Author: Trafficblast

During Microsoft’s XO18 livestream, the developers behind Shadow of the Tomb Raider revealed more info about the upcoming DLC for the game. In The Forge, players will be able to take on a number of new challenges and tombs, even allowing for players to work with a friend to solve many complex puzzles. In the new trailer, we saw a glimpse of what’s to come in the new adventure, which will take the Lara Croft to a complex smithing temple hidden in the dense jungles.

In The Forge, Lara and her ally will uncover a new tomb in South America, housing a new threat that will put the world at risk yet again. Like other DLCs from previous Tomb Raider games, these updates add entirely new areas to explore, and along with new enemies and weapons to find. What’s interesting about The Forge, however, is that it will add co-op play, with many of the puzzles and tombs tasking both characters to solve many of its complex challenges. Along with story content, there’s also the inclusion of the Score Attack mode, which will allow players to compete agains each other by traversing the environment and gaining a higher score over their opponent.

As the first post-launch DLC for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, The Forge will be one of several new expansions coming to the game. Though you can play the entire DLC with a friend, you can still play solo as well. With a planned schedule of new content over the next several months, the season pass will allow many players to take part in new events and story missions that will gradually be included in the game. The Forge is set to launch on November 13, this new expansion will add even more tombs and secrets to uncover.

There’s much more to see from XO18. In addition to the reveal of Crackdown 3‘s multiplayer mode, the new IP Void Masters, there were several new games revealed for Xbox One’s Game Pass–including PUBG, Hellblade, and Agents of Mayhem.

Microsoft has announced it will acquire Obsidian Entertainment, developer of role-playing games including Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Fallout: New Vegas, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Alpha Protocol, and Pillars of Eternity, among others. The announcement was made during X018, an Xbox fan event that is taking place in Mexico City.

“As one of the industry’s premiere RPG developers, we couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to add their expertise to Microsoft Studios, while enabling the studio to preserve its unique culture and build on its talent and vision to fully realize their creative ambitions,” Microsoft said in a statement.

This is one of two acquisitions Microsoft revealed intentions of making during X018. It is also set to acquire inXile Entertainment, the studio behind Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep. As Microsoft notes itself, these two studios share heritage and develop games in similar genres. The platform holder has said both Obsidian and inXile “will continue to operate autonomously and bring their unique talents, IP, and expertise to Microsoft Studios as they build new RPG experiences for our players and fans.”

Microsoft also notes that with these two new studios as part of its family, Microsoft Studios is now made up of “13 distinct and diverse game development teams.” During E3 2018, Microsoft confirmed acquisitions of Santa Monica-based The Initiative, a new studio led by Darrell Gallagher, former head of studio for Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics.

Additionally, State of Decay developer Undead Labs, Forza Horizon studio Playground Games, We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games, and Ninja Theory, the British developer of Heavenly Sword, DmC: Devil May Cry, and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, were also added to its studio portfolio.

Microsoft is set to add another developer to its growing list of first-party studios. At X018, a celebratory Xbox event taking place in Mexico City, Microsoft revealed its intention to acquire inXile Entertainment, the developer of Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep.

The announcement was made by Matt Booty, head of Microsoft Studios and, according to Microsoft, inXile will continue to operate independently, but have the support to pursue its creative ambitions on all existing and new projects. InXile’s Brian Fargo said joining Microsoft allows the studio to tap into the “incredible Microsoft ecosystems that is second to none.” He said the team intends to carry on making role-playing games.

Microsoft has bolstered its development studio portfolio significantly this year. At E3 2018 it revealed five studios had joined the Xbox family. Santa Monica-based The Initiative, which is being headed up by Darrell Gallagher, former head of studio for Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, was said to be building a team of “world class talent” to develop “groundbreaking new game experiences.”

Xbox boss Phil Spencer also confirmed that State of Decay developer Undead Labs and Forza Horizon studio Playground Games had been acquired by Microsoft. The latter is making a brand-new game, which is rumored to be Fable 4. We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games also was named as a new Microsoft studio, but perhaps the biggest surprise was Ninja Theory, the British developer of Heavenly Sword, DmC: Devil May Cry, and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

As with inXile, Microsoft said these studios will retain “creative independence,” and Microsoft’s investment in them give these teams the additional resources and backing they need to take “bigger risks” and make “bolder worlds.” InXile is currently developing Wasteland 3, which was crowdfunded using Fig. The game is expected to launch in 2019.

The addition of these studios comes at a time when Xbox was under scrutiny for its lack of first-party titles for Xbox One. While projects these new studios are developing may not be targeting the platform holder’s current platform, at E3 2018 Microsoft confirmed work on new Xbox hardware was underway.

Microsoft has detailed a number of Black Friday 2018 discounts, giving people the opportunity to pick up its consoles and subscribe to services for cheaper than usual. The announcement was made during X018, the Xbox event being held in Mexico City. The platform holder is knocking up to $100 off its Xbox One consoles, which means you can pick up the Xbox One X for $400, which it notes is the cheapest its ever been. Xbox wireless controllers will also be $10 off, including the custom ones created using Xbox’s Design Lab.

On top of that, Xbox Game Pass, which gives subscribers access to a large library of titles they can download and play for the lifetime of their subscription, is being offered for $1 for the first month. This deal is available from today through January 3. Similarly, Xbox Live Gold–which is required to use the Xbox Game Pass service–is going for $1 for the first month too. It’s worth noting that these are set to automatically renew at the end of the month, when you’ll be charged full price, so make sure to cancel before then if you don’t want to be automatically charged on an ongoing basis.

A number of first-party games are also being discounted, most notably Forza Horizon 4, Sea of Thieves, and State of Decay 2, PUBG, Super Lucky’s Tale, which are being discounted by as much as 35%.

In GameSpot’s Forza Horizon 4 review, Edmond Tran awarded it a 9/10, saying there’s “a diverse range of activities stuffed into every corner of Horizon 4.” He continued: “Meaningful changes contribute to smart driving dynamics and a more consistent sense of achievement. Everything you do in Horizon feels valuable, no matter how big or small–from the basic thrills of speeding a fast car down a gorgeous mountain highway to spending time tinkering with your favorite ride to manage seasonal road conditions to just hanging out with friends and strangers online and goofing off in friendly games. The charm of the Horizon series is as palpable as ever, a winning, all-inclusive recipe that celebrates the joy of driving above all else.”

In his review of Sea of Thieves, Peter Brown said the open-world pirate game is “a somewhat hollow game that can be fun for a handful of hours when played with friends, and something worth trying out if you happen to be an Xbox Game Pass subscriber.

“Even though it’s hard to wholeheartedly recommend,” he added, “I like enough of what I see to hold out hope that things will eventually improve as the game continues to be patched and updated with new content.” Since its initial launch, Sea of Thieves developer Rare has released updates to improve the game and an expansion called Forsaken Shores. You can also read GameSpot’s review of State of Decay 2 to find out more about what we thought of that game.

Xbox Game Pass features both first-party and third-party titles. Check out our comprehensive list of games available on Xbox Game Pass now to see what else a subscription would give you access to.