Join Us wastes little time in letting me know how silly things are about to get. Shortly after navigating its cultist creator and adorning my robes in a brightly colored yellow, white, and green checkerboard pattern, selecting a flying saucer as my cult’s icon, and insisting everyone refer to each other as a number, is when I set my expectations for hilarity – and was not disappointed.

Join Us has all the markings of an ambitious indie that, on the surface, describes itself as sandbox survival game, but it feels much deeper than that. The 10-person team at Wolf Haus Games has seemingly kept throwing ideas at the wall and instead of rejecting them, found ways to make them work. Want to ride a deer? Sure. What if we had aliens? Yes. Want to drive a forklift? Of course you do. And that’s a big part Join Us’ charm, is giving you a wide range of methods to both enjoy your time in the game’s world and ways for your party of cultists to infiltrate the local populace.

Exiting the cultist creator screen, I soon found myself in a large outdoor compound with dozens of fellow cultists adorned in my colors, all in a synchronized dance, guiding me to a makeshift obstacle course to get a feel for the controls and a test of my indoctrination – shooting a pig (or not) at the behest of our great Leader. I’m then sent to the House of Business (a barn) to receive my orders: travel to the nearby county of Bedford and spread the good word of our little cult. And by spreading the good word, we mean violently.

Bedford is incredibly rural, surrounded by wilderness, military bases, an abandoned circus, and rusted cars. This is also home to the start of our own little compound, located just outside of town, featuring a variety of followers already on-site, pounding drums, caring for chickens, and harvesting tomatoes. It isn’t long until the locals arrive to take offense to our presence by rushing in guns blazing.

Combat was one of the central focuses of my hands-on time with Join Us, giving us a sample of the variety of weapons you can use in the game, ranging from pistols to machine guns and serrated machetes. Cycling through weapons was a breeze and combat felt pretty good for the current state of the demo build — it has good bones and will no doubt see some further refinement leading up to its full release next year.

After we took care of the invaders in an extremely bloody battle, I then conscripted other cultists in our compound to pile into a white van and drive over to the nearby farm to take out the rest of these ruffians while “Cielito Lindo” was playing on the radio – there are a half-dozen radio stations to cycle between while driving vehicles, because of course there are (the wall, remember?).

Once we arrived at the enemy farm, I looted a nearby weapon cache that uncovered a grenade launcher, flame thrower, and chainsaw – that’s when the chaos really started to unfold as we began to put these enemies out to a bloody pasture. It wasn’t long until the flurry of explosions and hail of bullets attracted the attention of the local police who arrived on the scene and immediately opened fire on us – even a police helicopter arrived – and really laid into my character until he was toast. That was the end of Number 14. My cult was gone, or so I thought…

You know all those cultists back at the compound? If your playable character is killed off, you’ll switch over to any surviving follower to continue your game. You can even swap into the body of any nearby cult member at any time, even during combat, with the long-distance swaps functioning like a cult-powered form of fast travel.

Join Us also features permadeath, meaning the poor sap I was playing who got caught up in the hail of bullets back at the farm, is gone forever from the game. Now in a newfound body with a desire to spread our cult’s influence even further, I hit the road and explore more of the vast surrounding area.

One such stop included a small neighborhood where I walked up to and converted more of the local populace – this not only increases my cult’s following but gives me some additional respawn options should I fall victim to another round of bullets. Pulling this off required influence that can be obtained by putting flyers up all over town, handing out personalized autographs from our Leader, or just threatening them to death.

Soon I had a half-dozen new followers adorned in a matching wardrobe, who hilariously ran over to the nearest vehicle, hijacked it, and drove to the compound – which left me without a set of wheels, leaving me to walk all the way back to the compound. Unfortunately, I passed by a police station on the way back home and thus was a swift end to Number 53.

There’s much more to Join Us than dispatching a bit of ultra-violence and exploration. Their official channels mention base building, farming, indoctrination of members, domesticating animals, and aliens. It’s all over the place – but that’s part of its charm. Wolf Haus wants to give you one of the wildest and weirdest sandboxes for you to play in and it seems like they’re well on their way in doing so. Consider myself indoctrinated.

Look for Join Us to launch in 2027 for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, cloud and included with Game Pass. Play it on both console and PC at no additional cost with XBOX Play Anywhere.

The immediately appealing pitch of Bad Magpie – a world premiere from developer Milktooth in the XBOX Games Showcase – is right there in the title. Be a bird; cause trouble. Like their fellow corvids, crows and ravens, magpies are particularly intelligent and curious birds, with a reputation for stealing shiny things. Amorally creating problems for everyone around them in pursuit of collecting arbitrary treasures? Magpies sound like gamers to me.

In the roughly half-hour demo I got to play, you have been injured and separated from your fellow magpies (like a murder of crows, apparently it’s “a mischief of magpies” – delightful), since you can only hop around instead of flying, with a little band-aid cross on one of your wings. You meet and become obsessed with a fallen star, and at its demand go seek shiny trinkets to earn its favor.

The game is presented in lovely 3D isometric minimalism, a little like Untitled Goose Game, but with a pixelated fuzziness and cell shading that gives it a lovely, painterly softness all its own. Untitled Goose Game is the obvious comparison in concept as well, as a sort of simple adventure game about being a rude bird, though where that game felt grounded in realism as you terrorized the quaint little populated hamlet, here people are pointedly absent (at least so far) and there’s an interesting element of magical realism that kept me unsure of what to expect next at any given moment.

You start on a section of road and make your way into what looks like an abandoned human schoolyard, populated by mice playing like children (building sandcastles, drawing on the pavement with chalk, etc.) When you do find the trinket, a huge serpent with jeweled rings around its neck snatches it and demands you find 20 of the meteorite shards scattered around the area nearby from when the star fell.

The shards were distributed behind simple environmental puzzles. You have three actions: chirping, pecking/picking something up, and contextually interacting with whatever object you’ve picked up (such as shaking a soda can or chirping into a megaphone).

True to the spirit of chaos implied by the name, the very first thing that the game teaches you is that pecking or striking wooden objects against the shiny, flint-like boulders scattered around the level will set any nearby wood and grass on fire. One of the very first puzzles I solved was to knock a log from a tree (all of which have the Kirby tree face, making you feel a little bad about it), setting it on fire, then using that to bust through a car window and get through to the crystal on its hood.

A lot of the puzzles are solved by setting fire to things, breaking glass with loud noises, or by being very rude to those playing mice (such as smashing their sandcastle to get the shard inside). The game generally revels in satisfying your id for being a little gremlin and causing trouble. I saw other shards that I didn’t collect, and when I went to turn in my 20, a pop-up said that there were 30 in total if I wanted to continue, giving a generous flexibility to ignore any you might have trouble with while providing completionists with more to do.

The interactions were all delightfully playful and surprising, so I expect to be among the latter. The systemic nature of the fire and physics objects elevates it above a simple adventure game to feeling like a light immersive sim, which makes me all the more excited to explore and see what surprises they have in store when the game comes out in full next year.

Bad Magpie

Milktooth

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Bad Magpie is a narrative adventure game about a magpie with one wing, a fixation on shiny things, and no interest in connecting the two dots. — YOU ARE A MAGPIE One wing. No flock. One obsession: a fallen star that wants shiny trinkets and nothing else. Burn a meadow, drain a swimming pool, write off a car… You can't fly but there are plenty of other ways to navigate the world… and you’re going to try all of them. Your plan is simple: Find the trinkets. Win over the star. Cure your loneliness. — A WORLD TEEMING WITH SECRETS Explore a small, densely packed, non-linear open world full of things to peck, steal, combine, and meddle with. Bad Magpie runs on a delightfully elastic cartoon logic. Screech into a megaphone to shatter glass. Peck flint to spark fires. Drop an apple in oil and see what happens. Tear through the world in a fury, or carefully sweep every corner leaving no stone unpecked. There's no dialogue, no text, and no cutscenes. Just a world that rewards anyone curious enough to mess with it. Every puzzle has multiple solutions. Most of them are intentional. — FIND SHINY THINGS You want the star. The star wants trinkets. But trinkets don’t come free. Not when there’s meteorites to be found. So what’s the use of wallowing? You have shiny things to find. — A MYSTERY DRIVING THE WHOLE THING You are haunted by a mysterious vision. What is it? Why is it appearing now? And how long will the star keep you distracted from it? It's probably nothing.

I’ve enjoyed ARPGs (action role-playing games) ever since discovering the original Diablo as a preteen, but they really clicked a few years later when Diablo II became the first game I played online with friends. The ecstatic flashing colors of exploding demon hordes combined with the drip feed of incrementally better loot cast a soothing spell that I find is best enjoyed with company. Later on, when I finally played Diablo III in couch co-op on a console instead of with mouse and keyboard, I understood: ARPGs are for chilling.

Having played a demo after its XBOX Games Showcase appearance, Minecraft Dungeons II understands this, and has clearly been built from the ground up to allow as wide a range of players as possible to jump in and have fun, from casual ARPG dabblers, up through more hardcore genre devotees.

The contemporary mainstream ARPGs out there tend to embrace complexity, particularly in their endgames, adding a profusion of new systems to tweak, customize, and enhance your character and extend the interest of their most dedicated players. That’s great when I want a puzzle to min-max, but when I’m not in the mood to spend an hour re-speccing my whole build around a new item, it can be too much friction between me and the actual gameplay.

Minecraft Dungeons II strikes a really smart middle ground between the first game and its genre peers by increasing gameplay and build expressivity, while keeping things decidedly friendly and streamlined. I can very easily imagine a younger Minecraft fan and an older relative that loves ARPGs finding common ground here and having a great time, which is a rare offering for a game. It’s the ARPG for everyone.

A Greater Sense of Place

Where the original Minecraft Dungeons had a more old-school structure of selecting discrete missions, the sequel dials up the RPG by setting the action in a contiguous, fixed and interconnected world, dotted with dungeons. This is one of many touches that really enhances the foundation of the original and makes it feel more alive. The newly added ability to jump is another, making your presence in the world feel much more tactile and enhancing the possibilities for exploration.

After a solid five minutes of playing cat-and-mouse with an invisible Covenant Elite, having to quietly duck around corners and constantly watching my back, before finishing him off and then taking his sword as the prize, it became clear that to me that this is still the classic Halo experience I know and love. However, technological leaps and 20+ years of hindsight from both the community and the studio itself have built an experience that sits truly at home in the modern gaming landscape. Here’s what we know.

This week, I was able to spend some time with a new demo from the upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolved – specifically, the game’s version of ‘Assault on the Control Room’ – the memorable fifth level from the original Halo: Combat Evolved’s original campaign, and the longest level in the game by quite a margin. This level became memorable for the spaces and combat opportunities it introduced in the original game. Its snowy, open landscapes are linear in design, but grant players total freedom in how to approach them, with almost every weapon in the game on offer to use throughout its duration.

“This is one of the all-time iconic and beloved missions from Halo: Combat Evolved that really exemplifies the core sandbox experience,” says Max Szlagor, Creative Director on Halo: Campaign Evolved. “The snowy valleys provide a nice contrast to the beach of ‘Silent Cartographer’ and also present the opportunity to pilot a wide range of different vehicles in a large environment.”

It also became somewhat memorable for its sprawling interior sections – winding, repetitive Covenant corridors leading into small rooms full of close-quarters combat and few supplies – something that the Halo Studios team knew it could improve upon, without completely changing the flow of the level.

Needless to say – it looks absolutely fantastic. Everything you see has been recrafted with the utmost care – from the wider environment, to the tiniest details tucked away inside it. The Forerunner spaces that once felt like grey voids are now striking, complex tapestries that reflect not just how far technology has come, but how much detail the Halo universe offers in terms of filling them –   not to mention how much consideration has gone into ensuring they feel correct while looking brand-new., That attention to detail applies to every cog in the machine here, from enemy encounters, to combat, and even a more thoughtful, reorganized UI.

The original spirit of the level feels entirely retained, but with several updates and tweaks that make it feel more streamlined than ever before. Szlagor notes that the most iconic moments throughout the level are preserved as they were, like the battle with the Zealot on the first bridge, the introduction of the Scorpion and a subsequent battle on the narrow bridge, and the race against the Elite for the Banshee.

“We ultimately decided to make more targeted improvements to areas of frustration, slow pacing, or navigation confusion based on where players wanted to see adjustments,” Szlagor says. Effectively, the set pieces we remember best remain, but the gaps between them have been tightened, polished, and refined.

For example, there are fewer interior sections than in the original level, and a short voice line offers immediate guidance on how to navigate them that doesn’t feel too intrusive to exploration. They’re not all the same layout, either – these rooms have been trimmed down and configured differently, making each one feel like a fresh combat puzzle to solve.

That environmental direction feels prevalent across the level – in the outside areas, which feel more sprawling and impressive than ever – you’re quietly nudged towards the next checkpoint by way of thawed patches of snow, openings in trees, and an excellent use of lighting that the original Combat Evolved couldn’t have made work in 2001.

Long-time fans will remember that this level is where you’ll find the Scorpion Tank for the first time – alongside a handful of Marines. Here is where we see Halo Studios not just tweaking, but improving  – Chief can now equip Marines with different weapons, including the rocket launcher and sniper rifle, and they can all ride on the tank alongside you offering heavy support in mowing down waves of enemies, rather than running alongside it with no defence. It’s a true upgrade – one that makes the fight feel like a newly collaborative effort between Chief and the Marines. Their stacked arsenal also means you can take the weapons from them if you need them later. A much better option than the ultimate last resort – having to use a Plasma Pistol.

You’ll need that variation of weapons, too – because The Covenant feel more intuitive and reactive than ever before, which feels magnificent in practice. Enemy aggression and spawn rate are now altered by difficulty – not only are your foes tougher and smarter, there’s also more of them. Some enemy units like Elites and Hunters will pursue you relentlessly, on foot, on vehicles, and from every conceivable angle, prompting constant vigilance and careful treading, both indoors and outdoors.

That snow-coated battlefield is made even more fun with the ability to hijack and drive Covenant vehicles, a feature originally introduced in Halo 2. Of course, there’s still a Warthog and a Scorpion to plough through enemies with – but when your tank gets blown up – which mine inevitably does – there’s a new array of traversal outside of simply running through the level. Chief can also operate Ghosts, Wraiths, and of course, the flying Banshees from the original. There’s even a conveniently parked Wraith that players can pick up – either as a fresh tank if you’ve destroyed your first one, or an additional tank that your co-op partners can take.

While I played this demo on my own, the prospect of four-player co-op sat at the forefront of my head. These spaces weren’t originally built to accommodate so many players, but they’ve been rebuilt to ensure that no Chief is left behind.

“Every level requires thoughtful consideration of checkpoints for single player and co-op scenarios; navigation markers, co-op catch up points, as well as enemy and weapon placements for different player counts and difficulty levels,” Szlagor adds. “We also evaluated the size of interior spaces and made targeted adjustments based on player flow through spaces while trying to preserve the feel of locations that are intended to be more intimate combat scenarios. Our goal is to provide something unique for each player to do in each canyon.”

The final section of the level – which sees Chief fighting his way up a pyramid to the entrance of the control room, really felt like a true example of where Halo: Campaign Evolved has been rebuilt to shine. Even on normal difficulty, the battle to get to the top of the pyramid – if you choose not to use a Banshee to fly to the top – is punctuated by enemy encounters, and a real struggle for resources and ammo. By the end, my UNSC loadout was completely exhausted, which led to me precariously trying to take down a lone Hunter with two Plasma Pistols and a dream. This for me, is also the spirit of Halo – taking care of business with whatever’s leftover after a huge firefight, and getting to the end no matter what.

It could be considered a bold manoeuvre to make such noticeable changes to such a familiar, beloved Halo level, but my experience fills me with confidence that the redesign is nothing but a good thing – making it look visually striking, implementing ideas that didn’t or couldn’t make it into the original vision, and most importantly, bottling the impact of seeing these spaces for the first time, and delivering it to seasoned and brand-new players alike.

Halo: Campaign Evolved presents the original vision with stunning accuracy, showing that the bones of this 25-year old XBOX titan can still stand tall among its modern peers without the need for significant change – just a few practical, modular tweaks pulled from later Halo games that only make the debut experience even better.

Halo: Campaign Evolved launches globally on July 28, 2026, with early access beginning July 23 for Premium Edition owners. It will be available for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, cloud, and included with Game Pass. Play it on both console and PC at no additional cost with XBOX Play Anywhere. Also available on Steam and PlayStation 5.  The game supports cross-play and cross-progression across XBOX Series X|S, Windows PC, Steam, and PlayStation 5.

Halo: Campaign Evolved – Standard Edition

Xbox Game Studios

☆☆☆☆☆ 161

★★★★★

$49.99

Pre-order

Pre-purchase Halo: Campaign Evolved and get the Foundry Armory Pack, featuring legendary looks for the Master Chief’s iconic Mark V Mjolnir armor. PRE-PURCHASE INCLUDES: • Classic 2001 Mark V Armor skin • Classic 2001 Assault Rifle skin • Gilded Onyx Armor style • Gilded Onyx Assault Rifle style EXPERIENCE WHERE THE LEGEND BEGINS Halo: Campaign Evolved is a faithful yet modernized remake of Halo: Combat Evolved’s campaign. Experience the original story rebuilt with high-definition visuals, updated cinematics, refined controls, plus a brand-new three-mission adventure featuring the Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson. A broader arsenal of weapons, vehicles, enemies, and gameplay-modifying “Skulls” – optional modifiers that change combat in fun and challenging ways – add fresh tactics and endless replayability. Play it your way: solo or up to 4-player online co-op with full crossplay and cross-progression support. Whether you’re discovering Halo for the first time or returning to the ring after 25 years, Halo: Campaign Evolved delivers an adventure that feels both timeless and brand new. DISCOVER THE RINGWORLD: After crash landing on a mysterious ringworld known as Halo, the Master Chief is tasked with helping the remaining humans survive against overwhelming Covenant forces. Alongside his AI companion Cortana, he uncovers Halo’s dark secrets and fights to avert the annihilation of all life in the galaxy. THE COMPLETE CAMPAIGN, REBUILT: Battle through the original missions, remade with high-def visuals, updated cinematics, and refined level design. CINEMATICS AND AUDIO OVERHAULED: All-new visuals and animations, plus a remastered soundtrack and fully rebuilt sound design for deeper immersion. COMBAT AND WEAPONS EXPANDED: Classic Halo combat feels sharper than ever, now with 9 additional iconic weapons from across the series to add to your arsenal. THREE NEW MISSIONS: Play as the Master Chief alongside Sgt. Johnson in Operation: Meteorite, a standalone combat operation featuring new environments, gameplay, and enemies. PLAY SOLO OR WITH FRIENDS: Experience the complete campaign your way, solo or in 4-player online co-op, complete with crossplay and shared progression across console and PC. DRIVE, HIJACK, WREAK HAVOC: Halo’s iconic vehicles return with more ways to create unforgettable chaos. For the first time in Halo: CE, hijack enemy vehicles and pilot a fully drivable Wraith tank. ENDLESS REPLAYABILITY: Remix every mission with optional “Skull” modifiers that add variety and challenge with randomized weapons, enemies, and environments.

Halo: Campaign Evolved – Premium Edition

Xbox Game Studios

☆☆☆☆☆ 161

★★★★★

$69.99

Pre-order

Pre-order the Premium Edition and get up to 5 days early access and the Foundry Armory Pack, featuring legendary looks for the Master Chief’s iconic Mark V Mjolnir armor. PRE-ORDER INCLUDES: • Up to 5 days early access, beginning July 23, 2026 • Classic 2001 Mark V Armor skin • Classic 2001 Assault Rifle skin • Gilded Onyx Armor style • Gilded Onyx Assault Rifle style PREMIUM EDITION INCLUDES: • Halo: Campaign Evolved game • Alpha Halo Armory Pack, featuring 5 Master Chief Armor skins & 6 weapon skins • Art of Halo: Campaign Evolved Digital Artbook • Halo: Hungry Buzzards Digital Short Story • Digital Game Manual EXPERIENCE WHERE THE LEGEND BEGINS Halo: Campaign Evolved is a faithful yet modernized remake of Halo: Combat Evolved’s campaign. Experience the original story rebuilt with high-definition visuals, updated cinematics, refined controls, plus a brand-new three-mission adventure featuring the Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson. A broader arsenal of weapons, vehicles, enemies, and gameplay-modifying “Skulls” – optional modifiers that change combat in fun and challenging ways – add fresh tactics and endless replayability. Play it your way: solo, in 2-player split-screen co-op (console only), or up to 4-player online co-op with full crossplay and cross-progression support.* Whether you’re discovering Halo for the first time or returning to the ring after 25 years, Halo: Campaign Evolved delivers an adventure that feels both timeless and brand new. DISCOVER THE RINGWORLD: After crash landing on a mysterious ringworld known as Halo, the Master Chief is tasked with helping the remaining humans survive against overwhelming Covenant forces. Alongside his AI companion Cortana, he uncovers Halo’s dark secrets and fights to avert the annihilation of all life in the galaxy. THE COMPLETE CAMPAIGN, REBUILT: Battle through the original missions, remade with high-def visuals, updated cinematics, and refined level design. CINEMATICS AND AUDIO OVERHAULED: All-new visuals and animations, plus a remastered soundtrack and fully rebuilt sound design for deeper immersion. COMBAT AND WEAPONS EXPANDED: Classic Halo combat feels sharper than ever, now with 9 additional iconic weapons from across the series to add to your arsenal. THREE NEW MISSIONS: Play as the Master Chief alongside Sgt. Johnson in Operation: Meteorite, a standalone combat operation featuring new environments, gameplay, and enemies. PLAY SOLO OR WITH FRIENDS: 2-player split-screen (console only) or 4-player online co-op, with crossplay and cross-progression across console and PC. DRIVE, HIJACK, WREAK HAVOC: Halo’s iconic vehicles return with more ways to create unforgettable chaos. For the first time in Halo: CE, hijack enemy vehicles and pilot a fully drivable Wraith tank. ENDLESS REPLAYABILITY: Remix every mission with optional “Skull” modifiers that add variety and challenge with randomized weapons, enemies, and environments.

The Living Population sits at the heart of Fable – it’s our way of referring to the 1,000+ NPCs who bring Albion to life. Each one has a personality and a life that moves along, whether you’re there to see it or not. Your Hero can interact with every single one of them, making friends, enemies, employees, spouses or… corpses.

At XBOX Games Showcase, the Playground Games team have been showing attendees a presentation of the Living Population system in action – which you can watch for yourself here – but we also wanted to speak a little more about how this huge, reactive, hilarious system came together, and why Fable was the perfect place to make that happen.

From our very first ideas, to some of the unexpected ways it can affect the wider game, to answering some of the biggest questions you’ve had for us, here’s everything you need to know about Fable’s Living Population.

Where It All Began

This all began by thinking deeply about what we loved from the original Fable games. Something that stood out to us was how much fun interacting with Albion’s population was, and we knew from the start that we needed a system that would make Fable feel truly alive.

We didn’t want our NPCs to be window dressing, existing only to give a feeling of a bustling space. We wanted ours to be individuals, people that you can interact with. Maybe you find one that takes your fancy, and build a relationship with them. Or maybe you want to really piss them off, or even kill them. Making characters that you want to interact with, however you want to interact with them – that was the starting point.

And it kind of snowballed from there. We started having conversations about things like NPC schedules and the time of day. If you’ve got realistic people, they need to behave realistically – and that means they probably need somewhere to live and a bed to sleep in. It means they need to have things to do during the day, like jobs and hobbies. And if they have jobs, where do they work? And if they don’t have jobs, can they afford to do things like going to the pub? We very quickly had a massive list of all the things that we wanted to achieve.

Starting today, select XBOX Insiders can start testing new updates designed to make your XBOX consoles feel more personal and connected to the people and games you care about. From discovering mutual friends across XBOX and customizing the look of My games & apps, to quickly wishlisting upcoming games and exploring new energy-saving console improvements, these changes were shaped by your feedback and are part of our ongoing work to deliver a better console experience.

Mutual Friends Are Easier to Spot

When you view someone’s profile, you can now see mutual friends on XBOX (depending on their privacy settings), helping you feel more confident connecting.

If you’re viewing someone you are not already friends with, you’ll also see how many mutual friends you share, making it simpler to discover new people and build connections, whether you met through multiplayer, or across the XBOX community.

More Ways to Customize Your Games & Apps

We’re continuing to make it easier for both Home and My games & apps feel uniquely yours. In My games & apps, you can now display games with rich poster-style artwork for a more immersive library experience and customize your view by choosing which status icons are visible for a cleaner look.

We’ve also made personalization settings easier to navigate and customize by separating Home and My Games & apps into separate sections And to make personalization even more accessible, we’ve added new shortcuts throughout menus, so you can quickly jump in and tailor your XBOX experience the way you want.

It’s Easier to add Upcoming Games to Your Wishlist

Spotted an upcoming game you’re excited about? You can now add games to your wishlist directly from the Game Card before they’re available for purchase. That means less time searching later and an easier way to keep track of the games you’re looking forward to.

Energy Saving Console Power Settings Update

We recently began rolling out an update to XBOX Insiders whose XBOX Series X|S and XBOX One consoles are set to Sleep mode, updating their consoles to the Shutdown (energy saving) power option. First introduced to XBOX Insiders in 2023, the Shutdown (energy saving) power option can significantly reduce power consumption by up to 20X while your console is off, without impacting performance, gameplay, or your ability to receive system, games or apps updates overnight. 

You can adjust your settings at any time and choose what works best for you. For more on power options, visit XBOX Support.  

How to Get XBOX Insider Support and Share Your Feedback

Thanks to XBOX Insiders for all of the feedback. You can also visit aka.ms/XBOXplayervoice to share what you think.  

If you’re an XBOX Insider looking for support, please join our community on the XBOX Insider subreddit. Official XBOX staff, moderators, and fellow XBOX Insiders are there to help. We recommend adding to threads with the same topic before posting a brand new one. This helps us support you the best we can!

If you aren’t part of the XBOX Insider Program yet and want to help create the future of XBOX and get early access to new features, join the Program today by downloading the XBOX Insider Hub for XBOX Series X|S & XBOX One or Windows PC. For more information on the XBOX Insider Program, follow us on Twitter at @XBOXInsider and keep an eye on this blog for all the latest news.

Other resources:

• Get the XBOX Insider Hub app
• XBOX Insider FAQ
• How to provide feedback as an XBOX Insider

For more information: follow us on X/Twitter at @XboxInsider and this blog for announcements and more. And feel free to interact with the community on the XBOX Insider SubReddit.

I was determined to wait it out. I could see the terrifying Xenomorph through the window, pacing up and down the corridor, trying to suss out my location – meanwhile I was holding my breath under a table in the adjacent room, trying to remain out of sight. The ladder to escape was right there in the hallway, just out of reach… next to the alien. Each time I built up the courage to move out from under the table, the alien seemingly sensed it and came into the room. Back under the table I went. We must have done this dance for five minutes or so, but it felt like hours.

If there was ever a doubt at Creative Assembly’s genius being able to make that magic strike twice, those fears (small as they were) have been put to rest after our brief 20-minute hands-on gameplay session of Alien: Isolation 2’s prologue at Summer Game Fest: Play Days this past weekend.

Alien: Isolation 2 is available to wishlist now for XBOX Series X|S on the XBOX Store.

Alien: Isolation 2

SEGA

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

When a survey team on a remote colony-planet discovers a mysterious crashed vessel, one member makes it her priority to investigate. No one is prepared for the horror unwittingly unleashed on the settlement. Nowhere is safe. So begins a desperate journey to survive and escape, as she is relentlessly hunted by the deadly creature.

“A Star Wars turn-based tactics game” is a pitch as obvious as it is exciting. Of course, and really—how have we not gotten here sooner? It’s also hard to imagine a better studio to bring that game to us than Bit Reactor, which was recently founded by a core group of former Firaxis (XCOM, Marvel’s Midnight Suns) developers.

I was thrilled to speak with Greg Foertsch, Creative Director and CEO, and James Brawley, Lead Designer, about the tactical side of Star Wars Zero Company, Bit Reactor’s upcoming debut.

In Star Wars Zero Company, you run the eponymous company of mercenaries during the Clone Wars. Early previews have described it as a hybrid of Mass-Effect-style RPG storytelling and third-person exploration with XCOM-style turn-based tactical battles. Like Shepherd, you customize the appearance and class specialization for your own version of protagonist Hawks at the start of the game. You then fill out your roster with a combination of authored characters created by the developers, as well as any number of your own original creations. As with the XCOM series, the threat of party members permanently dying in difficult battles looms, which I’d imagine will have even greater emotional stakes in the context of a more narrative-focused game.

Foertsch was an original member of the Firaxis art department, and Brawley worked there for 8 years as a Level Designer and Technical Designer. Both, notably, worked on XCOM: Enemy Unknown, XCOM 2, its expansion War of the Chosen, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns, and so have had a direct hand in shaping the modern tactics genre. I’ve adored their previous work, and was eager to hear about how they intend to build on it and take the genre forward once again.

Hello, Xbox fans! We are incredibly excited to announce that our epic free-to-play Wuxia open-world ARPG Where Winds Meet is available today on XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, cloud and is XBOX Play Anywhere. And as a surprise, we are unveiling a sneak peek at Hidden Mountain, the upcoming major expansion coming to WWM.

Since our initial launch last November, Where Winds Meet has grown tremendously, welcoming over 80 million players worldwide and expanding through two major expansions. Now, it is time for the XBOX community to step into the Wuxia world.

Step Into a Vast Wuxia Open World

The story of Where Winds Meet is set in the turbulent 10th Century of ancient China, during the twilight of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Taking on the role of a young wanderer you will uncover the truth behind your own identity, navigate a world of shifting alliances and hidden secrets, and forge your own legend in a land full of danger, intrigue, and endless possibilities.

The game delivers a breathtaking, narrative-driven exploration experience across an incredibly diverse landscape. Currently spanning six massive and distinct regions, your journey will take you from tranquil countrysides and lively cities to sweeping deserts, snow-capped mountains, vast grasslands, and the labyrinthine halls of the Imperial Palace.

Create Your Own Legend As a Wuxia Martial Arts Hero

As you delve into the mystique of Wuxia martial arts, you are granted absolute freedom to define your combat style. Master intense, close-quarters battles using a diverse arsenal of traditional and unconventional weapons, including Swords, Dual Blades, Glaives, Umbrellas, Fans, and more. You can customize your approach even further by unlocking distinctive legendary martial arts skills like the Lion’s Roar, Acupuncture Hitting, and Tai Chi.

But your legend is defined by more than just the blade. Beyond combat, you can shape the world by taking on dynamic roles such as a doctor, merchant, assassin, or bounty hunter. Whether you choose to experience the immersive narrative as a lone swordsman, team up with friends for seamless co-op adventures, or test your mettle against other players in thrilling PvP battles, the choice of how you conquer this martial arts epic is entirely yours.

The Horizon Expands: New Hidden Mountain Expansion Revealed

As revealed during last weekend’s XBOX Showcase, the adventure is far from over. After the first two expansions, Hexi and Imperial Palace, we are excited to tease our upcoming third major expansion: Hidden Mountain.

This massive new region introduces a breathtaking mountainous landscape built with deep, multi-layered 3D verticality. This vertical design adds entirely new dimensions to exploration, rewarding curious players with hidden surprises at every elevation. High among these treacherous peaks lies the secretive Mohist sect, bringing new mysteries, intriguing gameplay, martial arts mechanics, and narrative twists to your ongoing journey.

Built for the XBOX Experience

We want your martial arts journey to feel perfect from the comfort of your couch. Where Winds Meet supports Smart Delivery, ensuring you automatically get the best version for your console. We have fully optimized the game for the living room environment, featuring overhauled UI and enlarged text scaling so you never miss a crucial piece of dialogue or inventory detail while sitting back.

Visually, the world has never looked better. With full HDR support and AMD FSR 2 upscaling, the breathtaking scenery truly pops. XBOX Series X players will enjoy a crisp 4K upscale (from 1080p), while Series S players get a gorgeous 2K upscale (from 900p). Combined with deep memory optimizations, you will experience buttery-smooth frame rates whether you are soaring across city rooftops or engaging in lightning-fast sword clashes.

Your Game Pass Journey Begins

We are thrilled to welcome XBOX Game Pass members to join the Jianghu. XBOX Game Pass gives players an incredibly easy way to begin their adventure from day one, whether diving in solo or teaming up with friends.

To kick off your journey, we are offering an exclusive XBOX Game Pass Ultimate Perks bundle. During Phase 1, running from June 7 to July 23 (PT), members can claim a rich starter pack featuring 450 Echo Jade, 90,000 Coins, 6 Attune Stones, 3 Large Attune Stones, 3 Pillow Pills, and 3 Lingering Melodies. These resources will give you a vital head start in your journey.

The winds are calling. Grab your controller now, and we will see you in the Jianghu!

Where Winds Meet

NetEase Games

☆☆☆☆☆ 434

★★★★★

Get it now

PC Game Pass

Ultimate Game Pass

Jianghu knows no bounds: Cross-play available on XBOX, PS5, PC, and Mobile. Where Winds Meet is an epic open-world action-adventure RPG rooted in the rich legacy of Wuxia. Set during the turbulent era of tenth-century China, you take on the role of a young sword master, uncovering forgotten truths and the mysteries of your own identity. As the wind stirs across mountains and rivers, so too will your legend rise. An Era on the Brink. A Hero on the Rise Explore China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, where political intrigue, power struggles, and epic battles shape the course of history. From the bustling heart of the imperial capital to the hidden corners of forgotten wilderness, every path is layered with secrets, sights, and stories waiting to be discovered. Who are you — a hero, or an agent of chaos? Here, freedom is yours, but every action has its weight. Cause chaos, defy the law, and face bounties, pursuit, even time behind bars. Or walk a nobler path: befriend villagers, forge alliances, and grow your reputation as a hero of the Wuxia world. In a world torn by chaos, become the spark that ignites change and forge your legacy! An Open World of Infinite Possibilities From bustling cities to forgotten temples hidden deep within emerald forests, the world flows with life—changing with time, weather, and your actions. Traverse vast landscapes in Wuxia style: scale rooftops with fluid parkour, ride the windstride across miles in moments, or use fast travel points to leap between regions. Uncover thousands of points of interests, discover over 20 distinct regions, interact with diverse characters, and engage with numerous authentic activities in a world that teems with life. Explore ancient cities, reveal forbidden tombs, play flutes beneath swaying willows, or drink under lantern-lit skies. Master Your Way of Wuxia Combat Build your fighting style to match your rhythm—whether you thrive in the heart of melee, strike from afar, or move unseen in the shadows. Choose how you engage, and build a loadout that supports your playstyle. Take control of fluid, responsive martial arts combat built around classic wuxia weaponry, skills, and strategy. Wield weapons both familiar and legendary—sword, spear, dual blades, glaive, fan and umbrella. Switch between weapons, bows, and mystic martial arts like Taichi to outmaneuver your enemies. Create and customize your character and progression, choose your role in a fractured world. Align with powerful factions, explore distinct professions, and forge your identity through your actions. Adventure Alone or Forge Your Community Embark on a rich, narrative-driven adventure with over 150 hours of solo gameplay, or open your world to up to 4 friends in seamless co-op. Build or join a Guild to unlock a wide range of group activities—from intense guild wars to challenging multiplayer dungeons and epic raids. Prove your might in competitive duels, or step into a shared, ever-evolving world with thousands of fellow adventurers. Official Website：https://www.wherewindsmeetgame.com/ Youtube ：https://www.youtube.com/@WhereWindsMeet X：https://twitter.com/WhereWindsMeet_ Discord：https://discord.gg/eQc47PbWCK Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/WhereWindsMeet INS：https://www.instagram.com/where_winds_meet/ Tiktok：https://www.tiktok.com/@wherewindsmeet_