Xbox Partner Showcase with a Dozen Plus Trailers from Capcom, EA, and More Drops This Week

We’ve known Final Fantasy XVI would be getting a pair of story expansions for some time now, with the first one, Echoes of the Fallen being more of a bite-sized experience. Thankfully, the second, The Rising Tide, will be much meatier, and today at a panel at PAX West, Square Enix pulled the curtain back on what to expect. The DLC will introduce a new area, the coastal land of Mysidia, an additional ally for your team named Shula, and the powerful water Eikon, Leviathan. You can check out a trailer for Final Fantasy XVI - The Rising Tide, below.

Needless to say, Baldur’s Gate 3 has been a success beyond anybody’s wildest expectations, racking of GOTY awards and over 10 million in sales, so what’s next for the game’s developer Larian Studios? More content for Baldur’s Gate 3 followed by Baldur’s Gate 4, right? Strike while the iron’s hot!

Fans are still waiting for a full reveal of what can be expected from Diablo IV Season 4, but today during their latest “Campfire Chat,” Blizzard revealed some of the nitty gritty things players need to know about the season. First off, Season 4 will be arriving later than expected, as Blizzard wants to make sure that feedback from Diablo IV’s first public test realm will be fully incorporated. So, instead of coming out on April 16 as previously promised, Season 4 will arrive on May 14.

Microsoft has revealed the titles they’ll be adding to Xbox Game Pass on PC and consoles in late March and very-early April, and it’s a pretty packed lineup. The headliner is Diablo IV, one of the first major Acti-Blizz games to jump to Game Pass following Microsoft’s acquisition of the publisher. Other notable additions include The Quarry, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2, and the new-release indie game Open Roads.

World of Warcraft has been a pioneer when it comes to open-world online multiplayer, and yet, the game has kind of missed out one of the big recent trends in that space – battle royale. Well, apparently that changes now, as Blizzard has announced World of Warcraft “Plunderstorm,” a new pirate-themed 60-player battle royale limited-time activity. You can check out a trailer for Plunderstorm, below.

Minecraft dropped its latest update earlier this week, but those playing on PC may want to avoid downloading it. Mojang is warning that those who update Minecraft via the Xbox app on PC may have their worlds wiped. Mojang recommends running the Gaming Services Repair Tool for PC on the Xbox App before downloading the latest update, but until an actual fix is released, I’d remain wary. For now, automatic updates through the PC Xbox App have been disabled by Mojang as a preventive measure.

Halo Infinite’s regular seasonal updates have come to an end, but 343 Industries aren’t abandoning the game, and in fact next week will see the launch of a fairly significant update. This patch will offer a full networking overhaul – rather than trying to patch problems in Halo Infinite’s original networking model, they’ve decided to completely change the underlying tech. At the same time, Easy Anti-Cheat is being added to the game.

Spring is almost upon us (or already here for those lucky enough to not be living in Canada) and that means the Steam Spring Sale is in full swing, offering discounts on thousands of titles. This year, we’re getting deep discounts on some of 2023’s top games, including Hogwarts Legacy, Diablo IV, Mortal Kombat 1, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Recent hits like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Palworld are also getting their first modest discounts. Of course, some perennial favorites like GTA V are also on sale. I’ve picked out a selection of deals that might pique your interest. Check the list out, below.

After numerous delays, the anticipated System Shock remake launched on PC to solid reviews and enthusiastic fan response early last year, but when do console players get in on the retro cyberpunk fun? Developer Nightdive Studios have always said a console version of the new System Shock was in the works (which sets it apart from the PC-only original) but have been a bit cagey about when it might arrive.

Warner Bros has decided to make Mortal Kombat 1 free-to-play for this weekend, from today to 10th March, along with providing a sweet 40% discount on Steam.

It seems like the gaming industry, at least the traditional console-driven industry, is rapidly approaching some sort of inflection point. Xbox is bringing more of their games to other platforms, amid consistent speculation they may be stepping back from the console business, and PlayStation is hinting they may pursue a more aggressive PC release schedule even as PS5 sales continue to outpace the PS4. Meanwhile, one publisher after another announces deep layoffs and cancellations.

Back in late 2020 new Montreal-based studio Reflector Entertainment made a bit of splash when they revealed Unknown 9: Awakening at The Game Awards. The game’s reveal cinematic was very impressive, and next-gen consoles had just launched, so there was some hope that this was perhaps what we could expect from the new generation (sadly, not quite). Reflector also had ambitious plans for a full Unknown 9 multimedia universe with novels, comics, and more announced. Annnd then we didn’t really hear anything further about Unknown 9 for years, to the point many suspected it was vaporware.