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As a solo developer and producer who has released several titles for all consoles before, Frightence holds a special affection for me because it is the first title that I did with a team, albeit a tiny team of three talented first-time developers who helped me shape the narrative aspects of Frightence . I’ve developed three horror titles before and realized that through the journey of pitfalls of indie-game development, balancing narrative and action is a real hurdle. As an indie developer, you not only try to overcome major obstacles like budget concerns but technical troubles as well. Luckily for us, developing for the Xbox consoles was very comforting process. The IDXbox team were gravely patient and helpful with us during the certification process of Frightence . Knowing our engine, which is Unreal Engine 4 to be exact, also helped us a lot to actualize our vision. Our vision for Frightence was simple : Make a short, yet intense and atmospheric horror experience. We wanted to...

Celebrate with us as we prepare to welcome you to the Season One update to Age of Empires IV : Festival of Ages! Coming soon, the first major update of 2022 brings Ranked Seasons, the Content Editor beta (and Mods!), Seasonal Events, Major Balance changes, as well as a ton of quality-of-life changes to Age of Empires IV! But don’t let us just tell you about it – check out the Season Update trailer below. Read on to see all the changes and new additions that are coming to Age of Empires IV , as well as where to check out specific deeper dives into the major features that will be released with the Season One update. Plus, join us on stream today, March 31, at 2:30 p.m. PDT at twitch.tv/ageofempires for a preview of what’s to come in our Season One update! Customize your battle with the Content Editor In the coming days, we’ll be diving deeper into the newest tool that will change how you do battle in Age of Empires IV – the Content Editor. The Age of Empires IV Content Editor ...

Play four days early, double daily rewards, and more with the Early Access Bundle . MLB The Show fans, we’re less than a week away from MLB The Show 22 ’s launch and MLB The Show’s return with Xbox Game Pass. This year, though, we’re trying something new — we’re offering a new bundle for Xbox Game Pass members who want to play during the Early Access period, previously only available to the MVP and Digital Deluxe Edition players: Introducing the MLB The Show 22 Xbox Game Pass Early Access Bundle ! Play Four Days Early with the Early Access Bundle The Early Access period is one of the most exciting parts of the MLB The Show season, as players explore the new game for the first time, try the new modes – like this year’s 2v2 and 3v3 cross-play enabled co-op – and begin their Diamond Dynasty teams. However, Xbox Game Pass members were left with a tough decision if they want to join the Early Access fun. With the Xbox Game Pass Early Access Bundle , for $49.99, Xbox Game Pass members...

Hello Bloodstained Fans! We are excited to announce that we have teamed up with our friends at Ubisoft to invite Aurora from Child of Light into the demon-filled world of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night ! We have been longtime fans of the acclaimed Child of Light platformer RPG and knew right away Aurora was going to be a playable guest character in Bloodstained . Eagle-eyed fans even noticed Aurora’s Theme was played at the end of the Bloodstained launch trailer in 2019. The time for her arrival is finally here! Lost in this strange new land, Aurora must battle the monsters of Gebel’s Castle alongside her friend, Igniculus. As she journeys into the gothic depths of the castle, Aurora will face off against classic Bloodstained adversaries, grow in power and acquire new attacks and abilities that will aid her journey. It is up to you to help her find the way home. Getting Started Playing as Aurora is easy. Make sure your game client has the latest update when it goes live to...

Summary New game mode, Season Challenge, allows for infinite difficulty runs and customizations. Official release of new fighter type Breaker Quake New boss monster, relics, and Season Pass After months of preseason testing and several monthly updates, the first season of Anvil: Vault Breakers is finally here. This is the update you’ve all been waiting for! We worked day and night to bring you the most exciting season and are thrilled to present our accomplishments. With new game mode, Breaker, relics, bosses, among others, this is an update you don’t want to miss! The update is free to all players who bought the game as Game Preview on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, or players who have access to it with Xbox Game Pass. Season Challenge mode The Season Challenge mode is the highlight of this update. This will be our core roguelike game mode that creates different challenges every season. Unlike previous game modes where each stage was determined randomly and the number of st...

Howdy, Xbox Game Pass members! We’re excited and anxious to have you play Weird West and hope you will like the many things the game has to offer. We’ve been working very hard on this baby, for many years, with a small team of passionate experts in the immersive sim genre. For Executive Producer Julien and I, our passion started with being fans of Ultima 7 and Ultima Underworld when we were kids; the immersive and simulation values we experienced back then as fascinated kids stayed with us to this day and forged our drive ever since. I created Arkane Studios in ‘99. Julien joined me shortly after and was a key member behind Arx Fatalis , Dark Messiah , all the way to Dishonored . Weird West is our first attempt at a top-down immersive sim. It’s a genre that hasn’t really been attempted too often since immersive sims are traditionally in first person, but we believe the values translate well to the top-down angle, and it brings that comfortable nostalgic Ultima vibe that ta...

Hello Xbox Wire readers! I’m Yared from Whitethorn Games, and I’d like to introduce to you our latest release, Princess Farmer, available today in the Xbox Store! Our wonderful friends at Samobee Games have crafted a cute and colorful combination of a visual novel and match-3 with a unique twist on its puzzle gameplay. The story begins with an unassuming, hard-working bunny tending to a farm. She’s a simple bun, wanting nothing more than to snack on a tasty carrot and relax after a long day’s work. Just as she’s about to wrap up for the day, she stumbles upon a lost tube of lipstick before heading home. That night, she vividly dreams of meeting a powerful bunny-goddess named Gaia, who tells her that the lipstick she found was actually a magical artifact. By finding it, she has now become the new Princess Farmer, inheriting the power to pull, replant, and match veggies-a power she must now use to save the world! The core puzzle gameplay involves plucking veggies (up to a stack of f...

Our goal with Xbox All Access is to bring players a complete next-gen upgrade — an Xbox Series X or Series S console, a library of over 100 high-quality games with day one releases, EA Play, online multiplayer, and more — all from $24.99 a month for 24 months and no upfront cost . We also made sure you weren’t paying extra because why would a complete next-gen upgrade cost more than buying everything separately? With a new Xbox console, 24 months of Game Pass Ultimate, and no upfront cost, we consider Xbox All Access to be gaming’s ultimate “triple threat.” It’s also catchy. That said, there’s still some confusion among players, many of whom are eager to upgrade to Xbox Series X or Series S, about what exactly Xbox All Access is. A new Xbox Game Pass membership tier? A console reservation system? Perhaps, something else we haven’t seen posted on social media yet? So, to answer any questions and explain what exactly makes Xbox All Access the best way to get into gaming with Xbox, we’v...

Get cooking this weekend in Free Play Days. Epic Chef is available this weekend for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to play from Thursday, March 31 at 12:01 a.m. PDT until Sunday, April 3 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. How to Start Playing Find and install the games here on Xbox.com . Clicking through will send you to the Microsoft Store, where you must be signed in to see the option to install with your Xbox Live Gold membership. To download on console, click on the Subscriptions tab in the Xbox Store and enter the Gold member area to locate the Free Play Days collection on your Xbox One. Game Details Epic Chef Standard Edition Epic Chef Every great dish has a story. Start your culinary adventures as Zest, a humble cook with big dreams. You’ll do everything from building a farm, to growing delectable ingredients, crafting machinery, and of course, creating the greatest dishes that the fantastic world of Ambrosia has ever tasted. Epic chef battles! Epic ing...

Summary Agent Intercept is an over-the-top arcade action game released today on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One A solid vision and laser-focused storyline bring out the best of the arcade action A fully voiced cast and original soundtrack heighten the spy-genre feel and keep you immersed in the gameplay Agent Intercept bursts onto Xbox at supersonic speeds today, so we wanted to share how we approached the narrative design of a game focused on arcade action and high stakes mayhem. There is a very exciting story at the heart of Agent Intercept , with twists and turns that should put a grin on the face of any spy genre fan. But narrative design is more than writing the plot, so let’s take a more in depth look at how we brought the action to life through storytelling. Vision — This One Goes to 11 Agent Intercept started as an action driving game inspired by Spy Hunter (one of the first video games I ever played!), but it needed to go beyond that to establish its identity. We ...

Summary Current and future University of Arizona and Arizona Online students can earn credit toward their college degrees by playing Age of Empires IV . We talked with those involved in the creation of this unique opportunity for Universe of Arizona students. Age of Empires IV is available to play today with PC Game Pass and for purchase on the Windows Store and Steam. Earning college credit for playing video games sounds like the stuff dreams are made of. Luckily for students attending the Universe of Arizona, this dream is turning into a reality thanks to a unique partnership between the university and Age of Empires IV . Starting this semester, current and future University of Arizona and Arizona Online students can earn credit toward their college degrees when they interact with special educational content while playing Age of Empires IV . To learn more about this partnership, we had a chance to talk with Associate Professor of Medieval History Paul Milliman, Executiv...