Watch Microsoft’s E3 press conference right here
Now that EA and Bethesda have wrapped up their E3 press conferences, we can turn our attention to one of the big console makers: Microsoft. The company’s Xbox showcase is due to kick off at 9:30am PT (12:30pm ET/ 5:30pm BST), and you can watch the livestream right here. We’ll probably get an announcement for the new, slimmer Xbox One S, as well as trailers for a whole bunch of games including ReCore and Halo Wars 2. So take a seat and load up the Engadget liveblog, because this is an event that could throw up a few surprises too. (Is it time for a new Battletoads game?!)
Live from Microsoft’s Xbox showcase at E3 2016!
We’re live at Microsoft’s Xbox keynote at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California, ready to kick off this year’s E3 conference. Microsoft is poised to reveal new Xbox hardware during today’s showcase, furthering its efforts to make PC and console gaming a unified, seamless experience. The Xbox event begins at 9:30 AM PT / 12:30 PM ET and we’ll share all of the news right here, right as it’s announced. We’ll probably make some corny jokes, too. You’re welcome in advance.
Play Anywhere puts the same games on Xbox and PC
Microsoft’s been talking about bridging the gap between it’s PC and console gamers for awhile now — and at E3 today, it announced just how it’s going to do it. Xbox Play Anywhere: a new cross buy program that automatically gives you the PC version a game when you buy it on Xbox… or the Xbox version when you buy it on PC. The first game to take advantage of the program? Gears of War 4, of course — and yes, Xbox One and PC players will be able to play together online.
As a co-op online shooter, Gears is the perfect franchise to launch Play Anywhere — but it should be noted that there are some caveats. While all Play Anywhere games will come with console and PC copies at no extra cost, not every Play Anywhere game will feature cross-platform multiplayer by default. What’s more, Play Anywhere is limited to digital purchases — meaning you won’t get a free PC copy of the game if you exclusively buy your games on disc.
Still, that’s a pretty good trade for a physical disc. We’ve spotted the Play Anywhere logo on a few other games at Xbox’s E3 press event, including Killer Instinct which, by the way, is getting a new character. Check it out:
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
‘Forza Horizon 3’ simplifies racing with friends in the Outback
During Microsoft’s E3 press briefing, Forza Horizon 3 was officially unveiled, showing off the centerpiece Lamborghini Centenario and the sprawling Australian outback in which it’s taking place.
The game was given some time onstage with presenters taking the opportunity to show off the new Play Anywhere endeavor. With players racing with cars including a BMW M4 customized with a wide body kit, off-road racing buggy, 800-hp truck and the new Lamborghini Centenario, it offered a glimpse at the high-octane racing we’ll be able to expect from the racer.
With new terrain, new challenges and new vehicle types joining the game, it’ll feature the largest car roster ever seen in a Forza Horizon title, which means all the more reason to jump in with friends, and this entry is being referred to as the most social of all time.
Forza Horizon 3 will offer four-player campaign co-op for the first time. When players join, all worlds will synchronize together for an easier time syncing up with friends. Players can join sessions instantly and seamlessly, which makes cooperative play much simpler than before.
Forza Horizon 3 is coming to Xbox One and PC exclusively on September 27.
Mega Man creator’s ‘ReCore’ hits Xbox One and PC September 18th
ReCore’s debut trailer, a surprise at last year’s E3, both charmed and intrigued us: That robot dog was cute! And how do the orbs, which appear to be swappable between machines, work? Details have been scarce since then, but at today’s Xbox keynote in Los Angeles we got another look at this new game from Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune, as well as a release date of September 18.
We still haven’t heard much, but from the trailer we now know the game is set in a distant future known as ‘Far Eden.’ We got to watch our heroine, Joule, jumping between platforms and facing off against mechanical hordes, as well as a brief intro to her five robot companions. With names like Mack, Vincent and Duncan, each looks to be equipped with different abilities and personalities; you’ll switch between them depending on the situation.
Developing…
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
New Xbox Live features include clan support and friend-finding options
Microsoft is making it a good deal easier to find friends when you want to play a game online this fall. A new “clubs” feature is basically a system-wide clan feature that lets you group together all your friends you play with frequently. Another new feature, “looking for group,” will let you put out an alert to your friends when you’re trying to get a big Destiny game going. The last feature, “Arena,” is aimed at competitive play and lets you find competitions going on around your favorite games.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much in the way of detail on how these features will actually work when they roll out this fall, but at the very least Microsoft appears to recognize the fact that it’s still rather hard to get good multiplayer games going — or knowing when particular friends of yours want to play specific games. Microsoft said this update would come this fall — presumably after the Xbox One Windows 10 Anniversary update that’ll bring Cortana to the system.
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
Gwent from ‘Witcher 3’ is now its own digital card game
If you’re a fan of the Witcher series, you’ve probably heard of Gwent. The collectible card game is an optional part of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, tasking players with collecting cards and ultimately dominating their opponent on the tabletop “battlefield.” Now, as expected, the game-within-a-game is being turned into a game of its own (try saying that three times fast.) It’ll launch as a closed beta on Xbox One and PC this September, before coming to PlayStation 4 later on. Similar to Hearthstone, it’ll be a free-to-play title with optional in-game purchases. At the moment, however, there’s no word on whether it’ll be coming to phones and tablets.
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
Source: Gwent
The first teaser for the next ‘The Walking Dead’ game has just arrived
Telltale’s video game series based on The Walking Dead is one of the studio’s most popular and acclaimed offerings, but it’s been a long time a new game has been released. We just found out that the game’s third “season” would arrive this fall, and today a new trailer has dropped just as E3 is getting underway. The minute-long teaser shows off the requisite post-apocalyptic setting, complete with gruesome zombies, that The Walking Dead is known for — but we also see the Clementine character all grown up (relatively speaking) for the first time. The video is otherwise light on details, but it still is getting us excited for the game’s launch later this year.
‘Quake’ is coming back to the PC with a modern twist or two
Bethesda kicked off its big E3 2016 showcase with a old favorite: Quake. Big guns, team battles, gore. Quake Champions is coming — at the moment to PCs and will be arena-style shooter “designed for people at all skill levels”. The most impressive technical part? The team is promising 120Hz with unlocked framerates. That’s seriously smooth — and sounds so very ready for VR. Of course, it’s also perfectly timed in a current = boom in competitive shooters, especially with the mention of “characters with unique abilities” — like this thing. Gaze at the trailer below, but be warned it’s a bit graphic in that Quake kinda way.
‘Skyrim Special Edition’ is the remaster you asked for
The rumors are true: We’re getting a prettier version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Developer Bethesda ported the original game to this round of modern consoles as part of the development process for last year’s wildly popular Fallout 4, so it was just a matter of time before we actually saw it. And guess what? Mods are coming with it, thanks to Bethesda’s framework that allows players to use fan-made customizations on consoles. This new version of the game looks really well-improved in the visual department too and you can check it out in the trailer embedded below.
Does mod support mean that we’ll see the game’s dragons replaced with My Little Ponies? It certainly sounds like it. Let’s hope that Bethesda has that pesky piracy situation under control soon. Time to get those vocal cords ready for all the shouting (FUS RO DAH) you’ll be doing come October 28th when it launches for new-gen consoles.
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
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