Welcome to Next Week on XBOX! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to XBOX Series X|S, XBOX One, XBOX on PC, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Deluxe Edition

Ubisoft

☆☆☆☆☆ 397

★★★★★

$69.99

Pre-order

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced

Ubisoft

☆☆☆☆☆ 405

★★★★★

$59.99

Pre-order

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced – July 9
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S

Strike fear in your foes as you board and sink enemy vessels as Edward Kenway, captain of the Jackdaw. Whether blending into crowds or leading daring assaults, switch between silent takedowns and fierce brawls as you effortlessly wield swords, pistols, and the Hidden Blade. With a cast of historical pirate legends at your side, defy empires amidst the age-old conflict opposing Assassins and Templars.

EA SPORTS College Football 27 Deluxe Edition

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆ 308

★★★★★

$99.99 $89.99

Pre-order

EA SPORTS College Football 27

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆ 314

★★★★★

$69.99 $62.99

Pre-order

EA SPORTS College Football 27 – July 9
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S

In EA SPORTS College Football 27, step into the modern era of college football where personal ambition meets program pride. Engineer your team with Dynasty Blueprint, take on new positions with deeper customization in Road to Glory, and play as your favorite mascots in Mascot Mashup while immersed in the iconic traditions and pageantry of game day.

Players who purchase the Deluxe edition will get early access on July 6.

Winds of Arcana: Ruination

1312 Interactive

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Winds of Arcana: Ruination – July 6
Game Pass / Optimized for XBOX Series X|S / XBOX Play Anywhere

Discover the secrets of a sundered world as you help Aryn save his comrades in this story-rich, fully-voiced, 2.5D action-platformer. Fight terrible dangers and explore ancient mysteries as Aryn uncovers the forces that forge his destiny.

Palworld (Game Preview)

Pocketpair

☆☆☆☆☆ 13493

★★★★★

$29.99 $23.99

Get it now

PC Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass

Free Trial

Palworld 1.0  – July 10
Game Pass / Xbox Play Anywhere

In this game, you can peacefully live alongside mysterious creatures known as Pals or risk your life to drive off a ruthless poaching syndicate. Pals can be used to fight and breed, or they can be made to work on farms or factories. You can even sell them or eat them.Collect all kinds of exciting Pals to fight, farm, build, and work for you in this completely new multiplayer, open world survival and crafting game!

Wuthering Waves

KURO GAMES

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Wuthering Waves – July 10
Game Pass / Optimized for XBOX Series X|S / XBOX Play Anywhere

Wuthering Waves is a story-rich open-world action RPG with a high degree of freedom. You wake from your slumber as Rover, joined by a vibrant cast of Resonators on a journey to reclaim your lost memories and change the world. As Wuthering Waves echo endlessly, mankind set sail on a new journey. Rise and embark on your odyssey, Rover.

Echoes of Aincrad Ultimate Edition Pre-Order

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$109.99

Pre-order

Echoes of Aincrad Deluxe Edition Pre-Order

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$89.99

Pre-order

Echoes of Aincrad

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Echoes of Aincrad – July 9
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S

Step into the floating castle of Aincrad, a world of breathtaking beauty and danger where every battle could be your last. Enter a mysterious, vibrant world and shape your fate. Create your hero, choose your gear, and master combat through your special skills and reflexes. Build synergy with the partner of your choice, level up, and unlock powerful abilities as your horizon expands with every victory. Will you rise and claim your destiny or fall to foes stronger than you imagined?

Wall World 2

Alawar

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Wall World 2 – July 6
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S / Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

The world of the Wall awaits. Wall World 2 builds on the mining rogue-lite experience with expanded mechanics, new challenges, and deeper gameplay. Explore procedurally generated mines full of new discoveries and dangers. Extract valuable resources, harness lost technologies, and upgrade your robospider and exosuit to survive against hordes of raging monsters. Venture through incredible biomes and uncover the secrets entombed in the depths of the Wall.

One Button Games 5-in-1 vol. 7

Xitilon

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

One Button Games 5-in-1 vol. 7 – July 7
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S

UP SHOT: You constantly run to the right, and your goal is to avoid squares falling on you from above. Hold the button to shoot upward and destroy the squares, but you’ll remain stationary while shooting. SMILY ANGRY: You’re constantly running and can turn with the press of a button. Two faces shoot at you above you. V BOMB: You control a plane that constantly flies from side to side. Press the button to turn. PIN CLIMB: You score points by climbing pins. Hold the button to increase your reach. NUMBER LINE: There are two lines of moving numbers on the screen. Press the button to sum the numbers in both lines.

The Fissure

Eastasiasoft Limited

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

The Fissure – July 8
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S / Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

The Fissure is a mature and atmospheric visual novel adventure, a narrative mystery about memory and buried secrets. Guide Nahuel as he explores San Adraín, making key decisions for him along the way. Your choices will determine how the tale unfolds, leading to multiple possible endings and adding new scenes to your gallery. Consider the clues you gather to use in subsequent playthroughs in hopes of uncovering the truth of San Adraín and how Nahuel is connected to its many mysteries!

Frogging Up: Frog Climb Rage Game

Witenovastudio OÜ

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Frogging Up: Frog Climb Rage Game – July 8
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S / Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

Frogging Up is a punishing yet rewarding physics platformer about a small frog in a yellow raincoat who dreams of escaping his muddy village life. Guided only by determination (and a very questionable sense of balance), he begins an impossible climb through a surreal world of floating pipes, platforms, and mechanical ruins. Each jump is a step closer to the top and a better life.

Sokocat: Castaway

Rising Moon Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Sokocat: Castaway – July 8
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S / Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

Sokocat: Castaway is a cozy 3D puzzle adventure inspired by classic Sokoban, featuring an isometric camera and a strong focus on relaxing exploration, logical thinking, and discovery. After being shipwrecked on a vast and mysterious island, a brave little kitty begins a heartwarming journey across charming and varied environments. Explore each region, solve carefully crafted puzzles, and uncover hidden secrets at your own pace.

Book It! (Xbox Series)

Bad Minions, Little Giant

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Book It! – July 9
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S

Step into the role of a stylish librarian in a puzzle game inspired by classic box-pushing games. Your mission is simple: push and organize books into the correct places on the tables while solving carefully crafted challenges in every level. Explore 30 unique levels, spread across 2 distinct library environments, each bringing new layouts and challenges to test your logic and planning skills.

Hell Clock

Mad Mushroom

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Hell Clock – July 9

In the 19th century, Canudos became a refuge for thousands. When its people defied the new Republic, they faced brutal retaliation, leaving 25,000 dead. Play as Pajeú, a warrior fighting to rescue the soul of The Counselor, his fallen mentor. With each descent, time warps, and your power grows as you confront the dark forces that claimed his head and trapped his soul. Every second counts as you battle the undead forces of your oppressors. Risk delving deeper for powerful loot and face the nightmarish incarnations of those who sought to bury the truth.

KEMCO RPG Selection Vol. 10

KEMCO

☆☆☆☆☆ 193

★★★★★

$39.99

Pre-order

KEMCO RPG Selection Vol. 10 – July 9
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Now you can enjoy 4 RPGs; Infinite Links (A tale of wishes and conflict over ancient magic relics. Embed talismans into your skill board and unleash ultimate techniques!), Overrogue (Deck-building roguelite × JRPG. Infinite combinations and powerful combos will push your strategic thinking to the limit!), Fairy Elements (A fateful encounter across the flow of time. Amid a battle for the kingdom’s survival… you find yourself in a world 200 years in the future!?), Dragon Prana (The descendants of heroes… can’t work together!? Master a wide variety of classes and conquer nostalgic pixel-art dungeons!), in one bundle!

Red Titans

Pdpartid@games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$6.99 $5.94

Pre-order

Red Titans – July 9
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S

RED TITANS is a single-player vertical shoot ’em up. You must put an end to the threat by creating a strategy with the available resources. You will need great skill since there are no continues, although you will be able to recover lives at certain moments. You are the best pilot, a survivor. This is your last mission and everything will be decided. But in the middle of the mission, strange ships appear. A greater threat has arrived and the conflict begins to change course. You are no longer fighting for a nation; this is the beginning of something much bigger, and you are the first line of defense without even knowing it.

Viking Frontiers

PlayWay S.A.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$19.99 $17.99

Pre-order

Viking Frontiers – July 9
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S

Survival of your people – that’s the only thing that matters. Become the leader of a newly founded Viking settlement and lead it to safety and glory. Gather, build, craft, hunt, raid and follow your Gods to endure hardships of nature and save your clan from violent destruction.

Black Spades

Konsole Kingz, LLC.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Black Spades – July 10
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S

Yep, that’s right! Spades the way your friends and family play at home, college, reunions, and holiday get-togethers! The only spades game with Jokers, Deuces, and Reneg calling! Black Spades was created for spades players on all levels. From the beginner playing at home to the expert playing on the go, our game was designed to get you straight to the action with no gimmicks.

Cuboy Adventure

Desert Water Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Cuboy Adventure – July 10
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S

Cuboy Adventure is an adventure that combines platforming, puzzles, and boss battles in vibrant and cute cartoon graphics. Are you ready to help Cuboy achieve his goal and become a new hero? Cuboy has been attacked! The evil and cunning Bosses sneaked up and threw us to the very bottom! Now you need to help Cuboy collect all the stars, find all the secrets, solve all the puzzles, and defeat the three evil Bosses to claim the golden cup!

Damways (Series)

Afil Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Damways – July 10
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S

Get ready for a clever, relaxing, and strategy-filled adventure across a lake where every move matters. In Damways, you control a resourceful beaver that slides endlessly across the water, reshaping the environment with dams and creating unlikely paths toward home.

Escape from Umbra

WildSphere

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$19.99 $17.99

Pre-order

Echoes from Umbra – July 10
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Umbra is hunting you. She has eyes lurking everywhere within the shadows, and she will not stop until she finds you and locks your soul away forever. Trapped in a mysterious village ruled by darkness, your only tools to escape her curse are a small flashlight and a secret book of clues. Move unseen, follow the cats’ hints, and solve the enigmas to find your path to freedom.

Quest Arrest

Ratalaika Games S.L.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Quest Arrest – July 10
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Detective Allison Bennett on a quest for clean up her city, Strange Meadows, after the recent crime spree that has thrown the community into chaos. Notorious gang leader Athena been terrorizing the residents and set her sights on taking over the city for herself. Will you play as a good cop or a bad cop, by arresting criminals or simply taking them out?

Tower Dominion

Forever Entertainment S.A.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Tower Dominion – July 10
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Experiment with different combinations of buildings, weapons, perks, and doctrines to create powerful builds capable of surviving increasingly dangerous enemy waves. Unlock new possibilities over time, push your strategies further in Extended Mode, and take on higher difficulties designed to challenge even experienced players.

Welcome to Kowloon

Axyos Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Welcome to Kowloon – July 10
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S

Search for cheap housing in Kowloon and step into a first-person indie horror experience where ordinary people hide unsettling faces. What begins as a simple visit to a new home becomes a descent into narrow streets, cramped rooms, and secrets guarded from outsiders.

Ever dreamt of being the lowest of the low? Living a life so nasty and gnarly that even the rats look down on you? Risking life and limb for liege that wants nothing more than to stuff their abyss-shaped gullet with an infinite supply of food? Welcome to PIT OF GOBLIN.

Slap on your smelliest boots and dive into crumbling crypts, ghastly caverns, and ghost-infested ruins. Every step is fraught with peril and surprise! Team up with up to three disheveled goblin buddies to explore deeper and deeper into The Pit. Scour for resources, get up to mischievous hijinks, and—most importantly—sate the hunger of your King Queen.

Every crawl through The Pit is a brand-new gob-tale that’ll leave you gob-smacked and gob-scared. The deeper you delve; the tougher the climb. Can you find your way back out with spoils and plunder aplenty? Or will you succumb to its depths forevermore?

Pit of Goblin is a co-op survival extraction game that is nearing its 1.0 release. As XBOX Insiders you can tackle it solo, but it’s recommended to play with friends (or random teammates through matchmaking)! The aim is to descend into the Pit and search for food and other valuables while trying to keep the King Queen’s hunger at bay.

We’d love to hear everyone’s feedback on their experience playing the game, so please stop by our Discord Server or leave comments via XIP. We’ll also be swinging by the XBOX Insiders subreddit to chat with players and even host a play with the devs night in the near future!

Be sure to follow us on BlueSky || Instagram || Threads || Twitter to stay in the know!

How to Participate:

1. Sign-in on your XBOX Series X|S console or Windows PC and launch the XBOX Insider Hub app (or install the XBOX Insider Hub from the Store first if necessary)
2. Navigate to Previews > PIT OF GOBLIN
3. Select Join
4. Wait for the registration to complete and be directed to the Store and install PIT OF GOBLIN Demo!

NOTE: This playtest is available only on XBOX Series X|S consoles and Windows PC.

How to Provide Feedback:

If you experience any issues while playing PIT OF GOBLIN, don’t forget to use “Report a problem” so we can investigate:

• Hold down the home button on your XBOX controller.
• Select Report a problem.
• Select the Games category and PIT OF GOBLIN Demo! subcategory.
• Fill out the form with the appropriate details to help our investigation.

Other Resources:

• Get the XBOX Insider Hub app
• XBOX Insider FAQ
• How to provide feedback as an XBOX Insider

For more information: follow us on X/Twitter at @XBOXInsider and this blog for announcements and more. And feel free to interact with the community on the XBOX Insider SubReddit.

Members can experience everything Saturday demands with the iconic traditions and pageantry of game day in the EA Play early access trial.

It’s time to take the gridiron in EA SPORTS College Football 27, where personal ambition meets program pride. Get game-day ready with an EA Play 10-hour early access trial. Plus, build a program you’re proud of with an EA Play Welcome Pack. If you decide to buy, your progress carries over to the full game, and you can get back to leading your program to glory. Play with XBOX Cloud Gaming, PC Game Pass, or Ultimate with EA Play.

Members can also save 10% on EA digital purchases, including the full version of the game and College Football Points. Plus, envision your lineup, your way with a monthly College Football Ultimate Team Pack.

Engineer your team with Dynasty Blueprint, take on new positions with deeper customization in Road to Glory, and play as your favorite mascots in Mascot Mashup—all bringing the spirit and spectacle of game day to life.

What’s new in College Football 27?

Mascot Mashup

Play as your favorite mascot in Mascot Mashup. Collect over 120 larger-than-life icons and bring the chaos to wild 11-on-11 matchups packed with over-the-top celebrations and mascot antics fueled by pure school spirit.

Design Your Dynasty

All-new Dynasty Blueprint puts you in control of your program’s future. Navigate Athletic Director Expectations and use Dynasty Points for recruiting, NIL, staff, and facilities to build your college football powerhouse.

Your Road to Glory Starts Here

Define your path in Road to Glory and experience new customization options and positions as you build your player. Earn NIL deals, chase the Heisman, develop your Draft Stock, and raise your Legacy Score with each decision you make.

Also this month, new EA Play rewards for College Football 27, Battlefield 6, Apex Legends and more!

• Apex Legends
  • Add some shine to your summer arsenal with the Gold Vacation Punch Weapon Charm starting July 7 through August 3.
• EA Sports College Football 27
  • Get ready for College Football 27 with an EA Play Welcome Pack starting July 2, and a College Football Ultimate Team Pack available until July 31.
• EA Sports FC 26
  • Now on The Play List! Take down the competition in style with a Clubs Wildstyle Blue Headband with Mohawk, starting July 9 through August 13.
• EA Sports Madden NFL 26
  • Claim your July MUT Pack through July 31 and bring new additions to your Ultimate Team.
• EA Sports NHL 26
  • Stay hot on the ice with WOC Season Pass XP Multiplier Tokens and Chel Coins, available until August 27.
• Battlefield 6
  • Grab your EA Play Deployment Pack (if you haven’t already), and get ready for the frontlines with the Season 3 EA Play Pack, available until July 20.
• EA Sports UFC 6
  • Get ready to fight your fight with an EA Play Welcome Pack, filled with cosmetic items that will help you stand out amongst the competition.

To learn more about EA Play, check out X and Instagram, or visit here. For more details on all the EA Play member benefits this month, visit the EA Play Member Benefits site. Conditions, limitations and exclusions apply. See EA Play Terms for details.

Members can experience the world of EA with unlimited access to a collection of top titles, trials of select new games, in-game member rewards, 10% on EA digital purchases and more.

Looking for an excuse to stay in this weekend? We’ve got plenty to play with Free Play Days! Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure is available this weekend for XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members to play from Thursday, July 2 until Sunday, July 5.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is free for all XBOX players to try from Thursday, July 2 to Monday, July 6, and Diablo IV is also free for all XBOX players to try for an entire week, from Tuesday, June 30 until Tuesday, July 7.

Additionally, Demonschool and The Stone of Madness are free for all XBOX members to try during Free Play Days with a two-hour timed trial, from Thursday, July 2 until Sunday, July 5.

How To Start Playing

Scroll down and find and install the games on each of the individual game details page 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 Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential membership.

To download on console, click on the Subscriptions tab in the XBOX Store and navigate down to the Free Play Days collection on your XBOX One and XBOX Series X|S.

Keep The Fun Going

Purchase the game and other editions at a limited time discount and continue playing while keeping your Gamerscore and achievements earned during the event! Please note that discounts, percentages, and title availability may vary by title and region.

Free Play Days For All

Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 – Cross-Gen Bundle

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆ 5122

★★★★★

$69.99 $55.99

Get it now

PC Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S, Smart Delivery, XBOX Play Anywhere
For a limited time from July 2, 10 AM PT to July 6, 10 AM PT, play Multiplayer and Zombies in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 for FREE. Play through more than 45 Multiplayer Maps, including three new arrivals in Season 04 and two remastered. This Free Trial also includes popular Multiplayer Modes like Team Deathmatch and Domination, along with latest additions from Season 04, including Team Blueprint Sharpshooter and Knife Fight. Plus, jump into Zombies for an all-new roguelite Mode, a brand-new Round-Based Zombies map set atop a volcano, plus much more! 

Diablo® IV – Standard Edition

Blizzard Entertainment

☆☆☆☆☆ 8654

★★★★★

$49.99 $29.99

Get it now

Diablo IV
ARPG fans, the gates to Sanctuary stand open for you. From June 30 to July 7, everyone can step into the hellish world of Diablo IV. Play through the iconic campaign with any class, including the Warlock from the new Lord of Hatred expansion, up to level 30. Your arrival comes just in time for the Season of Death Awakening, launching June 30, bringing additional activities, new content, and the option to earn iconic Overwatch cosmetics through a FREE Reliquary for your character. To celebrate the new season, Diablo IV will be 40% off from June 30 through July 7. When the trial concludes, your progress carries forward. Purchase Diablo IV to continue playing the original five classes, or upgrade to the Age of Hatred Collection to unlock continued access to the Warlock, Paladin, and Spiritborn classes via the Lord of Hatred expansion.

Demonschool

Ysbryd Games

☆☆☆☆☆ 16

★★★★★

$24.99

Get it now

Free Trial

Demonschool
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S, Smart Delivery
Get back to Demonschool, the new-style tactics RPG where you navigate university life while slaying demons and canceling apocalypses on a mysterious island. Check out Demonschool’s recent free updates adding New Game+ mode, dialogue text logs and more quality-of-life improvements!

The Stone of Madness

Tripwire Interactive LLC

☆☆☆☆☆ 12

★★★★★

$29.99 $9.89

Get it now

Free Trial

The Stone of Madness
Optimized for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX Play Anywhere
Try out The Stone of Madness with a free two hour trial! A real-time tactical stealth game set in an 18th-century Spanish Monastery. Located in the Pyrenees, this time-worn Jesuit monastery is home to a madhouse and an inquisitorial prison. Five prisoners – plagued by cruel punishment, madness, and despair – pool their skills and resources to face their phobias, stave off insanity, uncover the mysteries of the Monastery, and find a way to escape. The Stone of Madness is available now for 67% off during the Free Play Days weekend!

Free Play Days (Game Pass Membership Required)

Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure

Jetpack Collective, The Iterative Collective

☆☆☆☆☆ 17

★★★★★

$23.99 $11.99

Get it now

Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure
An Earthlock Adventure invites players to explore a beautiful island full of mystery, magic and adventure. Play solo or team up with friends in online co-op as you gather resources, craft tools, farm the land, build your home, befriend magical creatures and battle monsters. Try it during Free Play Days, then continue your adventure with 50% off in the Multiplayer Madness Sale.

Don’t miss out on these exciting Free Play Days for XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members! Learn more about Free Play Days here and stay tuned to XBOX Wire to find out about future Free Play Days and all the latest XBOX gaming news.

Every Wednesday, dive into the Indie Select Hub — your gateway to a fresh, curated indie collection plus four themed spotlights that rotate weekly! You can always find this collection hub in the XBOX Store and on XBOX.com/IndieSelects.

Summer is here! That means vacations, pool days, backyard grilling, and, of course, mesmerizing indie games. And you’re in luck: the ID@Xbox team has handpicked five Indie Selects for July that are ready to light up your night like a sky full of summer fireworks. July’s Indie Selects showcase games with strong personality, rewarding progression, and distinct worlds that invite players to keep coming back. Grab your sunscreen, charge your controller, and dive into the full lineup of July’s Indie Selects. (in no particular order):

Mina the Hollower

Ever since the original DOOM blew minds in 1993, the series has always been about tempo. After the lightning-fast acrobatics of DOOM Eternal, DOOM: The Dark Ages carved out its own identity within the franchise by slowing down, giving the Slayer a shield and innovating a tankier, parrying, stand-and-fight style of combat. Its first major DLC, Revelations, expands upon that powerful-feeling foundation by adding more kinetic movement options back into the mix with the versatile new Chain Spear as the expansion’s centerpiece.

“It kind of plays like the culmination of 35 years of DOOM,” said Game Director and id Software Studio Co-Director Hugo Martin during a recent virtual event with both a video presentation and live Q&A. “It adds movement tech to Dark Ages combat, complete with a dash and grapple hook. We’re going to make the tanky Dark Ages Slayer fly. You’ll feel like a monster truck with a jet engine strapped to your back.”

Early in the Revelations story campaign, the Slayer’s shield is broken, and he acquires the Chain Spear to replace it in his left hand. Eventually the player will be able to swap freely between them (and some endgame skills even benefit from doing so in the heat of combat), but at first they are forced to use it, and Martin encourages players to stick with it, even if it doesn’t quite click at first, because its depth unfolds the more you play with it and unlock abilities: “There is a ton of skill expression in the DLC, and it’s all through the spear, so it’s worth your time and investment.”

The Chain Spear has a wide variety of attack modes, each of which has its own skill tree. It can stab, be thrown like a sniper shot, slam down like Eternal’s DLC hammer, and slash widely (breaking armor, killing fodder for resources, or parrying incoming melee and projectile attacks). “There is a ton of freedom and weapon tech to discover here,” according to Martin.

Perhaps most exciting are the movement options that the Chain Spear adds. The tip of the spear can be shot out on a chain like a grappling hook, pulling the Slayer in toward enemies or up through the air and around the environment. It builds on the Meat Hook attachment to the Super Shotgun in DOOM Eternal, but with more refined movement control and, most importantly, the freedom to pair it with any gun in your right hand.

In addition to pulling the Slayer in, the Chain Spear can also be used to Orbit, rotating around enemies up in the air, tethered by the radius of the chain while unloading gunfire into them like a furious little moon. Martin compared it to Z-targeting, which gamers of a certain age will remember as the innovative camera lock-on system developed for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and now common in games like Elden Ring, and is obviously very powerful in the context of a first-person shooter.

All of these abilities develop in complexity over the course of the 10 to 12 hours it will take to complete Revelations, which Martin said is larger than Eternal’s two DLC combined. That content comprises roughly 60% story campaign and 40% endgame, including an extensive hub area to scour for secrets between levels with Metroidvania-like exploration (including levels from original DOOM games, rendering classic designs with modern materials and effects). The endgame will have you going back through the campaign’s levels again with added challenges and puzzles, eventually leading to an uber boss and then master arenas for the ultimate test of skill, which will ask you to truly demonstrate mastery over every part of the Slayer’s kit in concert—including both the shield and the spear. All of the game’s existing difficulty sliders are also intact, which means that all of the DLC’s content is accessible to players of any skill level.

The Chain Spear sounds like an exciting additional to the arsenal for DOOM: The Dark Ages. Modern DOOM is all about how the different combat systems naturally flow into and support one another, and the versatility of the Chain Spear really embodies all their learnings from developing under that ethos for over a decade now. We’ll be zipping around and skewering demons with it soon when DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations releases on July 7 for XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC, with support for XBOX Play Anywhere.

DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations

Bethesda Softworks

☆☆☆☆☆ 23

★★★★★

Get it now

Access to the campaign DLC* is included with the DOOM: The Dark Ages Premium Edition and Premium Upgrade. *DLC availability to be provided at a later date.

DOOM: The Dark Ages

Bethesda Softworks

☆☆☆☆☆ 4877

★★★★★

$69.99 $55.99

Get it now

PC Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass

BECOME THE SLAYER IN A MEDIEVAL WAR AGAINST HELL DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells an epic cinematic story worthy of the DOOM Slayer’s legend. In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell. DOOM: The Dark Ages is a dark fantasy/sci-fi single-player experience that delivers the searing combat and over-the-top visuals of the incomparable DOOM franchise, powered by the latest idTech engine. STAND AND FIGHT As the super weapon of gods and kings, shred enemies with devastating favorites like the Super Shotgun while also wielding a variety of new bone-chewing weapons, including the versatile Shield Saw. Players will stand and fight on the demon-infested battlefields in the vicious, grounded combat the original DOOM is famous for. Take flight atop the new fierce Mecha Dragon, stand tall in a massive Atlan mech, and beat demons to a pulp with the newly enhanced glory kill system. Only the Slayer has the power to wield these devastating tools of mayhem. REIGN IN HELL Bound to serve as the super weapon of gods and kings, the DOOM Slayer fends off demon hordes as their leader seeks to destroy the Slayer and become the only one that is feared. Witness the creation of a legend as the Slayer takes on all of Hell and turns the tide of the war. DISCOVER UNKNOWN REALMS In his quest to crush the legions of Hell, the Slayer must take the fight to never-before-seen realms. Mystery, challenges, and rewards lurk in every shadow of ruined castles, epic battlefields, dark forests, ancient hellscapes, and worlds beyond. Armed with the viciously powerful Shield Saw, cut through a dark world of menace and secrets in id's largest and most expansive levels to date. https://eulas.bethesda.net/doom-the-dark-ages

In a traditional extraction shooter, a map is usually a fixed stage: you drop in, scavenge for supplies, dodge AI and real players, and try to make it out alive. What makes that loop thrilling is how much is on the line—the moment you’re taken down, every item you’ve scavenged and every piece of gear you brought in vanishes instantly. It’s that “one wrong move and you lose it all” tension that makes every extraction nerve-wracking. But for Delta Force’s new season, Team Jade wanted to ask a bigger question—what if the map itself became the protagonist of the operation?

For this new map, Team Jade used it to achieve something much harder: to completely reimagine what an extraction experience can be, across story, immersion, threat, and outcome. And it’s precisely because of that ambition that I sat down with two of the team’s most central figures—Delta Force Game Director Shadow Guo and Game Design Director Ricky—to talk about what this new map, AZ3, has really redefined.

“We know players won’t get excited over ‘just another map,'” Shadow says. “So this time, we weren’t building a map—we were rebuilding an experience. We don’t get such chances very often, and we wanted to spend it where it counts.”

Fantasy: An Operator Called In, and a Crisis on the Brink

What this map really wants to deliver to players is a very specific fantasy: you are a special operator, called in at the eleventh hour to enter a nuclear plant teetering on the edge of meltdown—to investigate, to intervene, and to make your choice before everything spirals out of control.

In the story, G.T.I. receives a tip from a mysterious source: a crisis is unfolding at the nuclear plant. There, players meet the key figure of this season—an elderly scientist. Through him, players learn that Haavk, with no regard for local safety, has been running dangerous experiments inside the plant, making the entire facility increasingly unstable. That’s why the old scientist reached out to G.T.I. to step in, hoping players can help shut down the reactor and save an Ahsarah in crisis.

“When you truly stand in this operator’s shoes, the story stops being just background,” Ricky says. “It becomes the motivation behind everything you do. You’re not here to run laps around a map—you walked in with a mission, and with the risk that comes with it.”

Immersion: A Map That Reacts

I was curious how a fantasy this “high-stakes and deeply immersive” actually gets realized within a single map. Shadow’s first answer was to make the map itself feel alive.

“Unlike the static extraction maps of the past, AZ3 changes in response to player action,” Shadow says. “Searching, firefights, pushing forward—any of it can trigger explosions, and leaks, and the look of the map shifts as the match goes on. More importantly, the reactor’s status is visible in real time the whole way through—players can always feel exactly how close this run is to spiraling out of control.”

That immersion also comes from a striking visual contrast. “Players have seen the human, cultural side of Ahsarah in Bakhsh, and Haavk’s most cutting-edge technology in Space City,” Shadow says. “So we wondered—if those ambitious high-tech projects failed, what would they leave behind?” The answer is this “modern ruin”: on one side, an open, almost eerie scrapyard where players fight among rusted vehicle wrecks; on the other, a decommissioned old nuclear plant—damaged during the civil unrest and hastily sealed off by Haavk—where contaminated waters and a spent-fuel storage area speak to the past. And at the very center stands Haavk’s own modern reactor building, home to the best loot on the map, and also its most dangerous and most contested ground.

The new operator, N-Two, also has a deeply personal connection to this nuclear disaster. “This map gets players thinking,” Ricky adds. “Is this kind of nuclear power a new beginning for Ahsarah—or the prelude to its destruction?”

“Put all of that together, and you’ll understand what we were after,” Ricky says, summing it up. “A dynamically changing environment, a high-contrast art style, an operator and a story woven deep into the map—they all share one goal: to make players feel this map is alive, that it genuinely reacts to every single thing you do.”

Threats: It’s Not Just Other Players Keeping You on Edge

A high-stakes operation needs threats that genuinely keep you tense—and in the Nuclear Plant, the danger goes far beyond other players. Remember, you’re breaking into the most critical facility of a high-tech corporation, so its security is armed to the teeth and ready for intruders. Haavk’s elite soldiers and mechanized units are stationed throughout, forming the most direct source of firepower pressure. But their role isn’t just suppression—among them are dedicated reconnaissance units built to monitor intruders, and some will even let out a deafening blare to forcibly expose your position and flush you out of hiding. Outmaneuvering these recon units becomes a compelling game of cat and mouse in itself.

“That said, I want to make one thing clear—this map’s difficulty is set to Easy and Normal,” Ricky says. “The threats have real depth, but we wanted this to be a map that’s very welcoming for new players to jump into and experience the full thrill of extraction—not one that scares them off.”

The threat that runs through the entire run, though, is radiation. It’s a mechanic players have to actively manage. As radiation builds up on you, the effects escalate stage by stage: from barely noticeable, to bleeding and pain with snow-like static creeping into your view, to fractures that hinder movement, and finally to the most severe stage—where high-energy particle flow heavily distorts your vision, negative effects pile up rapidly, and even painkillers can no longer hold them back. Players need to seek out decontamination rooms, or fight the Haavk guards stationed here and use their equipment to clear radiation. And that familiar Geiger-counter clicking you hear across the map is its own temptation: follow the sound to a special radioactive container, and you might walk away with rich rewards—at the cost of more radiation.

But what truly sends a chill down players’ spines is the boss—H1000. “The moment that melody starts playing, players should be on high alert,” Ricky says. Unlike the boss of any previous map, H1000 brings a relentless, serial pursuit—like falling into a time loop. Reshaped by brain-machine technology, he’s a complete Haavk humanoid weapon, with superhuman physical capabilities that let him dodge bullets, fire a tranquilizer dart, and close in step by step for a melee execution. “Every time you’re locked in a struggle with him, we wanted to capture that razor’s-edge feeling of clawing your way back from the brink,” Ricky says.

The Choice: Save It, or Run

All of these systems ultimately converge on a single question: how do you want this run to end?

Players can try to complete several landmark objectives inside the nuclear plant to successfully shut down the reactor and stabilize the situation; or they can fail—or simply choose not to deal with it—and watch the reactor head toward meltdown, throwing the entire match into a countdown to forced extraction. But here’s the truly interesting part—that ending isn’t in any one person’s hands. It’s decided by the combined actions of every player on the map that run. Some want to save it, some only want to loot and run, and some treat the chaos as their opportunity—so the direction of every match is full of uncertainty. You can never fully predict how a run will end, and it’s that uncertainty that lets this map deliver a fresh sense of adventure every single time.

“That’s what we mean by reimagining extraction,” Shadow says. “It’s no longer just ‘get in, grab the loot, get out.’ Your choices genuinely change how the run ends.” And that’s what this map most wants to leave players with: you’re not a bystander—you’re the one who, in the face of crisis, decides the outcome with your own hands.

Delta Force is now available for free on XBOX Series X|S. The AZ3 map arrives as the centerpiece of the new season, Meltdown, where players can also experience the new operator N-Two, alongside more updates this season.

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Delta Force is back! The iconic series returns as the definitive free-to-play modern team-based tactical shooter, and featuring three distinct gameplay modes: – Warfare: battle the enemy across land, sea and air in truly epic 32 v 32 PvP combat, featuring a wide range of vehicles and unique tactical gear. – Operations: Delta Force meets the next generation extraction shooter as you deploy behind enemy lines with your squad, search for valuables, take on rival players, and extract before it’s too late. Alternatively, our PvE Raid mode offers challenging objective-based missions designed to push your squad to the limit. – Black Hawk Down: step into the boots of legendary Delta Force operators for this remake of the classic series campaign based on the gripping 2001 movie. We are committed to NO PAY-TO-WIN and development is driven by community feedback. Fair play is a top priority, and our dedicated G.T.I. security anti-cheat team ensures a fair gameplay experience by proactively targeting and removing cheaters. And remember… “No-one gets left behind”