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All Articles: Project Spark
Microsoft will shut down Project Spark this August
Microsoft and developer Team Dakota have announced plans to discontinue online support for Project Spark, a game creation tool originally released for the PC and Xbox One in 2014. Community Manager Thomas Gratz delivered the verdict over the weekend through Project Spark’s official website:
Despite this news, we want to celebrate the accomplishments of our team and community of creators and players. Our team released 46 content packs, thousands of assets and 16 updates since launch (averaging more than one update every two months). We produced hundreds of livestreams and videos to educate and celebrate our community. In turn, our passionate fans have then gone above and beyond supporting “Project Spark” by uploading hundreds of thousands of creations and dreaming up millions of objects, behaviors, and experiences. Outside the game, they created fan sites, tutorials, forums, apps, and more! We thank everyone who has played or created anything within “Project Spark,” as it would have never existed without you.
Project Spark was removed from the Xbox Games Store on Friday, and all other online services will be shuttered this Summer. Even with the end of Project Spark’s online accessibility, the game will still be playable offline, though players won’t be able to download any of the community’s creations after August 12.
Microsoft also announced that players who purchased the Project Spark Starter Kit will receive a credit that can be used for a future Xbox Games Store or Windows Store purchase.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Project Spark
Xbox Store Today: Project Spark, Alien: Isolation, NBA 2K15, more
Are you ready to make your own games? Microsoft hopes so because Project Spark is now available to download through the Xbox One Games Store. The Project Spark “Starter Pack” includes a pre-built adventure as well as a variety of characters and game-creation pieces. Happy building!
Alien: Isolation is also new to the Xbox One Games Store today. Sega and Creative Assembly took a different tack with the game than the usual Aliens adventure and attempted to bring the quieter, but still frightening, “haunted house in space” atmosphere of 1979’s Alien to the video game realm. It’s joined by NBA 2K15 (Xbox One, Xbox 360), the latest game in 2K’s long-running sports simulation series, and Divekick (Xbox One), Iron Galaxy’s two-button fighting game. Finally this week, Styx: Master of Shadows, an RPG from Focus Interactive, is available to download for the Xbox One.
More information on all four games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Alien: Isolation, Divekick, NBA 2K15, Project Spark
New Releases: Alien: Isolation, NBA 2K15, DriveClub, More
After a relatively quiet September, the Fall gaming rush has begun to kick into high gear now that we’ve reached October.
Sega plans to take another crack at the Alien universe with the Creative Assembly-developed survival horror game Alien: Isolation (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One). Players will attempt to help Amanda Ripley search for her missing mother while she’s stalked by a singular Xenomorph. After nearly a dozen games starring the Colonial Marines, it’s definitely a new take (on an old idea) for the franchise.
Also new this week is…
- NBA 2K15 (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One), 2K’s latest basketball sim.
- DriveClub (PS4), Evolution’s long-in-development racing game.
- Skylanders: Trap Team (3DS, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One), the latest toy/game hybrid from Activision.
- Project Spark (Xbox One), Microsoft’s game-building game.
Finally, Microsoft is reliving the Xbox One launch with newly expanded and updated versions of Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition, Forza Motorsport 5: Game of the Year Edition, and Ryse: Son of Rome – Legendary Edition.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Alien: Isolation, DriveClub, NBA 2K15, Project Spark, Skylanders: Trap Team
Microsoft has “big surprises” planned for Gamescom 2014
Microsoft has big plans for this year’s Gamescom convention. The Xbox behemoth has a slew of presentations planned including a major Xbox Briefing on Tuesday, August 12 at 8:00 AM (Eastern Time). A teaser video above gives us a taste of what we can expect to see including Evolve, Assassin’s Creed: Unity, Sunset Overdrive, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Forza Horizon 2, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and Project Spark. The video also promises that we will get to see some “big surprises” at the show, one of which is surely Remedy’s Quantum Break.
What else will Microsoft unveil at Gamescom? You’ll have to tune in to see for yourself, but you’ve got plenty of options. The consolemaker will livestream their briefing through your Xbox console and Xbox.com and daily highlights will also appear on YouTube.
Gamescom 2014 officially kicks off on August 13.
Project Spark will be released for PC, Xbox One on October 7
Xbox One and Windows 8 gamers have been able to grab the Project Spark open beta since December. After almost eight months of testing, Microsoft is ready to announce that the full version of their game creation game will be available to purchase on October 7.
Officially dubbed the “Project Spark Starter Pack” (and priced at $39.99), the full version of the game will include a ton of content such as “Galaxies: First Contact” (a sci-fi-themed content pack), the warrior champion “Sir Haakon ‘Hawk’ the Knight,” and “Champions Quest: Void Storm” (the first episode of “an epic campaign adventure”). And if you’re worried about losing your beta creations, don’t be. Players who have been part of the beta will be able to roll over all their created content, credits, and favorite levels into the full version.
Project Spark is also in development for the Xbox 360. A release date for the last-generation version of the game will be announced at a later time.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Project Spark
Microsoft @ PAX East 2014: Project Spark, TitanFall, Super Time Force, more
Microsoft plans to have a huge presence at this year’s PAX East convention, but temper your expectations, as most of the games they’re bringing to the show are already available to all.
The centerpiece of the Xbox booth will be this Spring’s biggest game, TitanFall. It will be joined by cartoony shooter Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare (originally released in February), game creator Project Spark (which is currently available in open beta), and a quartet of launch games (Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Killer Instinct). Early April releases Kinect Sports Rivals and Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut will also be playable at the Microsoft booth.
As of right now, the only unreleased game Microsoft plans to show in its PAX East booth is Super Time Force. This leads me to guess that Super Time Force is probably going to be added to the Xbox Live Store pretty soon. Just a hunch.
More details on Microsoft’s PAX East 2014 plans for all of these titles are available after the break. You can also read all about the panels the consolemaker will be hosting, including a Project Spark panel, a TitanFall panel, and a live recording of Major Nelson’s podcast. (more…)
Project Spark open beta now available on Xbox One
Project Spark, Microsoft’s game creation tool for the Xbox One, is now available as an open beta downloadable through the Xbox Live Store.
To celebrate the game’s availability to all, developer Team Dakota has put together the video montage above (which is scored to Linkin Park) showcasing some of the beta’s coolest creations so far. The development team plans to share more of Project Spark’s secrets during a Twitch stream they have scheduled for today, March 18, at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time).
Project Spark is also in development for the PC and Xbox 360, with a full release planned for sometime this year.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Project Spark
Project Spark will be Free-To-Play for everyone on Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC
Creative gamers everywhere, rejoice! Community Manager Mike Lescault has announced on Reddit that Project Spark, Microsoft’s upcoming free-to-play video game in which you make other video games, will not require an Xbox Live Gold Subscription in order to take advantage of its game-creation goodness.
This comes as great news to those who only carry Live Free status, or, like myself, have family members on the same system without a Gold membership. A beta for Project Spark is set to hit the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows 8 is set to hit some time in January.
Posted in PC, Xbox 360
Tagged Project Spark