Game Services thread, v2: Microsoft hikes Game Pass prices...yet again

[SaiWa]

I got a month of PC Game Pass to play Rainbow Six: Extraction with my brother. Any must play games you guys can recommend?

My suggestions:

Hades (must play!)
Age of Empire IV
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Halo Infinite
Forza Horizon 5

 

[The Clark]

My suggestions:

Hades (must play!)
Age of Empire IV
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Halo Infinite
Forza Horizon 5

I didn't realize Hades was on there. That is perfect. Thank you!

 

[Madmick]

I didn't realize Hades was on there. That is perfect. Thank you!

Some more:

• Mass Effect Legendary Edition
• DOOM Eternal
• Nier Automata
• Outer Wilds
• The Forgotten City (Elder Scrolls lore)
• Wasteland 3
• Undertale

 

[rikwebb]

March's first lot of Gamepass additions

Sometimes it doesn’t have to be just what’s coming soon to Game Pass. Why not have great games both coming soon and available today? We’re keeping the ball rolling with games you can play on your PC, Xbox console, or with cloud gaming on the device of your choice. Let’s kick off March and get to the games!

Available Today
Far: Changing Tides (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Available on day one with Game Pass: Embark on a stunning new journey in this atmospheric vehicle adventure set in a beautifully realized, post-apocalyptic world. As protagonist, Toe, you must navigate the flooded landscape at the helm of a unique ship that upgrades and evolves as you progress on your journey. Solve puzzles, navigate the changing weather and dive to unknown depths in your search for a new home.


Microsoft Flight Simulator (Cloud)
Experience the joy of flying with Microsoft Flight Simulator, available today with Xbox Cloud Gaming on the devices you already own, including Xbox One, phone, tablet, and PC. Test your piloting skills against the challenges of real-time atmospheric simulation and live weather in a dynamic and living world. The sky is calling!

Coming Soon
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (Console and PC) – March 3
Lightning, the star of the Final Fantasy XIII series, is poised to face her ultimate challenge. Experience a new game world, a new battle system, and extended customization features. The world will end in 13 days. Once again, its fate rests on the shoulders of one woman.

Kentucky Route Zero (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – March 10
Kentucky Route Zero is a magical realist adventure game about a secret highway running through the caves beneath Kentucky, and the mysterious folks who travel it.

Lawn Mowing Simulator (Xbox One) ID@Xbox – March 10
Lawn Mowing Simulator is available right now on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and with Xbox Cloud Gaming, and is coming soon to Xbox One consoles! Take a break from the real world and enjoy the challenge and serenity of mowing the Great British countryside in Lawn Mowing Simulator.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 10
Fire up Star-Lord’s jet boots for a wild ride across the cosmos in this third-person action-adventure game, a fresh take on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. With the unpredictable Guardians at your side, blast your way from one explosive situation to another, with original and iconic Marvel characters caught in a struggle for the fate of the universe. You got this. Probably.


Young Souls (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – March 10
Available on day one with Game Pass: Gear up and begin your journey solo or coop to rescue the Professor. Young Souls draws you in with not only its stunning art direction, clever beat ’em up gameplay and RPG mechanics, but also with its sharp writing and incredible universe setting between two worlds you will fall in love with. Plus, Ultimate members can play with Xbox Touch Controls from their mobile device on day one with cloud gaming!

Leaving the service this month

Leaving March 15:

Nier: Automata (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Phogs! (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Torchlight III (Cloud, Console, and PC)
The Surge 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC

 

[rikwebb]

Amazon Luna finally officially launches fully in the US

https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/1/2...united-states-free-games-prime-members-twitch

Luna was announced in fall 2020, but since then, it has only been available to a limited number of customers through an invite-only "early access" program. Today's launch, however, finally opens up the service for anyone to use in the United States, which could significantly expand the number of Luna customers.

Alongside the broader launch, Amazon also announced three additional "channels" (Luna's term for bundles of games that customers can subscribe to on a monthly basis, similar to Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass) that customers will be able to enjoy.

The most notable of the new additions is the Prime Gaming Channel, which will offer Amazon Prime members a selection of free games to play on Luna that rotate each month. To start things off in March, Prime members will get access to Devil May Cry 5, Observer, System Redux, PHOGS!, and Flashback. Additionally, Immortals Fenyx Rising will also be available to play for free but only from March 8th through March 14th (instead of the entire month, as is the case for the other titles listed).

Also launching on Luna is the "Retro Channel," which will include classic games like Street Fighter II—Hyper Fighting, Metal Slug 3, and Castlevania Anniversary Collection, and the "Jackbox Games Channel," which includes all eight Jackbox Party Pack titles. Amazon is also using the Jackbox Games Channel to debut a new "Luna Couch" feature that lets other friends join you in playing even if they don't subscribe to Luna themselves. Both the Retro Channel and Jackbox Games Channel will cost $4.99 per month.

Luna works differently from other cloud services, like Google Stadia, where players can purchase games like they would for any other non-streaming-based platform. Instead, players subscribe on a monthly basis to individual channels, which come with their own bundles of games. Currently, Amazon offers the primary Luna Plus channel ($5.99 per month), the Ubisoft Plus channel ($17.99 per month), and the Family Channel ($2.99), along with the new additions mentioned above.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

March's first lot of Gamepass additions

Leaving the service this month

Leaving March 15:

Nier: Automata (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Phogs! (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Torchlight III (Cloud, Console, and PC)
The Surge 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC

That’s sweet that GOTG is coming, but that sucks that Torchlight 3 and Surge 2 are leaving, I actually wanted to play those at some point.

 

[Madmick]

That’s sweet that GOTG is coming, but that sucks that Torchlight 3 and Surge 2 are leaving, I actually wanted to play those at some point.

As a Torchlight fanatic, trust me, no you didn't. That game is a piece of shit.

 

[rikwebb]

Netflix to Acquire another mobile game developer, this time its the Finnish Developer Next Games, looks like the deal is for 65M Euros.

LOS GATOS, Calif., March 2, 2022/PRNewswire/ -- Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) today announced that it has entered into a combination agreement to acquire Next Games (NXTGMS). Under the terms of the agreement, Netflix will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Next Games. Pursuant to the offer, Next Games shareholders will receive €2.1 in cash per share of Next Games, for a total equity value of approximately €65 million. The Board of Directors of Next Games has unanimously decided to recommend that the shareholders accept the tender offer.

"Next Games has a seasoned management team, strong track record with mobile games based on entertainment franchises, and solid operational capabilities," said Michael Verdu, Vice President of Games, Netflix. "We are excited for Next Games to join Netflix as a core studio in a strategic region and key talent market, expanding our internal game studio capabilities. While we're just getting started in games, I am confident that together with Next Games we will be able to build a portfolio of world class games that will delight our members around the world."

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...bile-game-developer-next-games-301493654.html

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

As a Torchlight fanatic, trust me, no you didn't. That game is a piece of shit.

Oh yeah? Hmm, that’s too bad. I played the first one a bit back when it came out (I want to say that was 2009~ish) and thought it wasn’t a bad little game.

Where did they go wrong with 3?

 

[jefferz]

I got a month of PC Game Pass to play Rainbow Six: Extraction with my brother. Any must play games you guys can recommend?

If you liked the gun play, try Siege. Extraction is a spin-off of Siege.

 

[Madmick]

Oh yeah? Hmm, that’s too bad. I played the first one a bit back when it came out (I want to say that was 2009~ish) and thought it wasn’t a bad little game.

Where did they go wrong with 3?

The controls were wonky as shit. They were unresponsive, imprecise, it was sort of mind-boggling how they took such a massive leap backwards in that regard which is purely mechanical. It was buggy as shit, areas were clearly unfinished, and everyone hated how they simplified the skill trees. There was way more freedom to build differently in the earlier games. The resource management for developing skills was pointless, there was no balance, and some skills/resistances felt completely pointless, anyway.

Torchlight 2 was the peak of the series. If you haven't played that game, it's the one you want. And if you've already played it through with all four classes, or are just bored of the vanilla, then you want to mod it with a collection. Synergies is the most popular, and there are a some other mods that had added a ton of cool entirely unique classes. The ReSpec mod is also indisposable to anyone who wants to experiment with different builds with the core four classes who doesn't want to waste a million hours of their lives figuring out what works. Class building is one of my favorite aspects of RPGs and dungeon crawlers, so the fact you couldn't respec in the game (more than once) was ridiculous.

 

[Madmick]

Amazon Prime Members Now Get Free Cloud Games On Luna
Devil May Cry 5 and Ghostrunner are just two of this month's free Amazon Prime cloud games

Amazon Prime members in the mainland US can play some games for free, as long as they have a high-speed internet connection for cloud gaming. Amazon is now offering access to a small, changing selection of games to anyone with an Amazon Prime account.

This month, Amazon Prime members have full access to Devil May Cry 5, Observer: System Redux, Phogs!, and Ghostrunner. Strangely though, there's another deal taking place over the course of a single week this month. From March 8 to March 15, Prime members can also play Immortals Fenyx Rising. Every game besides Immortals Fenyx Rising will stop being available by the end of the month.

Next month, Prime members will get access to four more games for free. King of Fighters '90 Final Edition, Amnesia Rebirth, Tracks: Toybox Edition, and Mortal Shell are all being added to Amazon Prime's Prime Gaming Channel in April. These free games are all in addition to Amazon's regular free Prime Games, with this month's including Madden NFL 22. If you're not a Prime member but want to check out these freebies, new subscribers can get a 30-day free trial. You'll get to keep this month's batch of downloadable free games and see if you like Amazon's cloud gaming service.

Along with the free games coming to Prime members through the Prime Gaming Channel, paying Amazon Luna customers are getting more free games themselves. A new retro channel has been added to the service that gives users access to a whopping 46 games, including Street Fighter 2, Joe & Mac, Contra Anniversary Collection, and Castlevania Anniversary Collection.

They've also added new channels. Updated the OP to reflect that.

 

[rikwebb]

Second half of March's games have been revealed

Shredders (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) ID@Xbox – March 17
Available on day one with Game Pass: Break into the snowboarding event of the year in the hope of scoring a wildcard entry to an exclusive invitational. To prove you’re up to the challenge, master the art of park riding, buttering rails, and massive kickers and earn your place in the world of snowboarding. Also jump in on Xbox One and other devices you already own with cloud gaming via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – March 17
Live an adventure filled with humor, surprises, and silly encounters as you step into the wacky heroic fantasy universe of The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk. Lead a team of unlikely and clumsy heroes in this epic and challenging tactical RPG.

Tainted Grail: Conquest (Console) ID@Xbox – March 22
Available now with PC Game Pass and coming soon to console! Explore the ever-changing maps, fight with deadly enemies, and learn what happened to the cursed island of Avalon in this unique, infinitely replayable, story-driven hybrid between a deck-building roguelike and an RPG game. Create your own combos out of hundreds of cards and learn how to survive in a dark, unforgiving world shrouded by a mysterious, deadly force known as the wyrdness.

Zero Escape: The Nonary Games (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 22
A group of strangers are kidnapped and forced to participate in a diabolical game of death. Who can be trusted? Tensions rise as the situation becomes increasingly dire. Can you find a way out of The Nonary Games? Or will you pay the ultimate price?

Norco (PC) ID@Xbox – March 24
Available on day one with PC Game Pass: Play the southern gothic point-and-click narrative adventure for yourself and explore the sinking suburbs and verdant industrial swamps of a distorted South Louisiana. Your brother Blake has gone missing in the aftermath of your mother’s death. In the hopes of finding him, you must follow a fugitive security android through the refineries, strip malls, and drainage ditches of suburban New Orleans.

F1 2021 (Console) EA Play – March 24
It’s lights out and away we go! EA Play and Game Pass Ultimate members can experience a gripping F1 story, hit the track with their own team and live every Formula 1 fan’s ultimate fantasy as F1 2021 joins a collection of racing games available to play on EA Play.

Crusader Kings III (Xbox Series X|S) ID@Xbox – March 29
Available now with PC Game Pass and coming soon to Xbox Series X|S! Live the life of a medieval ruler in Paradox Development Studio’s award-winning strategy role-playing game, Crusader Kings III! Assume the leadership of a medieval noble family, increasing its power and reputation through the generations. As one ruler dies, they are replaced by an heir who may have very different abilities or interests, forcing you to adjust your long-term plans.

Weird West (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – March 31
Available on day one with Game Pass: Weird West is a dark fantasy reimagining of the Wild West where lawmen and gunslingers share the frontier with fantastical creatures, each playing with their own rules and their own peculiar motives.

Touch controls added for the following games

• Among Us
• Katamari Damacy Reroll
• Lumines Remastered
• Pupperazzi
• Rubber Bandits
• Spelunky 2
• Telling Lies
• Undungeon
• Young Souls

And games leaving the service soon

Leaving March 31

• Madden NFL 20 (Cloud, Console, and PC) EA Play
• Narita Boy (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Shadow Warrior 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Leaving April 11

• Destiny 2: Beyond Light, Shadowkeep, and Forsaken (PC)

 

[Madmick]

Watch Halo TV Show for Free: Every Benefit Included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Paramount+ awaits you Xbox fans.

Halo, the brand new TV series debuting on Paramount+, has officially kicked off and is now available to watch on the streaming service (albeit just Episode 1 for now). If you want to check it out, you'll need a Paramount+ account. Thankfully if you're an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, this is easy, and you can even get a 30-day free trial for Paramount+ right now via your Ultimate perks.

How to Watch Halo TV Series for Free
If you're an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member, you can access a whole slew of extra benefits with your subscription. This includes 3-months of Marvel Unlimited, 4-months of Spotify Premium, 3-months of YouTube Premium, Halo Infinite multiplayer cosmetics, and more.

Alongside these perks, you can now get a 30-day free trial for Paramount+, unlocking access to the premiere episode of Halo on the streaming service. You can access your Ultimate perks via the Xbox Game Pass app on your phone, or on your Xbox console right now.

Halo TV Show Release Schedule on Paramount Plus

• Episode 1 - “Contact” - March 24
• Episode 2 - “Unbound” - March 31
• Episode 3 - April 7
• Episode 4 - April 14
• Episode 5 - April 21
• Episode 6 - April 28
• Episode 7 - May 5
• Episode 8 - May 12
• Episode 9 - May 19

You'll want to wait until April 19th to activate the free 30-day trial perk if you want to watch the whole series since they're releasing it in installments, and the final episode will release on May 19.

 

[rikwebb]

Netflix have made their second mobile gaming based acquisition of the month in aqcuring Boss Fight Entertainment who make the game Dungeon Boss Heroes

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...ush-with-boss-fight-entertainment-acquisition

VP of game studios Amir Rahimi announced Netflix's acquisition of Boss Fight Entertainment.

Known for free-to-play mobile title Dungeon Boss, the US-based studio was founded in 2013 and will join Netflix's in-house development team.

Boss Fight Entertainment will continue to operate independently from its three studios in Allen, Austin and Seattle.

CEO David Rippy and co-COOs Bill Jackson and Scott Winsett said in a joint statement: "Boss Fight's mission is to bring simple, beautiful, and fun game experiences to our players wherever they want to play. Netflix's commitment to offer ad-free games as part of members' subscriptions enables game developers like us to focus on creating delightful game play without worrying about monetization."

It's Netflix's second games acquisition this month, after Finnish mobile developer Next Games for €65 million on March 2. Last year, the streaming giant purchased Oxenfree developer Night School Studio for an undisclosed sum.

 

[HereticBD]

Oh yeah? Hmm, that’s too bad. I played the first one a bit back when it came out (I want to say that was 2009~ish) and thought it wasn’t a bad little game.

Where did they go wrong with 3?

It was deep into development as some sort of free to play MMO game. It was originally called "Torchlight: Frontiers". The fans gave them a ton of shit, so they went back and tried to fix what they could to make it more like a traditional dungeon crawler(the kind that isn't a shallow piece of FTP shit), but the damage was already done, and it still had too many remnants of a FTP game.

 

[Bob Gray]

Went ahead and I'm currently giving gamepass on PC a shot. Doesn't seem to be anyway to add the games to steam, though. Any way to use it under the steam overlay?

 

[rikwebb]

Jez Corden has reported that it's looking like a family plan version of Game Pass is coming at some point this year

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-moving-ahead-xbox-game-pass-family-plan

Rejoice, Xbox fans, for Microsoft is about to plug an annoying gap in its Xbox Game Pass (XGP) service. Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft's all-you-can-eat Netflix-like game subscription service, giving you access to hundreds of games for a relatively low monthly fee. Multiple plans give you games across PC, Xbox consoles, or the cloud on mobile devices, featuring all of the best Xbox games from Microsoft on day one.

I'd heard about Microsoft's desire to create a Family Plan quite a while ago at this point, although there were details to work out about how royalties might be distributed, and how licenses from third-party publishers would be compensated for users who weren't attached to the main plan. According to trusted sources familiar with Microsoft's efforts, we can now confirm that Xbox is moving ahead with an Xbox Game Pass Family Plan, which should be set to launch sometime this year.

From our information, paying on a higher tier for an Xbox Game Pass Family Plan will net access for five players for games across the entire library, and will be far cheaper than paying for five separate XGP accounts as is necessary today. Utilizing Microsoft's Family Account system already in use for Office 365, players within the same country will be able to play together using a single XGP subscription managed by a central account holder, in much the same way as Netflix.

 

[rikwebb]

Additions releasing today / coming soon to Game Pass

Available Today
Cricket 22 (Cloud and Console) ID@Xbox
Step on to the field for the most comprehensive cricket game ever! With more licenses, a narrative-driven career mode, and 4K visuals, Cricket 22 is a true next-generation sporting experience. All-new control options make the game more accessible to players of all skill levels, while Big Ant Studios’ authentic recreation of every aspect of the sport provides hundreds of hours of hyper-realistic cricket action for fans. Lead your team to glory, your way!

MLB The Show 22 (Cloud and Console)
Available on day one with Xbox Game Pass: Experience faster, deeper and more intense moment-to-moment match action on the field, with a variety of game modes for all you rookie players and returning seasoned vets. Every pitch. Every hit. Every win. Make your mark and Own The Show in MLB The Show 22.

Coming Soon
Chinatown Detective Agency (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – April 7
Available on day one with Game Pass: Chinatown Detective Agency is a cybernoir point and click adventure blending stunning retro design with innovative mechanics. Play as Amira Darma, an ex-cop who has just opened her own detective agency. Choose your clients, travel around the world and solve dangerous cases using real world research.

Dragon Age 2 (Cloud) EA Play – April 7
Experience the epic sequel to the critically acclaimed Dragon Age: Origins. You are one of the few who escaped the destruction of your home. Now, forced to fight for survival in an ever-changing world, you must gather the deadliest of allies, amass fame and fortune, and seal your place in history. This is the story of how the world changed forever. The legend of your Rise to Power begins soon with cloud gaming via EA Play.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare (Cloud) EA Play – April 7
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare digs into the trenches with an explosive action experience. Blast zombies, plants and unique characters across a mind-blowing world and enjoy the depth of a traditional online shooter plus the refreshing humor of the Plants vs. Zombies universe, coming soon with cloud gaming via EA Play.

Star Wars: Squadrons (Cloud) EA Play – April 7
The New Republic fights for freedom. The Empire demands order. The Galactic Civil War is at a tipping point in a time where ace pilots on both sides could make all the difference. Master the art of starfighter combat in Star Wars: Squadrons with cloud gaming via EA Play.

Life Is Strange: True Colors (Cloud, Console, and PC) – April 12
Life is Strange: True Colors, the award-winning entry in the acclaimed Life is Strange series, Alex Chen hides her curse: the psychic power of empathy, the ability to absorb the strong emotions of others. When her brother dies in a so-called accident, Alex must embrace her power to find the truth.

Panzer Corps 2 (PC) ID@Xbox – April 12
Panzer Corps 2 is the ultimate strategy game! Enjoy the time-proven gameplay formula which has been appreciated by millions of players over the years, brought to a whole new level of refinement up to the latest technical standards.

The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk (PC) ID@Xbox – April 12
Available now on Cloud and Console, and coming soon to PC Game Pass, step into the wacky heroic fantasy universe of the Dungeon of Naheulbeuk. Lead a team of unlikely and clumsy heroes in an epic and challenging tactical RPG. Live an adventure filled with humor, surprises and silly encounters.

Lost In Random (Cloud, Console, and PC) EA Play – April 14
Play the odds in Lost in Random, a gothic fairytale-inspired action-adventure where every citizen’s fate is determined by the roll of a dice. PC Game Pass & Ultimate members start their journey with EA Play on April 14.

Leaving on April 16th

• The Long Dark
• Rain on Your Parade
• MLB The Show 21
• F1 2019

 

[method115]

Additions releasing today / coming soon to Game Pass

Leaving on April 16th

• The Long Dark
• Rain on Your Parade
• MLB The Show 22
• F1 2019

Just a correction. MLB The Show 21 is leaving in April not 22. I got confused there and thought xbox really only had this game for like 2 weeks.