With the release of the highly anticipated Atomfall just days away Rebellion, the independent video game studio behind the smash hit Sniper Elite and Zombie Army franchises, has today revealed the new pre-launch trailer that raises the question 'What Truth Lies Beneath?' Available to watch here, the new trailer offers a further glimpse of the mysterious riddles and environments players will encounter within Atomfall's quarantine zone. Whoever you are, whatever path you choose, you need to get to the bottom of what happened at the Atom Plant.

A UK-based post-apocalyptic survival-action game, Atomfall is inspired by the real life Windscale nuclear incident in the 1950s. Players will embark on a fictionalised adventure meeting a cast of weird and wonderful characters as they try to uncover the mystery and escape the quarantine zone. Atomfall will launch on 27 March 2025, coming day one to Game Pass. It is available to pre-order now on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Windows PC and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. Atomfall is also Certified on Steam Deck. Players who purchase the Deluxe Edition will also enjoy 3 days early access.

Accessibility is a fundamental right for people with disabilities and makes technology easier for everyone. We see this reflected in how customers are using Microsoft technologies around the world. Copilot for Microsoft 365 is unlocking workplace productivity like never before, more than 10 million people use Edge each month to have the web Read Aloud, over 1 million people use Immersive Reader to make webpages easier to read and partners like Tobii Dynavox and Special Olympics are bringing AI to people with disabilities globally. And these are just some of the highlights of what we shared today! Here's a quick summary of the new accessibility products, features and programs announced at the 2025 Ability Summit.

What's new in 2025?
We announced that the Xbox Adaptive Joystick is now available for purchase exclusively at Microsoft Store. With more than 429 million players with disabilities worldwide, we know each player has unique needs and preferences for how they choose to play. The Xbox Adaptive Joystick is a singular, wired controller primarily designed to meet the needs of players with limited mobility. Its versatility helps players seamlessly incorporate it into their existing gaming setups. Built with the Gaming and Disability community who inform the development of Xbox products from the beginning. The joystick joins our family of adaptive accessories including the mouse, pen, adaptive kit and Xbox Adaptive Controller. For more details visit Xbox Support.

eveloper Ivy Road and publisher Annapurna Interactive are thrilled to release today a narrative-driven game about tea and change, Wanderstop, on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and Steam for $24.99.

Wanderstop's captivating original soundtrack by composer Daniel "C418" Rosenfeld (the music of Minecraft) is also available for purchase and wishlisting on Steam, Bandcamp, Spotify, and more music platforms. The score includes over 80+ songs, perfect to relax and reflect to.

In an exclusive report, Windows Central has claimed that Microsoft is collaborating with an unnamed "PC gaming OEM" on an Xbox handheld console. Jez Corden has heard from several insiders; they reckon that a "later in 2025" launch is possible, if development goes smoothly enough. A leak from Winter 2024 indicated that Microsoft's gaming division was "targeting a handheld gaming experience," but Phil Spencer has freely disclosed his ambitions for his team's portable project. Last November, he confirmed that something was in pipeline—with a view to take on very visible competition: Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go. The latest Windows Central investigative piece divulges some unprecedented details about: "codename 'Keenan,' this gaming handheld will look unmistakably 'Xbox' we're told, complete with an official Xbox guide button, and Xbox design sensibilities. Given that this is a partner device, similar to Lenovo's SteamOS partnership with Valve, I expect this handheld to be more PC-oriented. Keenan is almost definitely running full Windows, putting the Microsoft Store and PC Game Pass front and center, alongside the ability to install things like Steam."

Based on inside track knowledge, Corden anticipates operating system innovations: "I expect the handheld will test new Windows 11 'device aware' capabilities, while reducing third-party OEM bloatware that are typical of devices like the Lenovo Legion Go and ASUS ROG Ally. I expect Microsoft will leverage widgets on the Xbox Game Bar on PC for controlling things like TDP and fan speed, while hopefully having a more streamlined OS experience for controller use. Of course, existing PC gaming OEMs will benefit from these efforts as well—but the research will also help with Microsoft's further-out plans." Almost a month and a half ago, Spencer outlined a sort of wishlist for "innovative" future Xbox hardware—given that Sony is rumored to be devising a "standalone PlayStation handheld," he was likely envisioning next-gen home consoles. Windows Central's sources have provided additional insights into potential Xbox Series X|S successors.

Chernobylite 2 is our dream project. After more than 10 years of various activities related to Chornobyl and dozens of visits to this place, we can finally share the massive part of what we consider the ultimate Chornobyl experience. What started with VR documentaries and low-scale indie projects has become a fully-fledged RPG game, playable in the open world, with hundreds of ways to craft your own character and story.
Entering the world of Chernobylite 2, even in Early Access, you can expect to double or triple the time spent with the first game - not just because the Zone itself is about 20 times bigger this time but also thanks to the number of quests, events, encounters, and gameplay mechanics. On top of it, you can play from two different perspectives - first person or third person- which is possible thanks to the success of our recently finished Kickstarter campaign.

Our goal was to deliver the Early Access version, which is very advanced and polished in most parts. According to many closed playtests and our demo reception, most of the gameplay mechanics and big chunks of the content are already polished. Early Access contains about 30-40% of the final scope of the world and story. Most weapons and players' equipment parts are already present in the game as lootable elements.

NACON is proud to announce that the hotly anticipated Revolution X Unlimited (RXU) is available now for pre-order exclusively on their website, nacongaming.fr. First revealed at last year's Gamescom, this new Xbox-licensed wireless controller is optimised for PC and console shooters, delivering unparalleled precision, lightning-fast responsiveness, and absolute comfort.

A concentration of technologies to enhance performance
Equipped with instant-response triggers and joysticks featuring Hall Effect technology, the RXU guarantees exceptional precision and durability. Omron micro-switches on the majority of buttons enhance players' responsiveness for optimum gaming performance.

Today is a great day to be a gamer, as EA and Hazelight Studios unveiled Split Fiction: Friend Edition - a very special edition of the anticipated co-op adventure from the team behind the 2021 Game of the Year winner, It Takes Two. This limited edition of Split Fiction comes with all the essentials for you to jump straight into amazing co-op gaming - a copy of the game, a second controller, and for the first (and maybe only) time ever, a real friend shipped straight to your door. Get ready, because Split Fiction: Friend Edition is coming soon to a couch near you.

"As a gamer, being part of an epic special edition like this is awesome! I'm honored to be the first ever real-life friend to come with a game," said Greg, a companion that players can unbox by ordering Split Fiction: Friend Edition. "It was a little scary when Josef Fares told me to go into the packaging, but it's roomier and comfier than it looks. I'm excited to travel the world and make a new friend. I've got snacks to share and high fives to hand out as soon as I'm unboxed."

Today Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, released the highly anticipated co-op action RPG Monster Hunter Wilds on PlayStation 5 with PS5 Pro Enhanced support, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam (starting at MSRP $69.99). Join the Expedition Team as they journey to the Forbidden Lands in search of the mysterious "White Wraith" and unravel the mystery of this unrelenting frontier. Wield 14 iconic weapon types ranging from Great Swords to Gunlances and battle larger than life monsters uniquely adapted to their ever-changing environments. Then gather resources to craft an expansive arsenal of more powerful gear to take on even bigger challenges in your search for answers.

Venture to the Forbidden Lands
After rescuing the young boy Nata on the border of the reportedly uninhabited Forbidden Lands, the Hunter's Guild gathers its resources and forms the Forbidden Lands Expedition Team to investigate Arkveld, the mysterious "White Wraith," that attacked Nata's village. Fully voiced for the first time in the series, the player's Hunter is joined in the Expedition Team's Avis unit by Alma the Guild-appointed Handler, Gemma the reliable Smithy, and the Hunter's trusty Palico.

Milestone and MotoGP are excited to announce the upcoming release of MotoGP 25, the official MotoGP video game featuring all the riders and tracks of the 2025 season from the most exciting sport on earth, MotoGP, as well as Moto2 and Moto3. New tracks are joining the 2025 calendar for even more intense racing across the globe: the legendary Brno in Czechia, back after five years, and the new Balaton Park in Hungary. MotoGP 25 will be available on April 30th, 2025, on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Game Store.

Technical skills, mental strength and strong passion are key ingredients for any MotoGP rider eager to leave a lasting mark in the sport. This mix of characteristics can be summarized as the Heart of Racing, the concept behind the new MotoGP 25, which blends all these elements to offer fans the most comprehensive virtual MotoGP experience yet.

French indie developer Exalted Studio and independent publisher Dear Villagers are proud to announce that Big Helmet Heroes (trailer, website, press kit), the zany 3D beat'em up that combines charismatic heroes with unique powers, exhilarating action and beautifully detailed animations is now available on PC (Steam, EGS), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

The game is available at the price of 24,99 USD for the base edition on all platforms, and 29,99 USD for the Exalted Edition (includes an art book and the OST) on Steam, Epic Games Store, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5.

Obsidian's latest RPG, Avowed, is undoubtedly quite a challenging game to run even on capable hardware, if recent reports are anything to go by. It was previously mentioned that the game will focus on visuals and fidelity instead of fast-paced gameplay, and might be limited to 30 FPS on the Xbox Series X. For those who need a refresher, the 4-year-old Xbox Series X packs a GPU with just over 12 TFLOPS of raw performance, courtesy of its 52-CU RDNA 2 GPU. Now, however, it appears to have been confirmed that the game will indeed be able to hit 60 FPS on the Series X.

In a recent interview with YouTuber MinnMax, Avowed game director Carrie Patel confirmed that the game will be able to hit 60 FPS on the aforementioned console. Previous leaks sourced from a person who was able to play the game on Microsoft's consoles stated that the game will be limited 40 FPS on the Series S, and 60 on the Series X, the latter part of which has now been confirmed to be the case. Of course, there will be a downgrade in the quality of visuals to be able to hit the vaunted 60 FPS mark, but that is nothing out of the ordinary for consoles. UE 5-based Avowed is set to launch on the 18th of February, and will be available with the Xbox Game Pass, which has witnessed quite a delightful series of major launches lately.

Our next Developer Livestream is now confirmed for Wednesday, February 5 at 10:30am PST (18:30 UTC). Follow our official Twitch channel to receive a notification when our panel of Jorg, Seb, and Martial go live to discuss the future development plans for Microsoft Flight Simulator and answer the most frequently asked questions the community submitted to our web form over the past few weeks. As always, the panel will also answer live questions from Twitch viewers, so be sure to tune in if you didn't have a chance to pre-submit a question!

Thank you to everyone who has downloaded the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Sim Update 1 pre-release beta test build! Since its launch in January, our team has been very carefully reading your feedback and bug reports on the forums. A new pre-release build with more fixes and improvements is coming soon for beta testers. If you would like to enroll in the beta to help test the next major release of MSFS 2024, you can find instructions (for PC-MS Store, PC-Steam, and Xbox Series X|S) here.

Developer and publisher Tripwire Interactive today announced that the highly anticipated next chapter in the studio's legendary Killing Floor franchise, Killing Floor 3, will launch worldwide on March 25, 2025 for PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store), the PlayStation 5 system, and the Xbox Series X|S console systems. Tripwire also announced that pre-orders are now available for both retail and digital versions, along with detailing pricing, pre-order bonuses, and exclusive content across both standard and special editions. Digital pre-orders for PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, and retail pre-orders for console versions are live now. Digital pre-orders for console versions will be opening soon, with specific timing and updates available via Tripwire socials. In celebration, Tripwire has revealed the next in its series of Zed reveal videos, focused on the new and deadly Siren.

Like Zeds, Killing Floor 3 editions will come in many shapes and sizes between both digital and retail. All digital and retail pre-orders will include the limited timed exclusive Flatline Tactical Bundle (Flatliner weapon skin, Fear the Reaper trinket, and Special Action Force player card).

Rebellion, one of the world's most successful independent video game developers and publishers, has today launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, the latest instalment in the genre defining franchise. Sniper Elite: Resistance is available to play now on Game Pass, and available for purchase, both digitally and physically (with the boxed edition published by Fireshine Games) on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 Pro, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, Windows PC and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.

As well as the Standard Edition, Sniper Elite: Resistance is also available in a Deluxe Edition, which will include additional Season Pass content. The game has been enhanced for the PlayStation Pro 5, offering players the chance to experience the game in full 4K resolution.

Microsoft's Xbox Series X and S home gaming consoles have, so far, struggled to compete—saleswise—with Sony's full range of PlayStation 5 models. In reaction, CEO Phil Spencer and his colleagues have largely re-strategized Xbox's current platform. In recent times, less emphasis has been placed on the core system, and Microsoft's grip on software exclusivity has been loosened to a large degree. Any capable enough device is now "an Xbox"—be it a Smart TV, laptop, or smartphone. A gamer can enable this via Xbox's Cloud Gaming service or PC app. The company's new approach has been questioned by many folks—does it add value to (or remove from) the Xbox brand? Microsoft Gaming's chief has fielded similar queries—thrown his way by multiple media outlets over the past two weeks. Many headline quotes have been extracted, and the latest one focuses on future innovations.

Destin Legarie—an independent journalist, formerly of IGN—booked time with the Xbox boss. Naturally, media outlets have picked up on choice sentences from the first episode of Legarie's (just launched) Save State Plus paywalled podcast. Microsoft and Sony are rumored to be working on next-gen consoles—Spencer was asked about his ideal vision for the future, in response he stated: "I want us to innovate and make hardware the differentiator. We've got into this space where the differentiation on the hardware has gone down, and it's really been 'locked games' that have become the identity of the hardware. I love when I see handhelds, when I see unique things that hardware manufacturers do." According to various leaks and bits of inside information, next-gen AMD CPU and GPU architectures have been linked to a new wave of Sony and Microsoft gaming machines—perhaps mirroring choices made in the past. Starting with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 generation, both teams have—so far—selected very similar internals. Spencer has wishlisted a different path for the near future: "I want our hardware to compete on power, and on innovation. So let's have our platform continue to innovate with services and the hardware work that we're doing—whether it's controller, power, or mobility."

Thursday, January 23 was a big day for all of us at Compulsion Games. In addition to being a part of Developer_Direct, where members of our studio team shared more about the gameplay, look, and feel of South of Midnight, our third-person action-adventure game set in the American Deep South, we announced our release date of April 8, 2025, and early access beginning April 3. If that wasn't enough, we also released our brand-new story trailer, which expands on the narrative of South of Midnight, while including all-new gameplay, characters, and mythical creatures from the game. We're so excited to share more about South of Midnight, which is available now for pre-orders.

The Story of South of Midnight
In our story trailer, protagonist Hazel and her mother are preparing for the impending hurricane. The storm proves massive, causing catastrophic flooding-and causing their own home to be swept down river with her mother in it. Its aftermath shows the fictional town of Prospero, located in the southern United States, eerily calm while irrevocably changed from the hurricane's destruction. Here, Hazel undertakes a journey in search of her mother, while finding out more about herself and her family's lineage in the process. Hazel begins to see fantastical phenomena all over Prospero, including meeting Catfish, an enormous—and talking—creature in his own right, stuck in a tree following the hurricane's destruction. Catfish tells Hazel she is a Weaver, someone who possesses magical powers and can see how our threads connect to form the woven tapestry of our fates.

The Xbox Insider program has outlined a major upcoming feature upgrade for their home console lineup—Tuesday's Alpha Skip-Ahead Ring (2502.250120-2200) release notes reveal newly implemented support for larger capacity external hard drives. Naturally, inside program members get to play around with this early build—we presume that support will eventually trickle down to public level in the near future. The major announcement stated: "we are enabling support for external USB drives larger than 16 TB, so you can be sure your favorite games are always ready to play! Newly formatted drives that are larger than 16 TB will be formatted with multiple partitions to utilize all available space for games and apps. These will appear as multiple devices in the storage devices list."

Xbox-licensed external storage devices are only available with a maximum capacity of 12 TB—Western Digital's WD_BLACK D10 model wears the crown here. Console gaming enthusiasts—with a penchant for storing a huge library of titles on hard disk drives (HDD)—are best served by not selecting official Xbox-branded storage devices. Manufacturers do offer products with 18 TB to 28 TB capacities, but potential buyers will be greeted by hefty asking prices. There are a couple of caveats—for owners of 16+ TB drives—as noted in the Alpha Skip-Ahead Ring notes: "drives greater than 16 TB that have already been formatted will be unaffected by this change and would need to be reformatted to take advantage of the updated support for larger drives. Please be aware that we have identified an issue with formatting drives larger than 16 TB, and we're working on a fix." Interestingly, the notes do not disclose information regarding a new upper limit for compatible storage devices.

"Your worlds, your way" is not just a motto for Obsidian—it's truly how they think about their players. Freedom lives within everything they do, informing how they design quests, regions, combat, and more—it's these elements that help make an "Obsidian RPG" great (and why "Obsidian RPG" is a term you can immediately recognize in the first place). Ahead of the Avowed launch on February 18, 2025, I spoke with the team behind the upcoming fantasy role-playing game to learn more about the process that offers players such a huge level of agency—and how this philosophy is being pushed in this game more than ever.

"There are choices you can make and consequences of actions you can take or not take, whether they are forecasted to you or not, that will impact the future of entire settlements, individual people, groups of people—the whole spectrum basically," says Region Director Berto Ritger. This felt evident as soon as I got off the boat in the game's first region, Dawnshore, as the entire zone is essentially laid out in front of you, waiting to be explored. Everywhere I looked was an opportunity to engage with this world, either through circumnavigating old houses to find loot, or talking to locals that would yield side quests—and this was all before I even stepped foot outside of the port city of Paradis.

Introducing the newest iteration of the Cipher series, Xbox Wireless Controller—Pulse Cipher Special Edition! Like its predecessors, Sky Cipher and Ghost Cipher, Pulse Cipher provides players with a nostalgic transparent look infused with a futuristic twist. Despite being third in the series, this controller is special in its own right. Players can catch a glimpse of the silver midframe through the red transparent top case to reveal the mysteries found within. This vibrant design and colorway make a bold statement where modern gaming meets enduring nostalgia.

Energize your play with the Pulse Cipher controller and all its features, including red, diamond-shaped rubberized grips, dark red accents across the bumpers, buttons, and two-toned thumbsticks, a metallic hybrid D-pad, and matching metallic triggers. You can easily swap button input profiles through the Xbox Accessory Hub, where you can also preview any of the screenshots or videos you take using the dedicated Share button found in the middle of the controller.

At Xbox, we're continuing to improve how we design, build, distribute, and use our products to reduce our environmental impact and help us reach Microsoft's goal of being a zero waste, carbon negative, and water positive company by 2030. Finding ways to reduce the environmental footprint of gaming not only helps the environment but also creates benefits for our collective community of players.

We've heard from players that they want more options for support when their Xbox consoles need repair. Today, we're expanding our repairability program, giving players even more options to get their Xbox Series X|S console options—the Xbox Series S—1 TB in Robot White, Xbox Series X—1 TB Digital Edition in Robot White, and Xbox Series X—2 TB Galaxy Black Special Edition—fixed should they ever need to, while also reducing and preventing waste.

Dauntless's recent Steam launch proved disastrous, thanks to some changes the developer made to the core gameplay, which we covered in more detail here. Phoenix Labs responded shortly after the controversy, but that original statement was largely seen as dismissive by the community. Now, Phoenix Labs has put out yet another response, this time responding to individual criticisms and laying out a detailed plan for the future of Dauntless.

In the response, Phoenix Labs starts off by apologizing to the community for the lost progression and disastrous Awakening update. Throughout the rest of the statement, the developer breaks down how it plans to address each of the criticisms, including the progression reset, monetization, and core gameplay changes. The most interesting take-away from Phoenix Labs's response is that the returning players will be rewarded with additional in-game resources—300,000 Rams and 5,000 Combat Merits as well as Peerless Aetherite, scaling based on how many weapons players had crafted before the update—to get them back up to speed in the new system. As of Update 2.2.0, dropping "early next year," players will also no longer have to re-do quests they had already previously completed in order to unlock all game modes and regions. Various challenges and monsters have also received reward drop buffs to speed up progression. Monetization changes include making the free battle pass for future seasons more rewarding, and Phoenix Labs also promised to re-evaluate the monetization strategy in future updates "to balance sustainability with fairness while remaining rewarding for players." As for core gameplay changes, Phoenix Labs has already implemented changes to armor perks, shield caps, and weapon buffs based on feedback, and it says that it will continue to find more ways to add diversity and depth to player builds in future updates.

Today at The Game Awards 2024, Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, revealed Onimusha: Way of the Sword. The action game is an all-new adventure in the classic Onimusha franchise. The series' first new installment in nearly two decades, Onimusha: Way of the Sword returns to a dark fantasy feudal Japan where samurai clash with the supernatural in cutting-edge combat. Onimusha: Way of the Sword launches worldwide in 2026 for PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam.

Onimusha is rooted in the Sengoku period, Japan's legendary age of warring states. The games infuse history with Japanese folklore to tell tales of warriors who wield the mystical power of the Oni. These heroes are drawn into conflict with the Genma, relentless monsters hellbent on conquering the world. The franchise debuted in 2001 and instantly captivated players with its satisfying sword-based combat and exhilarating "Issen" counterattack mechanics. The series also gained recognition for its spellbinding stories portraying historical figures and real events in a dark fantasy setting. Now, having grown in popularity as one of Capcom's best-selling properties, Onimusha is entering a whole new era.

iFixit, the company known for publishing tear-down guides and repairability ratings as well as selling official spare parts and components for various electronics brands, has added Microsoft's Xbox consoles to its growing range of official spares. The repair advocacy company today announced in a blog post that Xbox Series X and Series S spares will now be available through iFixit, replete with DIY repair guides for all the spares sold on the online shop. As is typical of iFixit, the goal—aside from the obvious profit motives—is to promote right to repair and DIY repair in order to keep electronics in service for longer, reducing the amount of e-waste that ends up on the trash heap.

The official iFixit Xbox partnership will include both the disc and digital-only versions of the Series consoles, and the parts list is quite extensive, including everything from big-ticket items, like the motherboard assembly and built-in power supply to less obvious things, like the rubber feet and Wi-Fi modules. Xbox controller spares are also available in the Microsoft Repair Hub, and the list of controller spares looks comprehensive, too. Curiously, iFixit will offer both Microsoft's official Series X/S replacement joysticks and Gulikit TMR Electromagnetic joystick modules, which are a drift-resistant upgrade to the stock joysticks.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is now available on PC and Xbox Series X/S, marking the end of a long and challenging development cycle that included the pandemic, relocations, cyberattacks, a fire in the Prague office, and, above all, the ongoing war in Ukraine, which continues to devastate the developers' Homeland.

The game is available for purchase on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG), Xbox Series X/S and Microsoft Store. Also, the game is available for Game Pass subscribers day one.

We are pleased to announce that Atomfall will launch on March 27, 2025 and is now available to pre-order. Atomfall is coming day one to Game Pass and will be available both digitally and in a boxed physical edition, [published by Fireshine Games] on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Windows PC and PC via Steam, Rebellion Shop and Epic Games Store. Atomfall will also release on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.

Atomfall's Deluxe Edition will also be available, and in addition to the Basic Supply Bundle DLC, the Deluxe Edition will also give players an Enhanced Supply Bundle, which includes an exclusive pistol variant, metal detector skin and character upgrades. Alongside this, players will also enjoy 3 days early access to Atomfall and the planned Story Expansion DLC when released. Also available for PC Players, exclusive to the Rebellion Shop, is the Quarantine Edition which includes all rewards within the Deluxe Edition, as well as a host of additional content.