Microsoft has revealed a new transparent Xbox controller that rekindles memories of the OG Xbox era: the Sky Cipher Special Edition. It’s available to preorder now at the Microsoft Store for $69.99, with a release date of August 13.

In a post on Xbox Wire, Daniel Ruiz, Sr. Marketing Manager, Xbox Accessories, said the Sky Cipher features a transparent blue design “complemented by metallic features and silver interior parts that shine through from inside, exuding an aura of sophistication and futuristic appeal.”

Leaning into the nostalgia for console generations gone by, Microsoft’s video promoting the new transparent controller begins with the OG Xbox bootup animation. Perhaps Microsoft plans to release a transparent console next?

Going back and taking it forward

Introducing the Sky Cipher Special Edition Xbox Wireless controller. Pre-order now: https://t.co/G9ebMwE4Kn pic.twitter.com/yUz7IpPQR8

— Xbox (@Xbox) July 31, 2024

Here’s the official blurb:

Elevate your experience and style with the Sky Cipher controller. Stay elegantly on target with Sky Blue metallic triggers and a matching D-pad surrounded by a dark blue accent. Refine your game with two-tone thumbsticks featuring Sky Blue bases and dark blue tops. Hold on to the action with rubberized, Sky Blue grips on the back case. Looking closely at the hand grips, you can see the rumble pack vibrate and react to your gameplay.

Otherwise, the Sky Cipher Special Edition is the same Xbox Series X and S wireless controller Microsoft has sold for years, and includes USB-C connectivity, a 3.5mm audio jack, and up to 40 hours of battery life.

Alongside the reveal of this controller is the announcement that the Sky Cipher introduces a new packaging design for Xbox controllers “that embodies our commitment to reducing product carbon footprint.”

Braid developer Jonathan Blow has said the recently released anniversary edition of the indie puzzle platformer has sold “horribly,” and indicated he is now struggling to employ staff full-time.

Blow, who also created The Witness, catapulted into the upper echelons of indie video game development after Braid enjoyed enormous success on Xbox Live Arcade in 2008. It’s since become known as one of the greatest indie games of all time, with a number of perfect review scores under its belt.

16 years later, in May 2024, Blow released a remaster with fully repainted artwork, new puzzles, and in-depth commentary, across PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, Android, and iOS, with the mobile version released by Netflix to those with an active subscription. The Anniversary Edition was announced during Sony’s State of Play event in August 2020.

As surfaced by a user on ResetEra, a YouTube channel called “Blow Fan” published a compilation of commentary from Blow on Braid, Anniversary Edition’s sales performance, made during a number of livestreams in the months since launch. The picture Blow paints here is clear: Braid, Anniversary Edition has flopped.

In one stream dated June 17, Blow said Braid, Anniversary Edition had sold “horribly.” “It has sold like dogs**t compared to what we need to make for the company to survive,” he continued. “So the future is uncertain, let’s put it that way.”

Then, on July 21, Blow was asked again about sales. “No, they’ve been terrible,” he replied. “Utterly terrible.”

In another stream dated July 22, said releasing Braid, Anniversary Edition on so many platforms “made a difference, but the problem is most of those platforms are f***ing dead now.”

“Steam is easily still our biggest platform,” he continued. “There would have been something to be said for just not porting to half those platforms.

“It’s a really interesting thing that we did. We did commentary in a way that nobody’s ever done it, at a much more thorough level than anybody’s ever done it. And at some point, you just have to know that what you did was a good thing, even if the world doesn’t really acknowledge it. And this is one of those cases, I think.”

Our obsession with the concept of the “dead game” and player counts is unhealthy for the video game industry and gamers, one of the developers behind Palworld has said.

Palworld, dubbed “Pokémon with guns,” launched in early access form to record-breaking success. It is the second most-played game ever on Steam, with an incredible concurrent player count of 2,101,867 on Valve’s platform. Only battle royale PUBG is ahead of Palworld in Steam’s all-time peak concurrents chart.

Palworld’s Steam concurrents have fallen since that explosive launch earlier this year, and now usually hit a peak in the tens of thousands rather than millions. The decline has caused some to call Palworld a “dead game,” but it is far from the only game to be called that in recent years.

For example, Rocksteady’s catastrophic Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, whose Steam concurrents usually peak in the hundreds of players, was called a dead game upon its release. Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2, Ubisoft’s Skull & Bones, and Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 are also often called dead games. Sony’s live service hero shooter Concord has been labeled “dead on arrival” before launch because of low beta concurrents on Steam.

The “dead game” narrative is exacerbated by an industry currently pumping out more live service games than the market can perhaps support, or even wants, and by publishers who walk away from their live service games amid low player numbers. This month Capcom announced plans to move on from dinosaur-themed shooter Exoprimal just a year after launch, with Steam concurrents brutally low.

John “Bucky” Buckley, community chief at Palworld developer Pocketpair, has been a vocal critic of the “dead game” phrase, and in social media posts has called on the industry, media, and gamers to ditch the fixation on concurrents and player counts.

Bucky followed up on these posts in an interview with YouTube channel Going Indie for a video titled, ‘Dead Games Are A Good Thing, Actually.’ In it, Bucky called out publishers and developers who try to brute-force mechanics designed to keep players playing forever into games they’re not suited to, declaring it “unhealthy.”

“Just play the games you like,” Bucky said. “If you finish in a day, cool. Good job. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Play the next one.

“I don’t think it really serves anyone to push gamers to just play the same game day in, day out. There are games that you can play every single day for months on end and never burn out. League of Legends, Dota, most MMOs, but they’re designed to be like that.

“Whereas what we’re seeing now is a trend of… I won’t necessarily say who’s trying to push it, but a lot more people are trying to push gamers to play games that aren’t really designed to be played for months on end, for months on end.”

“I don’t think you need to be pushing yourself to play the same game all the time,” Bucky continued.

“It’s not healthy for us, it’s not healthy for developers, it’s not healthy for gamers, it’s not healthy for the gaming media. And it’s just not healthy for our industry, because the more we push this kind of narrative, the more very large companies are going to just say ‘gamers want more live service.’ And we’re just going to get more of these really soulless live service games that come out and then get shut down nine months later, 12 months later, because they’re not making enough money. And we all lose in that case.

“Play all the indIes you can. Spend as much money on indies as you can. Who cares if there’s only five people playing it? Just enjoy yourself. Just enjoy games. I don’t think it needs to be any more complex than that.”

But will the industry, the media, and gamers listen? The “dead game” narrative is in part fueled by the video game industry’s obsession with secrecy. Unlike Hollywood, which makes movie budgets and box office figures public, video game publishers tend not to announce video game sales and/or revenue unless they’re truly spectacular, with development budgets almost always kept a closely guarded secret. In truth, it’s almost impossible to determine whether a video game has met expectations, which is why vague publisher comments made by CEOs in investor-focused financial calls get so much attention.

This secrecy means gamers and the media have just one publicly available performance metric with which to gauge performance: Steam concurrents. Valve continues to make this stat available for the world to see, and so the world has developed a hyper-focus around it, in turn leading to an over-reliance.

In any case, there have been plenty of examples of live service video games that were prematurely consigned to the scrap heap. Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege suffered a disastrous launch but went on to become one of the biggest live service games around. Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky is another redemption story, as is CD Projekt’s Cyberpunk 2077. And let’s not forget the humble origins of Fortnite, what began as a lackluster tower defense game but ended up perhaps the biggest live service of them all.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Steam hit Once Human is set to go offline today, July 31, in order to release a significant update that makes a number of key changes to the game.

Once Human is a free-to-play multiplayer open-world survival game from Starry Studio, a developer owned by Chinese games company NetEase. It launched on PC on July 9 and quickly found an audience, with a huge peak concurrent player count of 231,668 on Steam, where it remains one of the most-played games.

IGN’s Once Human review returned an 8/10. We said: “Once Human combines simple but solid building and upgrading with some of the best, and weirdest, creature designs of the year to create a very enjoyable survival-crafting experience.”

While you’re out collecting rare Deviations or scouting the best base locations in Once Human, keep track of collectibles and Mystical Crates using IGN’s interactive Once Human map.

Starry Studio said the server maintenance, during which Once Human will be offline and unplayable, starts at 9pm PDT today, July 31, and is expected to last for four hours. “Please plan your game time accordingly, and thank you for your understanding and support,” the studio said.

Ahead of the release of the next big update on August 1, Starry Studio published the patch notes, below:

“We have been actively listening to and addressing feedback and suggestions from our community since the global release,” the developer said.

Once Human August 1, 2024 update patch notes:

Optimizations

I. Memetic Optimizations

1. Added a new item drop: Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments

– After using a Memetic Specialization Memory Fragment, you will gain the corresponding Memetic specialization effect.

– Up to three Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments can be used per season.

– When the in-game item Controller is used, there is a certain chance of obtaining a random Memory Fragment.

– All Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments will be destroyed at the end of the season, and they will not be sent to the Eternaland Depot.

– Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments can be traded between players.

2. Adjusted some display elements on the Memetic Specialization screen

– Optimized the stacking of certain metal ingots in the Backpack.

– Optimized the display of Memetic specializations in the gear details pop-up.

– Production output of regular Ammunition can be increased by 50%.

II. Gameplay Optimizations

1. Enriched the Highway Pursuit game mode

– Added a new Highway Pursuit route to the Chalk Peak region.

– The event starting time is now fixed to 9:00 PM, server time.

– Rosetta trucks now automatically drop Sproutlets even if the player does not attack them.

– Increased the quantity of Sproutlet and reward drops.

– Optimized the item storage quantity and subtraction rules of the Cargo Scramble game mode.

2. Optimized the ease of checking certain display elements

– After opening the Map, you can now click on Monolith, Securement Silo, Public Crisis Event, Cargo Conquest, and other icons to open their details screen.

– Added a combat invitation function to Public Crisis Events. You can now send invitations to other players via chat channels.

– There is no longer a countdown timer for pressing Ready when entering a Monolith or Securement Silo solo.

III. Vehicle Optimizations

1. Increased the acceleration and maximum speed of low-level Motorcycles. Slightly increased the acceleration and maximum speed of Off-Roaders and Coupes.

2. Fixed an issue where after boarding a vehicle, the player would need to press a movement key once before being able to operate the vehicle.

3. Added a function where if a vehicle is stuck on terrain, you can hold down the accelerate key to free the vehicle.

4. Added a setting for auto-centering the vehicle camera. You can now choose to enable or disable auto-centering while operating a vehicle.

5. Optimized the vehicle repair and modification procedure. Heavily damaged vehicles must now be repaired before they can be modified.

IV. Planting Optimizations

1. Added a Continuous Planting function to the Planter Box. This function will automatically replant with the previously used seeds and fertilizer.

V. Combat Optimizations

1. Fixed the issue where the Attack buff gained from defeating a target with Doombringer did not stack.

2. Fixed an issue where certain kinds of damage in PvP mode were not affected by the gear build.

3. Adjusted the rules for Bounce target selection. Black Water will no longer be targeted by Bounce attacks.

4. Adjusted the displayed weapon accuracy values. The actual attributes have not been changed.

5. Added a weapon inspection function that can be accessed from the action wheel.

6. Added a hit counter for the KAM – Abyss Glance.

7. Optimized the field of view when using iron sights on some KAM weapons.

VI. Wilderness Optimizations

1. Construction is now forbidden in the vicinity of the Scarecrow at Rippleby Market.

2. Added a Camera Height option to the Settings. The player can now adjust the character’s vertical position on the screen.

3. Optimized the movement path of the Wanderer. It can now move around within a single region more effectively.

VII. Interaction, Art, and SFX Optimizations

1. Optimized the appearance of Teleportation Towers.

2. Optimized the on-hit SFX for certain Deviants.

3. Unlocked some control functions and some settings.

4. Added a controls display function. The player can now view their current controls and their corresponding functions.

VIII. Trades

1. Added Nisa’s Loot Crate to the Sproutlet Shop of Nisa, an NPC merchant who can be found in neutral Strongholds. There is a 30% chance of obtaining a Legendary Mod when opening Nisa’s Loot Crate. If a Mod is not obtained, one of the following will be obtained instead: Acid x200, Barreled Premium Fuel x20, or Stardust Source x67.

IX. Deviation Interaction Optimizations

1. Optimized the controls for synchronizing Deviation Abilities. The player can now press G to interact with a Securement Unit to sync a Combat Deviation to their Cradle.

2. Adjusted the controls for withdrawing Deviations. After opening a Securement Unit, the player can now press U to withdraw the Deviation.

X. Character, Controls, and Camera Optimizations

1. Optimized the camera when interacting with the Bed furniture item.

2. Reduced the player’s recovery time after being grabbed and thrown by a Deviant.

3. Fixed an issue where changes to the character’s body would cause their arms to clip when using a melee weapon.

4. Adjusted the camera sensitivity when reloading while scoped to be the same as that of aiming while scoped. Camera controls when reloading a weapon with a high-powered scope will now be more fluid.

XI. Task Narrative Optimizations

1. To make it easier for you to view all purchasable items at traders in neutral Settlements, items sold at Claire’s shop are now included in the Settlement Shop. In addition, the player can now press W and S to scroll through dialogue options.

XII. Cosmetics Optimizations

1. Added more hair color presets.

2. Optimized the results screen for Rift Space, Securement Silo, and dungeon instances to highlight players with outstanding performances. Added a results screen for The Prime War and Stronghold Conquest that congratulates the top-ranked players. Various stylish effects will be displayed based on the player’s ranking.

XIII. Performance Optimizations

1. On PC, the resolution can now be changed when playing in full-screen mode.

XIV. Other Adjustments

1. Optimized the Manibus scenario on PvE servers. New server-wide tasks and rewards have been added for Phase V of the season.

August-Themed Event

On Nalcott Island, the month of August itself is an anomalous event. During this “forgotten summer,” we will receive additional produce from harvesting every week. More events will be gradually unlocked in the game. All Metas are welcome to participate!

1. Login Event: On August 1, August 8, and August 15, special rewards will be unlocked, including the Epic cosmetic – Crimson Spider Gloves and a Butterfly’s Emissary Crate I! Rewards can be claimed anytime before the event ends on September 4.

2. Upcoming Events

– Wilderness Express: starts on August 15

Enjoy racing through the wilderness alone or as a team, and earn a rating for mileage and collisions achieved. Attain the required rating to claim rewards including Starchrom and the limited-edition cosmetic – Fulfilled Wish Vest!

– Secure on Sight: starts on August 22

During the event, defeat enemies to earn Loot Crates which may contain Specimen Cards. Collect Specimen Cards and fill the Specimen Encyclopedia to obtain rewards.

* Refer to the event screen for detailed rules.

Shop Arrivals

New arrivals are available in the Shop! Visit the Shop to check them out.

1. Added the Epic-quality outfit: Racing Loon, as well as a discounted theme pack.

2. Added the Neon series of Epic weapon cosmetics for the SOCR, MG4, KV-SBR, and other popular weapons.

3. Added the City Vending Machine cosmetic for the Vending Machine. It is the first facility cosmetic to be available and comes in three colors. Bring some glamor to your trades!

4. Added the Sunny Coast Living Room furniture set. Transform your home into a romantic summertime beach!

Bug Fixes

I. Territory Construction

1. Fixed an issue with the Supplies Workbench specialization that caused its actual healing effect to differ from its description.

2. Fixed an issue with the Electrical Expert and One with the Tides specializations that caused the actual number of Generators that could be placed to differ from their descriptions.

3. Fixed an issue where the list of Memetic logging, mining, and gathering devices was displayed wrongly.

4. Fixed where the duration extension effect of Stardust Tea did not affect Hydration.

5. Fixed an issue where fuel refinery facilities upgraded with Memetic specializations could not refine Barreled Crude Oil.

6. Fixed an issue that caused the Automated Mining facility screen to display the wrong Vein.

7. Fixed an issue where the button for returning to the list of facilities from the Facility Details screen would not work.

8. Fixed an issue that caused mining facilities to quickly produce Stardust Ore.

9. Fixed an issue where the Hydraulic Generator could not generate electricity correctly.

10. Fixed an issue that caused wires to remain on top of the Garage after recalling a truck.

11. Fixed a display issue that occurred when placing Blueprints while using Flight Mode in Eternaland.

12. Fixed an issue with building Blueprints where small grids could not be recognized when replacing materials.

13. Fixed an issue that caused queued Construction tasks to be counted toward the Crafting queue limit.

14. Fixed an issue where the description of Stardust Tea did not match its effect.

15. Fixed an issue that caused Deviant Energy Generators on the home-moving vehicle would not work correctly in a Pollution Zone.

16. Fixed an issue where, after moving the Territory from a Pollution Zone to a normal region, Deviant Energy Generators would not work but would still display the working animation.

II. Wilderness

1. Fixed an issue where the Map’s navigation function would sometimes not work or fail to display the navigation route.

2. Fixed an issue where the player would receive the wrong item after buying a Bait formula from the fish trader.

III. Combat

1. Fixed an issue where the Durability attribute would turn yellow if the gear lost Durability.

2. Fixed an issue where the Crossbow’s Calibration Blueprint could not be disassembled.

3. Fixed an issue that caused a switching error to occur on the right side of the weapon selection panel when replacing a Calibration Blueprint.

4. Fixed an issue where some dropped weapons would randomly contain red-colored Blueprint attributes, so the weapon could not be disassembled to get its Blueprint.

5. Fixed the inconsistent descriptions of The Weaver elixir and the Whim effect.

6. Fixed an issue where if Hold to Sprint is enabled and the player is currently holding the Sprint key to sprint, clicking on Auto-Run would not stop the character from sprinting.

7. Fixed an issue that caused some weapon crosshairs to display incorrectly in 4K resolution.

IV. Game Modes

1. Fixed an issue with the Mist game mode where the center point’s location would be wrongly determined.

2. Fixed an issue with The Prime War that caused the Shadow Hound to get stuck in the air when using its skill.

3. Fixed an issue with The Prime War where if more players than the maximum attempted to teleport, they would get stuck on the edge of the map.

4. Optimized the on-hit visual effect and effective range of manual turrets in The Prime War.

5. Fixed an issue that caused Deviations to drop additional copies of items in Securement Silo – EX1.

6. Fixed the spawn rules of some Deviations in Securement Silo – PSI and Securement Silo – THETA. Dr. Teddy, Enchanting Void, Upper World Spawn, and Snow Globe will now spawn in the correct scenario.

V. Deviations

1. Fixed an issue where Deviations whose skills have a designated target could not be recalled while the player was reloading.

2. Fixed an issue where Mini Wonder would absorb teammates’ bullets in its range when attached to the player character.

3. Fixed an issue that prevented Mini Wonder from defending against shotguns.

VI. Other Fixes

1. Fixed an issue where the wrong text was displayed if you had not been friends with another player for at least seven days.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.