RentedPanda

None of these things address a problem. Gamerscore and achievements are already on a dashboard I can see on my machine or my phone. Why waste resources to do the same thing slightly differently? (Assuming they actually use AI and don't just rename the existing functionality) There are legit uses for AI, but stuff like this is pretty much The Emperor's New Clothes - this is so great, you must see how great it is, right?!?

@Fiendish-Beaver I like the game, but bounced off because I don't like stealth mechanics in general. I will go back, as what I played was fun. The Star Wars of it is excellent!

Much has been written on gaming trends showing free to play games like Fortnite and Roblox dominate time played, you have the multi player and live service stuff people are committed to, subscriptions, and many other alternatives to traditional full price games (sales, great indies at lower prices). So these comments by Ubi are no surprise

The real question is, will there be a new hardware fandom sister site to PureXbox, PushSquare and NintendoLife?

I wonder if Devolver is still committed to a day and date counter release? As someone who could not care less about GTA, seeing whether Devolver was serious and curiosity about what they might drop are the only things that impact me about the delay

I think I confused Dead Static Drive with the October shadow add, was it Pacific Drive? I am interested in Dead Static Drive, but will need to check reviews (or just wait until I renew my GP)

@RagnarLothbrok was the commitment thing about a handheld? I thought it was for a "traditional " console, but wasn't following closely, as I don't plan on buying into the next generation

@RegnumSolipsi they saw another player in the market and didn't attempt to buy them outright. That's pretty innovative for MS these days, in my opinion.

Kidding aside, it seems like a smart decision, de risking the hardware side while they concentrate on the user experience. I think shrinking the Windows footprint while providing a positive, mostly seemless user experience seems like the innovative part (arguable as to how innovative this is, but it was an issue that needed addressing, from what I understand)

At least we know it will be a curated experience. Nothing is worse than an uncurated console experience

3 fun games, although there have been many great adds lately to take their places

@RiverGenie I expect you are right about it being a puzzle platformer at its core, but I had fun for a minute imagining it as an immersive Sim in the vein of Deus Ex, or stealth combat like, "metal gear, but you're a lighthouse"

Psychonauts 2 for me, just wanted to shout out Costume Quest, which was a charming, bite sized rpg with some fun mechanics. I wanted to love Brutal Legend but never went back after a few hours with it. I should give it another shot. I've enjoyed many of their games and look forward to Keeper

The thing that boggles my mind is that someone in MS must have signed a deal with Ubi and thought this was a good idea. Unless maybe it has something to do with the Ubi deal for cloud streaming rights or whatever from the Activision merger. Still weird to include even if that is the case

My sub lapsed in Sep, I was planning to work on my backlog then come back. That plan has changed. Unless I can buy ultimate gift cards at currentbprice and redeem later, in which case maybe I pick up a 3 month card now. Probably not worth the bother

@Nighto4 yes, what you say is right. Hades launched on Switch then came to PS and XBox 6 or 12 months later. It was available on pc prior, but I did not have a pc and the time and remember pre ordering on Switch. If I recall, when it launched on Xbox, it was day 1 on GP

@Lup same here. I think I saw Rogue Waters was also 50% off right now

I don't understand these dev comments. Are they saying if you bought the game, you are more likely to stick with a bad opening or flounder with difficult and unexplained mechanics? I don't think they mean that, but it is how I read it. I did try the game and bounced at the beginning of the first mission after the tutorial and intro, because I could not figure out the brawling (I am bad at games). If I had paid full price I would have been ticked off. But maybe I would have stuck with it?

I'll check out Mina for sure. Maybe the Echo game as well, I was not aware of that one before this article, but it sounds interesting

@BAMozzy I hear you, but I would just say that finding new work for a project team is maybe not so easy as flipping a switch. Embrace could keep paying them, but that is not sustainable long term unless they have work on the horizon. As to whether they could flip to another internal project, I guess that depends on the project's needs and the specific roles available from the unexpectedly free team. Again, I'm not blaming MS. I'm just saying decisions have consequences which may include ripple effects outside of MS proper. I know if my company suddenly switched vendors, changed or canceled service needs, the current vendors would be impacted

@BAMozzy as I understood the article, the impacted team was working on an MS game (perfect dark) which MS canceled. Having no project to move them to, crystal dynamics has laid them off. MS didn't lay these people off, but I don't think you can say MS has nothing to do with this. I'm not saying MS decision was good or bad, or if the game could have been saved with better MS management, just that their decisions impacted this partner/contractor

@Cruxis I've heard good things about Legend of Dragoon, but it's a blind spot for me. So, I'm with you, I'd probably check it out if Atari (or anyone) brought it back.

Also just read that Atari acquired a majority stake in Thunderful (if I understood it - the price seemed way too low for that, so maybe I misread it) Article said this happened a while ago pending board approval, and the board has now approved. They are making a lot of moves

I might check out The Knightling. Usually the free play weekends do not have things I would check out, or they are already on ultimate, so this is a nice surprise

Re releasing is one thing, but how much money do these bring in? I wonder if this has to do with Atari CEO recent comments about doing more partnerships around old IP, like with Nightdive. Maybe their partners have interest doing something with these game worlds?

Gotta feel bad for these folks. It's like the Super Bowl gets rescheduled to their opening night. Demon school looks good, this is a good reminder to wish list it

Deep rock survivor has been on my steam wishlist for a while. I am taking a break from gamepass to work on my backlog, but when I come back there is going to be a lot to play on the service

@fbnaulin we'll always have Half Life 3...

I don't understand this about the devs, "you pay me an hourly wage and put my game on your service" thing. For most of the people working at a studio, is this different from the non sub model? Exec leadership aside, are huge bonuses based on sales common? From what I have read, it isn't the norm. So I am not sure what he's trying to say

Not sure - whatever CoPilot recommends, I guess

@Kezelpaso do you really not have a crystal ball, or are you just protecting your sources?

I would like to try both of these, but my gamepass backlog alone is formidable. Do I keep pushing in The Alters? Do I ever try Rogue Trader? Play more Blue Prince than the single run I have tried? I haven't played Doom in decades, but Dark Ages sounds good... But these sound fun, maybe they jump the queue... then there's Wheel World and Fallen Feathers coming soon. Gotta make some decisions. And finish Tactical Breach Wizards on Steam to get back to XBox in general

@Rob3008 you should read Press Reset if you want a good overview of studio management and crazy doings. The bar is set pretty high by 38 Studios and others, but maybe Rare could be in the discussion

I had not heard much on wheel world, but that description sounds fun. I may give it a shot. None of these are 100% my kind of game but I could see any of them being fun if I have the time to give them a chance

@Jenkinss I'm glad someone said it!

Wow, Robocop for 6 bucks. That's hard to pass up

I wish them every success, and hope their growth plans are smart and sustainable.

If this has River Raid and Megamania, my plans for tonight may have just changed

Not surprised, this seemed more of a nostalgia well people can go to when they feel like it, rather than something people would be expected to finish as quickly as possible

I have, and bounce between, all 3 of the consoles but for the past few years have used series S as my primary system. This is because of gamepass, rewards, and I think it has my favorite of the 3 controllers in terms of comfort for long sessions. Worth it for me

I'd like to get one, if only for mario kart with the kids. But it will probably be a while before they are readily available. Instead, I just committed to an entry level gaming pc - my son had been interested in PC, and I've been tempted for s while. I mean, both pc gamepass and the storied steam sales? Sounds pretty nice

How can it not be a monopoly when -everything - is an Xbox!?
I can picture the cork board with string, news articles about switch 2 and gta6, everything pointing to a picture of a 360 in the middle

@Bmartin001 they were added to game pass standard. Still in ultimate, I think

Fun game! I purchased for series S soon after initial xbox release and really enjoyed it.

That description of Peglin doesn't really do it justice: I have it on Switch, played a decent amount. Very fun peggle-like gameplay, rogue lite mechanics (choose your boons, etc.). Similar to Roundguard but much simpler and easier to pick up, in my opinion (no shade on Roundguard, also very fun game)

Otherwise, very excited for Towerborne

Wow, the marketing campaign paid off!

@PsBoxSwitchOwner I guess it would be an attempted shadow drop, foiled by leakers? If there is no marketing prior to release, I guess it is still technically a shadow drop.

Will it be bundled with Titanfall 3 and the Metroid Prime 2 and 3 remasters inside sources are sure exist?

Avowed is the only game released this year I have played so far. Had a great time with older releases like Redacted, Steamworld Heist 2 and Dave the Diver. Looking forward to starting South of Midnight soon

Mario Kart is essentially 50 if you buy the bundle. Not sure of quantity for the bundle or if it will be only available for a short window, but if I buy a switch 2, I'll do the bundle and not pay full price.

The bigger question for me is if they charge 80 and then charge for future course or character expansions, or if anything would be included (or no planned dlc) Because I've paid, what, 75 total for the base game plus the course pack for mario kart 8 deluxe

@ZYDIO Bing limited my starches after doing extensive searches on types of potatoes

What does the South of Midnight upgrade actually contain? On the store or just says something generic like digital upgrades