Monthly Archives: August 2015
Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Free For Everyone in November 2015
During its Gamescom 2015 press conference, Xbox announced that its backwards compatibility service will become free for all Xbox One owners in November.
Up until now, the service has only been available to Xbox One users participating in the Xbox Preview Program. From this November, over 100 Xbox 360 and XBLA games will become available to all Xbox One owners, for free.
Microsoft also announced that Xbox Games with Gold games will be made with backwards compatibility in mind. Lastly, the first party publisher revealed that to date Xbox One owners have played 83 days of Xbox 360 games on Xbox One.
For more updates from Gamescom, keep IGN's Gamescom Hub bookmarked.
Subscription-Free DVR Coming to Xbox One
During its Xbox briefing at Gamescom today, Microsoft announced that "full-featured DVR recording" is coming to Xbox One.
The functionality will allow users to record shows in the background, even when you aren’t home. All shows recorded on Xbox One can be streamed to any Windows 10 device, or downloaded to it directly.
You'll also be able to schedule recordings remotely.
DVR functionality will be subscription-free and is coming in 2016.
Andrew is IGN's executive editor of news. You can find him rambling about Spelunky and animals on Twitter.
Scalebound Release Window, 4-Player Co-op Announced
Scalebound will launch exclusively on Xbox One in Holiday 2016.
The news was announced during today's Microsoft Press Conference at Gamescom 2015, along with the news the upcoming title will feature 4-player co-op gameplayer. It wasn't specified whether this would be online-only or if there would be any opportunity for split-screen gameplay.
Other news announced including the main character's name - it's Drew - and that the world in which you're adventuring will be called Draconis, with an opening area taking place somewhere called the Grasslands. With all this in mind, it's hardly surprisingly Platinum is branding it its biggest game to date.
Don't forget we're set to have an extended version of the demo available straight after the conference on IGN, and we'll be covering Scalebound all this month as part of IGN First, so be sure to bookmark our hub for all the latest news as it's announced.
New Crackdown Game is Officially Crackdown 3
During its Gamescom 2015 press conference, Xbox confirmed that the third Crackdown will indeed be titled Crackdown 3, despite prior information to the contrary.
In a new trailer, Crackdown 3 was dubbed "the ultimate sandbox" and it was revealed that the game will feature transforming vehicles and a "100% destructible" game world. Utilising Microsoft's cloud computing feature, the game will also apparently leverage processing power 20 times more than the capacity of an independent Xbox One console.
Lastly, a multiplayer beta for the game was announced and said to be on the way in 2016.
Square Enix Releases Final Fantasy 15 Teaser
Square Enix has released a brief teaser for Final Fantasy XV.
The full "Dawn" trailer will release tomorrow at 15.00 in Japan and 23.00 in North America on August 4, and 8.00 CEST on August 5 in Europe.
In other Final Fantasy news, conductor Arnie Roth issued a statement via the Distant Worlds Facebook page yesterday following intense speculation about a Final Fantasy XII HD remake caused by his remarks at a recent concert.
Quantum Break Release Date Announced
Quantum Break will be released on April 5, 2016, it has been announced.
During the Microsoft Press Conference at Gamescom 2015, creative director Sam Lake announced the date
Shawn Ashmore plays lead character Jack Joyce - the game is about the heroes, the show is about the villains. Other members of the cast include Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings' Merry) and Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones' Littlefinger).
Originally expected to be released in 2015, Microsoft announced in April it'd be moving Quantum Break to 2016 in order to extend its "incredible portfolio into next year with a monster new IP." Until now, all we knew was that the game would be arriving some time between March and May.
WWE 2K16’s Roster Is Massive
Last year was challenging for WWE 2K15, as console generation transitions often are for sports sims. On top of the challenges that come with re-building an established franchise to meet the expectations that come with new hardware, Visual Concepts and Yukes opted to radically change the gameplay direction of the long-running wrestling series. It was a lot to handle, and while our WWE 2K15 review gave it a lot of credit for improving the depth and overall pacing of matches, there was a lot of missing meat in terms of the roster and feature set. After sitting down with 2K and Visual Concepts, it's clear that bridging that content gap while continuing to make matches feel more like the real thing is the gameplan for WWE 2K16.
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Dota 2: Fall Major Championship Set for Europe
Following The International, Valve's seasonal Dota 2 Major Championships will kick off in Europe later this year. Valve's Erik Johnson confirmed the Fall DMC location to IGN at The International 5. Johnson declined to provide a more specific venue or contry, as "some things may change."
The first International took place in Cologne, Germany, which is where Gamescom 2015 is taking place this week.
"We’re excited about the Majors because it’ll be a really healthy thing for the competitive scene," Johnson said. That said, Valve "will not be as involved as we are in The International." Valve already announced it would rely on external partners to manage much of the Dota Major Championships, but details on who and how remain to be seen.
Dota 2: The International 5’s Devastating First Day
The International Dota 2 Championships opened as an orchestra, complete with a choir, welcomed Valve’s Gabe Newell to the stage. Thousands cheered at the mere utterance of their favorite team’s name. Short films explored the personal lives of players, each of whom have a hint of hubris in their inspiring determination — nobody seems willing to settle for anything less than first place.
After one day at The International 5, many have guaranteed they will not reach that goal.
The Main Event opened with boisterous enthusiasm from thousands of attendees live at Key Arena in Seattle, WA, because the stakes were high from moment one. Four teams were eliminated at the end of TI5’s first day, forcing them to settle for just $50,000 of the total $18 million. Others succeeded with such stellar performances that their Championship prize — first place and more than $6 million — seems all but certain.