As with the Xbox One version of Xbox Game Pass (the two are named the same, but will remain separate), all Microsoft exclusives will launch day and date into the program on their global release.
There will also be a library of 100+ games to dip into. (On Xbox One, this figure is now well over 200.) There’s no word yet on specific games, but Microsoft says it’s working with 75 PC developers and publishers, including the big names listed above.
Finally, Xbox Games Pass will offer the same sort of discounts on purchasing games and content, if you choose to do so via the Microsoft Store.
The article also mentions that 1st party PC titles will start being sold on other stores, starting with Steam. Happy news for those who have encountered issues with the MS Store.
It’s kind of a weird decision, but I would guess it’s because it’s got brand recognition as a good thing and because all MS gaming endeavour fall under the Xbox Games Studio umbrella.
I guess it will be easier to judge how confusing and annoying it will be once we know for sure what it means practically.
Regarding the games launching on Steam:
In March, we announced that Halo: The Master Chief Collection will come to PC later this year, launching on Steam in addition to the Microsoft Store on Windows. We will continue to add to the more than 20 Xbox Game Studios titles on Steam, starting with Gears 5 and all Age of Empires I, II & III: Definitive Editions . We know millions of PC gamers trust Steam as a great source to buy PC games and we’ve heard the feedback that PC gamers would like choice. We also know that there are other stores on PC, and we are working to enable more choice in which store you can find our Xbox Game Studios titles in the future.
We want to bring players together to create a shared player community regardless of where they play, so it’s our intent that new Xbox Game Studios titles include features such as voice and text chat, LFG, friends lists and cross-play across PC and console.
I can only assume that’s what they meant by named the same but remaining separate. Initial branding snark aside, this seemed like an obvious progression, and good on them for realizing the Microsoft Store (the app store, not the one that sells physical goods… christ Microsoft is bad at naming things) is a turd and being open to selling their games elsewhere.
[quote=“LockerK, post:10832, topic:72618, full:true”]
christ Microsoft is bad at naming things)[/quote]
Never forget!
I always remember what Jobs said the problem with Microsoft and other tech companies. They’re all a bunch of engineers, but they don’t hire any humanities majors.
I don’t see why it would be. Play Anywhere is a different beast. It works both for Game Pass games and for games you bought and lets you play on both platforms. I don’t see it tied to which Game Pass subscription you have.
While definitely understandable from a business perspective, my enthusiasm for having Game Pass on all platforms will be tempered a bit with the concept of parallel concurrent subscriptions. Game Pass has tremendous value (especially since several titles were on PC too) but not sure what my appetite is for paying a separate subscription for Xbox, PC, and Switch for example (not sure of the reality of the last one).
I realize that is a first world problem and most households will typically just have (or prioritize) one sub.
I suppose maintaining a couple different subscriptions would make sense if one were to use it to replace purchasing games though.
By the way, we have our June Games with Gold announcement as well:
I am pretty stoked to see EDF 2017 here, because I lost my physical copy years ago and the digital version has been stuck at $39.99 forever. Edit: well now I checked the store and it’s apparently $14.99, but still not as good as free!
Any word on the Rivals of Aether game? From the description it sounds like it might be up my alley (provided it isn’t a 2d side-scroller):
Rivals of Aether Summon the power of the four elements: Fire, Water, Air, and Earth to battle your opponents in Rivals of Aether . Unravel the mystery of the planet in Story mode, band with friends in Abyss mode or test your skills against other players online. Skills and tactics are key in this electrifying platform fighter.
I would describe more as a Super Smash Brothers like game (or like Brawlhalla). It isn’t a side-scroller. More of a multiplayer fighting game on platforms in a fixed screen.
It’s been a while since I played it but I remember the AI being quite brutal and difficult so there is a high skill ceiling if one enjoys that. I was actually surprised how deadly the AI was and my frantic button mashing was not effective.
I also could be thinking about Brawlout(?), not sure. I confuse all of the Smash clones that released recently.
No interest in a Super Smash Bros type game. I might not even add it to my library, that’s how little interest I have in that type of game. :P
The other three look great though. I played through Portal on the PC at least 3 times, but it’s been long enough that it could be cool to play it through on Xbox again. Plus I haven’t played an NHL game since 1991. I wonder if they’ve changed much.
I chose the “Keep your apps and games” option of resetting my Xbox like that page recommended. And it did it’s thing for about 20 minutes. Then I tried setting up OneGuide again, and this time it works flawlessly! Then I held my breath as I tried Plex, which didn’t work at all before the reset. And hey presto! It’s working fine now!
So I didn’t even have to reinstall anything, a factory reset while keeping all my games and apps worked. Thanks so much! I’d never heard of this option.
I’ve used the nuclear restore option to rehabilitate my son’s non-booting original XB1 over a year ago and it’s still going. Sometimes MS stuff needs a reboot. Or a reformatting & reinstall.
Apparently GameStop Ireland posted a listing to pre-order that Final Fantasy 7 remake for Xbox. We’d never heard anything specific beyond PS4, but that could be a big deal. Or just a mistake. I could have sworn Sony were funding part of this game’s development? Or maybe that was Shenmue 3 I was thinking of. I don’t know.
Phil Spencer confirmed 14 first-party games will be at the show - not 14 new reveals, but it sounds like 14 games overall. We obviously can probably guess at about half of them, but that still leaves several new reveals…
More news (not that anyone but me apparently cares, haha):
One of the people on the Xbox team tweeted tonight that they were relieved that NONE of the major (secret) E3 announcements have leaked yet, and that he couldn’t wait to see the reactions on peoples’ faces.
So apparently there’s several major things that straight-up haven’t leaked at all yet…
