Hope to see you in chat for Opening Night Live tonight, and don’t forget to tune into the two days of Xbox Broadcast at gamescom starting tomorrow – we’ll have updates for you on all sorts of games including announcements, gameplay, interviews, and more (full details here on Xbox Wire)! Let’s kick off this round of announcements with the games coming soon.

Available Today

Blacksmith Master (Game Preview) (PC)
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Manage your own medieval smithy in Blacksmith Master and supervise the entire process from mining ores and gems to designing and selling finished products. Forge everything from weapons and armor to tools and cooking utensils to fund your craft and become the Blacksmith Master.

Void/Breaker (PC)
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Trapped in endless loops by a ruthless AI, you’re forced to fight, die, and repeat in this adrenaline-fueled roguelite FPS. Master lightning-fast gunplay, agile movement, and a revolutionary weapon modding system. Create devastating synergies, harnessing environmental destruction.

Coming Soon

Goat Simulator Remastered (Xbox Series X|S) – August 20
Now with Game Pass Standard

Lick, flip, and headbutt your way across a chaotic sandbox world where you make the rules. Enjoy wacky physics, upgraded graphics, and DLC classics in one neat package. It’s time to grab life by the horns and set out on an adventure!

Persona 4 Golden (Cloud, Console, and PC) – August 20
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

Experience a coming-of-age story that sets the protagonist and his friends on a journey kickstarted by a chain of serial murders. The world-renowned Persona 4 Golden promises unforgettable adventures, meaningful bonds, and heartwarming experiences shared together with friends.

Herdling  (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – August 21
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Available on day one with Game Pass! Head out on a grand alpine expedition with a herd of loveable beasts, as you ascend a mountain path, encounter eerie dangers and surprising obstacles, and forge your way to the mystery at the summit.

Gears of War: Reloaded (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – August 26
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Available on day one with Game Pass! Powered by Unreal Engine, Gears of War: Reloaded is a remaster of the blockbuster first Gears of War, now fully optimized for the latest generation of gaming platforms. Gears of War: Reloaded delivers all post-launch content for the original title, including a bonus campaign act, multiplayer maps, plus characters and cosmetics.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – August 28
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is coming soon to The Play List. Unite the Veilguard and defy the gods in an immersive single-player RPG. Members can save a battered world with Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and EA Play.

In Case You Missed It

Heretic + Hexen (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Available now
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Step into the definitive re-release of two dark spell-casting shooters that shaped the genre. This enhanced restoration makes Heretic + Hexen available to new audiences and long-time fans with expanded accessibility across more platforms and languages than ever before.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks

Delta Force: Immortal Supplies Bundle – Available Now
Get a head start with the Immortal Supplies bundle and dominate the battlefield in style! This Perk content requires Delta Force to use.

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis: August Member Monthly Bonus – Available Now
Game Pass Ultimate members receive a monthly bonus of useful in-game items exclusively for Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis. Get 3 N-Half Scape Dolls, 3 N-Rare Drop Rate +100% and 6 N-EXP Earned +75%. This Perk content requires Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis to use.

Leaving August 31

The following games will be leaving the Game Pass library soon, so don’t forget to jump back in before they go! Remember to use your membership discount to save up to 20% off your purchase to keep them in your library!

• Ben 10 Power Trip (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Borderlands 3 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Paw Patrol Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Sea of Stars (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• This War of Mine: Final Cut (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Don’t forget that we’re continuing to add more games over time to the stream your own game collection for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members. Keep and eye on Xbox.com/Play for the current list of available cloud playable games to stream on supported devices if you own them.

We’ll have more news as the week goes on at Gamescom, so stay tuned here and on social at Xbox, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass as the announcements come. Talk soon!

There’s something about the noise of a Battlefield game. The soft, terrifying crack of a sniper rifle you can’t see. The rumble of a tank as it rounds a corner. The agonising creak of a building falling apart at the seams around your once-safe hiding place. EA’s series has always used noise not just to communicate the feeling of being in a true warzone, but as a mechanic all its own. The mark of a great Battlefield game is that, a few hours in, you’ll experience the dawning feeling that you’re no longer being subjected to the noise – you’re reading it.

It’s something of a metaphor for the game as a whole. A full-size Battlefield match is full of sound and fury – dozens of players, multiple objectives competing for your attention, loadouts to consider, squads to wrangle. Learning to work within all that noise, to navigate it, is the path to victory. After hours spent in its open beta, Battlefield 6 isn’t just bringing the noise, but looks to push it to new levels.

In many ways, this is a comforting return to familiarity: Battlefield 6 is set in the near-future, but near enough that it resembles a contemporary military game; it sees a return to class-based gameplay; it takes its cues from the shape of Battlefield 4 and the “tactical destruction” of Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

It all means that, when entering the enormous tug-of-war environments of Conquest mode, this feels like the gaming equivalent of a warm blanket. I know exactly where I should be, and what I should be doing, meaning I’m immediately putting my attention towards learning how maps work, and how the team can work together most effectively.

But just as you learn to read that noise, returning players will start to feel how subtle changes can make for big effects. Take what the developers are calling “kinaesthetic combat” – a term used to cover a raft of changes to how your character moves through the world. You’ll automatically lean around walls, crouch-run when under fire, and slide when approaching cover – it’s designed to feel right as well as benefit you, tiny, intuitive changes that add to a far smoother experience.

Drag-and-revive is a part of this, perhaps the biggest change to the make-up of a Battlefield game – Support class players are still the most effective way to get your teammates back up after you’re downed, but anyone can now help out. Approaching a downed player, you’ll now be able to grab them, pull them out of danger, and revive after a few seconds. It’s a fabulously risky proposition, often forcing you to run into danger in order to reap the rewards of saving someone else, and there’s an art to realising when you should or shouldn’t try it.

This approach – adding new details rather than wholesale shifts – feels as though it’s paying off handsomely, even pre-release. This is Battlefield as we remember it, but modernised. It still feels distinct enough from its genre peers to feel essential, without straying too far from the core of the experience we already loved. It’s going in loud, just as you’d hope.

Battlefield 6 is in open beta on Xbox Series X|S until 1am Pacific, Sunday, August 17 – and for this weekend, you can play it online with no Game Pass membership. The full game will launch on October 10.

Battlefield 6 Open Beta

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆
564

★★★★★

Get it now

Get to the frontline. Battlefield’s biggest Open Beta ever is going LIVE for two-weekends only, August 9-10 and 14-17. Wage war on multiple maps & modes, with progression challenges and rewards for every playstyle. Lock and load by pre-loading the Open Beta from August 4.

*Conditions & restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/games/battlefield/battlefield-6/game-disclaimers for details.

Battlefield 6 Standard Edition

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆
212

★★★★★

$69.99

$62.99

Pre-order

Pre-order the Battlefield 6 Standard Edition and get the Tombstone Pack*, featuring:

– Gravedigger Soldier Skin
– “Fallen Heroes” Player Card
– “Bandolier” Weapon Charm
– “Express Delivery” Weapon Sticker
– “Hatchet” L110 Weapon Package
– “Doomsayer” Soldier Patch
– Tombstone XP Boost Set

The ultimate all-out warfare experience. Fight in high-intensity infantry combat. Rip through the skies in aerial dogfights. Demolish your environment for a strategic advantage. Harness complete control over every action and movement using the Kinesthetic Combat System. In a war of tanks, fighter jets, and massive combat arsenals—the deadliest weapon is your squad.

MULTIPLAYER
Victory, however you envision it. Battlefield 6 has more ways to win than ever before. Seize glory in iconic, large-scale modes including Conquest, Breakthrough, and Rush. Jump into fast-paced action with King of the Hill, Domination, and Payload. Change the rules of war with the revamped and refined Battlefield Portal. Fight in iconic locations all over the world including Cairo, Brooklyn, Gibraltar and more.

GLOBAL SCALE CAMPAIGN
Campaign is back. Drive tanks across the Sahara. Storm the beaches of Gibraltar. Defend New York from invasion. Join an elite squad of Marine Raiders fighting relentlessly to save a world on the edge of collapse.

PORTAL
Redraw the lines of battle. Battlefield Portal is a massive sandbox where creators and players can push Battlefield to the limit. Take unprecedented control of your environment by moving, scaling, and duplicating objects. Create a completely unique game mode using NPC scripting and a customizable UI. Your creation can even rise the ranks to become an official Battlefield mode. Show ‘em what you’re made of.

THE NEW STANDARD OF FPS COMBAT
Battlefield’s new Kinesthetic Combat System makes you more connected to your soldier and environment than ever before. With overhauled gunplay and tactical movement, from crouch sprint to drag and revive, every shot and movement is more instinctual and precise.

ICONIC ALL-OUT WARFARE
Wage all-out war with infantry and vehicle combat, class-based squad play, and cutting edge audiovisual immersion. Where fighter jets, tanks, skydiving RPGS, heavy artillery, and high-intensity infantry combat become one. This is war that only happens in Battlefield.

TACTICAL DESTRUCTION
Destruction is your weapon. Make a vehicle a wrecking ball. Bury a squad under a ceiling. Demolish your surroundings for a strategic advantage. More reactive and precise than ever, audiovisual cues let you know exactly how close an object is to being destroyed. Master your environment, give your squad the edge.

*Conditions & restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/games/battlefield/battlefield-6/game-disclaimers for details.

The place:

New York City.

The time:

Three years after the deaths of Shredder and Hamato Yoshi…

…the father, mentor, and friend also known as Master Splinter.

Strange Scaffold, as a group of developers, are known for making their own small contained worlds like I Am Your Beast or El Paso, Elsewhere, but when the opportunity arose for us to play in another playground we couldn’t turn it down! We got to make a game, with our own story, set inside the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” world. And if you read the above, you know we really got to make our story.

TMNT: Tactical Takedown began its life as a totally different game, well, kind of. I’ll let Xalavier Nelson Jr, our Studio Head tell you. “Teenage Demon Slayer Society, another Strange Scaffold project, was the origin of our journey adapting action game mechanics to a turn-based format.” This game served as a jumping off point, letting the team hit the ground running even faster when Tactical Takedown began development. “While that project is still in development, we’re incredibly glad that its technology got to result in TMNT: Tactical Takedown existing, and coming out sooner than later!”

“The game has a more focused scope and scale than most TMNT projects, we had really exciting conversations with Paramount about that giving us the freedom to pursue large, bold creative leaps.” Xalavier noted, “So, we took the biggest leap we could–with the Turtles on the cusp of adulthood, in a world where Splinter and Shredder are both dead. Paramount signed off without a single note and the rest is history.”

Bringing in a new leader for The Foot Clan had a natural choice, to us, in Karai but they are teaming them with Baxter Stockman? “Karai is a complex character. She’s ambitious, but forever in Shredder’s shadow. She’s honorable, but ruthless.”, Michael Futter, Licensing Producer on the game, “Teaming her up with Baxter Stockman may seem like a curious choice, and players will need to experience the game to understand why she’s thrown in with him. Not all is as it seems…”

An interesting challenge was translating the feeling of each Turtle to a tactical combat system. “Tom Vinita, our game’s lead designer, did an excellent job in identifying early on what the brothers would need in order to feel different from one another without overloading the player with too much information (or making the moves too difficult to understand).”, Amanda Farough, Executive Producer on the game noted, “He struck those chords relatively early on, allowing our level designer, Aubrey Rugroden, to build out the individual ‘biomes’ with each of the Turtles’ moves allowed to shine through.”

Another question for the team was how can you marry the more fast-paced feeling that the TMNT are known for with what is traditionally a slower genre? “The real tricky bit”, Amanda went on to explain, “was finding the right rhythm in balancing the game’s methodical tactical rhythms with its fast-paced beat-em-up elements. It took time to tune the kits and the biomes to find that balance, but it’s been worth it, especially in refining for Remix Mode and this console release.”

Remix Mode, which is available right away with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown, allows you to ratchet up the difficulty and variety as soon as you finish a chapter. New enemies and new problems will require you to rethink your strategies while also customizing your Turtles loadout to create the perfect moveset for the challenge ahead of you.

We were incredibly fortunate to get to make a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game that was still very much a Strange Scaffold game, as Xalavier noted the game featured “Eccentric, player-first decisions.” which is always a hallmark in a Scaffold game. “We didn’t put any polish or feature in the game unless it fit the scope of what our team could make–and would be directly visible to players. That involves putting a lot of ego aside, which is a hard thing to do!”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown is out right now on Xbox Series X|S!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown

Strange Scaffold

☆☆☆☆☆
2

★★★★★

$19.99

Get it now

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown is the first-ever turn-based TMNT video game. Inspired by the classic cartoon, you’ll experience a bold new approach to the world of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Splinter and Shredder are dead, and as the Turtles approach adulthood, they’re not just growing up… they’re growing apart.

Battle the Foot Clan as a powerful new leader takes control in action-packed campaigns that showcase each Turtle individually. Carve through enemies in 20 constantly-mutating levels that grow, shrink, and add new threats with each turn, inspired by classic TMNT games! Rack up points for high scores while experiencing a powerful original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles story from acclaimed indie studio Strange Scaffold. This is the next step for Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael–and you can experience it with flying, slashing figurines in graphic novel-inspired splendor.

Do you have what it takes to be the King of Kings? Hooded Horse and developer Sad Socket’s roguelite auto-battling strategy game will throw you into fight after fight, testing your strategic prowess until you either win or die trying. If you pick the right combos, you might even get the secret third option by completely breaking the game!

At first glance, 9 Kings is simple – every round, play a card from your hand to your 3×3 board, and then fight a battle. If you win, you get to pick a new card as spoils, and then you repeat until you win, or you lose. But that’s only the tip of this regal iceberg.

Take the first step – playing a card. Do you place a new troop or building down to expand your capabilities, or do you play a duplicate on an existing space to enhance its abilities? If you’re placing a new card, where do you place it? Over in the corner will leave you room for other combinations further down the line, but placing it right next to your Keep might make it more powerful. 

But what about picking a card as a reward? Do you take something that offers a short-term gain that’s easier to secure, or try setting yourself up for a better combo further down the line? One risks hampering your power scaling as you grind through your opponents, but the other could easily fall apart if you don’t pull the right cards.

The depth of strategy in these simple decisions will unravel quickly as you play, and we haven’t even gotten to the bits about board expansion, perks, and the random quests that can pop up from time to time

Thanks to the automated system – you don’t really have to think about the battles – your forces will march out of your Kingdom and fight whoever has dared challenge you this time around, and clash according to their specific role or ability. Pixel minions will clash, numbers will go brrrr, and with any luck, your forces will be the ones left standing. Don’t fear a pyrrhic victory – thanks to the magic of game design, everything resets and everyone regenerates between rounds. Handy, right?

The troops and buildings in the game are all tied to a specific King, with each of the 9 kings having nine cards of their own, with a dozen “special” cards. Whether you’re fielding the hulking grey siege engines of the King of Stone, the demonic red minions of the King of Blood, or the glistening gold legions of the King of Greed, each faction has a distinct look about them. As you claim cards from other Kings through victory, your army’s makeup will change over time.

9 Kings is launching into Game Preview, but it’s already benefited from a lot of updates in response to player feedback, and the developers recently released the eighth king – the King of Nomads. If you like dragons, adapting strategies on the fly, and consider yourself a long-lost descendant of the great Khans of old, then we have some fantastic news. Once you’ve gotten a taste of how the game works (and met the unique unlock criteria), the King of Nomads’ troop-focused deck is a great way to step outside your comfort zone and try out new ways to play.

So, what are you waiting for? Check out 9 Kings via PC Game Pass today, and see if you have what it takes to become the King of Kings. 

Ra Ra Boom is finally in your hands. I’m excited for you to check out all the hard work and love the team at Gylee Games has put into Ra Ra Boom, which is now available on Xbox Series X|S.

Ra Ra is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up and I thought I’d tell you a bit about some of the enemies that you’ll be beatin’ up. I’ll get into the thinking behind the design behind three of my favorite enemies in Ra Ra Boom.

Making the early choice to add lanes to the environment gave us a fun playground in which to design different combat scenarios for enemies.

The Brute

The Brute is an homage to our favorite roller coaster at our favorite amusement park. We loved the idea of utilizing train tracks as the lanes in the arena.  By creating a transforming monster that turns into a coaster cart, it allowed us the diversity needed for a full boss fight.

In Brute mode, we gave a fierce pouncing attack that requires the player to catch his tell before he jumps. That, coupled with a chomp gave The Brute a pretty menacing amount of attacks to begin with. Then he transforms into the coaster and replicates! This forces players to dodge the carts by jumping into different lanes, or take them head on with ranged attacks. We had set out to make a boss fight with different phases, and different options for each player, and I think we succeeded.

Martin

Martin was the very last enemy created for Ra Ra and lives in the Arcade level. As a team, we felt we were missing the opportunity to force the player to do some sort of jumping attack. A flying enemy could solve that. However, the huge challenge with creating floating characters in beat ‘em ups is you have no idea where they are in relation to your own environment.

We found this out the hard way by creating a flying enemy and realizing that it was insanely frustrating to fight. So, we cut it and moved on, until the very end of production.

Thankfully, we had learned a lot through the production process and realized that if we give the enemy some holographic legs, the player can understand where he lives in space because he’s tied to the ground. So, we put a little goofy toddler robot on top of giant legs, laughed at how he looked, and Martin was born.

Bruce

Bruce has been, by far, the most challenging boss to perfect. We’ve gone through many iterations of this boss fight, trying to fine tune the fun. Since the fight was a chase scene, we immediately ran into our first challenge: motion sickness.

It took weeks of fine tuning the parallax background before I could even play it without getting sick! Once that was resolved, the boss fight was really just the chase, with players required only to run away and dodge obstacles. We took this version to GDEX and PAX, and realized quickly that the fight was too simple, and pretty boring to be honest.

This led to the addition of Eugene, a quirky, anxiety driven robot that ran beside your character. Initially, the player used exploding Eugene’s to damage Bruce, but that still didn’t feel like enough. It wasn’t until we slowed down the chase, and gave players back some agency that the fight became fun. After adding a few more phases with attack escalation, we finally landed on a Bruce fight that was worthy of his grand entrance.

Find Your Favorite

And now it’s your turn. Check out Ra Ra Boom today and tell us which enemy you like punching best.

Ra Ra BOOM

Gylee Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$19.99

Get it now

Gear up for 4-player co-op action with a modern twist! Ra Ra BOOM rockets you to a future Earth overrun by rogue AI. Battle waves of enemies and upgrade your ninja cheerleader’s skills as you beat ‘em up, shoot ‘em up, and smash through the chaos!

Even ninja space cheerleaders know you don’t bring a pom-pom to a boss fight. Whether you’re cracking skulls with close combat or blasting bots from across the screen, Ra Ra BOOM has your back. Play it like a classic side-scroller, treat it like a shooter, or mix it up for combos so smooth, even evil AI can’t keep up. The only wrong way to fight is not bringing your A-game—because these overlords don’t mess around.

HOMEWORK CAN WAIT
Who needs perfect grades when rogue AI is trashing Earth? The planet’s in pieces, robots are running wild, and only four ninja space cheerleaders have the moves to save it. Silly when it can be, heartfelt when it needs to be, Ra Ra BOOM delivers a beat ‘em up with a story that hits harder than your math final.

PLAY THE LANES
Why settle for chaos when you can dominate with precision? Ra Ra BOOM’s combat lanes make every fight smarter and slicker. Dodge fire like a pro, pick your targets with ninja-like accuracy, and decide where to strike for maximum impact.

BECOME THE ULTIMATE NINJA CHEERLEADER
Aris, Saida, Ren, and Vee are more than just pompoms and sass—they’ve got branching skill trees that let you mold them into your perfect hero. Customize your squad to fit your playstyle, because the fate of the world—and your team’s vibe—is in your hands. NBD.