At the Gamescom 2013 conference in Cologne, Germany, Microsoft showcased its next generation gaming console, the Xbox One, and announced some of the launch titles. Here's a look at some of the announcements from the event.
Microsoft announced that it will offer a free copy of FIFA 14 with Xbox One pre-orders in Europe as a digital download. The offer will be available while stocks last in seven European countries including Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The game also includes Ultimate Team mode that will let gamers combine football stars of yesteryears with stars of today.
(
Also see: FIFA 14 for iOS and Android to be free to play, demo for Xbox, PS3 and PC available September 10)
Microsoft also showcased Fable Legends, a role playing game from Lionhead Studios as an Xbox One exclusive. The game allows players to play as a hero or villain. It's powered by Unreal Engine 4 and is said to offer the next generation gaming experience.
Cobalt, Mojang's third party action game will also come to the Xbox One and Xbox 360, while exclusive content will be available for Tom Clancy's The Division. on the Xbox One.
Call of Duty: Ghosts will also come to Xbox One integrated with Xbox Cloud, for smoother gameplay, and will feature a new multiplayer mode.
Ryse: Son of Rome will be available on the Xbox One, featuring a new multiplayer mode and a Gladiator mode.
Ubisoft's Fighter Within was also announced. It will make use of the new Kinect sensor for control.
Other tiles include Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Crimson Dragon, Dead Rising 3, Forza Motorsport 5, Just Dance 2014, Killer Instinct, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, Lococycle, Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, NBA LIVE 14, Need for Speed: Rivals, Peggle 2, Powerstar Golf, Skylanders: Swap Force, Watch Dogs, Zoo Tycoon and Zumba Fitness: World Party.
In addition to announcing the launch titles, Microsoft also announced a new Independent Developers @ Xbox or ID@Xbox program for developers for creating games for the Xbox One platform. Microsoft will offer these games in the Xbox One store. However, according to a report by The Verge, in the initial stage, the program is only open to people who have some established track record shipping games. As per the report, Microsoft would not charge any fees to apply for the ID@Xbox program, and the company is also removing certification or updates related fees.
Microsoft will
provide two kits to developers in the registered developer program and they will get complete access to the Live stack and their titles will be offered full support for multiplayer, Game DVR, Kinect, in-game transactions, updates, DLC, SmartGlass, among other features.
Meanwhile, Amazon has also
started a trade-in program for gamers wherein it will allow them to trade in an Xbox 360 game for the same title for the Xbox One for a price of $9.99. The offer is limited to eight new or forthcoming Xbox 360 games including FIFA 14, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, and Battlefield 4. Users will only be able to avail the offer once for one single game and the offer is valid till December 21, 2013.
Microsoft is expected to release the Xbox One in November in select markets.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.