We know you’re busy and might miss out on all the exciting things we’re talking about on Xbox Wire every week. If you’ve got a few minutes, we can help remedy that. We’ve pared down the past week’s news into one easy-to-digest article for all things Xbox! Be sure to come back every Friday to find out what’s happening This Week on Xbox!

First-Ever Xbox Gaming Tournament Hosted at 2018 Special Olympic USA Games

The Xbox Gaming Tournament at the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games was a first in the world of competitive video gaming. Xbox and Special Olympics partnered to facilitate the pilot video gaming tournament at a Special Olympics event, featuring Forza Motorsport 7 on July 2nd at the USA Games in Seattle, Washington. Players across the nation came together throughout the month of April to compete in prelims for a spot in the final tournament and a chance to win a custom-wrapped Xbox One X prize. The Xbox Gaming Tournament originated from a hackathon in last year’s Microsoft One Week, where employees spend an entire week to go work on passion projects. Stephen Smith, Karen Woessner Smith,… Read more

Tune-in for Gears Pro Circuit and Halo Championship Series Action

In just a few hours, the Gears Pro Circuit and Halo Championship Series will unite in New Orleans for a simultaneous, crossover esports event, where the best Gears and Halo players will each compete for $250,000 prize pools. Featuring hundreds of players, two main stages, multiple feature stations and two open brackets, the tournament is sure to be required viewing for fans of both franchises and esports! The competition kicks off this afternoon at 2 p.m. CDT/12 p.m. PDT, streaming live on live.gearsofwar.com, Mixer.com/Halo, Twitch.tv/Halo, Twitter and Facebook. Gears players tuning into the action will have the chance to earn free in-game weapon skins throughout the weekend, just by… Read more

Rocket League Now Available on Xbox Game Pass

Greetings, Xbox fans! It’s my pleasure to announce Rocket League is joining Xbox Game Pass today! For those of you who haven’t seen Rocket League in action yet, imagine combining soccer with driving and then add some rocket boosters. You choose from a variety of customizable vehicles and then compete in the highest tiers of ranked play online, or just goof around with your friends — however you want to play. And when we say customizable vehicles, we mean it! There is an incredible amount of ways you can customize your car using a variety of toppers, flags, decals, boosts, and more! For the players out there who are already a part of our dedicated and passionate community,… Read more

Bring Your ABXY Game with the Xbox Wireless Controller – Sport White Special Edition

Keep your Xbox controller collection fresh with the new Xbox Wireless Controller – Sport White Special Edition, available for $69.99 at your local Microsoft Store and participating retailers in the United States and Canada starting July 31; shipping worldwide starting August 7. Whether you’re catching up on your gaming with a new subscription to Xbox Game Pass or streaming an intense round of Fortnite on Mixer, this controller will score you extra style points. Inspired by trends in athletics and sports lifestyle, the Xbox Wireless Controller – Sport White Special Edition is the first controller in the new Sport series. It features an energetic color palette with a fresh white… Read more

10 Tips for Earthfall, Available Now on Xbox One

Our team at Holospark has been working relentlessly on Earthfall, a four-player cooperative shooter that challenges players to survive hordes of ruthless alien drones and their inscrutable masters, and we’re excited that it is now available on Xbox One! Success in Earthfall is not an easy task – so here are 10 tips on how you and your buddies can survive this near-future hostile takeover of Earth. Buckle up and get ready to kill all aliens! Upgrade your Barricade Doors One of the first things that you will notice as you travel through the alien infested Pacific Northwest is that there are deployable Barricade Doors, which can be placed either aligned with walls and doorways, or out… Read more

Battle Royale Sequel The Culling 2 is Now Available on Xbox One

Greetings, contestants! The next level of battle royale is here and The Culling 2 is poised to kick the world’s hottest genre up two notches on Xbox One. When The Culling originally introduced Xbox One players to battle royale, it pitted 16 contestants against each other on a remote jungle island in fierce hand-to-machete combat. Now, the sequel is bringing the murderous game show out of the jungle and into the suburbs. The team here at Xaviant learned a lot from our first outing with The Culling and this new game has been built from the ground up with Xbox One in mind. That means smoother performance, carefully-tuned controls, and a bevy of new features. Fans of the… Read more

Tips and Tricks for Breaking into the Challenging World of 20XX

Hi there! 20XX, out today, is an action-platformer roguelite that plays like the 2D sidescrolling platformers of yesteryear, but with random level generation so it’s always fresh, and co-op so you can play it with a friend! If you’re reading this, you’ve either jumped into 20XX and gotten whomped a few times, or you’re really excited to. 20XX is a very knowledge-based game; the more you know about the game’s ecosystem, the better prepared you’ll be for every Job you undertake. While 20XX is a challenging game, its wide range of difficulty options make it accessible to any gamer looking for an action platforming challenge. Here are a few nuggets to help you get going. Use Boss… Read more

From Tower Defense to Roguevania: The Creation of Dead Cells, Available August 7 on Xbox One

Dead Cells is a 2D Roguevania action-platformer set on a cursed, alchemic Island. It mixes elements from the metroidvania genre like unlocking abilities which open new levels, paths and treasures to the permadeath and randomness of roguelites, tons of weapons, all the while offering plenty of challenge. However, that’s only the Dead Cells we know today! Over its life, it’s evolved through several different forms, gameplay styles and even economic models. Throughout this process we’ve managed to keep a little something from each era. Dead Cells was first dreamed up as a free-to-play sequel to one of Motion Twin’s web-based games, Die2Nite released in 2008. It was supposed to be… Read more

Fortnite Season 5 – Worlds Collide – Now Live on Xbox One

Heya folks, If you haven’t tried Fortnite Battle Royale, there’s no better time than now to drop in and experience the new Season! Fortnite Battle Royale is the completely free 100-player PvP mode in Fortnite. One giant map. A battle bus. Fortnite building skills and destructible environments combined with intense PvP combat. The last one standing wins. Download now for free and jump into the action. World’s Collide! Season 5 introduces all kinds of changes to the map: a viking ship, a desert outpost, and ancient statues have all appeared on the island, changing the world of Fortnite as we know it. On top of that, Fortnite’s first four-person vehicle has arrived! The All… Read more

Xbox One Storytellers: Asobo Studio Talks A Plague Tale: Innocence

It’s hard to match the narrative scope and immersive experience that a compelling story-driven game has over other storytelling mediums, allowing players not only to fall into the world of a well-crafted story but to experience it firsthand. These types of games can empower someone with a new perspective or let us live a double-life as a superhero. Narrative-driven games allow us to become someone we’re not, which is perhaps the biggest reason we enjoy these experiences. Now, with the power of Xbox One X, creators can bring us even closer to their vision. With our Xbox One Storytellers series, we’ll sit down with some of the industry’s greatest creators to talk about the strength of… Read more

Darksiders III Will Unleash the Power of Fury’s Whips and Flails, Pre-order Now on Xbox One

The Darksiders franchise has always been a unique take on action adventures. The core pillars are combat, traversal, and puzzles and we try to serve these elements up to players in a new way with each installment in the franchise. We like to think that the combat has been elevated with each sequel, from a focus on very powerful attacks with War’s chaoseater to a slaughter-fest with Death’s arsenal of scythes. Now, a more tactical approach is fueled by Fury’s set of powers. Darksiders III introduces Fury, the third of the Four Horsemen, a character archetype of a mage so all her weapons and abilities are powered by magic. The key to this magic is in the hilt she holds on her hip… Read more

Venture into Azure Mines, Now Available for Roblox on Xbox One

Grab a pickaxe, light your lantern, and get ready to start building your own mining empire right from the comfort of your couch. Azure Mines, the hit tycoon/mining game hybrid from Bloxy Award-winning community developer berezaa, is now available for Roblox on Xbox One! In Azure Mines, you’re in charge of restoring a derelict mining facility back to its former glory. How you do it is up to you, but you’ll need to collect plenty of rare ores from the mines before you can start rebuilding your base! Therein lies the game’s secret sauce. Azure Mines has tons of progression systems and a satisfying gameplay loop that rewards players for their time spent underground. You can level up,… Read more

Bomber Crew Now Available on Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass

Hello, Xbox Wire readers! I’m George Morgan, Product Manager for Curve Digital, and I’m here to tell you all about the Xbox One release of Bomber Crew, which takes off and hits high altitudes today! Bomber Crew is a strategy simulation game where you control every aspect of a World War II bomber, ranging from tagging enemy fighters, managing your o2 supply, ensuring your weapons have ammo, and naturally marking your target to achieve your objective. After choosing your crew, painting your bomber in your own chosen colors and putting some sweet art on the nose, you’ll be taking to the dangerous skies in high-risk expeditions where danger can come from anywhere. Flak guns,… Read more

Inside Xbox Episode 5 News Recap

Earlier today Inside Xbox Episode 5 aired, continuing to pull back the curtain on Team Xbox to celebrate our games, features, and fans. This episode was full of closer looks at some big upcoming games, including No Man’s Sky, We Happy Few, and Earthfall, as well as the announcement of a huge addition to Xbox Game Pass. So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at some of the biggest news coming out of this month’s episode of Inside Xbox. Rocket League and Warhammer: Vermintide 2 are Coming to Xbox Game Pass The Xbox Game Pass catalog continues to grow this week, thanks to the addition of a couple of awesome titles. First up, the much-loved Rocket League, which blends… Read more