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Free Xbox Games with Gold for January 2022 includes Space Invaders

Xbox Gold and Game Pass Ultimate Members can look forward to three free action titles coming to the service in January 2022.

The new year opens with the twin-stick shooter RPG NeuroVoider and Radiant Silvergun a retro arcade-style game. NeuroVoider will be free for the whole month, but Radiant Silvergun loses its free status on January 15th.

 

However, on the 16th Space Invaders Infinity Gene and Aground, a mining crafting game in the vein of Terraria, hit the service.

It’s important to note that Xbox 360 titles offered through Games with Gold can be played on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The Series X/S can also play all of the Xbox One and Xbox 360 games that are made available through the program.

In Canada, an Xbox Live Gold subscription costs $11.99 for one month, $29.99/three months and $44.99/six months.

However, Xbox Live Gold is also included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is priced at $16.99/month and also offers Game Pass for Console and PC, Cloud Gaming (mobile streaming) and EA Play.

Source: Xbox

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Former Microsoft CEO reportedly wanted Cortana to be named ‘Bingo’

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had wanted the company’s AI to be called “Bingo,” according to former Microsoft product manager Sandeep Paruchuri.

Speaking to WhatsApp’s Alice Newton Rex for Big Bets, Parachuri said Ballmer, who served as Microsoft CEO from 2000 to 2014, had intended for the AI to be called Bingo so it would be more in line with the branding for Microsoft’s “Bing” search engine.

“Ballmer had poor product taste,” Parachuri told Big Bets. However, Ballmer’s successor, Satya Nadella, ultimately agreed with Parachuri’s team that “Cortana” was a more appropriate name.

Of course, the AI would eventually be called “Cortana,” based on the eponymous blue AI from Microsoft’s iconic Halo video game franchise. Given that Halo is continuing to go strong 20 years after its debut, while Bing is not many people’s go-to search engine, the decision to name the AI after the former arguably seems to have panned out better.

Overall, Parachuri’s interview with Big Bets is quite an interesting read, going behind-the-scenes on the making of Microsoft’s AI. You can read it in full here.

Image credit: Xbox

Source: Big Bets

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Microsoft releases ‘Power On’ docuseries looking back on 20 years of Xbox

Microsoft has released a brand-new, free documentary series unpacking 20 years of Xbox.

Titled Power On: The Story of Xbox, the six-part docuseries covers everything from Microsoft’s development of the original Xbox to the time the company attempted to purchase Nintendo and, of course, the infamous ‘Red Rings of Death’ Xbox 360 fiasco.

Notably, Don Mattrick, the Canadian businessman who served as head of Xbox during the launch of the Xbox One, makes an appearance in Power On — the first since he left the company. Mattrick is infamous in the gaming industry for positioning the Xbox One as an “always connected,” general entertainment device before current Xbox head Phil Spencer took over and made overall well-received changes.

All episodes are available in 30 languages on a variety of digital platforms, including Xbox’s YouTube channel and Microsoft’s Movies & TV app.

Xbox has released Power On to celebrate its 20th anniversary, which fell on November 15th. Other 20th anniversary celebrations include the staggered release of Halo Infinite and a slew of new backwards compatible games.

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Microsoft releases ‘Power On’ docuseries looking back on 20 years of Xbox

Microsoft has released a brand-new, free documentary series unpacking 20 years of Xbox.

Titled Power On: The Story of Xbox, the six-part docuseries covers everything from Microsoft’s development of the original Xbox to the time the company attempted to purchase Nintendo and, of course, the infamous ‘Red Rings of Death’ Xbox 360 fiasco.

Notably, Don Mattrick, the Canadian businessman who served as head of Xbox during the launch of the Xbox One, makes an appearance in Power On — the first since he left the company. Mattrick is infamous in the gaming industry for positioning the Xbox One as an “always connected,” general entertainment device before current Xbox head Phil Spencer took over and made overall well-received changes.

All episodes are available in 30 languages on a variety of digital platforms, including Xbox’s YouTube channel and Microsoft’s Movies & TV app.

Xbox has released Power On to celebrate its 20th anniversary, which fell on November 15th. Other 20th anniversary celebrations include the staggered release of Halo Infinite and a slew of new backwards compatible games.

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Here’s the first full trailer for Paramount’s Halo series

At The Game Awards, Paramount unveiled the first full trailer for its long-awaited Halo TV series.

Check it out below:

 

Notably, Ymir, B.C.-born Pablo Schreiber (The Wire) is portraying iconic Spartan hero Master Chief, while Natasha McElhone (Californication) plays Spartan-II creator Dr. Catherine Halsey and Jen Taylor reprises her long-running role as the voice of the AI Cortana.

We get a glimpse at all of them here.

Halo is set to premiere sometime in 2022 on Paramount+ in the U.S. While that service is also available in Canada, its content lineup differs significantly from its U.S. counterpart due to the licensing agreements. It remains to be seen whether the series will also be on Paramount+ in Canada or on another service.

While there have been smaller live-action Halo adaptations in the past, Paramount’s series marks the culmination of a years-long effort from legendary director Steven Spielberg to bring the series to the big screen. At one point, it was set to be a movie, although it’s since shifted to a big-budget series. Spielberg remains attached as an executive producer.

It’s been a big few weeks for Halo. The iconic series celebrated its 20th anniversary in November, so Xbox has marked the occasion with the early release of Halo Infinite‘s multiplayer that month, and the full game, including the campaign, on December 8th. You can read more on the game in our review and interview with developer 343 Industries.

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Canadian-made Zelda-esque Tunic will release on March 16, 2022

Tunic, the adorable Zelda-inspired action-adventure title from Halifax-based indie developer Andrew Shouldice, finally has a release date.

After several years, it was confirmed during The Game Awards that Tunic is set to release on March 16th, 2022 on Xbox consoles, PC and Mac.

The game follows a charming little fox as he explores a world using Zelda-like mechanics.

For more on Tunic, check out our hands-on impressions from E3 2019.

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ID@Xbox Winter Game Fest Demo event kicks off December 7

As part of Geofff Keighley’s Game Awards, ID@Xbox is launching its ‘Winter Game Fest Demo’ event. The event runs from December 7th to December 21st and allows gamers to play more than 35 demos of upcoming unreleased games for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

According to Xbox, these games are akin to “show floor demos” of titles that may not be out for quite some time.

Xbox will announce the full list of games closer to December 7th, but here are some of the games Microsoft has revealed so far:

  • Loot River: Set in a series of procedurally generated labyrinths, Loot River is a dungeon crawling, action roguelike that combines the tense, real-time combat, and dark fantasy stylings of Dark Souls with the spatial block-shifting puzzles of Tetris.
  • Death Trash: Featuring a post-apocalyptic world where cosmic horrors long for humanity but are meet by punks with shotguns. It combines old-school role-playing, modern action gameplay, and player freedom. Create your own character and explore this unique handcrafted world.
  • Blacktail: A retelling of Baba Yaga’s origin story set in surreal, grim Slavic folklore. A one-of-a-kind blend of exploration and intense archery combat with dark storytelling. Become a fearsome guardian of the forest or the terror nightmares are based on.
  • The Tail of Bistun: A story-driven action-adventure game inspired by the 12th Century tragic poem “Khosrow and Shirin.” You play as a stone carver who wakes on Mount Bistun with no memory of anything before that moment. An insidious blight has spread, bringing forth many dangerous foes. You must battle through mythical enemies and travel between the real world and an ethereal place of forgotten memories to discover the secret of your past.
  • Nobody Saves the World: Complete quests to discover and swap between more than 15 varied and distinct forms. Mix and match abilities to unlock and complete even more challenging quests while exploring a vast overworld and its extensive dungeons, either solo or with a friend online, to stop The Calamity and save the world

Image credit: Xbox 

Source: Xbox

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20 percent of Xbox Cloud Gaming players exclusively use touch controls

Microsoft has revealed to The Verge that 20 percent of people who use Xbox Cloud Gaming exclusively play games with touch controls.

Cloud Gaming, a perk of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, allows games to be streamed to mobile devices, consoles and PCs. While Xbox controllers are universally supported, developers have the option of enabling “touch controls” in their games to give players a virtual gamepad. More than 100 Cloud Gaming titles support touch controls as of last month.

What’s more, Microsoft told The Verge that 30 percent of players of the following games exclusively use touch controls:

  • Dragon’s Quest XI
  • Football Manager 2022 Xbox Edition
  • Hades
  • Minecraft Dungeons
  • New Super Lucky’s Tale
  • Scarlet Nexus
  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon

According to Microsoft, Xbox Cloud Gaming titles with touch controls have seen an average of double the usage. More information on touch controls can be found here.

Source: The Verge

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Xbox is opening up its console feature testing program to more people

Xbox is making its Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead feature testing rings available to more people.

To gain access to the invite-only club, Microsoft is now inviting gamers to complete a survey to potentially be considered.

This survey will be accessible to Xbox Insiders (regardless of ring or length of time as an Insider) in the Xbox Insider Hub. From there, select ‘Activities,’ go to ‘Available’ and scroll down to ‘Joining new rings.’ This will bring up the survey.

Those who complete the survey and are ultimately chosen will be notified via a notice on their Xbox console. Xbox says it doesn’t share specific information on how it selects testers, but a “variety of factors like high-quality submitted feedback, quest/survey participation, and playing games” are considered.

Typically, Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead testers will receive early access to upcoming features before those in other Insider rings.

Source: Xbox

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Check out Microsoft’s Minesweeper-themed ugly holiday sweater

Have you ever wanted a Minesweeper ugly holiday sweater? Probably not, right?

Thanks to the Xbox Gear Shop, what was likely never your dream is now a reality. The surprisingly detailed holiday sweater features a Minesweeper level shaped like a Christmas tree, with mines taking on the role of snowflakes and classic Windows minimize and expand buttons.

Of course, there’s also the classic Windows logo in the top left corner of the front of the sweater.

This isn’t the first time Microsoft has released an ugly holiday-themed sweater either. For example, last, the company dropped a holiday sweater based on MS Paint.

In Canada, the ugly Minesweeper holiday sweater costs $97.95, though as of right now, it’s currently sold out in all sizes.

Image credit: Microsoft

Source: Microsoft Via: Windows Central