Xbox news recap: Red Dead Redemption 2, new Halo Wars 2 mode, Xbox Live popularity surge and more

Michael Cottuli – 1 month ago
Latest news

Welcome to our weekly Xbox news recap series, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Xbox. Let’s get started.

Phil Spencer talks about improving the popularity of Xbox in Japan

Xbox chief Phil Spencer recently had an interview with Famitsu magazine, talking about how Xbox One sales in Japan are lagging behind expectations. Spencer offered a few reasons for why he thinks that the Xbox One isn’t doing well there, as well as talked a little bit about what Microsoft is doing to try and boost sales.

Red Dead Redemption 2 gets a trailer after a week of teases

It’s finally time. After nearly seven years since Red Dead Redemption arrived to extreme critical praise, Rockstar Games is finally making a sequel. This week started out with a couple of teases on the Rockstar Games Twitter, and on the 20th a full teaser trailer arrived to show off some of the game. Already, Red Dead Redemption 2 is setting itself up to be one of the most anticipated releases of all time.

New blitz mode brings CCG mechanics to Halo Wars 2

Do you like Halo Wars, but think it needs a little something extra? Blitz mode might just be the secret sauce that hooks you into the sequel. Blitz mode is a new multiplayer mode for Halo Wars 2 that foregoes the economy management and base building strategy of the normal game by using a custom deck of cards. This mode is all about the action, and lets you spawn units and create other battlefield-altering effects on the fly.

New Xbox One S ad hails the “best selling console in America”

Xbox One has seen some poor performance in the past, but it’s recently been on fire. September marked its third month running as the best selling console, and Microsoft won’t hesitate for a moment to throw that victory into an advertisement for its newest console. The new advertisement talks about the Xbox One’s Blu-ray capabilities, 1000+ game library and 100+ exclusives, as well as the Xbox One S’ 4k video streaming.

Xbox surges in FY17 Q1, with 47 million active Xbox Live users

Want more good news for Xbox? Microsoft’s latest earnings report is here to deliver. On top of being the best selling console for three months, Xbox has also had a 21% increase from last year in active Xbox Live users, bringing the number of monthly active Xbox Live users up to 47 million. This is driven by the launch of tons of new Xbox One titles alongside the release of the Xbox One S.

Here are the games that came out this week:

Thanks for joining us. To keep up to date on all the latest Xbox news, keep a close eye on our Xbox One news hub.