Grounded, Obsidian’s Honey, I Shrunk The Kids-esque survival game, received its final content update this week with ‘Fully Yoked’ update 1.4.
19.04.2024 - 12:20 / gamerant.com / Xbox Game Pass / Viraaj Bhatnagar
Microsoft has announced that the Xbox Mastercard is now available for everyone in the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. The Xbox Mastercard launched back in September 2023 as an exclusive perk for Xbox Insiders.
The Insiders program gathers a group of Xbox customers who have access to certain software updates, upcoming features, and products for beta testing. This limited rollout of the card allowed Microsoft to gather valuable feedback from the testers and iron out any potential wrinkles before opening it up to the public.
Now, anyone in the designated regions can apply for the Xbox Mastercard and unlock an array of benefits — the first of which ties in directly to Game Pass. Users who spend at least $7,000 within the first 12 months of opening the account can earn two separate three-month subscriptions of Game Pass Ultimate to share with friends or family. Moreover, the Xbox Mastercard automatically bumps owners up to level 2 in the Microsoft Rewards program, allowing them to accumulate points quicker, and purchase items from the Microsoft store without having to spend additional cash.
The benefits extend beyond Microsoft services. New Spotify Premium Individual subscribers are awarded three free months to crank up the tunes, and even existing cardholders from the Xbox Insiders program can reap this benefit. Additionally, the Xbox credit card grants access to Barclays Money Basics, which provides useful financial information on budgeting, fraud prevention, credit scores, and more. Lastly, cardholders can rack up five times the points on eligible Microsoft Store products and three times the points on services like Netflix, Disney+, GrubHub, and DoorDash. There are no annual fees, and new holders get 5,000 points instantly and three months of Game Pass Ultimate after the first purchase.
Although an Xbox-branded credit card may seem a strange proposition, Microsoft isn't the first company to offer such a thing. Sony has been offering its own PlayStation credit card with Visa since 2008, which offers similar benefits, like a year of PlayStation Plus Premium, 5x points on eligible Sony purchases, and no annual charges. Fans of the Final Fantasy series who live in Japan can even snag exclusive Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth-themed credit cards. For those who spend a considerable amount on games and/or streaming services every month (or even general expenses like food and groceries), the benefits these cards offer would be handy for accumulating points and saving money in the long run.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft's flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you can play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value
Grounded, Obsidian’s Honey, I Shrunk The Kids-esque survival game, received its final content update this week with ‘Fully Yoked’ update 1.4.
Xbox Game Pass members can now play Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition as part of their subscription. This is the first title to reach Microsoft's gaming service in May 2024, as well as the 59th new Xbox Game Pass addition since the turn of the year.
Around three months ago, a flurry of rumors suggested that Microsoft was preparing many Xbox exclusive games to go multiplatform, including heavyweights like Gears of War, Starfield, and the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Shortly after those rumors, Microsoft broadcast a 'business update event' where Xbox executives revealed that a few games were indeed making the jump to PlayStation and/or Nintendo Switch consoles. These games turned out to be Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Grounded, and Sea of Thieves. Phil Spencer labeled this an experiment and warned it didn't mean other, bigger games would definitely appear on other consoles:
Housemarque's critically acclaimed sci-fi game Returnal celebrates its third anniversary with an all-new graphic novel. While fans eagerly awaited news of potential DLC or a sequel for Returnal after yesterday's tease, it turns out the Finnish developer had something else in mind to commemorate the occasion.
During the 2024 ID@Xbox Showcase, Pocket Pair pulled back the curtain on an upcoming Palworld update introducing at least four new Pals and a new island for players to explore. The new Palworld update is slated to launch in the summer of 2024, and Pocket Pair shared a short teaser video of the new Pals that players will encounter in the update.
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eFootball has hit another major download milestone, according publisher Konami.
Microsoft's gaming revenue climbed significantly year over year, according to its Q3 earnings report. But the massive jump in takings is deceptive — most of it is just reflective of the addition of Activision Blizzard (and King!).
After game director Kim Hyung-tae announced New Game Plus would be coming “very soon” to Stellar Blade, various reviews have confirmed its availability from launch. YouTuber FightinCowboy revealed this on Twitter, and IGN also updated their review to confirm the arrival of New Game Plus in a new patch.
Sony and Shift Up have published an online comic book for Stellar Blade that appears to serve as a quick prequel to the events of the main game. Available to read through this link, it sees protagonist Eve and another character called Tachy sparring together, and then speaking of an upcoming mission to reclaim Earth. This is what you shall be doing in Stellar Blade once it hits PS5 on Friday.
Reviews are in for the latest upcoming day-one Xbox Game Pass game, and they're largely positive. It looks like JRPG fans that are subscribed to Xbox Game Pass will be in for a treat when the newest addition to the catalog gets added on April 23. Microsoft has been on a bit of a roll recently when it comes to supplying subscribers with a steady stream of quality games, and this only continues that trend.
Microsoft has announced that its ID@Xbox Digital Showcase will return next week on April 29. The showcase is a dedicated platform for highlighting upcoming indie games heading to Xbox consoles and PC, promising a smattering of new announcements as well as updates for existing ones.