microsoft games – The Gaming News Corner

Halo The Master Chief Collection comes to Steam and PC

Halo games are coming to Steam and the Microsoft Store

Halo is coming back to PC. The Master Chief Collection will include Halo 1, 2,3, 4, ODST, and Halo Reach. The release date and price hasn’t been released yet. The game will also release sequentially from the original release of the series. This will be the latest Halo FPS game to come on PC after Halo 2 back in the early 2000s. The video game series has always been exclusively on the Xbox series besides the strategy game Halo Wars.

Xbox Live comes to Nintendo, iOS, and Android

You’re reading that correctly. Xbox Live services are coming to Nintendo and phones. Microsoft announced that they will release their own SDK (Standard Dev Kit) that will allow game developers to integrate Xbox Live into any titles that run across PC, Xbox, iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch. It will be fully announced during GDC (Games Developer Con) in March 22nd.

What will this do?

Xbox Live will provide achievements, friends list and Xbox Live functionality to existing mobile video games. Microsoft has been trying to reach out to a broader audience outside of PC and Xbox Users. Last year they announced their CloudX services that will provide will stream Xbox games to PCs, consoles, and mobile devices later this year.

It’s clear that Microsoft is moving toward a subscription-based service. They are one of the biggest revenue generating services in the industry (think Amazon Prime and Netflix). While Xbox has been losing in the exclusive game markets, perhaps this will be their new competitive advantage. The mobile gaming market makes over $1 billion in comparison to the hundreds of millions in consoles.

Sources:

Microsoft announces Game Streaming Service: Project xCloud

Have you ever wanted to play your video games on any device? The idea of being able to play console games from any device has been an idealistic dream. Many gaming and tech companies have been trying to develop a cloud service that can provide gaming experiences to phones, computers, and gaming consoles. Microsoft announced their new game streaming service: Project xCloud.

The worry about game streaming is the quality, graphics degrading, and latency in the games will worsen. Microsoft is developing Azure to be their cloud solution. Azure supports 54 regions in 140 countries. They are developing hardware to support the cloud servers to ensure it doesn’t crash. You’ll be able to play Xbox games on your phones or tablets using an Xbox controller or using the in-tablet controls.

Don’t worry about Microsoft discounting the Xbox. They are still focused on releasing the video game console and believe its the ideal gaming experience. Their mindset is to provide Xbox games to everybody; even people who don’t own an Xbox. In the video, you’ll be able to see them demo the game.

Depending on the success, Microsoft could greatly change the industry. The launch of xCloud remains to be determined.

Sea of Thieves’ Player Pool Expands

Sea of Thieves release this March and was criticized for the lack of content. It found a niche with players and content creators who took advantage of the cooperative gameplay and quick gameplay. According to Xbox News, Sea of Thieves racked up 300M views on YouTube and more than 40M live broadcast hours on Twitch. With weekly challenges and a consistent stream of free content, Sea of Thieves continued to grow and now has 5 million “pirates” spanned across Xbox and PC platform.

Upcoming Content kept the game afloat

The early criticism was justified on Sea of Thieves. Considering the game was released for full price, players skeptical of the luster of the game. Microsoft and Rare announced released six free DLC at E3 which kept players invested in the long run. The Hungering Deep was released earlier this year and added more dangers to the sea. Cursed Sails releases today, July 31st, and will add time-limited content to bring players back. It will also have Skelton Ships, ghost bullets, and alliances to shake up the world.

Players raise their own stakes

The biggest gameplay influence is actual players. Forming crews, exploring islands, collecting treasure, attacking other player ships, and open negotiations are unique game features that players control. There is no set meta or a “proper” way to play Sea of Thieves which gives players the freedom to play however they like. Gameplay is fairly simple and it is easy for new players to jump in.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t think Sea of Thieves was going to do well but I am glad to see the game become a success for Microsoft and Rare. Many old fans of Rare worried that the company had died under Microsoft‘s acquirement. Rare’s most recent success was their Rare Replay which is a just collection of their past games. Hopefully, Sea of Thieves brings new energy to the studio. I hope to sea future impressive changes to the game.

Sources:

Xbox News

Polygon