The way it works is this: Kill Block is a Multiplayer map that reconfigures every match, challenging you to rethink routes, sightlines, and combat spaces on the fly. And right when you think you’ve got it figured out, the Slabs switch again.

The Training Facility is made up of three modular sections: two outer areas known as End Slabs and one central space known as Central Slab. These combine into new combat configurations after each match, and how each section is positioned allows for multiple variants, creating hundreds of unique layout combinations.

As noted on the Call of Duty Blog, most map sections are entirely new, while others draw inspiration from iconic locations across Modern Warfare history. More than 500 configurations are possible at launch, with layouts changing between matches and throughout rounds to transform cover placement and pacing, supporting both 3v3 and the new 10v10 Gunfight mode at launch, with future support planned for more core Multiplayer modes. It’s an ever-changing map that enables teams to experience a variety of environments across numerous combat scenarios.

I got a taste of Kill Block last month during the Modern Warfare 4 Beta and found this constant cycle of combat a refreshing challenge – having to adapt to a changing map between rounds made it feel like teams were on an even footing, each trying to make note of corners and discover ideal spots to post up on defense as quickly as possible. And now with its wide release today for the launch of Modern Warfare 4, I can’t wait to dive back in.

Finding the Connection

When jumping into a Kill Block match, you can expect to see a wide variety of environments from urban streets, military compounds, shipping containers, and more. It’s designed to function as a tactical set, each with its own layouts to master and spaces to navigate coupled with changing vantage points, chokepoints, low openings, and more that extend into each adjacent Slab – and occasionally across the entire map.

One of the strategies I employed during my hands-on time was to get familiar with the Central Slab first. Because those are always linked with the adjacent slabs, the central area of the map would typically offer scenery crafted to enhance combat coming in from multiple angles – these were almost always the primary encounter points against other teams to rack up eliminations. While it’s tempting to try and rush through and get a sense of the entire randomly generated layout, focusing on the Central Slab and working out from there was usually an ideal strategy I found.

Another observation is that each of the Slabs are rectangular in shape, and often a familiar footprint; self-contained, but with the necessary openings to allow for effective match flow into adjacent Slabs. And there was almost always an opportunity for cover, like parked trucks, burned-out tanks and cars, concrete blocks, barriers, and walls, and a few tactically important doors you can shoot open, barge through or open slowly with stealth in mind. There’s also plenty of markers to take note of to jog your memory if you’ve played through a Slab before, so make sure you take mental notes for construction signs, grenade marks, arrows, numbers, and others to assist in your spatial awareness as you learn the environments.

As touched on earlier, the Call of Duty Blog confirmed that while most Slabs are entirely new, others recreate iconic locations including Crash from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007), Storage Town from Call of Duty: Warzone’s Verdansk map, and Shoot House from Modern Warfare (2019). Though drawn from iconic maps, these Slabs are fundamentally changed by the randomized areas around them, allowing for terrain to deliver both classic and new tactical experiences, which is going to be a lot of fun.

What’s also fun is that these Slabs are “fitted with military-grade weather simulation arrays” that can introduce the possibility of rain or snow that can impact visibility and other tactical conditions in Kill Block. And let’s not forget Modern Warfare 4’s refined and fluid movement mechanics, allowing you to skirmish as you would during a core Multiplayer match. This includes being able to climb on rooftops, containers, and balconies, and ascending to other areas that offer valuable sightlines at the expense of exposure.

Gunfight’s Return

Kill Block will launch alongside an expanded Gunfight experience, featuring both 3v3 and the all-new 10v10 mode. What makes this mode fun is that every round a team is pit against another in single-life combat, with all players equipped with the same randomly assigned weapons and equipment – my favorite is when everyone starts with an RPG, creating a fast-paced and hectic clash (with lots of explosions, of course).

During Gunfight on Kill Block, teams swap sides after the first round. After round two, the three Slabs shift to a new combo and players receive another random loadout. The combo changes every two rounds until one team reaches six wins. There are no custom loadouts to rely on in Gunfight, placing the emphasis squarely on teamwork, weapon proficiency, and tactics. If neither team is eliminated before the end of the round, an Overtime Flag deploys, forcing both teams to converge and capture it to claim victory.

While Gunfight 3v3 and 10v10 headlines Kill Block at launch, we’re told the West Bridge Advanced Military Training Facility will be capable of supporting additional core Multiplayer modes in post-launch seasons, giving us fresh tactical challenges across an expanding variety of Multiplayer modes in the months to come.

Beyond the Block: The Complete Multiplayer Offering

From Kill Block’s adaptive battlegrounds to globe-spanning core Multiplayer maps, large-scale Ground War, tactical one-life modes, classic respawn playlists, and party modes, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Multiplayer offers something for every playstyle.

Beyond Kill Block, players can expect 12 grounded Multiplayer maps spanning diverse global locations, each with a distinct visual identity and tactical flow, plus two returning favorites shortly after launch. From a Korean fishing village after an amphibious assault, to the top of a snow-covered New York hotel, and a fugitive’s hideout in a dense residential district, the visual diversity on display in Modern Warfare 4 is something special.

On top of that, we’ll have larger-scale battles with armored vehicles across expansive maps in Ground War, featuring brutally intense combined-arms warfare, as well as a quartet of smaller, Gunfight maps, a full suite of Multiplayer modes and Hardcore variants, including favorites like Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, and more. Whether you favor playing the objective, squad tactics, or pure eliminations, there’s bound to be a mode for your playstyle.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is available today for XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC. Play it on console and PC at no additional cost with XBOX Play Anywhere. Also available on Steam, Battle.net, Nintendo Switch 2, and PlayStation 5.

Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 – Vault Edition

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆ 51

★★★★★

$99.99

Get it now

The Vault Edition includes: – Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 – Hostile Alliance Operator Pack — 4 Operator Skins: Price, Valeria, Ghost, Blix – Special Forces Operator Pack — 4 Operator Skins representing the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and South Korea, each with voice packs in their local languages – Signature Weapon Collection — 5 Signature Weapons – BlackCell (1 Season)* — Includes: Battle Pass, 20 Tier Skips, 1,100 CP and more – DMZ Deployment Bonus — Additional bonus content in DMZ – Hunter Killer Operator Skin – Gilded Pearl Camo Pack – Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint — Show off the Xbox 25th Anniversary Edition on Xbox Series X|S only** War erupts on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea launches a full-scale invasion that threatens to destabilize the world in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4. A young squad of South Korean soldiers fight to survive on the collapsing front lines, while half a world away a vengeful Captain Price wages a personal war from the shadows as he stays one step ahead of those hunting him. As Price’s off-book mission collides with the forces behind the invasion, the war spreads beyond anyone’s control. Modern Warfare® 4 pushes the series into darker and more dangerous territory, where consequence and escalation bring long-running storylines to a powerful and emotional breaking point. – Campaign drops players into trench warfare in Korea, close-quarters combat in New York, high-octane chases through Paris, SAS night raids in Mumbai, and city-wide assaults to reclaim occupied territory. – Multiplayer delivers grounded, precise combat where fluid movement, player choice, and greater control define every engagement. – In DMZ, players operate as an off-the-books asset behind enemy lines, where every extraction run into contested territory forces hard choices about which objectives to pursue, what to secure, and when to get out. Available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC, not available on Xbox One. Not on Xbox Game Pass this year. Online Multiplayer requires a Game Pass Essential subscription (sold separately). TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required for PC, other security measures may be enforced. Learn more at https://support.activision.com/tpm. *BlackCell, Battle Pass, Call of Duty® Points and Tier Skips will be accessible in Modern Warfare® 4 upon availability of the Season 1 Battle Pass in-game. Redemption applies to one Season of the Modern Warfare® 4 Battle Pass only. **The Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint features an Xbox 25th Anniversary visual treatment when used on Xbox Series X|S. On all other supported platforms, the Blueprint will appear with its authentic mil-spec visual treatment. Content, features, services, online play, and support not available in all regions, and may vary, change, or terminate. Requires an Activision account and acceptance of the Activision Software License and Services Agreement. A mobile phone number linked to your Activision account may be required to play Modern Warfare® 4. Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates. For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com. ©/TM/® 2026 Activision Publishing, Inc. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software ('Id Technology'). Id Technology © 1999-2026 Id Software, Inc.

Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆ 62

★★★★★

$69.99

Get it now

War erupts on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea launches a full-scale invasion that threatens to destabilize the world in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4. A young squad of South Korean soldiers fight to survive on the collapsing front lines, while half a world away a vengeful Captain Price wages a personal war from the shadows as he stays one step ahead of those hunting him. As Price’s off-book mission collides with the forces behind the invasion, the war spreads beyond anyone’s control. Modern Warfare® 4 pushes the series into darker and more dangerous territory, where consequence and escalation bring long-running storylines to a powerful and emotional breaking point. – Campaign drops players into trench warfare in Korea, close-quarters combat in New York, high-octane chases through Paris, SAS night raids in Mumbai, and city-wide assaults to reclaim occupied territory. – Multiplayer delivers grounded, precise combat where fluid movement, player choice, and greater control define every engagement. – In DMZ, players operate as an off-the-books asset behind enemy lines, where every extraction run into contested territory forces hard choices about which objectives to pursue, what to secure, and when to get out. Available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC, not available on Xbox One. Not on Xbox Game Pass this year. Online Multiplayer requires a Game Pass Essential subscription (sold separately). TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required for PC, other security measures may be enforced. Learn more at https://support.activision.com/tpm. Content, features, services, online play, and support not available in all regions, and may vary, change, or terminate. Requires an Activision account and acceptance of the Activision Software License and Services Agreement. A mobile phone number linked to your Activision account may be required to play Modern Warfare® 4. Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates. For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com. ©/TM/® 2026 Activision Publishing, Inc. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software ('Id Technology'). Id Technology © 1999-2026 Id Software, Inc.

The post Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 – Kill Block is Must-Play Multiplayer at Launch appeared first on XBOX Wire.

The Séance of Blake Manor

Raw Fury

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

The Séance of Blake Manor – October 27
Game Pass / XBOX Play Anywhere

It is October 28th, 1897, and Private Investigator Declan Ward arrives at Blake Manor to find a missing woman. What he finds is the Grand Séance and a group of mystics who have gathered from all corners of the world – waiting for All Hallow’s Eve, the night when the veil between worlds is thinnest. The night to tear down the barrier and speak to the dead. Interview and interrogate your suspects, keep a record of all evidence, motivations, and clues in your journal, and confront them about their motivations when you’re certain of your deductions. Uncover the truth about Blake Manor and the mysterious séance that has brought everyone together.

Mouthwashing

CRITICAL REFLEX

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$12.99

Pre-order

Mouthwashing – October 29
XBOX Play Anywhere

Mouthwashing is a first-person horror game following the dying crew of a shipwrecked space freighter. Who could have known what good ol’ Captain Curly was capable of? Guess he thought his crew dying alongside him was only right. But some men can’t even kill themselves properly. Maimed, limbless and unable to speak, but alive, Curly is now at the mercy of the crew he has doomed to a slow death.

The Wolf Among Us Remastered

Telltale

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

The Wolf Among Us Remastered – October 29

Fairy tales are real. Murder is just the beginning. Step back into Fabletown in The Wolf Among Us Remastered – the definitive edition of Telltale’s acclaimed noir narrative thriller inspired by DC’s award-winning Fables comic series. Fully remastered with enhanced visuals and modern presentation, this definitive edition brings Bigby Wolf’s first investigation to life with greater atmosphere, immersion, and detail than ever before – honoring the original experience while introducing Fabletown to a new generation of players.

Queen's Domain

Future Friends Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$19.99 $16.99

Pre-order

Queen’s Domain – October 30

Queen’s Domain is a retro-fantasy action RPG. Washed up on the shores of the Isle of Neasied, you set out to find your father and uncover the dark heart of this mysterious isle.  Wield the Legendary Holy Sword Endu to take flight from platform to platform, and discover an interconnected, labyrinthine world where secrets and dangers lurk around every corner. 

Scramble Knights Online (Game Preview)

Funktronic Labs

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Scramble Knights Online (Game Preview) – October 26
Game Pass / XBOX Play Anywhere

Welcome to Scramble Knights Online, an MMO-lite adventure! Embark together with friends on bite-sized, Zelda-inspired quests in the shared online kingdom of Terracott! Venture across an archipelago filled with dangerous enemies, quaint towns, puzzling dungeons, and challenges suited for a knight-in-training.

Terrible Lizards

Digital Pajamas

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Terrible Lizards – October 29
Game Pass / Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

Something is very wrong at Dalton’s Dinos, the once must-see Route 66 roadside attraction baking under the New Mexico sun. The staff have vanished, but a mysterious voice on the telephone you find in the attraction begs you for help to find a missing child. You’d leave… if your car hadn’t died miles from anywhere. It’s 1992. No cell phones. No rideshares. No help coming, and you’ll soon find that you are not alone inside the attraction.

Ayasa: Shadows of Silence

Aya Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Ayasa: Shadows of Silence – October 26

Step into the eerie world of Ayasa, a dark tale that blends quests, horror, and puzzles into a haunting journey. Without a single spoken word, the story is told through pantomime, surreal imagery, and a soundtrack composed by Komitas. You will navigate six symbolic lands Faith, Hope, Love, Greed, Indifference, and Betrayal—each corrupted by darkness. Every choice you make, every act of compassion or indifference, may lead to an unexpected ending. Will you restore balance or become the very force you sought to defeat?

PAO PAO (Game Preview)

Dreland Enterprises

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

PAO PAO – October 26

Explore a lively town where every day brings something new. Meet quirky characters, discover cozy little spots and landmarks, gather resources in the wild, or simply wander around and see what’s happening. With changing weather, seasons and a full day-night cycle, PAO PAO is always a little different.

Bao Bao's Cozy Cleaning Services

Destroyer Doggo

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Bao Bao’s Cozy Cleaning Services – October 27
XBOX Play Anywhere

Welcome to Bao Bao’s Cozy Cleaning Services, where things don’t need to be perfect — just a little cleaner, a little calmer, and a little more you. Whether you’re curled up with a podcast or just need something peaceful to help the world feel quieter, this gentle 2D pressure washing game is here for you. No timers, no stress, just pastel pixel art, soft sounds, and the satisfying swish of clean water.

Bloom Busters

UBrothers

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Bloom Busters – October 27
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

Bloomland is under attack. A toxic infestation has twisted its gardens and filled them with cheeky mutated creatures – and Jimmy and Jessie are ready to clean up the mess. Bloom Busters is a frantic, old-school action arcade adventure with a distinctive isometric perspective. Play solo or team up in two-player local co-op as you bash and blast through handcrafted levels. Master wild weapons ranging from the trusty Fly Swatter and Grandpa’s Club to the gooey Slime Gun.

Cozy Radiation Cleaner

SilverSet Studios

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Cozy Radiation Cleaner – October 27

Cozy Radiation Cleaner is a relaxing open-world clean-up adventure set in a quiet, abandoned wasteland. Grab your radiation detector, follow the crackle and track down 180 radioactive objects hidden across 18 regions – from misty pine groves and salt flats to the eerie Silent Reactor. Every find is added to your collection, a growing catalogue of the strange things the old world left behind.

Dog Man: Bark in Action

Mindscape

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Dog Man: Bark in Action – October 27
Smart Delivery

Join Dog Man and his Supa Buddies for a supa-new adventure! A comic-book style game packed with action, humor, boss fights, and ability-granting gadgets. Play as 10 different characters from the comics, each with unique powers. A hero is needed! Dr. Scum has set up Hypno Screens around the city, mind-controlling the innocent townsfolk. Now it’s up to Dog Man – part Dog, part Man- to fight back against Dr. Scum and all his minions. Defeat Dr. Scum, save your friends, and rescue the city!

Farming Simulator 25: Beans & Alpacas Edition

GIANTS Software

☆☆☆☆☆ 2087

★★★★★

$59.99 $47.99

Pre-order

Farming Simulator 25: Beans & Alpacas Edition – October 27

Farming Simulator 25: Beans & Alpacas Edition bundles both the acclaimed main game and the Beans & Alpacas Expansion. Enjoy 4 maps, 400+ machines, over 150 authentic brands, and new crops, animals, production chains and gameplay additions. Build a farm along winding rivers and historic grain elevators in North America, surrounded by ponds in Central Europe, in a lush East Asian landscape filled with rice paddies, or in Catuaí – a South America-inspired region where coffee plantations, red soil and dense greenery shape the land that’s the star of the Beans & Alpacas Expansion.

Remothered: Red Nun's Legacy

Stormind Games, Soft Source

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Remothered: Red Nun’s Legacy – October 27
XBOX Play Anywhere

Your daughter has been kidnapped. In the trilogy’s final chapter, enter a nightmare to save her, survive what hunts you, and uncover the Red Nun’s truth through retrocognition, mirror abilities and moth manipulation. A modern return to classic survival horror with an Italian neo-giallo twist.

Sneaky Purr (Xbox Series)

Afil Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Sneaky Purr – October 27

Get ready for a sneaky adventure in Sneaky Purr! Control Bill, a mischievous cat and expert little thief, and help him steal all the food pouches before making his way back to the exit of each level. But be careful: escaping with the loot can be much harder than it looks! Bill moves in four directions, but once he starts moving, he slides continuously until he hits an obstacle. Carefully plan every move, avoid security cameras, and think about your route there and back before you act. After all, grabbing the food is only half the job!

Treasure Tiger

Take IT Studio! sp. z o. o.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Treasure Tiger – October 27
Smart Delivery

You’ve got five nights to strike it rich and save your future. All you have to do is spin, survive, and keep the windows shut. Treasure Tiger is out there — grinning, watching, waiting. He says it’s all about luck… but he’s not here to play fair.

Fall Adventure

Corvo

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Fall Adventure – October 28

Fall Adventure is a 2D pixel art platformer where you must find all the magical orbs to progress. As you descend deeper, the caves become larger and more challenging. All you have is a dash that keeps you in the air for a brief moment, allowing you to reach otherwise inaccessible areas throughout the levels.

Fallen City Brawl

Eastasiasoft Limited

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Fallen City Brawl – October 28
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

Brawl through the city in hard-hitting pixel art style inspired by arcade classics! As a brutal battle for control of Fallen City’s criminal underworld rages, four strangers join forces to survive and reclaim the streets! With a ferocious wolf at their sides, these unlikely allies will face impossible odds. Along the way, motivations and past lives will collide, further testing their loyalty as well as their fighting skills. Only by binding together can they reach the final showdown that will decide who lives and who falls.

Gennady

Sobaka Studio LLP

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$19.99

Pre-order

Gennady – October 28
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

Remember that dream where you find yourself on a crowded bus wearing nothing but your underwear? Well, this isn’t a bus — and it’s not a dream either! The blinding light fades, revealing a grim alien meat factory where you must break through compressed biomass with your own body — not to pay the fare, but to survive this dynamic roguelike platformer!

House Builder 2

FreeMind S.A.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

House Builder 2 – October 28

In House Builder 2, you build your dream structures in a vibrant, open-world low-poly environment! Purchase materials for your work, load them up, and head off to diverse tasks in the ultimate building adventure!

Karate Survivor

Alawar

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Karate Survivor – October 28
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

Step into the shoes of a martial arts master in a thrilling survival-like roguelite inspired by action movies of the ‘80s. Use the environment and improvised weapons, master new techniques, and create devastating combos to fight off relentless goons and bandits! Karate Survivor delivers intense, fast-paced combat where improvisation and creativity are key to surviving the streets.

The Last Case

SOFTPLAY S.R.L

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$9.99 $7.99

Pre-order

The Last Case – October 28
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

Step into the shoes of a police officer investigating the mysterious disappearance of children. Enter the twisted world of a dangerous mind and uncover the truth. See everything through a body camera. Every moment is recorded and later reviewed at the station to teach rookies how a real pro handles a case.

Platypus Steps (Xbox Series)

Afil Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Platypus Steps – October 28

Get ready for an adventure full of creativity and strategy in Platypus Steps! Help an adorable baby platypus reach the cookie jar by carefully planning the path it needs to follow. Observe the environment, choose the right elements, and build a safe route to reach the objective! In each level, you begin in planning mode, observing the character’s position, the obstacles, and all the available possibilities. Use the cursor to select and place elements such as springs, wind, and platforms, creating the perfect path for the platypus. When you’re satisfied with your plan, press Play and watch your strategy come to life!

Primal Planet

Pretty Soon

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Primal Planet – October 28
XBOX Play Anywhere

Primal Planet is a solo developed metroidvania that combines survival and crafting elements with a pixel-perfect aesthetic and an action-packed story, and it’s all taking place on a lush planet filled with dinosaurs. Embark on a thrilling journey as you follow the gripping tale of a cave dweller fighting to protect his family. Survive a brutal T-Rex attack and uncover a narrative blending the wild with intriguing sci-fi twists. Forge unexpected alliances as you unravel the truth behind an alien presence.

SULFUR

Copyright by Perfect Random AB. All rights reserved.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

SULFUR – October 28
Smart Delivery

SULFUR is a roguelike FPS with fast-paced gunplay, cooking mechanics, and hard choices. Explore hostile zones, fight unpredictable enemies, and loot everything in your power. Modify your weapons, stash your valuables, and cook strange meals to survive just a bit longer.

Beyond The Evil

QUByte Interactive

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Beyond The Evil – October 29

Get ready for an immersive experience of mystery and suspense. In Beyond The Evil, you take on the role of Detective Gary Nephew during one of the most unsettling investigations of his career. Explore an isolated estate full of secrets and solve challenging puzzles to uncover the sinister experiments that threaten the world. With no combat mechanics, the gameplay focuses on thorough exploration of the environment, collecting clues, and solving problems using pure logic. Find keys, unlock safes, and discover the whereabouts of the Juniper siblings before it’s too late. Every decision brings you closer to the terrifying conclusion of this gripping story.

Candy Shop Simulator

Games Incubator S.A.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$9.99 $8.99

Pre-order

Candy Shop Simulator – October 29

Step into the sweet world of confectionery and build the candy shop of your dreams! Create delicious pastries, chocolates, gummies, and other tasty treats, then stock your shelves and welcome eager customers. Manage every aspect of your business, from pricing and inventory to expanding your store with new products and equipment. Experiment with recipes, unlock fresh opportunities, and grow your small neighborhood shop into a thriving candy empire.

The Cat in the Hat: Rainy Day Mayhem

Outright Games Ltd.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$39.99

Pre-order

The Cat in the Hat: Rainy Day Mayhem – October 29
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

The Cat in the Hat once said, “It is fun to have fun, but you have to know how.” Everyone from the mischievous Dr. Seuss classic is here. Become smart and steady Sally, energetic wild card Johnny, cause double the trouble as Thing 1 & Thing 2 or be cheerful Little Cat A. And of course, the chaos conductor, The Cat in the Hat and anxiously wise Fish will be there to help, on this zany ride.

Choice of Life: Floors

Sobaka Studio LLP

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$5.99

Pre-order

Choice of Life: Floors – October 29
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

To find yourself in a world of your own nightmares, you only need to step into the wrong elevator. Use the items you find, fight the creatures of your mind, embrace the absurdity of your situation, and decide: will you escape this nightmare, or drown in it forever? A dark story told with irony and humor, heightening both the absurdity of the events and the fragility of the human mind. Sometimes, laughing at horror is the only way to cope.

Choice of Life: Samosbor

Sobaka Studio LLP

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$4.99

Pre-order

Choice of Life: Samosbor – October 29
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

The legendary Choice of Life franchise returns in a new game! The gray concrete walls of the living cell, closing the hermetic door at the sound of a siren – all this is commonplace in Gigastructure. Everything here goes its way, until the block is isolated in search of a secret object…

Croc 2 Kingdom of the Gobbos

Argonaut Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Croc 2 Kingdom of the Gobbos – October 29

Croc 2 Kingdom of the Gobbos is the sequel to the multi-million selling classic, Croc Legend of the Gobbos. The night before Croc’s next adventure begins, the inventor Gobbo witnesses the Dantinis resurrecting Baron Dante, and is taken prisoner for seeing too much. Back on the beach at Gobbo Valley, Croc is playing when he spots a bottle washed up in the sand. Inside is a message revealing that his birth parents are searching for him. He sets off for the mainland to find them, but the journey soon becomes a showdown, as Baron Dante vows revenge against the humble little crocodile who once defeated him.

Curse of Resthaven

Digital Bandidos

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Curse of Resthaven – October 29
Smart Delivery

Resthaven is cursed. Your niece has vanished. And in seven days, the island will be destroyed. Curse of Resthaven is a single-player narrative roguelite where investigation, town management, trading, deck building, and branching expeditions combine into a dark mystery of survival and consequence. Take command of the cursed island colony of Resthaven after your niece disappears on the eve of catastrophe. Govern the town, interrogate suspicious locals, trade with visiting merchants, upgrade vital businesses, and decide who — or what — to trust as the island’s secrets begin to surface.

HELLBOUND INC

Seashell Studio

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

HELLBOUND INC – October 29

HELLBOUND INC is a rage-inducing precision platformer where you play as an undead courier trapped in a fulfillment center recently purchased by Satan himself. Navigate rooms filled with spikes, flame jets, demonic machinery, and collapsing platforms. Push crates, flip switches, activate conveyor belts, and time your jumps to get each delivery to its destination. Every area is a tightly designed challenge that tests both your reflexes and your problem-solving skills.

Hunting Simulator 3

Nacon

☆☆☆☆☆ 7

★★★★★

$49.99

Pre-order

Hunting Simulator 3 – October 29

Set off to deepest Colorado, or untamed outback of Texas, each with dozens of wild species to hunt. In these ever-changing ecosystems, each animal reacts to what you do, each individual ages over time, can reproduce and exhibits true-to-life behaviour thanks to our unique “SimFauna” system. The game’s immersive soundscape and dynamic weather plunge you into a variety of natural habitats, teeming with wildlife.

HYPERVIOLENT

Fulqrum Publishing

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

HYPERVIOLENT – October 29

HYPERVIOLENT is a brutal, old-school FPS in the style of classic sprite-based 3D games from the 1990s – but think more System Shock, less DOOM. After responding to a distress signal from Commodus Asteroid 27-C, a remote mining colony, you find yourself in the midst of an outbreak of violence among its inhabitants. You must unravel the secrets of the asteroid and the evil hidden deep within its mines as you seek an answer to the madness within its complex corridors.

Joe & Mac Retro Collection

Red Art Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$19.99 $17.99

Pre-order

Joe & Mac Retro Collection – October 29

Grab your hammer, the Stone Age is back and bigger than ever! For the first time, three legendary adventures from the Joe & Mac universe are united in a single collection. Step back in time and join your favorite cavemen in their wildest escapades through jungle mayhem, fighting dinos, and stone-age fun.

Love: Fall in Death

SNR Interactive

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Love: Fall in Death – October 29

An FMV interactive romantic comedy where your choices, timing, and luck shape every scene. Make decisions, roll the dice, and guide Kutay through a night that can turn into love or total chaos. As the story unfolds, Kutay might discover things about himself, confront unexpected emotions, and realize that sometimes people are far more complicated than they seem. He could end up in a fight with strangers, caught between two powerful feelings, or screaming his head off. Sometimes he can’t take his eyes off someone; other times, he’s risking it all.

My Life: Zoo Vet

Markt+Technik Verlag GmbH

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$19.99

Pre-order

My Life: Zoo Vet – October 29
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

Many exciting tasks await you in the zoo, and some of the cute residents need your help. From clumsy young animals to curious penguins and powerful elephants – they all need nursing back to health! Examine the patients carefully, figure out what’s wrong, and give them the treatments they need. Pack up your vet’s bag and off you go – they’re already expecting you! Claim your patch, plant your crops, and stake your territory before your rivals do. Every seed you sow could be a decision play it safe with a steady harvest, or gamble on a high-risk, high-reward crop that could change everything… or just let your friends do all the hard work and steal their stuff too.

Planted! – October 29

Planted! is a horticultural combat party game where gardens are arenas, plants become weapons, and the gap between “tending your crops” and “launching them at your opponents” is smaller than you’d think.

The Transference

JanduSoft

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$12.49 $9.99

Pre-order

The Transference – October 29

The Transference is a first-person narrative escape-room thriller set in northern Andalusia, Spain, in the late 1990s. You play as Marcos, who wakes up trapped inside his own home without knowing how or why. The doors and windows have been boarded up from the inside, which means whoever sealed the house may still be there with you.

Train Yard Builder

Ultimate Games S.A.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$19.99 $17.99

Pre-order

Train Yard Builder – October 29

Enter the world of Train Yard Builder and customize your railway to your heart’s content. Work with different models of trains and wagons, control them the way you want, and use modeler tools to unleash your creativity.

The Zibbo Show

Tessera Studios

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

The Zibbo Show – October 29
XBOX Play Anywhere

The lights are on. The audience is going crazy. And tonight, YOU are the star of the show! Progress through 12 rounds of increasingly dangerous opponents, build a new strategy every run, and face Zibbo himself in the in the grand finale! If you make it that far. You and your opponent each have a 3×3 board and nine dice. Take turns placing one die at a time. Matching values in a column multiplies your score, and placing the right dice opposite an enemy column destroys their dice. Every placement is a decision full of luck, strategy, and the occasional regret. The crowd loves it either way!

The Abjuration Stand

Brainium Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

The Abjuration Stand – October 30
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

Fast 2D tower defense and survival game. You play a small wizard who holds the line while green slimes and other monsters flood the path. You fight on the field and build at the same time. Place attacking orbs, swords and staffs. Spend crystals on new defenses. Between waves choose upgrades that stay for the rest of the run.

Cat Pipes: More Meow (Xbox Series)

Tribus Games Indie

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Cat Pipes: More Meow – October 30

Cat Pipes: More Meow is a cozy, hand-drawn puzzle game about guiding warmth to sleepy cats. Rotate the pipes to connect the flow from the main source to every cat in the room, then watch each one light up and purr. With 51 handcrafted levels that ease you in and slowly grow into satisfying brain-teasers, portals that bend the path across the board, and a warm lo-fi atmosphere, it’s the perfect little game to unwind with.

Corner Shop: NightShift

PlayWay S.A.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Corner Shop: NightShift – October 30
XBOX Play Anywhere

Take a night shift job in a place that runs on habit, not purpose. Restock shelves, take deliveries, clean the mess, and try to make it till morning. Not everything feels right and you’re never quite alone. Something waits in the dark. Corner Shop: Nightshift is a first-person narrative horror sim set in a failing convenience store. Play as Adam Callahan and try to put your life back together.

Ex-Master, Zombie

Brainium Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Ex-Master, Zombie – October 30
Smart Delivery

You are a zombie, risen from the grave to reclaim what was lost. At first, you are only a head, but with each found body fragment, forgotten skills, strength, and the true nature of the Ex-Master return. A 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania where every step opens new possibilities.

Love Love Mystery Club

Dolores Entertainment

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Love Love Mystery Club – October 30
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

Love Love Mystery Club is an immersive horror-dating simulator set in a Thai high school. You play as a young student who one day starts to see spirits and decides to join the occult club. Who will be the one that you want to protect the most?

The Night of the Exorcism

Ratalaika Games S.L.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

The Night of the Exorcism – October 30
Smart Delivery

Summoned to the remote village of Southshire-Upon-Yail, you must diagnose the afflictions of a young woman that suffers a mysterious illness. Each decision you make will unveil a piece of the mystery and bring you closer to discovering the truth behind her ailments, and whatever harms her. The devils inside Isabella will not be removed easily. Navigate the seven creatures that hold her life in her hands, and find a way to expel them one by one – or succumb to their temptations.

Pinballoid Crush

Super Power Up Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$11.99 $9.59

Pre-order

Pinballoid Crush – October 30
Smart Delivery / XBOX Play Anywhere

In Pinballoid Crush, classic pinball evolves into an arcade experience with adventure and strategy elements. The cursed tower rises before you: a colossus whose walls pulse with neon light and echoes of ancient battles. Deep within await the 5 Generals of the Demon King, surrounded by their infernal hordes. They have kidnapped the Saint to offer her as a sacrifice and open a portal that will allow their master to return to this world. Your mission is to plunge into the unknown and rescue her before the Dark Lord’s plans come to pass.

Space Rock Breaker

Games Harbor

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$5.99

Pre-order

Space Rock Breaker – October 30
Smart Delivery

Space Rock Breaker is a short incremental game about mining asteroids in space. Mine asteroids with guns, unlock new materials, process the ore by dropping it into a Plinko machine, and spend your credits on upgrades in a massive skill tree.

The post Next Week on XBOX: New Games for October 26 to 30 appeared first on XBOX Wire.

When we started working on the Traits and Some Magic DLC, we wanted to change that.

That’s why one of the central additions in the DLC is a system of more than 40 traits. The goal isn’t simply to make you stronger. It’s to encourage you to build your strategy around the circumstances of each individual run.

One out of Three

Every few days and after a Blood Moon, you can choose one of three traits.

They are divided into three rarities: Common, Uncommon, and Rare. After a Blood Moon, the chance of seeing rarer options increases.

The simplest traits might provide a small economic boost or increase your unit’s health. But the ones we find most interesting offer a much stronger effect in exchange for a meaningful restriction.

Master of the Bow, for example, forces you to use only archers but significantly increases their damage.

Manifest Destiny reduces mood but allows you to acquire several upcoming zones for free.

Glass Cannon reduces your unit’s health while increasing their damage.

Then the combinations start to come into play. Glass Cannon can be combined with Blood Money and Master of the Bow to create archers capable of dealing huge amounts of damage.

Another run might go in a completely different direction. You could have incredibly powerful archers but no walls at all. Or your units might end up with so much health that they become extremely difficult to kill.

What’s important to us is that players respond to what they get instead of repeating the same strategy every time.

Why not Every Bonus is Purely a Bonus

We deliberately made some traits come with trade-offs.

If every choice only provides a positive effect, then all three options are essentially correct. We thought it would be much more interesting for the player to ask: Do I really want this powerful bonus if it also means accepting a serious restriction?

Is it worth spending resources on it right now? Can my existing strategy handle the new limitation? Will I have to rethink my army?

Those are the kinds of decisions that can create memorable runs. When an unusual combination of traits works, we want you to feel that it happened because of the choices you made, rather than because you simply collected a series of automatic upgrades.

We balanced the system through internal playtests and formulas in Google Sheets. With more than 40 traits, there are plenty of possible combinations, so we had to look not only at individual values but also at what happens when different effects start working together.

Mages: Lots of Damage, Little Room for Error

Traits and Some Magic also adds two new unit types: Mages and Clerics. Both can be recruited from the new Mage School.

From the beginning, Mages were designed around high risk and high potential impact. They’re easy to kill, but if used correctly, they can deal a huge amount of damage. Their area damage is especially useful against groups of enemies. A well-positioned Mage can take out many opponents in only a few attacks. The trade-off is their vulnerability. Walls can be a good place to position Mages, or they can stay behind other units where enemies have a harder time reaching them.

Clerics Can Help Keep your Army Alive

Clerics are fragile too, but instead of dealing damage, they provide healing.

One of the problems we wanted to address with Clerics was the constant loss of units, particularly during boss fights. Clerics give players a way to keep units alive longer and should be particularly useful for anyone trying to complete the game without losing a single unit.

I particularly like their synergy with Swordsmen. Together, they can form a very strong line of units, but that doesn’t make your army invulnerable. Enemy archers and certain other units can kill Clerics fairly quickly if you leave them exposed. So the new unit isn’t simply another option to add to your army. Its position on the battlefield becomes part of the decision.

How we Built More Than 40 Traits with a Small Team

One of the biggest constraints during the development of Traits and Some Magic was time, as well as the number of people working on the project. Some features we initially planned for the DLC had to be postponed.

That made it important for us to build the trait system in a way that didn’t require constant programmer involvement whenever we wanted to create new content.

As a result, designers can create new traits without developers having to implement each one. This saved us a significant amount of time and allowed the team to iterate on new options and test them more quickly during internal playtests.

We also experimented with another system, part of which still exists in the project. It allowed players to select modifiers before starting a game, with no limit on how many modifiers could be active.

Players could combine conditions to create almost impossible runs with numerous restrictions or, in the opposite direction, remove mechanics they didn’t want to use, such as mood or the unit limit.

We didn’t have time to complete this feature for the DLC, so it isn’t part of Traits and Some Magic. But the experiment reflects the direction we were thinking about during development: we wanted to give you more reasons to change the way you normally play.

Traits do that directly during a run. Sometimes they reinforce what you’re already doing. Sometimes they ask you to take a risk. And sometimes they can force you to abandon a strategy that previously seemed universal.

That’s exactly what we wanted them to do.

Traits and Some Magic is available now for Becastled. We can’t wait to see what strategies you come up with using the new traits, Mages, and Clerics.

Becastled

Pingle Studio

☆☆☆☆☆ 62

★★★★★

$24.99

Get it now

Build a castle by day and defend it by night. Becastled combines cozy city-building with thrilling tower defense strategy. Lead the Sun Kingdom in its final stand against the Moon beasts and bring an end to the ancient conflict between light and darkness! Rule over your own fantasy realm. Build a mighty keep, lay roads, gather resources, and grow a thriving settlement that will feed and shelter your people. Keep your subjects happy with taverns and decorations, and your economy strong with markets and workshops � all to support an army ready to fight at your command. The countdown to war begins at dawn. There's not a moment to waste. Raise walls, station archers on the battlements, and mount ballistas and trebuchets atop your towers. Shape the terrain to your advantage, crafting layered defenses to withstand any assault. The siege horns blare at sunset. How long will your fortress endure the night? BUILD A CASTLE BY DAY Transform a humble village into a thriving medieval city. Build farms and markets to keep your people fed and prosperous, and secure a steady flow of wood and iron. Raise walls and watchtowers, fortify the gates, and prepare your defenses for the siege to come. Adorn the streets with decorations to lift morale before the night falls. Develop a fantasy bastion where life flourishes under the sun! KEEP YOUR PEOPLE HAPPY Satisfied subjects work harder and fight with greater courage. Sawmills may sour the air, but lively taverns lift every spirit. Strike the right balance between comfort and function to keep your kingdom strong through each long night. DEFEND AGAINST A SIEGE AT NIGHT As daylight fades, the Moon beasts grow bolder. They�ll strike with battering rams, siege towers, and raging dragons. Defy their might with layered walls and iron gates. Rain fire upon them with catapults and disciplined archers. Hold the line until dawn � no matter the cost. TRAIN AN UNSTOPPABLE ARMY Forge sturdy weapons and armor to ready your warriors for the siege. Advance from simple infantry to powerful siege engines � mount ballistas and trebuchets atop your towers. Archers, swordsmen, and pikemen will fight to their last breath if trained and equipped well. But if the walls fall, every villager must rise to defend their home. SHAPE THE LAND TO YOUR ADVANTAGE Hills, rivers, and forests are your natural defenses. Choose your keep�s location wisely � it can set you on the path to an unbreakable stronghold. But be aware, as seasons change, these allies can betray you. A river may serve as a moat in summer, only to freeze in winter and become a bridge for your enemies. Each season brings unique weather effects that affect both defense and production. To survive the winter, you�ll need to stockpile enough supplies while the sun still shines. BUILD, DEFEND, EXPAND, REPEAT A thriving economy powers a stronger army. Expand your domain, claim new lands, and mine precious Sunstone to build and protect your people. But beware � stretch your borders too thin, and you�ll leave your realm exposed. As your settlement grows, you will push back the forces of the night. But will you have the strength to end the ancient war between the Sunfolk and the creatures of the Moon?

The post How More Than 40 New Traits Change Your Strategy in Becastled appeared first on XBOX Wire.

The co-op climbing game PEAK, is officially out today on XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC with XBOX Play Anywhere. A game built on working together with your troop to traverse the various biomes on an island after a crash landing.

PEAK is a collaboration between two studios, Aggro Crab and Landfall, together, we make Team PEAK.

Aggro Crab is an American studio based in Seattle, Washington, known for their games Another Crab’s Treasure and Going Under. Landfall is a Swedish studio based in Stockholm, known for games like Content Warning, Haste, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, Stick Fight: The Game, and many more.

Both studios became friends after meeting at a game developer conference in 2022, instantly kicking it off. After the success of Another Crab’s Treasure and Content Warning, the teams thought that it could be cool to collaborate on a small project together. This idea came to life a couple of months later as part of a game jam.

A game jam is a timed event where individuals or teams create a game from scratch within a strict deadline, often following a secret or shared theme. Initially, the theme for the game had been discussed by the devs while sitting in a hot tub in Sweden, a couple of months before heading to South Korea for the jam.

The result was PEAK, a co-op climbing game where the slightest mistake can spell your doom. You play solo or as a group of lost nature scouts, with your only hope of rescue from a mysterious island being to scale the mountain at its center.

As we say in Scoutmaster Myres’ guidebook: Never abandon a friend in need. So, we made sure that not only can you play with your fellow XBOX scouts…This release also comes with crossplay! Grab your friends to form a scout troop across multiple platforms, and get climbing to the PEAK. You’ll need to rely on your friends to have any hope of scaling the mountain, which changes every single day. Help each other up ledges, or place ropes and climbing spikes to make the way easier for those who come after.

The Mountain Takes no Prisoners! Climb through 4 biomes on your way to the PEAK, each with their own life-threatening obstacles. This release comes with ALL content updates, including additional biomes, cosmetics and features. You’ll need to scavenge for questionable food to survive, and manage your injuries carefully – every setback limits your stamina, making it harder to climb.

PEAK was developed with friendship in mind from the very beginning. Originally made from a one month game jam in South Korea, three Aggro Crab devs and four Landfall devs locked themselves in a rented apartment, fueled by Korean BBQ and coffee to make the chaotic climbing game that’s made it to XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC at long last. Grab your troop, Bing Bong, and we’ll see you at the PEAK.

PEAK is out now for XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC. Play it on both console and PC at no additional cost with XBOX Play Anywhere.

PEAK

Evil Landfall?

☆☆☆☆☆ 173

★★★★★

$9.99

Get it now

PEAK is a co-op climbing game where the slightest mistake can spell your doom. Either solo or as a group of lost nature scouts, your only hope of rescue from a mysterious island is to scale the mountain at its center. Do you have what it takes to reach the PEAK? "WORK TOGETHER Need a Hand? You’ll need to rely on your friends to have any hope of scaling the mountain, which changes each day you play. Help each other up ledges, or place ropes and climbing spikes to make the way easier for those who come after." "CLIMB The Mountain Takes no Prisoners! Climb through 4 biomes on your way to the PEAK, each with their own life-threatening obstacles. You’ll need to scavenge for questionable food to survive, and manage your injuries carefully – every setback limits your stamina, making it harder to climb." "SURVIVE Prepare For the Worst: Discover a variety of helpful survival items, from energy drinks to climbing spikes to the mysterious Anti-Rope. You’ve got no hope of making it to the PEAK unless you press every advantage given to you." "A NEW ISLAND EACH DAY The game's map rotates out every 24 hours! Try out the new layout each day, or give the same island multiple attempts in a day until you conquer it." "EARN BADGES A Well-Seasoned Scout: Show off your survival prowess with dozens of badges to earn and cosmetics to unlock." "CLIMBING IS BETTER WITH FRIENDS Multiplayer in PEAK is friends-only – invite up to three other scouts online to climb together, or face the mountain alone if you're really brave!" FEATURES Online, cross-platform co-op and offline single player Climb with a total of 4 friends Communicate through proximity chat  A variety of biomes to ascend through A bunch of questionable foods Lots of different climbing items Campfires and marshmallows Character customization Ghosts

The post The Power of PEAK Friendship, Coming to XBOX Today appeared first on XBOX Wire.

TRANSCRIPT

SPEAKER 1: Games in this podcast range from E to M.
[ XBOX sound ]
LINA MADRID: Hey everyone, welcome to the official XBOX podcast, the only podcast coming to you from inside XBOX.
I’m here today at Infinity Ward to cover all things Modern Warfare 4.
You excited for campaign?
Getting sweaty in multiplayer?
How about the new DMZ mode?
We’re covering everything.
All right, Ghosts, let’s roll out.
[ Music ]
Jack, Mark, welcome.
Thank you so much for being here.
MARK GRIGSBY: Thank you.
JACK O’HARA: Thanks for having us.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
MARK GRIGSBY: Welcome to the Ward Room.
LINA MADRID: Honestly, thank you for having me here.
This is such a cool room too.
We’ve got Ghost back there just watching us.
MARK GRIGSBY: Sure.
He’s always watching.
LINA MADRID: Let’s start with Infinity Ward itself.
The studio has been making Call of Duty games for — MARK GRIGSBY: Since the beginning, centuries, yes.
LINA MADRID: What do you think defines an Infinity Ward Call of Duty game?
JACK O’HARA: The people that make it, that’s what helps define it.
MARK GRIGSBY: That’s a good one, yes.
LINA MADRID: That was really good.
Ooh, I got chills.
JACK O’HARA: For us, you know, we spend a lot of time paying attention to the small details.
We spend a lot of time trying to be as authentic as possible to the subject matter for the launch of the game.
We’ve done a lot of research on Korea, the military in Korea.
We want to make sure that all of that comes through in the games we’re making.
MARK GRIGSBY: Then just the energy, just keeping the energy at a high level so everyone feels that same vision that we’re going for, the overall vibes.
LINA MADRID: Vibes need to be high.
Vibes definitely need to be high, yeah.
With Modern Warfare 4, stepping into the shoes of Private Park.
The opening mission has us in South Korea.
It looks beautiful, and we actually get a moment to kind of see the city at the peak of normalcy, which was really interesting.
I would love to know how you landed on focusing Modern Warfare 4 on the Korean peninsula for the majority of the game.
Also, what were some authentically Korean elements you really wanted to capture?
JACK O’HARA: When we started setting off to make this game, we knew we wanted to go to a fresh setting.
We wanted to go somewhere where we hadn’t been before, in order to reinvigorate a little bit Modern Warfare and go somewhere different.
Then we started talking about Asia, and then we started trying to hone in on where exactly, and then, really, we started dialing in on the fact that, you know, we’re in what’s called a Hallyu wave.
That’s the spread of Korean culture throughout the world.
It started in the ’90s with K-dramas making their way into Hong Kong and Shanghai and places like that.
Now we all eat Korean food.
We watch Korean movies.
We watch K-dramas.
We have a lot of Koreans who work here across the company in various different jobs.
We have a Slack channel that we call Korean culture where people can go in who are not Korean and say, hey, I’m making this thing.
How do I make this authentic?
I was just looking in there, and there’s two people having a conversation because, at IW, we always like to have, when the Juggernaut is there, he’s playing death metal in his ears, and so we’re, well, now we’re going to make some Korean death metal.
There’s two people having a conversation there about what the lyrics of the death metal song should be in Korean, right?
You know, looking through, there’s people discussing, are these snacks authentic?
Does this sign on the wall look authentic?
Then we started to dial in on the fact that, we’re always looking to make our games feel like they’re ripped from the headlines, which means not copied because you don’t want to feel trite, but you want it to feel like it could happen in our world, in the world that we live in today.
Korea, I remember coming across a picture from, I think it was CNN, that showed all the artillery batteries in North Korea on the border that are within range of Seoul.
It’s kind of crazy because when we talk to South Koreans, they don’t really think about it that much.
It’s this thing that’s in the background, seems unlikely, yet every able-bodied male is conscripted.
They serve in the military, and those military units are often cooperating with U.S.
troops because there’s such a huge U.S.
troop presence there.
All these things just kind of made a perfect for us for Modern Warfare.
LINA MADRID: I pointed to Ghost, who’s kind of watching us as we conduct this, but what I really found interesting throughout the campaign is you have Price and Ghost.
These are fan favorites.
We’ve been through everything together, and then there’s a really interesting juxtaposition between them, their missions, and then you have Private Park and his squad.
So how do you go about telling a cohesive story from two very distinct perspectives?
JACK O’HARA: It was definitely a challenge, and we kind of set this challenge off to start with because we were really interested in showing that fresh new perspective.
Obviously, we have to stay true to Modern Warfare and have our main characters there.
At the end of the last game, MW3, in the franchise, Price had just killed a general in the Pentagon.
It’s kind of hard to come back from that, right?
So we couldn’t just pretend that didn’t happen.
It was kind of also interesting and new to show Task Force 141 in a different light, which is Price on the run.
The squad’s been disbanded, or most of it, and so that was really interesting because it’s showing a new perspective for them.
We’re showing the new ground perspective, and then these two stories start off.
You’re not sure if they’re related, and then over the course of the campaign, you realize that these two groups are having a big impact on each other’s lives, even if they’re not fighting side by side.
LINA MADRID: You have to think of kind of the whole package, right?
With Modern Warfare 4, how do you honor these things that people from the past, you know, they love, while still managing to surprise people with this new campaign?
MARK GRIGSBY: Well, we’re fans of our characters and our stories as much as our fans out there in the wild, so we want to be true to that.
We want to make sure that we honor what we’ve created, what we love, but we also have to push, and we look at ourselves.
We go, all right, does that feel wrong?
We’re constantly asking ourselves, does that feel right?
Does that feel wrong?
Does that feel right for this character, and then we bring it back and go, all right, but what if we did this?
There’s been multiple times in the process where we were in a room constantly, you know, we’re fighting and stuff.
We don’t fight that much, but we fight.
LINA MADRID: You discuss very — MARK GRIGSBY: We discuss very, very passionately.
LINA MADRID: Passionately, yes, yeah, yeah.
MARK GRIGSBY: Someone might say something, and you’re like, oh, that’s really cool.
Then it grows into something else, and then we come back the next time, and maybe it changed again.
Somebody wanted something else, but we finally start finding those things that make us go, oh, ooh, wow, right?
LINA MADRID: Yeah, and we’re hoping that hits the public the same way.
I also went, ooh, ooh, wow, when I was playing, so yeah.
MARK GRIGSBY: Cool, cool.
LINA MADRID: One final question for you.
Imagine all the enemies in the campaign drop their weapons and give the player a moment of peace.
What would you want that player to then go run out and do, explore, maybe see a piece of the map, or maybe there’s some Easter eggs to take a look at?
MARK GRIGSBY: I mean, a lot of people have put a lot of attention, again, that attention to detail in the world that they’ve created.
A lot of people take a moment, look around before you shoot the next person.
DMZ, the DMZ level, Hajin, there’s so much detail in that map.
Whenever I’m in it, I’m running around, I’m checking things out, hoping that no one shoots me.
It would be great if no one’s in there so I could really explore all the different areas of that map.
That map is pretty badass, so — LINA MADRID: Awesome.
Well, thank you again for being here.
MARK GRIGSBY: Thank you.
JACK O’HARA: Thank you.
Of course, this is cool.
LINA MADRID: Let’s go.
Jack, Jacky, welcome, we actually had a Jack before, so now we have three Jacks that we’re interviewing.
This is great.
JACK HOPPUS: We’re everywhere.
LINA MADRID: I’m going to be collecting you all, basically.
JACKY REYNOLDS: Yeah, it’s a requirement to get hired here.
LINA MADRID: Okay.
Got it.
I played multiplayer, and my God, does it feel good.
JACK HOPPUS: You were crushing.
You were crushing.
LINA MADRID: Thank you.
We played together.
You heard it here first, but there were a couple of new mechanics that really surprised me, like the Gunny System.
How does a system like that help lend a hand to maybe a new player, but also, at the same time, reward those who branch out and experiment on their own?
JACK HOPPUS: Yeah, I mean, Gunsmith is a part of our creative class system that we’ve had for a bit, and we love the complexity and the depth that it brings to building your weapons, but sometimes you just want to go in and play.
You don’t want to sit in menus, or maybe you just unlocked a bunch of attachments for your gun, and you don’t want to, “Alt-Tab” to another website and find out what the meta build is.
Sometimes you just want to feel how good the gun is immediately, and Gunny was a tool that we used a lot internally as well.
Even amongst our more high-skill players that really love Gunsmith, hardcore players at the studio, they love Gunny because they can immediately tell the power of a weapon.
It’s been really fun to just see the random, crazy weapon builds that it’ll give you.
Sometimes you’ll get a build for quick scoping, and you play with it a bit, and you’re like, you know what, I want to change out the scope on this one, or, you know, maybe I want a new stock on this.
It’s a great launch pad for a new weapon build, but it’s also kind of good if you just want to, in the heat of the fray, you know, not sit in creative class for a long time.
You just want to immediately get a gun, so we love Gunny here at the studio.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, less reading, which is great for me.
Kill Block, we’ve got to talk about.
The shiny new mode, right, so 500 different slabs, over 500 that we designed for it.
How do you even come up with an idea like that?
Who said, “Let’s do a roulette mode with over 500 options?” JACKY REYNOLDS: One of our creative directors, Jeff Smith, who’s made a bunch of classic maps, like Vacant and Crash, he kind of had this idea — I think it was his last project — of what if we had a living map that could change every time you play it?
We got to work on all the level designers’ game, and we’re able to make all these individual pieces.
They’re, like, what if we could bring this part of a map from a classic part of the game, so you’ll see a crash slab or a high-rise slab from traditional modern warfare games.
When we stood this thing up, we found that it would work really, really great with gunfight, because every time the loadouts change, the map will also change, and so we’ve been having a ton of fun playing it on the studio, and the best part is that Kill Block is also set up to support a lot of our respawn modes, our TDMs, our Dominations, Search and Destroy.
JACK HOPPUS: Search and Destroy is so much fun on Kill Block.
It’s insane.
JACKY REYNOLDS: Kill Block is kind of a whole new way for us to think about making maps.
JACK HOPPUS: Just based off the amount of combinations we have, you can kind of get the stars aligned, and you get these crazy combos where the entire mid lane is all open, where it’s got a middle slab that has an open mid and the two ends both do, too.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACK HOPPUS: You spawn in, and you see almost them exactly about to spawn, and you’re, I’ve got sniper, am I going to try to quick scope, or do I run to the side and get a flank route?
With traditional maps that we’ve made throughout the years, you kind of get this map knowledge where you can understand, okay, here’s the flank route that I should take, or here’s the one spot where I love to snipe.
With Kill Block, because that changes every time, you get almost slab knowledge, where you’re, oh, okay, I’m on this end slab.
I’ve played this before.
I can get up on the shipping container here, and the mid now allows me to use the shipping container to snipe down here, so you can kind of build this in your brain and accumulate this knowledge in a way that, when they align in a dope way, you can feel like you’re like, oh, I’m a genius.
I’m a genius.
I can take this flank route now, and we love it at the studio.
We always find these cool new combinations that we haven’t seen yet, and we’re, like, oh, this is so sick.
Like Jacky was saying, it’s super fun to play on modes like Search and Destroy and Kill Confirmed.
It’s a real pleasure.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, and then another mode, Ground War, Combat Outpost, name as large as the map, right?
Was there any back and forth when talking about how do we appeal to people like me who like to just snipe in the open field, or the tank demons, or even the respectable people who like to rat in a corner?
JACKY REYNOLDS: Yeah, ground war, it kind of lets us do a lot of the things that we want to do, but we can’t really do in your 6v6 encounters.
We’ve got a great vehicle sandbox.
We’ve got all these great killstreaks, and we’ve got, loving being a sniper, we want to give you these long-range opportunities that you have.
Ground war has always been, like, a great way for us to do that, and this project, we wanted to take ground war to Hajin.
With Hajin, we have so many awesome places for players to check out, and so bringing that in a ground war context, it lets us leverage the map and the best parts of ground war while bringing something new with Combat Outpost.
Combat Outpost, as you’re taking these points, you can stay on them for a little bit longer to get sort of team-wide buffs.
The first one you get is a UAV.
The second one that you’ll get is a care package for your team.
Then the third one you’re going to get is a tank that drops down, and the tank is really great.
You can just run over lobbies with it.
JACK HOPPUS: Ground War provides this big infantry-style vehicular sandbox that players can play in that you can still use all your same weapons and killstreaks from our core 6v6 modes.
It’s always cool to see this big air show when people are calling in helicopters and crossfires, and people are driving cars, and you’re coordinating with your team in a way that you can go from playing our intimate 6v6 modes and then also hop over to Combat Outpost is a complete different flavor profile.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, is there anything else that maybe you haven’t been asked that you really want to talk about, nerd out about?
JACK HOPPUS: I mean, I’m just excited for players to play all of our maps.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACK HOPPUS: We’ve got a bunch of stuff that we’re stoked on for launch, and it’s been super fun playing in the studio.
I just can’t wait to be out there with the players playing right alongside them.
JACKY REYNOLDS: I’m excited for post-launch as well.
I think we’ve got a lot of really cool stuff coming right out the gate.
Like, even before Season 1, we’ve got, you know, some stuff coming around Halloween, and we’ve got stuff coming through the rest of the year, so yeah, we’re stoked.
LINA MADRID: All right.
You know, this is the Official XBOX Podcast, so what is this?
JACK HOPPUS: Oh.
That’s our XBOX Blueprint.
It’s inspired by the cool — when we were growing up, the cool plastic shell, the clear interior, where you could see the interior of the consoles and of the cartridges, too, and controllers.
It’s so sick, and the weapons seem completely cooked with this one.
It’s kind of a harkening back to this plastic shell era of hardware, and it looks sick in-game.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACKY REYNOLDS: And it’s on the M4, so you know it’s going to be good.
LINA MADRID: Yeah.
Yeah, it looks beautiful.
I mean, just in time for the 25th anniversary, so we got that.
JACK HOPPUS: It’s sick, though.
When they showed us some of the early renders of it, it was like — LINA MADRID: Yeah.
JACK HOPPUS: You can see the bullets in the magazine.
LINA MADRID: Yes, yes.
JACK HOPPUS: The attention to detail is next level.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, definitely.
All right.
Well, thank you so much.
JACK HOPPUS: Yeah, thank you.
JACKY REYNOLDS: Totally.
LINA MADRID: I got to play DMZ.
It was a lot of fun.
I got Sherpa’d around, kind of shown the sites, some tips and stuff, but this is the new Extraction Mode.
Could you kind of set the scene, and also, for people who already love extraction games, what sets DMZ apart?
JOE CECOT: We’ve said that it’s our action extraction shooter, right?
And when we worked on Warzone way back in the day, we looked at Battle Royale and the tension and all of that, but we wanted people to get in fights, and that’s where kind of the gulag came from.
It gave you an extra chance, so you didn’t hesitate as much to get in that initial fight.
In developing the DMZ beta and in developing DMZ, we wanted to make sure that the same thing was true.
You didn’t mind fighting AI.
You didn’t mind going into dangerous areas, right?
So we’ve leaned in really hard to make sure we’re valuing your time, and whether you live or die, you’re progressing in DMZ.
You’re getting more powerful.
You’re having more fun.
It’s kind of like our philosophy around making an extraction shooter in Call of Duty.
GEOFF SMITH: Yeah, we always try to find rough edges in anything we do and iron those out from core MP to Battle Royales to this genre, and it’s the bringing your teammates back even if they’re dead.
It’s the MIA and these different things like Joe was saying and just really helping make it more accessible but still keep the tension and the depth of some of these.
LINA MADRID: Yeah, and we’ve heard there are story missions, the dynamic ops that really add layers to that experience, but are there any other sorts of ways that you keep each extraction fresh for players?
I know I saw there was the trait tree and a few perks that could really change up your play style.
GEOFF SMITH: We meticulously worked with single player to start this whole thing off and create this inciting incident that helped inform us what happened in the world and how could we set dress this world as to where did all the people go, and why does it look like this?
We wanted something that would drive the look of the world, and so you play through parts of it in single player.
All those parts are frozen in time for you to come back to and say, oh, wow, I was walking down this restaurant street.
I took this beach and took the city back.
I went through the trenches and fought through those.
We found in this genre that exploration and discovery of just the environment is a really big element, and it just helps the map become a character.
Added with the weather system, it just creates great replayability in that and many of our other systems with the trait tree.
JOE CECOT: Yeah, what I actually want to dive in is we’ve leaned in really hard to make sure that there’s this rich sandbox, and one of our directors, John Mundy, he likes to say, in DMZ you go in with a plan; you come out with a story, and it’s kind of this idea that you have these dynamic operations and they’re meant to give you some direction.
If you feel like you need that, you have it.
There’s a mission you can go do, but as you’re traveling through the world, a convoy might roll by.
A Deathstalker might fly by through the sky.
A player might come through, and you might fight, or you might say, hey, what are you working on?
We have another designer, Roman, who is amazing, and he’s Mr.
Loot, and not only has he placed all the places where loot can spawn and all the containers and whatever, but he’s really created this storytelling aspect to where loot is, why it’s there.
When you’re playing in Core MP, that experience doesn’t go directly into DMZ.
We want to make sure to preserve that extraction shooter experience, but when you’re playing in DMZ, all experience you run there actually does progress your Core MP rank, but the cool thing is your weapon levels are one-to-one between the two.
So you can actually work on your camo grind in both.
You can level up your guns in both, and leveling up the gun actually unlocks attachments in Gunsmith.
But in DMZ, the zag is that you have to use cash, in-game cash, to actually buy that gun and to actually customize that gun, or you can find a gun on deployment, bring it back, and bring it to your Gunsmith and add attachments.
As you’re playing with guns, you’re picking up the weapons off other players or off the hostiles in the environment.
You’re actually leveling those guns, increasing the ability to customize them so that you can then build better, more powerful, higher-rarity weapons to bring back in.
LINA MADRID: Nice.
Yeah.
One final question before I let you go.
When are we going to hear more about the dog from the opening?
JOE CECOT: Oh, my God.
LINA MADRID: Because that is keeping me up at night, and that’s on you.
GEOFF SMITH: That is on us, Rex.
That is on us.
You will see Rex again.
LINA MADRID: Okay.
All right.
GEOFF SMITH: There are plans for Rex.
We’re just not going to share them yet.
LINA MADRID: Good.
Well, thank you so much for coming to the podcast today.
It was a pleasure.
JOE CECOT: We could talk about DMZ for hours.
We’re really excited for everyone to hop in and play it and then to go into live seasons and kind of let it evolve.
LINA MADRID: Awesome.
Thanks again for coming.
JOE CECOT: Thank you.
LINA MADRID: Huge thanks again to Infinity Ward for having us out to play Call of Duty all day, and you can experience it for yourselves October 23rd.
See you in the next.
[ XBOX sound ]

The post Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 w/Devs – Campaign, Multiplayer, DMZ, and More | Official XBOX Podcast appeared first on XBOX Wire.

Summary

• FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is available now on XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC. Play it on both console and PC at no extra cost with XBOX Play Anywhere. Try it for free with a demo of the full first chapter, which carries over on purchase.
• Adapting the story of former mobile exclusive FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS into a wholly reimagined and rebuilt console RPG experience, it’s a charming, nostalgic return to the series’ aesthetic, narrative, and mechanical roots, thoughtfully modernized.
• It’s also the first time Square Enix has applied its HD-2D hybrid visual style to the FINAL FANTASY series.

It’s 1996. I’m happily traversing via chocobo and airship a magical world full of moogles, espers, crystals and magitek. I’m dazzled by the vibrant pixel art.

It’s 2026. I’m happily traversing via chocobo and airship a magical world full of moogles, espers, crystals and magitek. I’m dazzled by the vibrant pixel art.

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is the first time that Square Enix has applied its trademarked “HD-2D” style to its flagship franchise. Like in Triangle Strategy and the Octopath Traveler games, it combines expressive 2D pixel art sprites with 3D environments, cinematic cameras, dynamic lighting, particle effects, and depth of field into a compelling, hybrid aesthetic.

Several RPGs experimented with a similar look back on the PS1 (including Square’s own Xenogears), and the HD-2D games aren’t so much a throwback as they are emissaries from a parallel universe where pixel art was never supplanted by full 3D and instead evolved. With nearly a decade of practice in the style, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE might be the best and most pushed it’s looked yet.

The story is an adaptation of FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS, a free-to-play mobile gacha RPG that ran from 2015 to 2025, but this is no simple port or visual upgrade. Developers Square Enix and LANCARSE have built and balanced the combat/progression systems and world anew on top of that original story into a fully featured, single-player, single-purchase RPG. It’s a love letter to the series and a nostalgic return to its foundational roots with a modern upgrade, much like FINAL FANTASY IX did over 26 years ago.

First Fantasy

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE follows childhood friends Rain and Lasswell, knights for the idyllic Kingdom of Grandshelt. That idyll is shattered when a mysterious, powerful, armored man attacks the castle, steals a magical relic, and destroys the sacred Earth Crystal under the kingdom’s protection, throwing everything into chaos. Joined eventually by Fina, an amnesiac spellcaster with some connection to all of this,  and a party of unique individuals each with their own reason to stop the impending chaos, they set out to stop the Sworn Six from destroying the world’s other elemental Crystals, each protected in different lands.

Beyond being a visual throwback, this back-to-roots story is a direct return to the original style of archetypal fantasy narrative that dominated the first five entries in the series before FINAL FANTASY VI (my first and still personal favorite) started to really widen the dramatic and narrative scope of their storytelling ambitions. A party of four or more heroes endeavors to save the world-infrastructural elemental Crystals from some great peril. It’s a comfortable mythopoetic space that’s still very open-ended and easy to iterate for a classic-style RPG.

Like in the classic games, the high-fantasy melodrama of the overarching plot is balanced out by a brighter tone that’s often quite lighthearted from scene to scene. This levity keeps it fun and easy to play through but also helps land the heavier emotional beats by contrast.

Everyone Line Up

In addition to returning to the series’ aesthetic and narrative roots, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is also going back to classic, menu-driven combat. It’s not even Active-Time Battles, like the series iterated from FINAL FANTASY IV on, but fully turn-based, with a timeline on top of the screen showing the upcoming action order of allies and enemies. This adds a satisfyingly strategic layer to combat as you can preemptively react to the enemy, prioritizing targets and minimizing incoming harm.

A central new combat mechanic is that every enemy has a stagger meter. Every attack available to you indicates proportionally how much damage it does to both health and stagger. When you deplete an enemy’s stagger meter, they are stunned, losing their action for the round and taking more damage. The character that staggers an enemy gets a bonus action at the end of the round, and if you stagger every surviving enemy, you trigger a “sweeping stagger,” which gives your whole team a bonus end-of-round action.

Combined with a classic framework of elemental weakness/resistance and status effects (poison, blind, silence, charm, etc.), with targeting weaknesses doing more health and stagger damage, this creates a very satisfying old-school combat flow. Characters also progress in a very traditional fashion, gaining predetermined stats and a fixed, unique list of skills and spells as they level up.

Visions of the Past

Lest you worry about a lack of customization, however, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE has it in the form of Visions. These are the echoes of past FINAL FANTASY characters who lend Rain and his allies their powers in battle. So far, I’ve seen the Warrior of Light (I), Cloud (VII), Terra (VI) and Zidane (IX), with many more left to find scattered around the world in shrines. Each of your party members can have one Vision assigned at a time, gaining access to their abilities. Triggering a sweeping stagger also allows you to unleash its special Resonance attack, complete with a full 3D summon-style cutscene.

Fighting alongside Visions increases that character’s mastery level with them, unlocking more abilities, which can then be equipped up to a fixed point limit even with a different vision equipped. The combination of a character’s base skills and their Vision’s plus any others you’ve unlocked and equipped, gives quite a bit of latitude in how you construct each character’s kit, which I found myself situationally changing as I went to match the demands of whatever dungeon I was in.

It’s the most obvious echo of the game’s gacha roots in FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS, but stripped of all randomness and monetization. What’s left is just the compelling hook of wanting to find more cool characters to play with, especially if, like me, you have a longstanding history with the games. FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is very rewarding to fans in general, at every level chock-full of clever little nods and references to across the series’ whole history, like a bard you meet off-handedly describing himself as “spoony.”

Conveniences of the Future

Like so many of the best remakes and nostalgic media, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE succeeds by capturing your memory of the originals, rose-tinted glasses and all. All sorts of thoughtful little modernizations shave off those corners and bits of friction that can make the earlier games a little bit of a slog to replay. Enemy weaknesses and resistances are shown forever once you’ve found them, making it much easier to blaze through repeat combats, which are also accelerated by variable speed and skippable summon cutscenes. You can also avoid unnecessary random battles entirely by fast traveling to any previously visited location from outside of dungeons.

All these touches add up to make a smooth experience that respects my time. It’s a charming throwback, with a satisfying and thoughtful rhythm of play that I’ve missed in modern RPGs, but in a sleek and modern package. Throw in a bit of nostalgic fan service for good measure, and I expect to be enjoying this for quite a while.

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is available now on XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC. Play it on both console and PC at no extra cost with XBOX Play Anywhere. Try it for free with a demo of the full first chapter, which carries over on purchase.

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE Digital Deluxe Edition

SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.

☆☆☆☆☆ 1

★★★★★

Get it now

Pre-order Bonus: Magitek Airship & Squire Starter Pack This set contains an item that transforms your airship’s appearance into a magitek vessel, along with useful items to aid you at the start of your journey. Pack Contents: • Magitek Airship Passkey x1 • Knight’s Greatsword x1 • Chestplate of Preparation x1 (Increases EXP gained in battle by a certain amount) • Magicite Shard x1 • Tent x3 • Mist Potion x3 *These bonuses are available only to customers who pre-order the product and are not available to customers who purchase the product after release. *After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra. *The airship’s appearance can be changed by turning the Magitek Airship Passkey “ON” under the Items section of the main menu. ——————— This product is a bundle that includes the FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE base game along with the Magitek & Grimoire Deluxe Pack, which contains an item that transforms your chocobo's appearance into magitek armor, an item exclusive to this pack that unlocks a certain character's Fel Meteor Limit Burst, and useful items to aid you at the start of your journey. Digital Deluxe Edition Contents: ▼ FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE Base Game ▼ Magitek & Grimoire Deluxe Pack 　 Pack Contents: 　 • Magitek Armor Key x1 　 • Archwitch’s Grimoire x1 　 • Mastery Ring x1 　 • Tent x5 　 • Mist Potion x5 　 • Mist Ether x5 　 • Phoenix Down x5 　 • Remedy x3 *After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra. *The chocobo’s appearance can be changed by turning the Magitek Armor Key “ON” under the Items section of the main menu. *The content included in this bundle is also sold separately. Please be careful to avoid making duplicate purchases. ——————— Early Purchase Bonus: Squire Kickstart Pack This set contains useful items to aid you at the start of your journey. Pack Contents: • Blessed Cuirass x1 (Increase gil obtained by a certain amount) • Mist Ether x1 *These bonuses are available only to customers who purchase the product by November 5, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time. *After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE

SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Pre-order Bonus: Magitek Airship & Squire Starter Pack This set contains an item that transforms your airship’s appearance into a magitek vessel, along with useful items to aid you at the start of your journey. Pack Contents: • Magitek Airship Passkey x1 • Knight’s Greatsword x1 • Chestplate of Preparation x1 (Increases EXP gained in battle by a certain amount) • Magicite Shard x1 • Tent x3 • Mist Potion x3 *These bonuses are available only to customers who pre-order the product and are not available to customers who purchase the product after release. *After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra. *The airship’s appearance can be changed by turning the Magitek Airship Passkey “ON” under the Items section of the main menu. ——————— Return to the pixel‑art world of FINAL FANTASY, evolved from its classic roots. Travel with companions bound by fate and call on Visions to aid you in battle to uncover the truth behind a force that threatens to bring everything to ruin. ◆ Cinematic pixel art What if FINAL FANTASY had continued to push the limits of pixel art? The first FINAL FANTASY to join the HD‑2D lineup, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE delivers a visually striking experience that feels both nostalgic and new, enhanced by dynamic camera angles and pixelized 3D models that make every moment more dramatic and immersive. ◆ A return to the familiar A classic RPG adventure unfolds in a world filled with beloved FINAL FANTASY elements—airships, crystals, espers and moogles woven into the fabric of the story, and so much more. ◆ Strategic turn-based battles Exploit enemy weaknesses to stagger them—breaking their defenses to seize extra turns and gain the upper hand with powerful Resonance attacks in cinematic battles shaped by smart choices. ◆ FINAL FANTASY legends Bolster your team with Visions, echoes of beloved FINAL FANTASY characters, who fight alongside you with unique skills and abilities for deep party customization. ◆ Hours of side content to discover The world is full of secrets, including the wandering swordmaster Gilgamesh, a Colosseum with deadly monsters and rewards to match, the Chamber of Arms with formidable foes sealed within legendary weapons, and a showdown with Ultima Weapon. ——————— Early Purchase Bonus: Squire Kickstart Pack This set contains useful items to aid you at the start of your journey. Pack Contents: • Blessed Cuirass x1 (Increase gil obtained by a certain amount) • Mist Ether x1 *These bonuses are available only to customers who purchase the product by November 5, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time. *After progressing past a certain point in the game, you may claim the items from the postbox in front of the inn in the Town of Mitra.

The post FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is a Delightful Return to the Series’ Classic Roots appeared first on XBOX Wire.

Both Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin are free for all XBOX players to try with a three-hour timed trial (XBOX Game Pass Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential membership not required). 

Riders Republic is free for all XBOX members to try from October 22 until October 26 (XBOX Game Pass Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential membership not required).

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 (Game Pass Membership Required)

Dying Light 2: Stay Human – Reloaded Edition
Fifteen years after the virus won, civilization has fallen back into the Dark Ages. Explore one of the last standing cities, shape it with your choices, and face the consequences as you decide its fate.

Want to stay in the City a little longer? Dying Light 2: Stay Human is available now at 80% off for a limited time.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human – Reloaded Edition

Techland

☆☆☆☆☆ 9858

★★★★★

$59.99 $11.99

Get it now

Let’s Build a Zoo
It’s time to build a zoo! Let out your wild side, and create your own animal empire with this cute, expansive management sim. Import and breed rare creatures, hire the right staff, keep your visitors happy, and deal with plenty of weird and wonderful events. Then try your hand at DNA Splicing, and stitch together over 300,000 different types of animal, ranging from the majestic Giraffephant to the peaceful PandOwl! You can grab the full game, plus DLCs, Dinosaur Island and Aquarium Odyssey, for up to 65% off too!

Let's Build a Zoo

No More Robots

☆☆☆☆☆ 204

★★★★★

$19.99 $6.99

Get it now

Tropico 6
Ahead of the highly anticipated launch of Tropico 7 on January 28, El Prez invites you to visit its beloved predecessor, Tropico 6!

For the first time in the series’ history, experience archipelagos of islands, connected by bridges, tunnels, cable cars, and whatever else the magical mind of El Presidente can conceive. Play Tropico 6 for free from October 22 until October 25 and enjoy a 75% discount on the base game and up to 60% discount on its DLC until November 2.

Tropico 6

Kalypso Media

☆☆☆☆☆ 3188

★★★★★

$39.99 $9.99

Get it now

Xbox One X Enhanced

Free Trial

Free Play Days For All

Monster Hunter Stories
Blending turn-based RPG action and deep storytelling, you’ll become a hero known as a Monster Rider, where you will live alongside monsters and form lifelong bonds with them. 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.

Monster Hunter Stories

CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

☆☆☆☆☆ 78

★★★★★

$29.99 $9.89

Get it now

Free Trial

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
A new adventure awaits you in this second installment of the turn-based RPG series set in the world of Monster Hunter! Assuming the role of a young Monster Rider who can use a Kinship Stone to form strong bonds with monsters, players can gain experience and improve their skills to form deeper connections with these wonderful creatures. “When the wings unfurl, disaster will befall the land.” Your life will never be the same after your fateful encounter with the legendary Rathalos.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

☆☆☆☆☆ 60

★★★★★

$39.99 $9.99

Get it now

Free Trial

Riders Republic
Jump into an extreme sports multiplayer open-world across America’s National Parks. From bike races to snow parks and many more sports including skates and dirt bikes, your journey starts now! Celebrate Riders Republic’s 5th Anniversary with exclusive Ubisoft-themed rewards, a special concert featuring DJ Henri PFR, and more. It all kicks off with a free weekend October 22 to October 26.

Riders Republic

UBISOFT

☆☆☆☆☆ 1

★★★★★

Get it now

PC Game Pass

Ultimate Game Pass

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. 

The post Free Play Days – Dying Light 2, Riders Republic, Monster Hunter Stories, Let’s Build a Zoo, and More appeared first on XBOX Wire.

Summary

• The free Edgerunners 2 Update to Cyberpunk 2077 is available now.
• It includes content inspired by “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2”, the second installment of the hit anime series now streaming on Netflix, along with dual wielding, more customization options, cross-platform mod support, and more.
• Cyberpunk 2077 now supports XBOX Play Anywhere, with one purchase enabling play on both XBOX Series X|S and XBOX on PC, and your saves transferring seamlessly between the two.

“Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2” premiered on Netflix on October 20, bringing a whole new cast of characters to Night City for a dark, gritty ride. And now we’re bringing a little piece of that story into Cyberpunk 2077, too! The free Edgerunners 2 Update is here, with content inspired by the anime, new ways to fight, more customization options, and plenty of other additions.

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get into it. And don’t worry if you haven’t watched the new anime yet  — no “Edgerunners 2” spoilers ahead!

Step Into an Edgerunners 2 Story

One of the things we love about Night City is that there’s always another story unfolding somewhere. V may be central to the events of Cyberpunk 2077, but they’re hardly the only merc in town, fighting to survive and make a name for themselves on those neon-soaked streets. Every fixer has clients, every crew has gigs to take care of, every Night City merc has their story — and sometimes, those stories collide in unexpected ways.

That’s exactly what happens in the brand-new quest introduced with the “Edgerunners 2” Update. What begins as just another gig from Wakako turns into an action-packed, high-stakes mission that sees V cross paths with Weak Kingsley, a famed Night City merc and one of the main characters of “Edgerunners 2.” We won’t spoil what happens, but during the course of this mission, V has a chance to assist Weak and his crew during a risky gig that takes place in a brand-new location: Night City Prison.

The new “Edgerunners 2” gig is more than a chance to encounter characters from the anime in the game — it serves as a prequel to the events of the series. So, play the quest before watching the anime, and you’ll have a little extra context going into Episode 1. Already seen the show? Then with this gig, you’ll get to revisit part of Weak’s story with a broader perspective of him and his crew.

And there’s even more forEdgerunnersfans in this update. For starters, you can find and equip Weak’s full outfit — vest, glasses, coat, pants, the works — and get your hands on his signature revolver, Coronation. We’ve also added a new radio station, HKGN 102.FM, featuring official tracks from both “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners” and “Edgerunners 2.” So if you’re planning to spend a few more hours cruising around Night City after watching the show, we’ve got your soundtrack covered.

Pack Twice the Heat with Dual Wielding

What’s better than blasting your way through a warehouse full of gangoons with a revolver, dealing one headshot after another? Doing it with two revolvers, obviously.

That’s right — dual wielding is here! With the Edgerunners 2 Update, you can raise hell with a pistol or revolver in each hand. That’s a whole new vibe — and a whole new level of awesome.

But dual wielding isn’t just about looking cool. It brings a new playstyle and a fresh way to approach combat — in fact, it’s one of the most significant gameplay additions to the game’s combat since Update 2.0 introduced throwing knives. So if you’ve been looking for an excuse to shake up your fighting style, this might just be it.

Jackie would be proud.

Chrome Out Your… Chrome

Cyberware enhances your stats and abilities — but what if it could take your style to the next level, too? That’s where glamdocs come in. These new vendors let you customize the appearance of your cyberware, with 40 styles in different colors to choose from. Fancy a new look for your chrome? Pay them a visit at one (or all) of the five locations across Night City and see what catches your eye.

In a city that lives and dies by appearances, V really can’t afford to pass up any opportunity to shake up their look. On top of cyberware customization, we’ve also added 20 new hairstyles and several clothing sets to give your V the best chance of standing out, even in Night City.

Slot in Some Mods

We know how creative the Cyberpunk 2077 community can be, and we’re always curious to see what players come up with. That’s why we’re introducing cross-platform mod support through mod.io integration.

The update adds a Mods panel where you can browse and install supported community-created content directly in the game. It’s a new way to experiment with your experience, and we’re looking forward to seeing how it develops as more mods become available and receive support over time!

Keep Exploring

We’ve covered some of the bigger additions, but there’s still plenty to find in the Edgerunners 2 Update.

If you’re the sort of player who likes to poke around every corner of Night City, we’ve got a few things for you. There are 12 new minor arcana tarot cards to track down, and Night City Tours offer a closer look at the city’s history, narrated by none other than its late founder, Richard Night. You’ll also find fun facts, quotes, and insights at various landmarks around the city. Turns out there’s still plenty to learn about a place, even after spending hundreds of hours in it.

We’ve also made a couple of changes that should make life a little easier. V’s item stash now has filters, so finding that one piece of gear buried among everything you’ve collected should be less of a chore. We’ve also introduced separate save libraries for each V, making it easier to keep your different playthroughs organized.

And don’t forget Photo Mode! There are new dual-wielding poses waiting for you there, along with frames inspired by Cyberpunk TCG that let you create your own card art. Seems like a good excuse to get some shots of your new look, doesn’t it?

See You in Night City!

That’s a lot of new stuff to try out, and we’re looking forward to hearing what you think. The Edgerunners 2 Update is out now, so you can jack in straight away and check it out for yourself!

One more thing before you go: Cyberpunk 2077 is now available with XBOX Play Anywhere! A single digital purchase lets you play on both XBOX consoles and Windows PC, with your progress carrying over between platforms. Handy if you’ve got gigs to finish and more than one place to play.

That’s it from us. Grab your gear, fire up the game, and we’ll see you in Night City!

Cyberpunk 2077

CD PROJEKT RED

☆☆☆☆☆ 20422

★★★★★

$59.99 $17.99

Get it now

Xbox One X Enhanced

IMPORTANT: While Cyberpunk 2077 base game is available on Xbox One, this version of the game received its last patch on November 8th, 2022 and is no longer supported. An Xbox Series X|S console is required in order to download and apply Cyberpunk 2077 patches released after that date — as well as to buy and play the Phantom Liberty expansion pack. EDGERUNNERS 2 UPDATE — WELCOME BACK TO NIGHT CITY The free Edgerunners 2 Update (2.5) features fresh content tied directly to the new anime, alongside more ways to customize and show off your style. Take on a new quest set before Edgerunners 2 and unlock new gear from the anime itself. Change things up with the introduction of cross-platform mods, visit the city’s new Glamdocs to stylize your cyberware, discover the Dual Wielding playstyle, and much more! Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure RPG set in the megalopolis of Night City, where you play as a cyberpunk mercenary wrapped up in a do-or-die fight for survival. Improved and featuring all-new free additional content, customize your character and playstyle as you take on jobs, build a reputation, and unlock upgrades. The relationships you forge and the choices you make will shape the story and the world around you. Legends are made here. What will yours be? CREATE YOUR OWN CYBERPUNK Become an urban outlaw equipped with cybernetic enhancements and build your legend on the streets of Night City. EXPLORE THE CITY OF THE FUTURE Night City is packed to the brim with things to do, places to see, and people to meet. And it’s up to you where to go, when to go, and how to get there. BUILD YOUR LEGEND Go on daring adventures and build relationships with unforgettable characters whose fates are shaped by the choices you make. CLAIM EXCLUSIVE ITEMS Claim in-game swag & digital goodies inspired by CD PROJEKT RED games as part of the My Rewards program.

The post From the Anime to the Game — Free Update Brings Edgerunners 2 Content and More to Cyberpunk 2077! appeared first on XBOX Wire.