GAMES
Xbox Celebrates Black History Month with Support of Black Creators, Players, and a Culture of Inclusion
Xbox believes in the power of gaming to bring people together, to cultivate joy, creativity, and teamwork. We’re committed to building a community where everyone is welcome to play, and one way to do this is through supporting and amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities in gaming.
Muse reported that Black Americans are more likely to agree with the positive outcomes of gaming, for example, teamwork and communication, compared to other communities. In honor of Black History Month, we’re spotlighting the contributions of Black and African American developers and creators and celebrating gaming as a source of joy, connection, and self-care for many in the community.
I particularly relate to this from growing up in the South Bronx. Gaming was a way for me to release stress after school. I have fond memories of summer afternoons spent at a friend’s home playing Halo and laterenjoying Gears of War on my own first Xbox. I was fascinated by the narratives, drawn to the worlds, and inspired by the heroes and the hope they represented. Gaming gave me bonding time with family and friends, was a source of creativity for school projects, and fueled the belief that I could one day be a part of the industry that motivated me to be persistent in pursuit of my dream.
Despite a lack of community resources, I tackled every day with optimism, crediting much of this positivity to the gaming community and the talented individuals around the globe who continuously bring this artform to life. Upon leaving a career in media communication to work in retail, my 7-year journey with Microsoft began at the Microsoft retail store in New York City and last year, I accomplished my dream of joining Team Xbox. As a life-long gamer, it’s important to me to help inspire and uplift others to join the industry or to simply share their love of gaming.
The barriers that I encountered growing up are lifting, and while there is still so much work to do, I’m proud that in the last year, Xbox has doubled the number of games featured from Black creators. Representation is an important step forward in our goals to offer captivating gaming experiences in which everyone is welcome to play and can truly see themselves as the hero.
Join us as Xbox celebrates and amplifies Black voices during this Black History Month and beyond.
Impact and Connect
Microsoft Rewards on Xbox: Donate Points to Organizations Supporting Black Communities
Microsoft Rewards members in the United States can earn and donate points to organizations supporting Black communities with Xbox. The below organizations will be featured on console throughout February:
- Cxmmunity – A nonprofit organization, committed to increasing the representation of minorities in esports through STEAM education and career development opportunities.
- Black Girls Rock! – A global women’s movement and philanthropic organization dedicated to celebrating and empowering women and girls of color, by producing inspiring media content and providing enrichment programs for girls that foster positive identity development, critical thinking, leadership, literacy, tech, and innovation.
- Gameheads – A tech training program that uses video game design, development and DevOps to create diverse talent and bold new voices, train youth of color for the tech eco-system and prepare them for college, career and civic life.
Xbox gamers can earn Microsoft Rewards points in various ways, such as playing or purchasing games after downloading the Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox. Earn points and redeem them for real rewards. Join us today and donate through Xbox.
Xbox Game Studios “Game Camp” Coming to New Orleans, HBCU
Xbox Game Studios (XGS) Game Camp is coming back to New Orleans March 9 through April 27. The goal of Game Camp is to provide people from underrepresented communities with access to subject matter experts, tools, and industry connections to aid them through the game creation process. While Game Camp has expanded internationally, XGS is committed to its presence in the New Orleans community due to its distinct culture, diverse population, and abundance of talent from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU). Learn more here.
Xbox Game Studios and HBCU Connect Partner Together to Increase Inclusive Hiring
In partnership with HBCU Connect, Xbox Game Studios presents “From the Yard to Gaming,” a special panel featuring Xbox employees who are HBCU Connect alumni. “The Yard” is a colloquial term used by HBCU students in reference to their specific campuses. Our Xbox team will share their experiences and how their time at an HBCU prepared them for their professional journeys in the games industry. Moderated by Senior Talent Pipeline Program Manager at Mojang Studios and HBCU advocate Brittney Pettway, we’ll ask Xbox developers Hector Llanos, Corey Rogers, and Timothy Olojedeto to highlight the work they do within gaming and how to contribute to an inclusive place where people from various walks of life can excel. Stay tuned for details on how to attend our Xbox HBCU Connect virtual event scheduled for Thursday, March 3.
Microsoft also remains committed to the Racial Equity Initiative which focuses on sustained efforts like increasing representation, strengthening a culture of inclusion, and dedicated inclusive hiring practices. We look forward to hosting upcoming events where anyone in our Xbox community can meet members of the Xbox team and learn more about opportunities in the gaming industry.
Xbox Game Studios Presents “The New Face of Gaming” at GDC
As part of our Xbox offering at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this March, Xbox Game Studios presents “The New Face of Gaming,” a special pre-recorded session on March 24 featuring a diverse group of game developers at Xbox. Our Xbox panelists, Senior Program Manager at Xbox Calicia Johnson, Software Engineer Keirten Nivol, and Xbox Marketing Manager Austin Joseph, will share their experiences in gaming and explore how diverse voices are contributing to the evolution of the gaming industry. We’ll also touch on how the evolution of gaming is making the industry a more inclusive place for all where gamers can see themselves in the games they play. This GDC session is moderated by Senior Talent Pipeline Program Manager at Mojang Studios Brittney Pettway. Watch out for more information coming soon regarding this and our other GDC sessions focused on inclusivity at Xbox.
Discover
Xbox Ambassadors Spotlights Stories about Representation in Gaming
Throughout Black History Month, we will be spotlighting stories about representation in gaming by Xbox Ambassadors from Black communities. These are their stories.
Xbox Plays will Feature Black Streamers, Game Creators, and Nonprofits
Throughout February, the Xbox Twitch channel will feature programming celebrating Black History Month. Each week will have a different theme, featuring Black Streamer Takeovers, Black Game Creators, and will showcase nonprofit organizations supporting Black communities.
World’s Edge: Age of Empires Highlights Inspiring Black Figures from American History
Age of Empires will highlight Black figures from American history with articles on their website, inviting their audience to learn more about people who’ve shaped the nation. Want to begin learning? Learn more about the stories of Harriet Tubman, Crispus Attucks, Phillis Wheatley, and Peter Salem. Discover more.
Minecraft’s Lessons in Good Trouble
Minecraft: Education Edition offers Lessons In Good Trouble, a collection of eight interactive Minecraft worlds and lessons on social movements throughout history including the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter as well as lessons about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the origins of Juneteenth. Good Trouble is available as a free demo for Minecraft: Education Edition and for players via the Education Collection in the Minecraft Marketplace. Discover more here.
Discover Games, Movies, and TV Curated by Black Communities at Microsoft
Since last February, we have doubled the games featured on Xbox from Black creators and continue to increase visibility of diverse and inclusive content in additional regions.
A few highlights from the full Xbox games and Windows games collections spanning Black creators, main characters, and character creation options include:
Marvel’s Avengers – From Lead Director Morgan Gray, Marvel’s Avengers: War for Wakanda update added Black Panther to the roster and a new campaign taking place in Wakanda.
Before I Forget – This BAFTA-nominated narrative exploration about dementia is from two women, including Narrative Designer Chella Ramanan, a Black British woman and active campaigner for diversity in games as co-founder of POC in Play.
Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield – Take the role of Wally in this 3D side-scroller from Aerial_Knight including a soundtrack by “Danime-Sama,” a Detroit artist with vocals from artists from all over the world.
Boyfriend Dungeon – Create your own character outside of the gender binary and then romance Isaac the Estoc if you choose in this unique dungeon crawler dating sim with LGBTQIA+ themes where you date your weapons.
One standout title from the full movies and TV collection featuring creators, leads, educational views, and family entertainment is:
“Candyman” – Nia DaCosta has been making waves as the director of this thriller based on an urban legend leading her to be the first Black woman to have a film debut at number one upon opening weekend. We’re also excited to see what she does in the future as the first Black woman and youngest person to direct a Marvel Studios movie.
View the collections in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa. Visitors can find Microsoft’s Black community picks at any time by searching for “Black History” and related terms on Microsoft Store on Windows and Xbox Store. Content is subject to availability by country.
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Halo Infinite Honors Black History Month with Exclusive New Emblem and Nameplate
In celebration of Black History Month, we will offer our very first Halo Infinite Black History Month emblem and nameplate. All players will be able to download this exclusive in-game content by logging into Halo Infinite anytime during the month of February.
Forza Celebrates Black History Month with New In-game Livery Design Contest
The Forza team joins Xbox in celebrating Black History Month to honor Black culture and Black communities.
Join us by using #ForzaBHM to share your livery designs celebrating the past, present, and future of Black communities. We’ll feature our favorites in Forza Horizon 5, Forza Horizon 4, and Forza Motorsport 7, and featured designers will receive in-game credit rewards. Entries close on February 13 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
Xbox Honors Black History Month with a New Gamerpic, Profile Theme, and Avatar Items!
In partnership with Black communities at Xbox, we’re introducing a new gamerpic, profile themes, and avatar items! The gamerpic and profile theme will be available on console and the Xbox PC app. Get your avatar items here.
Learn more about all that Xbox is doing to engage our communities at the Xbox Community Hub.
GAMES
This Week’s Deals with Gold and Spotlight Sale
GAMES
The German Empire Marches to Italy in a Free Expansion Today
We have a new expansion for our WW1 Italian Front FPS game Isonzo releasing today! It’s the first part of our Caporetto season of free expansions, and features a whole new faction with the arrival of the German Empire on the Italian Front, and brings a new map for the Offensive game mode. There will be two more releases in the Caporetto season, each one with a new map to ultimately link together into a three map Caporetto Offensive.
The German faction comes with more than ten new weapons, as well as historically accurate uniforms and equipment. This first Caporetto map sees you taking part in the early stages of the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, with German troops assaulting Italian positions on the road to Caporetto. Historically it was a military disaster for Italy which brought down the government – but maybe things can go differently with you on the battlefield?
The update sees new uniforms and equipment from the German Empire for Isonzo’s six classes: Rifleman, Assault, Engineer, Officer, Marksman and Mountaineer. For those who aren’t familiar with the game, each class has different weapon, gear and perk options that allow you to specialize your play style within the overall focus of the class. For instance, Marksmen are always sharpshooters, but a lot depends on your loadout. You could be a long-range sniper and observer identifying and eliminating high value targets with a scoped rifle, or you could equip body armor to take and hold a front line position with deadly accurate mid-range fire. Every class has choices to make in this regard.
In Isonzo’s signature Offensive game mode, one side must attack and break through multiple defensive lines. Thick layers of barbed wire, trenches, and whatever extra defenses the enemy engineers put together will stand in the way of a successful attack. Objectives can be taking and holding key points, or planting dynamite to sabotage enemy supply stashes or heavy artillery guns.
The new Caporetto map – the first of three in the season – is a huge battlefield based on the strategically important Monte Kolovrat. There are five defensive lines, where each line has two objectives for the attackers before they can advance further. While in the historical Battle of Caporetto both German and Austro-Hungarian forces were involved, in Isonzo we’ve chosen to focus on the German contribution, so the map recreates the stunning German advance from the town of Tolmein all the way to Kolovrat Ridge. It’s a damp, overcast day when the attack begins, and the attackers must first cut their way through lines of wire to break into a devastated town – including capturing a church defended by multiple heavy machine gun positions. Fortunately, in Isonzo there are many tactical options available to deal with such strong points: artillery barrages, smokescreens, snipers, rifle grenades, even poison gas. From there, it becomes a literal uphill battle for the German attackers as they begin to climb towards the peak of Kolovrat Ridge. They’ll need to sabotage bunkers and capture command posts while navigating rocky trenches and steep forested slopes. At the penultimate fourth defensive line there is a huge siege mortar to sabotage and a cluster of houses providing cover to the Italian defenders – then it’s one last climb to reach the final objective: Hill 1114. If the Germans can take it, the Italians will finally be the ones fighting uphill as their reinforcements stream in to try and counterattack.
Of course, things are no walk in the park for the defenders either – although it’s easier to maneuver when going downhill, and it’s much simpler for officers to deploy flares to call in support, the extensive trench lines can become a liability once the Germans get a foothold, providing cover as they advance. Some of the Italian defensive positions can be exposed against the sky, making it easy for German marksmen to pick off targets. Italian engineers should make good use of their construction abilities to put down additional sandbags and lay out extra wire to prevent German assault troops sneaking through the trees to flank trenches with their grenades or light machine guns.
As we mentioned before, historically the Battle of Caporetto was a disaster for the Italians. Appalling leadership led to poorly motivated and unprepared troops falling apart in the face of the combined Austro-Hungarian and German armies using cutting edge infiltration tactics. The Italian soldiers were not allowed to retreat until too late, and in the end hundreds of thousands would surrender. After Caporetto the top Italian general was fired and replaced by someone far more competent, who managed to turn the war around for the Italians. In Isonzo, it’s a more fair fight where both sides have an equal chance of winning, if they can use all the tactical options available better than their opponents.
The release will also bring other improvements to the game, including a prestige mode and higher level cap. Additionally, for those who want more options for visual customization of their character, the Royal Units DLC is releasing alongside the free expansion and contains uniforms from the German Kingdoms of Bavaria and Württemberg. Though part of the German Empire, these states had their own distinctive uniforms which we’ve carefully recreated with the same accuracy and attention to detail as with the other uniforms in the game.
The Battle for Caporetto Begins…
Isonzo is available right now on the Microsoft Store for Xbox, and the free Caporetto expansion is out today! Plenty of time to master the art of mountain warfare before the German Empire joins the action on the Italian Front. Follow us to get the latest development news as we add the finishing touches!
We’ll see you in the trenches!
Isonzo
BlackMill Games
$29.99
World War One expands to the mountains of the Italian Front – beautiful but deadly in equal measure. Inspired by the two year struggle for control of the Isonzo river valley and the Alps during World War One, Isonzo elevates the WW1 Games Series, figuratively and literally.
From the makers of Verdun and Tannenberg…
Take part in historical offensives from the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo to the Strafexpedition. Reflecting the course of the actual battles, as the attackers advance the fighting will shift through vastly different landscapes within a single offensive: from hillside fortresses to mountain trenches and fierce urban combat on city streets. Everything is recreated based on research and field trips, from sound effects and uniforms down to the houses, vineyards and trenches you’ll be fighting over.
The new Offensive game mode puts you right in the middle of key historical offensives on the Italian Front. Lead the charge across stunning Italian landscapes as you choose your path to victory – cut paths through barbed wire, flank your enemies by following mountain trails, or man a mortar to blast a way through. Shape a dynamic battlefield by laying sandbags and wire, placing ammo crates, deploying trench periscopes or sniper shields, and more.
Call in support with a unique historically accurate flare system: flare guns can mark targets for artillery or biplane flybys, or different colored flares can be used to guide your team. Once the big guns have softened up the enemy, finish the job at close quarters with an Arditi dagger or mountaineer’s pickaxe. Man heavy machine guns, mortars and even mountain guns for more direct fire support.
Choose from six classes based on historical combat roles and build your loadout from a selection of weapons, equipment and perks linked to that class, giving flexibility and variety while staying grounded in what real soldiers might have carried. You’ll be operating wire cutters, bandaging yourself and wounded teammates, and blowing the whistle to start an assault. One shot can kill and even lighter injuries can lead to quickly bleeding out.
Being an effective soldier in Isonzo is not just about being a good marksman. Mastering the terrain is also key – the mountain can be a friend or foe. Learn how to navigate well to maintain cover and surprise your enemies or support your allies.
Finally… watch out for the dreaded poison gas. You’ve never experienced WW1 action quite like this!
Isonzo key features include:
• MOUNTAIN WARFARE: Assaulting mountain fortifications, battling through ruined towns, and fording rivers are just a few of the challenges you’ll face as you fight your way through numerous enemy positions
• TACTICAL MULTIPLAYER FPS: Choose your role and loadout carefully to survive this high altitude combat – play a sniper to pick off the enemy engineers before they can cut your wire, use rifle grenades to clear enemy machine guns, and much more
• WORLD WAR ONE GAMEPLAY: Historical Offensive game mode based on real battles and focused on the unique challenges of Alpine warfare. Fight with 30+ WW1 weapons, poisonous gas attacks, and intense artillery barrages
• BUILD FOR VICTORY: Place your own wire, sandbags, trench periscopes, and more! Whether you’re digging in or on the attack, shaping the battlefield to your advantage will be key to victory
• FACES OF WAR: Make every class your own by picking from a variety of historically class-appropriate uniforms, accessories and headgear. As a finishing touch, you can even pick your mustache from several famous period-accurate styles!
• AUTHENTIC WW1 ATMOSPHERE: Accuracy in everything from maps and weaponry to music and the uniforms – fight for the Kingdom of Italy, the German Empire or the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy
MORE GAMES IN THE AUTHENTIC WW1 GAME SERIES
Immerse yourself in more WW1 action with our other standalone titles Tannenberg and Verdun. Experience trench warfare on the Western Front in Verdun, or maneuver for control of key sectors in Tannenberg on the Eastern Front. These authentic WW1 shooters let players choose from a range of squads from across the war, as they fight for control of the ever-changing frontlines.
GAMES
Transport Fever 2: Console Edition is Bringing the Full Transport Tycoon Experience to Xbox
Today, we proudly share a sneak peek into the development of Transport Fever 2: Console Edition, and how we managed to bring the full transport tycoon experience to Xbox.
Transport Fever is a very popular and highly rated transportation tycoon franchise on PC. Its latest entry, Transport Fever 2, delivers a level of size and detail never before seen in the genre. The goal of the game is to build a successful transportation company by constructing railroads, streets, water and air lines. Starting in the 19th century, the player connects towns and industries to transport both passengers and cargo. In addition to a customizable free game mode, there is also a fully-fledged campaign mode with challenging missions set in real-world transportation history.
After the huge success of Transport Fever 2 on PC, it was only logical to bring the experience to consoles as well. Not only that, but no efforts were spared to give the console community the full experience that made the game great on PC. In order to achieve this, the engineers at Urban Games had to pull some rabbits out of their engineers’ hats.
Always providing the freshest layer of paint
One of the most cherished features of Transport Fever 2 are its highly detailed vehicles. The game comes with more than 200 lovingly hand-modeled trains, ships, and airplanes, each sporting multiple 4k textures and normal maps.
On PC, it is easily affordable to have all the models and textures in memory whenever needed, as a typical rig has 16 GB of RAM and a GPU with a dedicated extra memory. Consoles, however, are built differently. They have a unified architecture with an overall smaller amount but ultra-fast memory. The key to make it work on consoles is texture streaming, which allows to clear textures of models that are not in view anymore. Moreover, this technology is used in Transport Fever 2 to constantly load textures at the highest affordable resolution to present the stars of the show, like the classic Class A 3/5 steam locomotive, in their best coat of paint at all times.
Keeping the ground like a console pro
A trademark of Transport Fever 2 are its huge maps. During development of the game, it was always paramount to provide a real sense of scale. The engine should allow for maps where a high-speed train, such as the famous Japanese Shinkansen, can really make use of its superior speed. So, a lot of effort was put into designing a highly effective terrain rendering pipeline that can handle maps of more than 120 sq miles of size with a detail resolution of almost 1 yard. Central to this is a dynamic terrain tessellation algorithm on the CPU that, while costing a bit of extra memory, makes sure the engine can render these maps on a wide variety of PCs.
Now, enter the world of consoles with their incredibly well-designed GPUs and graphic APIs. Here, the hardware can be leveraged very well for terrain rendering by making use of the GPU tessellation feature. This feature generates the render mesh for the terrain fully on the graphics card, saving valuable processing time for the complex economy and city growth simulations. While generating more triangles, the hardware approach still costs less memory overall due to its efficiency. So vast maps can be viewed from a bird’s view high up in the sky and seamlessly zoomed in down to individual rocks on a riverbank.
Inspiring the inner architect
Finally, let’s talk about constructions, a central and defining part of the Transport Fever 2 experience. Constructions are large assemblies that consist of dozens of assets, street segments, ground decals and terrain modifications. Think of structures like airports, train stations, docks, highway crossings, and many more. Anything that is needed to build a vast transportation empire.
For a smooth construction experience, it is key that the player really feels that he has precise control over the building placement. On PC, constructions are typically built using the mouse. As the average PC user is very well adjusted to this method of input, it is sufficiently performant to calculate the entire construction each frame and place it under the cursor. However, on consoles, the best way of building constructions is to have them always kept in the center of the screen and move the camera along the map for placement. And moving the camera needs to be as smooth as silk.
So, for the console release of Transport Fever 2, the construction preview pipeline was overhauled. All dynamic calculations are now performed in the background while a static preview of the structure and its underlying ground plan are shown. Not only are constructions now completely stable in terms of FPS, but they also give feedback to the player on what environment features the construction would tear down when built.
Let’s get tycooning on console
We are very excited to bring the Transport Fever franchise to consoles for the first time ever with the release of Transport Fever 2: Console Edition on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One in February 2023, and we hope you will enjoy it as much as we did developing it.
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