Cakefish

@Ricky-Spanish I’ve been able to redeem custom amounts for a while now too. They rolled it out to Insiders months ago, I was able to redeem a £13 voucher back in February. It’s been in testing for a long time.

I would if I could, but I already own it!

No, I’m getting Switch 2 so that’s enough handheld for me for this year. Will potentially be interested in the official Xbox produced one (depends how it shapes up to Steam Deck 2).

It’s amazing how low my hype is for Nightreign considering Elden Ring is my favourite game of all time. They really dropped the ball by not supporting duo play in their co-op focused game. I’ve heard they’re considering adding two player support post-launch and that’s when I’ll probably pick it up.

I finished Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered this week! And so now I’ve moved onto Forbidden West. It has a slow start just like the first game, I’ve played 4 hours and only just got past the tutorial. I’m sure it’ll get more interesting as I continue just as the original did. It’s giving my RTX 3080 big issues though by constantly overfilling VRAM, turning textures down to high wasn’t enough so I’ve also had to disable FSR frame generation and turned shadows down to high. Really hope I don’t have to turn more settings down. 3080 is more powerful than PS5 Pro and I shouldn’t have to make these compromises. Stupid VRAM, ugh. On the brighter side this is the first game I’ve played that actually looks better in HDR than SDR on my HDR400 class IPS monitor so that was a pleasant surprise to be able to actually make use of HDR on PC for once.

Hmmm if we get an option to centre align them then it could look alright, but yeah this current implementation looks a bit awkward I agree.

It’s ridiculous that it’s controversial honestly. The most common argument for From Software games having no menu-selectable difficulty options is that this is Miyazaki and his team’s creative vision and people must respect that. Yet when another developer decides that their creative vision includes giving players difficulty options, suddenly that’s sacrilege and they must be burnt at the stake? Soulslike is my favourite genre, and Elden Ring is my favourite game of all time, but I hate this elitist mentality that is so prevalent in the community. Honestly I would have greatly appreciated difficulty modifiers when tackling Malenia and Promised Consort Radahn, but I respect From Software’s vision just as I respect Round8’s vision here. Lies of P was sublime and this news doesn’t reduce my hype level for Overture one little iota.

It’s great to see Split Fiction still doing well ❤️

@Titntin yeah 100% agree they absolutely need to get that right. All XSX games (including backwards compatible catalogue from prior gens) need to work on this new Xbox. That’s absolutely essential. Hopefully as Xbox has been using a modified Windows kernel since the Xbox One days this shouldn’t present too much of an issue for Microsoft.

Hopefully Lies of P will get one along with the Overture DLC.

@HonestHick hmmm yeah I could see them using it as ammunition in courts to battle Apple and Google etc. and get the foothold in the mobile market they’re so desperate for. Interesting strategy, they’ve had a lot of success in courts recently so they must pretty confident in their ability to win future battles. Sacrifice Xbox Store in the short term for Game Pass everywhere on every platform long term. That does sound like a plausible strategy that Microsoft would want to follow to me. Whether it’ll ultimately work I don’t know though, it’s a huge risky gamble. They have a very experienced legal team though so I suppose if any company can pull it off, they can.

@Ilyn at which point the requirement for Game Pass Core to access multiplayer would definitely have to be removed, there’s absolutely no excuse for that on hardware costing typical PC prices. That’s the only way it could hope to be competitive.

Crypt Custodian is a lovely little indie game. I played it on Switch. Please show it some love when it arrives on Game Pass.

@xxk7xx as someone with both XSX and PC I can confirm the experience is far, far better at 60fps. Hopefully they do add a performance mode in for XSX via this update.

@Fanat1c Problem is if this thing isn’t going to be subsidised hardware then Game Pass Core needs to die for Xbox games too. If it’s a PC then you can’t charge for multiplayer, you just can’t. Anyone old enough to remember Games For Windows Live will know why having a mandatory fee for multiplayer on PC is impossible. The PC community (which I’m a part of) won’t stand for that kind of shenanigans.

@demian If that’s their strategy then that’s great. I’d definitely want to see them use the carrot rather than the stick when it comes to converting Steam users into Xbox users.

@FraserG oh no, if it was Xbox Wire then it could well have been legit and revealed too early, as you say. I really hope it’s another month instead. The same thing happened in 2023 when I had to wait to play Lies of P because I was away when it released, I’d hate for history to repeat itself 😭

But yeah, best to leave it out of this guide until it’s official!

From Software’s next big single player focused follow up to Elden Ring will be an absolute no brainer for me personally. Lies of P sequel would also be an easy buy if they maintain the quality bar the original set. Hypothetical Psychonauts 3 and Nier Automata sequel too.

@ChrisDeku @Grumblevolcano

It does sound like a dream come true for me personally as both a long time Steam user and an XSX owner. I guess it really is all in the execution though. It needs free online multiplayer as all PCs currently enjoy and the user shouldn’t ever feel punished for choosing Steam.

Hmmm maybe this is why Microsoft are allegedly so keen to get Steam on Xbox? So they can turn around and use that as ammunition in courts against Apple and Google when it comes to the smartphone/tablet market?

Wait, since when was Lies of P: Overture announced for 4th September? I just googled it and can’t find anything that backs that date up?

I hope it’s earlier than that because I have a work trip September and will be away from Xbox for a few weeks, so that release date would be the absolute worst for me personally.

I would not claim it even if it was free. No, in fact I’ll go one step further; you’d have to pay me to get me to willingly clutter up my library with that absolute rubbish.

@Fanat1c fastest way to turn PC gamers off your device is to lock access to their games library behind a subscription paywall! I can’t see it happening, it immediately nullifies the point of having an alternative storefront available in the first place. Having to pay for your games and also pay an ongoing subscription just to access them too is the model that Google Stadia attempted, and it fell flat on its face.

@HonestHick you have indeed, and don’t get me wrong I absolutely would LOVE this scenario so much! I just find it difficult to believe because it just sounds too good to be true! How does Xbox benefit from this? I just struggle to make it make sense. I do want it to be true though, very much so.

@AverageGamer yeah but that’s a one-off injection of cash, whereas game purchases from the store and Game Pass Core/Ultimate are ongoing, steady income generators.

I wonder if Microsoft is privy to Valve’s future plans to expand the reach of Steam OS and see this as an existential threat to Windows? So they decide to invest in open Xbox hardware to pre-empt the re-emergence of second gen Steam Machines. A ‘if you can’t defeat the enemy then join them’ kinda deal. Currently this is the only way I can explain why Xbox would be so eager to get Steam on their next device.

@Coletrain I can see the point you’re making there, but can they really sell so many more units than with XSX to offset the loss as people like me start using Steam much more and no longer having to pay the online multiplayer tax? I don’t actually buy that many modern Xbox published games, the last one I purchased was Psychonauts 2, it’s mostly third party games for me.

@cragis0001 No sign of them cracking down on PlayStation or Nintendo though, and I can’t see why they would target Xbox only and not the others too?

@Techno92LFC basically yeah, there’s no exchange rate excuse they can hide behind as our currency is actually currently stronger relative to the dollar than it’s been in a good while.

Well again this sounds absolutely fantastic in principle, but the elephant in the room is how on earth does Xbox actually make money from this? They’re inviting a Trojan horse into their product ecosystem. When something sounds too good to be true there’s always a catch, I’m really curious to know what it is. Unless Phil has somehow charmed Gabe into some sort of profit sharing deal?

Despite me really being truly terrible at keeping my flat dust-free my XSX is still quiet as a mouse 4 years from first acquiring it - somehow. I’m not complaining at all of course! It’s some sort of miracle.

This is a good guide though, I’ll check back when I eventually do need to follow it.

That’s despite the GBP strengthening against the USD since the start of 2025. Yeah, cheers for that then Take Two. Greedy arse corporations.

I’m not feeling much hype this year. I don’t think Xbox’s 2025 lineup suits my particular tastes in games now that Fable has been delayed into 2026 - I can only get so excited for a game that’s still 1.5 years away. I’m more interested in the potential third party announcements.

The completion rate for open world games is low even on Steam. Example: Horizon Remastered, the game I’m currently playing, has just 19% of players completing the main story quests. Game Pass will obviously exaggerate this effect massively.

I bought Remnant 2 before it entered Game Pass so won’t be impacted by that departure. I recommend giving it a spin for anyone who hasn’t touched it yet. Great game!

Lords of the Fallen was in the ‘might leave in May’ article, so I guess safe to presume that one has a two year contract at least.

@FuzzieGinge88 you can customise this. There’s a toggle for it in settings.

Select Profile & system > Settings > General > Personalisation > My background > Show selected game art.

I’m still playing Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered. These open world games sure are long! I’m doing Frozen Wilds content before heading onto the final story mission, so I’m slowly but surely getting there. I have Forbidden West to do next, so expect me to say that I’m playing Horizon in many more of these weekly comments sections to come!

@TimelessJubilee it’s also still pretty buggy. I started another co-op playthrough since the 2.0 update. The performance is still poor on XSX. While it’s better than at launch, it still stutters way too often. The update also introduced a distracting walking animation glitch and an autosave stutter bug - these both really need fixing asap.

@HonestHick while Microsoft would definitely love nothing more than to buy Valve, I don’t see why Valve would ever sell. It’s private and Gabe Newell has shown zero interest in being bought out. Everything Valve has done has been to boost Linux as a counterweight to Windows, so it would be so out of character for them to allow Microsoft to consume them. Gabe famously has a strong distrust of Microsoft. I just can’t see it happening while Gabe is still in charge of Valve. The company is making crazy profits and Steam is still growing, they have no need for Microsoft money. Gabe is already a billionaire, so I think his legacy is much more important to him than just a few more billion dollars.

Handy little tweaks. Banishing the Insider app from Home will be very satisfying. I’m curious to see what the reduced tile count ends up looking like in practice.

This list is good evidence how there aren't enough soulslikes on Xbox. Half the list consists of games that are over half a decade old! Also I personally wouldn't count a few of these games as true soulslikes, though that's a subjective thing as the genre has never been properly defined. I'm pinning my 2025 hopes on Wuchang: Fallen Feathers to satiate my ravenous appetite for this genre.

Still absolutely worth the grind I think, though a far cry from the good old days back when 'play with friends on PC' was a thing. It takes a hell of a lot longer to build up points now, but I still keep up the daily tasks on the apps for the streak points. I also use cloud to get the Game Pass weekly quests. Kinda gave up on Bing searches for the most part though since they added the cooldown timer, I usually just do the bare minimum 3 searches a day for the streak bonuses now. I currently have £110 worth of points, but I've been saving up for quite a while. I earn £5-£10/month these days on average. I like what they've done with the ways that you interface with the tasks, the old apps were janky as hell so the direct integration into the Xbox OS and mobile app is a very welcome change. I also love not having to farm achievements anymore, so freeing!

@Titntin you’re doing a good job at convincing me to your side! I’ve always been sceptical of Xbox opening themselves up to the Steam Trojan horse. I just have a lot of respect for DF, so when they start agreeing with rumours I tend to just follow suit and blindly believe too. If you’ve been a senior dev for so long and spoken directly with the man, the legend, Richard Ledbetter then you clearly have deep knowledge of the industry that goes way beyond my comprehension! Hmmm you’re successfully re-watering the seeds of doubt in my mind!

It’s quite funny nearly half a decade old hardware is still being called ‘next gen’. Old habits die hard 😅

@Titntin I agree with you in that I don’t see how this is profitable for Microsoft, but all the rumours are pointing in that direction and reputable commentators such as Digital Foundry all seem to be agreeing with them. So I have to work with the assumption that the next Xbox supports Steam until proven otherwise.

I assume you can use Steam on this too just as with the living room console-like PC thing that they’re working on? If so, colour me very interested!

Yeah, the combination of Microsoft Rewards and the Gold to Game Pass Ultimate conversion offer has made the XSX a very good value purchase I think. I have 3 years of Ultimate pre-paid until March 2026, at the cost of £3/month. I’m currently sitting on £110 worth of Rewards points despite the downgrades over the past year, so it can still make a noticeable difference even if it’s not as generous as it once was. I also really like that Xbox digital games are often sold by various third party retailers.

I enjoyed the original so I suppose I’ll give it a go, though I’m not convinced I’m a fan of this change in genre in all honesty.

Okay so I’ve just looked up this ‘idle game’ genre it’s all about taking away what makes games unique - the playing them part. It’s a genre of games that are intended just play themselves, you’re supposed to interact with them as little as possible and automate everything, that’s the whole point. Personally I don’t see the appeal.

@themightyant so far in 2025 I’ve played South of Midnight. Before that was Hellblade 2 and Another Crab’s Treasure in October/September respectively. Before that was Jusant and Somerville in January 2024. Everything else I’ve played has been outside of the GP library. I’m keeping a very close eye on Wuchang: Fallen Feathers coming in July and I’d like to fit Clair Obscur into the schedule if possible, but it’s so stacked already!

No thanks, despite it being a cracking deal. No offence to the game, but it’s sat in my PC backlog for many years, I’ve never been able to get into it properly. I don’t want it shaming me for neglecting it on my XSX too! 😅

My days of buying games simply because they’re on steep sale are over (…mostly), they must never return as that is how I ended up with such a scary large, anxiety-inducing backlog. I must employ self-control… must resist digital collecting…

@themightyant it’s a treadmill that never stops! Actually it seems to be speeding up. It’s why I’m quite tempted to drop to Core when my Ultimate expires in March. Game Pass Ultimate is a great service, but what’s the point if I don’t have the time to properly utilise it? I’m still playing plenty on Xbox of course, but mostly games that aren’t the GP library. We’ll see though, a lot can change in 9 months!

Enjoy everyone!

My backlog is so long I have no idea when I will be able to get around to playing this. I still need to finish Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered on Steam, then there’s Forbidden West, then there’s Stellar Blade and then… well you get the point - so many games, so little time! Doom 2016 and Eternal are still in my backlog.