Xbox Series X News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

The latest update forDying Light 2 Stay Human is pretty massive, adding Nightmare Mode, its new highest difficulty. However, there are also several night-time changes, Gear Loadouts, visual improvements and more.

Rabbit and Bear Studios’ Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes launches next week, nearly four years since its Kickstarter went live. As a spiritual successor to Suikoden helmed by the series’ creative leadership, it’s highly anticipated, especially among old-school RPG fans. However, even before its release, the developer has confirmed it’s “moving forward” with a sequel.

Yesterday’s Indie World Showcase may have led to disappointment (yet again) for Hollow Knight fans, but the announcement of SteamWorld Heist 2 is still noteworthy. Thunderful’s sequel retains the turn-based tactical shooting of the original, but with a pirate setting, naval combat, free exploration and a new Job system to customize crewmate abilities in new ways.

Techland’s massive Update 1.16 for Dying Light 2 Stay Human is live and introduces the new, most challenging difficulty yet – Nightmare Mode. Check out the trailer below for quick bullet points on what to expect.

Developer Thekla has revealed that the launch for Braid: Anniversary Edition is being pushed back from its originally-planned April 30 release date for the PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Netflix versions to May 14. The Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S versions are also being delayed, albeit to one day later at May 15.

Warhorse Studios will be announcing its next game today, and reports indicate it’s a sequel to Kingdom Come: Deliverance, its open-world medieval action RPG. Said reports appear legitimate, with an IGN video preview seemingly going live early. It’s since been pulled, but you can check it out courtesy of Reddit.

Overwatch 2 has revealed new Twitch Drops rewards, and players can get a free Legendary Roadhog skin through April 21. Overwatch 2 welcomed the anticipated Season 10, bringing with it a slew of new content. To celebrate the occasion, Overwatch 2 is reinforcing its recurring partnership with Amazon's platform by launching a new Twitch Drops campaign.

Bethesda Game Studios has promised some significant updated for Starfield in 2024, from “new ways” of travelling to new gameplay features to the launch of its first expansion, Shattered Steel. Thus far, however, more than a quarter of our way into the year, details on those updates have remained scant, even if the space RPG has received a couple of patches.

Fortnite is bringing back the Janky skin for a sixth appearance in the Item Shop after nearly 850 days of it being locked away in the vault. Over the years, Fortnite has released thousands of cosmetic items. With the launch of new game modes, such as Rocket Racing, LEGO Fortnite, and Fortnite Festival, different types of cosmetics started to appear in the Item Shop. So, as if the increasing number of Battle Royale items wasn't enough, it continued to grow in size with all these additions as well.

WWE 2K24 developer Visual Concepts has released update 1.06, which addresses multiple issues that players reported in past updates. Some of these issues include leaderboards not loading correctly and players being unable to book certain superstars within MyGM in WWE 2K24.

The creators of the popular Disney Dreamlight Valley have recently revealed a new feature of the game’s next update: players will be able to receive mail from the Valley Villagers. This Animal Crossing-inspired feature could be a really neat improvement for Disney Dreamlight Valley, giving more depth to the interactions between players and these characters.

Thunderful’s SteamWorld Heist 2 is the next title in the critically acclaimed series, venturing to Carribea as Captain Leeway and his crew investigate a mysterious crisis. The classic precision-based turn-based combat returns, but it also features a Job system for equipping characters with any weapon and mixing and matching abilities.

Some Baldur's Gate 3 players who have been augmenting their game using mods have been raising suspicion that beloved NPC tiefling bard Alfira may have been planned for a much larger role at some point during development. While Baldur's Gate 3 players have fallen in love with the likes of Astarion, Karlach, Shadowheart, and other great companions, it seems like there could have been more fine folks joining in on the journey.

A new rumor suggests that the next Mortal Kombat 1 Kameo fighter will be an alternate-timeline version of Scorpion, with Harumi Hasashi donning the iconic yellow ninja mask instead of her husband Hanzo. One of the biggest additions to come from Moral Kombat 1 is the Kameo system, which allows players to select a supporting character from a separate roster to assist in matches. Most of these secondary combatants are classic versions of existingcharacters from the original timeline, which Fire God Liu Kang rebooted at the end of Mortal Kombat 11.

The classic card game Sabacc will finally be playable in Star Wars Outlaws, as revealed by the game’s ESRB rating. Ubisoft and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora developer Massive Entertainment announced that they were working on an open-world Star Wars game back in 2021, but it wasn’t until last June’s Xbox Games showcase that fans learned what it was going to be about. Star Wars Outlaws will put players in the role of Kay Vess, an aspiring outlaw looking to make her mark on the criminal underworld by pulling a massive heist against the rising Zerek Besh organization.

A fan of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim managed to unlock the game's Platinum trophy on PS5 by killing Nazeem. Unlocking all the achievements and trophies in Bethesda's massive RPG Skyrim is no easy task. It will require significant dedication from anyone that dares to do it, with players having to complete all the major quests and complete a huge variety of additional objectives to get 100% completion.

Nintendo hosted yet another Indie World showcase where Hollow Knight: Silksong was nowhere to be seen. Hollow Knight: Silksong was first announced in 2019, and fans have been anxious to play the game ever since. Unfortunately, the wait for Hollow Knight: Silksong has been an incredibly long one, with little in the way of any substantial updates on the game or its progress since its initial announcement.

The Nintendo Indie World showcase confirmed the release date for Little Kitty, Big City, a game that will be coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one of its release. Xbox Game Pass announcements typically come directly from Microsoft itself, but there are times when reveals happen elsewhere. For example, sometimes companies drop release date trailers for games that have already been confirmed for Game Pass.

Get all the Chapter 1 puzzle solutions in Alone In The Dark (2024) with our full guide.

Atari and WayForward had one of the more surprising announcements at the recent Indie World Showcase – Yars Rising. As a reboot of the former’s classic shoot ’em up series, it’s out this year for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch. Check out the first gameplay trailer below.

Sea of Thieves has turned into a juggernaut following a somewhat rough launch over the last six years, and it refuses to shed any of its momentum. In fact, developer Rare has announced that the game recently surpassed another major milestone where its player numbers are concerned.

Dambuster Studios’ second paid expansion for Dead Island 2, SoLA, is available now on Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. It takes place in a music festival called, shockingly, SoLA, but while the vibes are immaculate, the Beat of the Autophage invites something more terrifying from “beyond”. Check out some of its horrors below.

It’s not Hollow Knight: Silksong, but today’s Indie World Showcase ended on a high note with the announcement of SteamWorld Heist 2. As a follow-up to Image and Form Games’ 2016 turn-based strategy, the sequel takes to the high seas with a more pirate-themed setting. Check out the first trailer below.

Bungie releases update 7.3.6.1 for Destiny 2, bringing another wave of tweaks and changes to various activities in the popular game, including a fix for a popular exploit in The Whisper mission. Alongside the new update, this week also added two additional BRAVE weapons to the Destiny 2 arsenal. The Mountaintop and Midnight Coup are now available and should players finish the associated quests, they can be attuned and farmed from Onslaught for a chance to earn a holofoil god roll version.

Xbox Game Pass members can play Orcs Must Die! 3 as part of their subscriptions starting today. This is the tenth title to reach Xbox Game Pass in April 2024, and the 51st one since the turn of the year.

NetherRealm’s latest DLC fighter for Mortal Kombat 1, Ermac, is now available in “early access.” Those who own the Kombat Pack can play him now, while others need to wait for his worldwide launch on April 23rd.

Baldur’s Gate fans have had to wait an exceptionally long time for the beloved series to make its long-awaited comeback. After BioWare developed its duology of Baldur’s Gate titles, we had to wait 23 years before Larian Studios came out with the widely acclaimed Baldur’s Gate 3. But with Larian having confirmed that its next game isn’t going to be Baldur’s Gate 4 (or connected to Dungeons and Dragons at all, for that matter), what does the future of the franchise look like? Well, apparently, Hasbro – parent company of Dungeons and Dragons owner Wizards of the Coast – is already looking into where to take things from here- and more importantly, with whom.

Microsoft’s rollout of first-party titles on non-Xbox consoles is continuing. Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment have been made available on rival platforms in recent weeks, and the next to join that list is Grounded. Obsidian Entertainment’s survival game has now launched for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4, bringing with it support for full cross-platform multiplayer, as well as a host of new content and features.

The Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero character roster continues to grow, as new magazine scans from Japan indicate characters like Beerus, Whis, Gohan, Videl, and Trunks will be playable in-game. Though not yet officially announced worldwide by Bandai Namco, the scans suggest that Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero will draw both from popular and recent major characters as well as from the deep well of story arcs present in the Dragon Ball multiverse.

A significant number of game developers are unsure about the long-term sustainability of the live-service monetization model, according to a recent survey. Generally, live-service games are those that receive continual updates after launch, often divided into seasons or chapters, and are usually accompanied by a monetization scheme like battle passes. The goal is to keep players engaged and continuously playing the game and spending money, and the model has proven extremely lucrative for developers.

Embark Studios has released a new update for THE FINALS, updating the store with new weapon skins and the Lurkfin La Goon monster head for players. Check out the trailer below to see how they look.

Red Barrels has announced that a new limited-time event is live inThe Outlast Trials. Toxic Shock sees players collecting rats for “tissue analysis” while dealing with lethal gas in the Trial. The event is live until May 7th – check out the launch trailer below.

Developer Appeal Studios and publisher THQ Nordic have released a new trailer for open-world action/adventure title Outcast – A New Beginning. The trailer, released a little over a month after the game’s launch, celebrates the title by highlighting some of the positive reviews that it has gotten. Check it out below.

New characters for upcoming arena fighter Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero have been revealed. Spotted by X (formerly Twitter) user @SLOplays, the characters were shown off through an issue of Japanese publication V-jump magazine.

Amid delays and rumors of development troubles for XDefiant, Ubisoft has announced a server test session for the competitive shooter. It starts on April 19th, 10 AM PT and runs till April 21st for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. The pre-load is now available, with all players free to participate.

Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast are moving forward with plans for a sequel to Baldur's Gate 3. The news comes following the reveal that Larian Studios, developer of Baldur's Gate 3, is stepping back from the series following the award-winning game's launch.

Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe recently shared an image of a Palworld clone being developed by Tencent and gave his opinion on potential competitors in the survival genre. Despite a few controversies leading into the game's launch,Palworld became one of the most successful games in 2024 with millions of players around the world.

Remember Mortal Kombat 1’s fourth season of Invasions? Regardless, Season 5 or the Season of Storms, is live and features a more distinct antagonist. It’s Dark Raiden, a corrupted and decidedly more aggressive version of the Thunder God seeking to destroy threats to Earthrealm. Check out the trailer below.

Microsoft has revealed the lineup of games that will be added to the Game Pass catalog over the next couple of weeks, and subscribers have some notable titles to look forward to. Most prominent among them is probably Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Rabbit and Bear Studios’ long-awaited Suikoden spiritual successor, which launches April 23 and will also be available with Game Pass on PC, console, and cloud at launch.

If you’re not one of the reported five million (and counting) players to have tried out Assassin’s Creed Mirage, a free trial is live now. It’s available until April 30th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC and allows for two hours of playtime with progress transferring over to the game.

A spokesperson for Ubisoft addressed concerns over Star Wars Outlaws' controversial Jabba the Hutt DLC mission. Fans of a galaxy far, far away have rallied against the publisher for the price point of its Star Wars Outlaws special edition packages, which come with price tags ranging from $109.99 to $129.99. The community was particularly displeased with the reveal of an exclusive DLC mission for Jabba the Hutt, which will only be playable for users who purchased one of the special bundles or the season pass.

Three new games will join the Xbox Game PassCore lineup next week on April 23. Just last year, Xbox seamlessly transformed its longstanding Xbox Live Gold membership into Xbox Game Pass Core, giving Gold members a new library of 25 games to download at no additional cost, with the promise of more being added to the library over time.

Ahead of Stellar Blade's official release, Nier: Automata director Yoko Taro is sharing his thoughts, deeming it «better» than his own game. Taro recently sat down to discuss Stellar Blade with the game's director, Kim Hyung-tae, revealing why he enjoys the game so much.

A Mafia series announcement is on the horizon, a well-known leaker has claimed. The purported bit of upcoming news is plausibly related to the fourth mainline Mafia game.

Microsoft has announced the second wave of April 2024 Xbox Game Pass additions. The upcoming batch consists of six titles, some of which will only be available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.

The upcoming Fortnite collaboration with Star Wars might feature Chewbacca, a highly anticipated character, as a cosmetic skin. Fortnite has been celebrating May the Fourth in-game for the past few years. In 2023, Epic Games took it up a notch; Fortnite hosted a major Star Wars crossover event called Find the Force, and it even featured its own event pass with themed cosmetic rewards and quests.

Xbox Game Pass is losing six games on Tuesday, April 30, so subscribers should prioritize them while they still can. Games leave Xbox Game Pass every single month, most often in two batches. The first wave of removals tends to happen on the 15th of every month, while the second wave comes on the last day of every month, whenever that may be.

An insider has said that XDefiant's next server test session is set to take place on Friday, April 19, but also cautioned that this could change. Recently, Ubisoft confirmed that a server test session was coming soon but didn't specify when, after the studio also confirmed unfortunate news regarding XDefiant's release.

An Elden Ring player has noticed an interesting change that occurs to the Erdtree after defeating Maliketh, the Black Blade. The game's world, also known as the Lands Between, is enormous and filled with various surprises that many players miss even after spending hundreds of hours exploring.

If you enjoy the latest-generation Xbox console platforms, chances are you also subscribe to Xbox Game Pass. This subscription service offers a nice collection of titles for a monthly fee. Best of all, it guarantees you access to all of the Microsoft first-party video game titles at launch. That is quite a savings if you’re after the various Xbox-owned IPs. 

Developer Hangar 13 is gearing up to launch TopSpin 2K25 later this month, but it’s not the only game the studio is working on. In 2022, the developer officially confirmed that it was working on the next instalment in the Mafia franchise, and allegedly, it’s going to be announced soon.

Developer Fatshark has announced that its next major update for Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, titled Path of Redemption, will be released later today. Celebrating the update, the studio has released a new trailer that showcases some of the new content coming to the game. Check it out below.

Atlus recently announced that Metaphor: ReFantazio, the next big role-playing game from Persona 5 director Katsura Hashino, would receive a showcase on April 22nd, 3 PM PT. In a separate tweet (translated from DeepL), Studio Zero revealed that it will run for 30 minutes, with the developer sharing “the appeal of this title with the world.”

2K’s long-dormant tennis sim series is set to return later this month with TopSpin 2K25, and from its roster of playable pros to the modes and venues it’ll have on offer, it’s looking like it’s going to be quite a full-featured return to the limelight for the franchise. There will, however, be some exceptions to the things it’ll feature at launch- such as online doubles.

Square Enix has released the official benchmark tool for Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail. The benchmark tool allows Final Fantasy 14 players to see how well their computers can handle the visuals of the upcoming Dawntrail expansion, and even recommends the ideal settings for stable frame rates.

Harold Halibut, a unique narrative game developed by Slow Bros. is releasing day one on Xbox Game Pass, and subscribers will also be able to upgrade for free to Grounded: Fully Yoked Edition. Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass continues to offer an appealing library of games for members to enjoy, and the selection changes every month as new titles are added and others are removed.

Since its latest story trailer debuted, Massive Entertainment’s Star Wars Outlaws has received some interesting reactions. However, several have spoken out against the Jabba’s Gambit mission, which is playable at launch but only for those who own the Season Pass. The only way to get it is by paying $129.99 for the Ultimate Edition.

Some currently restricted weapons may be coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ranked play modes in an upcoming test. Developers Treyarch Studios and Sledgehammer games announced that a planned evaluation of various Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 weapons will take place to determine the weapons' viability in the competitive scene.

MultiVersus has released a video teasing the arrival of a new skin for Finn from Adventure Time, giving the character his famous robotic arm and the Night Sword. After a long hiatus, MultiVersus' return is getting closer. Warner Bros. Interactive's fighting game will be relaunched on May 28, promising new content such as expanding the list of skins available.

Atlus has announced a special event taking place on April 22, where there will be a special livestream event focused on the upcoming Metaphor: ReFantazio. Metaphor: ReFantazio is a brand-new RPG IP from Atlus' Studio Zero, with the game being developed by the same staff who had worked on the modern Persona entries. Both Metaphor and Persona share the same DNA in terms of mechanics, having similar social simulation and RPG dungeon crawling mechanics. The main difference between the two is that Metaphor is a high-fantasy setting as opposed to Persona's urban fantasy.

Bandai Namco has confirmed four fighters for the roster of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, who are all classic members of the usual roster. The upcoming Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is a highly anticipated title for fans of the long-running franchise, as it is a return to the classic Budokai Tenkaichi arena fighting game series. The roster of Sparking Zero has been an aspect that fans have been fervently looking forward to, as it usually features a number of fighters from across the franchise's history.

One creative Palworld player defeated Bellanoir Libero Ultra using a strategy centered on a simple campfire. As an extremely difficult enemy, players find it hard to defeat with conventional methods. Thankfully, creative strategies are often rewarded in Palworld.

Final Fantasy 14 is getting a graphical overhaul with the release of Dawntrail, but some fans aren't happy with what they're seeing so far. The graphical overhaul promises to give characters new visual depth and more refined appearances, something many have been hoping for now that Final Fantasy 14 is over a decade old.

With GTA 6 now on the horizon, Grand Theft Auto Online players are sharing what they want to see from the game in a final update. While the online component of GTA 5 has given players plenty to do and enjoy over the years, there's still plenty of opportunities to expand GTA Onlinefurther and to resolve some unfinished business.

Atlus has had a strong start to 2024 with Persona 3 Reload and Vanillaware’s Unicorn Overlord, but the Japanese developer still has another heavyweight waiting in the wings. Fantasy RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio – led by the creative leads of Persona 3, 4, and 5 – has been previously billed by Atlus as its next big property, and the company will soon be revealing more details about it.

With Bandai Namco’s SAND LAND launching next week, the developer has released a new trailer which features an obvious but seemingly unlikely song choice – Darude’s Sandstorm. Surprisingly, it fits together well and also reveals something important: Beelzebub can kick some serious butt. Check it out below.

Hazelight Studios – the development team behind acclaimed co-op games It Takes Two and A Way Out – is seemingly gearing up to announce its next game sometime later this year. In commemoration of its upcoming 10th anniversary in November, Hazelight Studios briefly touched on its next game in a post on Twitter, writing, “We’ve got new (real good) stuff cooking that we’ll talk more about later this year.”

The beta for 11 bit Studios’ Frostpunk 2, available by pre-ordering the Deluxe Edition, is now live. Alongside it, the developer has released a new gameplay deep dive discussing the larger scale of the sequel and the challenges players will face. Check it out below.

Starships are supposed to be one of the few things in No Man's Sky that players can't trade with one another, but an incredible interaction between players online seems to confirm that two random members of the community have somehow swapped starships unintentionally thanks to a bizarre glitch in the game. Many fans of No Man's Sky have shared examples of some odd bugs in the past, and many more have even utilized such faults in the game's code to their advantage in base building through a process known as «glitch building.»

A new Fortnite x Star Wars collaboration is on the horizon, and soon enough, players will be able to try out brand-new content and play with returning items and weapons. Fortnite has participated in dozens of collaborations over the years.

Ubisoft's upcoming Star Wars Outlaws will lock an exclusive mission featuring Jabba the Hutt behind the Season Pass. While Star Wars fans were excited about the concept of an open world title set in A Galaxy Far Far Away, the latest information revealed for Outlaws has been controversial. Star Wars Outlaws takes place before Return of the Jedi, and places its players in the role of Kay Vess, an ambitious scoundrel and thief from Cantonica. However, despite being an entirely single-player experience, Ubisoft has designed Star Wars Outlaws as an always-online title, with a Season Pass that will offer players access to exclusive content.

Fans are excited to jump into this next major video game release for the Star Wars franchise. We know Star Wars Outlaws is coming this summer, and if you’re contemplating whether you should pick up a preorder, there might be one mission to convince you. That’s to at least convince you to spend more money and acquire one of the higher-tier editions of the game before its release. Unfortunately, there is already one mission locked behind a season pass, and it’s set to debut at launch.

Following the launch trailer of No Rest for the Wicked, Moon Studios has outlined pricing for its upcoming action RPG. It will cost $39.99/£34.99/€39.99 for early access, but from launch until May 2nd at 9 AM PST, players can pick it up for $35.99/£31.95/€35.99, a ten percent discount. The price is confirmed to increase once the title leaves early access.

We’ve been starved for Hollow Knight: Silksong news for what’s felt like an eternity, but several recent developments have indicated that that could be changing soon. Earlier this month, the game’s official Xbox Store page went live, which was accompanied by ratings by the ESRB in North America and the GRAC in South Korea.

Moon Studios’ No Rest for the Wicked will launch for PC via Steam Early Access on April 18th. It’s thus released a new launch trailer showcasing the setting and challenges players will encounter. Check it out below.

Epic Games has revealed that it will be adding a new feature to the Fortnite Item Shop, allowing players to check how long a skin will be available before it's removed for rotation. There are thousands of cosmetics in Fortnite, and it's not uncommon for fans to have lists of the items that they want to return to the game. Every day, cosmetic items are brought in and out of the shop to make room for new and returning trends. However, unless Fortnite makes an announcement, it's impossible for gamers to know what's coming before the refresh.

Palworld update 0.2.2.0 is now available to download across all platforms. This release resolves one annoying damage bug, on top of addressing a number of smaller Palworld issues.

One dedicated LEGO Fortnite player has built an entire village in the Frostland biome. The core part of LEGO Fortnite's gameplay loop is base building, which requires players to gather resources in a brick-based world. Having a functional base is important, as it gives protection from harsh weather conditions and wandering enemies.

Some merchandise suggests that Ermac was originally meant to be a part of Mortal Kombat 1’s base roster instead of a post-launch DLC character. Originally created as a red-colored palette swap of famed ninjas Scorpion and Sub-Zero, Ermac has been a part of the Mortal Kombat mythos since Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and it won’t be long before Mortal Kombat 1 players will be able to take control of this powerful undead warrior. Ermac is set to be introduced as the latest MK 1 DLC character on April 16 for Early Access players and April 23 for everyone else.