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Deadlight now free for Xbox Live Gold members
As promised, the Tequila Works-developed survival game, Deadlight, is the latest freebie for Xbox Live Gold members. The Xbox 360 game – regularly priced at $15 – will remain free until April 30. In her review of Deadlight, Joystiq's Jess Conditt said the game "shines in its detailed world-building," though its gameplay "fails to live up to the standard" set by the game's "glorious" art direction. The Xbox Live Games with Gold program offers two free titles per month to Live subscribers. Earlier this month users were offered a free copy of Hitman: Absolution. Unlike the program's PlayStation counterpart, players can continue to enjoy any games they have downloaded if their Live subscription lapses. [Image: Tequila Works]
Xbox 360 spring sale discounts Batman games, Saints Row 4
Microsoft is cleaning out its digital shelves with a sizable sale on Xbox 360 games and add-ons this week. Ending April 21, the sale spans 11 games and hundreds of pieces of DLC. Five of the games feature popular DC comics superhero Batman in some capacity, such as 75 percent off both Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City through Games on Demand ($4.99 / £3.74 / 4.99 euros each). Additionally, Injustice: Gods Among us is half-off ($19.99 / £17.49 / 24.99 euros), Lego Batman 2 is 67 percent off ($6.59 / £4.94 / 6.59 euros) and XBLA game Gotham City Imposters is 75 percent off ($3.74 / £2.49 / 3.59 euros). All of the above deals are valid for those with a paid Xbox Live Gold subscription. Among the other games on sale for all Xbox Live users is Saints Row 4, which is half-off this week ($14.99 / £12.49 / 14.99 euros). Three other games are discounted through Games on Demand: Borderlands 2 is 65 percent off ($6.99 / £6.99 / 10.49 euros), Lego Marvel Super Heroes is 33 percent off ($33.49 / £30.14 / 43.54 euros) and Prototype 2 is 75 percent off ($9.99 / £4.99 / 7.49 euros). Lastly, XBLA games Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ is half-off ($4.99 / £3.37 / 4.74 euros) and Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD is 33 percent off ($13.39 / £10.71 / 13.39 euros) for the week. [Image: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment]
Game of Thrones season 4 premiere free on Xbox Live this week
If you missed last weekend's premiere episode of HBO's fourth season of Game of Thrones, Microsoft is giving you a chance to catch up on Xbox Live. Starting today, the first episode of Game of Thrones' fourth season is available as a free download on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The offer is open to all Xbox Live members, and does not require an HBO or Xbox Live Gold subscription. Xbox Live members can also access special features, interviews, and other bonus content via the Xbox One and Xbox 360 dashboards. The free episode will remain available through April 14. [Image: Microsoft / HBO]
Microsoft partners with UK studio to produce sci-fi drama 'Humans'
Microsoft is pushing forward on its original television programming initiative by partnering with UK broadcaster Channel 4 and production company Kudos to create a drama series called Humans. The sci-fi drama is an English-language adaptation of Sveriges Television and Matador Film's series Real Humans, and depicts a modern family that lives with a highly-developed robotic servant known as a "Synth." The show will air on the Xbox platform in North America and Channel 4 in the UK in 2015. What's more, Bloomberg recently interviewed Microsoft's President of Entertainment and Digital Media Nancy Tellem about the company's media ambitions on Xbox Live. Tellem said Microsoft's approach to television, which spans multiple genres like sports, animation and feature-length projects, will be "under the banner of Xbox Originals." Tellem also touched on the properties that Microsoft owns, such as Fable, Age of Empires, Gears of War and Forza, noting that "these are the things that frankly if we weren't attached to Microsoft everyone would yearn to have." Tellem is the head of Xbox Entertainment Studios, which set its sights on "interactive TV" in February 2013. One of the company's projects is a live-action show based on the Halo series that has ties to Steven Spielberg, which Tellem assured is still in development. As far as the expansion of the Halo brand is concerned, while no movie based on the property is in sight, a "digital feature" for Halo is expected to launch this year. Additionally, former AMC programming director Ari Mark joined Xbox Entertainment in January to create unscripted video content. [Image: Xbox Entertainment Studios]
GoPro Channel with exclusive content launches on Xbox 360 tomorrow
Back in January, GoPro tipped us off that it was bringing a dedicated channel to Xbox 360 and Xbox One. At the time, we didn't really have much more info, other than it was a port of the company's existing offering that had been entertaining Virgin America customers since last fall. Today Tomorrow we get to see it for real. Well, that's if you're an Xbox 360 owner -- because as promised it's landing there first. If you're an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, then you're basically all set, ready to enjoy some of the exclusive content that GoPro is slinging onto the channel by means of launch celebration (teasers for which, are after the break). As well as viewing curated GoPro videos, users will also (handily) be able to purchase cameras and accessories without even putting down the controller, including the exact kit used in that particular video. While there's still no word on when it will land on the latest generations Xbox (other than "summer"), we're fairly confident you'll be able to view your fave triple cork videos on even more devices and platforms by the end of the year. Update: Looks like the curtain actually goes up tomorrow, not today! Just 24 more hours.
Weekends with Engadget: Amazon's Fire TV, Microsoft announces Windows Phone 8.1 and more!
Welcome to Weekends with Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines from the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. For even more action, subscribe to our Flipboard magazine!
Daily Roundup: 5-year-old hacks Xbox Live account, Amazon Fire TV teardown and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
5-year-old breaks, improves Xbox Live security
A young boy from San Diego discovered a way to log into Xbox Live accounts without using the proper password, but instead of using this knowledge for evil, Kristoffer Von Hassel turned his exploit over to Microsoft. According to a report from local ABC affiliate KGTV, the 5-year-old Von Hassel discovered a mind-numbingly simple trick to get around the Xbox Live password verification service. Von Hassel claims that he simply failed the first password check, then was able to trick the second password verification screen by filling its text entry field with blank spaces. Fear of punishment drove Von Hassel to explain to his father what he'd done, but instead of being angry, his father, who works in computer security, was impressed and contacted Microsoft to share the boy's ingenious findings. In a statement following the precocious breach of Xbox Live security, Microsoft issued the following statement, "We're always listening to our customers and thank them for bringing issues to our attention. We take security seriously at Xbox and fixed the issue as soon as we learned about it." According to KGTV, Microsoft has awarded Kristoffer Von Hassel a one-year Xbox Live Gold membership as well as four games for his efforts. [Image: Microsoft]
WWE 2K14, Amazing Spider-Man and DLC discounted on Xbox Live this week
This week's Xbox Live sales include two games and their associated DLC packs. Starting now through Tuesday, April 8, Xbox Live Gold subscribers can pick up WWE 2K14 for 25 percent off ($29.99 / £29.99 / 44.99 euros) and The Amazing Spider-Man at 66 percent off ($13.59 / £10.19 / 13.59 euros). Downloadable add-ons for WWE 2K14 are half-off this week as well, including the game's online pass ($4.99 / £3.99 / 4.99 euros) and season pass ($9.99 / £7.99 / 9.99 euros), the latter granting access to all of the game's DLC except for Undertaker's "American Badass" character and the Ultimate Warrior, each on sale for $0.99 / £0.64 / 0.94 euros. For The Amazing Spider-Man, each of the game's four DLC packs are 66 percent off, including the Stan Lee Adventure Pack ($1.35 / £0.91 / 1.28 euros) and the Oscorp Search and Destroy Pack ($1.01 / £0.67 / 0.96 euros). [Image: 2K Sports]
Play World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition for free this weekend
If you've ever wanted to cruise around in a tank but lack the funding and proper military clearance to hop inside one of the metal beasts, this weekend may be your golden opportunity thanks to the Xbox 360 incarnation of Wargaming's online hit World of Tanks. From now until midnight on Sunday, March 30, all Xbox 360 owners will be able to download World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition and join in the online tank battles at no charge. Players who enjoy the free trial enough to purchase World of Tanks will be pleased to learn that this free weekend coincides with the "World of Tanks' Map Madness Community Challenge." As part of that event, every tank destroyed over the course of the next few days will go toward unlocking new multiplayer maps for the game. You can find the free World of Tanks download by visiting the Xbox Live Marketplace from your console, or by simply clicking through. [Image: Wargaming]
Xbox Live services currently 'limited' on Xbox One, Xbox 360
Microsoft has issued an Xbox Live service alert detailing an outage that currently prevents some users from purchasing digital content and accessing certain in-game features on the Xbox One and Xbox 360. Microsoft notes that content access is currently "limited" on both platforms, leaving some users unable to buy new content or re-download previously purchased items. The Xbox One's "Social and Gaming" sector has also taken a hit, temporarily revoking user access to features like video recording, cloud storage data transfers, and multiplayer matchmaking. Xbox One owners experienced a similar service outage affecting online multiplayer gameplay earlier this month. Forza Motorsport 5 players will also encounter a game-specific outage today due to scheduled maintenance. Microsoft is "getting closer to a fix" for reported issues, and will issue progress reports until service is restored. [Image: Microsoft]
Thief, Tomb Raider discounted on Xbox Live this week
Xbox Live serves up a series of steep discounts this week on retail-released Xbox One games, bringing price drops for the digital versions of Thief, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and other featured titles. Starting March 28 and extending through March 30, the Xbox One versions of Thief and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition will be priced at $29.99 each. Call of Duty: Ghosts will be available for 33 percent off of its regular retail price ($39.99), while Ghosts' DLC-bundled Digital Hardened Edition is up for grabs at 20 percent off. Xbox Live Gold members can also pick up the Xbox 360 Games on Demand versions of all three games at a discount through March 31. Other sale-priced Xbox 360 games featured in this week's lineup include NBA 2K14, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, and 2K's BioShock series. [Image: Square Enix]
Xbox One April update improves friend notifications, voice commands
As detailed by Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, Xbox Live Director of Programming, the April Xbox update focuses on four areas of improvement. The first of these is Xbox One's GameDVR. By improving compression algorithms, Xbox One users will capture the last 30 seconds of gameplay in better quality video when they say, "Xbox, record that!" Helping ease the process of not just using the GameDVR and other voice-activated features, the update also aims to improve both Kinect voice and motion commands. Most significant to online multiplayer users, the April update will also introduce friend notifications. Messages will pop up when friends sign onto Xbox Live and users will see what multiplayer games they're playing in their friends list. These changes bring Xbox One closer to the Xbox 360's Xbox Live experience. As with the party chat features introduced in the March update, friend notifications have been a regularly requested feature. Xbox One's final April interface tweaks are game save and app update status notifications. Saving a game will now bring up a progress bar to show when the save is complete. Users will also be able to "easily tell what games or apps are being updated," though Hryb doesn't expand on how they will be able to tell what's been updated. Starting Tuesday, potential testers will be contacted through Xbox Live to put these new features through their paces. More testers will be contacted before the update is released in April. In teasing other features for future updates, Microsoft said it hopes to include external hard drive storage support soon. [Images: Microsoft]
PSA: Dungeon Defenders is free on Xbox Live
Those itching to cast spells, hack away at enemies and level up will be happy to learn that co-op action RPG Dungeon Defenders is free on Xbox Live for Gold subscribers through the end of the month, March 31. The Trendy Entertainment-developed tower defense game took the place of Civilization Revolution in this month's Games with Gold program offerings, first launching on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in October 2011 and receiving four DLC packs in the time since. Microsoft's Phil Spencer recently addressed concerns related to the Games with Gold program and the comparisons to Sony's PlayStation Plus program that it frequently receives. Spencer said the business for Microsoft's two-free-games-per-month service is "fundamentally different" from PS Plus, and stressed that players are able to keep the free games they download after their Xbox Live premium subscriptions run out. Trendy Entertainment announced a sequel to Dungeon Defenders in March 2013, which is still scheduled to launch this spring, according to the game's website. The developer also revealed cross-platform online shooter Monster Madness Online in December. [Image: Trendy Entertainment]
Microsoft quietly drops subsidized $99 Xbox 360
Microsoft discontinued its subsidized $99 Xbox 360 with Kinect bundle in July 2013, the console manufacturer confirmed with the Wall Street Journal. The low-cost console was introduced in May 2012 and required a two-year Xbox Live commitment of buyers at a rate of $14.99 per month. The bundle worked out to be roughly $60 more than the closest option, a $299 4GB Xbox 360 console paired with two years of Xbox Live Gold as separate purchases. "This program was intended to be a pilot experiment from the start, and Microsoft routinely adjusts the mix of offers available to its customers and this change was simply standard business practice," Microsoft spokesman David Dennis said. He added that the subsidized Xbox 360 option was for "squeezing the last 10 to 15 percent out of the potential market." [Image: Microsoft]
Xbox Live currently experiencing 'limited' operation [Update: Resolved]
Whether it's the launch of Titanfall on Microsoft's servers or something totally unrelated, Xbox Live is currently experiencing "limited" capabilities. Users may experience issues signing in, or while attempting to do any matchmaking in Titanfall and Forza 5. Viewers of our recently concluded Titanfall livestream will have seen these issues first hand. No word yet on when this will resolve. It's just hitting the end of the work day on the East Coast, so the Titanfall servers are about to experience a crushing load. Update: At 10:47PM ET, Xbox Support reported the problem was resolved. It recommended users perform a full power cycle if they're still having troubles - that's holding the Xbox button down for five seconds to turn the console off, then waiting 30 seconds to turn it on again.
Call of Duty: Ghosts' second 'epic DLC pack' hits Xbox Live on April 3
Activision's flagship first-person shooter, Call of Duty: Ghosts, is expanding once again, with the release of the "Devastation" DLC pack on April 3. Devastation marks the second of four major DLC releases for Call of Duty: Ghosts and brings with it four new multiplayer maps, alongside the second chapter of the alien-infested narrative attached to the Extinction gametype. The highlight of these new maps is a modern reimagining of "Dome," a fan-favorite multiplayer arena first introduced in 2011's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Other maps include a wrecked shipping vessel pinned against an equally wrecked New York City bridge, a massive South American excavation platform and a Mayan temple inexplicably located at the top of a mountain. To whet players' appetites for the DLC, Activision is releasing a small portion of Devastation early. As of today, those Xbox Live players who own the Call of Duty: Ghosts season pass now have access to the Ripper, a convertible weapon which can transform from sub-machine gun to assault rifle faster than you can say "Optimus Prime." While season pass holders will receive Devastation at no additional charge, those who decide to purchase the DLC a la carte will need to shell out $15 for the privilege. [Image: Activision]
Report: Microsoft hopes to extend Xbox Live to iOS, Android
Xbox Live may soon extend beyond the boundaries of Microsoft's consoles and Windows phones to iOS and Android devices, according to a Verge report. Citing unnamed sources "familiar with Microsoft's plans," the article claims that Microsoft hopes to draw developers to Xbox Live by extending the platform's reach while also making it easier to integrate the service with any given game. A snippet pulled from a now-deleted Microsoft job listing touches on the specifics of this scheme: "We will create a modern framework that is open-source, lightweight, extensible and scalable across various platforms including Windows Store, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android." There's currently no word - not even vague rumor - on when Xbox Live might branch out to non-Microsoft gadgets. Microsoft refused to offer a comment on this topic. [Image: Microsoft]
Xbox Live weekly deals include Call of Duty: Ghosts, Assassin's Creed 4
This week's deals on Xbox Live include one game on Xbox One and eight on Xbox 360 for Gold subscribers. The lone discounted game on the Xbox Games Store through March 10 is Call of Duty: Ghosts, as the standard version is 33 percent off ($39.99/£36.79/46.99 euros) and the Hardened Edition is 10 percent off ($89.99/£80.99/107.99 euros). Call of Duty: Ghosts is also 33 percent off ($40.19/£33.49/46.89 euros) for Xbox 360 owners this week, and is joined by Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag on the Games on Demand channel, one-third its usual price as well ($40.19/£36.84/46.89 euros). Three more games are 75 percent off on Xbox 360: I Am Alive ($3.74/£2.49/3.59 euros), Scott Pilgrim vs The World ($2.49/£1.68/2.37 euros) and Call of Juarez: Gunslinger ($3.74/£2.49/3.59 euros). Two more are 67 percent off this week, Galaga Legions DX and Bang Bang Racing ($3.29/£2.22/3.13 euros each). Lastly, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate is half-off ($7.49/£4.99/7.19 euros) on XBLA. [Image: Activision]
Here's a look at March's Xbox One update
Microsoft has released a preview video detailing the new features and enhancements coming in next month's Xbox One firmware update, including improved party chat functionality and friends list features. Starting next month, Xbox One player parties will have party chat enabled by default -- a change spurred by frequent user requests. The Xbox One's improved interface will clearly differentiate between in-game competing players and cross-game chat within parties, and party invitations will specify player requests for chat, gameplay, or both. Players will also be able to check up on what their friends are doing more quickly starting in next month's update, as friend status can now be accessed with three button presses or a single voice command. The update additionally introduces a message shortcut menu, and friends may now be identified as "favorites," giving them priority and list placement over followers and acquaintances. If you're looking to maintain a tidy friends list, you might want to start mentally ranking your friends by how much you like them. Friendship quotient, incidentally, is determined by frequency of real-world interaction divided by cheap Titanfall kills. Judge your friends harshly. [Image: Microsoft]
