To celebrate the holidays, The Callisto Protocol is giving away previously exclusive skins to all current and future owners starting December 21 – and we wanted to debut the news with our Xbox community.

First, by popular community demand, everyone will receive the Gore Skin Collection, previously a Twitch exclusive, for free. So, if you missed out on the Twitch Drop at launch and want to ring in the New Year by battling your way through Black Iron Prison covered in the viscera of your enemies, now’s your chance!

We also added the Snake, Retro Prisoner, Biophage, and AMD Radeon Skin Collections for all Digital Deluxe Edition and Season Pass owners with no strings attached. Whether you’re playing through the campaign, Final Transmission story expansion, Contagion Mode or Riot Mode – players can commemorate the New Year in style. To access the skins you need to have the Season Pass content installed on your system.

With the end of the year almost upon us, we looked back at the previous twelve months. We launched four DLCs alongside dozens of updates that added new modes to the game, improved the combat, and added quality of life and optimizations. But mostly we were excited to see millions of players join us to face the terrifying creatures lurking the halls and shadows of Black Iron Prison. Since The Callisto Protocol launched, players have bludgeoned, bashed, and blasted their way through the monstrosities stalking the penitentiary – but just how many abominations did players dispatch?

With our curiosity peaked, we dug into the numbers to see just how unrelenting The Callisto Protocol players are – and they didn’t disappoint. So, to celebrate the end of the year we want to acknowledge our amazing community for liberating the horrors of Callisto from their limbs.

The skin collections will be added on December 21, 2023. With new game modes, dozens of enhancements added since launch, and now all the skin collections, it’s a great time to dive into the narrative-driven, third-person sci-fi survival horror of The Callisto Protocol.

The Callisto Protocol for Xbox Series X|S

KRAFTON, Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆
1051

★★★★★

$69.99

Get it now

In this narrative-driven, third-person survival horror game set 300 years in the future, the player will take on the role of Jacob Lee – a victim of fate thrown into Black Iron Prison, a maximum-security penitentiary located on Jupiter’s moon, Callisto. When inmates begin to transform into monstrous creatures, the prison is thrown into chaos. To survive, Jacob must battle his way to safety to escape Black Iron Prison, while uncovering the dark and disturbing secrets buried beneath the surface of Callisto. Using a unique blend of shooting and close-quarters combat, Jacob will need to adapt his tactics to combat the rapidly evolving creatures while scavenging to unlock new weapons, gear, and abilities to outrun the growing threat and escape the horrors of Jupiter’s Dead Moon.

HORROR ENGINEERING
The Callisto Protocol is a next-generation take on survival horror from the mind of Glen Schofield. Blending atmosphere, tension, and brutality with terrifying moments of helplessness and humanity, The Callisto Protocol immerses players in a pulse-pounding story where unspeakable horrors lurk around every corner.

UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNITED JUPITER COMPANY
Set on Jupiter’s dead moon Callisto in the year 2320, The Callisto Protocol casts players as Jacob Lee, an inmate in Black Iron Prison. When a mysterious outbreak throws the moon into chaos, Jacob must face his darkest fears to defeat the bloodthirsty creatures that stalk him as he unravels the dark mysteries at the heart of the powerful United Jupiter Company.

MASTER BRUTAL, STRATEGIC COMBAT
The Callisto Protocol challenges players to master a thrilling blend of hand-to-hand and ranged combat, including a unique gravity weapon once used by Black Iron guards to control the prison population. Players will be forced to get up close and personal with their grotesque opponents, hacking off limbs, blasting off legs, and getting creative with whatever is at their disposal to survive each life-or-death encounter.

EXPERIENCE THE ISOLATION OF JUPITER’S DEAD MOON
One of the most hostile, isolated environments in the universe, Callisto looms large over Jacob’s desperate struggle to survive. Players must not only contend with the horrors of Black Iron Prison, but also the centuries-old secrets that plague Jupiter’s long-dead moon, both above and below the surface.

The post The Callisto Protocol: Previously Exclusive Skins Now Free to All Owners appeared first on Xbox Wire.

With the holidays in full swing, there’s no better way to celebrate the season than with an EA Play membership — and there’s no better time to join than now! EA Play members with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate get dozens of hours of trials across multiple EA games, like EA Sports UFC 5 and EA Sports WRC.

In addition, members also get unlimited access to top games, including the Kemono hunting epic adventure Wild Hearts, the classic sci-fi survival horror game Dead Space, the authentic and immersive EA Sports NHL 24, and many more.

With EA Play, the gifting never stops – this month’s member content content and rewards include:

• Battlefield 2042 December Battle Pass Two-Tier Skip – Now to January 2
• EA Sports FC 24 Clubs Snowglobe Right Leg Tattoo – Now to December 21
• EA Sports FC 24 Volta Tis the Season Red Santa Hat and Coins – Now to December 21
• EA Sports FC 24 December Ultimate Team Draft Token – Now to January 14
• EA Sports FC 24 Clubs Pop Art Left Hand Tattoo – December 22 to February 1
• EA Sports FC 24 Volta Pop Art Pink Headband and Coins – December 22 to February 1
• F1 23 5000 XP Boost – Now to December 31
• Madden NFL 24 Madden Ultimate Team (MUT) December Pack – Now to December 31
• WRC Season 2 Rewards – December 19 to February 12
• NHL 24 Nutcracker Set – Now to January 31
• NHL 24 World of Chel (WOC) Coins – Now to January 31
• NHL 24 World of Chel (WOC) Battle Pass XP Modifier – Now to January 31

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Game Pass PC members receive EA Play at no additional cost with their Game Pass subscription. Members enjoy great player benefits, including in-game challenges and rewards, special member-only content, trials of select brand-new titles like EA Sports FC 24, Madden NFL 24, F1 23, and Super Mega Baseball 4, access to a collection of EA’s best-loved series and top titles, and 10% off purchases of Electronic Arts digital content.

Visit the EA Play page for more details, and to stay up to date on the latest from EA Play, follow EA Play on, Instagram, or X. Please see EA.com/EA-Play/Terms for terms and conditions.

The post Celebrate the Holiday Season with New EA Play Rewards appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Inin kicks off the holiday season with a bang! After releasing Air Twister digitally on Xbox in November, Inin surprises their retro game fans with the much-anticipated ports of their catalogue to Xbox Consoles! The first batch of ports includes some of its most precious gems, namely Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined, Ultracore, Clockwork Aquario, Panorama Cotton, Cotton 100% and the newly released Volume 1 of its IREM Collection. Since it’s the holiday season, most of these titles will be offered at a reduced price upon release. Relish in holiday joy by getting your hands on one (or all) of these Inin gems.

Pocky & Rocky Reshrined

The XBOX InInvasion starts off with the return of Pocky & Rocky! Known to retro fans as the timeless classic KiKiKaiKai, developed by the Japanese arcade giant Taito, Pocky & Rocky is a fantastic remake you can’t miss out on.

Pocky, a Shinto shrine maiden, befriends a tanuki named Rocky; and the two embark on a journey to defeat mythical Japanese creatures and save the world! This top-down scrolling shooter features improved graphics, sound and even a new playable character. With local co-op, you and a friend can embark on this nostalgic trip in feudal Japan together! Check out the new Xbox trailer here.

IREM Collection – Volume 1

Ready for a challenge? The Irem Collection brings back several Irem classics from the golden era of arcade gaming. Volume 1 kickstarts the collection with a serious challenge: Image Fight, Image Fight 2 and X-Multiply. With the former regarded as some of the toughest shoot ‘em ups of all time, test your skills to get featured on the Worldwide Ranked Leaderboard. And get spooked in X-Multiply, a shmup set inside the human body!

(Re)discover these cult classics in a modernized package, which includes save states and a rewind function.

Clockwork Aquario

From stuck in development hell to hitting the ground runnin’ in heaven—Clockwork Aquario is finally available for all to enjoy! After close to 30 years of bumpy development, Clockwork Aquario received the Guinness World Record for the longest time between the start of a video game project and its release—so it’s time to pay your respects to this legend!

In this fighting platformer, you get to pick up your enemies and throw them where you see fit to increase your score multiplier!  The game is also available in local coop, where you can collaborate to take down the nefarious Dr. Hangyo… or ruin each other’s day by fighting for the highest score.

Relive the nostalgia of the nineties in this beautiful and vibrant unearthed Gem.

Ultracore

If runnin’ and gunnin’ is your game, then Ultracore is your name. This love letter to classic 2D action offers large, elaborate stages with secrets hidden in every corner and a fistful of bosses to shoot at. Its original synthwave soundtrack is also the perfect accomplice to mass destruction. Start blasting, collect coins, buy new weapons and keep firing until the chamber’s empty.

Cotton 100%

It’s broomstick time! The cult-classic sidescrolling shooter that practically birthed the cute ’em up subgenre is available worldwide for the first time since its initial release in 1994. Play as the moody witch Nata de Cotton as she sets off with Silk, her new fairy friend, on a journey to confront the ever-increasing forces of darkness. Her objective? Stuff her face full of Willow candies, and maybe save the world in the process!

Panorama Cotton

Nata de Cotton and Silk are back for some 2.5D action in this classic rail shooter from the 90s. Evil is up to some new antics and started burning Cotton’s cherished Willow candies, an unforgivable deed for an addicted witch. Upgrade your weapons, avoid all obstacles and put an end to their nefarious plans, possibly saving a crazed Queen Velvet along the way!

As Inin goes into the new year, more titles will be made available on Xbox consoles. The InInvasion is just getting started!

The post Watch Out, the Xbox InInvasion Has Begun appeared first on Xbox Wire.

It started with a love triangle… 

Then, a BIG BANG. 

Now, as the universe expands, so does Feral Cat Den’s catalog! We’re excited to announce Nirvana Noir; the sequel to the acclaimed indie Genesis Noir. 

With a stunning art style, and a jazzy, addictive soundtrack, Genesis Noir stole our hearts when it launched back in 2021. Nirvana Noir adds color to the beautiful expanding Noir universe and even more jazzy tunes to enjoy. To share more about the sequel, we asked Evan Anthony, Creative Lead at Feral Cat Den, to shed some color on how it came together, and how it ties into the original Genesis Noir story. 

How does Nirvana Noir expand on the universe of Genesis Noir? 

Evan: Genesis Noir tells the story of the Big Bang: the birth of our universe, but also a gunshot fired in the heat of a cosmic love triangle. The player explores this universe from the first moments of creation, to the emergence of life in primordial oceans, the history and future of mankind, all the way up until the very last explosive moments of the Big Bang. Genesis Noir tells a story through the past, present, and future of our universe, but only briefly introduces the cosmic city in which this Big Bang was fired in. After completing Genesis Noir, we were left with so many questions about this city!  

What is it like to live in a city where a gunshot can create the entire universe? What is it like to walk down the streets, what would you find in a dark alley, what laws govern this place?  

What other characters might inhabit this strange world? What are they like, who do they love, what conflicts do they find themselves caught in? 

Nirvana Noir explores all these questions. While the streets of our home in New York City seem endless, a metaphysical metropolis where imagination embodies the unknown into steel girders and stomping feet and rioting crowds and alleyways filled with stellar bodies, well that seems unfathomably bigger! To expand the universe of Genesis Noir has been an exciting creative and technical challenge for our team, and we’re eager to see where it takes us. 

What role does the soundtrack play in Nirvana Noir, and is it as prominent in as it was in Genesis Noir? 

Evan: The soundtrack plays a similar role to the first game, definitely as prominent, interactive, and ‘sound-toy-y’. It’s like a character that plays a supportive role but then comes to the fore in various ways, sometimes quite unexpectedly. And like the first game, there are moments where the characters are holding various instruments and playing music. We’re so lucky to work on a game that draws attention to the music in this way. 

How does Nirvana Noir differ from Genesis Noir in gameplay mechanics? Is there anything new players can expect? 

Evan: We are still very interested in the tactile interactions, generative art, simple puzzles, and musical toys that we featured in Genesis Noir, but with Nirvana Noir we’re layering in a richer plot, larger environment to explore, and dialogue interactions. 

While in Genesis Noir, the player progressed through individual levels that featured bespoke interactions and settings, Nirvana Noir tells a story of conspiracy and intrigue interwoven throughout the city. Players will see how the different areas and characters in this cosmic city change as the plot unfolds. 

Players can expect a new dimension of gameplay through dialogue based interaction, which feature fun and bespoke ways of interacting with text. Players will cut up words, throw them around, dodge and break text blocks, and find truth hidden within word bubbles.  

What inspired you to bring full color to the highly recognizable and deliberately black-and-white noir universe? 

Evan: At the start of Genesis Noir development, we imagined the entirety of the game in black and white. But as we dove into the world and watched the characters take on a life of their own, we realised the themes of the game were drawing us to (spoilers) introduce color in the final act. Introducing vibrant color to the player after spending so much time in a world of black and white created a very memorable moment – No Man’s first and final decision in the game. To live a life of color and crime, or walk away into the monochromatic darkness. 

This decision became the two endings of Genesis Noir, and we were fascinated by the idea that both of these endings could be canon. Perhaps No Man chose the impossible, and found himself split in two realities. One world, his city drenched in rain and moonlit shadows in the vain of 1940s/50s classic film noir like The Third Man. The other a world of psychedelic color vibrating under the hot sun of 1960s/70s neo-noir films like The Long Goodbye. 

Contrasting these two palettes has provided us with lots of creative opportunities. Plus, we found out we missed working with color! 

Were there specific songs or artists that inspired the music or style of the game? 

Evan: The new period setting of the 60s/70s-inspired timeline allowed us to dig into a really exciting time in popular music. While there’s various strands of psychedelic pop music at play in the score, we’ve found that some of the darker material from that era best supports the mystery that No Man finds himself wrapped up in: The Doors, Velvet Underground, Love, Jefferson Airplane, some bits of Pink Floyd, and Silver Apples are a few of the artists we’ve been drawing from. There are some more obscure refs in there too but we’re actually finding the better-known artists are more useful to mine for period/genre tropes that resonate with the theme.  

For the 40s/50s timeline, we’re finding ourselves going backwards in order to contrast with the colourful 60’s timeline.  In the first game we were exploring Jazz influences that went right up to the 70s as No Man went on his trip through the universe. In Nirvana Noir, No Man is spending a lot more time pounding the streets, doing good ol’ gumshoe detective-work so we’re digging deeper into classic film noir soundtracks than we did on Genesis Noir. Bernard Hermann and Jerry Goldsmith are constant inspirations. 

What should players be most excited about in Nirvana Noir? 

Evan: Players should be jazzed about meeting new characters in a plot chock full of intrigue and mystery that culminates in a psychedelic climax. Explosions and arson! Drugs and drama! Lovers and corrupt cops! An exploration of the cosmic and metaphysical wrapped up in a raucous pulp exterior.  

They should also get ready for engaging interactions filled with the incredible music of IGF-winning Skillbard, all inside in a city of everlasting imagination. So buckle up, hit the streets, and embrace the Bigger Bang! 

The post Nirvana Noir: How Feral Cat Den Is Bringing A Sequel To Life In Glorious Technicolor  appeared first on Xbox Wire.