After some hopeful anticipation for FBC: Firebreak, Remedy's latest release set in the Control universe, its reception has been somewhat muted.

I haven't played it yet, so I don't have any opinions myself. But I'm seeing the user reviews, in particular, and it seems for many it's a rare let-down by Remedy. If there's one studio you usually bank on delivering bangers, it's Remedy.

But this is a perfect time to jump into some nostalgia. To remember a Remedy game that, to this day, I feel never quite received the praise it deserved.

Quantum Break.

If you never played it, you absolutely should.

A wild sci-fi story told across game and live action TV

We reviewed Quantum Break highly. And with good reason. It combines what Remedy does best in its games, through incredible narrative and innovative gameplay, and weaves its magic using an integrated live action TV show in a way we simply hadn't seen before on this scale.

My colleague, Jez Corden, who wrote the review, summed it up perfectly:

"Quantum Break is an unrivalled experience, and quite possibly the Xbox One's first true killer app."

He was right on the money. The visuals, even now, hold up, but back then, they were incredible. The third-person combat was innovative and satisfying. The mix of more traditional run and gun aspects with mind-bending powers so much fun.

Sensational. That's literally all I can say about Quantum Break. Sensational to look at, sensational to play, sensational to experience.

Part of the experience is how the story is woven seamlessly between both the game and the live action TV show segments. The stellar cast includes Shawn Ashmore, the late, great, Lance Reddick, Aidan Gillen, and Dominic Monaghan (you know, from Lord of the Rings and Lost, to name but a couple.)

I'd never played anything like this before, and haven't really since. I remember thinking how much I wish there was a full live-action Quantum Break show, or a spinoff, definitely hoping for a sequel.

I don't want to talk about the story, because if you haven't played it before, I want you to experience it for yourself. The very brief, top line, is that it's a story that involves time travel and special abilities.

It’s out there, it's absurd, but it's utterly brilliant.

Critical praise, but we never got a sequel

Quantum Break was generally reviewed positively, if not universally acclaimed, but it ended up being a one and done. Microsoft owns the IP, and clearly didn't see a reason to commission a follow-up.

It had its issues at launch, particularly on PC, though that was partly down to UWP. It got fixed up, though, and released through Steam, also.

Metacritic's numbers put Quantum Break at a 77 for critic score and a 7.3 user score. I feel it's worthy of higher than that, though.

We also never saw a PlayStation release of Quantum Break. This is a game from the olden times where console (and Windows) exclusives were far more of a thing than they are in the modern Xbox. It's unlikely it'll ever happen, too, unless Microsoft fancies giving it the remaster treatment.

Hey, Microsoft, remaster Quantum Break would ya?

Nevertheless, if you like what Remedy does, and you never checked Quantum Break out the first time around, you should rectify that immediately.

Quantum Break is available through Xbox Game Pass, but not with Xbox Play Anywhere. But you can play on console and PC. It's also listed on Steam, and plays nicely on the Steam Deck and other handhelds such as the ROG Ally.

Even in 2025, I can't really find a comparable experience to what Quantum Break is.

What you need to know

• Quantum Break is a game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios.
• Quantum Break was recently pulled from digital storefronts and Xbox Game Pass, with Microsoft and Remedy Entertainment explaining that certain licenses needed to be renewed. 
• Quantum Break is now available for purchase again, and is available for the first time on PC Game Pass.

Anyone that hasn't yet had the chance to play one of the more unique Xbox Game Studios titles from the past few years is now in luck. 

Quantum Break, the third-person time-bending collaboration between Remedy Entertainment and Xbox, is now back and available for digital purchase after being removed due to licenses that needed to be renewed. While the game was also removed from Xbox Game Pass, subscribers can once again play the title. 

The good news goes even further, with Quantum Break being added to PC Game Pass for the first time. Quantum Break was not previously available on PC Game Pass, with the title preceding Microsoft's "Xbox Play Anywhere" initiative, where every first-party game with an Xbox and Windows PC version is available on both platforms through just one purchase.

Looking ahead, the developers at Remedy Entertainment are working on a number of games, including the long-awaited Alan Wake 2, which is currently slated to arrive at some point later in 2023.

Windows Central's take

I really liked Quantum Break, so I'm glad to see that it wasn't away for too long. PC Game Pass users can also play it for the first time, which is a neat bonus of Microsoft and Remedy working out the license problems. Hopefully this won't be an issue again for a long time.

What you need to know

• Quantum Break is a 2016 game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. 
• A recent listing in the Xbox Game Pass home tab showed that Quantum Break was leaving Xbox Game Pass. 
• Microsoft has confirmed that Quantum Break should return to the service after resolving licensing issues.

If you've been worried about losing access to one of the more unique games in Microsoft's gaming subscription library, your fears might be eased at least a little. 

Microsoft confirmed to Xbox Dynasty that a recent listing on the Xbox Game Pass tab, which showed that the 2016 action-adventure title Quantum Break was leaving the service, is pending due to 'current licensing issues.' Negotiations are apparently underway already, and if resolved, the game is expected to return.

A handful of first-party games, such as Forza, have left Xbox Game Pass due to licensing restrictions. Details of what this means for Quantum Break in the long term are scarce, but we have reached out directly to Microsoft and will expand with any further information as and when we hear from them.

Looking further ahead for developer Remedy Entertainment, the studio is currently working on the long-awaited Alan Wake 2, which is slated to launch at some point in 2023. The team is also working on myriad other games such as remakes of the first two Max Payne titles, Control 2, and a Control spinoff game with co-op.

Windows Central take

As a first-party Xbox game, losing Quantum Break from Game Pass makes little sense. Not only that, but Remedy's time-bending shooter holds a special place in my heart, and I'd be sad to see it disappear over licensing issues. However, Remedy had trouble with Alan Wake's American Nightmare DLC being removed from sales related to licensed music, which was eventually resolved.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the same resolution will be found for Quantum Break, but more of an explanation from Microsoft or Remedy would be more comforting. Losing an iconic game for what is presumably music will likely keep happening with games loaded with licensed tracks as we move into an all-digital future. Either way, you should play Quantum Break immediately.

- Ben Wilson

Microsoft has announced the next wave of titles headed to Xbox Game Pass, it's Netflix-style subscription service for Xbox One games. For September 2018, 10 new Xbox One games will be available under the $9.99 flat monthly fee, including previous first-party releases like Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Quantum Break. As detailed on Xbox Wire, each of these games will be available via the subscription on September 1.

Alongside the previously-announced addition of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Quantum Break, Onrush, Aven Colony, Shadow Warrior and Sky Force Reloaded are all headed to the service. Other ID@Xbox games will also be available, including Manual Samuel, Snake Pass, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, and InnerSpace.

One of this month's top picks is Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which bundles together the first four mainline games into a single package. Alongside being newly-enhanced for Xbox One X, the game's latest update brings major improvements to gameplay and stability. Quantum Break also can't be missed, which offers a unique third-person shooter adventure, bending time in unthinkable ways.

If you're yet to check out Xbox Game Pass, subscriptions can be picked up at the online Microsoft Store. For $9.99 a month, subscribers can access a rotating library of over 100 titles, spanning Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox.

What do you think of these latest additions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

See at Microsoft

Quantum Break and Alan Wake are two Xbox titles crying out for a sequel, sequels Microsoft apparently doesn't want to make, according to Remedy.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz (via COGConnected) about Remedy's next game, Control, the Finnish independent studio discusses the fate of Alan Wake and Quantum Break, and the pain of not being in control (heh, pun) of the worlds the studio has built.

Alan Wake

Remedy CEO Tero Virtala implied in the interview how the studio had intended to create a long-term franchise with both Quantum Break and Alan Wake, working hard to flesh out the characters, their backstories, and the worlds attached to them. The way Quantum Break is littered with easter eggs that call back to Alan Wake speaks to that fact. Virtala notes that Microsoft doesn't want to take either franchise "further."

Both Alan Wake and Quantum Break finish in a way that leave them wide open for a sequel. While it sounds as though both games struggled to obtain the commercial success Microsoft hoped for them, both titles enjoy a loyal fanbase and could easily achieve wider success with a few tweaks.

Quantum Break is an action thriller that follows Jack Joyce on a mission to prevent the collapse of time itself, following a failed time travel experiment. Alan Wake is a psychological horror that draws heavy inspiration from Twin Peaks and similar TV shows, which challenge the idea of "reality" itself. Both games are available to buy on Xbox One, and are well worth every penny.

Remedy's next game: Control

Microsoft recently added five new studios to its first-party portfolio, specifically with the goal of addressing the central criticism of Xbox as a platform: here are not enough high-quality exclusive "AAA" games. Quantum Break or Alan Wake sequels, complete with addressed feedback, would be prime candidates to help build out Microsoft's first-party offering. But for whatever reason, it looks like we'll never get them.

• See Quantum Break at Microsoft Store
• See Alan Wake at Microsoft Store

Quantum Break is a visually-stunning game and it looks even better on an Xbox One X. Unfortunately, the upgrade isn't the stellar experience fans were expecting. There are a lot of strange visual artifacts and lighting issues which detract from the title. At times they make the game almost unplayable because you can't see where you're going.

Remedy Entertainment was aware of these problems and promised to fix them in an upcoming patch. The studio has been working on one for the past few months and it's finally ready. According to a tweet by Thomas Puha, the Head of Communications at Remedy, the Xbox One X patch is coming out today.

Hopefully this download will improve the game on Microsoft's new console. Considering how polished Quantum Break was on the original Xbox One, it was a little surprising to see the Xbox One X patch be this buggy.

Quantum Break is a third-person shooter which places you in the shoes of Jack Joyce. Joyce takes part in a demonstration involving time travel which ends up giving him the ability to control time itself. Using these abilities, he must stop his childhood friend from destroying the world by taking out legions of soldiers and traveling to the future to discover a way to put an end to the villain's plans.

• See at Amazon
• See at Microsoft Store

Keep an eye on WindowsCentral.com/Gaming for all the latest in Xbox and Windows 10 gaming, accessories, news, and reviews!

When Quantum Break came out two years ago, it brought a twist to video game story-telling: long, live-action episodes, akin to a television show. This new idea was met with mixed opinions across the gaming community. Some thought that it was well-made and complimented the gameplay perfectly, while others felt that it took away from the gameplay itself and that it was poorly produced.

Read: Quantum Break for Xbox One review

Regardless of how anyone felt about it, though, I believe that at some point in the future, game developers should consider giving this idea another shot. Quantum Break's iteration may not have been perfect, but it did show us the potential.

See on Amazon

A new layer of depth

One of the biggest advantages that a companion TV show like this would provide for games is the ability to explore characters in the story that would normally get little screen time otherwise in the game. Most video games place the protagonist in the spotlight, while leaving the minor characters in supporting roles. There's nothing wrong with that, but often times I think to myself that it would be nice to learn more about these other people in the story.

With this companion episodes, though, the writers have a perfect medium in order to explore those characters. Since the protagonist will get most of his or her development during the video game, writers don't need to worry about the main character in these mini-films. Such was the case in Quantum Break; instead of following Jack Joyce, the hero of the story, the TV show episodes for the game instead chose to expand on the antagonists of the story.

By doing this, we got to learn who these people were, why they were doing what they were doing, and we got to see everything from their perspective. These are all things that could have been relegated to small segments within the game, but then that would take away from our time with the protagonist.

Potential goes both ways

As great as I think this design can be, it's also critical that it's done well. Otherwise, it can end up being harmful to the experience. One way that this could happen is if the episodes are too numerous and frequent. If this ends up being the case, then people who enjoy the gameplay and not the episodes will likely be annoyed that they'll be constantly pulled away from what they enjoy.

The solution to this is to make the episodes something you can skip. However, this leads me to my next point: Making sure that the episodes are not necessary in order to understand and follow the main story. Because not everyone will like the TV show aspect of the game, the content within them needs to be non-essential so that people won't miss anything crucial to the narrative by skipping them.

It's also worth noting that making this idea a reality is undoubtedly a very expensive process, too. It's already expensive to develop a game, so setbacks from producing a live-action companion show will make the overall project even more costly. It's unlikely that companies will pour this much investment into a title unless they have very strong confidence that it will sell exceptionally well.

Your thoughts

What do you think of this concept? Do you think that more games should try to make it work in the future? Let me know.

Quantum Break is available on Xbox One for $19.99.

See on Amazon

The game looked pretty blurry on 1080p displays, and no matter how stunning a game's graphics are, a muddy resolution detracts from the experience. Luckily, the Xbox One X version runs at 1440p and looks quite good on a 4K display. Aside from that, Remedy Entertainment has made several performance optimizations so it runs at 30 FPS almost all the time.

Unfortunately, there are other problems that the upgrade adds to the experience. The Xbox One X version has many strange visual artifacts and other glitches. According to a report by Eurogamer, "surfaces in the game now exhibit highly distracting visual noise and flicker that ruin the stability of the image."

We played the game on Xbox One X and noticed these problems too. While they might not be as noticeable, they still make the game seem unoptimized. Hopefully the developer is aware of the issue and the team is working on a patch. We'll keep you posted as soon as we know more.

Quantum Break is a third-person shooter which focuses on time travel. In the aftermath of a split-second explosion that fractures time itself, two people find they have changed and gained extraordinary abilities. One of them travels through time and becomes hell-bent on controlling this power. The other uses these new abilities to attempt to defeat him – and fix time before it tears itself irreparably apart. Both face overwhelming odds and make dramatic choices that will determine the shape of the future.

• See at Microsoft
• See at Amazon

Keep an eye on WindowsCentral.com/Gaming for all the latest in Xbox and Windows 10 gaming, accessories, news, and reviews!

In my review, I noted how Quantum Break pushed the Xbox One to its absolute limits, given its crazy visual effects that throw time-warped ripples over every surface and enemy. The game uses checkerboard rendering methods on Xbox One, and the sheer amount of detail squeezed into the game makes it appear quite blurry on the console. Thankfully, Quantum Break will get a 4K enhanced version on Xbox One X.

Announced today on Microsoft's Gamescom 2017 live stream, Quantum Break will benefit from the Xbox One X's 6 TF power, bringing improved visuals and 4K resolution.

Quantum Break on Xbox One X should prove the definitive way to experience the game on console, given that even high-end PCs struggled with the game on higher graphics settings.

Stay tuned for more from Gamescom 2017.

Microsoft has lowered the price of its Xbox One Quantum Break console bundle down to $229. It includes four free games, but the offer to get the fourth game will end after Saturday, October 1.

The 500GB white version of the Xbox One comes with two free games already; Remedy's action title Quantum Break, plus a download code for the Xbox 360 version of Remedy's previous game Alan Wake, playable on the Xbox One via backwards compatiblity. The Microsoft Store throws in a free copy of Ubisoft's racing game The Crew, plus this console bundle is elible for this week's special promotion where you can get any new Xbox One game of your choice, up to $59.99. That means you can get a game like the just released Forza Horizon 3 or FIFA 17.

Remember, the offer to get that fourth free game of your choice ends after Saturday, so if you want to get a regular Xbox One on the cheap, with a bunch of free stuff, this might be worth looking into.

See at Microsoft Store

The Steam PC version of Quantum Break, the temporal-themed action game from developer Remedy and publisher Microsoft, is now available to download for people who own a Windows 7 or 8.1 PC.

Quantum Break was released earlier this year for the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs, via the Windows Store. However, this new release on Steam will allow the critically acclaimed game to reach a larger audience on the PC. While the Windows 10 version uses the DirectX 12 graphics API, the Steam version uses the older DirectX 11. Nordic Games is also publishing the Steam version of Quantum Break to stores on five game discs, along with a Steam key, a behind-the-scenes book and Blu-Ray, a quick guide to the game, two posters and the game's soundtrack on CD.

• Download Quantum Break for Windows 10 from the Windows Store
• Download Quantum Break on Steam
• Check out our Quantum Break review

THQ Nordic has announced a delay in the release of the PC retail and Steam versions of Remedy and Microsoft's action game Quantum Break. Originally scheduled to be released on September 14, the PC version of the Xbox One-Windows 10 game will now be coming out on September 29.

THQ Nordic's press release stated:

This PC version will run on Windows 7 and 8.1 with DirectX11, unlike the Windows 10 version which uses DirectX 12. When the game is released to retail stores, it will have five game discs, along with a Steam key, a behind-the-scenes book and Blu-Ray, a quick guide to the game, two posters and the game's soundtrack on CD. Both the retail and Steam editions of the game will have all of the post-release updates for Quantum Break. Remedy says that any updates released to the Steam version of the game will also be made available to Windows 10 owners via a patch.

Remedy Entertainment and Microsoft Studios are bringing the time-warping shooter Quantum Break to Steam, leading to all sorts of speculation about failed sales expectations, soured business relationships and beyond.

Remedy's Thomas Puha previously tweeted that it was "unlikely" that Remedy would release another Windows 10 patch, but has since clarified that the Windows 10 Store version will be updated to maintain parity with the Steam version.

Thomas Puha apologized for the confusion caused by his earlier tweet, while stating that updates for Quantum Break on Steam will also hit the Windows 10 Store version.

Apps packaged for the Universal Windows Platform essentially run inside a container that mimics a standard Windows environment. It wouldn't necessarily be a huge amount of work for Remedy to bring any updates to the Win32 version of Quantum Break to the UWP packaged version of the game, and hopefully, Thomas Puha's comments above reflect that.

I have seen plenty of speculation across the internet regarding Quantum Break's imminent release on Steam pointing to poor sales on the Windows 10 Store, poor return on investment and so on. I think the reality is a little more mundane.

When it comes to second party deals, it's all about business, and every contractual agreement is different. Remedy has a long history of supporting Win32 PC games, and they enjoy a strong heritage as PC game developers. I think it's safe to presume that Quantum Break was always planned for a Steam launch, but it also presented a unique opportunity for Microsoft to not only promote the Windows 10 Store as a core gaming platform, but also gather feedback on where UWP gaming excels, and where it fails.

If the Universal Windows Platform is ever going to reach the level of quality it needs to compete with Win32 as a way for distributing games, they need to actually sell games on it and gather feedback from regular consumers.

That said, there's simply no way that a PC game distributed on the Windows 10 Store will earn as much as games distributed on Steam at this point. With Quantum Break's initial sales long behind it, putting it out to Windows 8 and Windows 7 PCs on the tried and tested Steam platform is essentially free money for both Remedy and Microsoft Studios. It's a no-brainer, and it's not like there isn't already a precedent for this happening.

Dead Rising 3, a former Xbox exclusive also hit Steam. Rise of the Tomb Raider, previously Xbox and Windows 10 Store exclusive, also arrived on Steam. Both of those titles have their own publishers, but Microsoft brought Ori and the Blind Forest to Steam as the publisher too, despite it hitting Xbox and Windows 10 UWP as an exclusive last year.

With a second party developer involved, there are most likely royalty payments on units sold. Maximizing those royalties on PC means the game needs to hit Steam, which is by far the most popular distribution platform for PC games. To that end, you should expect other Xbox One and Windows 10 Store exclusives like ReCore and Scalebound to hit Steam in the future as well.

There's no conspiracy here, just good business sense, and it will help to keep Microsoft Studios as a self-sustaining entity, enabling them to innovate, take risks and ultimately, fund more games.

Quantum Break will hit Steam on September 14th, 2016.

• See Quantum Break on Steam
• See Quantum Break on the Windows Store
• See our Quantum Break Review

Microsoft has announced that its hit Xbox One and Windows 10 action game Quantum Break will be made available to more PC users, via a release on Steam as well as in retail stores. The Quantum Break: Timeless Collector's Edition will be priced at $39.99.

Publishing duties for the retail version of Quantum Break for the PC, developed by Remedy, are being handled by Nordic Games. It will contain five game discs, along with a Steam key, a behind-the-scenes book and Blu-Ray, a quick guide to the game, two posters and the game's soundtrack on CD. Both the retail and Steam editions of the game will have all of the post-release updates for Quantum Break.

While the Windows 10 version of Quantum Break used DirectX 12, a post on the new Steam and retail versions on Remedy's website shows those editions of the game will run on DirectX 11, which should allow for the game to be supported on Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs.

Remedy Entertainment, the studio behind Quantum Break for the Xbox One and PC, has given an update on the state of the studio. In an effort to create more games at a faster pace, Remedy will expand into two game development teams.

While the developer will still be supporting Quantum Break, the teams are already hard at work on new projects. From Remedy:

In order to set expectations, Remedy communications chief Thomas Puha announced that neither of Remedy's new projects are Alan Wake titles. However, Puha noted that the company is still "exploring opportunities in other mediums to tell more Alan Wake stories."

What would like to see next from Remedy? Let us know in the comments.

The team at Remedy has released a third update for Quantum Break on Windows 10. This latest release adds a number of changes, but the highlight is support for disabling V-Sync. This will let you take full advantage of G-Sync or FreeSync, should your graphics card and connected monitor(s) support either technology.

As well as the above V-Sync toggle, Remedy also implemented the following, according to the official log of changes:

• Fixed an issue with game controllers not working correctly on some configurations
• General fixes
• In response to requests from fans, we have removed SSE4.2, SSE4.1, SSSE3 limitation, which will enable "Quantum Break" on Windows 10 to run on unsupported, below minimum spec hardware

As for the last point, we recommend (alongside Remedy) that you at least make sure your PC meets the bare minimum specifications before purchasing the title. That said, if you're just below the entry point but have read reports you should be absolutely fine on your setup, be sure to give it a try and let us know how you get on in the comments. Proceed at your own peril, though.

Microsoft has released an update for the Windows 10 version of Remedy's action game Quantum Break. It adds some more graphics options along with a Quit button on the game's main menu and more.

Here's what's new and improved with this version 1.7 update:

NEW FEATURES

• Added additional graphics options
• Added Quit Button to Main Menu
• Alt+Enter now toggles full screen mode

IMPROVEMENTS

• Fixed rare instances of cloud saves failing and causing loss of progress
• Fix for a rare bug that accidentally wiped progress after completing the game
• Fixed aspect ratio and full screen scaling for non 16:9 resolutions
• Fixed resolution selection when transitioning from windowed to fullscreen mode
• Fixed frame timing not matching the refresh rate - General Performance Improvements
• Unlock descriptions for Will Diary 1 and Will Diary 2 are no longer reversed
• Fixed Jack's subtitles not showing in some cinematics
• Fixed various keyboard input issues
• Fixed in-game TV screen images which were sometimes grainy
• Fixed circular progress bar alpha in the junction stats screen
• Fixed options menu items being clickable even if they're cropped
• Fixed 1 px gaps sometimes visible in the PC keyboard key callout backgrounds
• Fixed rendering issues in the menus
• Fixed video playback not always ending if the video was synced to audio
• Fixed issue in renderer when initializing participating media
• Fixed missing line in Portuguese audio in an Act 5 cinematic
• Act 2 Part 1: Fixed Nick pathing issues
• Act 2 Part 3: Added collision on time machine corridor to prevent player's accidentally falling to their death
• Act 5: Fixed last subtitle going by too quickly to read

Download Quantum Break from the Windows Store ($59.99)

Despite the fact we think it's rather excellent, Quantum Break isn't without its fair share of bugs. Thankfully, Remedy Entertainment is on task to improve matters, and a patch to address a broad range of issues is rolling out to the Xbox One version of the game right now.

The full list of fixes are as follows:

Act Fixes/Updates:

• Act 1 Part 1: Fixed a rare instance of taxi being missing from the intro cinematic
• Act 1 Part 2: Fixed assets disappearing if players backtrack
• Act 1 Part 2: Fixed an issue where players could not kill the guard in the parking lot
• Act 1 Part 3: Fixed backtracking issues where some parts could unload
• Act 1: Fixed overlapping audio in opening cinematic
• Act 2 Part 1: Fixed Nick pathing issues
• Act 2 Part 1: You can no longer get underneath the puzzle at the security station
• Act 2 Part 2: First Chronon source renders properly
• Act 2 Part 3: Added collision on time machine corridor to prevent player's accidentally falling to their death
• Act 2 Part 3: Fixed backtracking issues where some parts could unload
• Act 2 Part 3: Fixed rare NPC issues where Amy or Nick could be killed or block the door
• Junction 3: Fixed Hatch being hidden if the user skips a future vision too quickly
• Junction 4: Fixed flickering environment outside office building
• Act 5: Fixed last subtitle going by too quickly to read
• Act 5: Fixed missing line in Portuguese audio in a cinematic

General Fixes/Updates:

• Fixed issue where ambient sounds disappeared when mashing buttons during a cinematic
• Removed unnecessary loading screens showing up
• Updated credits
• World no longer visibly unloads after Jack lets Beth and NPC into the Swimming Pool front door
• Amy no longer remains still and without pathing towards gate in train yard
• Fixed Jack's subtitles not showing in some cinematics
• Unlock descriptions for Will Diary 1 and Will Diary 2 are no longer reversed
• Fix for blinking lights, where flares would blink excessively bright after resuming from suspend mode
• Fixes for making Xbox Live integration more fault-tolerant
• Remedy logo fix*
• Fix for a rare bug that accidentally wiped progress after completing the game
• Fix for some TV screens sometimes showing a really grainy image
• Fixed circular progress bar alpha in the junction stats screen
• Fixed video playback not always ending if the video was synced to audio
• Fixed two rare instances of stalls when loading
• Fixed a rare crash with the video texture system
• Fixed crash in download menu when switching profiles
• Fixed "Waiting for install to complete" text not being localized when changing the language
• Game/story/collectible progress hero stats no longer display incorrectly when player has less than a percent of progress
• Fixed rare instances of cloud saves failing and causing loss of progress

If you're on the PC version, Remedy offered a couple of updates on their efforts to repair the Windows 10 version of the game, which of course is delivered via UWP on the Windows 10 Store.

Remedy has previously explained how the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is the cause of some of the game's issues, including the inability to use G-sync and Freesync monitors, the inability to disable V-sync, and the absence of full-screen exclusive mode. Some of these features are planned to arrive in May, which will bring games deployed via UWP closer to the experience of a traditional Win32 executable, providing developers utilize the new features of course.

For more information on the development of the Windows 10 version of the game head over to Remedy's forums.

Source: /r/XboxOne

Note: The following interview contains minor spoilers surrounding the themes of Quantum Break's story

Last week Microsoft's time-bending shooter, Quantum Break released worldwide, blending a live-action show with a traditional third-person shooter. Whether you've completed the main story or only played the game's first act, it's hard to deny the game's complex, interwoven narrative is one of best parts of the package. We had the opportunity to sit down with author and writer at Remedy Entertainment, Cam Rogers, to discuss the creative process behind Quantum Break's story and the hurdles overcome during its creation.

Cam Rogers joined the writing team at Remedy Entertainment during the early days of the project, helping form the game's storyline, the characters and the world around them. While taking part in this process he influenced the game's narrative structure, brainstormed the ideas behind the plot and how this would play out over the course of Quantum Break. During his time at the studio, he contributed to the earlier stages of script writing, leaving the studio during the final months that lead up to the game's release. He also wrote Quantum Break's tie-in novel, Quantum Break: Zero State, which released alongside the game last week.

Shaping the future

A unique aspect of Quantum Break is the high-budget integrated live-action TV show that expands on the main plot of the game itself. The course of both the game and live-action show change based on decisions the player makes at the end of each act, giving each player their own tailored experience. Rogers explained that this posed a challenge for the team, but was much more manageable than other narrative challenges they faced. The combined experience of the entire writing team also helped this, including Roger's background as he explained.

With such a complex storyline constructed from a range of ideas, Quantum Break story had the potential to become more complicated than initially intended. To prevent this, the writing team at Remedy focused on a subset of fundamental values, which a majority of the game's plot progression is based on. Also taking into account the medium they were working with, certain aspects of the universe were focused on.

Fact checking

With a complex narrative, such as Quantum Break's, the use of science and real-world theories was key in creating such a believable, yet engaging plot. This both helped and hindered the writing team at Remedy Entertainment, with strict rules in how the story's path could develop.

With these restrictions, Rogers explained that did cause some problems in the writer's room. While having a set of definite, complex rules allowed the narrative to easily hone in on certain aspects of time travel, the team had to stick to the theories they chose to follow, without contradicting other events in the story.

Time dilation is still something relatively unknown in the science community, which led Remedy to focus certain unproven theories in order to string together proven science. An example of this is the idea of closed loops and prevention of paradoxes, which play a major role in the game's later acts.

Closed loops also play a part in character development, challenging Jack's intuition and creating an obstacle for him to overcome. This sets some limitations to the powers obtained through Chronon Syndrome, adding weaknesses to an otherwise all-powerful protagonist.

Beyond the game

While Cam Rogers contributed a massive amount of time to Quantum Break's story and the creation of the game's universe, he also worked on a tie-in novel, available now, which explores different events than those in the game. His newly released book, Quantum Break: Zero State, builds upon ideas introduced in the game's narrative while following a different timeline to the events in-game. This birthed the opportunity to experiment with concepts not possible in the game's format.

The road ahead

Quantum Break concludes with a somewhat open ending, suggesting more to come from the franchise later down the line. Between the game's main narrative, additional content and the book, there are still many questions left answered. Rogers explained that the game's universe still has a lot to be explored, with the chance of a sequel later down the line.

While parts of the game's universe have been intentionally left out from Quantum Break's plot, Rogers still has some areas of the story which he would personally like to explore in more depth.

Adding onto this, he explained that a majority of the character backgrounds have already been locked down.

We'd like to thank Cam for putting aside some of his time to answer our questions!

For those who enjoyed the Quantum Break's story, we recommend picking up Cam's novel, Quantum Break: Zero State. If you're yet to play the game itself, make sure to take a look at our in-depth review!

See Quantum Break: Zero State on Amazon

Quantum Break was released last week for the Xbox One and Windows 10. However, since its launch, many players of the time-themed action game have encountered both major and minor issues with Quantum Break, particularly with the Windows 10 version. Now, the game's developer Remedy outlined plans to fix those problems.

In a post on Remedy's community forums, it stated:

The developer listed a number of issues in the Windows 10 version of Quantum Break, along with plans to address them in updates:

• Stuttering Frame-Rate / Frame Pacing: There was a major rounding error introduced into our refresh rate predictions on shipping. A solution to this issue is already being worked on; we expect it to be resolved in a Quantum Break Title Update launching in the near future.
• Windows 10 Performance Issues: Remedy is looking into how to improve the overall performance of the game. Part of that is working closely with AMD and NVIDIA to address issues and improve the gameplay experience. Sometimes, after a longer play session, the game can end up to a state where the video memory becomes fragmented, and an important asset gets moved to system memory, which slows the rendering performance significantly. This problem is very rare and Remedy will continue to investigate and improve the video memory behavior in future updates. If you experience this issue, exiting and restarting Quantum Break will resolve this issue for now. This is one way to identify if you have encountered this issue or if it's another potential problem.
• Graphics Drivers: We recommend, for AMD Radeon GPU's, AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.4.1. We recommend, for NVIDIA GPU's, 362.00 from NVIDIA. Keep in mind, these drivers might have an impact on other software on your computer.
• Windows 10 Frame Rate Locked?: In May, Microsoft will be enabling the ability for developers to disable v-sync and adding support for G-Sync and Freesync monitors. This means that UWP games running in full screen, borderless windowed mode will have all of the performance advantages of traditional full screen exclusive mode.
• No Option to Quit from Main Menu: We hear you! By popular demand, we are adding an exit option to the main menu in an upcoming title update. For now, similar to all Windows 10 apps, you will need to use Alt-F4 or move the mouse cursor to top right corner of the window to the see the X icon, which you can click to exit the game.
• Crashing on Launch: We have been able to repro at least one reason for a rare crash on launch– with some SIMD instructions that require SSE4.1. We are working on fixing that in a future title update, and will fix any other issues we find as they are reported. Image Quality: We are working on giving users more control to turn on and off features like film grain. We love the artistic choice for our game, but we also want to give PC gamers more choice and this will come in a future update.
• Does Quantum Break support SLI or other multi-GPU solutions?: Quantum Break on Windows 10 unfortunately doesn't support DirectX12 multi-GPU rendering. Due to the engine architecture, the work needed to support multiple GPUs would have been significant and out of scope for Remedy for Quantum Break.
• Render technique and resolution on Windows 10: The Windows 10 version of Quantum Break uses the same reconstruction method as on Xbox One. If your resolution is set to 1080p, the game temporally reconstructs the image (except UI) from four 720p buffers rendered with 4xMSAA, just like on Xbox One. Engine assigns input geometry samples from 4xMSAA rendering into shaded clusters in order to maximize covered geometry while keeping the performance on acceptable level by reducing expensive shaded samples. When you change the resolution, the buffers used to construct the image are always 2/3rds of the set resolution, i.e. in 2560x1440 they would be 1706x960.
• Download Issues: We are aware some users are having issues downloading the game from the Windows Store. There are some known bugs with the way the progress bar is rendered. Microsoft is standing by to help anyone who has issues downloading and the Windows 10 Anniversary Update this summer will massively improve the overall experience for these kinds of big games.

Remedy also outlined issues and future solutions that are on both the Windows 10 and Xbox One versions of the game:

• Light Flare / Blinking Lights: This is a known issue. A permanent fix is being introduced in the next Title Update in the near future. For now, the problem can be resolved by exiting and re-launching the game.
• Film Grain: This is an artistic choice from Remedy Entertainment. We wanted a cinematic look for our game and "film grain" is part of that look. Depending on the brand of TV you use or if your Xbox One is connected to a monitor, the film grain can look very different. Always use "Game Mode" on your television if such a feature exists. Make sure you adjust your sharpness setting down on your monitor or TV as well as the brightness setting in Quantum Break."
• Ambient Subtitles: While atmosphere is an important part of Quantum Break, we decided to not include subtitles for ambient sound (e.g.– in-game radio broadcasts) to ensure those subtitles did not conflict or overlap with the subtitles for actual character dialogue.
• No Dialogue on Xbox One: If your game is missing dialogue, this is probably because you are listening in stereo, but the Xbox One is set to play back surround 5.1 or 7.1. To solve this on Xbox One, Scroll left from Home to open the guide, Select Settings, Select All Settings, Select Display & Sound, Select Audio output, Set the output to Stereo
• Cloud Save Issue on Windows 10 and Xbox One: Cloud save issues with the Windows 10 version of Quantum Break have been resolved with the March update (Windows 10 Version 10586.164, 64-bit only). To avoid any issues, please switch Microsoft accounts before signing in to the Xbox app and/or check Windows Update to ensure that you are using the latest version of Windows 10. We are aware of this issue on Xbox One and are working to address it in a future update. To avoid any issues, please quit the game before turning off your console.

Check out our Quantum Break review

The ring tones loop seamlessly and feature some of the most iconic sounds from the game. They're available in formats compatible with Windows, Android, and iOS-based phones, and the studio even threw in an Alan Wake ringtone and a full track inspired by Quantum Break for good measure.

You can head over to Remedy's website to preview and download the ringtones. I think I'm going to pick up that Alan Wake tone; it's rather serene.

If you enjoyed the music of Quantum Break, know that the studio has also released an official soundtrack, which is available on the Windows Store, and for free as part of the Groove Music Pass.

Quantum Break is smashing sales records for Microsoft, becoming its fastest selling new-IP so far this generation, while debuting at number one in the UK charts. If you haven't already, check out our full review right over here.

Check out Remedy's Quantum Break ringtones

We're also giving away a full digital copy of Hitman to one lucky commenter! Simply leave a reply and join the discussion for a chance to win.

From next week, this column will become more of a summary as we ramp up our gaming coverage in the main news feed. You'll still be able to rely on this weekly column to catch up with all the latest game releases, biggest Xbox news and more!

Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Xbox One News.

Bioware founder laments rumored console upgrades

BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk isn't a fan of the long-rumored mid-cycle console upgrades. In an interview with GameSpot, Zeschuck, famed for launching franchises like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, said that it would be "irritating" for developers if Sony and Microsoft launched new hardware configurations so soon into the existing console cycle.

Citing the original Xbox, Zeschuck said that simply having different speeds of DVD drives (as was the case with certain Xbox models) resulted in enough variation to cause developers problems:

He goes on to describe the problems in having to account for varied hardware requirements, noting that being able to focus on a single feature set per console gives better results:

The discussions regarding upgradable consoles began when Phil Spencer stated Xbox fans shouldn't have to wait to take advantage of the latest hardware innovations, leading to speculation that Microsoft would release an 'upgradeable' Xbox One console. Phil later debunked those rumors, stating that he's not going to ship a Xbox One with a screwdriver and expect users to perform their own hardware upgrades, nor is he a fan of the "Xbox One.5" mid-cycle half-upgrade:

On the other side of the fence, Eurogamer have committed to saying that a PS4.5 is on its way.

An upgraded PS4.5 could entice gamers that have yet to make the jump to next gen, giving Sony another advantage in the voracious console war, but, as noted by Greg Zeschuck and others, it would potentially create issues for developers, giving them another hardware configuration to account for. If Microsoft isn't developing a mid-cycle half-upgrade, Xbox might be forced to entice past-gen holdouts in other ways.

We discussed some of these issues on this week's OneCast podcast, which should be live either today or tomorrow over here.

Sam Lake joins Major Nelson to discuss possible Quantum Break sequels, Quantum Break debuts at the top of UK charts

Without spoiling, there's plenty of ways a Quantum Break sequel would make total sense, and Remedy's Sam Lake seems to agree. On a podcast with Major Nelson, the creator of Alan Wake, Max Payne, and the recent time-shattering Quantum Break discussed a range of topics, including the possibility of giving us a Quantum Break sequel.

To those that have played Quantum Break, it's fairly obvious that the game was developed with the future in mind (in more ways than one). The next outing for Remedy may well be Alan Wake 2, but if a sequel for Quantum Break is to depend on the game's success, so far, signs are very positive.

Xbox marketing head Aaron Greenberg described Quantum Break's pre-orders "well ahead" of their prior projections, and has since revealed that the game is currently the best-selling game across all platforms in the UK.

See Quantum Break on the Microsoft Store

Final Fantasy XV could hit PC, DLC plans on the way

In an interview with JeuxVideo (translated by DualShockers), Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata discussed a broad range of topics on the upcoming JRPG.

Ten years in development, Final Fantasy XV takes place on the world of Eos, amidst a political conflict between warring nations. Tabata noted that the team working on FFXV is comprised of roughly 300 developers, and localization has begun ahead of its September 30th Xbox One launch. Windows users can look forward to a PC version that isn't simply a mere port, but instead pushes the game to a "new technical level." To achieve that, Tabata stated that the team would have to start almost from scratch.

On the topic of DLC, Square Enix have plans to create downloadable content that "prolongs the pleasure of playing the game", and creates "enthusiasm" among players. Square Enix will announce their DLC plans during the summer.

FFXV will feature less cinematic cutscenes than previous Final Fantasy titles, citing the addition of a feature length animated movie, Kingsglaive, that will tie in with the main game.

You can download Final Fantasy XV's Platinum Demo on Xbox One right over here, just be aware that the game will undergo further optimizations before launch!

Giveaway – Hitman (The Full Experience) Xbox One Digital Key

Square Enix's episodic Hitman reboot is up for grabs this week! Hitman sees a return to the stealth puzzle series' roots, taking place in all-new, gargantuan open world levels with unprecedented levels of freedom. Unlike previous titles, this edition of Hitman is launching in an episodic format. This key will grant you access to a total of six levels as they're released over the course of the year.

Besides two brief training missions, Hitman currently features a single open-world area. You play as Agent 47, on a mission to assassinate a corrupt businessman amidst a bustling Paris fashion show. April and May will add a further two levels, with more launching later in the year. To enter, simply join the discussion in the comments!

The winner was eddp77! Congrats!

ICYMI - Some of Windows Central's biggest Xbox articles of the week

• How to chat like a pro in Neverwinter for Xbox One
• Quantum Break pre-order bonus codes for Windows 10 will arrive by April 15th
• Alan Wake's two DLC expansions are now free for Xbox owners
• Make the most of Neverwinter Double XP Weekend with our Leveling Guide
• Gears of War 4 website posts a countdown clock for April 11 annoucement
• Telltale to help bring zombie survival game 7 Days to Die to Xbox One
• New report claims Fable Legends might not get canceled after all
• Outland and Gunstar Heroes added to Xbox One backwards compatibility list
• DOOM multiplayer open beta starts April 15, three post-release DLC packs planned
• Fallout 4's Wasteland Workshop will let you capture its many post-apocalypse creatures

New Xbox One game releases for the week ending April 10th, 2016

Quantum Break - Action & Adventure - Remedy Entertainment

"In the aftermath of a split second of destruction that fractures time itself, two people find they have changed and gained extraordinary abilities. One of them travels through time and becomes hell-bent on controlling this power. The other uses these new abilities to attempt to defeat him – and fix time before it tears itself irreparably apart. Both face overwhelming odds and make dramatic choices that will determine the shape of the future."

Blues and Bullets - Episode 2 - Action & Adventure - A Crowd of Monsters

"Eliot Ness, the former leader of the legendary Untouchables, wished only to spend the rest of his days working in his diner, not dwelling too much on the cesspit of corruption his city, Santa Esperanza, had degenerated into."

Letter Quest: Grimm's Journey Remastered - Puzzle & Trivia, Role Playing - Bacon Bandit Games

"Spell words to battle monsters and earn gems that can be used to purchase upgrades, books, special items, potions, and much more! Letter Quest is a turn-based RPG featuring high-res artwork, clever wordplay, and two great soundtracks. Use your linguistic skills to survive!"

Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek - Puzzle & Trivia - Artifex Mundi

"Imagine waking up after a powerful storm as the sun goes down. You find yourself just outside a small town on the side of the road. A shiver runs down your spine as your body remembers the recent dramatic events that your mind cannot or will not recall..."

Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure - Sports & Recreation - Game Swing

"Stikbold! is a groovy 70s-themed single and local multiplayer fantasy dodgeball game with intense, quirky arenas and chaos-inducing random events which change the outcome of each round. Stikbold! is a single and local multiplayer dodgeball game heavily inspired by the 70's, back when tacky was cool, and there was no such thing as bad style."

TRON RUN/r - Action & Adventure - Sanzaru Games

"Return to the world of TRON with TRON RUN/r, a new lightning fast, action-adventure runner with a twist! Blaze through dynamic circuits, facing-off against virulent adversaries while taking on all challengers."

Steredenn - Shooter - Plug In Digital

"Steredenn is a frenetic and chaotic space shooter, carved in big beautiful pixels, with insane boss battles. Embark in your ship and engage the fight against dreadful space pirates in a never-ending combat for your survival."

DiRT Rally - Racing, Sports, Strategy & Simulation - Codemasters

"DiRT Rally is the most authentic and thrilling rally game ever made, road-tested over 80 million miles by the DiRT community. It perfectly captures that white knuckle feeling of racing on the edge as you hurtle along dangerous roads at breakneck speed, knowing that one crash could irreparably harm your stage time."

And that's a wrap!

This week I was on vacation, thousands of miles from my Xbox. Thus, I played some MouseCraft on my Lumia 950 XL, which is an excellent mash-up between Lemmings and Tetris, and will pick up Xbox Live integration shortly. I'm also planning to stream a blind sojourn into Dark Souls on Xbox One backward compatibility very soon. Watching me get destroyed might be fun if you have a sadistic streak.

From next week, these articles will get smaller as we begin ramping up our day to day Xbox One news coverage in the main feed, but we'll still be here to give away games, summarize this week's Xbox news and list all the latest game releases. I started this column almost exactly one year ago when I first joined Windows Central, your continued support and feedback has been, and continues to be both awesome and humbling. Thanks, all.

What have you lovely people been playing this week? What do you think of this week's Xbox One news? Let us know in the comments for a chance to win Hitman for Xbox One!

Phil Spencer offered an update on Twitter, stating that the Quantum Break pre-order Windows 10 keys will now begin going out on April 13th in waves. Original article below.

We reached out to Microsoft to ask how and when they would honor their pre-order promise. If you pre-ordered the Xbox One version of Quantum Break from Microsoft or participating retailers, your Quantum Break Windows 10 key will arrive via a Xbox Live message, redeemable via the Windows 10 Store by April 15th.

You can access your Xbox Live messages on a Windows 10 PC by opening the Xbox app, selecting the messages tab on the social pane on the right-hand side of the app. Once you have the 25 character key, you can then head over here to attach the license to your Microsoft Account.

If you want to take advantage of Quantum Break's cloud save syncing across Xbox One and PC, you need to ensure that you're using the same Microsoft Account attached to your Xbox One and your Windows 10 PC.

In our review, I described Quantum Break as the Xbox One's first true killer app, while also noting that it pushed the console to its technical limit. The PC version of Quantum Break has pretty high recommended specs, but if your PC is up to the task, it should deliver an even more stunning experience than it does on console.

Did you pick up Quantum Break on PC? What are your impressions so far? Let us know in the comments.

See Quantum Break on the Windows Store

If you already own Remedy's previous game Alan Wake, but have never gotten around to getting the game's two DLC expansion packs, you don't have an excuse anymore. Both The Signal and The Writer are now free to download for Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners.

Alan Wake, along with the expansion packs, were recently made available to play on the Xbox One via backwards compatibility. Also, people who pre-ordered Remedy's new Xbox One game Quantum Break got Alan Wake and DLC packs for free. Alan Wake itself is still priced at $19.99 in the Xbox Store.

See at Xbox.com

Microsoft allowed people who pre-ordered the Xbox One version Quantum Break to get the Windows 10 version for free in the Windows Store. However, you still need to sign into your Microsoft Account to play that version of Remedy's temporal-based action game. If you don't, the game's player character Jack Joyce gets an interesting makeover.

As spotted by Reddit user disastorm (Via Gamespot), Joyce will sport an eye patch if Quantum Break on Windows 10 is not used on a authorized Microsoft Account. This was done as a fun anti-piracy measure, according to Remedy's official Windows 10 FAQ on the game:

If you didn't get the Windows 10 version of Quantum Break for free, you can still buy it in the Windows Store for $59.99.

• Purchase Quantum Break for Windows 10
• See what we made of Quantum Break

Quantum Break is now available on Windows 10 through the Windows Store. The listing was present in the store but you were unable to make the purchase. The switch has finally been flipped for PC gamers and you'll now be able to join console players. This is it, folks.

Here's a breakdown of Quantum Break:

• See what we made of Quantum Break

It's strongly advised you carefully read through the store listing to check and see if youre PC is capable of running the game. You can download the title by hitting the link below on your PC.

• Purchase Quantum Break for Windows 10

Quantum Break releases on Xbox One and Windows 10 next week, offering a gripping narrative, innovative gameplay and unique integrated TV show.

With the game's release just around the corner, a final list of achievements obtainable in Quantum Break has surfaced online via the site True Achievements. The game now offers 42 achievements across the board, totaling 1000 Gamerscore. To prevent narrative spoilers, 22 secret achievements are on the list, assumedly obtained while progressing through the main story.

Below we've included the entire Quantum Break achievement list, apart from those redacted to prevent spoilers:

From what we've seen, a majority of Quantum Break's achievements can be unlocked through a single playthrough of the title. However, due to the nature of a branching storyline, a second playthrough of the game may be best to experience its full potential.

If you're yet to pre-order your copy of Quantum Break, make sure to take a look at our Ultimate Buyer's Guide and our full review of the game!

Thanks, Dave, for the heads up!

We recently called Quantum Break one of the best games yet for Xbox One and to tie it all together is this phenomenal promotion happening up in Toronto.

Reader of the site Jonathan Liu wrote in to tell us after spotting the frozen promo:

You can see from the photo Jonathan posted above on Twitter and the Instagram embed below from Dan Berzen of what an excellent job they did replicating the frozen time-shifting elements in the game. Plus hey, we hear free tee-shirts are being given out too.

Anyone in the area planning on checking it out? Share your photos in comments and use #ExploreTheBreak in social media to jump in on the fun promo.

See Quantum Break on Amazon

Check out our full buyer's guide and detailed review of Quantum Break for more info.

Disregard the fact Quantum Break is one of the most visually enthralling games I've ever played, forget its supremely satisfying and strategic take on third-person shooting; Quantum Break's story and its delivery are jewels that enrich the entire medium.

Quantum Break is an unrivalled experience, and quite possibly the Xbox One's first true killer app.

Disclosure: This Quantum Break review was conducted on Xbox One using a copy provided by Microsoft.

This review is going to be as spoiler-free as humanly possible, but I want to touch on some narrative elements because it's what makes the game so impactful. While I won't discuss any particular plot points, I've left the story segment until the end of the review so you can skip over it if you'd rather go in with a blank slate.

What is Quantum Break?

Setting

Quantum Break is the brainchild of Remedy Entertainment, famed for Max Payne and Alan Wake. It follows the tale of a time travel experiment gone horribly wrong. Jack Joyce (portrayed by Shawn Ashmore) and his allies embark on a quest to repair a fracture in the fabric of time itself. Their endeavors bring them into direct conflict with the shadowy Monarch Solutions Corporation, whose leaders appear to be attempting to exploit the catastrophe for profit.

At its core, Quantum Break is an action-adventure game with an emphasis on time-bending combat abilities and third-person shooting wrapped in a heavily cinematic narrative. Not only that, but Quantum Break features a big-budget character-driven TV show that follows the motivations of the game's antagonists.

Microsoft has obviously invested a lot into Quantum Break, from its Hollywood cast to its groundbreaking effects. Lacking a season pass or any form of engagement-retaining multiplayer, Quantum Break appears to be a pretty risky title. The way the game interweaves with its TV segment hasn't been attempted on this scale before; the PC version is a Windows 10 Store app — which continues to be controversial with core PC gamers — and the risks are compounded by all the uncertainties inherent in a new property.

As much as I loved both Alan Wake and both Max Payne titles, I had genuine concerns about Quantum Break. Live action has an unfortunate history in gaming, and I was immediately sceptical of yet another linear cover shooter that relies on flashy visuals and gimmicks over depth to sell itself.

Thankfully, Quantum Break shattered my preconceptions in a timely fashion, on every single front.

Jaw-dropping

Graphics and Audio

From its announcement trailer, Quantum Break set senses sizzling with its conceptual spin on special effects in games, and the finished product delivers on those promises in a big way. Layers upon layers of effects ooze from every combat ability, affecting the environment, time-frozen objects, enemies, and even the game's backdrops. To achieve this, Quantum Break utilizes some pretty fancy techniques, and the results are nothing short of hypnotic.

As a game largely based on time and its manipulation, Quantum Break has been forced to pay very fine attention to detail. Remedy are well known for this, but objects that you'd typically ignore in a standard shooter are often a front and center spectacle in Quantum Break while they're suspended, liquefied and contorted by the game's chaotic physics. When time stops, you can see the bullets frozen in mid-air, every shard of shattered glass, the sparks of an impending explosion, all locked in a breathtaking three-dimensional diorama you can freely explore.

It's clear that the live action TV segment created an impetus for Remedy to achieve some of the most realistic facial renderings ever seen in a game. Being able to see subtle facial cues we take for granted adds an extra layer of depth to Quantum Break's characters, and as the game pivots between live action and digital 3D, the quality of the game's character art limits these frequent switches from being too jarring. Quantum Break makes a point of seamlessly transitioning from the in-engine version to the live action version of a scene to kick off each TV episode, and it shows the studio has paid careful attention to make those interweaving experiences complementary rather than exclusionary.

Beyond cinematics, Quantum Break's special effects give unbelievable impact to the game's much-advertised combat abilities. Jack Joyce can move freely within frozen time, freeze fields of enemies in a quantum standstill and create violent blasts that rupture the very fabric of reality. All these physics-abusing capabilities result in spectacular visual exhibitions that intensify the joy of the game's tactical combat.

You'll be repeatedly rewarded for your victories with a quantum ballet of slow motion particle effects, ragdoll kills and haunting time-shattered screams. The audiovisual results of the game's combat are almost as addictive as the mechanics themselves, which is a rare and welcome combination.

Remedy Entertainment uses a combination of special techniques to give Quantum Break such dense, high-frequency effects without causing your Xbox One to explode. The results are staggering — but there are clear trade-offs.

I have no tools to measure this empirically, but Quantum Break on Xbox One appears blurry when compared side by side with other recent titles, like Halo 5 or The Division. On Xbox One, Quantum Break uses the temporal reconstruction of several 720p frames with high levels of multisample anti-aliasing to hit 1080p. Even with 4xMSAA, the edges of character models appear distorted during gameplay segments while looking incredibly smooth in the less-intensive cutscenes. The texture popping can be quite harsh at times as well, and while it often fits in with the game's time-fractured vistas, screen-tearing does occur. The team has clearly done everything they can to compress their creativity into the Xbox One's capabilities. I don't have a PC that even approaches Quantum Break's minimum specs, but I suspect the way it looks on a Nvidia GTX 980 Titan will be a little more in-line with Remedy's vision.

Regardless of the platform you choose for Quantum Break, you'll find yourself picking your jaw up off the floor multiple times throughout its lengthy adventure. While its ambitions expose the widening disparity between the static hardware of current-gen consoles and the infinite potential of a PC, it shows Remedy Entertainment at their absolute eye-watering best. Quantum Break is audiovisually triumphant, and it will leave your senses in ecstasy.

Time flies

Gameplay

I expected Quantum Break to be a linear third-person cover shooter with the occasional visual set-piece, leveraging its TV show primarily as a unique selling point. I almost feel guilty for my lack of enthusiasm. In true Remedy fashion, Quantum Break places a delightfully unique spin on the shooter formula, rewarding the strategic, methodical gamer while punishing the overzealous.

You play as Jack Joyce, the rebellious brother of William Joyce. As mentioned earlier, Jack becomes irradiated by chronon particles as a result of a failed time travel experiment, gaining the ability to bend time itself to his will.

When I first picked up the controller, I attempted to play Quantum Break like a basic cover shooter. Indeed, to start with, Jack Joyce isn't acutely aware of his capabilities, and this fact is explored as both a plot point and gameplay mechanic. As you progress through the game's combat scenarios and story, you'll begin to unlock new skills. Those abilities are the core of Quantum Break's combat with shooting playing more of a complementary role.

I mentioned in the graphics section that your combat skills ignite waves of effects that paint the environment with shattered light, broken voids of time and satisfying slow-mo kills. To produce those graphical feats, you'll be carefully managing your ammunition, positioning, and time ability cooldowns. Jack Joyce isn't an armored super soldier; he can die incredibly quickly, and the enemy A.I. is suitably aggressive. As a result, Quantum Break is a refreshingly mobile shooter, and it gives you the all the tools you need to react to that paradigm.

Brushing my early concerns aside, Remedy has carefully tuned the game's combat to ensure no single ability is more powerful than all others. It forces you to make use of all the tools at your disposal and react to the game's varied challenges. Time Stop is Jack's most versatile technique, creating a field that freezes all enemies caught inside. You can then unload reams of ammunition into the field's shell, which catches the bullets and suspends them — allowing them to strike a target in one burst once time begins to flow properly again. The force of the bullets sends enemies in satisfying arcs, crashing against the game's highly destructible environments in a hail of slow-motion debris and bullet trails.

Of course, Time Stop can also be used defensively, freezing encroaching enemies while you use Time Dodge to speed away. Most of Quantum Break's powers can be used in multiple ways, which only adds to the dynamism of its combat. Jack's Time Shield not only prevents incoming bullets, bouncing them away in an impressive fireworks display, but using it in the vicinity of other enemies will briefly stun them in the ensuing shockwave, giving you a moment to react with an instance of Max Payne-like bullet time. All of Jack's abilities can be upgraded by hunting down hidden Chronon sources, but the upgrades don't dramatically alter the way you play.

Just as you begin to get used to Quantum Break's various Kevlar-clad enemies, the game works new challenges into the mix. From enemies with the tech to resist your powers, anti-time power field generators, and hulking exo-suited soldiers, Quantum Break sidesteps repetition, and it does so in ways that extend beyond combat.

When you're not plowing through Monarch Solution's private security forces, Quantum Break also presents you with rudimentary physics puzzles, basic exploration and platforming gameplay. The game world is littered with emails, audio files, and even past events you can view using Jack's time reversal powers. Narrative objects act as collectibles, but also add depth (and often, insane implications) to the game's gripping plot and characters. Some of those objects even trigger additional scenes in the TV show, with scenes that range from shocking, hilarious and utterly tragic.

This is more feedback than criticism, but I feel that when a game excels in specific ways, it can shine a spotlight on weaker areas. I would've liked Quantum Break to take their physics puzzles a tad further, and polish its occasional platforming sequences a little. Quantum Break also features a couple of pseudo-boss fights that are disappointingly basic, missing out on the potential to create some truly climactic set pieces and plot resolutions. And, as good as Quantum Break's cinematic aspects are, the ratio of playable sequences could've been higher — if for no reason other than how fun they are.

Regardless, Quantum Break is the most enjoyable third-person shooter I've played in years. It defies its humble archetype, creating something that feels truly fresh in an industry dominated with rehashing and remasters. The thoughtful approach to combat and its pulsing quantum phenomena left me utterly elated. It often feels less like a game, and more like you're the actor and director of a personal pre-rendered action movie.

Cohesion is the theme here, and it was hard to write about Quantum Break's gameplay without mentioning its story, and its delivery. Quantum Break is a cinematic adventure in every sense, and the way the playable segments overlap with the game's live action sequences and in-engine cutscenes will have a huge impact on how you experience this title.

Mind = blown

Story & TV

As good as Quantum Break's visuals are, as amazing as Quantum Break's combat is, nothing prepared me for the impact the game's story would have on me. The way Quantum Break's story is delivered elevates the medium. It reveals a missing link that prevents gaming from ascending into the critical "artistic mainstream" to sit alongside movies and TV.

Quantum Break's story follows an episodic structure, similar to Alan Wake. The playable game follows the game's heroes, while the live-action show generally follows the game's antagonists. As you get deeper into the story, Quantum Break chips away at the core "good vs. evil" story, revealing moral shades of grey in every character's motivations.

Each time you complete one of the game's playable levels, you're presented with an in-game scene that serves as an introduction to the upcoming episode of the TV show. Those scenes usually offer a choice, referred to in-game as a Junction, and those choices will dramatically alter the way you perceive the game, and its characters.

Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones) portrays the somewhat tragic Monarch Solutions exec Paul Serene, locked in a fatalistic obsession about the nature of the time fracture. It brings him into direct conflict with his childhood friend, Jack Joyce (Shawn Ashmore, X-Men) and his brother, the scientist William Joyce (Dominic Monaghan, Lord of the Rings) — responsible for discovering the Meyer-Joyce field, upon which all the game's science fiction rests.

Without giving away too much, renowned physicist William Joyce stumbles upon the solution of time travel. Through a complicated chain of events, Paul Serene manages to trigger a catastrophe by activating an imperfect version of William Joyce's time machine. Paul and Jack become irradiated with Chronon particles in the process, gaining superhero-like powers over time itself. Paul's travels through the damaged time machine give him the unwavering conviction that nothing can be done to repair the fracture in reality.

The entire cast do a tremendous job bringing Quantum Break's story to life. Due to the time travel phenomena and story choices, some of the actors are called upon to portray wildly different versions of their character's personalities, and they do so with confidence. The Joyce brothers have tremendous chemistry, and even manage to inject some Remedy-style humor into the otherwise dire proceedings. For me, it was Lance Reddick's (The Wire) merciless, flesh-crawling portrayal of Monarch Solutions' executive Martin Hatch that stole the show.

The story explores a catalog of time travel tropes and scientific theories, with a hint of fun, self-aware superhero clichés for good measure. Depending on your level of engagement with the narrative, your experience will be entirely different — and it appears to be by design. Remedy have cleverly segregated the more complex, somewhat maddening time travel implications into the TV show and various emails and audio collectibles scattered throughout the game. If you just want an action game, and don't fancy sitting through the game's TV show, you'll still have a blast. But if you take your time and pay attention, some of the twists, turns, and implications that the show offers will totally blow your mind. If you're a fan of time travel fiction, Quantum Break challenges the best that Hollywood has to offer.

It can be a little hard to follow at times, as time travel fiction often is, but it's compounded by the sheer number of characters, complex real-world physics theories, and intertwining sub-plots. Even the most minor supporting actors have important and engaging roles to play. All those different plot facets and deep characters lead me to believe that Remedy could craft a sprawling franchise with Quantum Break, rather than a one-hit wonder. I immediately found myself invested in the game's lore, and like someone who's just binged an entire show on Netflix, I'm hungry for more.

My path through the game's story led me down through some incredible plot points, throwing disturbing mysteries that had me pouring hours into obscure time travel forums and physics Wikipedia articles. There really is so much more to Quantum Break than the marketing led us to believe. It's the type of story that'll have fans driving themselves crazy, collating the game's hints in an attempt theorize away its most troubling mysteries. It's a testament to Remedy's writing and story structuring that those deeper elements are never forced on the viewer — they feed through a little more subtly. It's another testament to Remedy's writing that, even if you rush through the game, and skip the TV show, the narrative remains totally coherent. Additionally, I've traversed some of the game's multiple-choices, and discovered wildly different events and collectables through the game's story as a result, this adds volumes of replayability and depth.

Most importantly though, just adding live action with human actors solves a subtle psychological barrier that exists between games and film. As good as the character models are, and facial rendering and mo-cap is, today's tech can't replicate the emotional subtleties we communicate with physical expression. Quantum Break shatters that barrier, and coalesces both mediums into one of the most impactful and memorable video game experiences I've ever had.

Masterpiece

Conclusion

I went in with the fear that Quantum Break's risky experiment with live action wouldn't work, that it'd wreak havoc on the game's pacing, and alienate those looking for a game, rather than an interactive TV show. Remedy Entertainment strides confidently throughout both mediums, as though they were Jack Joyce himself navigating those stunning pockets of molten time.

The gameplay is fresh and satisfying, the visual design is beyond anything we've seen, and the story is layered and engrossing. The pacing whiplash between its action-packed combat and lengthy TV breaks required a little adjustment on my part, but I'm glad it was Remedy who were the first to take plunge. They've not only proven it's possible, but desirable.

Pros:

• Audiovisual design is absolutely incredible
• Fresh and strategic take on third-person shooting
• The TV show is ground-breaking
• Story is rich with thought-provoking implications and great characters

Cons:

• Puzzle elements are basic and under-explored
• Combat sequences often felt brief
• It could be years before we get a sequel, and time machines do not exist

OUTSTANDING

4.5/5

While Quantum Break exposes the Xbox One's technical limitations, Remedy has crafted a masterpiece that earns its place among the best that the console has to offer. Quantum Break is the first thoroughly unmissable, truly unique console exclusive the Xbox One has. Every single Xbox One and W10 gaming PC owner should pick up this game, and the big-budget publishers out there funding similar cinematic experiences should take note. Quantum Break has permanently altered the way I want to experience storytelling in games.

Quantum Break launches on April 5th exclusively for Xbox One and the Windows 10 Store.

See Quantum Break on Amazon

The very fact we would have doubt is a sad prospect, but given the less than perfect introduction the Windows 10 Store has had with AAA games, it's there. Microsoft might be giving it away to Xbox One pre-order customers, but it's not to those who just want it on the PC.

Not that being free to anyone excuses anything.

It's fortunate then that from what we've seen, the Windows 10 version of Quantum Break is solid. Microsoft has been offering the British public it's first chance to get it's hands on the eagerly awaited title at the recent Insomnia Gaming Festival, on both PC and console.

The actual content of the demo is nothing different to that which you've seen already in our preview and our stream. But that's all in the hands of reviewers. This was the first time the general public could get their hands on Quantum Break, and that includes me. Since I'm not one of the cool kids.

Having tried both the Windows 10 and Xbox One versions there's little to say between the two. Graphically, the PC game looks sharper, which is understandable, and seemed almost completely glitch free. There were a couple of moments where things looked like they got a little out of shape, but equally that could have been one of the many special effects littered throughout the game. It was tough to tell. Maybe the very nature of Quantum Break could hide any glitches in plain sight?

But it was mostly smooth as butter, the animations on the faces look great, the movement is sharp and the action is fast and furious when the bullets start to fly. This may well be a controlled demo, but that doesn't always mean success. But as pointed out in our preview, the environments are sublime. There's so much detail, so many destructible objects and the effect that Jack Joyce's time bending powers have on the world around him will never get boring.

I didn't get long to play, but for my eyes there was no discernible difference between the two save for the graphics. And that's a good thing. It certainly didn't feel like Quantum Break has been rushed to the PC. Of course the true test will be April 5, when it gets into the hands of the paying public and onto PCs of varying hardware levels around the world. And playing with an Xbox One controller is so familiar, it really did feel like a better looking console experience. Aside from peering into a monitor and not a TV.

And what of the game itself? I played from the beginning, and the opening sucked me right in. I'm a sucker for a good story, something to immerse you in the action, and Quantum Break seems to have that in spades. I've also been hearing some of what our review team has been saying, and needless to say, I think this is going to be big.

Our full review of Quantum Break on the Xbox One will be with you in the coming days, and you won't want to miss that. I haven't been this excited for a game in a long time.

More: Quantum Break preview

See Quantum Break at the Microsoft Store

The latest episode of our Xbox and Microsoft podcast, the #OneCast, is now available and accessible through major podcast distribution services. On this week's episode, we discuss what Build 2016 has in store for Windows users, gamers, and what changes the Xbox One could see going forward. The rest of the episode is jam-packed with a range of topics, including HoloLens, our final Hitman impressions and the Universal Windows Platform.

This week's episode is available from the following sources:

• OneCast on Soundcloud
• OneCast on iTunes
• OneCast RSS Feed

If you're using a podcast app, copy and paste the RSS feed URL into the search bar, or search for 'OneCast Windows'.

OneCast is our Xbox and Microsoft podcast, hosted by the staff of Windows Central. A new episode of the OneCast is recorded each week, with topics surrounding Microsoft news and the gaming industry.

This week's discussions

• 00:00:00 - Hitman episodic woes
• 00:12:00 - Quantum Break, the road to review
• 00:33:15 - Lumia and Surface marketing (in Quantum Break and beyond)
• 00:46:45 - Final preview on Quantum Break and April's Games with Gold
• 00:52:40 - Build 2016 discussion ('Ask #OneCast' winner: Mats Persson!)
• 01:03:15 - Universal Windows Platform for Xbox One speculation
• 01:21:45 - HoloLens TED talk
• 01:28:20 - New Windows 10 features?
• 01:33:30 - Crazy Predictions
• 01:38:00 - Weekly 'Ask #OneCast' contest!

This week's hosts

• Matt Brown / matt@windowscentral.com
• Jez Corden / jez@windowscentral.com

Ask OneCast giveaways!

Every week we'll be discussing an Xbox or Microsoft-related question from the audience, so make sure to submit them via our Twitter accounts (@mattjbrown and @JezCorden) using the #OneCast hashtag, via email, or in the comments below. If we select your question, this week, you'll win an Xbox One or Windows game of your own choosing!

Further reading on this week's topics

• Preview: Hands-on with Quantum Break's time-bending first act (Xbox One)
• How Microsoft showcases Lumia and Surface in Quantum Break
• Microsoft Build 2016 – What to expect and what you need to know
• Sunset Overdrive and Dead Space are among April's free Xbox Games With Gold
• Hitman review: Does an episodic structure hurt the franchise?
• Microsoft's recent TED Talk on the HoloLens has some incredible new demos

With just a week to go before the release of Quantum Break, Microsoft has posted a new live-action trailer for the time-based action game coming to the Xbox One and Windows 10. The trailer focuses on Quantum Break's villains, who are portrayed by Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) and Lance Reddick (Fringe) in the game developed by Remedy.

One interesting feature about Quantum Break has also come to light. Engadget reports that the game has an option to turn off its licensed music. Remedy added this small option so that "Let's Play" videos on YouTube and Twitch can show the game without running into any pesky copyright infringement issues:

Quantum Break is due for release on April 5. As a reminder, people who pre-order the Xbox One version will get a code to download the Windows 10 port for free when it becomes available in the Windows Store.

See at Microsoft Store

If you've pre-ordered Quantum Break and will be receiving Alan Wake's American Nightmare, you may want to double check with the retailer to ensure you're still getting the extra game. GAME UK is having to replace the latter from the bundle due to age rating issues. Unfortunately, Quantum Break is rated PEGI 16, while Alan Wake's American Nightmare is PEGI 18.

You'll still be getting Quantum Break, but depending on where you pre-order from, you might receive a different second title. This is due to Quantum Break (the title you technically purchase) is rated for younger audiences. Here's the alert in full on GAME UK's website:

GAME in the UK will replace American Nightmare with Kameo: Elements of Power. Though you can still get the title for free if you visit the store at launch with proof of purchase and photo ID. As noted already, do check with the retailer you're pre-ordering with. Amazon simply has a notice to alert buyers of the age rating differences between the two, but appear to be honoring orders.

See at Amazon

After nearly three years of waiting, developer Remedy and publisher Microsoft will finally release their time-bending action game Quantum Break on April 5 for the Xbox One and Windows 10. The day before the launch, 11 Microsoft Stores in the U.S and Canada will hold launch events for the game.

The stores will let attendees play Quantum Break before its releases, and will also have food and music, along with prizes and a limited-edition Quantum Break poster as a gift for the first 200 gamers at each store. The locations for the launch events are:

• Fashion Valley Mall (San Diego, CA)
• Pacific Centre (Vancouver, Canada)
• NorthPark Center (Dallas, TX)
• Park Meadows Mall (Lone Tree, CO)
• The Florida Mall (Orlando, FL)
• Tysons Corner Center (Mclean, VA)
• Westfield Century City (Los Angeles)
• Yorkdale Shopping Centre (Toronto, Canada)
• Bellevue Square (Seattle, WA)
• The Domain (Austin, TX)
• Microsoft Flagship Store on Fifth Ave. and 53rd. St. (New York City, NY)

Remember, pre-orders at any Microsoft Store, or on its website, for Quantum Break on the Xbox One will offer buyers some free extras, including a $10 Xbox gift card, a free download of Alan Wake's American Nightmare for the Xbox 360 that can be played on the Xbox One, and the full Windows 10 version of Quantum Break.

See at Microsoft Store

Remedy's upcoming action-adventure third-person shooter Quantum Break has a TV series that ties in with the game's storyline. If you're playing the game on the Xbox One, you have the option to download the episode pack, which comes in at 75GB.

If you don't have that kind of storage left on your Xbox One or on an external drive, you can always choose to stream the episodes, which are delivered after every major chapter in the game.

Quantum Break will be available starting April 5. If you pre-order the game for the Xbox One, Microsoft will throw in the Windows 10 port for free.

See at Microsoft Store

The latest episode of our Xbox podcast, OneCast, is now available and accessible through major podcast distribution services. On this week's episode, we share our impressions of Microsoft's upcoming exclusive shooter Quantum Break after receiving a copy ahead of the public release. While we're only able to share our opinions on the game's first act, we've made sure to answer all the questions you sent our way!

This week we also revealed our first giveaway on the #OneCast, where you too can get your hands on Quantum Break next month! Make sure to listen to find out how to win!

This week's episode is available from the following sources:

• OneCast on Soundcloud
• OneCast on iTunes
• OneCast RSS Feed

If you're using a podcast app, copy and paste the RSS feed URL into the search bar, or search for 'OneCast Windows'.

OneCast is our Xbox and Microsoft podcast, hosted by the staff of Windows Central. A new episode of the OneCast is recorded each week, with topics surrounding Microsoft news and the gaming industry.

This week's discussions

• 00:00:00 - Quantum Break initial impressions.
• 0:51:00 - Random Dell XPS 15 impressions?!
• 01:06:25 - Quantum Break Q&A with more impressions.
• 01:25:00 - Ask OneCast: Quantum Break giveaway!

This week's hosts

• Matt Brown / matt@windowscentral.com
• Jez Corden / jez@windowscentral.com

Every week we'll be discussing an Xbox or Microsoft-related question from the audience, so make sure to submit them via our Twitter accounts (@mattjbrown and @JezCorden) using the #OneCast hashtag, via email, or in the comments below. If we select your topic for discussion, this week you'll win a copy of Quantum Break for Xbox One!

Further reading on this week's topics

• Preview: Hands-on with Quantum Break's time-bending first act (Xbox One)
• Watch us play the first act of Quantum Break, the next big Xbox exclusive
• How Microsoft showcases Lumia and Surface in Quantum Break

See Quantum Break on the Microsoft Store

For those who are tuning into the game for the first time, Quantum Break is an upcoming third-person shooter from Remedy Entertainment, famed for Max Payne and Alan Wake. Quantum Break is a superhero story that takes place in the fictional city of Riverport, following a time manipulation experiment that went horribly wrong. Both Jack Joyce (portrayed by Shawn Ashmore) and Paul Serene (Aidan Gillen) gain the power to manipulate time itself as a result of the incident, as the walls of reality begin crashing down.

For our preview, we're looking at two stages from the game's first act, in addition to the first live action portion. I will say, though, even at this early stage, Quantum Break shows Remedy Entertainment at their best.

Riverport Unravelling

Setting

As mentioned, Quantum Break takes place in the fictional American city of Riverport. Jack Joyce has come to meet his brother, renowned physicist William Joyce at the site of Riverport University, although it isn't Will that comes to greet him. Without giving away too much, an altercation between the game's much-advertised antagonist, Paul Serene, and the Joyce brothers leads to a potentially universe-ending disaster. Time itself starts to break down, and the race to survive the quantum cataclysm begins.

Paul Serene's Monarch Solutions has a plan to exploit the coming storm, and the amoral corporation is hell bent on preventing Jack Joyce, now endowed with the power to manipulate time, from ruining their plans.

I haven't experienced much of the plot so far, but right from the beginning, you'll realize that the story has far more to it than the marketing campaign has let on — this is Remedy Entertainment, after all. Sam Lake's masterful narrative elevated both Max Payne and Alan Wake far above their typical shooter station, and it certainly seems as though he's bought the same magic into Quantum Break. I have a feeling that the game's time-warping plot will have fans pouring the same impassioned scrutiny seen for similar time-abusing media like the movies Looper, Interstellar and Primer, maybe for years to come.

Plot points aside, I firmly believe Quantum Break represents a quantum leap for digital storytelling. We've all seen the trailers, but witnessing familiar actors like Shawn Ashmore and Aidan Gillen rendered so precisely, so accurately, running live on a regular Xbox One is nothing short of incredible. Those tiny facial cues we take for granted in real life have a profound effect on communication, and their appearance in-game helps you connect with the characters in a far more powerful way than in a lesser title. Aidan Gillen's portrayal of Paul Serene has stolen the show for me so far, perhaps in part because he's received the most air time. Without spoiling, the range of characteristics Gillen portrays in a relatively short period has been impressive, time travel is a complicated business.

Indeed, Remedy Entertainment uses a shot of the digitally-rendered Gillen to transition into the game's first live action episode, unashamed to compare the fidelity of his digital portrayal side by side with HD live action, and to quote Paul Serene, the results are staggering. Quantum Break takes a sledgehammer to the barrier between video games and Hollywood. I need to spend more time to discover whether that shattered wall will having a liberating effect, or just injure its pacing.

Quantum Visuals

Graphics

I've touched on Quantum Break's character visuals, but what of its general design? I've seen Quantum Break live presentations a few times over the last couple of years, and always came away impressed. But time marches on, and between the first time I saw Quantum Break and now, we've had games like The Division, The Witcher 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Halo 5 — graphical powerhouses in various ways. I'd argue that Remedy Entertainment pushed the capabilities of the Xbox 360 with Alan Wake, and Quantum Break represents yet another technical marvel.

While the levels I've played so far do not represent Quantum Break's final code (as a hefty title update will ship sometime before launch), what Remedy have offered so far has been astonishing.

I've made the point in an earlier preview that Quantum Break's time-bending super-powers have directly impacted every aspect of the game's visual design. Every bullet from every gun, every fragment from the Quantum Breaks's highly destructible environments, every mundane object that gives the world believability — they're physical entities that can be manipulated (often heavily) by the game's physics-based combat abilities. Surveying destroyed objects, mid-air tracer rounds and contorted enemies suspended in fields of broken time gives you an idea of just how much load Quantum Break is placing on the Xbox One's hardware. At times, it feels like you're cavorting through a grand, pre-rendered movie straight from of big-budget Hollywood visual effects studio.

If the sheer amount of objects — both large and tiny — rendered in real time doesn't impress you, then the vivid effects Jack Joyce's time powers have on the environment just might. Every ability you use sends out a tide of liquid ripples across every surface of the game, disturbing, and sometimes smashing destructible objects, representing the violent manipulation of the laws of physics.

Between impressive anti-aliasing, moody lighting, liberal use of film grain and cutting-edge motion capture work, Quantum Break is a cinematic treat that should enthrall Remedy fans and graphic hounds alike. A question mark hangs over the game's final resolution, and at times, texture popping can be quite rough, but as mentioned, this isn't final code. I'll report back any improvements after the title update drops, which should be some before the game's April 4th launch.

Third-person Time Lord

Gameplay Impressions

Jack Joyce has the power to manipulate time, and even in Quantum Break's early stages it commands familiar superhero tropes (including those classic Remedy-style references). The combination of third-person shooting and active-use abilities resembles Mass Effect's biotic class, which utilized similar physics-bending capabilities on varying cooldown timers.

I'll admit, after coming in directly from The Division, I was initially disappointed with Quantum Break's shooting mechanics. I found myself longing for something that felt heavier — firing an assault rifle full-auto should have some kick, but it's not the case in Quantum Break. However, I began to feel like it could be by design rather than neglect as I proceeded through to Act 1 Part 3, as Joyce's certifiably insane time manipulation abilities began taking center stage.

When you consider the idea the possibility that the game's various guns are simply there to augment Jack's superhuman capabilities, then it makes sense that they'd play a complementary role. Every enemy I encountered in the game's first Act was strapped in body armor, head to toe — spray and pray isn't a good tactic in Quantum Break. Jack has disappointingly basic regenerating health; I think Remedy missed the opportunity to add some potentially interesting time-reversal healing mechanics here. Regardless, the point is that he's very squishy. We take the idea of a one-man-army for granted in modern shooters, and with that in mind, Quantum Break can be somewhat ironically realistic. If you ignore Jack's powers and try to treat Quantum Break like a typical shooter, you'll quickly find yourself out-matched.

So far, Remedy has done an impressive job balancing Quantum Break's time abilities in a way that doesn't render combat trivial, and forces you to be tactical and considerate about their usage. Each time power has restrictions on how often you can deploy them. The more potent 'Time Blast' has a comparatively long cooldown, as it causes a violent disturbance in the chronon field, destroying objects and enemies in a spectacular warp of bent space-time. Defensive abilities like Jack Joyce's time rush ability have a shorter cool down, as the frequency you'll need it to avoid the game's punishing A.I. is quite high.

Jack's most crucial ability is his 'Time Stop' power, which locks an area in a pocket of frozen time. When you encase an enemy in the field, you can fire a stack of bullets at its edge, so that they strike the target in an instant when the field shatters back to the present.

Some of the more simplistic combat mechanics such as the automatic cover system and regenerating health allow Quantum Break's outstanding time abilities to take center stage. While in cover, your time is best spent planning your next assault, rather than time your attacks carefully and formulating strategies

It's not all third-person physics combat, though. So far, and in typical Remedy style, the game breaks up the time-warping shooting gallery with physics puzzles, asking you to use your time powers in creative ways.

With all of its elements combined; pockets of slow motion, destructible environments, varied enemies, highly mobile combat and spectacular ability effects, Quantum Break has been nothing short of infectious so far, merely writing about it is making me want to jump right back in.

Cinematic future

Overall Impressions

Barely two hours into the game, and Quantum Break has offered a unique, but familiar experience. It feels like the culmination of what Remedy learned while making Alan Wake; blending tried and tested TV story structuring with a third person shooter can work extremely well. Only this time they had a far larger Microsoft budget to play with.

At the end of every act, you're presented with choices that can completely alter the course of the game. Not only does this enhance the games replayability in place of a tacked-on multiplayer component, but it's an encouraging glimpse into a future where games and shows based on games needn't be terrible. Microsoft and other publishers have experimented with live action versions of their games with varying success, and with Quantum Break, we're starting to see how easily the experience can translate with the right direction.

Once you've made those choices, you can watch them unfurl via 20-30 minute live action episodes which offer an alternative perspective on the playable game's plot. The Quantum Break TV show takes us into the lives and motivations of Monarch Solutions, from Paul Serene himself through to the company's private army, and to those affected by the time stutters threatening to destroy reality.

I didn't have particularly high expectations for the show, based on preconceptions of various failed attempts to bring games to the big screen (don't mention the atrocious Max Payne movie), but so far it seems like Remedy has nailed it. Lance Reddick's solemn portrayal of Monarch Solutions' CEO Martin Hatch has, thus far, been utterly chilling. Hatch is a man who has no qualms snuffing out human lives to ensure the survival of his company, but then again, it's all on Paul Serene's fatalistic orders.

As a fan of the cast Remedy and Microsoft have put together for Quantum Break, it's refreshing to see them working together so well in a video game context. It seems that Quantum Break's TV show fits snugly into the whole package, confidently shrugging off gaming's troubled history with live action content.

I'm intrigued to see how the story will play out as I dive further into the game (and just how many more awesome Lumia and Surface cameos Microsoft can cram into it).

Of course, the live action portions are entirely optional. If you're not into TV shows, it's perfectly reasonable that you might want to skip them. Even as someone who enjoyed what Remedy had put on offer, I did feel as though I had to adjust to the pacing whiplash a little. So far, it seems Remedy have avoided a Metal Gear Solid 4-like kind of deal, where there's more cutscenes to watch than there is gameplay, but you can skip them entirely without losing grip on the game's central plot. It follows a character driven secondary perspective, avoiding plot points that could confuse the game itself.

It's equal parts encouraging and exciting that Microsoft greenlit such an experimental and, likely expensive project, and I hope that it works out well as I progress towards the end because I'd personally like to see more of this sort of thing.

On the road to review, I'll be looking out to see how the story develops, how well Remedy keeps the combat fresh, and what effect that upcoming title update has on the game's visuals. Even at this early stage, it's quite apparent that Quantum Break is a very special game, and will likely earn a place among the best of what Remedy Entertainment and Xbox One has to offer. Stay tuned.

Quantum Break launches on April 4th, exclusively for Xbox One and Windows 10.

• See Quantum Break on the Microsoft Store
• See Quantum Break Special Edition Xbox One on the Microsoft Store

Earlier today the embargo lifted for a small section of Quantum Break content, allowing the public to get a sneak peek of the game's integrated live-action show. In this footage, we get a glimpse of the game's story and the unlikely future the game envisions, where time is destroyed (and everybody uses Windows Phone).

During the live-action show, we've been able to catch numerous product placements from Microsoft, ranging from the company's software and services and its own hardware. As shown in the first episode, each member of the game's notorious corporation, Monarch Solutions, is kitted out with a Windows Phone and a Windows 10 PC.

Employees of Monarch Solutions, such as Martin Hatch and Liam Burke, both use Lumia 830s running Windows Phone 8.1. The show was reportedly filmed before Windows 10 Mobile's release to Insiders, which explains its exclusion from the production. So put down those pitchforks. Hey, maybe they will update it with a DLC.

Other examples include Windows 10 PCs being used in Monarch Solutions' offices. Most noticeable during the office scene that introduces Wincott and Brenner, a Windows 10 desktop PC and five Surface Pro 3 tablets are used to display security footage. Once again, Wincott also answers a call using a Lumia 830.

The Lumia 830 is also showcased in-game, during Quantum Break's first act. Unlike the device used in the live-action show, the in-game model retains Nokia branding. Strangely, the Nokia logo is located above the speaker, instead of being off centered like its real-world counterpart.

For those wanting to spruce up their Windows devices with the wallpaper used by the Quantum Break's cast, a collection of wallpapers is now available on the official Xbox site.

With Microsoft Studios publishing Quantum Break, it's far from a surprise that these devices are used. It will be interesting to see how frequently Microsoft's products are showcased, as the story progresses.

With just under a month left before the global launch of Quantum Break on Xbox One and Windows 10, Remedy Entertainment has released a launch trailer for the game. Set to a cover of Nirvana's "Come As You Are," the trailer showcases a lot of the time-bending action we can expect from the game.

The game centers around Jack Joyce, played by X-Men star Shawn Ashmore, and Paul Serene, played by Aidan Gillen of The Wire and Game of Thrones. Time is unraveling thanks to an experiment gone wrong, with both men affected by the outcome, able to in some way interact with time itself. Jack has the power to bend time itself, which you can use to slow enemies down, speed yourself up, and more. The game is also intertwined with a live-action TV show, which will follow the events of the game from villain Paul Serene's perspective.

Quantum Break will arrive globally on Xbox One and PC on April 5, 2016.

See at Microsoft

Quantum Break is a time bending third-person shooter from Remedy Entertainment, known for Alan Wake and Max Payne. Quantum Break promises to be a visual feast for Xbox One owners, but PC owners will be able to push the resolution all the way up to 4K resolution — if you have the hardware for it.

Quantum Break will join the likes of Rise of the Tomb Raider as Microsoft starts bolstering the Windows 10 Store's PC game offering. It'll also arrive as a cross-buy title for those who pre-order Quantum Break on Xbox One, complete with Xbox integration, meaning you can take your story progress from PC to Xbox One and vice versa. Additionally, those who purchase Quantum Break on Xbox One will also receive the Xbox 360 version of Alan Wake and all of its DLC for Xbox One's backward compatibility.

The features and recommended settings are as follows:

FEATURES:

• In-depth, fast-paced narrative experience crafted by Remedy Entertainment
• Top quality live action show that is directly impacted by choices made in-game
• Stellar cast of actors
• One story told many ways
• Time-amplified action gameplay
• Navigate epic scenes of destruction as they skip and rewind in broken time

XBOX LIVE FEATURES:

• Quantum Break includes rich Xbox Live features like Achievements, Game DVR, Leaderboards, and more.
• To play this game, you'll need to use your existing account on Xbox Live or the same Microsoft account you used to purchase the game.

MINIMUM PC SPECIFICATIONS:

Quantum Break has been built for Windows 10, but to ensure the game will play on your PC, the following MINIMUM PC specifications are needed:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• DirectX 12
• CPU: Intel Core i5-4460, 2.70GHz or AMD FX-6300
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX760 or AMD Radeon R7
• VRAM: 2 GB
• RAM: 8 GB
• Supported peripherals: Windows-compatible keyboard, mouse, Xbox One Controller for Windows
• Hard Disk Space: 55 GB free (base game)

RECOMMENDED PC SPECIFICATIONS:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• DirectX 12
• CPU: Intel Core i5-4690, 2.70GHz or AMD equivalent
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX970 or AMD Radeon R9
• VRAM: 4 GB
• RAM: 16 GB
• Supported peripherals: Windows-compatible keyboard, mouse, Xbox One gamepad
• Hard Disk Space: 55 GB free (base game)

SUPPORTED OS: Windows 10 (64-bit version only)

DEFAULT INSTALL LOCATION:

The game app will install to the default location set by your device. To see where the game will install, press the Windows button and type "storage" and then select 'Storage.' You may choose which drive apps will save to by default here.

KNOWN ISSUES:

• Windows 10 download progress bar does not accurately display progress.
• Due to a UI issue download progress may not be accurately displayed (despite downloading without issue).
• When pausing and resuming the download, it may appear that the download has reset (appears to start from 0). However, actual download progress has not been affected.

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Fable Legends, Killer Instinct and various other Microsoft-published Xbox games are known to be headed to PC via the Windows 10 Store. Quantum Break is a Windows 10 Store exclusive, meaning that you shouldn't expect to see the game on Steam or other digital marketplaces, for now.

Check out Quantum Break on the Windows 10 Store

Despite being previously advertised as an in-house exclusive to the Xbox One, Quantum Break will now be available on Windows 10, parallel with the console release on April 5th. Alongside this announcement it was revealed that digital pre-orders will be paired with complimentary copies of Alan Wake and its DLC via Xbox One backwards compatibility. Pre-orders also include a pre-paid code for Quantum Break via the Windows 10 Store, which supports cross-platform save syncing with the Xbox One version. This is a similar model to Microsoft's existing cross-buy feature, which enables certain purchases and game data to be unified across the Microsoft ecosystem, translating between multiple Windows 10 devices.

The announcement was followed by a surprising backlash from die-hard Xbox fans, who claimed it signalled Microsoft's lack of devotion to the Xbox One. Some fanatics went as far to address directly Xbox head Phil Spencer, claiming that they were cancelling their Quantum Break pre-orders to express their stance on the practice.

On the surface, it may seem that Microsoft is refocusing efforts towards the growing PC gaming market, but a much deeper scheme is currently in play.

A good deed to all gamers

The backlash from the Quantum Break deal is hard to justify, as it doesn't affect the personal experience of the user. If anything, this is a form of elitism, left brewing from the 'console wars'. The proposed distribution of Quantum Break benefits both Xbox One and PC gamers while simultaneously pushing downloads through Microsoft's own online storefronts. Titles exclusive to the Xbox platform are an efficient method of shifting units but restricts the potential reach of these experiences.

For players who game exclusively on a Windows PC, this type of deal will open up a new library of top-tier titles backed by substantial investments. These titles will be served through the Windows Store, and build upon Microsoft's library of triple-A experiences on Windows 10. This extends the game's reach to millions of new potential buyers, which in turn, will return more sales. Owners of both an Xbox One console and a gaming PC also will see benefits from this strategy, with two copies of the game being offered for a single price, on top of the additional bonus content. This will be significantly complemented by Quantum Break's cross-save functionality, allowing players to take a single experience between multiple devices. This comes back to Microsoft's vision, where the software and applications move with the user, across a range of various devices.

Gamers who use the Xbox One as their only gaming system will see indirect advantages of such deals, thanks to the additional revenue Microsoft gains from PC sales. This can be invested in improving the Xbox experience for both Xbox One and Windows 10 gamers, and helping fund future first-party titles.

Hardware doesn't yield immense profit

Manufacturing Xbox One hardware isn't hugely profitable. This fact has been established for some time now and was even prevalent during the previous console generation. Microsoft's greatest profits can be seen in licensing and software sales, where the company's services and branding are loaned out for use from third parties.

Additional content and features provided as a bonus alongside digital copies of games on the Xbox and Windows Store drive purchases from these Microsoft-owned marketplaces. When software is sold through the company's own channels, licensing and packaging costs can be cut, leaving more money to be reassigned to other Xbox-related properties and services.

Hardware alone isn't printing money, but this doesn't mean that Xbox consoles are scheduled to be eradicated over the coming years. With console profits being so low, software across Xbox One and Windows 10 is used to make both these platforms profitable. Removing Xbox consoles from the equation disrupts the universal Windows 10 vision, where the platform acts as the operating system's presence in the living room.

Quantum Break is a perfect title to usher in this trend of simultaneous Windows 10 releases, due to the nature of the game's formula. The single-player cinematic gameplay is the main reasoning here, reducing the title's potential replayability. These pre-order incentives will lure more gamers into locking down a digital copy, reducing post-launch redistribution. Unlike Microsoft's well-established properties, the hitch of a lesser-known franchise such as Quantum Break can be reduced by promoting its cross-buy feature, further widening the game's reach.

Xbox still has a place at Microsoft

The industry frequently suggests that the Xbox One will be Microsoft's last attempt at a video game console, as a result of the console's numerous hiccups. While Xbox hardware profits aren't paying the bills, the console is a fundamental element of the Windows 10 ecosystem. Phil Spencer, Microsoft's Head of Xbox, has all but confirmed that a successor to the Xbox One is in the works, in a recent interview discussing Xbox's future.

The Xbox One is Windows 10's presence in the living room and acts as a vehicle for connecting with mass-market consumers. The console is the only product from Microsoft that has a large mainstream following, which in turn, enables the average consumer to connect with the corporate giant.

Microsoft's focus is seen as software and services, and this is now more prevalent than ever with the growing interest in cloud solutions. This is highlighted in the firm's latest earnings report, where the company focused on active Xbox Live users and engagement, rather than console units shipped. This omits the Xbox One hardware sales that are significantly lower than the PlayStation 4, but also shows the company's focus on Xbox software, services, and the profits they entail.

Supporting the Windows 10 vision

For Microsoft, the Xbox brand is the central component of their entertainment ecosystem. The brand is no longer associated with a series of consoles but rather represents Microsoft's gaming services across their operating systems. Windows 10 has been designed with a universal kernel across platforms, which allows applications and experiences to be similar, if not identical, across devices of all different form factors. The idea of cross-buy suitably ties in with this vision, allowing the player to access their content and data across interconnected devices, at no additional cost. With Windows 10 now receiving polish after a successful launch, features such as cross-buy and cross-play are required to further unify the platform.

Releasing Quantum Break for PC exclusively for Windows 10 drives downloads of the operating system, and keeps the title closely integrated into a single ecosystem. Microsoft now aims to unite Xbox One and PC gaming, with offers like these playing a major role in the unification of Windows 10. Distributing the title to a larger audience is in no way a bad thing, and will come back to benefit Xbox users over the coming years.

We're also giving away a copy of Dying Light: The Following Enhanced Edition to one lucky commenter! Simply leave a reply and join the discussion for a chance to win.

Every week, I collect some of the biggest Xbox news, rumors and talking points into one handy post every weekend. You can also rely on this weekly column to catch up with all the latest game releases.

Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Xbox One News.

Xbox marketing head Aaron Greenberg discusses Quantum Break heading to Windows 10

This past week, Microsoft announced that Quantum Break would be heading to Windows 10, bundled free with every Xbox One pre-order. The Windows 10 version of Quantum Break will be delivered via the Windows 10 Store, and come complete with Xbox Live achievements, game clip and screenshot sharing and cloud saves — enabling you to transfer your progression from Xbox to PC and vice versa.

Quite notably, some Xbox One fans were upset about the news. Some felt that bringing the previously announced Xbox One-exclusive to PC would diminish the value of the console, and hurt its chances against the PS4. Others felt that Microsoft should've been more transparent about Quantum Break's PC version, which was previously advertised as Xbox One exclusive. Some extended their concerns into the future, envisioning a world where every Xbox One exclusive would hit PC with cross-play, worrying about the possibility of Microsoft forcing Xbox One users to go head to head against keyboard and mouse wielding PC gamers in competitive games (which, by the way, won't happen).

Xbox marketing head Aaron Greenberg discussed some of the concerns on a podcast with Major Nelson (via GameSpot), stating that the announcement's timing was due to uncertainty about when the Windows 10 version would be ready:

Aaron Greenberg also discussed some of the reasons why Quantum Break is coming to PC, noting that shipping the game to PC gives it a greater potential for success:

Even though Microsoft are taking PC gaming more seriously, Aaron Greenberg said that Xbox fans shouldn't allow the news to cause anxiety about the future of Xbox as a console:

How do you feel about Quantum Break hitting Windows 10? Let us know in the comments.

Quantum Break will arrive on Xbox One and Windows 10 on April 5th, 2016.

See Quantum Break on Amazon

Psyonix discusses Rocket League for Xbox One with Major Nelson

For those who don't know, Rocket League is a hit indie sports game popularized on Windows and PS4. The game combines competitive arcade racing with soccer, where your vehicles can be used to smash a gigantic ball into a net. Since the game's PS4 launch, Xbox One owners were wondering whether or not it would arrive on Xbox One, and late last year, Psyonix gave us the answer. Rocket League will hit Xbox One on February 17th, and Psyonix's Jeremy Dunham joined Major Nelson's podcast to discuss Rocket League for Xbox One.

Psyonix stated that the only reason Rocket League hadn't hit Xbox One sooner was a matter of dev hours, rather than exclusivity:

Rocket League for Xbox One will come with some unique car customization, including vehicles inspired by Gears of War, Halo and Sunset Overdrive. Some of those vehicles will play into the game's Xbox One achievements, which have been streamlined following feedback on the game's PS4 and PC versions:

You can pre-order Rocket League right here on the Xbox One Store, ahead of its February 17th launch.

Ubisoft expects The Division to be one of the biggest new franchise launches in history, Watch Dogs 2 confirmed

Ubisoft is projecting big sales success for The Division. In a call to investors, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot discussed their strategy for the year, the future of Assassin's Creed and some big expectations for their upcoming connected shooter-RPG, The Division.

Ubisoft also hailed Rainbow Six Siege for achieving "record engagement levels", spearheading the studio's effort to keep players hooked to Ubisoft services (and revenue streams).

Echoing the news that Assassin's Creed would ditch its efforts to be an annual series, Guillemot stated that the studio was now in a position to re-examine the franchise and give it a "new dimension". If the previous Kotaku leak pans out, Ubisoft will be taking the stealth franchise to ancient Egypt. That same leak also claimed we'd be getting Watch Dogs 2 this year, which has now been confirmed by the same investor's call report.

Ubisoft is in a good position for 2016 and beyond, even without Assassin's Creed. The Division, Far Cry Primal, on-going updates to Rainbow Six Siege, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Watch Dogs 2, Ghost Recon Wildlands and new IP like For Honor should help the studio delight investors and gamers in equal measure. Only time will tell.

Giveaway – Dying Light: The Following Enhanced Edition for Xbox One

Join the discussion in the comments for a chance to win Dying Light: The Following Enhanced Edition for Xbox One. Dying Light launched last year and became a hit for its blend of parkour, Diablo-like looting mechanics and detailed zombie-apocalyptic world. To celebrate the launch of its hefty expansion, The Following, we're giving away a digital key for the Xbox One version. The Following adds an entirely new area to the game, complete with new weapons, quests and even drivable vehicles. The Enhanced Edition also includes all of the game's previous season pass DLC content in addition to the free updates that Techland have issued over the course of the year.

The winner was kenzibit!

ICYMI - Some of Windows Central's biggest Xbox articles of the week

• Xbox One Preview Program still 'TBD' on accepting more testers
• Halo 5 will get hit with a 'Hammer Storm' with its next free content update
• ARK: Survival Evolved for Xbox One adds split-screen support with latest update
• Ubisoft sees higher revenue from Xbox One players over PlayStation 4
• Xbox is following Nintendo, not PlayStation, into the future
• You can now pre-order Rocket League for the Xbox One
• Quantum Break recommended PC requirements updated, slightly less crazy
• Xbox One owners spent over 1 billion hours gaming in January, PlayStation 4 still on top for sales
• Quantum Break will sync your progress between Xbox One and Windows 10
• Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 're-examination' means no new games in the series in 2016

New Xbox One game releases for the week ending February 14th, 2016

In Space We Brawl: Full Arsenal Edition - Shooter - Forge Reply SRL

"In Space We Brawl is a frantic couch twin-stick shooter in which you challenge friends in fast-paced space battles for up to 4 players."

D/Generation HD - Classics & Social - West Coast Software Limited

"D/Generation was an immensely popular isometric puzzle game written in 1991 by Robert Cook for PC/DOS and ported by John Jones-Steele to Windows and Amiga/CD32. D/Generation HD has been recreated from the original source code and contains all the original features and puzzles but in glorious HD graphics."

Factotum 90 - Action & Adventure, Puzzle & Trivia - TACS Games

"You're in deep space and something's collided with the ship. Main power is offline and you're trapped. It's lucky you have access to this terminal. It's a little old but with these two robots and some clever thinking you might be able to get power back online and save the day."

Unravel - Platformer - EA

"Unravel introduces Yarny, a new, lovable and endearing character made from a single thread of yarn, which slowly unravels as you move. Inspired by the unique and breath-taking environments of Northern Scandinavia, Unravel is a visually stunning, physics-based puzzle platformer."

ARSLAN: THE WARRIORS OF LEGEND - Action & Adventure - Koei Tecmo

"An exciting collaboration between The Heroic Legend of Arslan anime and the action-infused Warriors series! Experience the grand historical fantasy with ARSLAN: THE WARRIORS OF LEGEND!"

Assassin's Creed Chronicles – Trilogy - Action & Adventure - Ubisoft

"Expand your Assassin's Creed experience and discover the forgotten stories of three remarkable Assassins in brand-new settings with fresh 2.5D stealth gameplay. Play the adventures of three cult Assassins: Each chapter comes with a unique hero and a new setting all interconnected through a common plot that will only be revealed at the very end."

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 - Action & Adventure - BANDAI NAMCO

"The latest opus in the acclaimed STORM series is taking you on a colorful and breathtaking ride. Take advantage of the totally revamped battle system and prepare to dive into the most epic fights you've ever seen in the NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM series!"

Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition - Action & Adventure - Techland

"Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition takes parkour-fueled zombie survival to a whole new level. Enjoy the definitive Dying Light experience with the brand-new Legend system, improved visuals, major gameplay enhancements, and more."

And that's a wrap!

This week I've mostly been enamored with an upcoming ID@Xbox title named The Flame in the Flood, launching on February 24th, 2016 for Xbox One. The Flame in the Flood's developer, The Molasses Flood is comprised of ex-Halo and Bioshock devs, and they gave me permission to discuss some of my experiences on this week's OneCast which should go live tomorrow right over here.

What have you guys been playing this week? Join this week's Xbox news discussion for a chance to win a digital code for Dying Light: The Following Enhanced Edition for Xbox One!

The announcement of Quantum Break for Windows 10 brought with it some pretty crazy recommended specs. We're expecting it to be taxing on any machine, but recommending a GTX 980ti or AMD Fury X shocked many. After all, these are $500+ graphics cards.

Remedy has now released some updated requirements which are a little more manageable for many of us. They're still high, but those previously recommended specs are actually what you'll need for Ultra settings.

The minimum requirements remain the same, but the recommended GPU has come down to a GTX 970 or R9 390 with 4GB VRAM. 16GB of RAM is still suggested, and you'll be wanting a Core i5 4690 processor or higher. And of course, Quantum Break is Windows 10 only and uses DX12.

So, you don't have to have the highest end graphics cards to get a great experience from Quantum Break after all. Panic over.

Source: @QuantumBreak

Earlier today, Microsoft announced that upcoming platform exclusive, Quantum Break, will launch on both Xbox One and Windows 10 simultaneously — complete with cross-buy purchasing. Those who buy Quantum Break for Xbox One will also receive a key for the game on the Windows 10 Store, complete with Xbox integration, bringing features like achievements, clip sharing over Xbox Live, and cloud saves, enabling you to take your progress from your Xbox One to your PC and vice versa.

Speaking to fans on Twitter, Xbox marketing lead Aaron Greenberg confirmed that Quantum Break will feature cloud save functionality:

If you've been following what Microsoft are doing on the Xbox and Windows 10 front, the news should come as no surprise. Rise of the Tomb Raider for Windows 10 also features cloud save functionality, along with achievements and clip sharing on Xbox Live.

As a first party property, Quantum Break goes one step further, becoming the first triple-A Xbox One game with cross-buy purchasing on Windows 10. In an exchange with fans, Phil Spencer hinted that cross-buy game purchasing between Xbox One and Windows 10 could become a platform-wide feature in the future:

Quantum Break arriving on PC is just the beginning of Microsoft's grand Windows 10 convergence plans for Xbox. Fable Legends, Killer Instinct and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition are all confirmed to be heading to the Windows 10 Store as well, following in Quantum Break and Rise of the Tomb Raider's footsteps.

Pre-order at Microsoft

How do you feel about Quantum Break hitting Windows 10? Let us know in the comments!

If you want to get an Xbox One console, Microsoft has just announced a new bundle that will contain a free copy of Remedy's action game Quantum Break. The Quantum Break Xbox One bundle is available for pre-order now for $349 for a release on March 29, a few days before Quantum Break is released as a standalone game on April 5.

Microsoft says:

Those who pre-order the Quantum Break Xbox One bundle will also get the Windows 10 version of the game for free.

See at Microsoft Store

Source: Microsoft

The long-awaited Xbox One action game Quantum Break is also coming to Windows 10. Microsoft has confirmed that both versions will be released on April 5, and that people who pre-order the Xbox One version will get the Windows 10 port for free.

Microsoft says:

Microsoft has also revealed the minimum and recommend PC hardware specs for Quantum Break for Windows 10:

Minimum Requirements:

• OS - Windows 10 (64-bit)
• DirectX 12
• CPU - Intel Core i5-4460, 2.70GHz or AMD FX-6300
• GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon R7 260x
• VRAM - 2 GB
• RAM - 8 GB
• HDD - 55 GB available space

Recommended Specs:

• OS - Windows 10 (64-bit)
• DirectX 12
• CPU - Intel Core i7 4790, 4GHz or AMD equivalent
• GPU - NVIDIA GeForce 980 Ti or AMD Radeon R9 Fury X
• VRAM - 6 GB
• RAM - 16 GB
• HDD - 55 GB available space

Microsoft has not revealed the price for the Windows 10 version of Quantum Break for those folks who don't pre-order the Xbox One version.

Pre-order at Microsoft

Source: Microsoft

Welcome to our weekly ICYMI for Xbox news. This week we're looking at patches to Rainbow Six Siege and Diablo 3, Quantum Break tweets, the possibility of a Xbox Two, and more!

We're also giving away a copy of Rainbow Six Siege to one lucky commenter! Simply leave a reply and join the discussion for a chance to win.

We'll still be posting major Xbox announcements in the main feed. However, I'll be collecting some of the more nuanced news, rumors and talking points into one handy post every weekend. You can also rely on this weekly column to keep up to date with all the latest game releases too.

Here's the latest edition of This Week in Xbox One News.

Quantum Break nearing completion, further delays unlikely

Remedy Entertainment's upcoming time-bender Quantum Break is nearing completion, according to Remedy's Thomas Puha.

Quantum Break follows Jack Joyce on a quest to prevent the destruction of time – while the game's antagonistic organization, Monarch Solutions, seeks to gain control of it.

The playable portion of Quantum Break follows Jack in a cover-based third person shooter, with time and physics manipulation mechanics. However, taking place between each gameplay "episode" is a 20-minute live action TV show, which follows Monarch Solutions. The TV show intersects with the game, and decisions you make will affect the outcome of the TV show and vice versa.

Quantum Break has been delayed several times — in typical Remedy style — but it's looking like the game will make its April launch date without issue.

Quantum Break will launch exclusively on Xbox One on April 5th, 2016

Pre-order Quantum Break from Amazon US ($59.96)

Check out these Play Arts Kai Halo 5 figures

Square-Enix is perhaps best known as a game developer, but they also have a line of high-quality toys, immortalizing characters from various video game, tv and movie franchises.

Play Arts Kai's latest figurines take aim at Halo 5. These figures stand at around 12" apiece, and will retail for around $125 (via GameInformer).

Play Arts Kai also have various figurines for the Metal Gear series, D.C. Universe, in addition to the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series. They also stock a cool Titanfall Atlas mech replica and some toys from older fan favorites, such as Dead Space. The Halo 5 figures are slated for an April launch on the Play Arts Kai website.

A huge update is on its way to Diablo III

Blizzard is no stranger to supporting their games post-launch with free updates, and Diablo III is no different. The 2.4.0 patch has been available on Blizzards Public Test Realm on PC for some time, but the update will go live for real Xbox One, PS4 and PC sometime after the start of Diablo III's 5th season on January 15th (via Rock Paper Shotgun).

The update's biggest feature is an entirely new area called Greyhollow Island. While the new zone doesn't impact the game's campaign, it contains plenty of story content that can be discovered with exploration, rather than a typical linear progression path.

Some of the other features include:

• Over a dozen new monsters
• Expanded Areas: The Eternal Woods and Royal Quarters
• Revamped Set Items
• New Feature: Set Dungeons
• New Feature: Empowered Rifts
• New Legendaries
• Revised Buff UI
• More Stash Space
• Season Journey Revisions
• Season Rebirth
• New to PC: Action Combat

Be sure to check out the full patch notes here.

I listed Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition on the top 25 Xbox One games currently available due to its massive amount of content, robust multiplayer and accessible, but deep combat. If you haven't tried Diablo III before, now's a great time to jump in.

Buy Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition for Xbox One on Amazon US ($29.99)

Rainbow Six Siege 1.2 patch set to improve server connectivity

The latest entry in the Rainbow Six franchise is picking up a hefty patch on PC ahead of a release on Xbox One. The update is primarily aimed at connectivity, making improvements to matchmaking, bullet hit registrations and player positioning responsiveness (via GameSpot).

The rate at which the server will update a player's positioning has been doubled, which should make the game feel a lot smoother for all involved.

Online playability is quite important in a game like Rainbow Six Siege, considering it's a multiplayer focused tactical shooter where you're afforded only one life per round. Losing that life to lag can be an incredibly frustrating experience, and clearly, Ubisoft knows it.

Some of the improvements include:

• Updated the server tick rate for all PC users, coming soon to consoles
• Data center selection is now possible (PC users only, for now)
• Matchmaking Improvements
• Added a criteria that increases the odds of pre-made parties being matched against a squad with an equal number of pre-made parties within them.
• Improved connectivity to PVP and PVE matches
• Gameplay Fixes
• Level Design Fixes
• Online Flow Fixes
• UI Fixes
• Audio Fixes

Make sure to read the full patch notes over here. The patch is already available on PC, with a January 14th date planned for consoles.

Buy Rainbow Six Siege from Amazon US ($49.99)

Industry analyst Michael Pachter thinks we could see the next Xbox by 2020

Veteran games analyst Michael Pachter thinks we'll see the present console cycle end by 2020 at the latest. In his most recent Pachter Factor podcast, he responded to a fan question regarding the next console generation:

Pachter cites the decreasing price of 4K resolution TVs as a factor in triggering the next console cycle:

The next console generation might be a while away yet, but we are beginning to see signs that the big three are at least thinking about it. Nintendo has its NX console launching in the next couple of years, and there are recurring rumors about Microsoft launching a cheaper, disc-less Xbox One somewhere down the line. I wrote an article about some older mutterings about a disc-less Xbox One SKU previously, check that out over here!

Oculus Rift, HoloLens, and PlayStation VR are likely to disrupt the industry even further, and the increasingly PC-like architecture of the Xbox and Playstation could see even stranger twists down the line.

AMD's CEO, Lisa Su, recently commented that the AMD-powered PS4 and Xbox One are targeting a 7-year life cycle, which puts a prospective Xbox Two in-line with Pachter's predictions.

Analysts have been predicting the 'death' of the traditional console for years now, but Phil Spencer himself teased a future Xbox console last year. The form a prospective "Xbox Two" will take, however, remains to be seen.

Introducing OneCast – our weekly Xbox One, Windows 10 and Microsoft podcast!

Every week, I'll be hosting a podcast with our new writer Matt Brown and various other Windows Central team members as we look back at the week's Xbox, Windows and Microsoft news and events. Check out first episode on SoundCloud (Check out Soundrivin for a solid WP SoundCloud app), or input this address into your RSS-based podcast app!

OneCast Episode 1: Xbox game delays, upcoming Xbox One features, Windows 10 convergence, most anticipated games, and more!

Giveaway – Rainbow Six Siege for Xbox One

One lucky commenter will receive a copy of Rainbow Six: Siege for Xbox One! Simply join the discussion in the comments for a random chance to win.

Winners will be picked tomorrow at 6 PM BST. Please ensure you have a valid email address for us to contact you if you win!

ICYMI - Some of Windows Central's biggest Xbox articles of the week

• Windows 10 reportedly used on about 180 million PCs, 18 million Xbox Ones, over 1 million phones
• An upcoming Xbox One update will allow you to view party participants without joining
• Xbox One Preview: ARK: Survival Evolved – impressions so far
• The 10 absolute worst Xbox One games of 2015
• Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2 open beta begins Jan. 14 for Xbox One
• The 60-second Xbox One controller battery charger won't be out until late 2016
• Dying Light: The Following gets February 9 release date for Xbox One and PC
• Xbox One update with behind-the-scenes bug fixes now rolling out
• EA Sports UFC 2 headed to Xbox One on March 15
• Report: 'Assassin's Creed Empire' will launch in 2017, Watch Dogs 2 in 2016

New Xbox One game releases for the week ending January 10th, 2016

Lovely Planet - Shooter - QUICKTEQUILA

"With boots of speed on your feet, an infinite supply of bullets for your semi-automatic and the ability to jump over twice your own height, you're well equipped to go up against any enemy on your quest to reach Lovely Planet!"

G Prime Into The Rain - Puzzle - Soma Games

"Explore the vast uncharted mystery of The Rain, a solar-system spanning shock wave of gas and dust from far, far away. A gravity gripping, Steampunk styled, moody-beautiful, slingshot simulating puzzle pleaser."

Hyper Void - Shooter - IN|Framez Technology Corp.

"Punch your way through waves and waves of enemies from all races in the universe as you travel through volatile and crazy wormholes, all rendered in high-quality 3D with a heart-pumping progressive soundtrack!"

Cubot - Puzzle - NicoplvGames

"At first sight, Cubot is a puzzle-game with a minimalist gameplay, just move color cubes towards tiles of the same color. It's really easy, but it will be a torture for your mind to complete all levels of the game because the apparent simplicity of the game is in contradiction with the complexity of the puzzles."

Unepic - Action & Adventure, Platformer, Role Playing - EnjoyUp Games

"Unepic is a mixture of platform game, role game and joke that takes place in a huge castle of medieval fantasy. It is set in the eighty's style, but completed with the most actual features."

And that's a wrap!

This week I've been driving myself crazy, wrestling with ARK: Survival Evolved's server issues to get a hit of its addictive survival/crafting/dino punching gameplay. Hopefully, Wildcard can solve the issues sooner rather than later.

I also picked up a copy of Let's Sing 2016, ahem, for my girlfriend of course, review inbound? I'm also quite intrigued by Unepic, an indie platformer RPG hybrid with a heavy comedic slant. Check out Paul's gameplay preview of that over here.

What have you guys been playing this week?

Welcome to our weekly ICYMI for Xbox news!

We're also giving away a copy of Star Wars Battlefront to one lucky commenter! Simply leave a reply and join the discussion for a chance to win.

We'll still be posting major Xbox announcements in the main feed. However, I'll be collecting some of the more nuanced news, rumors and talking points into one handy post every weekend. You can also rely on this weekly column to keep up to date with all the latest game releases too.

So without further ado, here's the latest edition of This Week in Xbox One News.

Rumor: Red Dead Redemption sequel teased by former Rockstar developer

During a recent reddit Q&A session, a former Rockstar employee hinted that the studio's next launch will be a sequel to one of the greatest Western-style video games ever made: Red Dead Redemption.

When Danny Ross was asked to provide some "real news" on the next Rockstar game, he gave a coded response that can only point to "Red Dead Redemption 2", given the first letters of each word, followed by the number.

While the sequel is unlikely to be called Red Dead Redemption 2 (since RDR is itself a sequel to 2004's Red Dead Revolver), it ranks high on the list of franchises Rockstar will be looking at in the wake of GTAV's ridiculous success. Rockstar need look no further than the Xbox One's backwards compatibility UserVoice page for evidence that fans would enjoy a sequel, given that the Xbox 360 version ranks third.

Fresh Xbox One backwards compatible games will be announced on a monthly basis

Speaking to Xbox platform lead Mike Ybarra, he stated that Microsoft plans to release new Xbox backwards compatible games on a "regular cadence", although the details had yet to be worked out. It seems that team Xbox now knows how frequently they'll be able to add new titles to the backwards compatibility list, following these comments from Phil Spencer on Twitter:

We know that the Bioshock series, Halo Reach, Halo Wars, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Skate 3 are slated for a future backwards compatibility update, whether or not they'll all make it into the next patch remains to be seen. As always, head over to the Xbox UserVoice page to vote for your favourite titles, or you could just dump your votes on Mass Effect 2 and 3 for my sake. Please?

ID@Xbox's Ago Simonetta comments on the so-called "indiepocalypse"

In a recent interview with MCV, ID@Xbox's European head Ago Simonetta discussed the "indiepocalypse", an idea that's risen to prominence among devs who aren't attached to big publishers or budgets. The indiepocalypse refers to the difficulty independent outfits are facing when trying to take a slice of the ever-expanding game industry pie, given the sheer avalanche of competing releases. You could argue that 2015 is a recent example of difficult competition, where even incredible, big-budget games like Rise of the Tomb Raider found themselves overshadowed.

Ago said that the situation is being looked at from the wrong angle, stating that developers should change their attitudes towards measuring success.

Microsoft are always keen to sign up new developers to their ID@Xbox program, which provides tools and support for small teams to get their games out into the market. Microsoft's indie program is unique, as it also allows developers to publish their Xbox games to the Windows Store for PC - with Stealth Inc 2 recently becoming the first.

Remedy's Thomas Puha hails Quantum Break's cinematics ahead of a new trailer premiere at next week's Game Awards

The Xbox One exclusive Quantum Break is shaping up quite nicely according to Remedy's Thomas Puha. Having seen Quantum Break running live on Xbox One dev kits a few times already, I feel fairly safe to take his recent tweets as accurate:

If you're not ready to take Remedy's PR head's comments as gospel, we should be receiving a brand new trailer this week on Thursday 3rd December, courtesy of The Game Awards. Xbox marketing lead Aaron Greenberg tweeted the news earlier today:

Quantum Break is one of Microsoft's 2016 heavy-weights for next year's Xbox efforts. The game tasks the player to prevent the end of time, following a catastrophic physics experiment. As a result of the failed experiment, the game's protagonist, Jack Joyce, has powerful time manipulation tools that can be called upon at will to complement the game's action-packed third-person shooting. I only wish I could borrow some of his powers to make April come faster.

Quantum Break launches on April 5th, 2016, exclusively for Xbox One.

Metal Gear Solid V's nuclear disarmament ending is accessible in-game, and here's how

Not long after Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain's launch, keen data-miners discovered swathes of cut content from the finished product, including hints of an entire extra chapter. One of the data-mined sequences pertains to nuclear disarmament, which occurs somewhere between MGSV: TPP and Metal Gear 1 in the timeline. You can check out the "ending" here, but naturally, beware the spoilers. Since this scene seemed readily complete, fans have been wondering for some time just how this scene can be unlocked, if at all.

After teasing that MGSV had more to offer than was readily apparent, Konami has now detailed in full (via GameSpot) how players can unlock this additional cut-scene.

1. You must have completed Mission 31.
2. You must not own or be currently developing a nuclear weapon. If you have any nukes in stock, you must dismantle them.
3. Certain conditions related to nuclear proliferation must be met on the regional server for your corresponding gaming platform (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC (Steam)).
4. All nuclear weapons on the regional server corresponding to your console or platform must have been dismantled. In other words, the amount of nukes on your platform's server must be equal to 0.

Once the community reaches the above conditions, the cut-scene will trigger on your next trip to Mother Base. If someone in your regional server begins developing nuclear weapons again, the cut-scene can be re-triggered by clearing them out once more.

MGSV: TPP was an incredibly successful title, despite widely reported turmoil between Konami and the game's director, Hideo Kojima. There's a significant amount of doubt the series can continue without Hideo Kojima at the helm, but Konami has repeatedly stated their intention to develop future Metal Gear Solid titles. We'll just have to wait and see.

Get a taste for the destruction you can find in Just Cause 3 with this latest gameplay trailer

Just Cause 3 lands next week and promises to ramp up the scale, destruction and chaos of its predecessors - and if this trailer is anything to go off, they just might be on to something.

Following the events of Just Cause 2, Rico Rodriguez returns to his homeland of Medici, a fictional island nation, to find it under the dictatorial control of General Di Ravello. You'll guide Rico on an over-the-top journey of large-scale action, complete with massive explosions, a vast arsenal of weapons, military vehicles and Rico's signature grappling hook.

Just Cause 3 launches on December 1st for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare runs at 30 FPS on Xbox One, compared to the PS4's 60 FPS

Parity is a touchy subject in the current console war. While the situation has improved for the Xbox One - thanks to SDK updates - various multi-platform games run at a lower resolution on our favourite console.

Up until now, every single multi-platform game I can think of prioritises frame rate over resolution. For example, Star Wars Battlefront runs at 720p on Xbox One vs. the PS4's 900p, Rainbow Six Siege runs at 1080p on PS4 vs. the Xbox One's 900p - but both titles maintain frame rates across both consoles. The differences in resolution are hard to discern with the naked eye, particularly if you're, you know, actually playing and enjoying the game. Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, however, has opted for a different approach.

Despite being a multiplayer focused action title, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare decided to slash the Xbox One version's frame rate in half, rather than reduce the resolution - confirmed during an interview between Torn Banner Studios and WCCFTech (via GamingBolt). The reduction in frame rate will not only negatively impact the Xbox One version's gameplay but opting to reduce the frame rate over the resolution will contrast it far more starkly against its PS4 counterpart.

Personally, I think this design choice is utterly ludicrous, and I can't imagine it'll go down well with any Xbox fan who has been looking forward to the title. What do you think? Would you prefer a hit in resolution or frame rate? Let us know below.

Giveaway - Star Wars Battlefront for Xbox One!

From this week, we'll be giving one lucky member of our community a free Xbox One game as part of our weekly Xbox news round-ups. To enter, simply join in the discussion in the comments below. Any commenter is eligible and will be selected at random. Check back tomorrow to see if you won, and make sure you have a valid email attached to your Windows Central account for us to contact you to arrange shipment of the prize!

The winner was Keith Wallace! Congrats!

ICYMI - Some of Windows Central's biggest Xbox articles of the week

• Microsoft Chatpad review: A small, sleek keyboard for Xbox One & Windows 10
• Xbox One among top selling electronics during Black Friday
• Triple Turtle Beach gaming headset review: Recon 50, PX24, Stealth 450
• Rainbow Six: Siege open beta test finally begins after a one-day delay
• UK's PC World has a Windows 10 tablet with controllers to play streaming Xbox One games
• Don't expect your third-party Xbox One play and charge kits to work with the Elite Controller
• Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 3 out for PC, Xbox One and Xbox 360
• The Xbox 360 is 10 years old today, while the Xbox One celebrates its 2nd birthday
• Minor Xbox One system update will roll out today with no new features
• Gems of War review: A free to play puzzle-RPG for Xbox One and Steam

New Xbox One game releases for the week ending November 29th, 2015

Handball 16 - Sports & Recreation - Eko Software / Bigben Interactive

"All 62 official teams from the four biggest European leagues in the first next-generation handball simulation! Enjoy an improved and intuitive system with nearly 30 tactics for attacking and defending. Take full advantage of the Handball 16 experience thanks to its fluid gameplay and next-generation graphics for even more immersion and realism."

Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 3: The Last Place You Look - Action & Adventure - Tell Tale Games

"Episode three of a five-part episodic game series set in the world of Minecraft."

And that's a wrap!

This week, I've been in the process of moving house - so I've been getting some serious Xbox withdrawals. What have you guys been playing? What do you think of this week's Xbox news? Join the discussion for a chance to win Star Wars Battlefront!

According to the game's writer, we'll eventually see a sequel to the Xbox 360 console exclusive Alan Wake.

Sam Lake, credited with creating Max Payne and the upcoming Xbox One exclusive Quantum Break, confirmed the news in a new interview with Game Informer.

Alan Wake launched in 2010 as a Xbox 360 console exclusive, eventually hitting PC in 2012. The game follows the eponymous best-selling writer, Alan Wake, as he visits the fictional town of Bright Falls on vacation. While there, events from a psychological thriller written by Alan Wake begin coming to life, sending him on a terrifying supernatural quest to solve his wife's disappearance.

Alan Wake won praise for its detailed visuals, unique gunplay mechanics and survival horror leanings. Sadly, Alan Wake's ending and DLC left the game wide open for a sequel that has yet to materialise. Since the announcement of the time-bending Quantum Break, Alan Wake fans have been eager to know what Remedy Entertainment plan to do afterwards. Thankfully, it could well be Alan Wake 2.

The interview took place in the form of 100 quick-fire questions, which saw various other snippets of information come to light.

• When asked if we'll ever get to play Alan Wake 2, Sam Lake simply replied "yes."
• Sam Lake also hopes to see Quantum Break on PC
• Apparently, Quantum Break will feature dinosaurs
• Sam Lake isn't aging backwards
• Sam Lake's favorite game is Half Life 2
• Quantum Break has no Kinect support
• Quantum Break's powers are upgradable
• Out of all the games he's made, Sam Lake is most proud of Alan Wake
• Quantum Break's in-game TV show has four episodes
• The live action episodes don't require any controller interaction

Be sure to check out the full (and rather hilarious) interview from Game Informer here.

Remedy Entertainment are independent, but Microsoft own the rights to Quantum Break. It seems like the game would be a good title to put in the Windows 10 Store to boost its core offering. I've seen Quantum Break running live on a Xbox One at a couple of events, and each time I've come away impressed. Quantum Break blends a live-action TV show with third-person shooting and time-manipulation powers. Given what we've seen of the game so far, it seems like a total step-up for the Finnish studio, who are well renowned for crafting memorable, cinematic experiences. This time, apparently, with dinosaurs.

After Quantum Break, it seems likely that we're going to get an answer to all those ambiguous questions posed by Alan Wake's DLC and ending. If you haven't played Alan Wake yet, it's highly expected to be joining the Xbox One as part of its initial backwards compatibility offering - set to be revealed in full on November 9th.

Are you an Alan Wake fan? Are you ready for a sequel? Let us know below.

Source: Game Informer

Welcome to our weekly ICYMI for Xbox news!

We'll still be posting major Xbox announcements in the main feed. However, I'll be collecting some of the more nuanced news, rumors and talking points into one handy post every weekend. You can also rely on this weekly column to keep up to date with all the latest game releases too.

So without further ado, here's the latest edition of This Week in Xbox One News.

Microsoft clarifies Frank O'Connor's statements regarding a possible Halo 5 PC port

Earlier this week, Halo's franchise director stated during a GamesRadar interview that it's not "out of the bounds of reason" for Halo 5 to hit PC:

In full context, Frank O'Connor simply stated that it's theoretically possible from a technical point of view. I think it's fairly obvious that O'Connor is simply sharing his opinion as someone who's been following Microsoft's ecosystem convergence efforts. Still, Xbox marketing head Aaron Greenberg had to debunk the swirling rumors about Halo 5 for PC, stating:

I think it would frankly be a bit odd should Halo 5 randomly hit PC, skipping over ODST, Reach, 3 and 4. It's far, far more likely The Master Chief Collection would hit PC first to bring that audience up to speed on the story without having to hit YouTube. Halo: MCC has probably exceeded its ability to sell consoles at this point.

Halo has tremendous leverage as a series, and right now, it's hard to dispute the idea that its impact is best served to help sell the Xbox One. I do believe the plans could change in the future, however.

Phil Spencer has gone on the record to say that Windows gaming forms part of his responsibilities. A big Halo banner would undoubtedly drive users to the Windows Store. I don't think any core PC gamer could glance over the current store's free-to-play laden game area with enthusiasm. We know that Gigantic, Fable Legends and Killer Instinct will all soon arrive on the Windows Store to spearhead Microsoft's renewed interest in PC gaming. Once Halo 5 has finished its initial console-selling push on Xbox One, it seems like bringing Halo's core games to PC will be something worth exploring. For the foreseeable future, though, Halo 5 is firmly a Xbox affair.

What do you think? Would Halo 5 on PC be good for Microsoft? Let us know below, and don't forget to tune into Windows Central around 7 hours from now for our comprehensive Halo 5 review!

Halo 5: Guardians launches exclusively on Xbox One on October 27th, 2015.

Kojima leaves Konami, or does he?!

Earlier in the week, the New Yorker reported that the creator of Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima, had finally left Konami. The news follows months of reported turmoil between Kojima's production company and Konami during the development of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. The New Yorker followed up their piece with a photograph, purporting to show Hideo Kojima at a leaving party, which is supposed to have taken place on October 9th.

Konami, initially refusing to offer a comment, later followed up with a contradicting statement, implying that Kojima is simply on vacation.

Hideo Kojima is reported to have a non-compete clause in his contract, essentially meaning he's unable to work in the industry in a way that competes with Konami until after December. Konami has insisted that Metal Gear Solid games will still be made after MGSV, but given the haphazard end product and their treatment of Silent Hill, I'm not sure that's a particularly great idea. Let's hope they prove me (and many other fans) totally wrong.

Quantum Break concerns addressed by Remedy's Thomas Puha

Remedy's time-bending Quantum Break looks utterly incredible, but as someone who feels a tad fatigued by third-person cover shooters, I've had some legitimate concerns. Thankfully, Remedy's PR head Thomas Puha recently took to NeoGAF to discuss the game, putting some of those concerns to rest.

Puha initially discussed concerns about game balance in Quantum Break. The game's main character, Jack Joyce, can manipulate time at will, slipping out of view from enemies as time slows around them, and creating fields of frozen time to trap bullets and assailants alike. During the presentation I saw at Gamescom, the developers did note that balance was an on-going process and that the frequency of the game's time powers had been ramped up to accommodate the trailer length. Puha reiterated the above, adding that Remedy has improved the game's AI, granting enemies will new abilities to counter Jack's time-warping attacks:

For those who think Quantum Break seems a little too linear, Puha went on to note that it does in-fact feature exploration and NPC interactions beyond the incessant planting of bullets.

We're only just hitting the full swing of 2015's insane holiday line-up, and it seems there's already plenty to look forward to in 2016. Are you hyped for Quantum Break?

Quantum Break launches exclusively for Xbox One on April 6th, 2016.

Vivendi muscles in on Ubisoft purchasing a 10.4 percent stake

French media company Vivendi, recently purchased a 6.6 percent stake in Ubisoft, and has since upped it to 10.4 percent according to a Bloomberg report. Notably, Vivendi previously held a controlling share of Activision Blizzard, who bought out Vivendi's stake in 2013 with some controversy, becoming independent in the process. Since the loss of Activision, Vivendi hasn't had a great deal of involvement in the games industry, but they could be looking to change that.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot described the initial purchase as unwelcome:

CEO Yves Guillemot probably has good reason to worry, considering the bad blood between Activision's Bobby Kotick and Vivendi chiefs prior to their split. Regarding the purchase, which also includes a stake in Gameloft, Vivendi noted that they was part of a wider strategy for their sizable content portfolio, which includes Universal Records and DailyMotion.com:

Guillemot's comments suggesting that Vivendi lacks the expertise to be successful in the video games industry is probably unfair, considering Vivendi Games oversaw World of Warcraft during its most profitable period before Blizzard's merger with Activision (which, also seems to mark the beginning of World of Warcraft's decline). Still, Ubisoft has been nothing short of a roaring success without Vivendi's billion dollar involvement. This story is one to watch.

ICYMI - Some of Windows Central's biggest Xbox articles of the week

• Xbox Live's Eric 'e' Neustadter announces departure from Microsoft
• Review: Fill the post-apocalyptic void with Wasteland 2: Director's Cut for Xbox One and PC
• Smite for Xbox One snags new god, refer a friend system, and much more
• Xbox (beta) for Windows 10 updated with Facebook friend finder and more
• Fallout 4 has gone gold; UK residents can celebrate with Fallout Beer
• Microsoft will reportedly judge Xbox division based on Xbox Live numbers
• Nyko Intercooler for Xbox One review
• Microsoft will reportedly judge Xbox division based on Xbox Live numbers
• Preview: Halo 5 Guardians - Hands on with the first three missions (spoiler free)
• Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Review

New Xbox One game releases for the week ending October 25th, 2015

Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations - Action & Adventure - Vicious Cycle Software

"What time is it? It's time to crack a case! Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations is an all-new, story-driven graphic adventure game. Strange stuff is happening in the Land of Ooo (stranger than usual anyway). Luckily, Finn and Jake are on the case."

Instant Indie Collection: Vol. 2 - Action & Adventure, Puzzle & Trivia, Sports & Recreation - Curve Digital

"Hack, steal and sneak your way around victorian steampunk London in The Swindle, explore space in a quest to rescue 111 scientists caught in the aftermath of the universe's greatest experiment in Nova-111, and throw down your best stunts and tricks to become the ultimate BMX star in Pumped BMX +."

Assassin's Creed® Syndicate - Action & Adventure - Ubisoft

"London, 1868. In the heart of the Industrial Revolution, lead your underworld organization and grow your influence to fight those who exploit the less privileged in the name of progress."

Layers of Fear (Game Preview) - Action & Adventure - Bloober Team

"Layers of Fear is a psychedelic adventure horror game about a madness-engulfed insane painter striving to create the work of his life. You will learn the dark story of his past while gathering carefully crafted personal items that can be found in the game."

FORCED - Action & Adventure - Beta Dwarf

"Forced is a one- to four-player co-op arcade action RPG with puzzle and tactical elements. You are cast as slaves in the toughest fantasy gladiator school of them all, condemned to fight as a gladiator and eventually win your freedom."

Life Is Strange Episode 5 - Action & Adventure - DotNod Entertainment

"Max learns that time is impossible to control as she moves inexorably towards the most agonising decision of her life. Life Is Strange: Polarized is the Season Finale of a five part series that sets out to revolutionise story based choice and consequence games."

Hasbro Family Fun Pack - Card & Board - Ubisoft

"The Hasbro Family Fun Pack includes Monopoly, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and Risk all in one compilation! The original games become more fun and interactive than ever on console!."

Overlord: Fellowship of Evil - Action & Adventure - Codemasters

"Step into the warped fantasy world of Overlord: Fellowship of Evil, the dark and twisted Action RPG filled with the series' signature black humour!"

Just Dance® Disney Party 2 - Family & Music - Ubisoft

"Just Dance and Disney are back with Just Dance®: Disney Party 2! Be ready for: ♦ Best songs from this summer's hit movies: Descendants, Teen Beach Movie and Teen Beach 2!"

Just Dance® 2016 - Music - Ubisoft

"Introducing Just Dance 2016 - the newest game from the top-selling franchise - with a brand new way to play! Bust a move to "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson Ft. Bruno Mars and feel the beat in "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor!"

And that's a wrap!

This week I've been soaking up the radioactive glare of Wasteland 2: Director's Cut, hyping myself into madness for Fallout 4. Next week I'm going to write up some of the things Xbox fans can look forward to in 2016, and discuss Microsoft's focus on Xbox Live engagement as a measure of the Xbox division's success.

What have you been playing this week? What do you think of this week's news? Hit the comments!