Following such recent news highlights as “It’s out on March 5th” and “It’s got that Ben Starr guy in it,” Marathon’s announce-o-blaster continues firing with a newly unveiled set of PC system requirements. As seen on the Bungie FPS’s Steam page, they’re nicely accommodating to cheapo rigs and older tech, though are missing any storage requirements.
If you’ve been waiting to bless one of your friends with an entire dump truck worth of games in a series they’ve enjoyed one entry of, then good news. Valve have made Steam’s ‘complete the set’ bundles giftable, with prices adjusting to match whichever bits the recipient might already own – so you’re not in danger of hurling someone their second copy of Fallout 4 on one storefront.
What is an Xbox? Microsoft has spent 25 years trying to answer the question, but for fans, the answer is easy: “Xbox” evokes one-eared headsets wired into the memory card slots of massive controllers with breakaway cords. A dashboard with gleaming skeuomorphic blades and avatars adorned in earned accessories. That sound that plays when a hard-earned Achievement finally pops. “Xbox” means heavy-duty hardware. Tactile sensations. Friends connecting for the first time. And that’s before we even get to the games.
It may be that the very idea of an Xbox game is coming to an end. Microsoft has undeniably shifted its tactics, with a new focus on multi-platform releases, handheld Xboxes that are actually miniature Windows computers, and the potential that future Xbox consoles may simply be gaming PCs. So now seems as good a time as any to look back at the entire history of Microsoft’s console journey and rank the best Xbox games, with help from our friends at Outside Xbox, the multimillion-subscriber channel that serves up weekly videos about video games and video game-adjacent things
When we say “the best Xbox games,” we mean the ones that most evoke that weighty sense of “Xboxness.” Some are first-party, most are exclusives, and all of them are indelibly tied to the legacy of and fondness for a platform that’s left a massive mark on gaming. These are the 100 Best Xbox Games of All Time. We’ll be updating this list daily with 25 games at 7am PST/10am ET/3pm GMT from Tuesday, 20th January to Friday, 23rd January, until number one is revealed.
A large-scale, online multiplayer game show, played in real-time by actual players who could win actual prizes? It was a bold idea, and Microsoft’s 1 vs. 100 actually did it. Adapted from the TV show of the same name, players were randomly dropped into one of three pools whenever the show went live: the Crowd, the Mob, and the One, with the One competing against the Mob in trivia rounds where reaction times were just as important an ingredient to victory as the correct answer to the question being asked. Prizes ranged from 80 Microsoft Points ($1) to a free Xbox Live Arcade game, to 10,000 Microsoft Points ($125). 1 vs. 100 was a true social and technical experiment in the world of gaming, and here’s the thing: it worked! Sadly, it was canceled after two “seasons” and can’t be played now, but it lives on in the memory as one of the best and most innovative Xbox games ever made.
When Microsoft acquired Nintendo’s second-party darling Rare for $375 million, the possibilities were endless. One of the first games Xbox got from the British studio was Conker: Live and Reloaded, a remake of N64’s Conker’s Bad Fur Day that added online multiplayer. And while that competitive play was quite fun, thanks in part to the juxtaposition of over-the-top violence and adorable characters on screen, it was the technological level-up from the N64 original that was truly stunning. The action-platformer was now “fur-shaded,” giving the manes of Conker and his buddies a unique “next-gen” new look. Ironically, Live and Reloaded was actually more heavily censored than Bad Fur Day, but both campaign and multiplayer were nevertheless a great way to introduce Rare to its new Xbox player base.
Believe it or not, there was a time when EA didn’t support Xbox Live. And so Microsoft started building its own sports games that would take advantage of its online service, and of those titles, Top Spin was by far the best. It was a tennis sim featuring a career mode full of real-life pros, but what made Top Spin memorable – in addition to its core gameplay being so pitch-perfect, of course – was its online play. You’d create your character, build them up, and take them online, pitting yourself against other players in ranked matches that, if you won, would move you further up the global rankings. It all worked perfectly (and even tied in XSN, if you remember that little experiment), and made Top Spin the best tennis game the Xbox has ever been served up.
The Xbox 360 was a treasure chest full of those “7 out of 10s” that you just couldn’t put down; those rough-around-the-edges cult classics that kept us more than entertained for a weekend before we moved on to the next. Binary Domain is a perfect example – a third-person shooter from Yakuza developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, this sci-fi story didn’t play too differently from established cover shooters such as Gears of War, but came with its own unique quirks. Direct control of your squadmates was chief among these, with the ability to command them in six different languages via a headset or the Kinect sensor, a fun little gimmick that took advantage of the Xbox’s ultimately doomed experiment with its camera peripheral. Binary Domain may have never fully reached the heights of its lofty ambitions, but it still finds a place in our hearts.
The original Xbox was a maximalist, brutalist brick of post-Y2K design and Steel Battalion is the purest expression of its commitment to inconvenience. The Capcom-developed mech game is arguably nothing special by itself, but the humongous HOTAS horror with which it came bundled has earned it Xbox immortality. Weighing in at a whopping 17 pounds, boasting three panels, three foot pedals, and industrial-grade divorced dad energy, Steel Battalion is the video game equivalent of “rolling coal:” an excessive, magnificent, indulgent peripheral that cost $200 in 2002 money. Xbox is a burly, hefty console that demands a burly, hefty experience, and Steel Battalion more than fits the bill.
Xbox was a console designed to change the game, and so it made sense that the Oddworld series shifted direction when it arrived on the platform. Munch’s Oddysee saw the sidescrolling platformer leap into the third dimension, but it was 2005’s Stranger’s Wrath that really reinvented the series, delivering a bizarre gunslinging action-adventure in which you played a bounty hunter, bringing in targets dead or alive, rather than saving legions of Mudokons. As Stranger, you’re armed with a crossbow and a bandolier of “Live Ammunition”, as in, ammo that’s literally alive. Your chatterbox bullets, each an insect or tiny mammal with unique abilities, turn each hunt into a tactical showdown with more than a fistful of good laughs.
It’s gritty. It’s neon. It’s Fuzion Frenzy, an undeniable classic for the original Xbox that’s still fun today (if you don’t stay too long in the Waterfront minigames, that is). This party game gem was one of the few local multiplayer games that just about anyone could play, regardless of their experience with gaming. Simple yet helpful options like practicing a minigame before the real event, bots to fill open spots with varying levels of difficulty, and custom lengths for tournaments made welcoming others to the party even easier. Its wide span of minigames acted as a great introduction to all kinds of genres, too; from racing to rhythm, to strategy, to defense, Fuzion Frenzy has it all – and a sick visual aesthetic to boot.
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is a perfect relic from a time when it seemed like almost every third-party game that delivered a visual showcase on the Xbox 360 struggled to run properly on the PS3. Capcom’s mech-suit shooter played host to some memorable creature design that evoked some of sci-fi fiction’s greatest threats, and delivered spectacle that, at the time, was compared to games as well as thought of as Shadow of the Colossus. While its story may have left quite a bit to be desired, its action was well-received, as it took cues from Capcom classics such as Mega Man and Bionic Commando and modernised them to great effect. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is by no means a classic in its own right, but is a great example of a time when, if you had the choice to play a multiplatform game on any console, it would always be the 360.
Nuts & Bolts began life as a remake of the original Nintendo 64 Banjo-Kazooie game, before developer Rare made the decision to create a completely new entry in the series for the Xbox 360. An ambitious project that stretched itself far beyond its 3D platforming roots, this 2008 sequel placed an emphasis on building vehicles in a flexible world that could be navigated in many different ways. 15 years before Nintendo experimented with similar ideas in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Rare was arguably ahead of the curve when it came to player freedom in wide open spaces, even if the final product never delivered the sort of game of the year-winning quality that Link’s adventures have. There’s no denying that Nuts & Bolts was divisive at launch, but its legacy only grows stronger over time, and it remains the most recent entry into the Banjo-Kazooie series.
We’d argue that Condemned: Criminal Origins was the most underrated of the Xbox 360’s day-one launch games. A first-person horror game with melee combat from the decorated developers at Monolith Productions, it got scarier and scarier the deeper you pushed into its campaign – and yes, we mean it got even more terrifying after the memorable department store mannequin sequence. As an FBI agent you had a toolbox of forensic tools to work with, but it was more what you had to work against that made this experience special – namely, an impeccably bleak atmosphere that heightened the fear that enveloped you as you played. It remains unique amongst horror games even today.
Indie games have grown so ubiquitous that the word itself has become a battleground, but 18 years ago, “indie” largely meant games on Xbox Live Arcade. XBLA was to indie games as Toonami was to anime: an influential pipeline that reshaped distribution and expanded our ideas of what games could be and who was allowed to make them. Headlining the inaugural “Summer of Arcade” in 2008, Castle Crashers was a colorful, chaotic belt-scroller with stylish hand-drawn art straight from Newgrounds, the anarchic animation scene that would later spawn the likes of Smiling Friends. It set a new standard for four-player co-op and helped spark a modern beat ‘em up revival alongside fellow XBLA stalwart Scott Pilgrim: The Game.
MechWarrior had long been a sci-fi giant-robot simulation staple on PC. In MechAssault, the BattleTech universe came to console as a faster-paced, gamepad-friendly version of everyone’s favorite 31st-century-set franchise, and it translated beautifully. You still got to pilot all of the coolest mechs from the PC series, and you could still target specific areas of your enemies in order to disable them or, in the case of a leg takeout, cause them to fall over and explode. But MechAssault boiled it down to purely the action, taking a lot of the between-mission simulation gameplay out of the equation. The revised formula worked, both in the single-player campaign and in the Xbox Live online multiplayer, where MechAssault quickly established itself as one of the most popular games on Microsoft’s then brand-new, broadband-only online gaming service.
A launch game for the Xbox 360, Peter Jackson’s King Kong comes from a time when a huge graphical leap could be noticed from just one glance at a screen. The lush jungle of Skull Island set the stage for a licensed game that stood tall in an era when many fell flat, thanks to its relatively open approach to level design, immersive first-person perspective devoid of cluttered UI, and overall cinematic presentation that reflected the ambitions of The Lord of the Rings’ director’s remake. Sure, it’s not quite as revolutionary to play now, but it is representative of a moment in time when, much like its lead character, Xbox was about to become top of the food chain.
Full Spectrum Warrior famously started out not as a for-public-consumption video game, but as a training tool built for the US Army. It’s a real-time tactics game, but unlike just about anything that came before or since. Its entire premise revolves around the proper positioning of your squad of soldiers; it’s up to you to literally put your men and women in position to not just succeed, but also survive, as one wrong move will see just a few bullets quickly wipe out your squad. Tension is the primary emotion you’ll feel throughout Full Spectrum Warrior’s campaign, but in the very best and most enjoyable of ways.
At the time of the original Xbox’s arrival in November 2001, it was seen as a necessity for a console to launch with a strong fighting game offering, one of the most popular genres at the turn of the century. In preparation for that, Microsoft moved to obtain exclusivity on Team Ninja’s Dead or Alive series, which had previously appeared on both Sony’s PlayStation and Sega’s Dreamcast. The gamble paid off: Dead or Alive 3 instantly became a huge hit thanks to its lush visuals and slick combat, selling over 1 million copies in its first five months alone. It would go on to become one of the 10 best-selling games on the original Xbox console and help establish the platform’s solid foundations around the world.
A sequel to Rare’s hit N64 shooter, Perfect Dark Zero began life on the Gamecube before it was ordained as a flagship first-party launch title for Xbox 360 following Microsoft’s acquisition of the studio in 2002. While its development was a frantic sprint to meet the console’s release, the final product is a technical stunner of a stylish spy thriller that dazzled early adopters with glossy visuals and a sprawling multiplayer suite that supported a then-whopping 32 players– the perfect proving ground for a new generation of Xbox Live. Microsoft was clearly strapping the rocket to Joanna Dark as a triple-A franchise candidate, but her series struggled to find a lane among the Master Chiefs and Call of Dutys that dominated the platform. Even so, Perfect Dark Zero endures as an ambitious, feature-rich launch showcase, and after decades of false starts and development hell, it remains the last, best word on an Xbox almost-icon.
Panzer Dragon Orta showed that, even following the very public disaster of the Dreamcast, Sega was a company still willing to take risks and experiment. In this case, it meant rewinding time and returning Panzer Dragoon to its rail shooter roots, following a brief venture into the RPG space with 1998’s Panzer Dragoon Saga. The result was Panzer Dragoon Orta, an Xbox exclusive interpretation of the dragon-riding series that felt both comfortingly old-school and daringly modern. A beautiful, deceivingly complex slice of action, Orta took full advantage of the power of the Xbox to create one of the best examples of the on-rails shooter to date.
Is 2013’s Rayman Legends the greatest platformers that Nintendo never made? A personality-packed cartoon world, impeccable control system, sublime level design, and an ever-evolving set of mechanics would argue yes, it’s certainly in the running, and that’s even before we’ve gotten to the brilliantly bonkers rhythm-based challenge level set to a Mariachi band cover of ‘Eye of the Tiger’. Fun solo but absolutely joyous with three friends in tow, Rayman Legends is couch co-op perfection. Its 120 levels are full of surprises and crafted at such a consistently high standard that no sooner do you think you’ve found your favourite stage than another one has come along to dethrone it. There’s so much giddy gameplay stuffed into Rayman Legends that it even spills over into its loading screens, themselves mad scrambles for a bonus heart during the handful of seconds before each level begins. Beautiful, bountiful, and bouncing with energy, Rayman Legends is as good as 2D platforming gets, and proved a real treat in the dying days of Xbox’s golden 360 era.
Rainbow Six: Vegas isn’t just memorable for being a massive jump for the Tom Clancy series into the next-gen on the Xbox 360, but for its perspective shift: as you took cover from gunfire behind one-armed bandits and beside doorways, the camera pulled back from Rainbow Six’s typical first-person perspective and brought it into third-person, settling over each Operator’s shoulder – a trick that would be later copied by Brothers in Arms and Deus Ex. Meanwhile, Las Vegas proved to be a gorgeous and memorable setting for this bold new entry in the series, giving us glitzy shootouts on casino floors. And multiplayer, already a huge hit on Xbox Live with Rainbow Six 3, blew up again with Vegas, offering an unparalleled tactical, team-based competitive experience online. At the time of release, we called it “the best first-person shooter on the Xbox 360”, and while it may not have held onto that crown later in the console’s lifespan, it still remains a high point for the genre.
A game with perhaps the single saddest press of a button in all of games, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons set the template for what director Josef Fares would go on to achieve. A story-first puzzle game in which the game’s two playable brothers are controlled by an analog stick each, its smart approach to how you use an Xbox controller made it an instant under-the-radar hit when it landed with timed exclusivity on the 360. Fares would leave developer Starbreeze Studios after Brothers’ release to set up Hazelight and craft some of the best co-op games ever released, and while the likes of It Takes Two and Split Fiction push the bounds of creativity when it comes to gameplay, nothing since has quite packed the narrative punch that this journey of two boys trying to save their dying father does.
After a litigious split from Activision, the co-creators of Call of Duty jumped ship to EA and formed Respawn, determined to reinvent the online FPS for Xbox and beat their old game at its own game. 2014’s Titanfall dropped as the disappointing Ghosts left Call of Duty vulnerable, with acrobatic movement and wall-running gunfights that made “boots on the ground” shooters feel instantly archaic. While the MOBA-influenced multiplayer featured farming minions and screen-shaking ultimate mechs summoned from the sky, the lack of a campaign limited Titanfall’s impact, and by the time its multiplatform sequel more than rectified that mistake, it was far too late to conquer CoD.
Obsidian Entertainment has quietly become one of Microsoft’s most important studios, thanks to its consistently strong output ever since its 2018 acquisition. Following recent forays into oversized undergrowth in Grounded and Pentiment’s 17th-century Germany, the Pillars of Eternity developer returned to their roots in 2025 with not one, but two action RPGs. Avowed was great, but it was The Outer Worlds 2 that led the pack and sprinkled some of that Fallout: New Vegas magic onto the foundations of its solid, but not entirely successful predecessor, producing a significantly improved sequel. With trademark humour powering a sci-fi satire full of memorable moments, warring factions, and malleable skills and combat systems, The Outer Worlds 2 is one of Obsidian’s best RPGs to date, and as a result, one of Xbox’s.
Considering Microsoft’s recent history when it comes to the mishandling of its studios, it feels like somewhat of a miracle that we’re lucky enough to get brilliant little games like Keeper from Double Fine. A short and colourful trip, it takes a humble walking lighthouse and its bird companion on a journey full of puzzles that surprises with each turn and tumble its story and characters take. What starts out seeming so simple steadily reveals its secrets and joys in a hidden gem that feels like the exact sort of experience Game Pass was created for.
BioWare’s oft-forgotten 2005 RPG is the evolutionary link between Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect. The Chinese mythology-inspired Jade Empire builds upon the moral choices of KOTOR, but leaves behind its cumbersome D&D-rooted combat in favour of real-time battles that better convey the fluidity of martial arts. With its wonderful companions, engaging romances, and richly detailed original worldbuilding, Jade Empire is very clearly the starting point for BioWare’s glittering 360 era, even if its achievements were quickly eclipsed by Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
Where Gears of War 4 reflected many of the themes of its predecessors, Gears 5 shattered the mirror to take the COGs into something bigger. Kait Diaz, JD Fenix, and Del Walker are joined by Marcus Fenix and other familiar faces in a story that expands the Gears of War lore in an exciting way as they are pitted against the Swarm’s escalated aggression. New combat additions like Jack’s abilities make for great campaign gameplay updates without straying too far from the focus on excellent cover-shooting, and its larger sandbox environments keep things fresh with optional exploration and, of course, more combat challenges. The iconic, gory mess of gunplay is also fantastic in the variety of multiplayer modes and Horde. Developer The Coalition put the cherry on top of this fantastic third-person shooter with the Hivebusters DLC, which features entirely new characters and a story that complements the main campaign. This complete package is easily on the Xbox One’s finest games.
Come back tomorrow (Wednesday 21st) for picks 75-51!
Integrity. Inteh-gritty. In-teh-grih-teh. That’s the word of the day when it comes to 2026 RuneScape, or at least it will be if the plans Jagex have just laid out work as intended. To be fair, pushing the big button that finally gets rid of those Treasure Hunter microtransactions folks vocally disliked is a good start.
King of the Kenner.
Following his retirement as President and COO of Nintendo of America, Doug Bowser has now joined the board of directors for toy manufacturer Hasbro.
This news come directly from Hasbro itself, with the firm confirming the appointment of Bowser alongside Carla Vernón, CEO of The Honest Company, a digital-first consumer goods company founded by actress Jessica Alba.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Welcome back to your routine “what am I going to play next?” suggestion list! We’ve got some favorites, some surprises we snuck in last week (and a cheeky reminder to join us for our fourth Developer Direct for even more games coming your way). Let’s get to the games!
Resident Evil Village (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
Resident Evil Village is the eighth main entry in the Resident Evil series. Set years after Resident Evil 7 biohazard, players follow Ethan Winters into a haunting European village, fighting for survival against brutal enemies as danger and mystery lurk around every corner.
MIO: Memories in Orbit (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Available on day one with Game Pass! A hand-crafted metroidvania set within a vast, decaying world reclaimed by nature and robots. Play as Mio, a nimble android exploring labyrinthine environments, battling rogue machines, and uncovering lost memories in a richly atmospheric adventure filled with secrets and danger.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X|S) – January 21
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding Director’s Cut is now available on Xbox Game Pass! Take on the role of Sam Porter Bridges on his mission to deliver hope to humanity. Are you ready to unite the divided – one more time?
RoadCraft (PC) – January 21
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
In the wake of natural disasters, RoadCraft calls on you to rebuild what’s broken. Operate a fleet of over 40 authentic construction vehicles to clear debris, repair roads and bridges, and restore essential infrastructure. Tackle realistic challenges solo or in cooperative play across expansive, physics-driven environments shaped by destruction and recovery.
Ninja Gaiden Ragebound (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 21
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
A brand-new side-scrolling entry to the Ninja Gaiden series from the team behind Blasphemous, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound redefines the classic platformer saga in a spectacular, thrilling and challenging ninja adventure.
The Talos Principle 2 (PC and Xbox Series X|S) – January 27
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
A thought-provoking first-person puzzle experience that greatly expands the first game’s philosophical themes and stunning environments with increasingly mind-bending challenges. Born into a new world where biological humanity is extinct but human culture lives on in a city of robots, get swept up in a mind-bending adventure involving a mysterious megastructure hiding enormous powers.
Anno: Mutationem (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 28
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
Welcome to the neon-covered, 2D-meets-3D Cyberpunk world of Anno: Mutationem. In thisAction-Adventure game with RPG elements you become Ann: a highly skilled, combat-trained lone wolf on a personal mission in the giant Metropolis, full of sinister mega-corporations, mysterious fringe groups and creatures more bizarre than words can express.
Drop Duchy (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 28
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
Build your duchy piece by piece in this refreshing hybrid rogue-lite game. Use block-dropping mechanics to collect resources, recruit troops to fight against belligerent armies, and let every block shape your realm, leading your path to victory! Complete Edition includes all additional content.
MySims: Cozy Bundle (PC) – January 29
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Befriend cute characters and discover creative adventures across retro re-releases of two lovable games in MySims: Cozy Bundle. Use your imagination to rebuild a town in MySims and help a cute magical land become an even better place in MySims Kingdom. There are stories to uncover, locations to explore, and lots of characters with big personalities to meet.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 29
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
Your craft is death. Purge the relentless Tyranid swarms as legendary Space Marine Demetrian Titus in a spectacular new campaign, solo or in three-player co-op, and save the Imperium as your own Space Marine in endlessly brutal PvE and PvP games with 6 playable classes to choose from!
Indika (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X|S) – February 2
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Indika is a story-driven adventure set in an alternative 19th-century Russia, following a young nun on a surreal journey of self-discovery. Blending dark humor with serious themes like faith, morality, and religious authority, the game mixes exploration, light puzzles, brief action moments, and symbolic RPG elements. Its narrative is enriched by retro-style arcade flashbacks and a strange companionship with the devil himself, creating a unique experience that balances comedy and tragedy while pushing the boundaries of conventional game design.
Final Fantasy II (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – February 3
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
A remodeled 2D take on the second game in the world-renowned FINAL FANTASY series! Our epic tale begins with four young souls orphaned during the struggle between the Palamecian Empire and the rebel army. On their journey, the youths join forces with the white wizard Minwu, Prince Gordon of Kashuan, Leila the pirate, and many others. Behold the beautiful and sometimes tragic twists of fate that await you on your adventure.
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check (PC) – Play today!
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Command the checkpoint in a collapsing city. Screen survivors, manage scarce resources, and hold back the undead. Every choice matters and one mistake could unleash the plague beyond your walls.
The Sims 25th Birthday Bundle (PC) – January 22
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Celebrate a Sim-sational New Year with EA Play on the Xbox PC app. This month, embrace classic chaos with re-releases of The Sims and The Sims 2, coming to EA Play on January 22. Keep the cozy vibes rolling with MySims: Cozy Bundle joining The Play List on January 29.
Grounded 2 Garden Update (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 27
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Explore the new Community Garden biome in The Toxic Tangle update, packed with hidden paths, twisting trellises, and earthy caverns. Battle new creatures, craft Tier III gear, and ride the Ladybug Buggy with its water cannon as you face fresh challenges across the Garden.
Dead by Daylight – Stranger Things DLC – January 27
The battles fought. The pain endured. All of it leads back to him. Stranger Things Returns To Dead by Daylight: Vecna, Dustin, & Eleven Enter The Fog.
Sea of Thieves Season 18, Act 2 (Cloud, PC, and Console) – January 22
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass
The Trading Companies are calling on Emissaries to raid Molten Sands Fortress and recover valuable treasure from its vault! During the event, those who reach Emissary Grade 5 can accept a special quest that will awaken this fiery fort. Which flag will you fly?
Leaving January 31
The following games are leaving the Game Pass library soon. Jump back in to tie up any loose ends, or save up to 20% off your purchase to keep the fun going!
Excited to see you all back here in just a few days for our next Developer Direct! In the meantime, go charge your batteries and get those games downloaded. Cheers!
Note: Games with a ‘Handheld’ designation represent those that are optimized for handheld play.
The post Coming to Xbox Game Pass: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II, Death Stranding Director’s Cut, and More appeared first on Xbox Wire.
Former World of Warcraft producer Raymond Bartos has joined Riot Games, giving fans renewed hope that the League of Legends MMO might actually come out.
We found out Riot Games’ highly anticipated MMO project — announced half a decade ago now — would be “reset” back in 2024, after Riot co-founder Marc Merrill let players know that the team had decided to go back to the drawing board “some time ago.” Now, however, Bartos has confirmed his move to Riot, following in the footsteps of fellow Blizzard colleague, Orlando Salvatore.
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining Riot on the MMO team!!!” Bartos wrote on LinkedIn (first reported by MassivelyOP). “I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to join such an inspiring group of people, and I can’t wait to get started — showing up every day to provide value for Riot gamers and help deliver an MMO experience players truly enjoy.
“And as a fun bonus I’ve been barely able to contain: I’ll be re-queuing with my longtime duo partner, Orlando Salvatore,” Bartos added. “Given our track record on World of Warcraft, I have a feeling we’ll be moving fast on day one.”
And best of all, Bartos’ LinkedIn profile gives us a clear insight into what he’s working courtesy of his role descriptor: “senior game producer on the MMO [at] Riot Games.”
Concern grew in 2022, when then-executive producer Greg Street warned fans that there is “no guarantee this game will ship.” The lead then went on to announce his departure from Riot in early 2023. Two years ago, when he announced the development reset, Merrill said he understood fans’ frustration at the lack of progress on the MMO, but insisted the time spent in the dark would “help provide space for the team to focus on the incredible amount of work ahead of them.”
“Remember, ‘no news is good news,’ as it means we’re hard at work, pouring our hearts and souls into making something that we hope you’ll love,” he continued.
League of Legends was first released in 2009 and remains one of the world’s biggest, most-played games. A multiplayer online battle arena (or MOBA), it was originally inspired by Warcraft 3 custom map Defense of the Ancients, and played a massive role in pioneering and popularizing the MOBA genre. It has gone on to inspire a number of spin-offs, including digital card game Legends of Runeterra, a mobile version of the game called Wild Rift, and a popular TV series: Arcane.
Last month, we reported that Riot was working on a total makeover of League of Legends. Called “League Next,” the upcoming overhaul will be an update to the existing League of Legends rather than a standalone game. It’s thought the update will fully revamp the game’s visual aesthetic, including characters, UI, and arenas and make some adjustments behind the scenes to help make future updates smoother, although it’s currently unclear if the changes will impact game mechanics.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
The winter abates, the days begin to lengthen, the snowdrops creep forth from their burrows, and the raiders of ARC Raiders carry on raiding Arcs. Developers Embark have also done another round of interviews, in which they discuss plans for ARC Raiders updates in 2026, and in particular, address the question of whether to implement a player-trading menu and/or some kind of auction house feature. Right now, you can only officially barter with NPC merchants.
One of the original designers of Tomb Raider‘s iconic Lara Croft has revealed that Core Design’s then-Japanese publisher had asked for the character to be given a “Manga” redesign to “appeal” to Japanese players.
Responding to one fan who had unearthed a comment from him a few years ago, Tomb Raider co-creator and programmer Paul Douglas confirmed there had been a little pressure “quite late in Tomb Raider’s development” when publisher Victor Interactive Software “faxed over some of their own designs” over fears the western character design wouldn’t “go down well” in Japan.
“Victor wanted us to change in-game Lara to appeal more to a Japanese audience,” Douglas revealed on BlueSky. “Huge eyes/head etc. They faxed through examples really late in dev. [Co-creator and designer] Toby Gard really didn’t want to alter Lara. As a compromise, all that was changed was the manuals [and] guide. Not sure who did that render or illustrations.”
The mysterious rendering Douglas is referring to can be seen in the first image appended to this BlueSky post, republished below:
An example of a “Manga-style” Croft and Jacqueline Natla is also displayed below:
Lara Croft and Jacqueline Natla, manga style. #TR25 pic.twitter.com/ZqmnMzFR8Y
— Paul Douglas (@cnhyv) February 18, 2021
The tweet above originates from a similar thread in 2021 in which Douglas explained: “I think they just assumed altering all the models would only take a few days of work. It was early days of 3D… It started out as a request to change all the in-game and cutscene models. Then just in-game. Then just Lara. Then just Lara’s head…”
“This drawing from the Japanese manual is *perhaps* all that remains…” Douglas added.
As for current-day Lara? Tomb Raider: Catalyst — an all-new adventure scheduled for a release sometime in 2027 — is set in the wake of a mythical cataclysm that has unleashed ancient secrets and awakened the mysterious forces that guard them. Before then, though, we’re expecting Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis at some point in 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via Steam. Alix Wilton Regan will now play Lara Croft in both with Camilla Luddington, who portrayed Lara Croft in the Survivor Trilogy, issuing a heartfelt goodbye to the character at the end of last year.
Some Tomb Raider fans are bracing themselves for retcons, given the need to fit both Legacy of Atlantis and Catalyst in a new, unified Tomb Raider timeline, as well as the upcoming Amazon TV show. The live-action Tomb Raider Prime Video series, which will star Game of Thrones alum Sophie Turner, will “reinvent the franchise on a massive scale” and interconnect “live-action television series and video games into a unified storytelling universe.”
Image credit: NixieTube / BlueSky.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
A bunch of alleged concept art for the Fable reboot has reportedly been unearthed via a developer’s portfolio, ahead of the RPG’s appearance at this week’s Xbox showcase. As of writing, there’s no indication as to what stage of developement the apparent game art could be from. However, if it’s genuine, it does seem to point towards a location from Fable 2 making a return in the reboot.
