Category: Video Games

Xbox Grows Support of Veterans, Military Service Members and their Families

Xbox Grows Support of Veterans, Military Service Members and their Families

  • Team Xbox

A smiling military service member uses a laptop at a table while three people in the background sit on a couch and view a tablet together.

Summary

  • Xbox reviews a year of partnership with the USO.
  • Call of Duty Endowment announces new operator packs.
  • Microsoft supports veterans, transitioning service members, and now military spouses with free technical career training through MSSA

Last year marked the beginning of a memorable journey as we joined forces with the United Service Organizations (USO) to bring the joy of gaming directly to you, even when your service takes you across the world. It’s our honor to provide a digital bridge back to your families and friends, ensuring that distance does not diminish the bonds that matter most.

This year, we’re proud to deepen our commitment as a premier gaming partner of the USO, ensuring that Xbox gaming is a staple wherever the USO Gaming program reaches. We understand that being away from loved ones is the most significant challenge of military life for many of you. We’re inspired by all the ways we’ve learned from you how video games can positively influence your lives, offering a tangible connection to your loved ones and the broader military community.

We recognize that deployments and remote assignments can be challenging, and the absence of friends and family can feel profound. Video games are more than entertainment ― they’re a conduit for camaraderie, a momentary escape from the rigors of duty, and a tool to remain engaged with life back home. With Xbox Play Anywhere, you can continue your gaming adventures seamlessly across Xbox console and Windows 10/11 PC, ensuring you can stay connected with loved ones, whether near or far you can stay connected with loved ones, whether near or far.

Xbox is excited to expand our gaming offerings, host more communal events, and introduce new initiatives designed to elevate your gaming experiences and strengthen the connections with your loved ones.  Read on to discover the Call of Duty Endowment update, new career training for military spouses, and more ways we’re connecting with the military community:

Xbox and USO: A Year of Partnership

A military service person and two children sit together on a couch while using a laptop together

Last year, we announced our partnership with the USO to further its mission delivery capabilities by providing more substantial access to services like Xbox Game Pass and gaming equipment, and through partnership in events and program collaboration. This year, we’ve expanded our partnership as a premier gaming partner of the USO and providing Xbox gaming wherever the USO Gaming program is. With 50% of service members citing time spent away from family as their number one issue in military life, it’s heartening to witness the real, positive impact gaming can have in the lives of service members by keeping them connected with their loved ones and the broader military community.

For many service members, being deployed overseas or stationed on remote bases can be an isolating experience. Separation from friends and family can leave them feeling disconnected from their civilian lives. That’s why video games can be a lifeline, providing a way to stay in touch, have fun, and decompress after a stressful day. As an example, last year, Xbox donated 500 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate codes to the USO for their gaming centers, enabling service members to play hundreds of games on their preferred platform, with access on multiple devices in many regions across the globe.

Last year, the USO and Xbox also collaborated on USOCON, an event at Fort Knox where families and cadets stepped away from the stressful challenges of their day-to-day lives and relaxed at their own mini-gaming convention. During USOCON, the partnership with Xbox was a standout feature that not only provided fantastic prizes but also created the “F.O.B. Xbox Area.” This unique space was designed to resemble a forward operating base, offering attendees a fun, free-to-play environment filled with Xbox consoles. An immersive setup allowed soldiers and their families to play a variety of games, enhancing the feeling of community during the event and demonstrating Xbox’s commitment to supporting our troops through interactive and engaging gaming experiences.

In September 2023, Xbox worked with the USO to facilitate a pop-up gaming activation on an aircraft carrier during a family day. This activation provided a unique opportunity to bring gaming to the seven seas, where service members and their families could sit back, relax, and enjoy themselves while underway. This collaboration demonstrates the value of the partnership between Xbox and the USO to not just our nation’s service members, but their families and loved ones as well.

In addition to our well-received virtual Xbox series in partnership with USO in 2023, we hosted a partnered session at the Game Developers Conference in March 2024 entitled “Operation Innovation: How Xbox Employs Military Talents in Gaming,” featuring Xbox and USO expert panelists who shared their insights on how Xbox and USO approach supporting U.S. vets and active-duty military in career development. More than 70 GDC guests attended the session, including both active military and former military across most U.S. forces. 

Transitioning to Video Game Careers

The USO Transition Program extends the USO experience to active duty, Reserve, National Guard and military spouses by offering professional development services throughout the duration of military service as well as in preparation for life post-military. Your military role doesn’t dictate what you do when you transition from the service or capture how the skills developed in that role translate to other industries.

Xbox partnered with the USO Transition Program to host a series of panels showcasing different career paths within the video game industry. More than 340 attendees joined to attend sessions from 219 locations across the world, to learn about the daily work and career paths of panelists with careers in video game engineering, production, and communications.

Panelists shared key points on their pathways to their rewarding careers in the game industry and included military veterans who joined Xbox by way of the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA), Microsoft’s 17-week training program enabling veterans and transitioning service members to find meaningful careers in tech. U.S. service members can apply through SkillBridge or as a veteran for a spot in Microsoft’s rigorous, fully-funded program, designed to build the technical and career-building skills to equip military professionals to get started in IT.

After 10 years working with over 3,700 transitioning and former service members, let’s just say we’ve learned a thing or two about the enormous skillset developed by many in military service, by service members of all MOSs―and also by military families. Juggling the logistics of the military lifestyle, like family obligations amid multiple deployments, is a monumental skillset that’s tough to capture on a resume. In April Microsoft Military Affairs announced the pilot cohort of MSSA–Military Spouse and a new Technical Program Management (TPM) learning path designed to do just that! This free 17-week program uses live virtual instruction to equip military spouses with the technical skills to access remote, portable employment as a TPM. Applications are accepted from May 13–27, so learn more about this exciting opportunity for military spouses and other success stories.

Call of Duty: Endowment

Knight Recon Operator holding a sniper rifle aiming on a target while lightning storm strikes in the background.

Make a legendary difference to U.S. and U.K. military veterans by purchasing the Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) Knight Recon: Tracer Pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone. The full purchase price for this special item, less VAT/sales tax, will be donated to the Call of Duty Endowment, which provides grants to registered charities that place unemployed and underemployed veterans in the U.K. and U.S. into high-quality jobs. By purchasing this pack, you will directly contribute to the Endowment’s mission. Get it now in the Xbox Store.

Gaming and Impact with Rewards  

A reminder that Rewards members can earn and donate Rewards points to the USO and Call of Duty Endowment in specific marketplaces.

Xbox players can earn Rewards points in various ways, such as playing games, completing Game Pass Quests, and purchasing games and other eligible items at the Microsoft Store (exclusions apply). Start earning today and redeem your points for great rewards. Donate your points on the Rewards hub or on the Microsoft Rewards redeem page.   

The post Xbox Grows Support of Veterans, Military Service Members and their Families appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Mortal Kombat 1: The Boys’ Homelander Gets First Gameplay Trailer

Yesterday, NetherRealm released the first gameplay trailer for The Boys’ Homelander in Mortal Kombat 1.

The trailer, which you can check out above, is a quick look at gameplay for the upcoming DLC character. Those who have watched The Boys will quickly notice that Homelander’s super strength and heat vision are present despite the trailer being less than a minute long. NetherRealm even went the extra mile to open the trailer with a bit of The Boys comedy, showing a scene of Homelander slurping milk from a baby bottle, much like was depicted in The Boys Priem Video series.

Although Anthony Starr, the actor who portrays Homelander in the Prime Video series The Boys, confirmed he would not be voicing the character in Mortal Kombat 1, NeatherRealm did secure Starr’s likeness for the character. Fortunately, NeatherRealm found an excellent soundalike for Homelander.

Some Mortal Kombat and The Boys fans have reacted to the first trailer online, with many praising the character’s design, saying they are “not upset anymore” that Starr is not voicing the Homelander in Mortal Kombat 1.

NetherRealm is releasing a first look at Homelander as a playable character in Mortal Kombat 1, which comes a few days after Prime Video released a new trailer for The Boys Season 4, which premieres on June 14. Though the company has yet to reveal a release date, let alone a release window for Homelander, hopefully, NetherRealm plans to make the character available around the same time The Boys’ fourth season releases.

Homelander was one of six DLC characters in the Mortal Kombat 1 Kombat Pack, including Incincible’s Omni-Man and returning character Quan-Chi. The former, released last November, was quickly discovered to be equal parts broken and hilarious to play as.

In our review of Mortal Kombat 1, IGN wrote: “The bone-crunching gameplay of Mortal Kombat 1 is some of the best the series has ever seen, thanks to the game-changing Kameo system. Netherrealm delivers a fantastic single-player story mode as well. However, the new Invasions mode is a grind and the online options feel dated.”

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Helldivers 2 Boss Impressed by Players’ ‘Willpower’ in Reversing PlayStation Network Requirement

The creative director of Helldivers 2 has said he’s impressed by the “willpower” of fans after their feedback caused Sony to reverse its decision regarding PlayStation Network accounts being required by all players.

In a post on X/Twitter, Helldivers 2 creative director and CEO of developer Arrowhead Game Studios Johan Pilestedt thanked Sony for “quickly and effectively” addressing the community’s concern and suggested this sort of feedback loop should be the “new standard” for live service games.

“Firstly, I am impressed by the willpower of the Helldivers 2 community and your ability to collaborate,” Pilestedt said.

“Secondly I want to thank our partners and friends at PlayStation for quickly and effectively making the decision to leave PSN linking optional. We together want to set a new standard for what a live game is and how developers and community can support each other to create the best game experiences.”

I am impressed by the willpower of the Helldivers 2 community.

PlayStation announced it had cancelled its plans to force a PSN account on even PC players after the community shared its frustration online in what’s essentially been the first piece of bad press for the cooperative sci-fi shooter.

The entire saga barely lasted three days but it was enough to swing Helldivers 2’s Steam reviews down to “mixed” after being “mostly positive” for its first three months on the market, with most of its recent reviews being “mostly negative”.

The uptick has begun again following the reversed PSN plans, however, with many fans sharing a familiar message of the game online. “Democracy has prevailed,” wrote one Steam user. “Major order complete. We dive together or not at all,” said another.

A Reddit post revealing Sony’s backtrack has more than 72,000 likes too, with over 5,000 comments from players celebrating the change. “Threat eliminated. Congrats for all helldivers,” wrote JV_TBZ. “Wait… They really listened?,” asked Pixel_Block_2077. “Companies don’t usually do that. Guess democracy actually did win this one.”

Others encouraged those who left negative reviews to change them back, and to try to see the whole fiasco as a good thing instead of instead of bad. “Reminder that this whole thing was like a two day affair over the weekend and was never implemented in the first place,” said ControlWurst. “That’s at least a good turnaround to feedback.”

Helldivers 2 has otherwise proved a smash hit for Arrowhead and Sony, with it being the latter’s biggest ever launch on PC. Its take on live service sees players’ actions affect the overall story going forward, all of which is controlled by a Dungeons & Dragons esque game master called Joel.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Acclaimed Horror VN Series ‘Pixel Pulps’ Is Getting A Special Edition On Switch

Pulp fiction.

LCB Game Studio’s acclaimed visual novel is getting a bundled release this summer in The Pixel Pups Collection. Consisting of Mothmen 1966, Varney Lake, and Bahnsen Knights, the trio play homage to classic pulp horror using 8- and 16-bit visual styles.

And today, LCB Games has revealed that it’s partnering with Meridiem Games to release a special physical version of the collection. The physical version will come with exclusive cases and postcards designed to look like pulp novel covers.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Details Emerge Of A Cancelled Donkey Kong Project From Vicarious Visions

Rope burn’d.

Of all the studios to potentially work on a Donkey Kong project, Vicarious Visions (now known simply as Blizzard Albany) admittedly wasn’t particularly high up on our list.

However, details have emerged of a now-cancelled DK project at the studio via a new video from Did You Know Gaming (with prior reporting from DK Vine). According to the research, leadership at Vicarious Visions had wanted to collaborate more closely with Nintendo after the studio’s work on Skylanders: Superchargers (which, if you remember, included the likes of Bowser and Donkey Kong on Wii U, Wii, and 3DS). It had received developer kits for the Nintendo Switch and wanted to create something truly unique for the upcoming system.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

PlayStation Reverses Course on Helldivers 2 PSN Account Requirement

PlayStation has reversed course on the Helldivers 2 PSN account requirement, walking back the unpopular policy after a weekend long backlash that included tens of thousands of negative reviews, some of which spread to Sony’s other Steam games.

“Helldivers fans — we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward,” PlayStation wrote on its official account.

“We’re still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2 and we’ll keep you updated on future plans.”

PlayStation’s decision means that Helldivers 2 players on Steam won’t have to link a PSN account in order to play. The unpopular policy, which would have seen new players confronted with a mandatory login beginning this week, resulted in Helldivers 2 being delisted in around 177 countries. At one point, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt, clearly frustrated over the controversy, posted, “Waking up to the sunshine of yesterday replaced with a dreary drizzle and shivering winds makes me reflect on how I spent my time those rare few moments when all was perfect.”

Pilestedt said Sunday that Arrowhead was “talking solutions” with PlayStation, which apparently led to the decision to not move forward with the policy. Pilestedt also shed more light on the decision-making behind the scenes, admitting that it was his decision to disable account linking at launch so that players could play the game.

“I did not ensure players were aware of the requirement and we didn’t talk about it enough,” he wrote, saying that he was “not blameless” in the countroversy. “We knew for about 6 months before launch that it would be mandatory for online PS titles.”

As he has been throughout Helldivers 2’s release, Pilestedt was a vocal presence on social media, at various points apologizing to fans and say he “just wants to make a good game.” Helldivers 2’s recent reviews on Steam currently sit at “Overwhelmingly Negative,” dropping it to Mixed overall after a wave of review bombing that included more than 200,000 negative reviews.

Following PlayStation’s announcement, fans expressed hope that future games would not include the requirement. Others urged players to not take out their anger on Arrowhead.

“They ended up in the crossfire for this and it wasn’t fair to them as they were doing what they were contractually obligated to do,” one fan wrote.

PlayStation’s decision means that the focus can begin to return to the game itself, which up until now has been one of the most popular games of 2024 thanks to its unique approach to live service storytelling. Its breakthrough success has led to it selling an estimated 8 million units as of March 2024.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

New Limited-Time Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Distribution Now Available

Get it while you can.

The Pokémon Company is currently running a new limited-time distribution for the latest Switch titles Scarlet and Violet.

This time it’s a special Gift Distribution for a Flutter Mane based on a Pokémon used in last year’s Korean Trainers Cup stream. It will be available until 7th May 2024. Here are the details courtesy of Serebii.net, along with the code:

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Helldivers 2 Pulled From 177 Countries Due to PSN Linking Requirement, Arrowhead ‘Talking Solutions’

As Helldiver 2’s reviews continue to collapse on Steam, Arrowhead’s best-selling action game has been pulled from around 177 countries in the wake of the new PSN account linking requirement that has turned its fanbase upside down.

Egypt, Georgia, Jamaica, and Morocco are some of the notable countries where Helldivers 2 can no longer be purchased due PSN not being available, sparking confusion among fans. Japan is also among the countries listed, but according to SteamDB it has a separate package and is still available, though users can’t buy the “global version.”

In the meantime, Helldivers 2’s recent reviews on Steam are now “Overwhelmingly Negative” amid continued review bombing by fans. On Friday, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilstedt apologized for the requirement in a statement posted to X/Twitter, writing, “Ouch, right in the review score. Well, I guess it’s warranted. Sorry everyone for how this all transpired. I hope we will make it up and regain the trust by providing a continued great game experience. I just want to make great games!”

The controversy kicked off on Friday when Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that the “grace period” in which Helldivers 2 did not need to be connected to a PSN account was ending. Starting May 6, all new Helldivers 2 players on Steam will be required to connect their Steam account to PSN. Existing Steam players will begin seeing a mandatory login on May 30.

The requirement has sparked a massive online backlash against SIE that has continued throughout the weekend.

“What a clusterf*ck,” wrote independent developer Rami Ismail on X/Twitter. “For all my criticism of Steam — its incredible that they’re choosing to take the hit for Sony’s nonsense to ensure nobody ends up with a unusable game because of Playstation’s super limited accessibility globally. Absolutely terrible decision-making by Sony.”

PlayStation has yet to respond to the account linking controversy.

Arrowhead is “talking solutions” with PlayStation

Up until Friday, Helldivers 2 was a notable win for SIE, earning Game of the Year notice for its excellent community engagement. It’s been one of the best-selling games of 2024 to this point, with an estimated 8 million copies sold as of March 2024. Now its future may be in doubt as fans abruptly turn on the sensationally popular game.

Amid the anger, Pilestedt said that Arrowhead is working on a solution, but that the studio doesn’t have the final say.

“Is this the moment to tweet ‘What? You guys don’t have phones?'” Pilestedt asked on X/Twitter, referencing Diablo Immortal’s infamous reveal. “On serious note: We are talking solutions with PlayStation, especially for non-PSN countries. Your voice has been heard, and I am doing everything I can to speak for the community — but I don’t have the final say.”

The Arrowhead CEO, who has been actively engaging with fans since Helldivers 2’s launch, has been morose and even a bit poetic since the controversy began. “Waking up to the sunshine of yesterday replaced with a dreary drizzle and shivering winds makes me reflect on how I spent my time those rare few moments when all was perfect.”

“Yet rain is essential to growth and is what changes spring into summer. I will just have to wait for sunshine to return.”

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.