Tune in to the Xbox Twitch channel on October 14 at 10am Pacific for the 2025 Gaming for Inclusion Celebrity Showcase.
Xbox Game Camp hosts 9 Special Olympics athletes for an Immersive Learning Experience featuring studio tours, leadership lunches, career panel, game development training and more.
Visit Special Olympics to learn more about their work and support their mission to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
At Xbox, we believe play can foster connection and empathy, unlock potential, and create unforgettable moments of joy for everyone. Since 2014, Xbox and Microsoft have proudly partnered with Special Olympics to empower athletes of all abilities through technology and gaming.
Our journey began with a shared vision: to break down barriers and make sure every player gets in the game, whether on the field or in the virtual world. Over the years, our collaboration has grown to include the annual Gaming for Inclusion event, an esports tournament where Special Olympics athletes and their Unified partners compete for a chance to play in front of a global gaming audience.
These events not only show the top-notch gaming skills of the athletes, but also the transformative potential of gaming to bring people together and empower individuals with intellectual disabilities. From build challenges in Minecraft Education to fierce Rocket League competitions, each milestone has celebrated ability, teamwork, and the spirit of play. We’ve hosted athletes at Xbox Headquarters, provided shoutcaster training, and continually sought new ways to make the gaming industry more accessible for people with intellectual disabilities.
Gaming for Inclusion Celebrity Showcase 2025 Airing Next Week
We’re thrilled to announce that the Gaming for Inclusion Celebrity Showcase 2025 will air next week, on October 14 at 10am Pacific on the Xbox Twitch channel.
This broadcast will feature highlights from the recently completed athlete tournament, where Special Olympics athletes and their Unified partners brought energy, skill, and teamwork to the Rocket League arena. Viewers of the Celebrity Showcase can get excited for live Rocket League gameplay, inspiring conversation and guest appearances by some of your favorite gaming creators and celebrity supporters.
Whether you’re a fan of gaming or a supporter of Special Olympics, you won’t want to miss the action, the stories, and the community spirit on display. Save the date and invite your friends and family to celebrate these incredible athletes as we power up for an inclusive future in gaming!
How to Watch:
Tune in to the Xbox Twitch channel on October 14 at 10am Pacific for the Gaming for Inclusion Celebrity Showcase 2025! This stream is also available on the XboxASL Twitch channel.
The showcase will air on Special Olympics’ YouTube immediately following the Xbox event.
Xbox Game Camp Welcomes Special Olympics Athletes for an Immersive Learning Experience
This summer, we took our partnership a step further by welcoming nine Special Olympics athletes to a bespoke Xbox Game Camp—a behind-the-scenes experience on our Redmond campus designed to inspire career ambitions in the world of gaming and technology.
During Xbox Game Camp, Special Olympics athletes experienced two days of immersive learning, exploring accessibility innovations, building professional skills, and engaging in coding and game development activities guided by industry experts. Memorable moments included interactive workshops, meetings with Xbox leadership, and behind-the-scenes tours of Mojang Studios and Halo Studios, all designed to empower Special Olympics athletes within the gaming community.
From hands-on learning to unforgettable conversations, Xbox Game Camp 2025 was a testament to the power of inclusion and the limitless potential of every athlete.
For more on the camp’s highlights and impact, read the deep dive recap on the Microsoft Game Dev blog.
Support Special Olympics and Inclusive Gaming
At Xbox, we’re proud to stand with Special Olympics in championing inclusion, accessibility, and the transformative power of play. Want to get involved? Visit Special Olympics to learn more about their programs and ways to support their mission.
Rewards members in select markets can donate points to Special Olympics and help advance this important work.
Let’s continue to build a world where everyone can play, compete, and belong. We’ll see you next week at the 2025 Gaming for Inclusion Celebrity Showcase!
You buy Lenovo’s new Legion Go 2 handheld for the screen. The performance is secondary to how beautiful recent 2D titles look on the 8.8-inch, 1200p OLED display. The Legion Go 2 is otherwise a big, meaty handheld for gamers with big, meaty claws. You’ll struggle to hold it above your head lying in bed unless you’re a professional power lifter; the controls won’t be your favorite; it’s as wonky as its predecessor. And it’s hard to argue anybody should spend well over $1,000 on a gaming handheld rather than just buying a full gaming laptop.
Despite all that, I can’t help but enjoy the hell out of it. My initial hours spent rolling my eyes at everything Lenovo failed to fix from its first iteration slowly morphed into the kind of appreciation that can only occur when a device starts to feel personal. It’s what happened when I downloaded Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades II to the device and had to hold back a gasp on a crowded plane for how gorgeous both games looked on Lenovo’s big, expensive, beautiful display.
Legion Go 2
It’s thick, heavy, and so damn pretty. It’s a shame it costs as much as it does.
Beautiful OLED display
144Hz refresh rate with VRR
New ergonomics
Low-wattage performance uplift
Annoying removable controls
FPS mode is pointless
Reflective display
Very expensive at $1,350
It’s the same feeling I get from Valve’s $550 Steam Deck OLED, which uses the same organic light-emitting diode screen technology to present deeper contrast and rich colors. Valve’s handheld maxes out at 800p on an older, custom AMD chipset. Even when you factor in performance and display size, the Steam Deck OLED is still a much, much better deal. My review unit version of the Legion Go 2 with the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage, costs $1,350. I could literally buy two Steam Decks for this price (more if I opted for the LCD model). For Lenovo’s inflated price, I could run out and buy three $450 Nintendo Switch 2 handhelds. You could nab a version of the Legion Go 2 that starts at $1,100 for a version with a AMD Ryzen Z2, but judging by my tests that chip will land closer in power to handhelds that are three years old and cost much less.
It’s a ridiculous scenario that consumers are taking the brunt of Donald Trump’s obsession with import taxes, aka tariffs. And in that way, consumers are screwed no matter what. The upcoming Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, which is set to launch on Oct. 16 with the same Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, will set you back $1,000. The original Legion Go asked for $700 in 2023. The Asus ROG Ally X demanded $800 at launch last year. Both now retail at a higher price, likely due to tariffs. I would tell you to wait and buy a new handheld, but there’s no way to tell if prices might increase in coming months.
What drives me mad using the Legion Go 2 is how Lenovo held back from improving over the 2023 handheld. The revised version is far more ergonomic than the two-year-old device with its sharp corners. Both handhelds let you remove each controller and play with the screen separated, like the Nintendo Switch. The Switch 2 did away with rails and went for magnetic connections for each Joy-Con 2, which makes attaching and detaching the controllers a little easier. Lenovo’s old and new system still use a series of exposed pins you jam into a cavity on each side of the screen. You need two hands and a strong pitching arm to remove each controller with a down and out motion. Reattaching them can be just as annoying.
The controller uses Hall effect sticks that are much better at surviving stick drift, though they still feel a little too thin on my fingers compared to other handhelds I’ve used. The Legion Go 2 has slightly redesigned bumper buttons that make it easier to press and the same, large triggers. The $650 Legion Go S had a switch to enable instant triggers with less travel—better for first-person shooter games, but because of the removable controllers you’ll have to stick with the full range of motion.
The Switch 2’s big standout feature is its new mouse mode enabled just by putting the controller down on a table or your pant’s leg. Lenovo did it first on the Legion Go with its FPS mode. So is it any better now? No, absolutely not. You still need to remove the right controller and flick the “FPS” switch to turn on an optical mouse sensor. You then need to slot it into a base to hold it like an old-school flight stick, where the two side buttons act as the left and right mouse click. The DPI is still low enough you’ll struggle to get it working on anything but a desk. Even when you do, using a joystick and the FPS controller together necessitates changing the in-game controls. I tried it in both Cyberpunk 2077 and Borderlands 4, and it caused such havoc with both titles I was loathe to use the FPS mode again.
As for I/O, the Legion Go 2 has both a bottom and top USB-4 port. In theory, this could allow you to hook it up to an eGPU. More likely, it’s sole purpose is for charging or hooking up to a dock for HDMI passthrough. As much as Lenovo implies you’ll create a full “battle station” out of your device for instantaneous PC, you don’t want to hook it up to anything larger than a 1440p monitor, and only then for playing games most systems can run anyway.
Strangely enough, one of the best improvements over the last generation handheld is the Legion Go 2’s new soft carrying case. The old case was very protective, but it was also enormous. The new version is smaller and more squat than the default Steam Deck case, which makes lugging around the 8.8-inch handheld onto planes surprisingly easy. There’s two little hidey-holes for the FPS mode stand, but since you’ll never use it, you can stick anything else in there. Just don’t tell me what.
All the new ergonomics make it easier to hold, but not enough that it won’t feel heavy in your hands. You’ll find you’ll need a table or lap to rest your elbows on, or else you’ll use the built-in kickstand to prop it up on your desk. Either way you hold it, you’ll end up enjoying this handheld mostly for the display. As I said earlier, the 8.8-inch OLED display is sublime. It doesn’t have any higher screen resolution than the Legion Go’s 1,920 x 1,200, but it’s enough to make games pop.
For my hands, the Legion Go 2 is just large enough where I can grip it and access all the controls. Other users who are smaller in stature may not be so lucky. Ignore all those 11-inch handhelds out there. Near-9-inch devices are more than enough. The screen also sports a 144Hz refresh rate with VRR, or variable refresh rate. All those games that can hit above 100 fps (which, let’s be honest, will mostly be older or 2D titles), will look their peak on the Legion Go 2.
The screen feels bright enough indoors, but while Lenovo promises you’ll get 1,100 nits of HDR brightness, the screen is not great for using outdoors. It’s blinded by direct sunlight, and even sitting near a window you’ll see most details disappear. The screen is also very reflective. A matte coating would have dulled the display quality, but it’s at the risk of catching a glimpse of your girlfriend walking up behind you.
The AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU is purely iterative. If you’ve been watching like a hawk, hoping to devour the latest and fastest handheld chip, this isn’t it. The performance difference generation to generation is minimal. In some games, you could get 5 to 10 fps more at the highest TDP, or thermal design power, People who focus too hard on benchmarks will come away disappointed. If you care more about whether the system can play the latest AAA games, know that you’ll be able to achieve playable frame rates at the max 1200p resolution though only by dropping any hope of ray tracing for more-realistic lighting effects.
I’m fundamentally a gamer who refuses to drop the resolution of games for the sake of performance. I will lower graphics settings in a desperate attempt to eek out the minimum 30 fps. The Legion Go 2 can manage to take some AAA games into playable states at the max 35W of TDP (thermal design power) once the handheld’s engines are firing on all cylinders. TDP determines how much power is being sent to the processor, which will dictate overall performance. Borderlands 4 is one of those games notorious for running poorly on PC and consoles alike (you won’t find the game on Switch 2 in the coming days, either). I was able to get a stable sub-40 fps on the lowest possible graphics settings. I could achieve a little better frame rates in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Even at lower graphics settings, the game still looks and sounds great on the small screen.
Older games fare better. Control could average 40 to 49 fps at low settings with the handheld plugged in. The Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark at 1200p and medium settings preset with AMD’s FSR upscaling saw an average of 44 fps, while at 1080p with the same settings it could hit 48 fps. In Baldur’s Gate III, I could average above 60 fps in the open areas of Act 1 and get between 45 and 55 fps in the city environments of Act III.
In 3DMark benchmarks, the Legion Go 2 hit a score of 3,305 and 24.48 average fps in Steel Nomad Lite tests. That’s 1,000 points better than the Legion Go S with its Ryzen Z2 Go chip running on Windows, but it’s only a little more than 300 points better than the Z1 Extreme on the Asus ROG Ally X from 2024. The new device hit 3,897 points in Time Spy tests, which again is barely more than 300 points better than an Ally X. It’s not much better than an MSI Claw 8 AI+, which uses a full Intel laptop chip. Simply put, the Legion Go 2 isn’t a huge step over the previous gen at the max wattage.
However, the device’s secret sauce is in how well it performs at lower wattages. Tests with multiple games at wattages as low as 34 fps still enabled relatively stable frame rates in games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider. While in Cyberpunk 2077 at full resolution and Steam Deck settings, the device gets 44 fps in benchmarks, at 15W it still managed to eek out nearly 30 fps. I don’t expect anybody will run high-end games on lower power. Instead, the best experience comes from games that are far less intensive. I could net well over 160 fps in Hades II on the “Balanced” performance setting. Hollow Knight: Silksong seems like it was built with the Legion Go 2 in mind with automatic settings to stay around 144Hz. These games play so gloriously on this handheld, I don’t want to play them on anything else. It’s a shame you have to spend $350 more than an Xbox Ally X jut for that pretty screen and higher refresh rate.
Windows still sucks for handhelds, but it could get better
On balanced power settings, I could game for around 2 hours and 40 minutes before the device was literally begging me to plug it in. In other tests where I was gaming at the full resolution and wattage playing Indiana Jones, it lasted closer to 2 hours. The Legion Go 2 sports a 74Wh battery, which is slightly worse than the ROG Ally X’s 80Wh. The larger OLED display and higher max resolution will inevitably drag the battery life down.
At this point, players should not expect a handheld that will last very long. The ROG Ally X still has one of the best battery life at full power when it gets closer to 3 hours of runtime. In real life, the difference is negligible. At this point in my life, having a max two hours of playtime is strangely beneficial. If I’m clearing room after room in Hades II late at night, the battery timer is essentially my alarm. If it’s close to 12 a.m. and I’m about to run out of power, it’s a sign I should get some rest.
Depending on the game you’re playing, the device’s fans can get relatively loud. Even at max speed I wouldn’t call them jet engine noise. It’s enough to remind you to be mindful when sitting next to strangers on a plane. The device kept very cool in my time using it. I never felt any heat around the controls, and the area around the fans also didn’t feel steamy when playing a game at max wattage.
I can’t excuse the price, but I had such a good time with the Legion Go 2 it felt like a personal companion after traveling for more than a week and a half away from home. But there’s an elephant in the room shaped like a big “X” we need to address. The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are supposed to launch with a new version of Windows, dubbed the “Full Screen Experience” (FSE) built exclusively for gaming handhelds. While this may fix the lingering usability issues of Windows 11 on a 7- or 8-inch screen, the upgrade should also eliminate background tasks and—hopefully—boost performance by 20%. The issue is that Microsoft has said you may need to wait until next spring to get it on handhelds like the Legion Go 2.
Windows is terrible on handhelds. It gets in the way when trying to put the device to sleep while still in-game. It bombards you with popups for OneDrive that you need to use the touchscreen to excise. It saps power and makes the device run worse than it would if it was running SteamOS, the same Linux-based operating system running on the Steam Deck. In our tests, the Legion Go S with SteamOS outperforms its Windows counterpart by 20 to 30%. Unless you’re dead set on keeping your Xbox Game Pass games handy, I would suggest looking into installing Valve’s software on the Legion Go 2. I have not confirmed whether you can install SteamOS on the new handheld, though if its not compatible at launch, I assume an update may be around the corner. Without the FSE or SteamOS, this can’t be my handheld of choice. With a new operating system, the Legion Go 2 would become the bell of the ball for modern PC handhelds.
It’s been quite the week for Xbox news. A lot of people are still coming to terms with Microsoft’s veritable gut-punch of that the price of a Game Pass Ultimate subscription is about to soar by 50 percent. And if that has already pushed you into with Xbox , it looks like Microsoft may soon attempt to tempt you back by giving away its cloud gaming service for free. That is, an extremely limited version of it, with ads.
According to , Microsoft is preparing to announce an ad-supported version of Xbox Cloud Gaming, which finally exited beta this week. Sources said to be familiar with Microsoft’s strategy told The Verge that game streaming with ads is already being tested internally with employees. You’ll reportedly be able to play select games that you own as well as a selection of Xbox Retro Classics titles. Microsoft will also offer Free Play Days games, an initiative that already lets Xbox users try games over a weekend. All of this will be possible without a paid Game Pass subscription.
But the inevitable catch, beyond the restricted catalogue of available games, is that you could have to watch up to several minutes of ad content before getting into a game, and it sounds like there are a number of time-based restrictions as well. It’s currently being tested with a one-hour time limit, up to five times per month, though that could change come launch.
Microsoft could launch its ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming tier in beta soon, and it will reportedly be available on PC, Xbox, handheld devices and on browsers. What isn’t clear is what streaming quality will be offered on the free version. Xbox Cloud Gaming’s 1440p option is going to be exclusive to Game Pass Ultimate, with Microsoft saving the “best quality” streaming for its most expensive plan. You’ll be capped at 1080p on the Premium and Essential tiers.
All three paid Game Pass tiers include unlimited cloud gaming, but wait times get longer the further down you go. It’s fair to assume that any free cloud service not tied to Game Pass will be hit with longer wait times, though perhaps the enforced ads would hide those pretty well anyway.
This week, EA announced that it plans to go private as part of a massive $55 billion sale, a move that will likely have huge implications for the gaming landscape. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget’s Sam Rutherford chat about what this deal really means (and why it includes a Saudi Arabian investment fund), and also dive into the messy state of Xbox. Is the ROG Ally Xbox X already a failure at $1,000?
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Topics
Electronic Arts to go private in a deal worth $55 Billion – 1:43
What the heck is going on with Xbox? The $1,000 ROG Ally Xbox X could be a failure even before launch – 15:23
Great games out now: Final Fantasy Tactics, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades II and more – 42:46
Amazon’s fall hardware event announced new Echoes, a new Fire TV and a panopticon powered by Ring – 59:10
Google announces new Nest Doorbell along with a couple of Nest Cams – 1:09:34
Hollywood film stars recoil in disgust at Tilly Norwood, an AI actress created by a Dutch production studio –1:14:30
OpenAI’s Sora video app is full of fake shoplifting clips – 1:14:13
Pop culture picks – 1:19:01
Credits
Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Sam Rutherford Producer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien
When ‘Capcom Presents’ flashed across the screen during watching last week’s Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 Broadcast, my pulse quickened as I prepared for something familiar from one of my favorite publishers – only to be surprised by a world I’ve yet to explore: Monster Hunter Stories.
Even if you’ve sunk dozens of hours into Monster Hunter World and the more recent Wilds as I have, you may find yourself in a similar situation. But there’s never been a better time to get acquainted, as Monster Hunter Stories, a beloved spin-off series of the legendary Monster Hunter franchise, makes its Xbox debut next month, with the first two games arriving on November 14.
The day after that announcement, at Tokyo Game Show, I found myself with a controller in hand to get acquainted with the next entry in the series, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, itself coming to Xbox on March 13, 2026. After an hour of exploring this new world, my ignorance has been supplanted by anticipation. If you’re new to this series – or only know the mainline games – here’s what makes Stories unique:
A Sunnier Take on Monster Hunter
The first thing players are you’ll likely to notice is how different Monster Hunter Stories games look; the cel-shaded art style is vibrant and inviting—a sharp contrast to the gritty realism of the mainline games. Infused with rich, bright colors across its sunny vistas, verdant fields, misty mountains, Monster Hunter Stories presents a world you want to get lost in.
Monster Hunting Action, One Turn At a Time
Beyond its outer appearance, you’ll feel how different Stories is from mainline Monster Hunter when you first get into combat. As you approach your first monster, rather than attacking outright, you’re thrown into a turn-based RPG battle. After being introduced to an initially simple rock/paper/scissors mechanic, Monster Hunter Stories quickly layers on a lot more.
While ‘turn based’ may conjure thoughts of a deliberate, repetitive experience – there is a lot going on here: balancing attacks and skills, attack types and weaknesses. And you’re not just controlling the human rangers; your monster companions – called “Monsties” – can be called into battle, each with unique abilities. Want to switch tactics mid-battle? Swap Monsties on the fly or mount up for a powerful special attack.
You’ll Ride a Lot More than Seikrets
Speaking of mounts, the Monstie you’re riding offers up different mobility options throughout the open world. The Monster Hunter Stories 3 demo started me out with a Rathalos called, appropriately enough, Ratha – though I was able to easily switch via a radial menu to a lizard-wolf type of monster you might recognise from Monster Hunter World, called Tobi-Kadachi. Tobi could go where Ratha can’t, bounding straight up a vertical rock formation. After looking around and marking points of interest, I realized Tobi had another trick up its fur: it was less wolf and more flying squirrel, allowing me to glide straight to a chest I had spotted and marked. Very fun.
Ratha also has a trick: when mounting it, pressing RT brings up an aiming reticle, and releasing allows it to do what wyverns do best: spit up explosive fire, assisting with breaking things, revealing resources, or initiating battle… sometimes even ending it before it starts. Again, very fun.
It’s Still Monster Hunter
Despite Monster Hunter Stories’ RPG trappings, in just about every element, its Monster Hunter DNA shines through. From hunting down monster materials, to forging new equipment, to collecting bugs, fruits, and metals as you explore the world, to the chatty Felynes, you’ll never forget you’re in a Monster Hunter world, even while inhabiting a different part of it.
Most “Monster Hunter” of all are the tough-as-leather beasts that survive even the strongest attacks you can dish out, meaning that combat isn’t just a test of skill, but of attrition. After taking down a pair of bosses with unique, stylish finishers, my demo came to a close. My takeaway: even if you’ve spent dozens of hours in Monster Hunter World or Wilds, Stories will surprise you.
Monster Hunter Stories
– Purchase early to get Navirou’s “King” and “Queen” Outfits.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
– Purchase early to get Ena’s “Kamura Maiden Outfit.”
*Bonus content is available to customers who pre-order the game by 23:59 on 11.13.2025.
*This content may be made available separately at a later date.
*Outfits for Ena and Navirou are purely cosmetic and only change the characters’ appearance.
Both Monster Hunter Stories games included in one collection!
Monster Hunter Stories is an RPG series that takes the world of Monster Hunter and expands upon it in new and exciting ways! No longer are you hunting monsters, but raising them! Featuring heroes known as Monster Riders, you will live alongside monsters and form lifelong bonds with them.
Game Introduction:
The first game tells the story of a Rider who confronts a calamity known as the Black Blight that has overtaken the world, all while learning to live together with Hunters. The second game is set four years later, when a new hero unravels the epic story surrounding a legendary Rathalos, one foretold to bring ruin to the world.
Game Features:
■ A turn-based RPG set in the world of Monster Hunter! Monster Hunter Stories features a strategic battle system which is easy to get the hang of, even for those who struggle with action games. Use Power, Speed, and Technical attacks to guess and overcome your opponent’s attack patterns to inflict heavy damage and win head-to-head battles! Build up your Kinship Gauge to use skills or try your Monsties’ unique Kinship Skills!
■ Turn popular monsters from the series into your Monsties! Explore the field using Monstie abilities, hatch eggs that you find along the way, and turn various monsters into Monsties! This game features many popular monsters from the Monster Hunter series, including Zinogre, Nargacuga, and Lagiacrus. Also featured is the Rite of Channeling, a ritual that awakens dormant abilities in your Monsties, allowing you to raise original Monsties and take on powerful enemies!
■ Online features that allow you to create a powerful party with the Monsties you have raised and enjoy battles with other players!
*The items in this set can be purchased individually. Please be careful not to purchase the same item twice.
MONSTER HUNTER STORIES 3: TWISTED REFLECTION
CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
Twin Rathalos, born in a twist of fate.
Embark on a new adventure in the third installment of the turn-based RPG series set in the world of Monster Hunter! Become a Rider in the Monster Hunter Stories series as you hatch and build kinship with friendly monsters known as Monsties, then explore and battle alongside them in a world full of potential!
Set two centuries after a conflict that divided neighboring kingdoms, the drums of war are reignited as twin Rathalos—long thought extinct—hatch from a single egg: an omen of destruction.
Two kingdoms, two Riders, and two Rathalos; their fates now intertwined. As calamity encroaches, seek hope beyond the border and into forbidden lands.
Limited Bonus
Pre-order to get Navirou’s “King” and “Queen” Outfits!
*Bonus content is available to customers who pre-order the game by 23:59 on 11.13.2025.
*This content may be made available separately at a later date.
*These outfits are purely cosmetic and only change Navirou’s appearance.
Monster Hunter Stories is an RPG that takes the world of Monster Hunter and expands upon it in new and exciting ways! No longer are you hunting monsters, but raising them! In this deep story featuring heroes known as Monster Riders, you will live alongside monsters and form lifelong bonds with them. The first installment of the Monster Hunter Stories series returns, fully voiced in Japanese and English, with additional features such as a new museum mode where you can listen to music and view concept art, allowing you to dive even deeper into the world of Monster Hunter Stories.
Story:
As the hero of the story, you were born in a village of Riders who raise monsters for a living. You’ll overcome trials and tribulations as you grow as a Rider, and leave your village to embark on an adventure. Your destination: the world of Hunters, who make their living by hunting monsters. Although their lifestyles are vastly different, you must learn to live and work together with Hunters, and in turn, bring the world of Hunters and Riders ever closer.
Things take a dark turn as a calamity known as the Black Blight appears, threatening the entire world and upending peaceful lives that were taken for granted… Both Riders and Hunters alike will be put to the test in order to challenge this threat.
The keys to saving the world are the Kinship Stone and its hidden power, along with the truth of the “Legend of Redan,” which describes the long-kept secret of the Riders’ origins!
Game Features:
■ A turn-based RPG set in the world of Monster Hunter! Monster Hunter Stories features a strategic battle system which is easy to get the hang of, even for those who struggle with action games. Use Power, Speed, and Technical attacks to guess and overcome your opponent’s attack patterns to inflict heavy damage and win head-to-head battles! Build up your Kinship Gauge to use skills or try your Monsties’ unique Kinship Skills!
■ Turn popular monsters from the series into your Monsties! Explore the field using Monstie abilities, hatch eggs that you find along the way, and turn various monsters into Monsties! This game features many popular monsters from the Monster Hunter series, including Zinogre, Nargacuga, and Lagiacrus. Also featured is the Rite of Channeling, a ritual which awakens dormant abilities in your Monsties, allowing you to raise original Monsties and take on powerful enemies!
■ Online features that allow you to create a powerful party with the Monsties you have raised and enjoy battles with other players!
■ All updates are included! You will find all the monsters added in updates to the original game, such as Kushala Daora, Teostra, and Rajang, as well as expanded endgame content and additional character editing parts, making this the complete package!
*There are other bundles that include this product. Please be careful of duplicate purchases.
Limited Bonus
Purchase by 23:59 on 11.13.2025 to receive the Kamura Maiden Outfit for Ena. This outfit lets you dress Ena as a hub maiden from Kamura village, as featured in Monster Hunter Rise!
*May become available at a later date.
*Changes Ena’s appearance only.
*Monster Hunter Rise rated TEEN
A new adventure awaits you in this second installment of the turn-based RPG series set in the world of Monster Hunter! Become a Rider and form bonds with friendly monsters known as Monsties to fight alongside them as you take part in an epic story.
You play as the grandchild of Red, a legendary Rider. The story begins with a fateful encounter with Ena, a Wyverian girl who has been entrusted with an egg with the potential to hatch into a legendary Rathalos which could wreak havoc if awakened to its destructive power.
Embark on a journey which will test the bonds of friendship in a changing world, and discover the truth behind the legends of old.
Xbox Game Pass is an even better deal for everybody… except for most of its highest-paying subscribers. Game Pass, Microsoft’s gaming subscription service, will offer more games and access to cloud titles for those paying between $5 and $15 on both console and PC. Ultimate-tier subscribers are also getting more, but it comes at a steep cost—a price steep enough that it seems there are fewer real “deals” left in gaming.
In a blog post, Xbox said Game Pass Ultimate will now cost $30 a month, up from $20. With the price hike, Microsoft is offering a fair few upgrades. First is the promise that gamers will be able to play upwards of 75 games available to the service on day one each year. So if you were already planning to play The Outer Worlds 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, or Ninja Gaiden 4 this year, you could save some money before Christmas. Those who pay up also get access to Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics titles. This is the second price hike to Game Pass Ultimate since 2024. Hey, at least those few gamers who already pay for the Fortnite Battle Pass and Xbox Game Pass may save $2.
New Game Pass plans: Essential, Premium, and Ultimate
Xbox also added 45 more games to the service, some of which are accessible if you opt for the two lower subscription tiers. The Standard plan is now labeled “Premium” and still costs the same $15 a month. Core subscriptions are being replaced with “Essential” for $10 per month. Premium and Essential don’t have access to day-one titles, though if you pay $15, you’ll now get access to games like Hogwarts Legacy and some of the paywalled content in games like League of Legends or Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X. Ultimate, as I said, is $30 a month.
Every plan gets cloud gaming
You should peruse the entire list of new games to see if there’s anything there you want to play. Otherwise, the big upgrade is now everyone on Game Pass now has access to cloud gaming. Xbox said it’s no longer in beta, and while Ultimate subscribers get priority, every Game Pass subscriber can now stream games at up to 1440p. You’ll be more limited in which games you can play in the cloud if you opt for Essential or Premium plans. Microsoft allows gamers to stream select titles they own on its servers as well.
Is Xbox Game Pass still worth it? Depends on how many games you play.
In many ways, the Ultimate tier is still full of value. The number of quality AAA and excellent indie titles available is enough to keep you going for a full year. But that’s the problem. If you have limited time to game each month, and it takes you many weeks to push through a 30-hour playthrough of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you may end up spending the same amount as if you just bought the game yourself. Gaming on the whole is getting more expensive. Since Nintendo set the score during the Switch 2 launch, the new standard for AAA releases is $70 or—in some cases—$80 even. If you end up with Game Pass Ultimate for six months, you’ll spend $180, the equivalent of two new releases plus Hollow Knight: Silksong.
How well gamers can justify the new price will be based on how much they care about whatever new titles come to the subscription platform. Microsoft is applying a thick balm to take away the sting of a 50% price hike, but Xbox is promising to supply more of what it was already offering. GeForce Now, Nvidia’s game streaming service for titles you already own, lets you stream up to 4K at their $20-per-month tier. Nvidia just updated its service to enable better streaming quality and a higher-end GPU available for some titles. Having used both Game Pass and GeForce Now for cloud gaming, the latter is certainly a better option.
Let’s also consider what games will be out on Xbox next year. There’s High on Life 2 confirmed as a day-one title already, but other major releases like 007: First Light won’t be on Game Pass at all. Then there’s the elephant in the room in the form of Grand Theft Auto VI. I’ve spoken with analysts who fully expect the game to cost $100 at launch. If the game hopes to make the promised $3 billion in sales in the first year, then it’s certainly going to stay away from Game Pass. GTA VI could open the floodgates for even more ultra-expensive games. Xbox itself promised to boost game prices to $80 before rolling that back. When five-year-old Xbox consoles now cost more than ever after two consecutiveprice hikes—pushing a base Xbox Series X to $650—all future “deals” will look like recreations of the prices we once took for granted.
Our goal with Game Pass has been clear: deliver unmatched value, benefits, and a deep library of games for our players. Since launching in 2017, we’ve steadily grown our subscriber and creator satisfaction – and today, creator participation and player engagement in Game Pass are at an all-time high. But we have the opportunity for Game Pass to help more players find the creators and games they love.
We know not everyone wants the same thing in their Xbox experience, so we’re evolving Game Pass to offer more flexibility, choice, and value to all players, whether you love day one releases, discovering hidden gems, or playing across multiple devices and screens and across Xbox consoles, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud.
Starting today, we’re introducing three upgraded Game Pass plans based on how players play: Essential, Premium, and Ultimate. Each includes expanded game libraries, including PC titles, unlimited cloud gaming, in-game benefits (including Riot Games titles), and a revamped Rewards with Xbox experience. Today’s Game Pass Core subscribers will automatically move to Essential, Standard subscribers will transition to Premium, and Ultimate subscribers will remain in the Ultimate plan.
It’s all a part of our commitment to meet players where they are, so you can choose what works best for you, no matter how or where you love to play.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Just Got Its Biggest Upgrade Yet
Ultimate has been upgraded for players who want the best of everything. We’re rolling out our most expansive upgrade yet, including more day one games than ever before, Fortnite Crew & Ubisoft+ Classics for the first time ever, enhanced Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming quality up to 1440p, Rewards with Xbox, and more. Now players can have it all.
Ultimate subscribers now get access to over 75 day one releases a year. That includes some of the most anticipated upcoming games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, High on Life 2, Keeper, Ninja Gaiden 4, and The Outer Worlds 2. These join a growing library of more than 400 games playable on Xbox consoles, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud on supported devices, with more than 45 new games added today. Think of hits like Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Hollow Knight: Silksong, plus exclusive benefits like access to EA Play.
We’re also welcoming major additions to the Ultimate experience. Starting November 18, Fortnite Crew – an $11.99/month value – will be included in Ultimate, with access to the Fortnite Battle Pass, 1,000 V-Bucks each month, and more. This is just the beginning of Xbox and Epic’s work together toward an open gaming ecosystem where friends can play and create together, anywhere, across devices. And today, Ubisoft+ Classics (valued at $7.99/month per platform) joins Ultimate, offering access to a curated selection of Ubisoft games playable on console, PC, and cloud, like Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and more.
Cloud gaming is also getting a major boost. Ultimate subscribers exclusively enjoy our best quality streaming and shortest wait times, so it’s easier than ever to jump into your favorite games. Xbox Cloud Gaming has also officially exited “Beta,” as part of our commitment to make gameplay smoother and more responsive. And we’ll keep expanding the Stream your own game collection for all subscribers. Keep an eye on Xbox.com/Play for the latest list of cloud playable games.
Ultimate subscribers can now earn up to $100 per year (100k points globally) in the Store just by playing games. With our upgraded Rewards program, players can get up to 30% value on select Game Pass games, with 4x points on purchases of games and add-ons, 10% back in points on select Game Pass library titles and add-ons, and up to 20% off select Game Pass games.
Xbox Game Pass Premium – More Games, More Flexibility
Premium has been upgraded to offer even more flexibility and value for those who want to play on their own terms at exceptional value. Premium provides access to a broader library of great games and extends the Xbox gaming experience across console, PC, and cloud.
We’re now giving Premium subscribers more games than ever before, from gaming’s biggest hits to hidden gems, now with access to 200+ games on Xbox console, PC, and supported devices, all still at $14.99. This library, with more than 40 new games available today, is also now playable on PC, including timeless hits like Minecraft, Forza Horizon 5, and Grand Theft Auto V. Plus, Premium subscribers get newly added fan-favorites like Diablo IV and Hogwarts Legacy starting today, and new Xbox-published games within a year of their launch (excludes Call of Duty titles).
Cloud gaming is also expanding in Premium. Subscribers now enjoy unlimited cloud gaming, including select games you own, and newly added in-game benefits in some of the biggest games like League of Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X, instantly unlocking cosmetics, characters, and more to enhance your gameplay.
Premium also brings new value through Rewards with Xbox. Premium subscribers can also get up to $50 per year (50k points globally) in the Store just by playing games, earning 2x points on purchases of games and add-ons, plus 5% back in points on select Game Pass library titles and add-ons.
Xbox Game Pass Essential: A Great Way to Get Started
Essential is for players who want the essence of everything Xbox. With access to games across console, PC, and cloud, Essential makes it easy to jump in and start playing, whether you’re diving into solo adventures or teaming up with friends.
Our revamped Essential plan now includes unlimited cloud gaming, online multiplayer, in-game benefits, and Rewards with Xbox, plus a curated catalog of 50+ games playable on both console and PC.
The Essential library is now fully playable on PC, featuring standout titles like Hades, Cities: Skylines – Remastered, Stardew Valley, and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. You also get unlimited cloud gaming, allowing you to play games, including select games you own, on the devices you choose — giving you more freedom to play your way.
Subscribers also get access to in-game benefits in some of the biggest games like League of Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Overwatch 2.
And with our Rewards with Xbox program, Essential members can earn up to $25 per year (25k points globally) in the Store just by playing. You’ll also get points on purchases of games and add-ons.
Getting Started with the New Xbox Game Pass Plans
As we continue to evolve Xbox Game Pass, we’re focused on delivering more value, more benefits, and more great games across every plan. Whether you play on console, PC, cloud – or all three – there’s a Game Pass option designed to fit your playstyle.
With the latest upgrades, Ultimate is now priced at $29.99/month, reflecting the expanded catalog, new partner benefits, and upgraded cloud gaming experience. Standard subscribers will be upgraded to Premium remaining at $14.99/month, offering exceptional value for players who want flexibility and access to new Xbox-published titles within a year of launch. Core subscribers will be upgraded to Essential remaining at $9.99/month, providing a curated library, online multiplayer, and cloud gaming for those who want to jump in and start playing.
We regularly evaluate exchange rates and market conditions, so pricing may vary by region. For the most up-to-date information on plan features and pricing in your area, visit the plan picker on Xbox.com.
We continue to add more games to Xbox Game Pass. Check out the latest games available starting today below, along with in-game benefits available across each plan. As a reminder, game titles, features, and availability vary over time, by region, Game Pass plan, and platform. Learn more about supported regions here.
Ultimate – Available Today
Hogwarts Legacy (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Assassin’s Creed II (PC)
Assassin’s Creed III Remastered (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag: Freedom Cry (PC)
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (PC)
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD (PC)
Assassin’s Creed Revelations (PC)
Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection (Cloud and Console)
Assassin’s Creed Unity (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Child of Light (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Far Cry 3 (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Far Cry Primal (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Hungry Shark World (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Monopoly Madness (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Monopoly 2024 (Cloud, PC, and Console)
OddBallers (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Rabbids Invasion: The Interactive TV Show (Cloud and Console)
Rabbids: Party of Legends (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Rayman Legends (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Risk Urban Assault (Cloud and Console)
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Skull and Bones (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
South Park: The Stick of Truth (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Steep (Cloud, PC, and Console)
The Crew 2 (Cloud, PC, and Console)
The Settlers: New Allies (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Tom Clancy’s The Division (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Trackmania Turbo (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Transference (Cloud and Console)
Trials Fusion (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Trials of the Blood Dragon (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Trials Rising (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Uno (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Watch_Dogs (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Wheel of Fortune (Cloud and Console)
Zombi (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Premium – Available Today (also in Ultimate)
9 Kings (Game Preview) (PC)
Abiotic Factor (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Against the Storm (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (PC)
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (PC)
Age of Mythology: Retold (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Ara: History Untold (PC)
Arx Fatalis (PC)
Back to the Dawn (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Battletech (PC)
Blacksmith Master (Game Preview) (PC)
Cataclismo (PC)
Cities: Skylines II (PC)
Crime Scene Cleaner (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Diablo (PC)
Diablo IV (PC and Console)
An Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire (PC)
The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard (PC)
Fallout (PC)
Fallout 2 (PC)
Fallout: Tactics (PC)
Football Manager 2024 (PC)
Frostpunk 2 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Halo: Spartan Strike (PC)
Hogwarts Legacy (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Manor Lords (Game Preview) (PC)
Minami Lane (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Minecraft: Java Edition (PC)
Mullet Madjack (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
My Friendly Neighborhood (Cloud, PC, and Console)
One Lonely Outpost (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Quake 4 (PC)
Quake III Arena (PC)
Return to Castle Wolfenstein (PC)
Rise of Nations: Extended Edition (PC)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Sworn (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Terra Invicta (Game Preview) (PC)
Volcano Princess (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Warcraft I: Remastered (PC)
Warcraft II: Remastered (PC)
Warcraft III: Reforged (PC)
Wolfenstein 3D (PC)
Essential – Available Today (also in Ultimate and Premium)
Cities: Skylines Remastered (Cloud and Xbox Series X|S)
Disney Dreamlight Valley (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Hades (Cloud, PC, and Console)
Warhammer 40,000 Darktide (Cloud, PC, and Console)
More Rewards with Game Pass
Editor’s Note (October 1): We’ve clarified the pricing information for Ubisoft titles.
Microsoft has finally revealed how much the ROG Xbox Ally handheld consoles will cost you, now that they’re available for preorder. The ROG Xbox Ally X, which the company describes as the “ultimate high-performance handheld” that’s “built for the most demanding players,” will set you back $1,000. Meanwhile, the ROG Xbox Ally is “for everyone from the casual player to the avid enthusiast.” That model costs a more palatable $600.
ASUS + Xbox
Microsoft unveiled the devices during the Xbox Games Showcase at Summer Game Fest in June, with the promise that they’d be available by this year’s holiday shopping season. It was revealed a couple of months later that the consoles will be on store shelves by October 16. However, they hadn’t announced their prices until now.
Microsoft teamed up with ASUS’ ROG division to develop the handhelds. They’re powered by Windows 11 and lets you play any Xbox game you’ve purchased, whether you bought it on your console or your computer, as well as PC games from any store that you install directly on the device. You can use it to stream Xbox games from your console anywhere in your home or from the Xbox Cloud Gaming service. And yes, you’ll be able to continue where you left off when you jump from one device to another. At launch, Xbox will mark thousands of games as Handheld Optimized or Mostly Compatible to indicate if they play well on handhelds.
Specs
Digging into their specs accentuates those differences. The ROG Xbox Ally uses an AMD Ryzen Z2 A chip, while the ROG Xbox Ally X has a more powerful AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme. The standard model has 16GB RAM (6,400 MT/s), while the premium version has 24GB (8,000 MT/s).
The ROG Xbox Ally has a 512GB SSD; the ROG Xbox Ally X boosts that to 1TB. However, they each have a microSD slot to help you store more games. (And they both use upgrade-friendly M.2 2280 SSDs.)
The premium model has a larger battery, measuring 80 Wh. The entry-level version has a 60 Wh one. But that doesn’t necessarily mean longer battery life. We’ll have to wait for extended testing to know that.
Each variant has two USB-C ports, but (again) you get a higher-end version in the higher-end model. The Xbox ROG Ally includes two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports. The Xbox ROG Ally X has one of those, along with a USB 4 Type-C port. The latter is more versatile, supporting Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort 2.1 and eGPUs.
Each model has a seven-inch 1080p, 16:9 display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness. They’re anti-reflective, use Corning Gorilla Glass Victus and support FreeSync Premium.
How to pre-order
The standard ROG Xbox Ally is more readily available. In the US, you can pre-order it from Xbox, Microsoft Store, Asus, Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart. Meanwhile, the ROG Xbox Ally X is only available from Microsoft (“sold out” at the time of publication), Asus and Best Buy. Both handhelds are more expensive than their non-Xbox counterparts, which range between $500 and $800.
A SanDisk microSD card designed specifically for the handhelds and a SeaGate SSD that supports Microsoft DirectStorage are now also available for preorder.
The devices are also available around the world. You can also preorder the consoles in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vietnam, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Slovenia, South Africa, Thailand and Ukraine.
All these markets, including the US, are getting the console on October 16. The handhelds will also be available in additional markets in the future. These will include Brazil, China, India, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Philippines and Switzerland.
ASUS
Pre-order the handheld ahead of its October 16 arrival.
Xbox has a pricing problem, and that’s not changing with the company’s first officially branded handheld. Microsoft and Asus’ ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are set to launch on Oct. 16, and after weeks and weeks of making everyone wait, we finally know how much they will cost. If you’re planning on buying one, do it at launch before tariffs force Microsoft to jack up prices like it has with Xbox consoles.
Xbox Ally preorders started later Thursday, Sept. 25. The regular Xbox Ally will sell for $600. It comes at base with an AMD Ryzen Z2A processor, with specs that hint it could be equivalent to Valve’s $550 Steam Deck OLED in performance. It also packs 16GB of RAM and a 60Wh battery with a 7-inch IPS LCD display. At that price, Asus and Xbox are trying to claim some small part of the PC handheld market dominated by Valve’s handheld, even if it lacks the prettier OLED display. The Xbox Ally is a bit larger than a Steam Deck, though it feels more ergonomic thanks to its controller-like grips.
The one you actually want, the Xbox Ally X, will demand $1,000 from your already-stretched wallet. The darker handheld contains an AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme, the long-awaited SoC—or system on a chip—that should have better performance in games compared to handheld PCs from the last two years. How much more powerful is a question with a big red “to be determined” sign hanging over it, but earlier leaks have suggested it won’t be too much better than before running at the highest possible power settings. It may do better at lower power, so you may be able to game for longer at a stable frame rate. The more expensive Xbox Ally also comes with 24GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and an 80Wh battery—equivalent to last year’s $900 ROG Ally X. The more powerful handheld will only be available through Best Buy.
Trump tariffs have caused havoc with PC and gaming prices. Last week, Microsoft hiked prices of all its Xbox Series S and Series X consoles. Now, if you want the Xbox with a disc drive, it will set you back $650. The Galaxy Black version with 2TB of storage now costs a whopping $800. This year, Asus hiked the cost of its Ally X by $100, up to $900. Lenovo raised prices on its Legion Go S handheld PCs with SteamOS to $650 at base. Lenovo originally cited $550 back when it announced the handheld back during CES 2025. The Legion Go 2, with its 8.8-inch OLED display and a Ryzen Z2 Extreme, starts at $1,350. If you want a handheld PC that can run some AAA games at somewhat stable frame rates, you’ll end up paying through the nose for it.
Asus and Xbox stalled out in August and refused to share the preorder date and price. I’ve wrapped my hands around the handheld’s comfortable Xbox controller-like grips, but it wasn’t nearly enough time to say if the handheld is worth the money. The new Xbox Ally devices will sport Microsoft’s new version of Windows 11 built specifically for handhelds. Compared to other handheld PCs running the OS, the new version will make selecting games across your various distribution platforms easier. It may also finally fix the aggravating issues when putting these devices to sleep. Most importantly, they should increase performance by nixing background tasks.
Some users have managed to get a version of the Xbox handheld experience working on other Windows devices. We still have to see how the final version shakes out. In the end, SteamOS may still prove to be a much cleaner, console-like experience thanks to three years of updates from Valve, plus an active developer community. The Steam Deck hardware is looking a little long in the tooth, but it’s still the cheapest handheld around—at least until Valve inevitably hikes prices just like every other company.
The Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 Broadcast just wrapped up, bringing you a fresh look at what’s coming to players around the world this year and next from our creative teams, our incredible partners across Asia, and beyond.
From Xbox Game Studios, Forza Horizon 6 is coming in 2026 with Japan as the setting, we offered a deep-dive into the difficulty settings coming to Ninja Gaiden 4 (developed by Team Ninja and PlatinumGames), announced that a Japan World Update arrives in Microsoft Flight Simulator and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 today, and revealed new gameplay for Age of Mythology’s Japan-inspired Heavenly Spear expansion, which launches next week. Activision revealed Japan-set maps for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and Bethesda showed off some of the best Japanese-created C.A.M.P.s built for Fallout 76 following its recent updates.
Our partners across Asia and the rest of the world brought even more. We saw a world premiere for Gungrave Gore: Blood Heat, Square Enix surprise-released RPG Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven for Xbox, and Capcom showed off more of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection – along with the news that the first two games in the series are on their way to Xbox. IO Interactive brought star power, with the reveal of a lead character in 007 First Light, as well as a Bruce Lee-themed mission in Hitman: World of Assassination. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, with 25 different games included in the show.
Several games featured in the broadcast will be available for Game Pass subscribers, including Terminull Brigade, Winter Burrow, and show-closer Forza Horizon 6. Game Pass continues to deliver unmatched quality, with many new releases making up Metacritic’s best reviewed games of 2025 so far, including three of the current top five: Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Hollow Knight: Silksong. And the momentum isn’t slowing down. Still to come to Game Pass subscribers this year, in order of release: Keeper, Ninja Gaiden 4, The Outer Worlds 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and much more.
And the majority of titles in the show also have Xbox Play Anywhere support, empowering people to play the games they want, wherever they are, and with whatever device they’re using. That includes on-the-go, with the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds arriving on October 16 – and playable on the showfloor at Tokyo Game Show.
But you want to know everything, right? Read on to learn about everything announced:
Age of Mythology: Heavenly Spear Offers a New Look Ahead of Launch Next Week
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere – also available on Steam, PlayStation 5
Age of Mythology: Retold’s next expansion, Heavenly Spear takes players to Japan, where they’ll encounter new gods, new monsters, new powers, a new story, and more. The brand-new 12 mission campaign focuses on Yasuko, a farmer’s daughter who takes on a new destiny when she discovers a magical spear. As war looms and chaos spreads across the land, Yasuko must uncover the relic’s secrets and prevent it from falling into the hands of Kagemasa, a ruthless warlord who seeks to imprison the sun goddess Amaterasu and claim godhood for himself.
Heavenly Spear launches on September 30, with preorders open now on most platforms. Those who purchase the Age of Mythology: Retold – Premium Editionwill receive Heavenly Spear upon launch.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Introduces Japan-Set Multiplayer Maps
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere, or play it day one on Game Pass – also available on Battle.net, Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4
The teams from Treyarch and Beenox made an appearance to offer a first look at a few Multiplayer maps set in Japan, coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
Toshin offers a look at 2035 Tokyo, combining well-defined lanes and some really fun set pieces – including a cat cafe, a karaoke bar, and a crashed train. Den offers a different vibe – set in the countryside outside Tokyo, this map centers around a Japanese castle that’s been repurposed as a Guild base.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches on November 14, with the Early Access Beta beginning on October 2, and the Open Beta from October 5.
Fallout 76 Developers Thank the Japanese Community
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Game Pass – also available on Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4
It’s been a busy year in Appalachia. This year, Fallout 76 has seen the release of The Ghoul Within (which allowed players to play as Ghouls for the first time), Gone Fission (which introduced brand new fishing mechanics and quests), and, most recently, C.A.M.P. Revamp, which added newfound flexibility to building tools in the game.
Fallout 76‘s developers made an appearance in the show to thank Japanese players for embracing each new update, and even showed off some of the most impressive Japanese-made C.A.M.P.s created so far.
Forza Horizon 6 Will Take Us to Japan in 2026
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere, or play it day one with Game Pass – also available on Steam. Coming to PlayStation 5 post-launch
Forza Horizon 6 closed the show by announcing that the beloved open world racing series will return in 2026, this time taking players to the breathtaking landscapes of Japan. A teaser trailer gave us callbacks to each of the previous games, before giving us a taste of the gorgeous new world we’ll be exploring – with Mount Fuji dominating a landscape that includes serene waters and urban environments, as cherry blossoms flutter on the breeze.
Forza Horizon 6 will arrive in 2026, and you can learn more right now on Xbox Wire – we interviewed the developers to answer some of the biggest questions about moving the series to Japan. Wishlist now on Xbox and Steam.
Microsoft Flight Simulator: Japan World Update and New Local Legend Revealed
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere, Game Pass – also available on Steam
Microsoft Flight Simulator’s World Update 20: Japan is massive! This latest free update adds 23 new photogrammetry areas to the simulator, covering over 20,000 square kilometres.
The regions included add major Japanese cities like Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo, as well as five new highly-detailed, handcrafted airports, and 67 new points of interest, including Osaka Castle, one of the most important historical locations in Japan, Fukuoka Tower, the tallest seaside tower in Japan, and more.
In addition to World Update 20: Japan, we also saw a new Local Legend, the famous Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC) YS-11.
World Update 20: Japan is a free content update for all Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 simmers and the NAMC YS-11 is available now in the in-sim marketplace for $19.99. The sky is calling!
Ninja Gaiden 4 Challenges You to Become a Master Ninja
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere, or play it day one with Game Pass – also available on Steam, PlayStation 5
Team Ninja and PlatinumGames unveiled a first look at the difficulty design in Ninja Gaiden 4, showcasing dynamic enemy placement and aggressive AI that scale with difficulty levels. The game stays true to its punishing roots, while introducing a new hero mode and adjustable assists that can ease newcomers into its signature high-speed combat. A stand-alone training mode – a first in the series – lets players sharpen their skills before diving into battle. You can read more on Xbox Wire now.
Also revealed ahead of the show were two sword-inspired creations. First, Ryu Hayabusa’s Dragon Sword and new protagonist Yakumo’s Takeminakata were forged and brought to life by master swordsmith Yuya Nakanishi. Then, the exciting new Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox Design Lab standard and Elite Series 2 controllers were made available for purchase. Ninja Gaiden 4 launches October 21. Preorder now to unlock the Dark Dragon Descendant Yakumo Skin at launch, and grab the Deluxe Edition for bonus cosmetics, in-game items, and access to future gameplay content: The Two Masters.
007 First Light: Gemma Chan Joins the Ensemble Cast
Xbox Series X|S – see developer website for other platforms
British actress Gemma Chan (‘Eternals’, ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, ‘The Creator’) makes her video game debut as Selina Tan, MI6’s Head of Tactical Simulation, in 007 First Light. Selina Tan is a senior MI6 official who leads Tactical Simulations, a program to train elite recruits. Formerly a psychology and strategy academic turned immersive tech expert, she now applies scientific precision and strategic insight to British Intelligence.
In 007 First Light, play as James Bond, a young, resourceful, and sometimes reckless recruit in MI6’s training program, and discover a new standalone, re-imagined origin story of the world’s most famous spy. Find out more on Xbox Wire.
Aniimo: Meet Even More Creatures
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere – see developer website for other platforms
Highly-anticipated creature-catching ARPG Aniimo introduced a number of the fascinating creatures who inhabit the world of Idyll. The TGS trailer gave players a first look at how a number of Aniimo interact with each other and their environment to create totally unique opportunities for discovery and gameplay! Get more details on the new creatures on Xbox Wire.
Double Dragon Revive Offers a Deeper Look Into ‘Extra Mode’
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One – see developer website for other platforms
New details are here for Double Dragon Revive! Beyond the main Story Mode, today we showcased the challenging Extra Mode. This mode will test your skills with over 50 missions. Clear them to unlock character-specific episodes, offering new story perspectives. Join forces with a friend in two-player co-op, online or locally! Double Dragon Revive launches October 23, 2025. Pre-order today!
Dragon Quest I & II 2D-HD Remake: A Brand-new Area, Ocean Floor Revealed
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Play Anywhere – see developer website for other platforms
Dragon Quest I & II HD Remake isn’t just offering a new way to play these timeless RPGs – it’s also opening up an entirely new area to explore. Producer Hayasaka Masaaki guided viewers through Ocean Floor, showing the player’s party meeting a mermaid, and being invited to save the area. You’ll explore the desecrated underwater town of Mersea, battle a multitude of monsters, and solve the mystery of what’s befallen this hidden region. Dragon Quest I & II HD Remake arrives on October 30, 2025.
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake – A Beautiful Revival of the Classic Horror Experience
Xbox Series X|S – see developer website for other platforms
Koei Tecmo’s classic is reborn, more beautiful and horrifying than ever in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake!
Fatal Frame Series Director Makoto Shibata, talked about the remake’s improvements over the original, including graphical and audio enhancements to help turn up the fright, while bringing the Japanese horror classic to a whole new audience. He also touched on how the Camera Obscura has evolved, and new action additions to help players battle the evil spirits haunting a village of never-ending night. Coming early 2026, wishlist now!
Gungrave Gore Blood Heat Revealed
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere – see developer website for other platforms
Fans got their first look at Gungrave Gore Blood Heat – this world premiere showed off the cult classic action game, rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5, showcasing explosive new action. The demo highlighted Grave’s iconic dual-gun shootouts enhanced with brutal close-quarters combat and a revamped stylish action system. Players also witnessed newly designed enemy characters and explosive interactions that elevate the battlefield intensity. Find out more about the project on Xbox Wire.
Hitman: World of Assassination – Martial Arts Legend Bruce Lee Joins Agent 47 in a New Mission
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud – see developer website for other platforms
Set in the dazzling arena of an international martial arts tournament at the Himmapan Hotel in Bangkok, this mission introduces a high-stakes twist: Agent 47 must protect the undercover Agent Lee, who has infiltrated the tournament that doubles as a recruitment tool and cover for leadership meetings of Concord Union.
Lee must not only win but also earn the final prize: a duel with the Union’s elusive leader – The Dragon Head. Play for free from September 25 to November 20. Find out more on Xbox Wire.
Hotel Barcelona Reveals Multiplayer Modes Ahead of Release Tomorrow
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere – see developer website for other platforms
The legendary creators of Hotel Barcelona, Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro and Goichi “Suda51” Suda, made an appearance to unveil the game’s multiplayer options – and it’s more than just a bolt-on, crowdpleaser mode. The game will offer up to three-player co-op, introducing new layers of complexity and strategy. There will also be a PvP invasion system: invaders step into someone else’s run and become adversarial doppelgängers, locked in mortal combat until one player falls – with rewards given to the victor.
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere – see developer website for other platforms
Mistfall Hunter premiered an exclusive developer update introducing Solemn Needles, the game’s second map, confirmed for launch. Set within a bleached and sacred forest, Solemn Needles highlights the Divine Anchor – a relic whose lingering power draws enemies – alongside Hastine’s Fall, where the corpse of a giant still radiates divine strength, and the shadowed Witchery Woods, dense with secrets.
The video underscored that the hunt is far from over—sharpen your blades, ready your gear, and prepare to step back into the Gyldenmist soon.
Monster Hunter Stories – The Whole Series, Coming to Xbox
Monster Hunter Stories 3 available on Xbox Series X|S, Monster Hunter Stories 1 and 2 available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One – see developer website for other platforms
Monster Hunter Stories is a turn-based RPG series where you hatch, raise, and train Monsters.
The latest entry in the series, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, will be available on March 13, 2026. In a surprise announcement, we also say the announcement that the first entry, Monster Hunter Stories, and its sequel, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, will both be available on Xbox from November 14, 2025. Pre-order begins today with a limited-time discount!
Project Evilbane Shows Off Its 4-Player Action-RPG Combat
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere – see developer website for other platforms
Project Evilbane has unveiled its second trailer! After fierce battles and hard-won victories, the heroes now face the ultimate enemy with the power to destroy the world. The trailer hints at relentless combat and new challenges ahead, promising epic moments and strategic action.
Players can already experience the game through a pre-alpha test available via the Xbox Insider Program. Project Evilbane is a dynamic 4-player co-op action RPG where teamwork, skill customization, and intense boss battles will shape the fate of a shattered world. The fight for humanity has just begun!
Rhythm Doctor On Call From December 6
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Play Anywhere – see developer website for other platforms
Thanks to its robust toolset and 7th Beat’s unique gameplay design ethos, Rhythm Doctor is one of the only games in existence able to act as a video editor for its own trailer. Everything in the spot is a single shot without any cuts or splices; all the effects, layered shots, and jumps between different songs are achieved in-game, set to a mashup of songs that represent less than half of the game’s total tracklist. And you’ll be able to play Rhythm Doctor on December 6.
Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven – Out Now for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Play Anywhere – see developer website for other platforms
The Seven Heroes of legend are back seeking revenge, this time on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC! Signature Saga franchise systems like Glimmers and Formations were shown in action as well as Surprise Attack and United Attack – new additions for this remake. Experience the key freeform scenario system, where your choices and actions change the way the story unfolds. Inherit stats and abilities from previous Emperors, continue to grow stronger, and put an end to the Seven Heroes once and for all.
Starsand Island Gets a First-Ever CG Trailer
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Play Anywhere – see developer website for other platforms
Starsand Island unveiled its first-ever CG trailer, highlighting the game’s cozy, heartwarming island setting and key features like open-ended farming and creative DIY building. The footage also ended with a subtle tease of multiplayer elements, sparking excitement for future cooperative experiences.
Sudden Strike 5: Coming 2026
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC – see developer website for other platforms
In this Xbox-exclusive trailer, witness the return of strategic WWII combat in Sudden Strike 5! Harness the tactical brilliance of authentic Generals from each faction, combining their strengths with your own in an enhanced Doctrine System. Tackle difficult secondary objectives to secure the advantage, or charge straight towards your primary target with overwhelming force, secure your position and prepare to advance in Sudden Strike 5, coming 2026!
Terminull Brigade Brings the Nullverse to Xbox with Neon Genesis Evangelion Crossover
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Xbox Play Anywhere, or play it day one with Game Pass – see developer website for other platforms
Terminull Brigade invited fans back to the Nullverse with a CG trailer featuring the Rogueteers defending their digital realm. The showcase teased a Neon Genesis Evangelion collaboration, giving fans a glimpse of the crossover content. The trailer concluded with the announcement of Terminull Brigade launching for consoles and Xbox on PC, expanding the game to new platforms. Find out more about this unique game on Xbox Wire.
Winter Burrow, A Cozy Woodland Survival Game, Debuts Release Date Trailer
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, Xbox Play Anywhere, or play it day one with Game Pass – see developer website for other platforms
Winter Burrow’s new trailer tells the story of a young city mouse returning to the harsh winter wilderness. Narrated by a wise, unseen elder mouse through a whimsical nursery rhyme, we see the mouse face hunger, cold, and other perils. Each verse of the rhyme offers guidance, from cooking stews to knitting sweaters and braving the forest.
Along the way, new friends lend their support as the mouse learns to survive. The trailer ends with the burrow transformed into a safe haven, a refuge against the cold, and with the reveal of the release date: November 12, 2025.
Curious to see if those Forza Horizon 6 rumors are true? You may not have long to wait. Xbox’s presentation at the Tokyo Game Show 2025 is fast approaching. You can watch the event live right here on September 25 at 6AM ET.
Forza Horizon 6 is rumored to have a Japan setting, making this week’s event a logical venue for its announcement. That’s not the only thing to go on. Windows Centralreported last month that it had seen official documentation suggesting the game would be announced at the Tokyo Game Show. An Xbox executive producer even posted earlier this month that it would be an event “you don’t want to miss.” (Am I sadistic for hoping he was hyping up something like a new Xbox dashboard feature?)
The Xbox brand could use some positive mojo. Last week, Microsoft announced that it would raise console prices for the second time in less than five months. The increase, which begins on October 3, was “due to changes in the macroeconomic environment.” (That sounds like a copywriter’s answer to “How do you say ‘tariffs’ without actually saying ‘tariffs?’”) It’s all the more reason the company would love to shift your focus to something fun.
You can stream Microsoft’s event below on September 25 at 6AM ET.
When we set out to launch Ninja Gaiden 4, we asked ourselves: what if the blades of legend weren’t confined to the game? What if Ryu Hayabusa’s iconic Dragon Sword and new protagonist Yakumo’s Takeminakata — weapons rooted in centuries of lore — could be forged in the real world? That question brought us to Kyoto, Japan, where ancient swordsmithing traditions met the next chapter of Ninja Gaiden.
In association with master swordsmith Yuya Nakanishi and the Masahiro Tantoujou Sword Forge, we set out to create real-life versions of the Dragon Sword and the Takeminakata. These aren’t just props — they’re living, breathing testaments to craft, power, and story.
The Stories of the Swords
The Dragon Sword has always been more than steel. In-game, it’s the ancestral blade passed down through the Dragon Lineage for generations.,
Combined with the Eye of the Dragon, a sacred jewel granted to Ryu by his childhood friend Kureha, the blade now displays its full power, transforming into the “True Dragon Sword.” With this legendary blade in hand, Ryu has purged the encroaching forces of evil and saved the world time and time again.
Yakumo’s Takeminakata has also been passed down through generations of the Raven Clan, who have actively collected cursed blades to utilize with Bloodbind Ninjutsu. Yakumo uses Bloodbind Ninjutsu to share the life force of blood with Takeminakata and the accursed armaments to maximize their destructive potential.
The Creation Process
Creating these blades in real life took months. Hundreds of hours. And no compromises. Each artisan at Masahiro Tantoujou Sword Forge approached their part of the process with the same dedication Ryu and Yakumo bring to battle — patience, discipline, and unwavering focus.
The result? Two swords that don’t just mirror their in-game counterparts — they embody them. When you see the Dragon Sword’s gleam or the Takeminakata’s raven feather-imbued blade, you’re not just looking at steel. You’re looking at the legacy of the Dragon Clan and the Raven clan, and the Master Ninjas that define Ninja Gaiden 4.
This collaboration is more than a celebration of a game. It’s where story meets steel, and where fantasy becomes something you can hold in your hands. Because in Ninja Gaiden 4, legends aren’t imagined — they’re forged.
NINJA GAIDEN 4 Preorder Deluxe Edition
Xbox Game Studios
☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
$89.99
Pre-order now to receive the Dark Dragon Descendant Yakumo Skin at launch
Experience a return to the intense, high-octane action of NINJA GAIDEN with the Deluxe Edition! The Deluxe Edition includes:
• NINJA GAIDEN 4 base game
• Future Gameplay Content “The Two Masters”*
• Traditional Dark Blue and Legendary Black Falcon Ryu Skins
• Blade of the Archfiend Ryu Weapon Skin
• Divine Chimera and Raven Master Yakumo Skins
• Divine Chimera Yakumo Weapon Set
• 50,000 Bonus NinjaCoin
• Additional In-Game Items such as Life Elixirs, Incense of Rebirth, Kongou Iron Brew, and more!
The definitive ninja hack & slash franchise returns with NINJA GAIDEN 4! Embark on a cutting-edge adventure where legacy meets innovation in this high-octane blend of style and no-holds-barred combat.
RETURN OF THE LEGEND
Experience a return to the intense, high-speed combat that established NINJA GAIDEN as a premier action game series. Prepare for a legacy reborn with captivating style for a new generation of players.
EPIC HACK AND SLASH COMBAT, EVOLVED
NINJA GAIDEN 4 fuses Team NINJA’s tempered combat philosophy with the stylish, dynamic action gameplay of PlatinumGames. Engage in visually stunning combat that rewards precision and strategy. Use Bloodbind Ninjutsu to transform your weapons and unleash devastation upon your enemies, alongside legacy techniques like the Izuna Drop and Flying Swallow. The legendary Ryu Hayabusa also returns with a revamped yet familiar set of tools to master. With a customizable player experience, NINJA GAIDEN 4 will push action game veterans to their limits while allowing newcomers to enjoy a heart-pounding adventure full of twists and turns.
AN ANCIENT ENEMY RETURNS
An endless rain of miasma hangs over a near-future Tokyo in the wake of an ancient enemy’s resurrection. The fate of the city lies in the hands of young ninja prodigy, Yakumo. Fighting his way through cybernetic ninja soldiers and otherworldly creatures, Yakumo must reconcile a destiny he shares with the legendary Ryu Hayabusa himself and free Tokyo from the ancient curse that brought the city to its knees.
*For release date when announced, see https://www.xbox.com/games/ninja-gaiden-4.
NINJA GAIDEN 4 Preorder Standard Edition
Xbox Game Studios
☆☆☆☆☆ 4
★★★★★
$69.99
Pre-order now to receive the Dark Dragon Descendant Yakumo Skin at launch
The definitive ninja hack & slash franchise returns with NINJA GAIDEN 4! Embark on a cutting-edge adventure where legacy meets innovation in this high-octane blend of style and no-holds-barred combat.
Return of the Legend
Experience a return to the intense, high-speed combat that established NINJA GAIDEN as a premier action game series. Prepare for a legacy reborn with captivating style for a new generation of players.
Epic Hack and Slash Combat, Evolved
NINJA GAIDEN 4 fuses Team NINJA’s tempered combat philosophy with the stylish, dynamic action gameplay of PlatinumGames. Engage in visually stunning combat that rewards precision and strategy. Use Bloodbind Ninjutsu to transform your weapons and unleash devastation upon your enemies, alongside legacy techniques like the Izuna Drop and Flying Swallow. The legendary Ryu Hayabusa also returns with a revamped yet familiar set of tools to master. With a customizable player experience, NINJA GAIDEN 4 will push action game veterans to their limits while allowing newcomers to enjoy a heart-pounding adventure full of twists and turns.
An Ancient Enemy Returns
An endless rain of miasma hangs over a near-future Tokyo in the wake of an ancient enemy’s resurrection. The fate of the city lies in the hands of young ninja prodigy, Yakumo. Fighting his way through cybernetic ninja soldiers and otherworldly creatures, Yakumo must reconcile a destiny he shares with the legendary Ryu Hayabusa himself and free Tokyo from the ancient curse that brought the city to its knees.
Microsoft is raising prices on Xbox consoles… again. The previous price hike shifted expectations for both the Xbox Series S and Series X. The new pricing structure demands so much money from consumer wallets it seems nobody in their right mind would buy an Xbox in this day and age.
The new pricing structure begins Oct. 3. In a post to its support page, Microsoft blamed today’s “macroeconomic environment,” which is a longer way to say “Trump tariffs.” All consoles are demanding at least $50 more. According to the new console pricing sheet, a Series S with 512GB of storage will retail for $400, up from $350. Meanwhile, a new Xbox Series X digital edition will cost $600, up from $550. If you want the disc drive model, you’ll need to spend $650, up from $600. An Xbox Series X Galaxy Black Edition with that larger 2TB SSD will ask for $800, up from $730.
This is the second time Xbox has instituted price hikes this year. Sony also increased the price for its PlayStation 5 consoles in August. The PlayStation 5 now costs $500 for the digital edition. A PlayStation 5 Pro without a disc drive demands $750. The pain to gamers’ wallets is unending. Nintendo also increased the price of all its original Switch consoles plus its Switch 2 controllers and accessories, but not the Switch 2 console itself. Not yet, at least.
At least, we don’t have to pay more for peripherals. In its May price hike, Microsoft also pushed the price of its baseline Xbox controller to $65. The Xbox Elite Series 2 controller price increased by $5 to $150, and the Xbox Wireless Headset jumped $10 to $120. The company also declared it would start pricing games at $80 a pop. However, the company backtracked on its first attempt at this new pricing scheme with the release of Outer Worlds 2. Microsoft now says that game will cost $70 at launch. This led to speculation that Xbox was disappointed by the number of Outer Worlds 2 preorders with the announced price bump.
Who will buy an Xbox now?
There is no silver lining here. Increasing prices will inexorably damage Xbox, especially when gamers’ wallets are already being stretched. Analyst firm Ampere told The Game Business this week that fewer younger people are buying hardware, and a big reason for that is likely increasing console prices. While consoles are still making money for both Sony and Microsoft, the total number of Xboxes and PS5s sold is far less than the previous console generation. Video game industry analyst Mat Piscatella reported that the total video game hardware unit sales have trended down from 2023 to their lowest point since the start of the covid pandemic.
Xbox isn’t the only tech brand that’s raised prices twice this year due to tariffs. Camera maker Fujifilm jacked up costs of its popular cameras twice in the same month back in August. It will only get worse for Microsoft’s gaming arm. Xbox has shifted away from gaming hardware toward its flagging Game Pass subscription model. While the company promised it has a new Xbox console in the works, that more powerful gaming machine may not be here for another year, at least. Microsoft’s gaming division is relying on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally handheld PC to get it through to the end of the year, but Asus and Microsoft have refused to tell us how much it will cost. With this latest price hike, it does not bode well for Microsoft’s hardware ambitions.
There is so little reason to buy an Xbox nowadays. Most of the once-exclusive games on the system are coming to other consoles and PC anyway. At launch, the Xbox Series X was a stellar console at $500. This is the first console generation in recent memory where device prices haven’t depreciated over time. If you’re already afraid you won’t be able to afford groceries anymore, an ever-inflated 5-year-old game console will be the last thing on your mind.
The EA Sports FC 26 10-hour EA Play trial is available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Xbox on PC via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Play your way with an overhauled gameplay experience powered by community feedback.
Score a Welcome Pack through October 30 and in-game rewards, such as Ultimate Team Draft Tokens and Clubs rewards.
Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members can live the most true-to-football experience ever for up to 10 hours in EA Sports FC 26. If they decide to buy, their progress carries over to the full game, so they can pick up the season right where they left off.
Members can save 10% on the full game, FC Points, and other EA digital purchases. Plus, grab a Welcome Pack in addition to recurring rewards, like Ultimate Team Draft Tokens.
Feel the difference with a variety of game-wide changes to key fundamentals and much more in EA Sports FC 26.
Overhauled Gameplay
EA Sports FC 26 changes the game with two distinct gameplay presets. Competitive Gameplay is tailored for online head-to-head play in Football Ultimate Team and Clubs, introducing competitive positioning, fewer auto-tackles, increased passing speed, and more. Authentic Gameplay, however, delivers unrivaled authenticity in Career with more intelligent defenders, corner kicks tuned to match real-world success rates, a sense of real-world excitement during goalmouth scrambles, and more.
Football Ultimate Team
Put your dream squad to the test with Tournaments and Live Events, as well as a refreshed Rivals and Champs experience. Test your skills with up to 4 rounds of knockout football, or add variety with themed competitions and content all season long. New Bounties let you earn additional rewards or accelerate your weekly progress.
Manager Live
Manager Live is a new, always-online content delivery hub that adds a new dimension to Manager Career. Take on a variety of real-world and alternative scenarios throughout the new season, ranging from a few minutes of play to multiple seasons. Whether it’s managing your team after the latest high-profile transfer, starting the season strong with 5 straight wins, or writing your name into the history books by winning a treble, Live Challenges will test all aspects of your managerial prowess.
The EA Sports FC 26 10-hour EA Play trial is available Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Xbox on PC via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Conditions, limitations and exclusions apply. See EA Play Terms for details.
Gaming Copilot will begin rolling out to players aged 18 and older on PC Game Bar today and for the Xbox app on mobile in October, with regional support everywhere except mainland China.
Players trying Gaming Copilot for the first time are encouraged to try Voice Mode, get help with what’s happening on their screen, or ask for recommendations, their achievements or play history.
We’ll continue to explore and experiment with new features as we bring this AI-powered assistant to more players and continue to optimize it for handheld devices and Xbox consoles in the near future.
AI has the potential to unlock new and exciting possibilities in how we work, learn, and play. At Xbox, we’re focused on how our innovations in AI can enhance and create more personalized experiences for players, save them time, and ultimately let them focus more on playing the games they love.
Today marks a major step in our journey to bring these AI-powered experiences to players. We’re excited to announce that Gaming Copilot, your personal gaming sidekick – which provides recommendations, help, insights, and more – is officially coming to Windows PC and Xbox on mobile. Starting today, PC players will begin seeing Gaming Copilot integrated directly into their Game Bar experience as the feature rolls out gradually over the next few weeks. It will then come to the Xbox mobile app on Apple and Android next month, where players will be able to access this personalized companion via a second screen without distracting from their gameplay.
The Journey So Far
Since announcing Gaming Copilot earlier this year, we’ve been experimenting with how to make Copilot more useful – to be there when you need help, and out of the way when you don’t. With the support and feedback from players on mobile and members of our Xbox Insiders program, we’ve since introduced new features to Gaming Copilot such as deeper in-game assistance, improved Voice Mode, and a better understanding of what’s happening on your game screen.
During this preview phase, the number one way we saw players using Gaming Copilot was to improve their gameplay, answering their questions around quests, strategies, builds, and more so they can stay in the game. Now, any Xbox player on PC or with the Xbox app on mobile will be able to leverage Gaming Copilot’s capabilities while playing, with new features and improvements like deeper insights and coaching to come as we continue to gather feedback and learn from our community.
Tips for Getting Started
For players trying Gaming Copilot for the first time, here are a few tips and suggestions to get started:
Try Voice Mode for a more seamless gameplay experience: When actively playing games on Xbox, use Voice Mode on either PC or mobile to talk to Copilot directly, get help about the game you’re playing, and ask questions without breaking away from gameplay.
On PC, there are multiple ways to interact with Gaming Copilot in Voice Mode:
Push to Talk – when you’re mid-game and want to quickly ask Gaming Copilot for help then jump back into the game, try the new “Push to Talk” feature. To do this, go to the “Hardware and Hotkeys” settings page where you can set your own key bind shortcut to “Push to Talk”.
Mini Mode – for a long-running voice conversation, try pinning the Gaming Copilot widget. To do this, launch and pin the Gaming Copilot widget, click on “Talk” in the left navigation bar to start a conversation, and click the upward arrow on the bottom right to minimize the widget. Now you can continue the conversation once you return to your gameplay, all while taking up minimal space on your screen.
In the Xbox mobile app, simply navigate to the Gaming Copilot tab, push the “Microphone” icon to talk, and ask Copilot any question or prompt to begin a seamless conversation.
In Voice Mode, get help by asking Copilot about what’s happening on your screen: Gaming Copilot not only knows the game you’re playing but can also understand what you’re doing in the game in real-time.
Want to learn more about that new enemy you just encountered? Use Voice Mode to ask Copilot about what you’re seeing and any tips for taking it down.
Can’t remember anything about that NPC you’re currently speaking to? Use Voice Mode to ask Copilot for a summary of who they are, when you first encountered them, or for their backstory.
Want to learn more about that new enemy you just encountered? Use Voice Mode to ask Copilot about what you’re seeing and any tips for taking it down.
Ask for recommendations, or about achievements and play history: Gaming Copilot is also here to help with your gaming library, achievements, and play history! If you’re new to Xbox, tell Copilot about your favorite genres and let it recommend new games to play, or ask it for game recommendations based on your play history. Copilot also knows what achievements you’ve already unlocked, so you can also ask it for help hunting down the next achievement to unlock in your favorite game.
We’ll continue to explore and experiment with new features for Gaming Copilot as we bring this AI-powered assistant to more players and continue to optimize it for handheld devices, such as the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X launching on October 16, and Xbox consoles in the near future.
How to Start Using Gaming Copilot
Gaming Copilot will begin rolling out to players aged 18 and older on PC Game Bar today and for the Xbox app on mobile in October, with regional support everywhere except mainland China.
To use Gaming Copilot in Game Bar, make sure you have the Xbox PC app installed on your Windows device. Press Windows logo key + G to open Game Bar over your game, app, or desktop. Look for the Gaming Copilot icon in the Home Bar, open the widget, and log into your Xbox account for the full experience.
To use Gaming Copilot on mobile, download the latest version of the Xbox mobile app, navigate to the Copilot section, and simply have the app open on your device for real-time, distraction-free support while you play.
You can visit our support page for more information about Gaming Copilot.
Help Us Shape the Future of Gaming Copilot
Your feedback is critical as we continue to develop Gaming Copilot and make it even more helpful for players’ needs and preferences. Anyone is welcome to share feedback directly in the experience by selecting “Give feedback” or by simply marking incorrect responses from Copilot with a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”.
You can also provide direct feedback to Team Xbox by following the steps here under the “Report a problem online” section.
High On Life 2 is doing the things you’d expect this sequel to do – it’s bigger, more packed with jokes, even more experimental than the first game, and now has a skateboard you can use at any time (naturally). But it’s also doing something we didn’t expect: changing the first game’s structure fundamentally. High On Life 2 is taking cues from Metroidvania games, but using them to its own ends.
In an episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, Squanch Games’ COO & Executive Producer, Matty Studivan, and Creative & Art Director, Mikey Spano explained – among many other things – about how the team changed their thinking to offer a whole new hub-based design for the game.
“Our Design Director, Erich Meyr, and I early on decided we wanted to do something that had Metroidvania elements to it, but we also wanted to support telling really tight stories,” explained Spano. “So, this time around, we tried to keep all of the Metroidvania elements in the hubs.”
While the original High On Life was built around a single hub, Blim City, the sequel will take you to three different hubs, each with a lot more to them and, in classic Metroidvania style, offering more and more interactions the more you play and earn.
“It’s a big step up for us from the first game,” said Studivan. “If you played it and you know Blim City, it’s a really cool spot, but pretty small geographically.”
“We have three decent-sized hubs in [High On Life 2],” adds Spano, “and each one of those hubs has a lot of little side things you can do, NPCs you can find, tons of collectibles, tons of unlockable things. And obviously with the skateboard; there’s a lot of cool stuff related to the skateboard that you can do in the hubs.”
The change is effectively about letting Squanch have their cake and eat it – the new structure means that the team can pack in the stupendously weird moments that made High On Life beloved, without needing to derail the core story to get non-sequitur jokes in there. It’s an elegant mix:
“In terms of how it all flows together, you’ve got your home base that you’re always returning to,” explained Spano. “And in there, you’re talking to your crew about what you’re going to do next. And then, you’ll be dropped down into the hub. And then from there, you’re navigating to a target that you’re following. But once you get to a certain point, it triggers a more linear experience where we can tell the story in a tighter way. We still always have choices that you’re making and stuff like that.
“But in terms of finishing a level and then coming back with new power-ups, we try to keep all that in the hub so that we can tell a complete story without needing players to come back and hear the same things over and over again.”
The upshot is that Squanch can tell the story they want to, but give players the freedom to step away and explore just how odd the surrounding world is at their leisure. To help create all that side content, Squanch took a very fun approach:
“One of the ways we were able to do that is that we do game jams at the studio, because the entire team is so creative,” added Studivan. “And so, we had eight or nine teams [jam] for a week – and I think like seven of the game jams are in the hubs in this game.”
It should make exploring the hubs rewarding in itself – with entire other game types hidden away, every discovery can become something new. We’ll get more of what we learned to expect from the first game, too – High On Life included entire, real-life movies to watch, and that will return (with a movie theater to watch them in). We also know that Squanch has licensed full games (NES game Bible Adventures formed a pivotal part of the demo we recently played) that will appear along the way.
“We’re spending a lot more resources and time on [side content]. It really makes the world feel like you’re somewhere lived-in,” said Studivan.
The big changes to structure are also about catering to different kinds of players. Those who just want the story can jump from main mission to main mission without friction. Those who want to do everything can do so without having to repeat missions, and at their own pace. And there are also those who might waver between quick blasts and marathon sessions:
“So, with the missions, we try to keep them at a certain length so that if you’re like, ‘I’m going to go take down this bounty,’ you actually can finish it in a night and then get back to putting your kids to bed or whatever it is that you have to do,” said Spano. “And then for the gamers that want a more free-form experience, they know they can just hang out in the hub for a while and do whatever they want and take on missions whenever they want.”
For a game that presents itself as unabashedly dumb, there’s a core of smart, classic game design thinking sitting beneath all the madness. With that design in place, it allows Squanch to go as wild as they want with the ideas we, as players, will interact with.
Even in the earliest looks at the game, we’re seeing how far they can push this – one boss fight suddenly sees your enemy hack your game, sending you navigating your own menu screens to fight him off. And, best of all:
“That’s one of the more normal parts of the game,” Spano said. “This demo is early in the game. By Act Three it’s just so off the rails and insane. I think people are going to be really surprised.”
I’m very much looking forward to seeing how much weirder this can get – High on Life 2 arrives for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC on February 13, 2026, and will be available on day one with Game Pass Ultimate.
If you want to hear much, much more about the game, make sure to check out the full Official Xbox Podcast episode, which dives into how Squanch turned around a sequel so quickly, the difficult art of writing comedy for games, the benefits of switching to Unreal Engine 5 and… the wonder of Microsoft Excel.
High On Life 2
Squanch Games, Inc.
☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
You’ve done it. You’ve taken down an intergalactic cartel, brought humanity back from the brink of extinction, and hunted dangerous bounties to the far corners of the galaxy. Bounty hunting has brought you fortune, fame and love; but when a mysterious figure from your past reappears and puts a price on your sister’s head, your cushy life gets thrown into chaos.
Do you have what it takes to risk it all and bring down an intergalactic conspiracy that once again threatens your favorite species (humans)?
High On Life RETURNS as you and your beloved rag-tag team of alien misfits shoot, stab, and skate your way through gorgeous, dangerous worlds all across the galaxy to blow up the EVIL pharmaceutical conglomerate hell-bent on putting price tags on HUMAN LIFE!
Oliver Brandt is a Contributing Pop Culture Writer based in Tasmania, Australia. Their focus is reporting on video games, film, and TV. They have extensive knowledge of video game history and communities both in Australia and abroad, animated films and television shows, and international cinema. Oliver joined Newsweek in 2024 and has previously worked at Men’s Journal, Parade, and more. They are a graduate of Curtin University. You can get in touch with Oliver by emailing o.brandt@newsweek.com. You can find them on X and Bluesky @chocobalt. Languages: English.
While fans have been loving the sequel to the beloved metroidvania Hollow Knight, many have noted its intense difficulty, especially in the early game. In response to the early-game difficulty, developer Team Cherry has revealed that the game’s first patch is on the way, and it’s set to make the game easier for new players.
Protagonist Hornet faces off against multiple enemies in a promotional screenshot for Hollow Knight: Silksong. Protagonist Hornet faces off against multiple enemies in a promotional screenshot for Hollow Knight: Silksong. Team Cherry
The first post-release patch for Hollow Knight: Silksong is currently available on Steam in the public beta branch of the game, and is expected to roll out to other platforms mid next week. The update brings a host of bug fixes, including some soft locks in the early and late game, and Team Cherry says all fixes will apply retroactively, so if you’re stuck or something is broken, you can just wait for the update to fix it.
The more exciting part for some fans is the tweaks to difficulty in the early game. Among the fixes includes a reduction in difficulty for two early game bosses, Moorwing and Sister Splinter, as well as a reduction in damage from Sandcarvers. There’s also a reduction in the cost of a few mid-game benches, and an increase in rosary rewards from a couple of in-game activities.
Below are the full patch notes for Silksong’s first patch, courtesy of the Silksong Steam blog.
Hollow Knight: Silksong First Update Patch Notes
Fixed situation where players could remain cloakless after Slab escape sequence.
Fixed wish Infestation Operation often not being completable during the late game.
Fixed wish Beast in the Bells not being completable when Bell Beast is summoned at the Bilewater Bellway during the late game.
Fixed getting stuck floating after down-bouncing on certain projectiles.
Fixed courier deliveries sometimes being inaccessible in the late game.
Fixed craft bind behaving incorrectly when in memories.
Fixed Lace tool deflect soft-lock at start of battle in Deep Docks.
Fixed Silk Snippers in Chapel of the Reaper sometimes getting stuck out of bounds.
Fixed Claw Mirrors leaving Hornet inverted if taking damage during a specific moment while binding.
Fixed Snitch Pick not giving rosaries and shell shards as intended.
Removed float override input (down + jump, after player has Faydown Cloak).
Slight difficulty reduction in early game bosses Moorwing and Sister Splinter.
Reduction in damage from Sandcarvers.
Slight increase in pea pod collider scale.
Slight reduction in mid-game Bellway and Bell Bench prices.
Slight increase in rosary rewards from relics and psalm cylinders.
Increase in rosary rewards for courier deliveries.
Various additional fixes and tweaks.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.
We’re thrilled to announce the Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 Broadcast on Thursday, September 25 at 7pm JST (3am Pacific / 6am Eastern / 11am UK). This year’s show will feature titles from our creative teams, alongside exciting updates from our partners in Japan, across Asia and around the world.
We know players around the world delight in Japan-inspired content and games developed in Asia, and we can’t wait to connect with players across the globe to show off the incredible talent and creativity behind upcoming games coming to Xbox.
Once again, we’ve created a bespoke visual identity for Xbox at Tokyo Game Show. Using an urban neon aesthetic, the design puts the viewer in a street scene that is distinctly Tokyo, with various signs illuminating the way, all featuring gaming and Xbox iconography (with a touch of Japanese culture included as well).
Read on for all the details about Xbox at Tokyo Game Show 2025, including how and when to tune into our broadcast.
Get Hands-on with Xbox at Tokyo Game Show
Available to the public for the first time ever in Asia, Tokyo Game Show attendees at the Koei Tecmo booth can play Ninja Gaiden 4, a cutting-edge adventure where legacy meets innovation in a high-octane blend of style and no-holds-barred combat.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to get hands-on with the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, two new gaming handhelds developed from Xbox and ASUS, at the Republic of Gamers booth.
Bethesda will co-host a merchandise booth with Infolens Geek Shop. The store will feature official merchandise for Fallout,Starfield, Doom, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and include rare products never before released in Japan.
How Do I Watch the Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 Broadcast?
The Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 Broadcast will be streamed live on official Xbox and TGS channels. Here’s where you can watch live in your region:
What languages is the Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 Broadcast available in?
This year’s broadcast will be available on Tokyo Game Show’s official YouTube channel, as well as live on select Xbox social channels in Japanese, English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Arabic (MSA), French, German, Italian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, Mexican Spanish and Turkish.
Following the broadcast, we will add language support for Canadian French, Filipino, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Māori, Russian, Thai, Ukranian and Vietnamese. Please note that the audio of the show is primarily in Japanese, so you may need to turn on captions to see the translated show.
Is the show going to be Accessible to those with low/no hearing or low/no vision?
The show will also be broadcast with Japanese Sign Language (JSL), American Sign Language (ASL), and with audio descriptions in both Japanese and English.
I’m not going to be able to watch, where can I find out what was announced?
As soon as the show is over, the Xbox Wire team will be publishing a full show recap (with localized versions to follow in Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, and LATAM Spanish) and standalone articles about select games will go live during the show.
Co-streamer and content creator notes for the Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 Broadcast
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 post-show breakdowns of the Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 Broadcast in the form of Video on Demand (VOD) 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.
The question I’ve asked myself while waiting for my first taste of 007 First Light has been this: is this going to be a Bond game with Hitman-like levels, drawing on IO’s experience with lethal sandboxes? Or is this going to be a classic action-adventure game, mixing combat and platforming with wild set pieces? The answer, I’ve recently found out, is: both.
After a hands-off demo at gamescom, 007 First Light has shot up to the heights of my most anticipated games. Combining the thoughtful, self-directed stealth of IO’s recent triumphs with some incredible action scenes, this is a game that sees a studio recognizing its own strengths, and then stretching them so much further.
Doing the Fieldwork
Across around 40 minutes, I see sections of a lengthy, multi-stage mission from relatively early in the game. A young James Bond has been sent into the Carpathian Mountains – along with a squad of other budding spies – to attend the World Chess Championship, in the hope of discovering and detaining a rogue 009. Much to Bond’s chagrin, however, he’s been assigned only as the getaway driver.
In set-up, it’s pure Hitman – the lavish hotel you visit is packed with well-dressed, chattering NPCs, and your goal is tantalizingly vague, giving plenty of scope for you interpret the mission in your own way. But the presence of Bond lends it a different feeling – in a Hitman game, you’re empowered to go lethal as early as you’d like, its murkier worldview allowing you to act with impunity. Bond, however, has to abide (at least somewhat) by the rules.
In 007 First Light, your License to Kill is an actual game mechanic – you’re only allowed to employ lethal force if an enemy tries to take you down first. As a result, the opening parts of this mission force you to engage with the subtler elements of international espionage. After noticing some suspicious activity from a bellhop while waiting by the car (a gorgeous green Jaguar, naturally), Bond begins searching for a way into the hotel.
We see him try to talk his way in through the front door (with a dialogue choice-based conversation system), before attempting a stealthier route. First, he uses his Q-Lab branded watch (which is also your minimap) to identify opportunities, and spots a sprinkler system that can be used to distract a guard. Using stealth, he creeps into a staff-only area, waits for the guard to hit a less visible corner, and uses his phone to fire an incapacitating dart – I’m very excited to see how far the gadgets go here.
Collecting a dropped lighter, he then makes his way to a gardener’s wheelbarrow, and surreptitiously sets the leaf litter inside on fire, causing a larger distraction, before using a parkour system to scale the hotel and sneak in through a window. In a beautifully Bond-y touch, he startles some hotel staff as he climbs in, and casually explains that he’s testing the security while strolling by.
IO assures us that this is just a single way of many to gain entrance to the building and, based on their history with Hitman, that feels very clear – this is a huge playspace, and I can only imagine there are many other routes that could be taken to begin the mission proper. Speaking of the building, IO is employing all its Hitman tricks to make it feel like a real place here, too – every detail feels meticulously designed to both look good, while offering true opportunities for play. Once we reach the Chess Championship, it’s a true wow moment, with some incredible lighting playing over the frankly enormous crowd of NPCs watching on in a retooled ballroom.
But, as I’ve alluded to, this is only half of the experience.
Becoming a Blockbuster
The demo skips forward at this point to show us the other side of the First Light coin. When we rejoin Bond, 009 has been discovered but escapes in a car – which begins a series of wild set pieces.
Bond commandeers a guest’s vehicle (this time, a vintage Aston Martin), and we’re plunged into a car chase down the mountains. It’s pure Bond movie – the player is surrounded by gorgeous scenery, and forced into dangerous shortcuts by scripted moments of high action. At one point, Bond’s forced to ramp off of a car truck, and the camera offers a full, filmic moment of slow-mo to give you the full effect.
Reaching the end of the chase, 009 has decamped into a nearby airfield, rammed with henchmen, and so begins a true combat sequence. As a first goon raises their weapon, time slows down and “License to Kill” flashes up on screen, and all hell breaks loose.
First Light looks to be combining ranged and melee combat seamlessly, with a brutality clearly drawing on the Daniel Craig era of the films. This younger, more off-the-rails Bond picks up and swaps weapons with abandon – and when he runs out of ammo, he simply throws it at his nearest opponent, enters hand-to-hand mode, disarms them and, hey presto, a new gun to use.
There’s a real emphasis on movie-like fun over painstaking reality here. At one point, IO shows off a move where Bond charges into an armored enemy, tackles them off of a gantry, and rides their body to the ground, before charging back into the fray at ground level. Parked cars seem to explode incredibly easily after a few gunshots, transforming what could be tedious cover shooting into something more like a firework-filled shooting gallery.
Eventually, 009 gets onto a cargo plane, which begins taxiing up the runway – so Bond steals an airport stair car, drives it alongside the plane, then climbs up the stairs onto the wing. A short melee sequence on the back of a moving plane sees him chucking enemies into the wind, before he climbs inside just as it takes off.
At this point, I was sure we were going to see a “predator stealth” section, with Bond silently dispatching enemies across the plane. Instead, it was so much less predictable. Bond can hack the plane’s controls, and what we get is a sequence of combat where – at any time – the player can violently bank the plane left and right, sending everything (enemies, cargo, entire vehicles) lurching from side to side, clearing a path. It’s a set piece that promises so much – First Light won’t simply reuse a set of game mechanics that repeat from mission to mission, but seems to aim to give you a more movie-like sense of pacing, changing based on what’s most entertaining for a given moment.
To finish our demonstration, Bond realizes he won’t be able to catch 009 – instead turning his watch to tracker mode, attaching it to the hull, and jumping out of the plane. The only issue? He doesn’t have a parachute. Instead, we get a skydiving section where he catches up to bailed out enemies, fights them in mid-air, and uses their parachute to his own ends.
Taken altogether, it’s a ludicrously enjoyable sequence, one that shows IO understands its mission intimately. Yes, this is a studio with a background in a specific kind of game, but taking on the 007 license allows them to have their cake and eat it. The fact that First Light will include the kinds of open-ended sandbox spy missions we’d expect from this studio is deeply exciting – but that they’re so willing to stitch them together with movie-indebted action set pieces is the true mark that they’re going further with their ambitions than ever before.
Follow James Bond as a young, resourceful and sometimes reckless recruit in MI6’s training program, and discover an origin story of the world’s most famous spy.
After a heroic act, young Naval air crewman James Bond is offered to join the newly revived Double 0 program. But when a mission to stop a rogue agent ends in tragedy, he must join forces with his reluctant mentor Greenway to expose a deep conspiracy and stop a looming coup at the heart of the State.
BECOME 007
Discover a new standalone, re-imagined James Bond origin story, and the events that lead an audacious young hero to become the best MI6 agent.
A THRILLING ESPIONAGE ADVENTURE
Embark on missions in breathtaking locations, drive iconic vehicles, and dive into a cinematic adventure in pursuit of a rogue agent who’s always one step ahead.
SPYING, YOUR WAY
Go silent or go loud. Whether fighting with fists or firepower, using gadgets to infiltrate, or bluffing your way past guards, the approach is entirely up to you.
WELCOME TO MI6
Test your skills and replay your favorite missions with additional modifiers, for endless espionage fun!
