August 2020

The two best Xbox services combine into one in mid-September. Xbox Game Pass is the best value in gaming. Project xCloud is an ambitious cloud streaming service that's absolutely eating Google Stadia's lunch right now. Soon enough, they'll be walking hand-in-hand.

Microsoft has added some specificity to what it had already announced: The Xbox Game Pass library is being introduced to Project xCloud on September 15. Or, if you prefer to look at it from the other angle, Game Pass titles will be available for streaming on Android devices on September 15. It's a big merger regardless of which way it's framed.

However, it's not all tiers of Game Pass that get xCloud functionality. It requires an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription (which also includes access to Game Pass for PC) in order to unlock game streaming. Ultimate runs $15 per month after an initial $1-for-one-month promotion.

It's also worth noting that this doesn't seem to be a complete blending of Game Pass into xCloud. Microsoft mentions that more than 100 games will be included, but stops short of stating it's the whole library. There are likely licensing issues in place that prevent some Game Pass titles from being used on platforms other than Xbox One.

For what it's worth, Microsoft also has plans to bring Project xCloud to PC later this year, meaning you'll be able to stream Game Pass titles to your desktop or laptop. The complete full-circle Xbox ecosystem has nearly come to fruition.

We all know that a "'90s FPS 30 years later" isn't exactly a novel concept. And that's fine!

We have Ion Fury, Dusk, Immortal Redneck, Strafe, Prodeus, and countless others to keep us busy if we want to toil away our days reliving the glory days. Hellbound is another one to add to that pile, that does what it sets out to do and gets out, without leaving too fond of a lasting memory.

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Phobia Game Studio’s Carrion is a cool little game in which players terrorize scientists as a hideous tentacled monster. It used to have a Switch game icon that looked like a grotesque body opening. Now its icon looks like mutant lobsters at play. It’s a definite improvement.

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As announced in July, Microsoft’s Project xCloud game streaming service is becoming part of the $15-a-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription service on September 15, allowing users to stream more than 100 Xbox games to their Android phones and tablets. In a pair of posts on Xbox Wire, Microsoft details the games…

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A fresh helping of the bizarre Flash game turned internet meme Frog Fractions is now available - and fans of the series will be unsurprised to hear this latest chapter has been released in a unconventional way.

After a labyrinthine ARG and stealth release for Frog Fractions 2, this new instalment is at least a little easier to track down. Download the Frog Fractions: Game of the Decade Edition (it's free) from Steam and you'll see an option to install a £5.75 DLC for a cosmetic item - a hat.

Of course, this DLC is not just a hat. Three years on from Frog Fractions 2, this is an entirely new dollop of Frog Fractions big enough to be a Frog Fractions 3 - although series creator Jim Crawford has since argued this is more like a Frog Fractions 4. Because he would say that.

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Microsoft's xCloud game streaming service will be made available as part of the company's Game Pass Ultimate on 15th September.

Game Pass Ultimate is Microsoft's top-tier Game Pass offering, bundling together subscription access to a sizeable range of PC and console games, as well as Xbox Live Gold, special member discounts, and perks. Come 15th September, however, that will be expanded to include over 100 games that can be streamed via xCloud to Android phones and tablets.

Additionally, Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will have to access their Xbox friends list, achievements, controller settings, and saved progress once they've downloaded the official Xbox Game Pass app to their mobile devices.

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The patch also adds Deathmatch mode to the game

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Only Android phones supported at first

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Commitment meant following actor Justin H. Min into the bathroom

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New storylines, new bosses, new NPCs, New Game+, new areas and even a new dog you can pet are what await you today in Blasphemous, because the Stir Of Dawn DLC has arrived. The Game Kitchen’s excellent gothic metroidvania has absolutely tons of new stuff to get your hands on today, and it’s all part of a free update that’s available to download right now.

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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will support Project xCloud-powered Android gaming on September 15, 2020.

The post Xbox Game Pass Android Support Will Arrive on September 15, 2020 appeared first on Siliconera.

The Shantae art book announced at SDCC 2017 seems to finally have a release date.

The post Udon’s Shantae Art Book Seems Like Its Finally Almost Ret-2-Go appeared first on Siliconera.

Following the announcement of the integration of Project xCloud with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate landing on Android devices, Microsoft released a dedicated trailer. 

To be fully honest with you, for a moment I thought I was looking at a Switch ad, especially due to the shape of one of the licensed controllers (the rather handsome Razer Kishi), which from now on I’ll just call Switchbox. 

Partial jokes aside, we get to see plenty of Xbox games played on the go with a variety of controllers.

We also get a look at the requirements, which are pretty slim: basically just a monthly Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, an Android device, the mobile app, a compatible controller, and a high-speed wi-fi or LTE connection. 

You can check it out below and see if it makes you eager to play with the Switchbox. 

Mediatonic and Devolver Digital have released a new, hilarious trailer for Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout to celebrate the game’s launch on PC and PS4.

For those that have yet to experience the wackiness that is Fall Guys, it’s a 60-player Battle Royale experience that’s reminiscent of game shows like Takeshi’s Castle and Wipeout.

Each gameplay session is seperated by mini-games and after each mini-game, a percentage of those 60 players gets chopped down until one winner remains.

Check out the launch trailer below:

And here’s a short description of the game from the developers themselves:

“Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout flings hordes of contestants together online in a mad dash through round after round of escalating chaos until one victor remains! Battle bizarre obstacles, shove through unruly competitors, and overcome the unbending laws of physics as you stumble towards greatness. Leave your dignity at the door and prepare for hilarious failure in your quest to claim the crown!“

Microsoft has today announced that beginning next month, Sept. 15, all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will have access to Project xCloud’s library of 100 games, all available to stream to mobile devices.

As confirmed last month, this new free service requires no additional upgrade. Cloud gaming will launch initially in beta for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in 22 markets before scaling up to other regions.

Specifically, the list of regions includes Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 

xCloud’s streaming functionality includes access to all Xbox family features, including friends list, achievements, controller settings, and saved game progress. That means, for example, you can continue a campaign playthrough of Gears 5 on your Xbox One from your phone while traveling, so long as you have a stable internet connection.

If it hasn't become apparant by now, Ghost of Tsushima has been a huge success both critically and commercially for Sucker Punch and Sony. And while no such sequal has been announced by either party at this time, it's safe to assume we're witnessing the dawn of another first-party franchise for the house of Kratos, Aloy, and Ellie.

In that spirit, Matt Miller, Joe Juba, and I went over all the story beats and additions we'd love to see Sucker Punch make whenever the next game graces our PlayStations in our spoiler-filled discussion about Ghost of Tsushima 2.

If you enjoyed this video, be sure to check out the full episode of Spoiled where we breakdown the ending, our favorite characters, and more. Thanks for watching!

Just as career mode is the most popular mode in the EA Sports UFC franchise, created fighters are far and away the most popular characters in the game. That's been the talking point used by developer EA Vancouver as the team members discussed why they've scrapped modes like Ultimate Team and doubled down on innovating and evolving gameplay, career mode, and Create-a-Fighter. We caught up with EA Vancouver one last time ahead of launch to chat about what changes were made in the Create-a-Fighter space.

Ready to dress your little bean up like fast food and grab another player just as they try to complete a critical jump? It might be time for Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, which lands today on PlayStation 4 and PC (And it's free on PlayStation Plus!). The party game battle royale pits you against 59 other beans through a variety of challenges to cut the field down to one eventual winner.

You can party up with 3 friends and watch each other progress or fail through each event, and if you get selected for a team activity you will be matched up with your buddies that you queued up with to sling eggs, bounce balls, or steal tails. Each event eliminates  chunk of the field until the final batch of beans must compete in a winner-take-all activity, whether that's a race to the crown or a tiptoe atop a dwindling hex platform.

Just spoke to my friends in the server team and we have at least 120k people connected to the game right now

👀

We're currently BEEFING up our servers to cope with all of the BEANS who want to fall

There will be occasional interuptions for the next 30 mins

The latest financial report from Sony shows that sales of its flagship console, PlayStation 4, continue to slow down as 2020 progresses, as the world awaits the launch of PlayStation 5, scheduled for release in the holiday season.

Sony has shipped 1.9 million PS4 units since June 30, 2020, which is less than the 3.2 million shipped during the same period in 2019. While COVID-19 could be considered a factor in the drop in sales - having resulted in high street closure - this pattern actually began back in the holiday season of 2019, which saw a year-on-year drop of around two million units.

The slowing down of sales in the PS4's twilight years was an obvious inevitability, and it's highly doubtful that Sony sees this as a concern. After all, the PS4 has sold an incredible 112.3 million consoles to date, a total that surpasses the lifetime hardware sales of the original PlayStation and the Nintendo Wii. It does seem, however, that the PS4 is unlikely to catch up with the greatest selling console of all time, PlayStation 2, which still holds fort with an amazing 155 million units. It was a solid effort, though.

In terms of growth, PlayStation software is up by an amazing 41 million units compared to the same time period in 2019. Again, the global pandemic and lockdown legislation will have a hand to play in this. Also on the rise are PlayStation Plus subscribers, with 44.9 million players signed up to the digital service. All-in, PlayStation continues to be a solid, reliable, and powerful brand - a strong position to be in as the curtain rises on a brand new generation.

Yesterday, we learned what we all assumed: that DualShock 4 remotes were not compatible with PlayStation 5 games, which were "designed to take advantage of the [new] DualSense" remote.

This week, Microsoft came crashing in with the news that "yeah, everything will work across generations." Microsoft is pretty emphatic with this message, stating that "Xbox Series X is compatible with ALL Xbox One controllers across ALL games." That includes official Xbox One remotes, the Xbox Adaptive Controller, the Xbox Elite and the "designed for Xbox third-party Xbox One controllers and headsets."

Even better, Microsoft also states that the Xbox Series X controller will work on "all Xbox One consoles, windows PCs, Android and iOS and Project xCloud." This morning the publisher confirmed that Razer, PowerA and 8BitDo were all working on officially licensed controllers for mobile devices.

That's....all kind of insanely awesome? Along with the Game Pass initiative and SmartDelivery, Microsoft is doing a great job of uniting generations to the point where it is partly ubiquitous. While this could change down the line as the company focuses on the Series X, the entry point into the new generation is as painless as it has ever been.

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A Best Buy back-to-school sale on Intel laptops, an array of Samsung Galaxy Active smartwatches, a SteelSeries Arctis 1 gaming headset, a Dyson V6 Absolute cordless vacuum, a Ha

Welcome back to Gaming Shelf, io9's column all about board games and tabletop roleplaying games. Gen Con Online has come and gone, along with San Diego Comic-Con—but they weren’t the only sources of games announcements this time around. We’ve got a new card game about The Umbrella Academy, along with a tabletop…

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EA has launched a fresh bid to tackle toxicity in its FIFA games - and in doing so has pulled one its most annoying celebrations for FIFA 21.

EA Sports has confirmed it has pulled the Shush and A-OK celebrations from the game - and warned more changes are to come.

Celebrations are one of the chief ways of annoying your opponent in FIFA. Your opponent is forced to watch them - and they can be pretty grating after rage-inducing goals are scored. The Shush celebration in particular is infamous within the community, as it is done while the scoring player is running. Players sometimes use running celebrations to extend the celebration time as they jog up and down the pitch - a frustrating time-wasting tactic.

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EA Sports pushes its FIFA series as the most authentic football simulation available, but this year's dramatic changes to the beautiful game won't be reflected in FIFA 21.

The coronavirus has forced football to change fundamentally. Stadiums that were once packed with fans are now empty, save for staff, press and of course the players themselves. Those off the pitch must wear face masks, while the players are encouraged to celebrate goals and victories with clenched fists and elbow touches.

If you watch football now in the UK, you may hear a crowd, despite there not being one in the stadium. That's because broadcasters are incorporating fake crowd noises imported from EA Sports' FIFA. But you can turn this audio off, which means you get to hear the managers and staff shouting during the game - in an eerie echoey stadium.

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FIFA 21 has a lot of welcome changes when it comes to the actual gameplay, but after playing the game for a weekend, it's hard to call this year's entry a game changer.

Perhaps this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. FIFA 21 launches as the next generation of consoles arrives, and traditionally our industry's great transition has always been low-key for FIFA. As the developers at EA Sports manage launching their great cash cow on new platforms for the first time, big-ticket new features are hard to come by. Instead we have hardcore-pleasing tweaks and a handful of cool new on-the-pitch features. You tend to get the truly eyebrow raising stuff once FIFA is bedded in to new consoles, not as it takes its first steps onto their virtual pitches.

So, what we have with FIFA 21 is a game that certainly plays better than its predecessor, but there's no real wow factor. FIFA 21 plays like a game with all the right changes in all the right places, but it will do nothing to convince those who accuse the series of selling little more than roster updates dressed in full-price clothes each year.

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Fall Guys, the colourful battle royale version of It's a Knockout, has "skyrocketed past" the number of players developer Mediatonic expected to turn up on day one.

Looking like a cross between Minions and Fortnite, Fall Guys launched today on Steam and PlayStation 4, where it's available at no extra charge through PlayStation Plus.

Writing on Twitter, the official Fall Guys account recorded more than 120,000 people online at lunchtime today - and an hour later, that the developer would now need to switch off matchmaking for 30 minutes to "beef up servers".

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Aya Cash steps into the fray as Stormfront

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Creator says it might actually be Frog Fractions 4

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COD’s F2P battle royale is here to stay

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It’s a rotten day out, and amphibious as they may be, no frog should have to suffer a bare head in this weather. If you must play Frog Fractions: Game Of The Decade Edition, you owe it to poor Hop to pitch in for a swish beanie. See, Hop’s Iconic Cap isn’t just a sweet piece of froggy fashion – nestled in that hat is an entirely new, fourth(?) entry in the Frog Fractions extended universe.

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The Games And Online Harassment Hotline is a new service for anyone in the games industry to use if they want to talk to someone about abuse, burnout, depression, or other issues they might be facing. It’s free and anonymous, and it’s designed to encourage people to seek help when they need it. Headed by Feminist Frequency‘s Anita Sarkeesian, the idea for the hotline was born during the #MeToo movement the games industry experienced in August last year. The movement has continued in 2020, most prominently in accusations about Ubisoft’s company culture.

“When we started seeing this in August many of us were like, ‘okay, we’ve got to do something about it’,” Sarkeesian tells me.

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Season five of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone is out tomorrow, so here’s a release trailer to make your fingers itch. Imogen went over all of the operators and guns last week, but Warzone in particular is my jam so I’m focusing on that.

Yep, there’s a train coming to Verdansk, and I’m already making space on my hard-drive for this rolling stock of death. The trailer also gives us a look inside the stadium, and has the surprise inclusion of what appears to be a raven assassination.

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