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Catch up on the latest trailers from Microsoft's Gamescom press conference
Microsoft made a ton of announcements during its Gamescom 2014 press conference -- so many that we could hardly keep up! Here's a collection of newly-launched trailers that you might have missed during the commotion. Hit the break below for new looks at Quantum Break, Dying Light, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, and other upcoming games for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Quick take on Microsoft's Gamescom 2014 press conference
Joystiq's Jess Conditt and Sinan Kubba react to the news from Microsoft's Gamescom 2014 press conference in Cologne, Germany. If you missed the event, get caught up quickly with our recap of the news, then give us your analysis in the comments. Was it a strong showing or was there something you wanted to hear, but didn't?
Xbox Gamescom 2014 press conference round-up: Tomb Raider, Halo Channel
Microsoft held its Gamescom 2014 press conference in Cologne, Germany today. Maybe you followed along with our liveblog and the event's livestream, or pounded away at the "F5" key to see the flood of news slide down our front page. Regardless, we have a recap of this morning's events below (okay, this afternoon where the conference was held).
Assassin's Creed Unity Gamescom trailer walks you through Paris
Assassin's Creed Unity, Ubisoft's first entry in the series built only for Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4, is a looker. As demonstrated in a new trailer assembled for Gamescom 2014, Unity's Paris is a bustling, glistening city full of 19th century grandeur. It's also full of insane civil unrest and apparently feuding Assassins and Templars. Still: hell of a pretty town. Give it a peek after the jump. [Images: Ubisoft]
Explore the depths down Below on Xbox One in 2015 [UPDATE: Trailer added!]
Adventure fans can delve into Below's looming world on Xbox One sometime in 2015, head of ID@Xbox Chris Charla announced during Microsoft's Gamescom 2014 presentation. Community Manager Anthony John Agnello tried his hand at surviving Below's massive, dangerous environments earlier this year at PAX East and ... well, he died a lot. [Image: Capybara Games]
Halo 5: Guardians beta shifts to Dec. 29 [UPDATE: Trailer added!]
The beta for Halo 5: Guardians begins on December 29 and ends on January 18, developer 343 Industries announced during Microsoft's Gamescom press conference. This is a slight shift from the initial beta launch dates of December 27 - January 17. Things unlocked in the beta will carry over to the full launch of Halo 5. Halo 5 marks a return to the franchise's "legacy of competitive multiplayer," 343 said. The game is due out in 2015 on Xbox One.
Pre-orders, pre-downloads for 'select' titles coming to Xbox One
The aggravating wait to play digital copies of high-profile games as soon as they launch is about to become a little easier on Xbox One: during Microsoft's Gamescom 2014 presentation, Xbox head Phil Spencer announced the incoming option to pre-order and pre-download games from a "select" range of titles, which will include Forza Horizon 2 and FIFA 15.
Master Chief Collection features skill-based ranking as per Halo 2 [UPDATE: Trailer added!]
Here's one tidbit from Microsoft's Gamescom conference that's sure to please fans of Halo 2's multiplayer: 343 Industries' producer Dan Ayoub announced the upcoming Halo: The Master Chief Collection includes a skill-based ranking system with leveling "identical" to that of Halo 2. The news followed the newly unveiled Halo Channel "digital network" for the upcoming Xbox One compilation. The remastered bundle includes Halos 1-4 as well as access to the live-action Halo: Nightfall TV series, and it's launching in North America on November 11.
'Halo Channel' digital network announced [UPDATE: Trailer added!]
Microsoft announced the Halo Channel during its Gamescom 2014 press event today. The channel is a digital network dedicated to original content centered around the first-person shooter series for Windows and Xbox One. The Halo Channel will host gameplay streams powered by Twitch, and also offers support for connected second-screen devices, such as tablets. Similar to the Xbox 360's Halo Waypoint channel, players will be able to launch games from the network, which also organizes multiplayer data, videos, player rewards and social networking tools. [Image: Microsoft]
White Xbox One Sunset Overdrive bundle hits Oct. 28 [UPDATE: Trailer added!]
The White Xbox One Sunset Overdrive bundle is definitely a thing, Insomniac head Ted Price announced at Microsoft's Gamescom press conference. The bundle is $400 (400 Euros, 350 quid) and includes a white system, white controller and a full game download of Sunset Overdrive. The bundle launches alongside Sunset Overdrive, on October 28. Pre-orders for the bundle are live today. The existence of this thing previously leaked into the wild, though the launch date is new information.
Xbox Gamescom '14 Liveblog on Joystiq
With Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon 2 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection en route to the Xbox One in 2014, Microsoft is set to have a packed media briefing in Germany today. A focus on AAA exclusives is to be expected, though Microsoft may also strike a balance – much like the new and old architecture of the Gürzenich Köln venue – to highlight its ID@Xbox initiative for independent craft, along with promising new games like Ori and the Blind Forest. Join us right here for all the news and announcements on Tuesday, 2PM CEST (8AM ET, 5AM PT, 1PM UK).
Ori and the Blind Forest glides onto Xbox, PC this holiday
Moon Studios' adventure game, Ori and the Blind Forest, will bring its flowing charm to Xbox and PC this holiday, game director Thomas Mahler announced during Gamescom 2014. [Image: Microsoft Studios]
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Xbox One bundle unveiled
Microsoft's second Xbox One bundle of its Gamescom conference was for another big-hitter, namely Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. The limited edition bundle comes with a digital copy of the Day Zero edition of the Sledgehammer shooter, and it'll include a custom console with a 1TB hard drive, as well as a custom controller and a headset. The price is $500 stateside and £430/500 euros across the pond, and it'll be available November 3. The game's Day Zero edition will also be available at GameStop, allowing customers who pre-order to check out Call of Duty: Advance Warfare 24 hours in advance. Early birds will be able to enjoy double XP in multiplayer across November 3, as well the Day Zero in-game content including the catchily named Advanced Arsenal Bullet Brass Exoskeleton and EM1 Quantum directed energy weaponry.
Fable Legends multiplayer beta set for October [UPDATE: Trailer added!]
The multiplayer beta for Fable Legends will be available on October 16, Microsoft announced during its Gamescom 2014 press conference in Cologne, Germany. Microsoft first announced the beta phase of the game at E3. Fable Legends has players completing quests in Albion, the land featured throughout the series. Unlike past games, up to four players can team up to tackle missions, or players can split off to play as a villain, influencing quests themselves to slow the progress of the heroic group. Microsoft revealed Fable Legends at last year's Gamescom event in August 2013 as an Xbox One-exclusive game. [Image: Microsoft]
Screamride is a rollercoaster, just got to ride it on Xbox [UPDATE: Trailer added!]
Screamride is a brand new game from Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 and Thrillville studio Frontier Developments, and it's coming to Xbox One and Xbox 360 in spring 2015. While details weren't discussed at Microsoft's Gamescom conference, going by the trailer and the studio's history we think we're looking at sci-fi rollercoaster construction sim, complete with cartoonish characters in weird futuristic outfits being flung around at crazy speeds. The goal of the game? To make people scream, apparently.
Team up, hunt down Evolve's beta beasts on Xbox One [UPDATE: Trailer added!]
We can't hunt what lurks in Evolve's winding maps until February 10, but at least now Xbox One owners have a sense of when they can get some practice in: During Microsoft's Gamescom presentation, it was announced that beta access will be available in January, with DLC arriving first on Xbox One later on. [Image: Major Nelson]
Rise of the Tomb Raider is exclusive to Xbox [Update: Trailer added!]
Rise of the Tomb Raider is exclusive to Xbox platforms, Crystal Dynamics Head of Product Development Darrell Gallagher announced during the Xbox Gamescom press conference. It's due out in holiday 2015. Gallagher didn't mention whether it was scheduled for Xbox 360, Xbox One or both. Rise of the Tomb Raider is the sequel to Crystal Dynamics' 2013 reboot, Tomb Raider. The first trailer for Rise of the Tomb Raider shows Lara Croft in a therapist's office, anxious and unsettled over the horrific events of the first game, before she appears in a cave, bow in hand, and says, "We become who we're meant to be." Update: Gallagher takes to Tumblr to explain the decision to make Rise of the Tomb Raider Xbox exclusive, noting that PlayStation and PC players will have Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. Read the important bits of his statement below.
An influx of Xbox One indies: Superhot, Goat Simulator [UPDATE: Many trailers added!]
Microsoft's indie development initiative, ID@Xbox, is bringing in a bunch of games to launch first on console on Xbox One, including Superhot, Goat Simulator, Dungeon of the Endless, No Time to Explain and Smite. Peek the full list of games ID@Xbox head Chris Charla announced during the Xbox Gamescom press conference below:
Xbox preview program expanding its feature set
Xbox One users in the console's early access program are first in line to test out new features, but some within the program still get to try new features before other members. Ahead of its Gamescom presentation, Xbox has announced plans to share and expand "throughout the year" on the goods that only its most elite users have been able to enjoy. For starters, the beefed-up friends section that has been available to a select few will be offered to everyone enrolled in the preview program. The new section allows users to monitor their friends' recent activity, check which games are most popular amongst their crowd, and compare their recent Gamerscore progress with others on a leaderboard spanning 30 days of activity. The Snap Center will allow users to check messages, friends, parties and achievements via a snapped app, negating the need to duck out of a game to check any of those details. The Messages app will also show threaded conversations instead of individual replies, along with offering support for embedded DVR links. Another new app will allow users to play media from a USB device or from a media server following DLNA protocols, assuming it's sharing a network with a Xbox One. Only USB devices will be supported at first, with DLNA support following. If nothing satisfies you in life like finding the perfect .gif, you're also in luck – animated gifs and "dozens of new file formats" will be supported by the end of the year, including .wav, .mpeg2 and .mov files. Europe and other markets that the Xbox One Digital TV Tuner launches in will be the first to be able to stream TV from home networks to SmartGlass-capable devices, complete with support for rewinding and changing channels without halting gameplay. If you're happier watching shows on your TV, a Boot to TV feature is also coming, which will have the Xbox One boot directly to television when awakening from standby. [Image: Major Nelson]
Europe scores another FIFA Xbox One bundle next month [UPDATE: Trailer added!]
Microsoft unveiled its second FIFA bundle for the Xbox One in as many years in today's Gamescom conference, with the new FIFA 15 bundle coming to Europe once more on September 25. It'll be priced 400 euros/£350, and it'll come with the console, a controller, and a digital copy of the soccer sim. As you'll no doubt remember, Microsoft announced at last year's Gamescom that all Xbox One pre-orders in Europe would come with FIFA 14 - it was later clarified the offer applied to pre-orders of the Day 1 edition.
