Microsoft has published its Xbox Game Pass for PC pricing ahead of the company’s E3 event later today. The subscription service will be available at $4.99 per month, with access to at least 10 games during the beta phase. Gears 5, which Microsoft lists as “coming soon,” is part of the Xbox Game Pass for PC, alongside titles like Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
Microsoft appears to be launching the beta of the service today, priced at just $1 per month until it’s launched more generally. Like its console counterpart, Xbox Game Pass for PC will allow Windows 10 users to download games from the subscription service and play them both online and offline. Microsoft has promised to support more than 100 games from over 75 developers for Xbox Game Pass on PC.
Developers like Sega, Metro Exodus creator Deep Silver, Fallout and Elder Scrolls studio Bethesda, Stellaris creator Paradox Interactive, and indie publisher Devolver Digital are all on board for the launch. We should hear a lot more about Xbox Game Pass on PC and Microsoft’s gaming plans for Windows at the company’s E3 event starting at 4PM ET / 1PM PT today.
Here’s a full list of the games available on Xbox Game Pass for PC during beta:
E3 news clearly can’t be contained to E3 week or E3 press conferences anymore, as Square Enix just debuted a trailer for a Kingdom Hearts III downloadable add-on during a concert for the franchise’s music in Los Angeles.
After some initial panic from fans who couldn’t see the trailer, it popped up on the company’s YouTube page. The 80-second video hypes Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind and dates it for winter for PS4 and Xbox One.
In footage from the trailer’s debut at the concert, the crowd can be heard cheering wildly during what appear to be moments when the player can battle as Aqua, Roxas and Riku.
It’s unclear exactly what the DLC consists of and how extensive it will be. Fans online are discussing whether Re:Mind changes situations from the main game, is more of an expansion or what. Sadly, Kotaku’s biggest Kingdom Hearts experts are all asleep, away from their computer or otherwise celebrating the weekend, so you’re all left with a writer who is squinting at comments on Kingdom Hearts fan sites and trying to parse things. Here’s a comment from a reader over at KH13.com:
I-IS THAT YOUNG XEHANORT TALKING TO THE FCKING MoM!?!?!?!
YXs EYES ARENT YELLOW!?!?
Right, everyone? Right??
Square Enix will presumably reveal more about Re:Mind at the company’s Monday night E3 press briefing, which is running when E3-skipping Sony would normally do their event. Square’s event was already going to showcase more of the Final Fantasy VII remake and the debut of Crystal Dynamics’ Avengers game. Credit to them for filling the void.
There’s been plenty of speculation over the past few months on Apple porting MacOS to the ARM platform. Apple’s SoC team has been on fire, producing industry-leading processors for the iPhone and iPad that can match, or even beat Intel’s offerings in certain tasks.
But with the announcement of iPadOS, I wonder if Apple has now changed directions and instead, is looking to bridge the gap between MacOS and iPadOS.
Ever since Apple introduced the iPad Pro, I have tried numerous times to replace my MacBook with an iPad when traveling, but that's never worked out.
From a hardware perspective, the iPad has always been ahead of the curve but its iPhone-based operating system has always held it back. That changed with the announcement of iPadOS at WWDC 2019. Maybe that ARM-based Mac that we’ve been hoping for is actually the iPad growing up to become a replacement for some of our Macs.
Limiting factors: Lack of a proper file system and mobile Safari
I’ve had many work-related travels where assets and materials are offered through a USB drive - something that I just couldn’t work with on the iPad previously. I also carry a camera to events and take tons of photos and some video. Bringing those to the iPad has also been challenging.
With the new iPadOS, Apple is opening up the Files app to access external storage and also allowing third party apps direct access, so you should be able to import images directly to them.
I’ve tested the USB functionality and it works well, but for apps to have direct access to my SD card, we’ll have to wait till official versions of such apps which will only be released after the iPadOS is released in fall.
The second issue I’ve faced is mobile Safari where I am unable to access many specialized websites such as my bank’s website or the CMS at TechRadar. This is where Chromebook has been more usable than the iPad in the past.
The web browser is still my most used app on the Mac and while there are some iPad “apps” such as Google Docs etc., they’re usually under-powered versions of web apps. With iPadOS, Apple is trying to get websites to show the full desktop version, and I can confirm some sites that didn’t work well previously are now much better. Also, the iPad now supports downloads in Safari which, along with file management, makes it much closer to a computer.
Prior to WWDC, I had posted a tweet asking for three specific areas that I would love to see on the iPad to make it more Mac like, two of which I’ve stated above.
My top 3 wants from #ios13 1) MacOS like Safari2) A more open and accessible file system3) Better support for 3rd party background appsJune 1, 2019
Apple is delivering on all three.
For my last request, Apple has added a new API called BackgroundTasks. I don’t really know how well this will work with third-party apps, so we will have to wait till iPadOS and compatible apps are released to take advantage of this to see any difference. But I’m hopeful this will allow apps such as email clients the ability to sync and download emails, or news readers to download new stories in the background instead of syncing data when the app launches.
There’s been quite a few other new additions to iPadOS such as widget support on home screen, gestures for copy/paste and undo, and multi-tasking features that improve handling of multiple apps. Also new is the ability to have multiple windows open within one app.
The iPad Pro is the new MacBook
With all of these massive improvements that Apple has made to the iPadOS, it seems obvious that the direction they want the iPad to take is to replace your portable computer - whether that is a Chromebook, a Surface or a MacBook.
And if that is the case, then why work on porting MacOS to the ARM platform? The new Mac Pro is insanely powerful and based on the x86 architecture, where I think the MacOS platform will continue to stay.
But for portables such as the MacBook and MacBook Air, I’m not sure I see a bright future. The iPad will be replacing them sooner or later.
Kingdom Hearts 3’s new story DLC, ReMind, is set for a release this winter. And the first look at what’s to come teases some major story and gameplay additions to the RPG.
Young Master Xehanort speaking with another hooded figure, who may possibly be the Master of Masters
Playable Riku
Playable Roxas
Playable Aqua
Sora wielding the Oathkeeper Keyblade and taking on a new form
A mysterious conversation between Luxord and Xigbar
Exit Theatre Mode
Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMind DLC Gameplay Details
During a teaser trailer exclusively screened to the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra: World of Tres performance in Los Angeles, Square Enix highlighted in-development footage of the DLC. It confirmed more playable opportunities for Roxas, Riku, and Aqua. The scenes shown appeared to offer these characters as playable fighters during certain end-game boss battles during the Keyblade Graveyard sequence.
Another scene appeared to show Sora changing into what may have been an Oathkeeper Keyblade form, wearing a new white outfit while wielding the Oathkeeper Keyblade. The sequence occurs in Scala ad Caelum, but it's unclear at what point Sora can obtain the new form.
Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMind DLC Story Details
The trailer also offered a number of intriguing story teases. The first seemed to show Young Master Xehanort speaking with the Master of Masters. Young Xehanort indicates he's realized he's more important than he thought, but to what end is unclear.
Another scene showed Luxord and Xigbar speaking in a manner that tied to Kingdom Hearts 3’s epilogue.
Luxord tells Xigbar he’ll play dumb and pretend not to know who Xigbar is. But, intriguingly, when Luxord leaves, Xigbar wonders aloud who Luxord may actually be.
While no exact date was given, and all the footage shown was in-development gameplay, the trailer promised a winter release, and Kingdom Hearts franchise director Tetsuya Nomura promised more scenes fans will want to see to come.
Exit Theatre Mode
Kingdom Hearts Orchestra: World of Tres Performance
The Orchestra itself, which is currently going on tour, offered a journey through the entire Kingdom Hearts franchise, and in particular Kingdom Hearts 3. The first half of the concert ran through each Kingdom Hearts game before KH3, with medley suites of music, or specific pieces performed for some of the non-numbered entries. The first half of the show ended with the raucous "Diabolical Bash."
The second half of the show featured music from Kingdom Hearts 3 specifically. Suites based on one or several worlds brought listeners through the story of Kingdom Hearts 3, culminating in a powerful medley accompanied by footage of the final, emotional stretch of the game. Kingdom Hearts franchise composer Yoko Shimomura opened and closed the show, and even took to the piano for an outro piece.
During today's Kingdom Hearts Orchestra: World of Tres concert in Los Angeles, Kingdom Hearts boss Tetsuya Nomura took the stage to show a new trailer for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts III: ReMIND DLC. He announced that it is set to launch this Winter.
Spoiler Warning. Kingdom Hearts III spoilers follow below.
We don't have too many details of the DLC so far, but at the moment we know it contains the following content from the Tokyo concert in April:
Title: “Kingdom Hearts III ReMIND”
Additional Scenario “ReMIND”
Limit Episode + Boss
Secret Episode + Boss
English VA Option (In Japan, no certainty on a similar Japanese VA option for the West)
While today's trailer was shown exclusively to attendees with recording restricted, nothing stays secret for long. An offscreen recording of the trailer is embedded below (via YouTube user NexusEX), showing playable Aqua and Roxas, and some key scenes between Young Master Xehanort, the Master of Masters, Xigbar, and Luxord.
Update: Square Enix has officially posted tonight's trailer on their YouTube channel. We've updated the embed below.
We'll have to wait for Square Enix's stream on Monday to learn more about the future of Kingdom Hearts.
