Microsoft has announced its launch plans for Obsidian’s RPG Avowed, including a surprise release on Blizzard’s Battle.net.

Avowed’s release date is set for February 18, 2025, across Xbox Series X and S, the Xbox app on Windows, Steam, and Battle.net. As a first-party Microsoft game, Avowed launches day one on Game Pass.

It’s the Battle.net launch that’s of most interest here, because it means you’ll be able to buy the game with World of Warcraft gold.

Here’s how it works: WoW Tokens can be exchanged for Battle.net Balance, not just game time, which means players can indirectly buy anything Blizzard sells for real-world money with in-game gold. Players can buy a WoW Token from Blizzard for $20 and either keep it for later or put it on the in-game auction house. Another player will (hopefully) buy that token from the auction house for in-game gold, then exchange it for $15 of Battle.net Balance (Blizzard effectively takes a $5 tax from the transaction). Battle.net Balance can then be used to buy anything Blizzard sells for World of Warcraft for real-world money, including video games.

At the time of this article’s publication, a WoW Token is going for 262,365 gold (the price fluctuates as demand rises and falls). At its cheapest, Avowed costs $69.99, which means you’ll need five WoW Tokens to exchange for enough Battle.net Balance to buy the game. That equates to 1.3 million gold.

That’s a lot of gold most players probably don’t have lying around. But with Avowed three months from launch, there is time to get that WoW gold grind going, if you’re determined to buy the game without actually buying the game.

Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that Microsoft is selling up to five days of early access to Avowed via the Premium Edition, which costs $89.99 and also includes two premium skin packs and access to the digital artbook and soundtrack.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer has responded to the launch of the company’s ‘This Is An Xbox’ ad campaign, which is already a meme online.

This week, Microsoft launched a new advertising campaign designed to hammer home the fact that you can play Xbox pretty much on any device and anywhere, sparking yet more backlash at the company’s console strategy.

The ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign includes images of cats and a bento box among other devices that play video games. The idea Microsoft is trying to get across, which is in keeping with its previous messaging, is that Xbox is less about consoles these days and more about being able to play on any device capable of playing a video game. So, in this sense, a TV is an Xbox, a phone is an Xbox, etc.

Lenovo is pushing Black Friday pricing on Xbox controllers earlier than we expected. Starting today, you can pick up an official Microsoft Xbox Series X|S wireless controller for as low as $34.99 after you apply coupon code “PLAYXBOX“. Seven different color schemes are on sale right now. Most of them are $39.99, however the Velocity Green controller is $5 cheaper than the rest at $34.99. These controllers are compatible with Xbox Series X and S consoles as well as your PC.

Xbox Controllers for $34.99-$39.99

Aesthetics aside, these Xbox wireless controllers are identical to the one that’s bundled with the Xbox Series X and S console. Standard features include textured grips, hybrid D-pad, button mapping with the Xbox app, a 3.5mm audio jack that works with any wired headset, and a Share button to upload screenshots and video.

The controller supports both Xbox wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. That means you can use it for your PC or mobile device. In fact, we think this is the the best PC controller you can get. If your PC doesn’t have Bluetooth, you can still use it in wired mode with a USB Type-C cable or go out and buy a Bluetooth or Xbox wireless adapter.

21% Off Xbox Controller Ghost Cipher Edition

Shattered Space hasn’t fared terribly well among fans since releasing back in September, sitting at a Mostly Negative rating among fans on Steam. Most of the comments center around the quest’s story, though there’s plenty of broader criticism for Starfield itself. But Todd Howard seems to have his own theory on why Shattered Space might not have gone down as well as it should have.

In an interview with the Game File newsletter, Phil Spencer said “we’re always learning” when talking about how to approach expansions, and mentioned a conversation he had with Howard about the release cadence for content. Howard focused in on the buggy, which was surprise released during Gamescom Opening Night Live ahead of the expansion.

“Todd and I were talking about Shattered Space. Starfield is a game I put a ton of hours into and really love, but they’ve had this thing where they’ve added features throughout the year and then they had an expansion,” Spencer said. “I think some of the feedback on the expansion is: ‘We wanted more features.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, should we have waited to put buggies out?'”

He continued, “And so, I think you’re trying to tune both development effort and the impact of the expansion. And I think there will always be a balance to managing the game month to month. But not every game will do expansions.”

Ultimately, though, Shattered Space was criticized more for its lack of space content than its lack of ground content. We wrote in our review, “As far as I can tell there’s absolutely nothing added for spacefarers other than now you have a way to legitimately acquire Va’ruun ships instead of stealing them from Zealots who attack you in space. That’s fine, as an expansion doesn’t always have to meaningfully expand every aspect of a game – but I was surprised that there wasn’t at least a token feature thrown in for space jockeys in an expansion with ‘space’ in the title.”

As for Spencer, he shares various other thoughts about Xbox’s game lineup in the interview, including some of the biggest surprises (Blizzard and South of Midnight among them) and Avowed’s release timing. Xbox also launched a new marketing campaign today called “This is Xbox,” which highlighted various items that may or may not be an Xbox.

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.