Available now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows.
Free-roaming atmospheric puzzle game about a boy lost in a supernatural forest.
Unravel the forest mysteries by photographing the strange cryptid inhabitants.
I’m excited to announce that Moonrise Fall, after years of development, is falling onto Xbox! A personal passion project of mine that draws from my real-life experience to inspire a fantastical world. A world filled with the strange and otherworldly.
The Game
Our protagonist finds himself lost in a supernatural forest after nearly dying in a car crash and losing both parents. Dazed and confused, the boy stumbles upon a few tools to aid him in his journey: A Pocket Watch with the ability to control the time of day. A lantern to light his path and alert him of nearby supernatural happenings. A journal to guide him and assist him in discovering the many mysterious creatures that reside there. A kalimba (musical instrument) with the power to control the weather and more.
During the boy’s journey into the unknown, he will discover ominous caves, abandoned lumber mills, mystifying temples, strange languages, enigmatic creatures, arcane spirits, and numerous secrets. Sleuth your way through puzzles and explore the supernatural world to find the true meaning behind its existence and ultimately discover the fate of the boy.
Tips & Tricks
Pay close attention to your lantern. When near a creature, collectible, or secret, the lantern will begin to shimmer and the faint sound of chimes can be heard.
Trust nothing your eyes can see. Use your camera and viewfinder to discover what is real and, more importantly, what is not.
The clues to discovering the many creatures in the game lay in the journal. Read each entry closely to decipher all the clues.
Some discoveries can only be made at certain times of day and/or during certain types of weather. Experiment to find out more.
The forest may be more alive than you think and may even work against you.
Moonrise Fall uses a unique music system. It generates multiple layers of music and mixes seamlessly to ensure no two play-throughs are the same, producing a dreamy alive feeling to the forest and its inhabitants. The music mixed with the subtle and detailed soundscapes creates an immersive feeling to draw you closer and get lost in.
It’s been a great pleasure of mine to create and share this world with you. I hope you find Moonrise Fall is worth falling for. Play it today on Xbox.
Moonrise Fall is an atmospheric exploration puzzle game about a boy who finds himself lost in a supernatural forest after losing both parents in a car crash. Put your detective skills to the test. Armed with a clue-filled journal, a camera, and a lantern he must unravel the mysteries of the forest and photograph the strange creatures that reside there. Moonrise Fall is a brain teaser-filled world mixed with classic adventuring, exploration, and collecting. A surreal understated experience about loss and finding new life inspired by real-life experiences. Uncover locations like caves, mines, a lumber mill, as well as otherworldly locales at your own pace. Discover why the boy has been trapped in this strange place and by whom.
New Legend – Ballistic, an Assault Class Refined Gunslinger, is ready to return to the Apex Games and brings a unique passive, tactical, and ultimate ability.
World’s Edge Map Update – The Apex Museum is a new point of interest, plus the lava fissures are healing and the world is cooling, giving the map a whole new look.
Firing Range Remodeled – Completely redesigned to offer better training opportunities, including test dummies that shoot back.
The new season of Apex Legends is here! Arsenal launches today and ushers in a ton of new content and updates, including a new Legend, major map updates to World’s Edge, and so much more. Here are the features I’m the most excited for, but you can expect a ton more content when you jump into Apex Legends today and throughout this season! Read the official patch notes here.
New Legend – Ballistic
Ballistic is described as a refined older gentleman living with a beast inside, which sounds to me like a disgruntled old man yelling at Loot Ticks to get off his lawn. My kind of Legend (I’m a refined older gamer). He sports some interesting passive, tactical, and ultimate abilities, including a pistol with a smart bullet that tracks down its target, disrupting their weapon while causing them damage; the ability to carry three weapons (the slung weapon stored in the third slot cannot be upgraded with attachments); and the power to buff nearby teammates with increased speed and unlimited ammo – while upgrading his slung third weapon to a golden version of that weapon. As someone who likes to carry a sniper rifle but seldom does since it’s not ideal for every situation, this is an appealing ability.
With all the sweeping changes added last season including the introduction of classes and perks, we didn’t get a new Legend, so I’m excited we’re back in the cadence of one being added with this season and can’t wait to see him in action! Read more about Ballistic, including his backstory, class perks, and abilities at the official website.
Map Update – World’s Edge
World’s Edge is getting a major makeover with some big changes to the existing layout. There’s a new vault to the north, Skyhook experienced a recent snowfall, smoke is clearing from the sky, the lava fissures are cooling off, but perhaps the biggest recognizable change I can’t wait to check out is the addition of the Monument Point of Interest. Nestled near the center of the map, this museum honors Apex’s past, present, and future with exhibits ranging from tribal artifacts to abstract sculptures. There’s even a gift shop, though I doubt it sells equipment and ammo.
Other significant changes include modifications to the Harvester and Lava City areas. The construction stack in Fragment West, arguably the most popular and combat intensive landing spot in World’s Edge, is being relocated to the Lava City area to the south. This change is sure to shake up the tactical approach to the start of each match. There are also a few other surprises you’re sure to notice the next time you jump into World’s Edge this season.
Ground Up Remodel – Firing Range
Firing Range has been completely overhauled and with its grand reopening in the Arsernal Update it has so much more to offer players looking to hone their skills and test out the arsenal of weapons. The Firing Range now offers an agility course for you to practice your movements, training grounds to simulate combat with programmable test dummies that shoot back, and a duel pit where you can battle it out against your friends in a little player versus player action. My Player Two and I used to do this in the old Firing Range, so the fact we now have an actual dedicated spot for dueling is a welcomed surprise. Whether you’re a new, current, or returning player, you should check out the new improved Firing Range. Who knows, you might learn a thing or two and have fun while doing it. I know I will!
New Progression System – Weapon Mastery
With the Weapon Mastery Progression System, every weapon can be levelled up by using the weapon (in any game mode) and completing challenges related to that weapon. Rewards are earned along the way including a Legendary Weapon Apex Pack specific to each weapon you master, culminating in a unique banner frame once you’ve mastered them all.
This is a great strategy to encourage players new and old to earn rewards for varying their loadout and learning the capabilities of each weapon. I am a big fan of completing the daily, weekly, special event challenges, and I’m excited about having even more tasks to track and complete for rewards just for playing the game.
New Survival Slot Item – Evac Tower
Previously, you could equip a heat shield or mobile respawn beacon in the Survival Slot, but with the Apex Legends Arsenal update, you can now equip the Evac Tower. This item can be found in all the same places as most other items – on the ground, inside loot bins, and on care packages. They are essentially a mobile Jump Tower and can be used to traverse the map quickly – either towards or away from combat, depending on your team’s style of play. They’re also great for pouncing on care packages or escaping from ring closures.
Activating the Evac Tower will launch a rocket into the air, which will then deploy a giant balloon, like the giant red balloons used by the Jump Towers. A zip line will anchor the balloon to the spot, and the Evac Tower will be ready for operation. Once used, you will ascend to the balloon, and then you can skydive to your next destination.
A few notes about the Evac Tower. It’s not permanent, its health deteriorates over time and will eventually be destroyed. Shooting at it will speed this process up, and yes, that includes friendly fire. Also, anytime you launch a rocket into the air with a balloon and zipline attached, you’re pretty much pinpointing your location to any nearby enemies. That can be bad…or good?
Ping Wheel Update
Yes, I’m excited about a Ping Wheel update, which seems kind of ridiculous, but it’s probably the most consistently used item in the game. Not every Legend gets used every match, and not every weapon gets used every game. But I’d bet a bag of Apex Coins the Ping Wheel gets used by you, your teammates, or someone on the other team, each and every round, making it one of the most widely used elements in the game.
With this latest update, new ping options are replacing some of the underused ones to strengthen and improve squad communications, with two additional pings being added for skydiving and knocked players. It’s a small update to a simple feature, but an important one that most Apex players rely on.
As with every new Apex Legends season, Arsenal will feature a unique Battle Pass complete with new Challenges and Rewards, including Legend and weapon skins, gun charms, banner frames, emotes, and more! But that’s not all, the team has a host of upcoming events, sales, and content releasing throughout the season. For more details, visit the official website and follow @PlayApex on Twitter.
Apex Legends is a free-to-play shooter available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Be sure to check out everything included in the new Arsenal season when it launches today. And if you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member, don’t forget to redeem your perks and grab the Gilded Fortunes Weapon Charm available for a limited time with your monthly EA Play Rewards.
*Conditions & restrictions apply. See http://x.ea.com/76001
Contains in-game purchases.
Conquer with character in Apex Legends, a free-to-play* Hero shooter where legendary characters with powerful abilities team up to battle for fame & fortune on the fringes of the Frontier.
Master an ever-growing roster of diverse legends, deep tactical squad play, and bold new innovations that go beyond the Battle Royale experience—all within a rugged world where anything goes. Welcome to the next evolution of Hero Shooter.
KEY FEATURES:
A Roster of Legendary Characters – Master a growing roster of powerful Legends, each with their own unique personality, strengths, and abilities that are easy to pick up, but challenging to truly master
Build Your Crew – Choose your Legend and combine their unique skills together with other players to form the ultimate crew.
Strategic Squad Play – Whether you’re battling on a massive floating city in Battle Royale or dueling in limited time modes, you’ll need to think fast. Master your Legend’s unique abilities and coordinate with your teammates to discover new tactics and powerful combinations.
Innovative Combat – Master an expanding assortment of powerful weapons and equipment. You’ll need to move fast and learn the rhythms of each weapon to get the most of your arsenal. Plus change it up in with a boatload of new content each season.
Ever-Expanding Universe – Apex Legends takes place in an immersive universe where the story continues to evolve, maps change, and new Legends keep joining the fight. Make your mark on the Apex Games with a multitude of distinctive outfits and join the adventure!
This game includes optional in-game purchases of virtual currency that can be used to acquire virtual in-game items, including a random selection of virtual in-game items.
*Applicable platform account and platform subscription (sold separately) may be required. Persistent internet connection and EA account required. Age restrictions apply. Includes in-game purchases.
Conditions and restrictions apply. See www.ea.com/legal for details.
This in-game currency can be used to purchase new cosmetic items for characters and weapons in the direct purchase shop.
Apex Coins can also be used to purchase cosmetic Apex Packs and to unlock new characters through the in-game store.
*Requires Apex Legends on applicable platform (sold separately) and all game updates. Other conditions and restrictions apply. See ea.com/legal for details.
I am an Xbox software engineer and a veteran of the United States Coast Guard. My passion is to connect the world through video games. In my lifetime, I have experienced an incredible shift in technology that now allows video games to revolutionize the way we communicate and maintain relationships with others. Based on my own time in service, my wife’s ongoing service, as well as my upbringing in a military family, I know that utilizing technology to maintain contact with loved ones is essential for the wellbeing of service members and their families.
When I was young, I took pleasure in dismantling objects to investigate their components and then attempting to improve them as I reassembled them. Once, my mother discovered me with a screwdriver in hand, attempting to fuse the Nintendo console to our tube TV after my cousins had tried to hide the console from me. So, it was a natural fit for me to serve in the United States Coast Guard as an Electronics Technician, where I developed innovations to integrate different kinds of technology to computers including radars, televisions, radios, and even engines. During my service, I saw the transition from modular equipment to fully integrated technology with real-time communication capabilities, which allowed us to solve problems more quickly, disseminate information faster, and triangulate search and rescue operations with efficiency.
I also witnessed the revolution of video game technology from cartridge-based platformers to online, open-world RPGs and strategy games with multiplayer and chat capabilities. While we were busy in the Coast Guard and didn’t often have time for play, when we did, we played hard. One of my favorite weekends was when we hosted a gaming festival and connected buildings through gaming with Xbox and LAN (Local Area Network). When I was stationed out on a cutter (a ship), I could be out of contact with the land and my wife for several weeks at a time. But my wife and I often used video games to reconnect and play after stressful times of separation, whether it was creating towns in Fallout 4 or competing for the best score in Zuma. Laughing with her put me at ease and helped me transition back into my family.
For a while, I was deployed overseas. My experience there was difficult and left me with complex post-traumatic stress disorder. But playing games like Halo and Call of Duty enabled me to process my reality in a way that was separated from it and safe. When I completed my service, playing video games helped me transition back to civilian life. In a sense, my brain felt broken, but when I discovered I could play a game on the hardest mode and conquer it, I also discovered I was still able to analyze problems and solve them successfully and I was able to feel confident that I could still engage with a hobby I had enjoyed since I was a little girl with a screwdriver in one hand and a controller in the other.
In honor of military families and service members, here are some ways you can join in supporting service members and their families.
Xbox Supports Military Families via Partnership with USO
From a civilian perspective, it’s challenging to truly understand the sacrifice and commitment that service members and their families make. Sacrifices like being able to hug their partner after a stressful day. Being able to hang out with their best friends after a long workday. Missing their child throw their first strike out in little league. Walking the family dog through the neighborhood at sunset. But through all of these sacrifices and commitment, there are so many things working to keep them connected to family, home, and country. Letters from family, friends, and loved ones. Favorite books and records. Phone calls. Video games.
Something that makes every player unique is the same thing that unites us: “Gaming is different for everyone.” What serves as a method of socialization to somebody is relaxation to others. It’s a way to connect with family and friends and a way to step away from reality. For some it’s a way to decompress, connect/compete with their fellow service members, or check-in with their family back home.
The USO is a nonprofit organization that has served those who serve us since 1941. The organization works tirelessly each and every day to support and strengthen service members and their families throughout their entire military experience. Throughout the world, service members can take refuge in USO Centers, brick and mortar facilities featuring comfortable amenities like Wi-Fi, gaming equipment, pool tables, snacks and drinks, and programs designed to connect service members to their loved ones back home. Programs like USO2GO and Entertainment help the organization reach service members in austere locations of particular hardship, providing morale-boosting connectivity in places where it’s needed the most. Military Family programming supports both military children through programs like the USO Reading Program and military spouses with Coffee Connections.
The USO continues to revolutionize the way it delivers its mission and in 2019, the USO launched its Gaming Program as another way to provide support. Recognizing the importance of gaming, the USO strives to create a comprehensive gaming program that captures a little bit of everything for everyone. Tournaments like the Salute to Service Showdown give service members the chance to compete for all-inclusive trips to the Super Bowl. The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Esports program enables military children the opportunity to compete against their peers in scholastic competition. Gaming Coffee Connections gives military families the ability to play games with others – providing the opportunity to connect. USO Centers house gaming equipment giving service members the ability to play with family, friends, or step away from it all and jump into the latest single player story.
Video games are so much more than a screen, a game console, and the act of putting on a headset for a few hours of fun. They provide service members with a moment of normalcy and a brief respite from the pressure of their service to this nation – and through the USO, they can do just that. Throughout the last year, Xbox has partnered closely with USO to open gaming centers around the world. Whether supporting the launch at a state of the art facility at Eglin AFB, or a brand new USO center at Pituffik Space Base 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Xbox is committed to helping USO deliver on their mission. To celebrate the connection gaming can provide, Xbox is announcing the sponsorship of two Rapid Response Gaming Kits to be deployed where needed most. More about USO’s Gaming program, including Rapid Response Kits, can be found here.
Gaming and Impact with Microsoft Rewards
To celebrate the connection created through gaming, the USO has been added to Microsoft Rewards on console in the following marketplaces: AU, BE, CA, DE, ES, FR, GB, HK, IE, IT, JP, MX, NL, NO, NZ, SE, SG, TW, and US. Xbox gamers can download the Microsoft Rewards app and join to start earning points for doing what they already do: play on Xbox, shop on the Microsoft Store, search on Bing, solve daily puzzles, and other fun activities. Earning points with new promotions every day and redeeming them for cool prizes such as games, gift cards, sweepstakes entries, or donating points to their favorite organizations like USO and more, is fun and easy. Join us today and donate through Xbox.
Click on the good boy below to see how you can support USO with Microsoft Rewards:
Play Together, Near or Far
Games bring people together in a powerful way. No matter where you are in the world, you can connect with someone by playing a game. Sharing an immersive experience with a loved one brings us close in many unique ways, such as shared goals, talking through decisions in emotional narratives, and the fun of competition. These connections not only allow families to feel closer together but can also help provide huge boosts to mood and mental wellbeing, especially when someone might be feeling homesick or isolated while stationed far away for long periods of time.
Xbox Game Pass provides families with a variety of multiplayer games to choose from, including new titles that are added all the time. For the month of May, we are highlighting a collection of games that are great to play together. Featured titles within the collection available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass include:
Minecraft Legends (Available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass) – Experience an epic legend from the Minecraft universe in this new action-strategy game with multiple ways to play online with friends and family. Team up and strategize together to overpower groups of fierce piglins in cooperative mode or challenge your loved ones to a Player-vs-Player match for two teams of up to four players each.
Human Fall Flat(Available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass) – Up to eight players can team up for silly, lighthearted challenges in this puzzle platformer that is fun for all ages. With over 20 levels of floating dreamscapes to navigate, get ready to make memories full of laughter as you flop around together to solve physics-based puzzles in this playful adventure.
Madden NFL 23(Available with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate) – Lots of people connect over a shared love of sports. Madden NFL 23 lets people take their love of football to the next level by being a part of their favorite teams. The best part is that you can go head-to-head with friends and family online to prove which team is better, play on the same team to try and win together, or create your own franchise with 31 other players.
The Elder Scrolls Online(Available with Xbox Game Pass and Rated M) – Begin your fantasy journey with friends, play together with family, or chart your own path in the ever-expanding world of Elder Scrolls. Enjoy epic story quests, take on dangerous enemies, and create your own style of play in a role-playing adventure that is even better when experienced with a full party of explorers.
Grounded (Available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass) – Shrunken to the size of an ant, you must explore the mysterious backyard, build a base, and defend it against roaming creatures. But you don’t have to do it alone in this cooperative survival-adventure. Share the backyard with up to three friends or family members, with the option to come and go as you please and play together when you can.
USO and Xbox: Gaming Career Kickstart
As part of our partnership between the USO and Xbox, Larry Hryb, Xbox’s Major Nelson, Jenn Panattoni, Head of Social Impact, Tech Advisor Chris Lamb, Senior Producer iAsia Brown, and Senior Sustainability Specialist Gina Kirby recently launched our virtual series, “USO Career Kickstarts with Xbox,” on Thursday, May 4, with their session “Explore Communication Careers in the Game Industry.” Supported by the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy, Xbox is set to deliver two additional sessions for this special virtual series, with each one-hour session spanning a variety of game career roles in Game Production and Game Engineering. Register for our July and September sessions.
Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA)
Participants specialize in Cloud Application Development (CAD), Server and Cloud Administration (SCA), or NEW! Cybersecurity Operations (CSO) starting in May 2023.
MSSA is a 17-week technical training program that equips former and transitioning service members for entry-level careers in high-demand fields in IT. Upon completion of MSSA, participants have a pathway towards Microsoft certifications and direct hiring opportunities with Microsoft or one of its 1,000+ hiring partners.
Our tested curricula incorporates live virtual instruction, hands-on labs tackling real-world scenarios, and industry-recognized certifications to prepare participants for a meaningful tech career in any industry.
MSSA also delivers a robust professional development curriculum that includes career planning, professional skills-building – including resume writing and interview techniques – and job search strategies.
Our MSSA program is designed to get our graduates jobs and not put them on the bench, so we will continue to work with our graduates until they land a job – once an MSSA grad, always an MSSA grad.
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!
Weird West: Definitive Edition – May 8 – Game Pass
Survive and unveil the mysteries of the Weird West through the intertwined destinies of its unusual heroes in an action RPG from the co-creators of Dishonored and Prey. Discover a dark fantasy reimagining of the Wild West where lawmen and gunslingers share the frontier with fantastical creatures. Form a posse or venture forth alone and make each legend your own.
Take on the role of a mysterious knight who travels across different worlds in search of the most difficult opponents. Fight famous enemies from Greek, Scandinavian, Slavic, and Egyptian mythologies and show everyone who is the strongest warrior.
In Size Matters you take on the role of a scientist who has unintentionally ingested a chemical which causes him to shrink every second. As you shrink, getting around the laboratory gets trickier, with the game essentially turning into a platformer as you figure out ways to climb up onto where the equipment and ingredients are located.
You are Aron, a man who wakes up in his room and realizes that he is alone — his family and his neighbors are missing. From here, he will begin a journey to try to understand what has happened. After You – Level Escape is a game full of difficult, narrative puzzles with gameplay focused on exploration, reading notes, and deduction.
With Garden Simulator you’ll get your own patch of land, place decorations, and nurture the plants before you harvest them. The richer your yield, the more you can sell and the more money you can spend to enhance your piece of paradise. With countless unlockable features and additional content, your green thumb will be challenged to the max.
Cats are wonderful creatures, but you better not put them together without a proper introduction. Plan ahead and display them in the right order so that they get along as you relax while playing this unique version of Sudoku.
In Urbek, you will be able to build a city of your own design! Manage its natural resources, improve the quality of life of the population, and build its neighborhoods in your own way.
Craft gold and iron ingots as well as weapons and shields while your customers wait for you to complete your work. If they wait too long, they get bored, so you need to deliver your weapons and shields to the customer as fast as you can.
A 2D action-roguelite and hack & slash, with hand painted environments and traditional animation. Explore all the worlds and defeat hordes of enemies using different weapons and skills.
A chaotic multiplayer heist game for one to four players, spanning across eight different chapters featuring a total of 21 unique heist levels! Take on the role of mutant animals following the orders of Tony, the Filthy Animal Bossman Criminal Mastermind. Wreak havoc through a series of heists starting with a convenience store, a bank robbery, then break into a super-secret military base, with missions ranging all the way into outer space.
Available on day one with Game Pass! This turn-based RPG is back with a ramped-up battle system for more strategy, as well as a brand-new event system that gives you more thrilling choices to affect your experience! Playable on Cloud, Console, and PC.
The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is the most epic, most dangerous, and most spectacular race in the world. It is a course of over 60 kms on the roads of the Isle of Man, includes 264 bends, and requires high-powered bikes specially prepared for the race. The riders who compete in it train their whole lives for the chance to win the ultimate accolade: being crowned champion of the Isle of Man TT. The game includes all the official content of the latest TT (riders, bikes, teams, course) for a unique and true-to-life experience.
It is the year 2197. Humanity has never been closer to immortality. There is no disease that can’t be cured, no virus that can’t be defeated. Until now. You will use cutting-edge technology to shrink yourself down and hunt down a new and mysterious virus that can’t be defeated by any other means.
An evil pirate, Max, has stolen the sacred gems and has cursed the islands filling them with obstacles and traps. Help Ray, our pirate, find the gems and restore the natural order of things by completing fun math games to get to them.
Progress through the cursed depths of a nightmare while finding an arsenal of powerful weapons and improving your abilities along the way. This retro-inspired FPS with looter shooter and rogue-lite elements breaches the wall between classic and modern gameplay.
Vampires, werewolves, and zombies need your help! Jump in with the princess and her friends to a whole new world of adventure! Mysterious, mystical beings and unexplainable events await in the thrilling causal fantasy strategy game Gnomes Garden: Halloween.
Help this little disaster to reach the shiny crystal on every level in this explosive puzzle platformer. Watch the timing of your explosion-meter, otherwise you can destroy everything around you! Use your brain to solve each puzzle and complete more than 70 increasingly difficult levels across four different environments.
Kargast is a dark narrative exploration game with light RPG elements and branching endings. It tells a surreal and semi-satirical story of an unwell child on the brink of death, and his adventures through his surreal, cryptic surroundings.
What do a giant enemy crab covered in interdimensional crystals and a plucky Kangaroo have in common? Simple – They are both bending the rules!
Kao The Kangaroo is back in a new five-level adventure as they take on the perils of the Eternal World! A grumpy old crab has been empowered by the power of the Eternal World, granting him dominion over the lands. After years of being rudely awoken by the locals, the crab is out for revenge! Only Kao has what it takes to stand up to the click-clacking menace! Will Kao be able defeat the Crab King?! Will the Enteral World ever be truly banished!?! Find out in Kao The Kangaroo: Bend the Roo’les!
Bend The Roo’les takes the Kao The Kangaroo formula and adds a fresh twist across five unique levels. Each level is a challenging take that will push even the most grizzled of Kao and 3D platformer veterans to the edge of their abilities! From retro-inspired side-scrolling action, to lava rising levels that would make a blue hedgehog cower, Bend The Roo’les is more of the Kao you know and love in a whole new style.
This DLC carries on the history of Kao the Kangaroo’s retro influences, including tributes to various levels we have played and loved through the decades. Kao The Kangaroo has seen changes across all aspects of the video game industry and culture. As we gear up to release the next (baby) step in the series, it feels fitting to take inspiration from the decades that originally influenced our series to begin with.
As a studio, it is always a pleasure to see our plucky Kangaroo star in new experiences. We cannot wait for you to try what we have been cooking up! So, get ready to hop into the latest Kao adventure and put an end to the Eternal World!
Kao the Kangaroo is a beautiful 3D platformer jam-packed with fun, exploration, adventure, and mystery! Join Kao, the feisty furball, as he embarks on an unforgettable quest to uncover the secrets surrounding the disappearance of his father. He’ll traverse rich environments, filled with hazards, puzzles, and foes. Each turn uncovers another clue as well as revealing a secret world bubbling under the surface.
Neverwinter was one of the first console MMORPGs to really get its hooks into me. With the rich lore of Dungeons & Dragons lifting it up and some innovative ways in which it handled combat at the time, not to mention all the journeys that could be waiting for me along the Sword Coast, the entire experience was ripe for adventure (and my time).
While it has been a while since I last ventured into that online realm, I jumped at the opportunity to talk with Executive Producer Brett Norton and Creative Director Randy Mosiondz about the game’s past, present, and future as it hits its eighth year on Xbox (and 10th overall) this year. It was fascinating to get their insight about the legacy of Neverwinter in an age when so many online games tended to fade over time, but Neverwinter seems to be as strong as it ever was. Interestingly, it wasn’t originally scoped to be a massive multiplayer online RPG at all.
As some adventurers might be aware, before launching as a free-to-play MMORPG, Neverwinter was originally announced as a co-op focused Dungeons & Dragons game that would bring R.A. Salvatore’s “Neverwinter Saga” series of novels to life. Since iteration is a significant part of the game development process, there were many concepts the team was trying out during that early phase of its life, as they refined and focused on the title.
“Early on there was an attempt at building a narrative-focused game where there was heavy storyline scripting, and every player in an adventuring party could ‘vote’ towards how a story would play out.”
“Early on there was an attempt at building a narrative-focused game where there was heavy storyline scripting, and every player in an adventuring party could ‘vote’ towards how a story would play out,” explains Creative Director Randy Mosiondz. “While it was an interesting system, once we incorporated an action-focused combat style, we found the two game elements didn’t mesh well together.”
Mosiondz explains that one of the biggest things the team learned in that iterative process was that when locking a group of players into a narrative, anyone who had experienced that same tale beforehand would grow impatient with having to sit through dialog options, while others simply wanted to get back to the action. This left any player who wanted to listen to the narrative opting out of group play.
“We realized we were trying to serve two types of players and were doing a disservice to both. In the end, we decided to move towards action-combat, as there weren’t a lot of MMORPGs doing that at the time, and players seeking games with heavier narrative focus would enjoy single-player story games better anyway,” says Mosiondz. “The advanced narrative system is still buried somewhere in the code, and if you’ve explored some of the more complex character dialogs you may have seen some of it; it’s pretty robust.”
Based on Neverwinter‘s success over the past decade, it seems clear they made the right choice in focusing on the action gameplay aspect to get development started. Once that core concept was established, development began in earnest with lots of content and ideas starting to take shape leading to the game’s eventual release on PC in 2013.
“That’s one of the graces of an ongoing live game: anything you don’t get into the initial release becomes content for a later release.”
“There was a lot of game we packed into the initial release, which was due in large part to the tremendous efforts of our launch team, as well as a disciplined approach to zone implementation,” says Mosiondz. “Once we developed a strong prototype zone and dungeon that we felt was fun and engaging, we built upon those styles for every successive piece of content implemented.”
Mosiondz mentions that there were still a lot of things the team wished to have incorporated into Neverwinter’s launch, but a big part of shipping a game of this scale is knowing when to focus on refining the content you’re launching with to give the best possible experience to players from the get-go.
“That’s one of the graces of an ongoing live game: anything you don’t get into the initial release becomes content for a later release. And we’ve had 10 years of releases [on PC] since launch to add or revise systems and content. I also think a big part of the relatively strong stability of Neverwinter at launch was due to the experience garnered from all our previous releases, like City of Heroes, Champions Online, and Star Trek Online have allowed us to refine our tech and our practices to allow for a solid launch.”
A few years after the initial launch on PC, Neverwinter set its sights on console. Cryptic had been wanting to bring its titles to Xbox, but at the time there were not a lot of MMORPGs for the platform.
“Even though we knew we wouldn’t launch the game on both PC and console, we were still planning for console support in the future. And when that day came, we were ready!”
“Back in the day, Champions Online was actually built to be delivered on Xbox; as some Champions fans can attest, the game can still be played pretty well on PC with a controller,” says Mosiondz. “When it came time to develop Neverwinter, we knew we wanted to start planning for console in the early design of the game. Even though we knew we wouldn’t launch the game on both PC and console, we were still planning for console support in the future. And when that day came, we were ready!”
Neverwinter’s launch on console was a massive success, as they had suspected, with console gamers enjoying the action-based combat system and social aspects of what MMORPGs can bring. That success is what also led to the eventual port of Star Trek Online, which has also proven to be a tremendously successful MMORPG on console. Even with those successful launches behind them, there was still plenty for the team to learn from.
“We had been preparing for launching Cryptic’s games on console for a long time, so there are some elements we learned early on,” says Mosiondz. “The most obvious one is that you must put constraints on game design to make sure console gamers have a solid experience rather than trying to retrofit PC gameplay back to console. Another thing was the technical infrastructure that needed to be built. While live console marketplaces are fairly common now, there were a lot of complexities back in the day about how things are done with subscriptions, microtransactions, etc., that still needed to be mashed out. It wasn’t until a lot of those things started coming together that made MMORPGs on consoles feasible.”
Since release, there have been no shortage of amazing characters and stories from Dungeons & Dragons lore that have been given a chance to come to life in the world of Neverwinter. Naturally, I had to know from the creators what it has been like playing around in the world of D&D and what some those favorite characters and memories from that experience have been thus far.
“I’ve been a D&D fan for an awfully long time, so building adventures based on it was a dream come true for me.”
“Some of the ‘big bads’ we’ve used as module villains are often our most memorable,” says Executive Producer Brett Norton. “Tiamat, the evil dragon queen, was a unique and massive undertaking for a boss. She’s absolutely massive, has great music that accompanies her fight, and she’s still probably the largest single largest enemy you face in all of Neverwinter. A special callout goes to Acerak as well, the main villain of Neverwinter‘s Chult arc, because he’s both evil and hilarious. His ‘I’m an immortal lich and I don’t care‘ attitude makes the Tomb of the Nine Gods dungeon particularly memorable experience, as you tear his lair apart and finally get on his nerves.”
“As to the good guys, the Acquisitions Incorporated characters are about as wild as it gets,” continues Norton. “Fighting alongside James Darkmagic in the Manycoins Bank Heist is always crazy, with him both helping the party and, occasionally, accidentally polymorphing everyone into chickens in the middle of a fight. The entire Acquisitions Incorporated adventure is unique in Neverwinter, and one of the most memorable series of missions we’ve done.”
“I’ve been a D&D fan for an awfully long time, so building adventures based on it was a dream come true for me,” says Mosidonz. “I’m a storyteller at heart, and love building experiences for players to enjoy. It wasn’t so much a job as a craft for me, and hearing players talk about their favorite characters or adventures that I worked with my team to build really warmed my heart.”
A lot has changed since the initial launch of the game — the version players can experience now is very different than what arrived on day one. Neverwinter has had to keep up with not only new console iterations, but revisions to their source material as well (when it was released, “4th Edition” was the main version and now the game is powered by the “5th Edition” ruleset). As part of this constant evolution, I asked Norton what is it about Neverwinter does he think has allowed it to endure for a decade?
“You can’t expect players to keep playing the same game forever, so you need to grow and evolve with them.”
“Part of enduring is realizing that your game has to grow and change with your audience, and while we won’t claim to have done it perfectly, the team has strived to try new features, new stories, and generally push the boundaries of what could be done with our tools, tech, and D&D in general,” explains Norton. “You can’t expect players to keep playing the same game forever, so you need to grow and evolve with them. The other part comes from the team’s ability to continually release new modules with a pretty regular cadence. We just released our 25th module for Neverwinter, and that means we’ve put out multiple big updates for Neverwinter each year. The game that players see today also isn’t the same version that players saw upon release; major features like guild strongholds and dungeon queues did not exist when the game was first released.”
With the recent release of the latest module, Menzoberranzan, the future continues to be very bright for the future of Neverwinter with seemingly no shortage of adventures that may be in store, some of which Norton hinted at.
“Neverwinter will continue to visit new places in the ever-expanding Forgotten Realms,” explains Executive Producer Brett Norton. “There’s a lot of key locations that we still haven’t visited, like Thay itself, or even Waterdeep. Wizards of the Coast also continues to release new sourcebooks as well, and we generally keep an eye out for some of the newer locations that would fit well into Neverwinter. No spoilers, but we’ve got a unique setting planned for the end of 2023 that we hope comes as a welcome surprise.”
Neverwinter is the premier Dungeons & Dragons MMORPG experience, featuring fast-paced combat and epic dungeons. Explore the vast city of Neverwinter and its surrounding regions, battle its many enemies, and be a part of Forgotten Realms history.
Experience Dungeons & Dragons Like Never Before – Neverwinter is an action MMORPG that bridges intense combat with classic D&D gameplay. Journey through the city of Neverwinter and the legendary subcontinent of Faerûn, and face off against the greatest adversaries from D&D legend.
Build Your Own Legend – Bring your adventures to life through iconic D&D classes and races, advanced paragon paths, companions, and a remarkable range of customization options. Whether you’re hunting dragons and beholders within crumbling dungeons or battling other players in the icy reaches of Icespire Peak, you’ll discover why Neverwinter is the definitive Dungeons & Dragons experience.
Optimized for Xbox One – Neverwinter inspires classic Dungeons & Dragons adventures with a fully optimized player experience for Xbox One. The fast-paced action gameplay of Neverwinter has been mapped to the Xbox One controller, giving adventures the ability to move around the battlefield and cast powerful spells with ease. Xbox One players can also use their Xbox One friends list to find and party up with others as they explore iconic locations of the Dungeons & Dragons universe.
This game supports English, French, German, Italian, and Russian.
Additional System requirements: Minimum broadband internet connection of 512 Kbps is required to access all features.
