This Week on Xbox, hosted by Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, is one of the many ways Microsoft connects with its gaming fans, and a pretty nifty way of catching up to Xbox news and deals throughout the week that you may have missed (of course if you follow us regularly then you wouldn’t have missed much.) The new year’s first episode recently went on air, and recap on a lot of Xbox goodness, including two bundles, Rise of the Tomb Raider news, eSports goodness and more.
Fans of tactical shooters may be tempted by the new Rainbow Six Siege Xbox One bundle, including 3 Rainbow Six games, two of which are Backward Compatibility games. For a different flavor, there’s the “Name-your-game” bundle, where you can choose one from four Xbox One exclusives of different genres to go along with an Xbox One set.
Rise of the Tomb Raider’s imminent arrival on Windows 10 also gets a mention, with confirmed availability on both Steam and a new intriguing option, the Windows Store. The game comes complete with Windows 10 and 4K support, and some new tech from NVidia. This will mark the first time a game of this scale appears on the Windows Store, and we hope Microsoft will do the gamers right with this one.
On the eSport front, a nod was given to the upcoming Gears of War eSports Pro Leage and the next SMITE competition; Gears of War especially will also get a themed Xbox One for giving out to fans. On the lighter sight of competitive gaming, Plants vs. Zombie Garden Warfare 2’s beta is coming this week.
Major Nelson didn’t miss the opportunity to highlight the 350+ games currently available on the Xbox One, a considerable amount for any gamers to wad through, giving a mention to popular choice like The Witcher 3, and less visible fan favorites like ARK: Survival Evolved, Hyper Void, Lovely Planet, UnEpic and Cubot. This month’s Games with Gold also get a mention, including Killer Instinct Season 1: Ultra Edition, and Rally Car Racer: Dirt Showdown. Hryb also gives a tip to new Xbox owners: double-tapping the home button brings up the guide.
Microsoft has certainly worked hard over the last year to win back the love of the gaming community, and while there’s still a long way to go in their fight with Sony’s Playstation, the result has been nothing but benefit for customers. The Xbox is evolving at a really fast pace, and integration with Windows 10 means exciting potential for the years to come.
