This GFN Thursday is burning rubber with the latest Forza Horizon games from Microsoft Studios. Check them out on PC Game Pass. Plus, give the gift of cloud gaming with the latest membership bundle, which includes a free, three-month PC Game Pass subscription with the purchase of a six-month GeForce NOW Ultimate membership. It's all part of an exciting week, with 13 new games joining the GeForce NOW library.

Zoom, Zoom
Jump into the driver's seat in Forza Horizon 4 and Forza Horizon 5 from Playground Games and Microsoft Studios. Explore the critically acclaimed open-world racing games, featuring dynamic weather and seasons that can make or break even the most seasoned drivers. Race across beautiful, historical Great Britain in Forza Horizon 4. Ride solo or team up online with players from around the globe in a shared, open world. Collect, modify and drive over 450 cars from the Horizon car roster - plus, race, stunt, create and explore to become a Horizon Superstar.

We are excited to introduce the The Mountain Royals DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition! Unlock the rich history and untold stories of two remarkable civilizations, available now to pre-order with a 15% discount! Our teams have been working on The Mountain Royals for some time, expanding the storytelling of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. As we announce this DLC publicly and make it available for pre-order, we're aware of the events currently affecting modern day Armenians. The Mountain Royals has not been designed as a comment or reference to modern day events.

The Georgians
Carve out a sturdy kingdom in the shadow of the Caucasus Mountains and use the rugged terrain to your advantage as you repulse countless foreign invasions. The Georgian unique unit is the Monaspa, a brawny cavalry unit whose strength increases in numbers. During the early medieval period, the regions south of the Caucasus Mountains were divided among numerous petty kingdoms that eluded foreign dominance largely through geographical isolation. Although the Byzantine Empire occasionally attempted to extend its influence into these polities, no significant lasting gains were made. However, the constant threat of foreign invasion catalyzed a gradual shift towards unity. In the early 11th century, Bagrat III finally succeeded in gathering these formerly squabbling states into the Kingdom of Georgia.

Microsoft's gaming division has historically had a hard time with the expansion of its Xbox console userbase in Japan, due to the continued dominance of rival Sony PlayStation and Nintendo systems. The Series X and Series S have bucked past trends to some degree (maybe not all that impressive)—the higher-ups at Microsoft probably consider Japan to be an emerging/growth market, so Phil Spencer & Co. were recently dispatched to 2023 Tokyo Game Show. Xbox's Chief and Sarah Bond (Corporate Vice President) participated in an IGN-organized Q&A panel, where they were asked about reviving dormant first or third party franchises.

Bond was nudged into answering first—her choice was Blizzard Entertainment's sci-fi RTS series; StarCraft. She based this selection on fan feedback—apparently Japanese gamers have expressed plenty of interest in a potential threequel. Microsoft could have a major say in goings-on at the Californian development studio, once their acquisition of Activision Blizzard goes ahead. Spencer had more time to mull over his pick—in his opinion, MechAssault deserves a revival—with emphasis on it being a personal preference rather than any indication of an official announcement. The more action-oriented spin-off of FASA's MechWarrior series (set in the BattleTech universe) debuted exclusively on the original Xbox console back in 2002—Spencer was working as general manager of Microsoft Game Studios at the time. A sequel, Lone Wolf, was released in 2004.

Microsoft's proposed $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard got the "go ahead" from the vast majority of regulatory bodies around the world, but the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ultimately chucked a spanner into the works—consequently the deal's signing off date was delayed into the autumn. The top brass at Microsoft and Acti-Blizz have worked on a revised set of terms (to address concerns raised earlier this year), and the outcome has been semi-positive. The competition watchdog appears to be satisfied, prior to making a concrete announcement: "While the CMA has identified limited residual concerns with the new deal, Microsoft has put forward remedies which the CMA has provisionally concluded should address these issues. The CMA is now consulting on the remedies before making a final decision."

Under the newly redrafted deal—submitted for approval last month—Microsoft has agreed to transfer the rights to stream Activision games from the cloud to French video games publisher—Ubisoft—for a 15 year long term. The CMA's freshly published press release provides an insight into future infrastructures: "Under that new deal, Microsoft will not purchase the cloud gaming rights held by Activision, which will instead be sold to an independent third party, Ubisoft Entertainment SA (Ubisoft), before the deal is completed. The prior sale of the cloud gaming rights will establish Ubisoft as a key supplier of content to cloud gaming services, replicating the role that Activision would have played in the market as an independent player."

Here's how Forza Motorsport makes you fall in love with cars and build community through competition and skill. We're about to be at the starting line for a new era of Forza Motorsport, and today we're excited to tell you more about our vision behind the game. We also shared the first hour of gameplay with media and creators over the past few weeks, so keep an eye out for impressions of what they thought of the experience. And for those of you who can't wait, we shared a video on Forza Monthly featuring some of the gameplay from the first hour of the game.

BUILDING SKILL THROUGH COMPETITION
The Forza franchise has always been about falling in love with cars and building a community of car lovers and gamers. Forza Motorsport does this through competition and skill. In the new Forza Motorsport, we have completely rethought what it means to play Motorsport. This is a massive game with over 500 cars and 20 tracks, all featuring 24-hour dynamic time-of-day with weather. These cars were handpicked by our team, curated to deliver the absolute best experience across both Builders Cup and Featured Multiplayer for clean, thrilling and competitive racing.

Microsoft Flight Simulator World Update XIV: Central Eastern Europe captures the majesty, charm and allure of Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The region bristles with history, architectural wonders, and stunning scenery. The Central Eastern Europe countries beckon exploration from above with never-before-seen fidelity.

Microsoft Flight Simulator assembled fresh, full-coverage aerial imagery, digital elevation data and more from our partners at Bing Maps and Maxar to create this update. World Update XIV includes 103 points of interest (POIs): 18 in Czechia, 15 in Slovakia, 19 in Hungary, 15 in Slovenia, 23 in Croatia, and 13 in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Castles, towers, and churches, among other sights, all brilliantly reproduced and awaiting discovery from the air in this update.

Bethesda Game Studios' upcoming RPG Starfield imagines a world where humanity inhabits the vastness of space. These stunning animated stories offer a glimpse into three of the major cities in the Settled Systems. Follow a delivery pilot in New Atlantis seeking the exciting life of the elite; a stranded orphan looking for a way out of Akila City; and two street rats struggling to survive in the underbelly of Neon.

SUPRA ET ULTRA
In the city of New Atlantis, capital of the United Colonies, Kent, a courier pilot, aspires to live in the most desirable part of the settled systems. After joining the UC Vanguard and working his way up to the Capital's elite, Kent quickly realizes the adventures waiting for him off-planet are what he truly longed for.

There are many opportunities to brush up on our real-life skills through gaming this month, including puzzle solving, cooking, building a settlement on the back of a giant wandering creature to survive a post-apocalyptic world, and even photography! Let's get to the games.

Available Today:
Techtonica (Game Preview) (Cloud, Console, and PC) - Available on day one with Game Pass: Dig into the sub-surface, bioluminescent world of a rogue alien planet as you explore and construct sprawling factories in Techtonica. Work alone or in co-op to master automation, gather resources, research new technologies, mold the destructible terrain, establish a base of operations, and uncover long-forgotten secrets.

Microsoft and Xbox leaders have declared that the Call of Duty series will remain on PlayStation systems for the next ten years, following a possible successful acquisition of the (current owners of the IP) Activision Blizzard video game holding company. Phil Spencer, the outspoken head of Xbox stated via Twitter: "We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games."

His superior, Brad Smith (vice chair and president of Microsoft) added: "From Day One of this acquisition, we've been committed to addressing the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers. Even after we cross the finish line for this deal's approval, we will remain focused on ensuring that Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before." The silence on Sony/PlayStation's part is very telling, they are perhaps resigned to the merger becoming concrete this summer. Fans of the series (who favor Sony systems) will be relieved to know that PlayStation 5 and its possible successor are covered for another decade—it will be interesting to see how Sony's planned cloud gaming service will operate with the CoD franchise in mind. Microsoft has been presenting ten-year deals to a variety of rivals over the past year, with Sony and Nintendo courted alongside a number of different organizations. NVIDIA and Nintendo agreed on 10-year partnerships with Xbox earlier this year.

Today, we're continuing our commitment to give players more choice and value by introducing Xbox Game Pass Core, launching on September 14. Game Pass Core is the evolution of Xbox Live Gold. Game Pass Core will give players access to our advanced multiplayer network, a select collection of over 25 games to play with friends around the world, and exclusive member deals, all for $9.99 USD per month or $59.99 USD per year.

For over twenty years, Xbox players have been connecting via Xbox Live to compete, cooperate, and experience the world's biggest online multiplayer games. In 2017, we introduced Xbox Game Pass which provided a curated library of games. Game Pass Core brings online play together with Game Pass in a new offering for gamers around the world.

Last week Bethesda announced AMD as its exclusive partner for Starfield on the PC platform, although the short video presentation did not tease upcoming hardware/software bundles. Details of a Ryzen 7000-series CPUs promotional campaign emerged seven days later thanks to a mini-store page appearing on Newegg's retail site. The Starfield promo was not active at the time, but AMD Taiwan has made it official that the event will be going live on July 11 (at least in that territory).

According to the freshly published event site their offer will be running until September 30, and product serial numbers will not be redeemable after October 28. Eligible hardware includes the aforementioned Ryzen 7000 processor family, as well as Radeon GPUs. Thankfully Team Red has made sure to make a significant number of RDNA 2 models eligible for the Starfield incentive, with the entry point being RX 6600. All discrete RDNA 3 cards qualify—starting with RX 7600 and jumping up to the expensive RX 7900 XT and 7900 XTX GPUs. AMD Taiwan's info graphics show a two tier system—Standard Edition (NT$1990) applies to buyers of Ryzen 5/7 7000 series CPUs or Radeon 6600 through 7600 cards. Premium Edition (NT$2890) will grant a 5-day early access period—exclusive to buyers of Ryzen 9 7000 CPUs or Radeon cards starting at RX 6700.

What do heists, dinosaurs falling out of the skies, and puzzles all have in common? If it is anything other than "games coming to Xbox Game Pass", I would very much like to know! We have games coming soon that we announced during the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase (looking at you, Exoprimal), and we even have a surprise return today with Grand Theft Auto V. Let's get to the games!

Available Today: Grand Theft Auto V (Cloud and Console)
When a young street hustler, a retired bank robber, and a terrifying psychopath find themselves entangled with some of the most frightening and deranged elements of the criminal underworld, the U.S. government, and the entertainment industry, they must pull off a series of dangerous heists to survive in a ruthless city in which they can trust nobody—least of all each other. Includes both the Xbox One and the Xbox Series X|S versions of Grand Theft Auto V.

Axios has recently interviewed Microsoft's game studio chief Matt Booty about development strategies for the company's vast array of first party studios (under the banner of Xbox Game Studios). Several of these teams have not yet released any Xbox Series console and Windows PC exclusives, with only a couple of examples newly revealed at last weekend's Xbox Games Showcase. Booty believes that closer collaboration between first party studios will help improve output and quality, with the added benefit of catching up with big rivals—Axios mentions Sony/PlayStation and Nintendo producing a number of excellent games in recent times. The Coalition is mentioned as a prime example of a studio spreading its expert knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 to other parts of the Xbox division.

Booty acknowledges that his company has taken into account that AAA game development is taking longer than before (compared to previous generations...more on that in a bit). He states that the expected norm nowadays for a high-end project will take "four and five and six years" to finish, due to "a longer creation process...(and the) increased complexity of modern games, plus the desire to reach higher technical marks with 4K-compatible graphics and advanced lighting...There are higher expectations. The level of fidelity that we're able to deliver just goes up." Microsoft's management of its game development teams has been called into question following the poor launch state of Redfall (an Arkane/Bethesda production). Booty says that the "house style" is somewhere between the parent group's set of rules and complete creative freedom at each development house: "We optimize for creative output, which can have some pros and cons, sure, but that is the goal."

Pursue your dream of an aviation career with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. This brand-new simulator is designed to take advantage of the latest technologies in simulation, cloud, machine learning, graphics and gaming to create the most sophisticated, immersive and awe-inspiring flight simulator of all time. To achieve this unprecedented level of accuracy, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is powered by the significantly evolved Asobo Studio engine.

Available day one on Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Windows 10/11, and Steam. Coming 2024. We look forward to sharing more information about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 in the future.

Bethesda has unveiled the first gameplay trailer for Starfield during the Starfield Direct after the Xbox Games Showcase yesterday, showing some impressive graphics from this upcoming sci-fi RPG. Shortly after, we got the confirmation from the Game Director, Todd Howard, that the game will actually be locked at 30 FPS, which does not sounds surprising, especially after the full PC system requirements got revealed.

Bethesda has put a lot of effort into Starfield, and it shows it the seen trailer. The team is also claiming that this game will have "the fewest bugs of any Bethesda game ever shipped," according to an interview that the Xbox Game Studios Head, Matt Booty, gave to Giant Bomb. He also added that there are a lot of people internally playing Starfield, and Phil Spencer, head of Xbox Games Studio, told the same outfit that the game had a much earlier release date, and was delayed twice, so hopefully we'll have a solid game at launch. Unfortunately, Todd Howard, also confirmed that the game will run at full 4K on the Xbox Series X and at 1440p on the Xbox Series S, but will be locked at 30 FPS on both consoles.

Today we announced Clockwork Revolution at the Xbox Games Showcase, a fantastical, first-person action RPG, with dynamic time-bending combat, deep interconnected roleplaying systems, and the ability to create your own unique character from the ground up. The project is led by Game Director Chad Moore and Principal Designer Jason Anderson, who just happen to have created one of the greatest steampunk RPGs of all time—Arcanum.

Settings and Story
Clockwork Revolution takes place in the vibrant Victorian-era metropolis of Avalon, where steam trains fly overhead, wealthy industrialists replace their limbs with ornate clockwork prosthetics, and mechanical servants fulfill their masters' every whim. But this new age of wonders holds a dark secret—it's been carefully constructed by the ruthless Lady Ironwood. Through use of a time travel device, she's changed key moments in Avalon's history, keeping the working class struggling in the slums and factories, while bringing herself immense wealth and power. That's where you come in…

Keep the NVIDIA and Microsoft party going this GFN Thursday with Grounded, Deathloop and Pentiment now available to stream for GeForce NOW members this week. These three Xbox Game Studio titles are part of the dozen additions to the GeForce NOW library.

Triple Threat
NVIDIA and Microsoft's partnership continues to flourish with this week's game additions.

From races and stories to road trips and expeditions, since arriving in Mexico you've embarked on the most incredible journeys through beautiful landscapes, vibrant towns and diverse biomes. There is so much rich heritage and culture to discover in this locale, so just how well do you know it? Explore the Horizon will test your Forza Horizon 5 map knowledge and lead you to breathtaking scenery along the way. With 6 new-to-Forza cars, upgraded Photo Mode features, overlanding modifications for select vehicles, and Pathfinder accolades to complete, this will be a Mexican journey like no other. Dust off your camera and charge up your sat-nav, we're going on an adventure!

GAME FIXES & RELEASE NOTES
Explore the Horizon will be available to download on Xbox, Windows and Steam from Tuesday, May 23. Players can immediately try out the new Photo Mode improvements and explore Mexico under a new lens with Pathfinder accolades. Series content will be available on Thursday, May 25 until June 22.

There were rumblings late last week about China's competition regulatory bodies giving Microsoft the go ahead for its proposed takeover of the Activision, Blizzard & King games publishing group. The crowd-sourced content site Seeking Alpha was the first online outlet to break the news last Friday - the author had learned from capital market firm - Dealreporter - that China's State Administration for Market Regulation had granted unconditional approval for the $68.7 billion bid, following the conclusion of a "Phase 3" investigation. The latest judgement arrived only a few days after the EU Commission's approval of the deal.

Microsoft has chosen to make an official announcement about this verdict - and has today released statements to several gaming news outlets, including GamesIndustry.biz and Eurogamer: "China's unconditional clearance of our acquisition of Activision Blizzard follows clearance decisions from jurisdictions such as the European Union and Japan, bringing the total to 37 countries representing more than two billion people. The acquisition combined with our recent commitments to the European Commission will empower consumers worldwide to play more games on more devices." Microsoft's next challenge sits with the US government's Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - a final deliberation is due this August.

We're continuing to deliver on our promise to bring high-quality, immersive PC games from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda to more people in more ways. Today, we're announcing that Deathloop, Gears 5, Grounded and Pentiment will be available to play for Boosteroid members beginning June 1. This is another step to ensure players worldwide have access to great content on their terms.

Boosteroid customers in the Ukraine, the United Kingdom, countries across the European Union, and the United States will soon be able to jump in as Kait Diaz to take on the Horde in Gears 5, team up with friends to survive and explore the backyard of Grounded, attempt to escape a seemingly never-ending timeloop in Deathloop, or experience life in an illustrated world with Pentiment. These four titles are just the start - we'll regularly add more hits and fan favorites from our extensive catalog of PC games. Boosteroid members will be able to access games purchased through Steam or the Epic Game Store (for eligible titles) to start, with support for games purchased through the Microsoft Store coming soon.

A huge thank you to all of our Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition players for your record-setting support and to everyone who has played Return of Rome so far! This is the biggest DLC launch in Age of Empires II history! We've been listening to your feedback and would like to share our plan to address the concerns regarding your in-game experience and your desire to see Age of Empires campaigns in Return of Rome.

We are actively monitoring the issues you're reporting and will address them as soon as possible. This includes disruptions to your hotkey settings, issues preventing UI mods from loading in correctly, and games failing to load. The hotkey disruption was a one-time adjustment. You can visit our support page if you need help getting them reconfigured. Our teams are paying close attention to the reports you make and are thankful for your continued trust.

Get ready for action - the first Xbox game title is now streaming from GeForce GPUs in the cloud directly to GeForce NOW members, with more to come later this month. Gears 5 comes to the service this GFN Thursday. Keep reading to find out what other entries from the Xbox library will be streaming on GeForce NOW soon. Also, time's almost up on an exclusive discount for six-month GeForce NOW Priority memberships. Sign up today to save 40% before the offer ends on Sunday, May 21.

All Geared Up
NVIDIA and Microsoft have been working together to bring the first Xbox PC titles to the GeForce NOW library. With their gaming fueled by GeForce GPU servers in the cloud, members can access the best of Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda titles across nearly any device, including underpowered PCs, Macs, iOS and Android mobile devices, NVIDIA SHIELD TV, supported smart TVs and more.

Over the last 20 years, Age of Empires II has consistently been viewed as the cornerstone of this great RTS franchise. Praised for its myriad mechanical improvements over the first game, unique units and the addition of gates to stop yourself accidentally imprisoning your on-screen warriors, Age of Empires II ushered in an era almost as unforgettable as the in-game factions we love to roleplay.

But a groundbreaking sequel always has an origin story that started it all, and the first Age of Empires title is by no means being left behind. The latest expansion, Return of Rome, is set to bring integral parts of the game's original content into Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition as its own self-contained offering, plus some brand new additions for fans to get stuck into.

Everything you need to know - what to expect with the newest Return of Rome DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. What is Return of Rome? Return of Rome is a completely new type of expansion, which brings classic Age of Empires gameplay, style and key experiences as a brand new self-contained experience. Also...

Starting this weekend, some of your favorite content creators are ready to show YOU an exclusive preview of the upcoming DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome. Want to know more about the upcoming addition of the 16 Age of Empires civilizations, the brand-new Lac-Viet, or the new Romans to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition? Well, we have fantastic news for you: some of your favorite content creators have been granted early access to the Return of Rome DLC, and you'll be getting a sneak preview of the exclusive units, civilization bonuses, and other new additions ahead of release!

Phil Spencer, CEO of Xbox Game Studios, appeared on the popular (Xbox-themed) Kinda Funny Games podcast earlier this week for a video interview (Xcast Episode 137). The almost 45-minute long conversation touched upon several topics relating to gaming matters at Microsoft, with the hosts managing to corner Spencer about the recent (not so good) launch of Bethesda and Arkane's horror FPS Redfall. Gaming community feedback has not exactly been encouraging in the wake of the game's release two days ago, and Spencer admits that he shares similar sentiments: "I'll just say all up, there's nothing that's more difficult for me than disappointing the Xbox community. I've been a part of it for a long time. I obviously work on Xbox, head of the business, have a lot of friends, get a lot of feedback. And just to watch the community lose confidence, be disappointed, I'm disappointed. I'm upset with myself. I revisit our process - I think back to the announcement of 60 FPS and then we weren't shipping 60 FPS, that was our punch in the chin, rightfully, a couple of weeks ago. And then seeing the game come out and the critical response was not what we wanted, and it's disappointing."

He continues his thought about reacting to feedback this early on in the process: "What can we learn? What can we get better? One thing I'll fight is what went wrong. There's clearly quality and execution things we can do, but one thing I won't do is push against creative aspirations of our teams. Then a lot of people will say, hey, you've got teams, teams know how to do one kind of game, just force them to go do the one kind of game they have a proven track record for. I'm just not a believer in that. Maybe that means I'll under deliver for some of our fans out there. But when a team like Rare wants to do Sea of Thieves, when a team like Obsidian wants to do Grounded, when Tango wants to go do Hi-Fi (Rush) when everybody probably thought they were doing The Evil Within 3, I want to give the teams the creative platform to go and push their ability, push their aspirations."