All Articles: Forza Horizon 4

Anthem nabs five nominations in Game Critics Awards’s Best of E3 2018 roundup

Posted on June 28, 2018 by John Scalzo

Every year, the Game Critics Awards, a consortium of more than 50 major publications that cover the video game industry, gets together to choose the best games at the E3 Expo. The nominees for “Best of E3 2018” were announced this morning, and BioWare’s Anthem lead the way with five nominations (including “Best of Show”).

From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is also in the running for “Best of Show,” and it’s standing close behind Anthem with four total nominations. After that, a mob of games collided in third place with three nominations apiece (including Battlefield V, Dreams, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Resident Evil 2, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate). All but Battlefield V and Dreams are also up for “Best of Show.”

The PS4 was the most-honored platform with 58 nominations, followed by the PC (with 55), the Xbox One (with 51), and the Switch (with 10).

Several games that clicked with fans at home during the pre-E3 press conferences (including Cyberpunk 2077, Death Stranding, The Last of Us Part II, and many others) weren’t eligible for nomination because they weren’t available to play by the judging panel.

But most of those games will likely get another shot next year (especially since I expect to be old and gray before Death Stranding is released), and you can find all of this year’s nominees after the break. The winners will be announced this coming Monday, July 2. (more…)

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Microsoft Studios will add all new releases to Xbox Game Pass on launch day

Posted on January 23, 2018 by John Scalzo

Microsoft already established the Xbox Game Pass as a pretty great deal when it offered Xbox One owners the ability to play more than 100 games for just $10 a month. But now they’re upgrading the service from a “pretty great deal” to an “absolutely amazing deal.”

Today, the consolemaker confirmed (via Xbox Wire) that all future Microsoft-published titles will be available to download through the Xbox Game Pass on their launch date. That includes Sea of Thieves on March 20, and State of Decay 2 and Crackdown 3 late this year, as well as unannounced new entries in the Halo, Gears of War, and Forza franchises.

Moving forward, we plan to release all new Xbox One exclusive games from Microsoft Studios into Xbox Game Pass on the same date as their global release. This means that when Sea of Thieves launches on March 20, it will be included in Xbox Game Pass to all members.

This plan to bring new games timed with their global release into Xbox Game Pass not only includes announced titles like Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, and Crackdown 3 but future unannounced games from Microsoft Studios including new iterations of our biggest Xbox One exclusive franchises such as Halo, Forza, and Gears of War, on the same day they launch.

If you haven’t signed up for Xbox Game Pass yet, Microsoft also plans to team up with GameStop to offer a Six-Month Xbox Game Pass Subscription Card for $59.99.

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