Comic-Con: The Walking Dead World Beyond Gets New Series Premiere Date And Trailer

Now that we know when The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead will be returning, it’s finally time to focus on The Walking Dead: World Beyond, the latest show set in that universe. After being previously scheduled to debut earlier this year, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, though, we know when you’ll finally be able to see it.

It was announced during its Comic-Con@Home panel that World Beyond will premiere on AMC on October 4 at 10 PM ET/PT, immediately following the episode initially meant to serve as the Season 10 finale of The Walking Dead. After it airs, a special episode of Talking Dead will dig into both shows.

A new trailer for the series was also released, showing a group of young people that grew up in a world overrun by zombies. Now they’re venturing outside of the safety of their community for the first time, and coming up against foes–living and dead.

Even with a young cast and seemingly a younger target demographic, World Beyond’s trailer makes it clear this is still going to be the gruesome and violent tone fans have come to expect from The Walking Dead’s universe. With an entirely new cast of characters, though, as well as a different time frame, it’s getting to tell different stories.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond will premiere Sunday, October 4, following the return of The Walking Dead.

Mega Man Live-Action Film Is Still Happening and ‘Big News’ Is Coming Soon

While it’s been a while since we’ve heard any updates on the live-action film based on Mega Man, directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman have confirmed that it is still happening and that “big news” should be coming soon.

Speaking to IGN’s Terri Schwartz on IGN’s Comic-Con@Home livestream for their film Project Power, Joost and Schulman were asked about the Mega Man film they’ve been attached to since 2018. Schwartz also asked if it was true that Project Power writer Mattson Tomlin was on board to write the script.

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“That is true,” Joost answered. “We had such a great time working with Mattson on Project Power that we invited him in to help us out with Mega Man. We are super excited about it. I think we’re going to have some big news about it soon. I can’t say all that much right now, but it’s a project very near and dear to our hearts and we’re psyched.”

Schulman then chimed in and mentioned that “Mega Man was the first Nintendo video game I ever played.” Terri then followed up by asking, “What do you love about Mega Man?”

“I like that he’s an underdog hero,” Schulman said. “Both of us are deeply fascinated by robotics and the future of automation, for better and for worse. I think trying to combine that into one of our favorite historical video games is the ultimate challenge.”

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Back in 2018 and to celebrate Mega Man’s 30th Anniversary, 20th Century Fox and Capcom confirmed Mega Man was going to be adapted to a Hollywood film. Capcom said it aims to “appeal to a diverse audience, including not only game players but action movie fans as well, with an adaptation that maintains the world of the Mega Man games, while incorporating the grand production and entertainment value that Hollywood movies are known for.”

While we wait for more Mega Man news, Project Power is a lot closer and will debut on Netflix on August 14, 2020. It stars Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Dominique Fishback and focuses on a world where everyone can become a superhero for five minutes by taking a mysterious new pill.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

“Off-World Vehicles” Found, Claims Former Pentagon UFO Scientist

Welcome to Earf!

An astrophysicist and former consultant to the Pentagon’s UFO program recently disclosed to U.S. government officials that “off-world vehicles not made on this earth” had been retrieved, according to the New York Times.

That former consultant, Eric W. Davis, said he told a Defense Department agency this past March about the retrieval of materials of an undetermined origin. “We couldn’t make it ourselves,” Davis said according to the Times.

Davis previously briefed both the Senate Armed Services Committee and staff members of the Senate Intelligence Committee in late 2019 about the retrieval of unidentified materials.

It should be noted, though, that the Times report doesn’t specify how or where these strange materials had been obtained. Are we talking old school Roswell crashed spaceship stuff? Or did the Skrulls really assimilate among us back in the ’90s? Perhaps military aviators shot down something they thought was a Russian or Chinese spycraft but it turned out it came from Uranus instead? We just don’t know … yet.

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The U.S. government program at the center of all this, the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force, appeared in a Senate committee report last month earmarking spending on national intelligence agencies for the coming year. (The task force succeeded a previously covert UFO program that was disbanded.)

The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 requires the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force “to standardize collection and reporting on unidentified aerial phenomenon, any links they have to adversarial foreign governments, and the threat they pose to U.S. military assets and installations.”

The act requires the task force to make a public report of some of its findings within 180 days of the act’s passage, which means we might know more about all of this soon.

However, rather than aliens, the task force is most concerned with UFOs that are possible foreign aircraft, any new aviation tech that gives rival nations or possible enemies an advantage, or aircraft used to spy on U.S. military installations.

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While completely logical explanations for some of these curious materials have already been ascertained, that’s not always been the case. Some retired officials who had been part of the initiative, including former Senate majority leader Harry Reid, believe that proof that some materials are of a more cosmic origin has already been obtained.

“After looking into this, I came to the conclusion that there were reports — some were substantive, some not so substantive — that there were actual materials that the government and the private sector had in their possession,” Reid told the Times.

For more coverage of flying saucers, watch these now-declassified US Navy videos purportedly showing UFOs.

And in lieu of being abducted by aliens during quarantine, check out Comic-Con@Home’s Star Trek Universe panelthe best sci-fi movies on Netflix right now and why you need to binge-watch the classic anime Star Blazers.

Early Nintendo Game Prototypes May Have Been Revealed In An Alleged Leak

A new Nintendo source code leak has been reported by Video Game Chronicle with videos of prototypes of several classic Nintendo titles including Yoshi’s Island and Super Mario Kart appearing online. According to an anonymous 4chan post, this leak may include source code for other games like Super Mario RPG, Star Fox 2, F-Zero, and even Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. There are also early sprite designs for beloved characters like Yoshi and Donkey Kong circulating.

This leak could be related to another that was first reported in May where over 2 terrabytes of data were released onto 4chan. According to modder Crash, RouteFree, who are responsible for iQue, was hacked resulting in a huge leak of N64, GameCube, and Wii data. iQue was a console sold exclusively in China to combat the piracy of Nintendo games there. It was basically a miniature N64 and could play titles like Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Mario Kart 64.

If these leaks are legit, it could be a huge win for the ROM hack scene, giving modders the ability to bring these classics to PC and even edit them. Having access to more source code and other data could smooth out the process for these communities, though some have already proven resourceful enough to reverse engineer source code to create a working PC port of Mario 64 without the aid of leaks. How long these projects will last is always in question, however, since the legality of these efforts is often in question and Nintendo has proven its not afraid to take these creators to court.

Comic-Con: The Walking Dead Season 10 Gets More Episodes, Season 11 Delayed

When The Walking Dead delayed its Season 10 finale due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there was no word on when fans would actually see the episode. After its Comic-Con@Home panel, though, we now know when it will air–and that it’s not exactly the finale anymore.

During the panel for The Walking Dead, it was revealed that the Season 10 finale, “A Certain Doom,” would finally broadcast on AMC on Sunday, October 4–one week before the premiere of Fear the Walking Dead. However, showrunner Angela Kang also revealed that it’s technically not the final episode of Season 10, as AMC has ordered additional episodes. Six more Season 10 episodes will premiere in early 2021, though no specific dates were announced.

To celebrate the extended season, the opening three-and-a-half minutes of the Season 10 finale were revealed in the panel, showing the various settlements gearing up for war against the Whisperers and their army of walkers. What’s more exciting about the clip, though, is the return of Maggie (Lauren Cohan), who is shown finding a letter catching her up on what’s been happening since she left in Season 9. Since then, Maggie has only been seen once, in a hallucination by Michonne. However, based on this clip, it looks like she’s headed back to join the fight. And according to Cohan herself, during the panel, “It’s more than a visit. She’s coming back.”

It’s not all good news, unfortunately. While Season 10 will be longer, Season 11 will miss the show’s traditional October premiere window. Because of the pandemic, the next season of the series has been delayed with no set time for it to actually premiere.

Instead of dwelling on that, though, think about the good news. The Walking Dead will return on October 4.

The Walking Dead Season 10 ‘Finale’ Release Date Revealed

The long-awaited Walking Dead Season 10 finale finally has a release date. During The Walking Dead Comic-Con@Home panel, moderator Chris Hardwick announced that the Season 10 finale premiere date is October 4 at 9 p.m., followed by the delayed series premiere of The Walking Dead: World Beyond at 10 p.m.

Both The Walking Dead finale and the new spinoff series, World Beyond, were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this will be the only new Walking Dead episode to air in 2020, all 10 episodes of World Beyond have been filmed and will air without any impact from the pandemic. The Walking Dead Season 10 finale was originally supposed to release on April 12, with TWD: World Beyond intended to premiere immediately following the finale, also on Sunday, April 12.

Watch Comic-Con’s 2020 Walking Dead panel in full below:

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Showrunner Angela Kang confirmed that The Walking Dead Season 11 won’t premiere in October 2020, despite most previous seasons sticking to a fall debut. This is no surprise, as production has been delayed while the country has been in lockdown due to the virus. However, Kang did say that the writers’ room is already working on new episodes, and the plan is to extend Season 10 by six episodes, which will air in early 2021.

“The writers’ room for Season 11 has been going remotely for the past few months. We haven’t been able to start production, but we’ll get back to work as soon as we safely can,” said Kang. “We will not be airing Season 11 episodes this year as we normally would in October, but we’re excited to announce an extended Season 10, which will be six extra episodes to follow the finale which will air in early 2021 if all goes well. We’re working on those now, and we’ll have more to share soon. It’s an extension of episodes beyond the finale.”

This episode extension makes The Walking Dead Season 10 the longest season of the show to date; with the addition of six new episodes, it will be 22 episodes in length.

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Of the Season 10 finale, director Greg Nicotero teased that “the last five minutes of the episode take it to a whole other place.” We know the Season 10 finale marks the return of Lauren Cohan’s Maggie to the series after her departure in Season 9, and Kang revealed what else she is excited for fans to get to see.

“I’m excited for people to see what happens with Beta, what happens with Carol and her revenge arc, Daryl and his leadership role. I’ll say that Seth [Gilliam’s Father Gabriel] has some amazing scenes in this episode. The Commonwealth group, we will get to what I think is a really cool point for them for their journey. Everybody’s at play,” said Kang. “We see the return of Maggie, Negan has a key role to play — every person in the cast, they are an important part of the puzzle. I’m really excited for everybody to see our whole group doing their thing, working together to face what’s in front of them.”

Be sure to tune into Comic-Con@Home on IGN Live for an exclusive interview with The Walking Dead stars Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Lauren Cohan, as well as with World Beyond showrunner Matt Negrete, to preview everything you have to look forward to in The Walking Dead universe. And be sure to check out our full Comic-Con 2020 panel schedule for all the latest and greatest from Comic-Con@Home.

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Terri Schwartz is Director of Content Strategy and Partnerships at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.

A Bunch Of Xbox Demos Just Hit, And My Favorite Is The One I Can’t Even See

I’m a bit of an Xbox guy and indie game guy so when Microsoft announces that it’s releasing over 70 brand-new game demos on Xbox One via its ID@Xbox program, I already know that I’m going to try playing as many as I can. I haven’t checked out all 73 yet–I’m only about halfway through the list–but one in particular stood out to me: The Vale: Shadow of the Crown from developer Flying Squirrel.

While the demo was downloading, I quickly skimmed through the description of the game. In The Vale, you play as Alex, a woman who’s the second born in a royal family–essentially the backup if something terrible happens to the first kid. But because she’s blind, Alex hasn’t had the same type of upbringing as her older brother. In fact, her father seemingly doesn’t want anything to do with her. So when she’s old enough, Alex’s uncle (a fellow second born) takes her away to be the warden of a small castle on the outskirts of the kingdom. 500 miles into the journey, Alex and her uncle are attacked and she’s separated from him. Alex decides her best course of action is to make her way home but as she sets out, she runs into a shepherd that informs her that an invading army is occupying the land between where she is and her brother’s castle.

My initial thoughts were that it sounded like a very typical setup for a fantasy-based RPG, save for the main character being blind. But this isn’t the first video game to feature a blind protagonist–typically they rely on some form of magic or echolocation or technology in order to see the world in a different way so that even if the character is blind, the player can still see. That is not what The Vale is.

My first indication that this would be a rather different game was the title screen. The game has been designed to be accessible to people who can’t see very well or are blind, and a voice guides you through every selection while you set up your game and adjust your difficulty. And then the game starts. “That can’t be right,” was my immediate reaction. I could hear voices but the screen was all black save for a few fluttering dim spots of light. Figuring it was a glitch (this was a demo after all), I reset the game. But nope: I got the black screen again. And then it hit me: “Oh, this game is actually making me blind to its world too.”

The Vale is the first game I have ever played that makes you as blind to its world as the protagonist you play as. You can’t see anyone or anything. Instead, you need to rely on the noises around you to gather all the information you normally would just see. Instead of looking for a clearing to find a river and fresh water, I had to listen to the sound of running water and shuffle in that direction. I couldn’t just easily see where the blacksmith’s shop was in a town’s square. I had to listen to the cacophony of a busy market and pinpoint the telltale clang of a blacksmith’s tools in order to figure out where he was. And when I bought a supposedly fabulous bow and arrows from him, I just had to hope that they matched the quality that he described. There’s no menu or stats to see, only voices coming to me from an endless black void. You have conversations with shopkeepers instead of immediately jumping into a list of items to scroll through.

Here’s the thing: The Vale is an action-based RPG. You do all the things that are traditional to the genre. You talk to people and make choices. You explore hub-like locations and pick up side quests for extra coin in order to buy new weapons and armor. You use those weapons and armor in combat. But you do it all as a person who’s blind and needs to rely completely on your other senses (which in The Vale is primarily sound but also a bit of touch through controller vibration feedback) to both navigate the world and interact with the people in it.

Given this dynamic, combat is especially intriguing. It begins relatively simple. You have a sword and must listen to where enemies are and swing at them when you can hear a tell that their guard is down. Stamina prevents you from swinging wildly, and since there’s no in-game UI to look at, you need to listen to Alex’s breathing to determine how much stamina she has left. But then combat gets more complicated–you get a shield and a bow, you’re given opportunities to stealth your way through areas. And when I spoke to Flying Squirrel founder David Evan, he told me that there’s a lot more in the full game. Specifically, combat gets much more complicated.

This is all you see while playing The Vale.
This is all you see while playing The Vale.

“Pattern recognition isn’t super important in the demo, at all,” Evan said. “And managing combat isn’t super important. But once you’re given enemies that have different tells that you have to listen for or they have alternating tells, you have to respond differently. And you’ll also be given different abilities that you don’t have at the beginning. You’ll have heavy attacks, you’ll have weapons that will open up new abilities like guard-breaking, and then you’ll have some magic as well–simple stuff, you’ll have a sword that lights on fire and an explosive AoE effect, which you’ll use strategically to do certain things.”

He continued: “You start with a sword, then you get a shield, then you learn how to use a bow, then you can combine those three things in how you handle encounters. And then eventually–it’s not in the demo–you’ll be able to move through spaces, listening for enemies and deciding whether or not you want to fire at them from range or move in and attack them and there are certain advantages to doing one or the other.”

Originally, Evan was simply aiming for something novel with The Vale. No one has really made a game like this before, at least as far as both he and I can tell. “But very quickly, when [The Vale] became a game that might be for the visually-impaired community–at least more focused in that direction–I sort of forgot about the novelty and started developing a game that needed to be accessible first and then rediscover the novelty of it,” Evan said. “And once I started, I realized how intimate the experience was and that there would be some interest and excitement for playing a game like this, that had the limits that it does have.”

Within the first month of developing the game, Evan figured he needed to connect with the blind community in order to create both an accessible and immersive experience. The first playtests of The Vale were set up at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and the first people to get their hands on the game were those with low-vision or who were blind. “That was the focus and we learned quite a bit about our game–universal issues with what we were doing and trying to do as well as specific things that meant something to the blind community,” Evan said.

To that end, Evan made sure The Vale always followed one rule: You could not have an advantage in the game if you happen to be someone who can see. But surprisingly, the blind community weren’t the ones that struggled with The Vale’s controls. It was the players who could see, who were used to playing games in a certain way, that initially struggled with The Vale.

For example, unlike in traditional games, pushing left or right on the left thumbstick does not make Alex walk left or right. Instead it makes her turn left or right. But players who can see have been mentally trained to think that pushing left is go left and pushing right is go right. To address that, small colored particles float around on the black screen and act as a handhold for players who can see. So when you push left, for instance, the particles move in a way to emulate the act of turning your head left–a reminder to players who can see that this game doesn’t work in the way they’re likely used to.

Sometimes the particles do change color to represent a change in scene or tone--this dark blue is typically used for when it's nighttime, for example.
Sometimes the particles do change color to represent a change in scene or tone–this dark blue is typically used for when it’s nighttime, for example.

But in all honesty, I had the best experience playing The Vale with my eyes closed. There is a learning curve to The Vale. I bumped into stuff when I first started playing the demo–like a lot. But over time, I learned to “see” the world around me. I crafted mental maps of the locations I visited multiple times. I got better at orienting myself in the middle of a fight. And closing my eyes made the process easier because it removed the distraction of any visual stimuli around me. I was forced to just listen. I got all my relevant information through my headphones (trying to play this game through speakers is not ideal, you need to easily know from which direction a sound is coming from). I have never played an RPG like that before and I had a good time with The Vale’s demo, both because the experience was refreshingly novel and because Alex is a wonderful character who I love and want to play as. I have no idea how the rest of the game is going to stack up, but I can’t wait to find out.

For now, The Vale has no exact release date, but the hope is that the game will come out this year. “We’ve left [the release date] open because of COVID,” Evan said. “The linchpin has become voice over. We have one or two sessions left and things have opened up in Canada to the point where we can go and safely record. We have this whole stage system here and Toronto is going into Stage 3 a week or two weeks from now. And that, I think, is a good sign that we’ll be able to go in and get the final recording. But production has started back up in the studio. Once all that’s done? I feel like we’re a month or two away. I would like to be looking at a time of year that we still call the summer–that’s my hope. But we’ll have to roll with it because of what we’re up against.”

If you’re looking to play the demo for The Vale: Shadow of the Crown ahead of its official release, you don’t have much time–it, along with all the other ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest demos will no longer be available to download and play after July 27. The Vale is not the only demo that has us excited for future Xbox releases either–seven ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest demos caught our eye.

PSA: Sony Is Giving Away $10 Credit To Celebrate 10 Years Of PlayStation Plus

Having launched a decade ago in June 2010 during the PlayStation 3 era, Sony is now celebrating PlayStation Plus’s 10-year anniversary by giving loyal subscribers PlayStation Store credit for free.

Sony is handing out a free $10 credit to at least some PlayStation Plus subscribers. There’s no need to redeem a code or do anything on your part; the credit, should you receive it, will be automatically awarded to you and will sit in your PlayStation wallet. “Thank you for choosing PlayStation Plus,” the notification message from the company reads.

Hey, free money is free money.
Hey, free money is free money.

It’s unclear exactly what the requirements are to receive the free $10 credit. Some at GameSpot have received the credit, while others have not. We’ve contacted Sony to get clarification on the matter. To check to see if you’ve been rewarded the celebratory gift, you can check your Account Profile on the official PlayStation Store by logging in and clicking your profile icon at the top right of the page.

Also in celebrating PlayStation Plus’s 10-year anniversary, the company is giving away a free theme to any PlayStation user. You can download it directly from the PlayStation Store.

While July may be almost over, this month’s free PlayStation Plus games are still up for grabs. This time around, you can download Erica, NBA 2K20, and Rise of the Tomb Raider free of charge.

Marvel’s Darth Vader Will Crossover With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Though the Skywalker Saga is over and done with as far as the movies are concerned, Marvel’s line of Star Wars comics are still exploring that era. The Darth Vader comic series takes place between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and it’s in that space that series writer Greg Pak and artist Raffaele Ienco will create a connection between the iconic villain and The Rise of Skywalker, as revealed during the Comic-Con@Home Lucasfilm Publishing panel, featured as part of IGN’s Comic-Con@Home livestream.

The first arc of the series sees Vader on the hunt for those who knew about the birth of his children and helped hide Luke away from him. This personal quest sees him cross paths and team up with Sabe, one of Padme Amidala’s former handmaidens and body doubles. Once that story wraps up in Issue #5, the next story will reveal how this series ties into Episode IX.

“At the end of our first arc, Vader claims to have settled all of his previous business, but the Emperor knows better. He knows Vader hasn’t settled anything! Vader is going to suffer a terrible punishment and undertake a new journey-slash-quest, and there are key elements that will tie into Episode IX in a huge way,” Pak said during the panel. “There are some doors that have been thrown wide open, which dig into some great unexplored territory and also dig deeply into the heart of Vader. Once again, I can’t believe they’re letting us do it.”

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Darth Vader #6 will kick off this new arc that will somehow connect to The Rise of Skywalker, so we’re left to speculate on just how that will happen. Obviously the Emperor makes his big return in Episode 9, and Pak said this story will involve the Emperor punishing Vader and sending him on a quest, so perhaps the connection has something to do with Palpatine.

It could be that the arc will shed some light on the opening scene of The Rise of Skywalker that took place on Mustafar, the planet Vader calls home. We saw Kylo Ren mowing down Vader’s cultists to obtain the Sith Wayfinder, so maybe we’ll learn more about that relic. It’s even possible we’ll get to meet the being known as the Eye of Webbish Bog, a new character that was cut from the opening scene.

Other story ideas that might be worth exploring include Vader learning about the cloning technology the Emperor will one day use to return from the dead, Vader meeting the failed Palpatine clone that eventually becomes Rey’s father, or Vader traveling to the hidden Sith base on Exegol. If Vader does learn about the Emperor’s cloning technology, one can only imagine he would be tempted to clone the love of his life, Padme, to bring her back.

After the Lucasfilm Publishing panel, IGN spoke with Pak about what he has in store for this crossover arc. While he kept all of the story details to himself, he did offer a small tease.

“It’s going to be a huge, hopefully deeply disturbing and entertaining and satisfying epic by the time it’s all done,” Pak said. “We got permission and the green light to do some stuff I never thought we’d be able to do.”

Watch our full video interview with Pak below:

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Speaking of Star Wars, be sure to check out our list of the best Sci-fi movies of all time and the best Disney Plus movies available on the service, and check out IGN’s IGN’s full Comic-Con 2020 panel schedule.

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Joshua is Senior Editor and Producer of Features at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

Xbox Game Pass xCloud Integration Could Be A Death Blow To Stadia

It’s fair to say that Google Stadia hasn’t lit the world on fire. Despite a promising technical test and the deep coffers of one of America’s largest companies, the tech has been underwhelming and the library is anemic. This would be a problem for any new emerging technology, but a weak launch can be course-corrected given enough time. For Google, that time is running short now that Microsoft has announced its own, much more robust streaming plans and is leveraging the Xbox brand to do it.

Due to some combination of curiosity and poor impulse control, I bought both an OnLive and a Stadia Founder’s Edition at launch. Streaming has always been a fascinating concept, and I’ve wanted to see it firsthand, for better and for worse.

Stadia has failed to impress. Pro customers get discounts and a couple of free games, but other promised features like 4K output have been inconsistent. (Google pointedly blamed developers for this.) When Stadia does announce a new slate of games coming to the service, it’s often ones that have already been out on other platforms for months. It has precious few exclusives. The promise of Stadia is to play anywhere, but I don’t travel all that often even in the best of times, much less in the midst of a global pandemic. To top it all off, the games on Stadia are full-priced, often going for the standard price on other platforms, sometimes long after other platforms have offered significant discounts for older games that are marked as “New Releases” on Stadia.

With all this, I’m left with a platform that offers me full-priced games that I’ve already played, that are cheaper elsewhere, with at least some degree of lag, using a less-than-ideal controller on a service that could vanish if Google decides to scrap the project.

It’s in this environment that Microsoft recently announced plans for its xCloud streaming tech. Starting in September, xCloud will be bundled with Game Pass Ultimate, the all-you-can-eat subscription service that also includes Xbox Live Gold. Game Pass has long been an impressive value proposition, and Microsoft has been pushing hard to promote Ultimate as the go-to version of the service thanks to it bundling together the console and PC libraries.

Just in terms of sheer value, this will immediately make Game Pass Ultimate run rings around Stadia Pro. A Stadia Pro subscription grants you one or two games per month, similar to Xbox Live Gold, along with some discounts on full-priced games, for $10/month. Game Pass Ultimate, by comparison, is $15/month and will grant you the ability to stream the Game Pass library–and it also gives you Gold for a few free games and associated discounts. Microsoft hasn’t said if the entire Game Pass library will be streaming on xCloud from day one, but even just a fraction would be more free games than Stadia offers, with the promise of scaling up from there. What’s more, the Game Pass library includes Microsoft’s first-party games, which ensures games from recognizable franchises like Halo, Forza, and Gears are represented.

This is even more impressive in light of Microsoft’s Xbox Series X event. The company opened its showcase by stating that every single game shown would be available through Xbox Game Pass. That means the streaming service xCloud will offer the likes of Halo Infinite, Fable, Hellblade 2, and many more.

But it’s not just pure pound-for-pound game libraries where Microsoft is challenging Google. Microsoft’s xCloud is compatible with any Android device running firmware 6.0 or greater, while Stadia is still relegated to a list of specified mobile devices. (Neither is compatible with Apple’s iOS yet, though Microsoft has begun testing.) And Microsoft already has a firm foothold in the video game industry, lending greater assurance to the future of xCloud as part of its existing ecosystem.

Within that ecosystem, xCloud fits comfortably as a part of Microsoft’s overall strategy. Assuming xCloud streaming comes to Microsoft’s own consoles as well, it provides an on-ramp for current-gen Xbox One users to sample games at Xbox Series X fidelity, with cross-saves and Smart Delivery easing the transition when they decide to make the jump to next-gen. Relying on streaming as an augmented part of your library access makes more sense for most gamers than locking themselves into Stadia alone. Microsoft could even drop the price of the All-Digital Edition, or come up with a similar digital-focused console, to compete directly with Stadia’s Chromecast package as a streaming-focused device.

To be clear, it’s possible that Microsoft could drop the ball somehow. In comparing a current service to the promise of a future one, it’s impossible to foresee all the possible pitfalls and shortcomings of the emergent technology. Microsoft’s service could end up being more limited than it has suggested, or the streaming performance itself could be severely worse. There are ways for all of this to go very wrong. Google could also directly respond to Microsoft by expanding its own service to compete.

Assuming none of that happens, though, Microsoft’s plans contribute to the feeling that its push into streaming is part of a larger vision for the future of the industry. The company is leveraging its decades of cache and experience into a streaming service that fits alongside the rest of its game offerings and offers a better overall value. Google will have a hard time keeping up with that.