Xbox Is Coming To gamescom (updated)

It’s a great time to be an Xbox gamer! Hot on the heels of our record breaking E3 briefing, and the amazing reaction we’ve had from our fans, we’re excited to let you know that Xbox will be coming to gamescom in Cologne, Germany this August. We’ll be bringing a great line up of games from developers around the world that we can’t wait for gamers in Europe to get their hands on.

Here’s a quick overview of what we’ll be getting up to at the show this year:

Inside Xbox

This year at gamescom, we will be hosting a special episode of Inside Xbox, broadcast live from our Xbox booth in the Koelnmesse. Tune in on Tuesday, August 21, at 4:30 p.m. CEST (7:30 a.m. PDT) for lots of news, new Xbox One bundles and accessories, and features on upcoming titles that we can’t wait to tell you more about and perhaps even a few surprises!

You can catch the show on xbox.com, Mixer, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Xbox FanFest: gamescom 2018

Xbox FanFest will return to gamescom once again this year, this year on the Rhein River! FanFest will happen for one incredible night on Thursday, August 23.  More information on tickets and all the special activities happening on this day will be revealed very soon.   Be sure to track #XboxFanFest for all updates.

Xbox Booth

The Xbox booth will feature a fantastic line up of 25 games across a diverse range of genres – we’ll be making sure everyone has a way to play and have fun! If you’re coming to the show, do make sure you pay us a visit – we’re in Hall 8 of the Koelnmesse (North entrance).

This is the first time that European gamers will have the chance to jump in and try out many of our newest gameplay experiences including the open world freedom of driving through stunning beautiful historic Britain in Forza Horizon 4 or embarking on a journey to unravel Ori’s true destiny in this emotionally engaging, hand-crafted, story-driven adventure in Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Gamers will also have the opportunity to get the first ever hands-on with State of Decay 2’s Daybreak Pack, an all-new mode set to release in September.

And you won’t want to miss the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds experience, featuring a new mode for Xbox One, playable for the first time at gamescom – and only in the Xbox booth.

Mixer Booth

Microsoft’s livestreaming service Mixer will also be at gamescom, located right next to the Xbox booth in Hall 8, where they will be bringing back the always popular HypeZone LIVE experience! Attendees will have the chance to earn victory in battle royale matches and even walk away with big prizes, while everyone at home can watch the turmoil unfold.  Get a head start on the competition by watching some HypeZone action on Mixer.com now.

Visit the Xbox Official Gear Shop

Making our European debut and in partnership with Game Legends, come and visit the Xbox Official Gear Shop in the Gamescom fanshop arena. Fly your gaming colors and show off your fandom for Xbox and award-winning franchises like Halo, PUBG, and Gears of War with all new apparel and collectibles. We will have more information on this exciting new initiative over the coming weeks.

Show opening times are as follows:

  • Tuesday, August 21 – 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. CEST (press/trade only day)
  • Wednesday, August 22 – 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CEST
  • Thursday, August 23 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST
  • Friday, August 24 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST
  • Saturday, August 25 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST

Remember to keep your eyes on Xbox social channels all gamescom week for the latest – Mixer, Facebook, Twitter – we’ll keep you updated with all the great activity happening from the show. Can’t wait to see you there!

 

Edit: This post has been edited to clarify the hardware news.

Xbox App On Windows 10: Facebook Friend Finder And Other Updates Available Today

In addition to the New Xbox One Experience update released for Xbox One last week, we continue to improve our other Xbox products and services including the Xbox App on Windows 10. I discuss some of these new features in the video below, while Mike Ybarra, Director of Program Management, Xbox comments on the update in his post over at Xbox Wire, which I’ve included below.

Those of you running Windows 10 on your PC or tablet may have noticed some exciting updates in the Xbox app over the past few days. Just like on Xbox One, regular updates inspired by fan feedback have been a cornerstone for the Xbox app on Windows 10. Your feedback through the Xbox beta app has been extremely valuable, and we’ve been listening. Today, you’ll notice an upgraded social experience in the Xbox app as we’re unifying your Xbox Live and Facebook communities with the release of the Facebook friend finder. This feature joins the recently launched Game DVR voice recording feature and improvements to the Xbox Store accessible through the Xbox app.

Here’s an overview of the new experiences that you can now enjoy:

Facebook friend finder in the Xbox app and on Xbox.com: Inspired by a top requested fan feature, we’re bringing two of your favorite social networks together – Xbox Live and Facebook – and making it easier than ever to find more people to play games and have fun with. In the Friends column on the right side of the Xbox app, look for the Facebook icon in the Suggested Friends area. Click it to link your Facebook account to your Xbox Live account and start seeing suggestions for Facebook friends who you can add on Xbox Live. Facebook friend finder can also be found in the Settings area of the Xbox app.

As your friends link their Facebook accounts to their Xbox Live accounts, you’ll see increasing numbers of Facebook friend suggestions, so be sure to spread the word. One easy way to do this: when you first link your Xbox Live account to your Facebook account in the Xbox app, take advantage of the “Share to Facebook” option which will generate an “I’m on Xbox” post on your Facebook timeline.

When your friends see your shared “I’m on Xbox” post on Facebook, they can click through and access the Facebook friend finder on Xbox.com, which also becomes available this week. In this way, web users on any platform and device can grow their Xbox Live network with Facebook friends as well.

Record voiceover in your Game DVR clips on your PC: With today’s Xbox app update running on the latest Windows 10 update, you can now plug in a headset and narrate your Windows 10 game clips with your own voice using Game bar and Game DVR hotkeys. To turn microphone recording on or off for a gaming session, press Win + Alt + M. Want to turn microphone recording on for all gaming sessions? Go to Game bar > Settings > Audio or Xbox app > Settings > Game DVR > Audio. And if you like personalizing your Game DVR hotkeys and want to customize the microphone recording hotkey, do it here: Game bar > Settings > Shortcuts or Xbox app > Settings > Game DVR > Keyboard shortcuts.

Share your Windows Store game clips with your voiceover commentary with your friends on Xbox Live through the Xbox app, or share any of your game clips on the social network of your choice through your PC.

Record ANY game on your Windows 10 PC: The recent Windows 10 update also enables you to record game clips and capture screenshots for ALL games, including PC games where Game bar and Game DVR hotkeys didn’t work earlier.

Xbox Store section: The Store section in the Xbox app will now bring you into the Xbox Store – a launching point for browsing and searching for both Windows 10 and Xbox One games. The new interface allows you to see more content in the Store at a glance and brings you the latest crop of the most popular Windows 10 and Xbox One games, plus you can redeem Games with Gold games or get discounted games through Deals with Gold. Additional details on Xbox Store improvements that we tested recently in the Xbox beta app and have now officially released to the Xbox app can be found here.

For more information about Xbox App On Windows 10, check out the Xbox Wire. If you have an idea to improve Xbox products and services or would like to vote on existing submissions, visit the Xbox Feedback website. Thanks again for all of your support.

Xbox App On Windows 10: Social Updates Available Today In Beta

At Team Xbox, we want to make it easy to connect with your friends on any device where you play games. This week, we’re excited to start previewing two more ways to expand your social gaming network and share your gaming content with your friends on Xbox Live.

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  • Facebook friend finder: based off of a top requested fan feature, we’re bringing two of your favorite social networks together—Facebook and Xbox Live—and making it easier than ever to find more people to play games and have fun with.

In the Windows 10 Xbox beta app (available in the Windows 10 Store here), look for the Facebook icon in the Suggested Friends area or Settings. Click it to link your Facebook account to your Xbox Live account and start seeing suggestions for friends on Facebook who you can add on Xbox Live. As your friends link their Facebook accounts to their Xbox Live accounts, you’ll see increasing numbers of Facebook friend suggestions, so be sure to spread the word!

  • Record your voice in your Game DVR clips on your PC: Windows Insider Program and Xbox beta app participants can now plug in a headset and narrate their Windows 10 game clips with their own voice using Game bar and Game DVR hotkeys.

 To turn microphone recording on or off for a gaming session, just press Win + Alt + M. Want to turn microphone recording on for all gaming sessions? Go to Game bar > Settings > Audio or Xbox beta app > Settings > Game DVR > Audio. And if you like personalizing your Game DVR hotkeys and want to customize the microphone recording hotkey, do it here: Game bar > Settings > Shortcuts or Xbox beta app > Settings > Game DVR > Keyboard shortcuts.

 Share your Windows 10 Store game clips with voice over commentary to your friends on Xbox Live through the Xbox app or any social network or sharing option on your PC.

Also lighting up in the Xbox beta app today are improvements in the way that gamers can find games and redeem codes. Our goal with these changes is to enable quicker and more relevant access to content.

  • The Store link in the Xbox beta app will now bring you to the Xbox Store—a launching point for browsing and searching for both Windows 10 and Xbox One games. The new interface allows you to see more products at a glance and brings you the latest crop of most popular Windows 10 and Xbox One games, sales and specials, plus your Deals with Gold and Games with Gold games.
  • In the Xbox One section of the redesigned Xbox Store, gamers will enjoy a persistent search box, reducing clicks between searches. Also, when you type in the name or a description of the Xbox One content that you are searching for, the search box will suggest some top matching search results.
  • Once you’ve found the content you are looking for, fans will enjoy quicker and more contextual actions. Own the content already? Click the ‘play on console’ button and kick off a game streaming session. Don’t own the content? Just click on the ‘buy’ button to purchase.
  • Redeeming codes gets easier too! Just like on Xbox One, when codes are sent to you in a message, simply click ‘redeem code’ to redeem. The ‘Redeem a code’ link in the Xbox One section of Xbox Store allows you to enter-25 digit codes right in the app as well.

Check out these new social features arriving in the Windows 10 Xbox beta app today and let us know what you think. Stay tuned for more updates coming to the beta app each month.