RentedPanda

@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

@jesse_dylan I'm glad it's not just me

@Blurd I'm playing on series S, no bug issues so far. Most of my play time was last weekend so maybe already benefitted from some patches. I'm about 20 hours in and moved on to the second area after finishing with Paradys (playing slowly, I guess)

I enjoy the game quite a bit so far, solid 8, maybe 9 from my time in it

Sounds similar to the PS UI? I pretty much ignore it on PS, but always nice to see new things

@M20B25 I just rolled credits on Dave the Diver on switch last week. Such a fun game. Really hope it comes to xbox soon, with all the odd dlc and cross overs. It would be a fantastic game pass addition. Playable steam version on xbox would be nice

Hades 2
Many other indies, but the big one would be Hades 2 early access

@dskatter. It means a million people cared enough to have bought or subbed and played the game early in the launch period? That seems reasonable enough to celebrate, even if a handful of those people then refund it. I personally did not buy it and very unlikely to do, too much backlog. But it looks cool. If it was on gamepass I'd download it

I have been playing Like A Dragon on and off for years. It was one of the first games I downloaded from game pass, with dead cells and Psychonauts 2. I think I'm on chapter 10 or so. Not sure if I'll buy it to finish (someday) or just say goodbye and start Infinite Wealth

@Westernwolf4 I played Lamplighters on series S at launch and stopped due to crashes. I went back months later after multiple patches. It was better at first, I got deeper into the campaign, but ultimately crashes would not let me finish. I don't know if it is better on X or PC. I really liked it, so it was disappointing. Honestly, though, I highly recommend starting a playthrough just to see the first few hours

A game publisher committed to making games? Radical, but it just might work

Glad to see the sales success! Looks like moving the release paid off nicely, especially when AC Shadows moved away again. I have not started yet, trying to finish a couple others first, but very much looking forward to it

@beltmenot my guess is either this team was responsible for something in earlier development that is no longer needed (extra help for specific deliverables) or was replaced by expanding another team in a lower cost region

Makes sense, and I am glad to hear it. However, we keep seeing that doing well is no guarantee of studio security under the bigger banner of EA, Ubi, Activision / Microsoft, etc.

Has someone from the site team previewed these, or are they picked based on the trailer and marketing blurb included?

Is Mutants Unleashed the roguelite? There have been so many turtle games, I get them confused, but I was curious about the roguelike one

I think most of these games got a lot of attention, including some game of the year nominations. But a little more love never hurts. I have not tried any myself. I was too afraid Balatro would take over my life, and the others for various reasons. I will play Neva at some point, I have it wishlisted for when I have a backlog break. But they all look to be fantastic quality!