play as one of eight Wardens available at launch, with more coming later. They are unique characters, limited to one per team, each with a passive ability, a tactical ability on cooldown, and an ultimate that slowly charges up. The two I ended up spending the most time with both had powerful area denial abilities.

    Atticus is a proud, armored warrior that throws lightning spears as his tactical ability, which spark damage to nearby enemies like a Tesla coil until destroyed. When covering an imminently forming Shieldbreaker or a ticking-down bomb, I liked throwing these in corners or above doorways at strategic choke points, peppering the enemy team with additional damage as they tried to come in.

    Highguard

    Una, on the other hand, is a masked shaman who summons adorable little nature spirit buddies (not unlike like Zelda’s Koroks), which throw stunning grenades to pester passing enemies as well as occasionally popping up to give her loot. Her ultimate summons a huge tree spirit that can really lock down an important spot in a crucial moment. Both characters reminded me of how much I enjoy playing as Symmetra and Torbjörn in Overwatch, finding the trickiest and most obnoxious spots possible to stick their turrets. Kai was perhaps the character I saw the most in my matches, a monk fused with a frost demon that summons a big wall of ice as his tactical ability, which proved clutch time and again for controlling space.

    The bases themselves are also a sort of character choice, as players on each team will vote for one the six total in the game at launch, which will then slot into any of the maps. The bases have distinct advantages and vulnerabilities that interact with the Wardens’ abilities in all sorts of interesting ways. For instance, Hellmouth is a fortress suspended over a lava chasm with narrow bridges that are perfect for shutting down with Kai’s wall.

    The Wardens, bases, weapons, and items in the game at launch already provide a fun and wide range of possibilities to explore in how they can remix to synergize or counter one another, giving a lot of dimensions around which the gameplay meta can evolve. Moreover, Wildlight already has a robust plan in place for infusing the game with a generous, steady drip of new content in all of those areas and more.

    Highguard

    Eyes on the Horizon

    Highguard’s live service additions will come in the form of two-month chapters, divided into two halves. That means that every single month they intend to release some combination of new Wardens, bases, maps, weapons, raid tools, and more. The first update, coming in just a few weeks, will introduce ranked play, and Grenier tells me they have lots of alternate gameplay modes in the works that will cycle in and out – such as Mario Kart-inspired mounted racing. All gameplay content will be added for free, with monetized elements strictly cosmetic.

    That’s an ambitious plan, but one for which this team is extremely well prepared. Wildlight CEO and Co-Founder Dusty Welch tells me that, while the Respawn team were very happy with the initial launch of Apex Legends (which arrived as a total surprise), they hadn’t started to plot out any post-release content until after it had come out, leaving months of lag time before they could release anything new. Wildlight and Highguard were conceived with this hard-earned experience in mind to be oriented around live-service production from the very beginning.

    Highguard

    “Starting this company, Chad [Grenier] and I knew we have to think about building it differently,” Welch told me, “and the people we hire, the mindset that we have, the pipelines that we set up, the tools, the technologies, the external partnerships and relationships, so that we’re thinking from day one how to successfully operate a live service and have an ongoing, meaningful dialog with our player base, and constantly be delighting and surprising them with content. We didn’t do that well with Apex at launch, and we are extremely well-prepared as we sit here today.”

    That whole year of new content for Highguard is already deep into development. Both Welch and Alavi gave the same sly look and non-answer when asked about their favorite Wardens to play, since they’re not in the game yet at launch (Welch confirmed it’s the same one). The standards and expectations for live-service games are higher than ever, but this team comprises people who have been doing it for a very long time already, and they’ve come about as correct as any studio I’ve yet seen chase this model.

    Highguard

    Highguard surprised and impressed me. I’m not great at fast, competitive shooters as a baseline, but its vibrant aesthetics and thoughtful design have absolutely piqued my interest. The market for live-service shooters is crowded, but Highguard has the advantage of offering an interesting new gameplay mode that doesn’t map onto any of the existing genres like battle royale or extraction. This may be Wildlight’s first game, but that belies a deeply confident and passionate team at the top of their form, excited to make the best game they can without the constraints of a major publisher.

    You don’t have to take my word for it: try Highguard today for free, available on Xbox Series X|S.

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    Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • Forza Horizon 6: Everything We Know About The Open-World Racing Game Set In Japan

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    It’s almost time to leave behind Forza Horizon 5‘s Mexico and journey to a brand new country. Forza Horizon 6 moves the series to Japan, and it looks amazing! The new entry in Xbox’s popular car sim series arrives later this year, and we have all the useful info you might want to know about the upcoming open-world racer. Just put your seatbelt on first before speed-scrolling through this list.

    What is Forza Horizon 6?

    Forza Horizon 6 is the next installment in the Forza Horizon franchise. Unlike the more serious, sim-heavy Motorsport games, the Horizon titles are open-world racing games focused more on over-the-top moments, music, gorgeous locations, and arcade-y fun. This time around, Forza Horizon 6 brings the franchise to Japan, a location fans have been wanting for years. You’ll be able to explore the urban streets of Tokyo, the suburbs outside of the town, and plenty of open land and rural spaces far away from the city. And like in past games, you can choose to focus on big races to level up and unlock more challenges, or you can just chill, cruise, and jam out to music.

    What’s different about this latest entry?

    Beyond the new location, Forza Horizon 6 is shaking things up and swapping out the main character. In Horizon 6, you won’t be playing as the “superstar” racer featured in the last few games. Instead, you’re a tourist visiting Japan who gets involved in the Horizon Festival and all the racing and car culture. That means you have to earn entry to the festival and its activities and slowly work your way up from driving rust buckets to supercars.

    How big is the map in Forza Horizon 6?

    Very big! In fact, this is the biggest map that Playground Games has created for a Forza Horizon game. Forza Horizon 6 art director Don Arceta claimed in an interview that Horizon 6‘s digital Japan is the biggest map in the history of the series, and Tokyo is the largest city the team has ever built. And as you explore this massive location, you’ll fill up a journal, a new feature in Horizon 6 that helps you track everything you do and all the places you visit while playing the game.

    How many cars are available at launch?

    According to Xbox Wire, there will be around 550 cars to collect and drive in Forza Horizon 6 at launch. That number will go up over time as the devs add more cars to the game. As for the car on the cover of the game, that’s the Toyota 2025 GR GT Prototype.

    Can I play Horizon 6 online with my friends?

    Yup! Like earlier games in the series, Forza Horizon 6 supports multiplayer with friends as well as random players. And new to this entry, players will be able to build new tracks together with their friends. There will also be car meets you can hang out at with friends, and a location that lets players build their own personal home and race track. These are both new features for Horizon 6.

    What is Forza Horizon 6‘s release date?

    Forza Horizon 6 is launching on May 19 for Xbox Series X/S and PC, and will be available day one on Game Pass Ultimate. Xbox is also holding the game hostage, like so many publishers. If you spend extra on the Premium Edition, you’ll be able to play Forza Horizon 6 four days early, on May 15.

    Will Forza Horizon 6 be available on PS5?

    Yes, but not at launch. Playground has confirmed that it is working on a PS5 port of Forza Horizon 6, but it won’t be available until sometime later in 2026.

    Wait, where are the goblins and magic and swords?

    Ohhh, you’re looking for Playground’s other open-world game, Fable, which is also launching this year. Sorry to have wasted your time.

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    Zack Zwiezen

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  • Xbox Developer_Direct 2026 Recap: Everything Revealed, Including a Surprise New Double Fine Game – Xbox Wire

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    Developer_Direct kicked off 2026 with new gameplay and developer insights for four games coming to Xbox, all of which players can enjoy this year.

    The development teams at Playground Games (who brought two games to the show), Game Freak and Double Fine showed off Fable, Forza Horizon 6, Beast of Reincarnation, and surprise announcement, Kiln. Each brought extended new footage, looks behind the development curtain and, of course, information on when you’ll be able to play the games yourselves.

    All the games in our show are Xbox Play Anywhere titles, meaning when you buy them through the Xbox or Windows store, they’re yours to play on PC, Xbox console, or supported gaming handhelds at no additional cost – and you can pick up where you left off with all your saves, game add‑ons, and achievements.

    Here’s a summary of everything we brought to Developer_Direct today:

    Beast of Reincarnation – Launching Summer 2026

    Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere, Handheld Optimized, or play it day one with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (see developer website for other platforms)

    Launching this summer and available day one with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Beast of Reincarnation promises an unforgettable blend of action, strategy, and mystery. Game Freak gave us more details on Emma and her companion Koo’s adventure in a haunting, post-apocalyptic Japan.

    We learned that Emma has been afflicted by “blight” – which has removed her memories and emotions, but given her the ability to manipulate plants – and led her to meet Koo, a dog that’s become a “malefact.” Emma’s role is to hunt down malefacts, but she forms an unusual bond with Koo, setting her off on a journey through Japan circa 4026 AD.

    Game Freak call Beast of Reincarnation a “one-person, one-dog action RPG”, and have created a unique combat system to match – Emma provides classic, fast-paced action game attacks in real-time, but Koo offers added skills that can be used from a menu that slows time, more like a turn-based RPG. It makes for a game that offers a very different feeling to other action titles, adding tactical complexity to high-speed combat – which can be tweaked to your liking with three difficulty settings.

    You can learn much more about the characters, combat, world, story and the game’s dynamic tempo in our Xbox Wire article, and wishlist the game now ahead of its launch this summer.

    Fable – Launching Autumn 2026

    Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere, and launching day one with Game Pass Ultimate – also available on PlayStation 5 and Steam

    The Fable team at Playground Games took us to the fairytale world of Albion, for the first in-depth look at the studio’s brand new open world action-RPG – and revealed that the game will be coming to players in Autumn 2026. Developed by a dedicated team at the UK-based studio, Fable is set to deliver everything players love about the original trilogy – choice and consequence, dry British wit and playful moral chaos – all reimagined for a new generation of players in an unmistakably Playground way.

    During the show, we learned how your story in Albion begins, how character customization will work, learned more about the game’s new take on Fable’s morality system and saw brand-new gameplay that showcased combat – with enemies old and new – as well as the game’s unique living population of NPCs. Fable will be a fresh new beginning for this much-loved franchise and will be coming Autumn 2026 to Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Steam, PlayStation 5 and Game Pass Ultimate.

    Check out our in-depth interview with Fable GM & Game Director, Ralph Fulton here.

    Forza Horizon 6 – Launching May 19, 2026

    Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Steam, Xbox Play Anywhere, Handheld Optimized, or play it day one with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at launch – coming to PS5 later in 2026

    Forza Horizon 6 is speeding towards players in 2026, with the announcement that the much-anticipated next instalment of the Horizon series will be landing on May 19 this year. As part of the Developer_Direct show,  the Forza team at Playground Games revealed first-ever gameplay showcasing the breathtaking landscapes of Japan in all their glory, and lifted the curtain on the spectacular cars that will be gracing the cover of the game – the 2025 GR GT Prototype, which is making its video game debut in Forza Horizon 6, and the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser.

    Forza Horizon 6 will feature the largest and densest map of any Horizon game to date, full of verticality, diverse biomes, seasonality and breathtaking driving experiences – all elevated by Japan’s unique car culture. And just when you thought things couldn’t get better, the team provided an overview of the new features players will enjoy as part of Forza Horizon 6 – including Customizable Garages and The Estate, an overhauled car roster (with 550 cars to collect and customize at launch) as well as new shared experiences, Drag Meets and Horizon Time Attack Circuits.

    For an in-depth look at what’s new in Forza Horizon 6, check out our interview with Design Director, Torben Ellert here.

    Kiln – Launching Spring 2026

    Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere, Handheld Optimized, or play it day one with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – also available on PlayStation 5 and Steam

    We joined Double Fine in their game-turned-ceramics studio in San Francisco, California to learn more about Kiln, an Online Multiplayer Pottery-Party Brawler (say that ten times fast!), arriving this spring.

    Double Fine’s new foray into fun asks the question: what would it look like for a game to combine the beautiful expression of creation with all of the chaotic fun of destruction? Turns out it’s a team-based arena battle game which asks you to craft ceramic battle armor on a realistic pottery wheel, and where your abilities are determined by the kind of pot you make.

    We took a turn on the clay-splatted wheel to learn all about the 4v4 action of Kiln, the wide variety of crafting tools at your disposal, and what each size and shape of crafted pot means for your combat abilities.

    You can catch more of the action in their smashing Announce trailer now and get fired up for the ultimate throwdown by wishlisting Kiln today. Help the team sculpt the game before it launches this Spring by signing up for their upcoming closed beta test, and joining the Double Fine Action Insiders. Find out about the game’s story, mechanics, and more in our hands-on preview on Xbox Wire.

    Looking Ahead

    As with every Developer_Direct, today’s show marks just a selection of the games coming to Xbox this year. 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of Xbox, and offers a moment to honor the games, creators, teams, and players that have inspired play for decades  – and we’ll be celebrating that all year long. With the likes of Gears of War: E-Day and Halo: Campaign Evolved still to come, we’ll be returning to some of our most beloved franchises, not to mention introducing new worlds of our own, and those from our incredible third-party partners. It’s going to be an incredible year – make sure to stay tuned to Xbox Wire and Xbox social channels to keep up to date with everything we have to show you.

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    Joe Skrebels, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief

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  • Fable: Answering the Big Questions After that Long-Awaited Developer_Direct Deep-Dive – Xbox Wire

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    The Living Population of NPCs is a fascinating addition – what does that offer the player?

    Fulton: The Living Population is our cast of over 1,000 NPCs, each with roles, personalities and routines. That whole concept of persistent NPCs, each of whom is unique in a whole bunch of ways that you can go and interact with and mess about with, is incredibly complex.

    When you start working on it, you realize that every settlement has to have enough houses with enough beds, for everyone in the settlement to go and sleep in at the end of the day. It was a fun day when we explained that particular requirement to our environment art team [laughs], but they rose to the challenge like they do with everything.

    In games, you don’t normally have to connect the dots quite so precisely. You know, you’re just building a nice-looking town. But in Fable it also has to be a functional town.

    As an example, early in development we couldn’t work out why one town was so empty during the day. And when we zoomed out into debug mode, it was because NPCs were getting up to go to work, but they lived too far away from their jobs. So, they started walking to work, but didn’t get there before their schedule told them to turn around to go back to bed.

    It’s required a lot of working through, but it pays off because, honestly, as you play the game, you get to know the names of the individual NPCs. You get to know what they like, what they’re looking for in a partner, where they live, where they work, all that kind of cool stuff. It’s an extra dimension to traditional NPCs.

    Does the Living Population tie into the main quest?

    Fulton: Tying the main quest and the Living Population together in a really overt way didn’t seem like the right way to go, so we’ve deliberately linked them in the lightest possible fashion. You know, there are some times when characters in the main quest will reference your reputations, or the things you’ve done previously – but we never want to force a player to have to go and interact with those things in order to progress the main quest.

    We know there are some players – we call them ‘Bards’ – who are just going to play through the main story. They’re going to start at the start, and they’re going to get to the end, and that’s going to be their experience. That’s entirely fine, that’s a totally respectable way to play.

    But there are some players, who we call ‘Architects’, who we know are going to go and mess around with the systems and just see where they can push them, see what they can achieve with it, and we want them to have the freedom to do that at any point as well.

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    Joe Skrebels, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief

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  • Techmarine: Dive Into Space Marine 2’s Upcoming New Class – Xbox Wire

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    Summary

    • Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 lands on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass on January 29, with Xbox Play Anywhere support.
    • Several weeks later, Patch 12 introduces the Techmarine as the game’s seventh playable class.
    • Techmarines specialize in crowd control and area defense, with a powerful turret and mechanical arms bolted to their armor.

    As you’re set to bolster the Imperium’s ranks next week, Space Marines, we wanted to reward your ultimate commitment with exclusive details about our upcoming new playable class, the Techmarine.

    Set to release with our Patch 12 “Techmarine Update” in just a few weeks, it’ll join its Tactical, Assault, Sniper, Vanguard, Bulwark and Heavy Battle-Brothers as the game’s seventh playable class. Of course, it’ll come with its own unique brand of Xenos and Heretic purging, and that’s what we’re here to discover!

    New to Space Marine 2? Follow the Guide

    Before we do, let’s go over some basics if you are looking to jump into the grim darkness of the far future for the first time next week: The new Techmarine class will be available for Space Marine 2’s PvE and PvP modes (i.e., Operations, Stratagems, Siege and Eternal War), where you get to customize and play as your very own Space Marines. Even better, it’s free for everyone! No DLC or in-game purchases required.

    Operations, Stratagems and Siege modes will have you team up with up to 2 players to fight as loyalist Space Marines and defeat the enemies of the Imperium. Eternal War however, also allows you to play as a Chaos Space Marine as it pits you against other players in ferocious 6v6 PvP matches where the Imperium faces off against its Chaos archenemy.

    The new Techmarine class will be available across all of these modes, with the only exception being the Narrative Campaign, as it centers around the story of Ultramarines Lieutenant Demetrian Titus himself.

    Now, let us tease how the Techmarine actually PLAYS!

    Space Marine 2: Techmarine

    Techmarines Have a Few Tricks up Their Power Armor Sleeve

    At their core, Techmarines in Space Marine 2 are specialists in crowd control and area defense. They’ll shine with their combat prowess as much as they do with the technology they bring to the fight.

    In melee, they’re able to take on large groups of enemies with wide swipes of their Omnissian Axe — an upcoming Patch 12 weapon available to them only — while their arsenal and armor augmentations grant them solid efficiency in ranged combat, especially at short and medium distances.

    Like all classes, the Techmarine comes with a unique Combat Skill (an “ult,” so to speak) and his own perk tree with 25 levels to unlock. But more than anything, what makes him special are the mechanical arms and automatic turret bolted directly onto his Power Pack.

    While you’re busy swinging and smashing opponents around with your mechanical arm, your Combat Skill will put your turret to good use: Activate it with the Y button to unleash the Techmarine’s mounted Servo-Gun and rain divine retribution onto your enemies with a barrage of heavy fire. No need to aim: just watch as Tyranids and Thousand Sons get vaporized before your very eyes.           

    Another feature of the automatic Servo-Gun is that it frees you up by executing Gun Strikes for you! When other classes must do it themselves following Perfect Dodges or Parries, Techmarine players will be free to continue aiming at other targets while their turrets stagger or kill their most pressing assailants.

    And that’s not even everything! With Techmarines being master engineers and technicians within their Chapter ranks comes a unique ability to locate and service Tarantula Sentry turrets during missions. Though they can’t be carried or placed freely, these can provide much welcome support to your Combat Squad by attacking your enemies automatically until they either run out of ammunition or get destroyed.

    Will you be running it?

    Space Marine 2: Techmarine

    Before You Go! A Quick Patch 12 Breakdown

    You know, the Techmarine and his Omnissian Axe are far from being the only gameplay additions to come with Patch 12! We’re working on adding a 12th mission to Operations and Stratagems modes, a new mission pick-up type, 3 new Hero weapon variants and new customization options for Space Marine helmetless heads! We’ll reveal more as we get closer to release, so stay tuned to our channels if you don’t want to miss it.

    If you own the Season Pass 2 of course, you’re also set to receive a brand-new Assault Champion skin celebrating the Raven Guard and a unique Cosmetic Pack for the Carcharodons, a first for this Chapter! But that may be a story for another day…

    Looking forward to seeing all of you on the battlefield, Techmarines. The Emperor protects.

    Heed the call of war on January 29, 2026 when Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 releases on Xbox Game Pass, with Xbox Play Anywhere support.

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    Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • Xbox Reportedly Tests Ads for Free Cloud Gaming

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    The ad-based gaming blitz has only just begun. Xbox is reportedly starting to test an ad-based subscription tier that could offer an hour of gameplay at a time. It may prove to be a good deal, so long as you don’t mind getting blasted with a few minutes of Mountain Dew G-Fuel advertising for the sake of cloud-based gaming. The real question is how long it will be before Xbox Game Pass gets ads as well.

    Over the weekend, The Verge’s Tom Warren first spotted a teaser for a supposed ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming option in Xbox Game Pass. The screenshot shows the typical rocket ship you see at the launch of Xbox Cloud Gaming, though with the notice at the bottom, “1 hour of ad-supported playtime per session.” That hints users could potentially play a select few games for an hour before receiving an advertising blitz.

    Warren has previously claimed, based on anonymous sources, that sessions could be limited to a mere hour of game time, supported by two full minutes of pre-roll ads. Users would be limited to five hours of session time per month. You won’t need a Game Pass subscription to access a few of these select free-streaming titles, though you’ll still need a Microsoft account.

    Netflix already proved people will pay for ads

    These early tests of Microsoft’s first ad-based gaming venture seem more like an advertisement for Xbox Cloud Gaming and Game Pass rather than its own specialty service. Last year, Microsoft hiked the cost of its Ultimate subscription tier to $30 a month, a 50% increase. At the same time, it took Xbox Cloud Gaming out of beta and let players on cheaper Basic or Premium subscriptions access a few games on the cloud. There are a few older titles worth playing on the lower-end subscriptions, but you still want Ultimate if you want access to any day-one games or the latest releases available for download or cloud gaming.

    Microsoft is now opening the first crack in its subscription model wide enough for ads to peek through. If it proves lucrative enough, Microsoft may make further adjustments to its subscription model with even more ads for lower-tier subscriptions.

    Ads are the future of subscription services. The writing was on the wall close to four years ago when Netflix started cracking down on password sharing and promising to introduce ads to a platform that had long ago promised to remain ad-free. Now, Netflix’s cheapest ad-based tier is easily its most popular subscription. This month, Deadline reported Netflix’s ad-supported tier subscribers have grown by 14% year over year. Approximately 40% of Netflix accounts are on ad-based tiers as of the end of the third quarter in 2025. That number of ad-based subscribers was only 26% in the same quarter in 2024.

    Microsoft is starting small by keeping a Game Pass subscription and its ad-based Xbox Cloud Gaming tests separate. Whether it will keep them exclusive is a question best left for the crystal ball.

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    Kyle Barr

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  • Coming to Xbox Game Pass: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II, Death Stranding Director’s Cut, and More – Xbox Wire

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    Welcome back to your routine “what am I going to play next?” suggestion list! We’ve got some favorites, some surprises we snuck in last week (and a cheeky reminder to join us for our fourth Developer Direct for even more games coming your way). Let’s get to the games!

    Available Today

    Resident Evil Village (Cloud, Console, and PC)
    Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass

    Resident Evil Village is the eighth main entry in the Resident Evil series. Set years after Resident Evil 7 biohazard, players follow Ethan Winters into a haunting European village, fighting for survival against brutal enemies as danger and mystery lurk around every corner.

    MIO: Memories in Orbit (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

    Available on day one with Game Pass! A hand-crafted metroidvania set within a vast, decaying world reclaimed by nature and robots. Play as Mio, a nimble android exploring labyrinthine environments, battling rogue machines, and uncovering lost memories in a richly atmospheric adventure filled with secrets and danger.

    Coming Soon

    Death Stranding Director’s Cut (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X|S) – January 21
    Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass

    Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding Director’s Cut is now available on Xbox Game Pass! Take on the role of Sam Porter Bridges on his mission to deliver hope to humanity. Are you ready to unite the divided – one more time?

    RoadCraft (PC) – January 21
    Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass

    In the wake of natural disasters, RoadCraft calls on you to rebuild what’s broken. Operate a fleet of over 40 authentic construction vehicles to clear debris, repair roads and bridges, and restore essential infrastructure. Tackle realistic challenges solo or in cooperative play across expansive, physics-driven environments shaped by destruction and recovery.

    Ninja Gaiden Ragebound (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 21
    Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass

    A brand-new side-scrolling entry to the Ninja Gaiden series from the team behind Blasphemous, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound redefines the classic platformer saga in a spectacular, thrilling and challenging ninja adventure.

    The Talos Principle 2 (PC and Xbox Series X|S) – January 27
    Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass

    A thought-provoking first-person puzzle experience that greatly expands the first game’s philosophical themes and stunning environments with increasingly mind-bending challenges.  Born into a new world where biological humanity is extinct but human culture lives on in a city of robots, get swept up in a mind-bending adventure involving a mysterious megastructure hiding enormous powers.

    Anno: Mutationem (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 28
    Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass

    Welcome to the neon-covered, 2D-meets-3D Cyberpunk world of Anno: Mutationem. In thisAction-Adventure game with RPG elements you become Ann: a highly skilled, combat-trained lone wolf on a personal mission in the giant Metropolis, full of sinister mega-corporations, mysterious fringe groups and creatures more bizarre than words can express.

    Drop Duchy (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 28
    Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass

    Build your duchy piece by piece in this refreshing hybrid rogue-lite game. Use block-dropping mechanics to collect resources, recruit troops to fight against belligerent armies, and let every block shape your realm, leading your path to victory! Complete Edition includes all additional content.

    MySims: Cozy Bundle (PC) – January 29
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

    Befriend cute characters and discover creative adventures across retro re-releases of two lovable games in MySims: Cozy Bundle. Use your imagination to rebuild a town in MySims and help a cute magical land become an even better place in MySims Kingdom. There are stories to uncover, locations to explore, and lots of characters with big personalities to meet.

    Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 29
    Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass

    Your craft is death. Purge the relentless Tyranid swarms as legendary Space Marine Demetrian Titus in a spectacular new campaign, solo or in three-player co-op, and save the Imperium as your own Space Marine in endlessly brutal PvE and PvP games with 6 playable classes to choose from!

    Indika (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X|S) – February 2
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

    Indika is a story-driven adventure set in an alternative 19th-century Russia, following a young nun on a surreal journey of self-discovery. Blending dark humor with serious themes like faith, morality, and religious authority, the game mixes exploration, light puzzles, brief action moments, and symbolic RPG elements. Its narrative is enriched by retro-style arcade flashbacks and a strange companionship with the devil himself, creating a unique experience that balances comedy and tragedy while pushing the boundaries of conventional game design.

    Final Fantasy II (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – February 3
    Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass

    A remodeled 2D take on the second game in the world-renowned FINAL FANTASY series! Our epic tale begins with four young souls orphaned during the struggle between the Palamecian Empire and the rebel army. On their journey, the youths join forces with the white wizard Minwu, Prince Gordon of Kashuan, Leila the pirate, and many others. Behold the beautiful and sometimes tragic twists of fate that await you on your adventure.

    In Case You Missed It

    Quarantine Zone: The Last Check (PC) – Play today!
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

    Command the checkpoint in a collapsing city. Screen survivors, manage scarce resources, and hold back the undead. Every choice matters and one mistake could unleash the plague beyond your walls.  

    DLC / Game Updates

    The Sims 25th Birthday Bundle (PC) – January 22
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

    Celebrate a Sim-sational New Year with EA Play on the Xbox PC app. This month, embrace classic chaos with re-releases of The Sims and The Sims 2, coming to EA Play on January 22. Keep the cozy vibes rolling with MySims: Cozy Bundle joining The Play List on January 29.

    Grounded 2 Garden Update (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 27
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

    Explore the new Community Garden biome in The Toxic Tangle update, packed with hidden paths, twisting trellises, and earthy caverns. Battle new creatures, craft Tier III gear, and ride the Ladybug Buggy with its water cannon as you face fresh challenges across the Garden.

    Dead by Daylight – Stranger Things DLC – January 27

    The battles fought. The pain endured. All of it leads back to him. Stranger Things Returns To Dead by Daylight: Vecna, Dustin, & Eleven Enter The Fog.

    Sea of Thieves Season 18, Act 2 (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 22
    Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass

    The Trading Companies are calling on Emissaries to raid Molten Sands Fortress and recover valuable treasure from its vault! During the event, those who reach Emissary Grade 5 can accept a special quest that will awaken this fiery fort. Which flag will you fly?

    Leaving January 31

    The following games are leaving the Game Pass library soon. Jump back in to tie up any loose ends, or save up to 20% off your purchase to keep the fun going!

    • Shady Part of Me (Cloud, PC, and Console)Cataclismo (PC)
    • Starbound (Cloud, PC, and Console)
    • Lonely Mountains Snow Riders (Cloud, PC, and Console)
    • Paw Patrol World (Cloud, PC, and Console)
    • Citizen Sleeper 2 Starward Vector (Cloud, PC, and Console)
    • Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap (Cloud, PC, and Console)

    Excited to see you all back here in just a few days for our next Developer Direct! In the meantime, go charge your batteries and get those games downloaded. Cheers!

    Note: Games with a ‘Handheld’ designation represent those that are optimized for handheld play.

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    Danielle Partis, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • Keeping Classics Alive: Arcade Archives Reaches 500 Titles with Space Invaders – Xbox Wire

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    Summary

    • With Space Invaders, The Arcade Archives series reached a milestone of 500 titles on December 25, 2025.
    • Launched in 2014 and released across various platforms, the Arcade Archives series has continued for 11 years.
    • We look back on the journey so far and discuss the importance of preserving classic games as a cultural heritage.

    If you’re new to the Arcade Archives series, one key thing to know is that its creators are deeply committed to preserving arcade games by making them available on modern platforms.

    The series reached a major milestone with its 500th title, Arcade Archives 2 Space Invaders, which launched on December 25, 2025 (originally released by Taito in 1978).

    The Arcade Archives series, first started in 2014, has been running for 11 years across multiple platforms, featuring titles from 24 different game publishers. It has even earned a Guinness World Records title for being the longest-running series to release new games on a weekly basis.

    In this article, we look back on the journey so far and explore the behind-the-scenes development of the series through interviews with the staff. For the team, Arcade Archives is not simply about re-releasing classic games; it represents a clear commitment to preserving video games as cultural heritage for future generations.

    “Arcade Archives has two defining features,” explains Satoshi Hamada (Producer and CEO). “One is the weekly release schedule, and the other is the breadth of the lineup.”

    From the very beginning, despite the challenges involved, the goal of the series has been to deliver excitement to players every single week. The games people feel nostalgic about vary greatly from person to person, so the lineup spans from well-known, iconic titles to lesser-known games that are being re-released for the first time.

    For its 500th milestone, the series chose Space Invaders. Hamada explains the reasoning behind this decision:

    “In 1978, when Space Invaders was released by Taito in Japan, it caused a massive boom. There is even a famous legend that Japan ran out of coins because of it. I believe the enormous success of Space Invaders became a major catalyst for the dramatic growth of the gaming industry. Incidentally, the very first video game I ever played was Space Invaders. For all of these reasons, I felt it was the most fitting title to commemorate the 500th release.”

    There is no doubt that Space Invaders was the perfect choice for the occasion. However, as one of the most iconic games in history, it has already been ported many times before. This raises the question: what sets Arcade Archives 2 Space Invaders apart from previous versions?

    In two words: improved playability. One of the key features of the Arcade Archives series is its highly detailed screen settings, which are deliberately designed to recreate the feeling of staring into a dusty arcade monitor, reviving the excitement of those original play sessions. “To bring players as close as possible to that original sensation, even if not perfectly, is our mission today,” says Tetsu Masuda (Director).

    Arcade Archive

    “We also implemented ‘Caravan Mode,’ where players compete for high scores within a five-minute time limit,” Masuda explains. “This introduced a new type of fun that didn’t exist in previous versions of Space Invaders.”

    Accurate sound reproduction was another major challenge. “We collected multiple original arcade boards and recorded the ‘real’ sounds directly from them,” he adds. “The team worked extensively to reduce input lag and improve responsiveness, aiming to create the most playable version of Space Invaders ever.”

    This makes Arcade Archives 2 Space Invaders a faithful and carefully crafted preservation of the original. Every option and mode exists to bring players closer to that sensation back then.

    Arcade Archive

    Satoshi Hamada (Producer and CEO) views Arcade Archives as an effort to preserve gaming culture. Arcade games originally ran on physical boards, and since some of these titles are over 40 years old, fewer and fewer boards remain in working condition.

    “That is why we believe it is extremely meaningful to preserve classic arcade games by making them playable on modern hardware. We will continue striving to preserve as many titles as possible, to share them with as many people as we can, and to pass them on to future generations.”

    On Xbox, the Arcade Archives series is especially recognized for its ACA NEOGEO lineup, featuring legendary series like Metal Slug and The King of Fighters. Since the announcement of Arcade Archives 2 last year, new titles from the series continue to launch on Xbox every week.

    “Arcade Archives will continue releasing as many titles as possible on Xbox, so please look forward to what’s to come!”


    Arcade Archives 2 SPACE INVADERS

    Arcade Archives 2 SPACE INVADERS

    HAMSTER Corporation

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    4

    ★★★★★

    $9.99

    “SPACE INVADERS” is a shooting game released by TAITO in 1978.
    The origin of the masterpiece that once captivated all of Japan has finally arrived on Arcade Archives!
    This title includes both the black-and-white and color versions, and the sound has been reproduced to the limit of how it sounded back then.
    Experience the timeless legend once again!

    The “Arcade Archives”series is developed with the concept of faithfully reproducing classic arcade games. It also includes convenient features such as difficulty and screen settings, rewind, rapid-fire, and multiple save slots. In addition, players can compete for the best scores with players around the world through online rankings.
    “Arcade Archives 2” adds a new “TIME ATTACK MODE” to the lineup of “ORIGINAL MODE,” “HI SCORE MODE,” and “CARAVAN MODE” included in the Arcade Archives series. In “TIME ATTACK MODE,” players compete to clear the game as quickly as possible, regardless of the score achieved. VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) support has also been added, allowing gameplay to be reproduced even closer to the original arcade experience.

    Please enjoy these iconic arcade games that defined an era with the “Arcade Archives” series!

    *The options menu and manual are available in Japanese, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

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    Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • Next Week on Xbox: New Games for January 19 to 23 – Xbox Wire

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    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 on 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!

    2XKO

    Riot Games

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    12

    ★★★★★

    2XKO – January 20
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Welcome to 2XKO, the free-to-play fighting game from the makers of League of Legends and Valorant. League of Legends’ iconic champions take the stage with fresh movesets inspired by the MOBA and reimagined for fighting games. Immerse yourself in the world of Runeterra with beautifully crafted stages, cutting-edge 2D graphics, and original music tracks that bring your battles to life. Fight solo to control both champions on your team, or grab a friend to duo with.


    【Limited early purchase edition】 FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE Digital Deluxe Edition
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    【Limited early purchase edition】 FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE Digital Deluxe Edition

    SQUARE ENIX

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    28

    ★★★★★

    $59.99


    【Limited early purchase edition】 FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    【Limited early purchase edition】 FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE

    SQUARE ENIX

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    28

    ★★★★★

    $39.99

    Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade – January 21
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere

    The award-winning Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade retells the original story up to the escape from Midgar, with breathtaking visuals, fast-paced gameplay, and additional story elements. This RPG delivers unforgettable characters, a powerful narrative, and a hybrid battle system that blends real-time action with strategic, command-based combat. It also includes FF7R Episode Intermission, a side story starring Yuffie Kisaragi that offers a fresh perspective running in parallel to Cloud’s journey.


    Pathologic 3

    Pathologic 3

    HypeTrain Digital

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★


    $34.99

    $27.99

    Pathologic 3 – January 23
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Bachelor Daniil Dankovsky is a young doctor from the capital. His search for the secret of immortality brings him to a remote town, gripped by a mysterious plague that will destroy it in 12 days. Now it’s up to him to explore the town itself, its past, present, and future — to find answers to his numerous questions and try to stop the relentless epidemic. (At least… that’s what he thinks this story is about. What it’s supposed to be about. What it’s always been about.)


    MIO: Memories in Orbit
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    MIO: Memories in Orbit

    Focus Entertainment

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★


    $19.99

    $17.99

    Mio: Memories in Orbit – January 20
    Game Pass / Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere / Handheld Optimized

    A mesmerizing, intertwined, decaying world awaits. Awaken Mio, a nimble robot with extraordinary abilities, and unravel the mysteries of the Vessel, an enormous technological ark overgrown with lush vegetation and machines gone rogue. Nobody knows why the Pearls, The Vessel’s AI caretakers, have ceased functioning. Forgotten by all, the Vessel faces imminent shutdown. Dive into its depths to revive its lost memories, as you unravel your true past and destiny, in this mesmerizing metroidvania. Will you rise to the challenge and save the Vessel from destruction? Will you dare to seek and wake its memories?


    Primal Dungeon Adventure

    Primal Dungeon Adventure

    Old School Vibes

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    Primal Dungeon Adventure – January 20
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

    Explore dangerous corridors and face unique enemies across 10 challenging platforming stages. Discover hidden areas, avoid deadly traps, and search for the legendary wolf stones. Unlock powerful upgrades like Rock Attack, Fire Rock Attack, and the devastating Wolf Special. Master precision jumps, sharpen your throwing skills, and survive the rising difficulty of this mysterious dungeon.


    Hextreme Void
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    Hextreme Void

    Eastasiasoft Limited

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    Hextreme Void – January 21
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere / Handheld Optimized

    Are you ready for a brick breaker with a twist? In Hextreme Void, you can’t lose! Instead of lives or game overs, the challenge comes from progression and optimization in order to complete all levels within a certain time limit. Each playthrough takes you through one of five distinct Voids, with 50 levels per Void. Stages are presented in high-def 2D style with hexagonal bricks arranged in increasingly complex patterns. Your ball moves automatically, but it’s up to you to decide how released powerups are used.


    Prison Escape Simulator

    Prison Escape Simulator

    Playway S.A.

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★


    $7.99

    $6.79

    Prison Escape Simulator – January 21
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Too long in this prison, time to get out of here. Pull the carpet and start digging with a teaspoon. Watch out for the guard, sell him the junk you find. Trade toilet paper with the prisoners. Get better items and improve your stats. Expand the tunnel, use glow sticks and dynamite. Will you escape?


    Desvelado

    Desvelado

    Purple Play LLC

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    Desvelado – January 22
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Desvelado is the first Bed-Time-Vania game in history! Help our hero Vampy fight insomnia one last time by turning off every light in the castle before going to sleep in his cozy coffin.


    Dustland Delivery
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    Dustland Delivery

    Happy Player

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    $14.99

    Dustland Delivery – January 22
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

    Grow your trading empire in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Dustland Delivery is a post-apocalyptic survival business simulator, featuring over 40 hours of gameplay content. Scour the wastes for profit, complete missions to grow your trading empire, and assemble a rag-tag band of adventurers to turn your city into the capital of the Dustlands. Danger lurks around every corner — but no risk, no reward!


    Horror Tale 1: 4k Remaster

    Horror Tale 1: 4k Remaster

    EpiXR Games

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    $9.99

    Horror Tale 1: 4k Remaster – January 22
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    In this horror game, you’ll have to immerse yourself in a thrilling and exciting adventure together with the main characters! Children have been missing for a long time in Lakewitch, and you are destined to solve this creepy mystery. Who is the kidnapper, and why is he doing it? Where are the children disappearing to, and how to save them? You can solve all the puzzles and find out the answers… if you don’t get scared!


    THE LAST TRAIN: Baquedano

    THE LAST TRAIN: Baquedano

    Pdpartid@games

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★


    $7.99

    $7.19

    The Last Train: Baquedano – January 22
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Last stop of the line. All passengers must exit In The Last Train, a first-person psychological horror game, routine turns into nightmare when you fall asleep on the subway. Upon waking, you discover you’ve reached the end of the line, an abandoned station shrouded in darkness. But you’re not alone; something else waits in the shadows, watching you and following your every move.


    Look Mum No Computer

    Look Mum No Computer

    Headup

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    Look Mum No Computer – January 22
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Brace yourself for a wild ride where music meets mayhem! Look Mum No Computer takes you to the quirky, pixel-art universe of Soldersworth, as you join Sam and his Synthesizer sidekick, Kosmo, in this twin-stick shooter action-RPG to battle rogue household items and fix them from the inside — one electrifying beat at a time!


    MAVRIX by Matt Jones (Game Preview)

    MAVRIX by Matt Jones (Game Preview)

    Cascade Interactive

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    Mavrix – January 22
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    The ultimate multiplayer open world designed by riders. Discover mountains and trails with limitless control and build your own career. Pull huge tricks or race through the global rankings! Nail challenges to secure sponsorship deals with real world brands. Are you ready?


    Outpath

    Outpath

    Silver Lining Interactive

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    Outpath – January 22
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

    Taking Satisfactory, Forager and the gratifying gameplay loop of clicker/idle games as references, Outpath would be just that. Exploit your environment, craft, build and automate your base in this 3D first-person platformer! Gather. Craft. Build. Explore. Relax. No time limits, no pressure, play at your own pace and style.


    EBOLA VILLAGE

    EBOLA VILLAGE

    Axyos Games

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    $19.99

    Ebola Village – January 23
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    A classic horror inspired by the original survival games of the 90s, Ebola Village is a modern take on a first-person adventure where the main character, Maria, investigates a series of mysterious events. While sitting in her apartment and watching her favorite TV series, the broadcast is suddenly interrupted by a live report about a biological threat. Concerned for her family, Maria travels to a remote village to visit her mother and her ex-husband, Ruslan… and soon, terrible things begin to happen.


    Escape from Ever After

    Escape from Ever After

    HypeTrain Digital

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★


    $24.99

    $19.99

    Escape from Ever After – January 23
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Escape from Ever After is an adventure RPG inspired by the classic Paper Mario games, where fairytale and storybook characters must fight back against capitalism! When Flynt Buckler, a classic fairytale adventurer, storms the castle of his evil dragon arch-nemesis Tinder, he finds the once intimidating fortress has been converted into… corporate offices? It turns out that storybooks are an untapped market ripe with valuable resources, cheap labor, and profit to be had — so naturally, real-world conglomerate Ever After Inc. found a way to intervene! Flynt Buckler must team up with his former nemesis Tinder in order to climb the corporate ladder and take down Ever After Inc. from the inside!


    GrassGames Hearts
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    GrassGames Hearts

    GrassGames

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    $19.99

    GrassGames Hearts – January 23
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    GrassGames’ Hearts brings the beloved strategy card game to life with smooth gameplay, smart opponents, and plenty of ways to compete. Whether you play for fun or to climb the leaderboards, every match is designed for depth, replayability, and pure enjoyment. Face clever AI opponents, challenge your friends locally, or compete online with players around the world. Play quick casual games or intense ranked matches — it’s easy to jump in and find your perfect game style.


    Guts 'n Grunts Jr.

    Guts ‘n Grunts Jr.

    Cascadia Games LLC

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    Guts ‘n Grunts Jr. – January 23
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

    AUG 12, 2045. The Technate has ruled for 15 years. Its robotic army, Slaughterhouse AI, roams the Earth in search of all processable flesh. Pigs everywhere remain in hiding. One small boar takes matters into his own hands. He is unusually fast and armed with a blaster. His name is Gunnar Harsvin. His message: the pigs will fight for their lives. Gunnar must destroy the machines of the evil technocracy and rescue his fellow pigs. Play a missing classic from the genesis of the 16-bit era. Roll like a hedgehog! Shoot like a soldier!


    Haunted House Renovator

    Haunted House Renovator

    PlayWay S.A.

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★


    $19.99

    $17.99

    Haunted House Renovator – January 23
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Set out on a path of a ghost-hunting renovator. Your task – restore haunted houses to a usable state! This is not an easy job, applying new wallpaper won’t be enough to render a house safe. You also need to deal with whatever is haunting it. Accept requests to renovate haunted houses from various eccentric owners. Scout abandoned mansions and look for signs of any paranormal activity. Make sure you’re ready for the job by preparing a set of tools to aid your work.


    Ho Ho & Move
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    Ho Ho & Move

    Everynot Games Studio

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    Ho Ho & Move – January 23
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

    Plan Santa’s route and solve 40 festive logic puzzles in this cozy holiday adventure. Before each level begins, place directional tiles to map out how Santa will move. Once the route is set, watch him follow your plan — collecting every gift on the way and delivering them to the waiting child. With limited tiles available, every decision matters, turning each stage into a fun little brain teaser.


    I'm in Love With Your Dead Grandmother
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    I’m in Love With Your Dead Grandmother

    Kimulator’s Films inc

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    $4.99

    I’m in Love With Your Dead Grandmother – January 23
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere / Handheld Optimized

    Hello, I’m Noah. I’m 28 years old and still haven’t got a single date in my life, I’m looking for a life coach who can help me figure out the hard choices in my day-to-day life, you know? I’m sad and single, I have some friends online, but that’s it. I thankfully got a date with a girl named Michelle. She’s a bit too young for my liking, I prefer people that are over 70 years old. Just a preference, but I’m willing to give her a try.


    The Monty Mole Collection

    The Monty Mole Collection

    Pixel Games

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    The Monty Mole Collection – January 23
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Experience the story of Monty Mole, British subterranean mammal turned international criminal, in this fantastic collection of six games. All Monty wanted was a quiet life, but when faced with an unbearably cold winter found himself stealing coal to survive, and that led to a life on the run from the authorities, a journey that would take him all across Europe! The Monty Mole series of adventure platformer games for home microcomputers were the brainchild of Peter Harrap, the teenage son of a mining inspector, and inspired by the 1984 mining strikes in the UK.


    Tropicalia

    Tropicalia

    Ratalaika Games S.L.

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    Tropicalia – January 23
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

    You will play as Kaique, a brave Guarani warrior whose girlfriend, Kerana, is kidnapped by an evil god named Tau. Collect materials to craft new items, grind through fast-paced battles, and test your strategy against challenging bosses. Hunt, fish, swim, dive, jump, and explore the jungle! In this fantasy game you won’t find Dragons and Elves. But you will face Curupiras and Boitatas.

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    Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor

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  • How to Watch Xbox Developer_Direct 2026 Next Thursday – Xbox Wire

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    Developer_Direct returns next Thursday, January 22 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK, and will kick off Xbox’s 25th anniversary year with a look at some of the incredible games in store for players.

    As we shared previously, the show will include exclusive gameplay and developer insights for Playground Games’ Fable and Forza Horizon 6, as well as Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation – all presented directly by the people making the games, and recorded in their studios.

    Here are all the details on how to tune in:

    When is Developer_Direct? Thursday, January 22 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK.

    How do I watch Developer_Direct? Developer_Direct will be streamed live on official channels, including:

    The show will also be streamed simultaneously on regional Xbox channels around the globe, as well as on Steam. It will air on China’s Bilibili platform later the next day.

    The YouTube stream will be broadcast in 4K/60, and as with any live broadcast, there may be dips in streaming quality based on your bandwidth.

    Is the event available in languages other than English? Developer_Direct will be streamed live on YouTube.com/Xbox with English captions, and our other live languages will be available via regional Xbox channels.

    The languages we will support live on our Xbox channels are: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, LATAM Spanish and Turkish.

    Shortly after the broadcast concludes, we will add the following additional languages to YouTube.com/Xbox: Arabic (MSA), Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Czech, Dutch, Filipino, Canadian French, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Hindi, Māori, Persian (Farsi), Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.

    The easiest way to find your preferred language is to go to your region’s Xbox page, or by viewing on the official Xbox YouTube channel and clicking the gear icon in the lower right corner.

    Is Developer_Direct going to be Accessible to those with low/no hearing or low/no vision? There will be a version of the show with Audio Descriptions (AD) in English on the Xbox YouTube channel, American Sign Language (ASL) on Xbox’s YouTube channel and the /XboxASL Twitch channel, and British Sign Language (BSL) on Xbox On’s YouTube channel.

    I’m not going to be able to watch, where can I find out what was announced? A full recap will go live on Xbox Wire immediately following the show (including localized versions in Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, LATAM Spanish and Japanese following later). Xbox Wire will also publish detailed articles about every game from the show with extra information.

    Notes for co-streamers and creators: We at Xbox greatly appreciate any co-stream efforts and aim to ensure you have a smooth experience if you choose to do so. However, due to forces beyond our control, we cannot guarantee that glitches or disruptions by bots and other automated software won’t interfere with your co-stream.

    For those planning to create full post-show breakdowns of Developer_Direct in the form of video-on-demand coverage, we recommend you do not use any audio containing copyrighted music to avoid any action by automated bots, and to also consult the terms of service for your service provider.

    We’ll see you for Developer_Direct on Thursday, January 22!

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    Joe Skrebels, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief

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