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Starfield Is Out Now

Summary

Kairosoft Has Come to Xbox with Five Games Including Game Dev Story

Summary

Kairosoft is a development studio that creates management simulation games.
Five games will be available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Windows PC this summer.
We will introduce each game that will be released this time.

Do you like simulation games? We love them. Since 1996, we at Kairosoft have created a number of pixel art design management simulation games in order to fulfill the dream of “We want to do this kind of work…”

And this time, we have good news. Now you can play on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PC! From among many titles, we will select five with different personalities and release them on September 15, 2023.

We hope you can find a game that fulfills your longing, such as a game company, an apartment, or managing a village in an RPG world. Now, let’s take a quick look at the five games we’re releasing this time.

Game Dev Story

Game Dev Story is a simulation game set in the development of the video game industry since the 1980s. It is up to the player to choose which hardware to enter and what genre and content to produce.

The player can enjoy the fun of hiring unique staff members, gathering their talents, and working together to create a game that will sell. Remember the days when you were excited every time a new game appeared on the market? Now you can experience the evolution of the game industry as the president of a game company.

Dungeon Village

Dungeon Village is a town-building simulation game set in an RPG world. Towns full of characters are among the charms of RPGs. In this game, the player takes on the role of a village chief, not a brave adventurer, and builds a beautiful town to captivate the adventurers’ hearts.

While remembering the town you explored in a frenzy, skillfully arrange facilities and hold events to capture the hearts of the heroes.

Hot Springs Story

Hot Springs Story is a simulation game with a slightly different theme in which you create a Japanese-style hot spring hotel. You can create your own beautiful garden by arranging plants that bloom beautiful seasonal flowers.

Watching the characters relaxing in the hot springs will bring you a sense of peace and tranquility. This game is especially recommended for those who love beautiful scenery and want to soothe their souls.

Station Manager

Station Manager is a simulation game that lets you build a huge station. This game was born from the desire to recreate the excitement of getting off at a new train station.

In this game, you can recreate the station of the town where you were born and raised, or freely create a dream station full of attractive facilities and gourmet food. In addition, train cars can be organized, so various stations can be completed depending on your ideas.

Capture the hearts of many travelers with your ingenuity and ideas.

Dream House Days DX

Dream House Days DX is an apartment management simulation game. However, the game is not limited to building homes, but also allows the player to become deeply involved in the lives of the residents.

Players can get involved in the residents’ hobbies and love lives, and influence important life events such as marriage and employment. And you can witness the birth of a new life.

Build charming apartments and help your residents live a great life.

All these titles will be available on Xbox September 15, and are available for preorder today!

In addition, we plan to add new games one after another in the future. Have a great time with Kairosoft’s management simulations!

Game Dev Story

Kairosoft

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$11.99

$10.79

Pre-order

Manage your own game company and try to create a million-selling game in this unique simulation.

Features the ability to develop your company’s own game console, plus a system for changing your staff members’ professions.

Hire talented people and train them to develop their skills.

As your staff gets more experience, you will unlock a wider array of game genres and content to develop.
Try to find the most popular combinations and develop for the latest platform!

Your staff members can have a variety of game-related professions, from programmer to sound engineer.

Work hard and you may reach the top of the video game industry!

Chants of Sennaar Is a Puzzle Game About Decoding Five Separate Fictional Languages

In the enchanting world of Chants of Sennaar, a mesmerizing puzzle game awaits, where language is not merely a means of communication but a captivating journey in itself.

Playable today on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, players can now embark on this linguistic odyssey, where they will dive into the depths of five meticulously crafted languages, each with its own unique history, grammar, and cultural resonance. The creation of these languages was a labor of love, blending elements of real-world cultures and linguistic principles to create languages that slowly reveal the truth of the world and people around you. In Chants of Sennaar, words hold the key to unraveling ancient mysteries and forging profound connections.

Inspired by the myth of Babel, Chants of Sennaar casts you as a Traveler, who seeks to unite cultures fractured by language, all living within a single mysterious Tower. In this puzzle adventure, you’ll travel to different cultures and decode their languages yourself and, in doing so, learn the history of the world you’re travelling through.

In Chants of Sennaar, language transcends its traditional role, becoming a vital puzzle-solving tool and a conduit for storytelling. As players navigate the linguistic landscape, they immerse themselves in a world of diverse cultures, unraveling the mysteries that lie within. By embracing the power of language, we hope to inspire players to appreciate the beauty and complexities of communication in our own world.

The game Heaven’s Vault inspired us to pursue the concept of crafting an original language from scratch. We expanded upon this concept by creating living dialects actively spoken and utilized by the characters, fostering interactive linguistic experiences for players. By intertwining the languages with gameplay mechanics, we transformed the learning and discovery process into a puzzle itself, making language acquisition an integral part of the game’s progression.

To ensure that each section of the world felt fully realized, we established the cultures of each group of people within Chants of Sennaar early on. This includes their history, architecture, technological advancements, and fundamental beliefs. By bringing these fictional peoples to life, their languages followed suit.

For instance, the Devotees, the first group encountered in the game, are inspired by ancient Middle Eastern civilizations and medieval Latin Europe. Consequently, their written language fuses elements of Mesopotamian cuneiform writing and the Phoenician alphabet. The Devotees’ peaceful and disciplined nature, driven by their belief in a benevolent “god”, is reflected in their language through a vocabulary rooted in simplicity and exchange.

Each people in the game possesses their own language and grammar, intimately tied to their culture and primary concerns. Drawing inspiration from Nordic tribes, the Warriors employ a language reminiscent of the Futhark runic script, characterized by an authoritarian vocabulary and an imperative mode of expression. The poetic Epicureans and industrious Alchemists, on the other hand, exhibit entirely different writing systems and vocabularies, mirroring their distinctive pursuits.

Determining the number of languages was tough, but we settled on having five distinct groups inhabiting the Tower, each having its own language; with this number we’ve achieved a nice level of dramatic stakes while still ensuring accessibility for all players. The creation of these original languages involved a combination of cultural background, research, and artistic design. Our artistic director, with a deep-rooted interest in linguistics and visual communication, brought his expertise in graphic design to bear on the development process. Drawing from a wide range of graphic and semantic systems, including Phoenician, Kufic, Sanskrit, Futhark, Korean Hangeul or Cistercian numbers, we crafted distinct and credible languages for the game.

Beyond the mechanical aspects, Chants of Sennaar explores themes of division, mistrust, and the challenges of coexistence. Most importantly, it also highlights the transformative power of communication, open-mindedness, and embracing diversity.

Remember, the power of words can transcend boundaries and shape destinies. Are you ready to embark on this linguistic odyssey? Play Chants of Sennaar now on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, or try the demo for free.

Chants of Sennaar

Focus Entertainment

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$19.99

$17.99

Get it now

Unveil mysteries behind the fragments of the past

Divided since the dawn of time, the Peoples of the Tower no longer speak to each other. But it is said that one day, a Traveler will find the wisdom to break down the walls and restore the Balance. Explore and discover an enthralling world in a colorful, poetic setting inspired by the myth of Babel, where men have forgotten their past. Travel the endless steps of a prodigious labyrinth, uncover an ominous truth and unveil the mysteries of this fascinating universe where ancient languages are both the lock and the key.

Embark on a captivating journey with ancient languages to decipher

• Explore a beautiful, fascinating world with a strong narrative inspired by the myth of Babel
• Observe your environment and solve puzzles to unravel the mysteries around you
• Use stealth and cunning to outwit the Guardians and cross the forbidden zones
• Decipher ancient languages to restore the connections between the Peoples of the Tower

Coming to Xbox Game Pass: Starfield, Solar Ash, and Lies of P

For those of you who have already started the epic journey into Starfield in early access I hope you’re having a blast, and for those of you joining on day one with Game Pass, your time starts very soon! I am so excited to finally add Starfield to our list of games “Coming Soon.” Space, feelings, souls-like – we have amazing games for you to explore (not to mention a reminder of some surprise shadow drops last week!). Let’s get to it!

Available Today

Gris (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Gris makes a return to the Game Pass library today! Gris is a hopeful young girl lost in her own world, dealing with a painful experience in her life. Her journey through sorrow is manifested in her dress, which grants new abilities to better navigate her faded reality.

Coming Soon

Starfield (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – September 6
Available on day one with Game Pass: Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery. To help get you started on your epic journey, the Xbox Wire team created Starfield Starters – a four-part guide covering the basics. Check out the first part here.

Solar Ash (Cloud, Console, and PC) – September 14
From the creators of the award-winning Hyper Light Drifter comes the high-speed and gravity-bending world of Solar Ash. Set amidst a surreal dreamscape filled with long-abandoned ruins of great civilizations past, you play as Rei, a Voidrunner determined to stop at nothing to save her planet from falling prey to the Ultravoid’s path of eternal hunger.

Lies of P (Cloud, Console, and PC) – September 19

Available on day one with Game Pass: Lies of P is a thrilling soulslike that takes the story of Pinocchio, turns it on its head, and sets it against the darkly elegant backdrop of the Belle Epoque era. You must adapt yourself and your weapons to face untold horrors, untangle the unfathomable secrets of the city’s elites and choose whether to confront predicaments with the truth or weave lies to overcome them on the journey to find yourself.

In Case You Missed It

Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition (Cloud and Console) – Available now
For years you’ve battled armies and made history your story. Now it’s time to make history once more with a new breakthrough in strategy gaming – introducing Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition, now available on Xbox consoles. Includes native inputs for Xbox controller, console-specific user interface, and a new tutorial designed for first time players to help achieve easy setup and success.

Call of the Wild: The Angler – Available now
Be free to fish where you choose in this unique and approachable open world fishing game. Explore the great outdoors on your own or with friends, engage in a variety of fishing activities, experiment with different baits and lures, and find the catch of a lifetime!

Humankind (Cloud and Console) – Available now
Humankind is a historical strategy game in which you’ll be combining cultures to create a civilization that’s as unique as you are. Re-craft the narrative of human history as you lead your people from the Ancient to the Modern age. How far will you push Humankind?

DLC / Game Updates

No Man’s Sky: Echoes Update – Available now
Meet a secret society of robotic aliens in update 4.4, Echoes! Furthering the narrative introduced in Interceptor, explore the mysteries of the Autophage, perform their rituals, learn their language, and assemble your own ceremonial staff. In deep space, confront huge outlaw dreadnoughts, sweep through their trenches and destroy vulnerable components in new tactical space combat – and much more. Learn more on Xbox Wire.

Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island – The Quest for Guybrush – Available now
The next chapter of Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island has arrived! A plan has been devised to rescue Guybrush from his prison, but to succeed you’ll need to conquer three Legendary Trials! Play the new Tall Tale now with Xbox Game Pass.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks

Minecraft Realms Plus Subscription – September 5
Game Pass Ultimate members can get access to a 3-month subscription to Minecraft Realms Plus! Share your world, build with friends, and play across all of your devices with your own personal server. This Perk requires a payment instrument to redeem. Terms apply.

Xbox Game Pass Quests

September Game Pass Quests launch today. Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass Console members can earn points by playing their favorite games.

Human Fall Flat (250 points – Ultimate only) – Climb 30 meters
Among Us (5 points) – Play
Earn an Achievement (50 Points – Daily) – Earn an achievement in any Game Pass game

Leaving September 15

The following games are leaving the library soon, so make sure to dive back in before they go! Remember to use your membership discount to save up to 20% to keep them in your library.

Amazing Cultivation Simulator (PC)
Aragami 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony Anniversary Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC)
DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventure of Krypto and Ace (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Fuga: Melodies of Steel (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Metal Hellsinger (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Sid Meier’s Civilization 6 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Tainted Grail: Conquest (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Train Sim World 3 (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Thanks again for tuning in for the latest Game Pass updates. We’ll be back before long with more updates, more perks, and (most importantly) more games. Keep an eye for the latest on when games are playable on @XboxGamePass and @XboxGamePassPC or Instagram. Cheers!

Starfield Starters: Space Combat 101

Starfield is finally on our horizon and early access is now live. The game launches on Xbox Series X|S and PC (with Game Pass) on September 6 – and is playable in early access today with the Starfield Premium Edition, Starfield Premium Edition Upgrade, or the Starfield Constellation Edition – and we at Xbox Wire have been lucky enough to play it early. This is an enormous game, full of overlapping systems, mysteries and mechanics.

We’re sure you want to know more and, in the spirit of getting you ready to play it yourself, we’ve put together a series of articles focused on getting you out into the galaxy prepared for what’s to come. Allow us to present Starfield Starters, a four-part, spoiler-free guide to some of the game’s most important, complex, and lesser-known features – and how to succeed with them. For more Starfield Starters, make sure to check out our guides on character customization and planet hopping.

Space isn’t always a friendly place in Starfield. You might come across Spacers, the villainous Crimson Fleet, or the zealots of House Va’ruun – each vying to destroy you for different reasons. Then again, you might not be the friendly one – you may decide upon a life of space piracy, invoking the ire of peaceful travellers, and racking up bounties from Settled Systems’ various peacekeepers.

All of this is to say that you’ll not just need to know how to fly your ship, but how to fight with it. Space combat is a very different proposition to fighting on ground level, with numerous mechanics to consider while trying to survive in the yawning voids between planets. Consider this your first day in flight school, then – this is our guide to succeeding in Starfield’s space combat:

Ship Systems

Key to every piece of your chosen spacecraft is its distinct systems, and more particularly how they’re powered. Your systems are split up into engines, three groups of weapons, shields, and your grav drive. Your ship’s reactor dictates how much power you have to put into each of these systems and, on the game’s earlier ships, you’re unlikely ever to have enough power to go round for all of them to run at full efficiency.

This means that, as you engage enemies, you’ll need to use the D-pad (or arrow keys if playing on mouse and keyboard) to cycle power into and out of each system. With lower power, lasers will fire more slowly, missiles will restock at a sluggish pace, shields won’t reach full charge, and your engines won’t move you as fast. The key, here, is in knowing your enemy.

Against lower level ships, I feel comfortable draining my grav drive (meaning I can’t warp away) and some of my shields, and pumping all my power into weapons, meaning I can take them down quickly and easily (before scooping up their precious cargo once I’ve reduced them to space trash). But if I feel less confident about my chances, I’ll pump up my shields, leave some juice in the grav drive, and accept a knock-down-drag-out fight, soaking up pressure while I whittle away their shields and hull – and if it all gets too frightening, I can initiate a system jump and get away within a few precious seconds.

Learning how best to distribute power turns fights into a frenzy of button presses, turning you into part-Picard on the bridge and part-La Forge in the engine room – it’s far more exciting than “efficient power allocation” has any right to be.

Learn the Dance

But even with a perfect control over power, you need to consider what I call The Dance – space combat is rarely a case of just sinking all your weapons into the hull of an enemy ship, and more a considered sense of what to fire when. Enemy shields naturally soak up damage, and must be dealt with before you can start blowing holes in ships – laser weaponry is particularly effective here.

Once those shields are down, however, lasers are far less effective than ballistic cannons, which are best-placed to knock chunks of healthbar off. Missiles, meanwhile offer huge ballistic damage, but ammo is slow to restock, meaning they’re best used as precision weapons (more on that below).

The Dance, then, is knowing which weapons to power up and take down specific types of enemy defence. It might seem wise to put a bit of power into each type and keep up a sustained assault, but I’ve found it more useful to cycle my lasers up to full power, remove my target’s shields, cycle that power into ballistics and then take down the hull. Your starting ship, the Frontier is set up with a very efficient combo of lasers, ballistics and missiles, and I highly recommend getting to grips with them before experimenting with other weapon types.

But once you have, there are other options available to the enterprising space buccaneer – EMP-type weapons can take down entire systems on the enemy ship in a few good bursts, for example. You’re restricted to three weapon groups per ship, so learning your preferred set-up is key to perfecting a deadly craft.

Target Acquired

If you’re going to go down a space combat-heavy route, I have three helpful words for you: “Targeting Control Systems”. This skill, unlocked on the first tier of the Tech skill tree, unlocks the ability to lock onto enemies, slow down time, and target specific parts of a ship – it’s effectively Starfield’s take on the Fallout VATS system. This is where missiles, with their high damage and homing capabilities, come into their own.

Targeting is useful for multiple reasons. If a ship’s lasers are ripping through your shields, focus on those systems and remove them from the equation. If you’re engaging in a spot of piracy and want to ensure your prey can’t escape, hit their grav drive to prevent a jump. Most excitingly, you can also go straight for their engines, crippling the ship and making it possible to dock with the enemy ship and climb aboard. From here, you’ll be able to enter their ship, take down the crew (on smaller ships they’re usually found in the cockpit, but can pop up in other rooms), steal the contents of the cargo bay and, if you so wish, steal the entire ship itself (which can then be registered, used, upgraded, or simply sold).

It’s worth pointing out that shields need to be taken down before you can effectively hit systems (if you want to prevent this happening again, just shoot out their shield generator), and targeting also comes with a limited window – if you take too long or lose lock-on, you’ll need to target them again. It usually takes two or three solid sessions of targeting to take down a system in my experience with the early game.

Start a Movement

In a 360 combat space, your movement is as important as your ordnance, so make sure to pay attention to how you’re getting around. The key here is in learning how to turn your ship most effectively. While it’s tempting to push your ship’s engines to their limit, going too fast actually reduces some of your mobility – the gauge on the centre-left of the ship combat UI shows how fast you’re going, but it also includes a small section colored in white. This white section is the optimum spot for high speed turns – keep your speed within this window and you’ll be far more nimble, allowing you to wheel round at high velocity and keep a ship in your sights far more easily.

If you want to get even trickier, investing in the first rank of the Piloting skill unlocks thruster control for your ship – switching on thrusters allows you strafe your ship in four directions, helping you to avoid enemy fire while still keeping a bead on the target. I’ve found this particularly beneficial when I’ve been on a head-to-head flight path with an enemy, using thrusters to subtly move my ship and avoid careening missiles by inches.

Finally, boosting (achieved by clicking in the left stick on controller, or pressing Shift on your keyboard) is not just a way of getting places fast. In fact, it’s far more important as a defensive tool – enemy ships also tote missiles, and when they’ve locked on you’ll get a red warning at the top of your screen. Boosting immediately breaks a missile lock, keeping you safe from what’s likely the most damaging weapon enemies can use against you. With this in mind, keep hold of your boost as often as you can while in space combat, to save for a special, dangerous occasion.

Hull-istic Therapy

Amid the thrill of space combat, it can be easy to forget that your ship is vulnerable too – not least because, while shields will recharge, hull damage doesn’t recover naturally. There are a couple of ways to fix this – the more expensive way is to head to a ship-port at any civilized location, speak to a ship technician, and ask for repairs, which come at a cost of 1,000 credits a pop.

The less expensive way is to keep a supply of ship parts on hand. Think of these as medpacks for spaceships – they’re not especially easy to come by, and they take up a weighty amount of inventory or cargo hold space (pro tip – if you don’t understand why your inventory is so full, check the Aid section of you inventory for ship parts!), but they’re the quickest way to make yourself safe to fight again.

Interestingly, one of the easiest ways to ensure you get some ship parts is… engaging in more space combat. You’ll fairly frequently fly into a system and find yourself amid an ongoing battle between friendly forces like the Freestar Collective and more aggressive factions like Spacers. If you take part in the battle, taking down all the aggressors, the surviving side will often hail your ship, asking if they can reward you for your help – and ship parts are one of the available choices to request. Space combat – fun and useful!

Starfield Premium Edition

Bethesda Softworks

☆☆☆☆☆
227

★★★★★

$99.99

Get it now

Starfield is the first new universe in over 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.

***
Pre-order now and receive “Old Mars Skin Pack” in-game bonus skins:
– Laser Cutter
– Deep Mining Helmet
– Deep Mining Pack

Premium Edition includes:
– Starfield Base Game
– Shattered Space Story Expansion (upon release)
– Up to 5 days early access*
– Constellation Skin Pack: Equinox Laser Rifle, Spacesuit, Helmet and Boost Pack
– Access to Starfield Digital Artbook & Original Soundtrack

* Actual play time depends on purchase date and is subject to possible outages and applicable time zone differences.
Cloud play not available during Early Access
***

In the year 2330, humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. You will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of space in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.

TELL YOUR STORY
In Starfield the most important story is the one you tell with your character. Start your journey by customizing your appearance and deciding your Background and Traits. Will you be an experienced explorer, a charming diplomat, a stealthy cyber runner, or something else entirely? The choice is yours. Decide who you will be and what you will become.

EXPLORE OUTER SPACE
Venture through the stars and explore more than 1000 planets. Navigate bustling cities, explore dangerous bases, and traverse wild landscapes. Meet and recruit a memorable cast of characters, join in the adventures of various factions, and embark on quests across the Settled Systems. A new story or experience is always waiting to be discovered.

CAPTAIN THE SHIP OF YOUR DREAMS
Pilot and command the ship of your dreams. Personalize the look of your ship, modify critical systems including weapons and shields, and assign crew members to provide unique bonuses. In deep space you will engage in high-stakes dogfights, encounter random missions, dock at star stations, and even board and commandeer enemy ships to add to your collection.

DISCOVER, COLLECT, BUILD
Explore planets and discover the fauna, flora, and resources needed to craft everything from medicine and food to equipment and weapons. Build outposts and hire a crew to passively extract materials and establish cargo links to transfer resources between them. Invest these raw materials into research projects to unlock unique crafting recipes.

LOCK AND LOAD
Space can be a dangerous place. A refined combat system gives you the tools to deal with any situation. Whether you prefer long-range rifles, laser weapons, or demolitions, each weapon type can be modified to complement your playstyle. Zero G environments add a chaotic spectacle to combat, while boost packs give players freedom to maneuver like never before.

Starfield Standard Edition

Bethesda Softworks

☆☆☆☆☆
35

★★★★★

$69.99

Pre-order

***
Pre-order now and receive “Old Mars Skin Pack” in-game bonus skins:
– Laser Cutter
– Deep Mining Helmet
– Deep Mining Pack

Standard Edition Includes:
– Starfield Base Game

***
TELL YOUR STORY
In Starfield the most important story is the one you tell with your character. Start your journey by customizing your appearance and deciding your Background and Traits. Will you be an experienced explorer, a charming diplomat, a stealthy cyber runner, or something else entirely? The choice is yours. Decide who you will be and what you will become.

This Week on Xbox: Starfield Early Access is Here! Plus, Fortnite Updates, and More

IFA 2023: Lenovo Reveals Its First Windows 11 Gaming Handheld and New 3D Monitor for Business

Three Years of Crusader Kings III: Looking Back While Planning Ahead

Crusader Kings III has sold 3 million copies over the last three years.

It’s kind of hard to conceive. Despite the cult hit status of its predecessor in the series, Crusader Kings III has proven to be a larger success than anyone at Paradox anticipated. And, because of its nature, CKIII has a unique place in the family of Paradox grand strategy games.

Where so many strategy/role-playing games emphasize party-based combat or role-playing as you would find in a tabletop game, Crusader Kings asks you to role-play a leader; in fact many leaders. You never have full control over the situation, because the world moves in real-time around you, and you only have direct influence over the actions of your characters and your armies. And, because the role-playing continues as the heir of your initial character, and so on down the line, the way that you interact with the game changes. And, as the role-playing changes, the strategy changes.

This personal connection to a series of characters in a single family through the generations makes CKIII one of the most approachable grand strategy games in the Paradox catalog, so it’s no surprise that it is the entry point for many thousands of people into the genre. It is important that, as development continues, we expand the game without losing touch with the magic that makes the medieval world of Crusader Kings so appealing and welcoming.

We have been planning updates to Crusader Kings III as “Chapters”, and we are now in the final stages of Chapter II. Each Chapter has a major expansion, a role-playing add-on and a flavor pack that focuses on a specific region or culture. This anniversary is as good a time as any to look at how Chapter II enhances the strengths of Crusader Kings III and fulfills the player promise.

In May, we released Tours & Tournaments, which is, in many ways, the typical CKIII expansion and a good example of what we try to do on the development side. The core of the expansion is adding Grand Activities, which are special occasions that require the player character to plan goals, choose companions and, if they are lucky, improve their situation. In many ways, Tours & Tournaments leans heavily into the popular imagination of the Middle Ages as much as history. Tournaments are scenes of feats of arms and recruiting unknown talents to serve in the army. Grand Weddings are celebrations of the union of great houses, and offer opportunities for the scheming that has become synonymous with the game. Great Hunts challenge characters to track down common game or notable beasts, enhancing courtly camaraderie with just a hint of real danger.

But these role-playing elements are always tied to the greater strategic game. Improving the skills of soldiers in the safe confines of a friendly joust. Throwing a huge wedding party to strengthen alliances. The addition of a true travel system, new regency options for when the ruler is away from home, and attitudes for vassals feeds back into all of these events as well, with the Grand Tour introduced as a key strategic tool for rulers.

In August, the Event Pack Wards & Wardens was released, notable as the first Paradox Grand Strategy expansion whose theme was chosen by the community itself. Event packs are relatively minor, but, if done correctly, a few dozen events can foster even tighter connections between players and games. Wards & Wardens is, at its core, events about childhood, but usually from the perspective of a parent or guardian.

As a game about generations, Crusader Kings III has always asked players to think about what will happen when their active character dies. So, events about raising the heir (or heirs) have been central. Wards & Wardens not only adds more events, but also adds new ways to influence the childhood development of the young people at court. Fairy tale stories of wicked regents usurping the power of underage kings, or loyal wetnurses rearing strong and kind children can be experienced in a realistic setting. Again, a central player experience is improved and heightened.

Later this year, Chapter II comes to a close with Legacy of Persia, which is, like last year’s Fate of Iberia, a flavor pack that centers on a historic struggle or conflict. Legacy of Persia is based on the historic decline and collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate in what is now Iran, Iraq and Central Asia. Struggle centered packs really push the strategic side of the game by presenting historical crises that have different phases – usually cycles of stability and instability as the participant realms achieve certain goals.

But each phase has different rules – in times of great instability, players will have options that are either impossible or less attractive when things are going well. Sometimes this will force players to engage the game in very creative ways, especially when the most viable strategies are ones that run counter to a character’s personality or preferences. (In Crusader Kings, continually defying a character’s inclination risk accruing Stress penaltis, and potentially damaging that character).

I hope this gives you some insight into how we plan each year of Crusader Kings III content. Not everything always goes according to plan, of course, because our ambitions and the game itself are constantly evolving as we learn more about what our players want and expect. With a lot coming up in 2024, we hope we can continue to surprise our audience with new adventures in the distant past.

Crusader Kings III: Royal Edition

Paradox Interactive

☆☆☆☆☆
6

★★★★★

Get it now

The Royal edition of Crusader Kings III is the obvious choice for aspiring nobles looking to create a dynasty that lasts throughout the ages. It includes Crusader Kings III, an Expansion pass covering the first three upcoming expansions and the Expansion Pass bonus Fashion of the Abbasid Court.

Guide a historical dynasty through the centuries. Gather new lands and titles to cement your legacy.
Knights, peasant revolts, pilgrimages, Viking raiders… experience the drama and pageantry of the Middle Ages.
Be a faithful adherent of your religion, embrace heresy, or start your own faith on the wreckage of failed belief systems.

DEVELOP CHARACTER
Adopt one of five different lifestyles, perfecting your skills in military strategy or kingdom management.
Character traits guide your actions and affect outcomes. Characters that act against their nature develop stress that could bring a new host of troubles.
Raise your heirs to be worthy successors, training them yourself, or giving them as ward to a trusted friend or ally. Unworthy heirs are risky, unless you can find a way to get rid of them – legally or otherwise.
Choose to use fear as a weapon, using your dreadful reputation to intimidate vassals and family.

WAGE WAR
Supplement your royal levies with professional infantry, cavalry, and siege weapons, as well as exotic regional units.
Research new technologies to increase the wealth and military might of your realm.
Hire mercenaries and Holy Orders for your major wars.

PLAN INTRIGUES
Spy on your court to discover plots against your dynasty and your rule.
Find allies in the courts of rivals you are targeting for schemes.
Seduce other characters for love or political power.
Do favors for your subjects so they will owe you loyalty – or support for your plots against your enemies.

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Summary

Horses Are Coming to Rust Console Edition in Latest Free Update

Summary

With rideable horses, you can travel across the map much faster, making those long-distance journeys easier and more efficient with your time.
Build them a safe place in or around your base and be sure to feed them if you expect them to survive the night.
Rust Console Edition is available to play today for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Howdy, survivors! Our western-style content update, conveniently named Horsepocalypse, is making its way to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
This free update will be available for Rust Console Edition starting August 31, with the monthly wipe. Y’all wanted this so bad, we couldn’t help but listen. So, brush off them hats and lace up those boots, because we’re gonna take you through each shiny new feature comin’ to town!

Rideable Horses

This game changing feature is about to turn Rust Console Edition into a whole new experience. Horses have been part of the game since we first released it, but now you can ride them and equip them with equipment like Horseshoes and Saddles to make them faster or more durable. With rideable horses, you can travel across the map much faster, making those long-distance journeys easier and more efficient with your time.
Horses come in 10 different breeds. Some are speedy, while others are sturdier. And they’re not just tools — you’ll need to take good care of them! Build them a safe place in or around your base and be sure to feed them if you expect them to survive the night. In return, they’ll be loyal companions, sticking by your side in the toughest of challenges.

New Monument Safe Zones

Also rollin’ into town with this update are two new safe zone monuments. Yep, you heard it right! These new safe zones are the Large Barn and the Ranch, and you must be wondering, “what can I do there?” Well, partner, you can get all sorts of horse gear like Saddles, Horse Armor (of course we made horse armor), and Horseshoes. And guess what? You can even get your hands on one of the six horses hangin’ around the place. All you gotta do is buy a Saddle from the vendor and walk yourself over to the stable. Once there, pick your favorite stallion, slap that saddle on it, and… it’s yours!
Mind you, both the Large Barn and the Ranch are peaceful zones for both survivors and horses, so no weapons are allowed inside. If you decide to act all rowdy, the turrets will quickly put a stop to your mean-spirited acts.

NPC Missions

Horsepocalypse will also introduce NPC missions! Now, don’t you worry, especially if you’re just starting out your survival adventures. These missions are like a friendly guide to help you learn about different aspects of the game, such as gathering resources, hunting ,and fishing. And the real kicker is that some of these missions hand out rewards that can really speed up your progress in-game, putting you ahead of the competition.
So, next time you step onto that island, don’t forget to give some of these missions a try. Trust me, it’s a mighty good time!

More to Come

Don’t ride off into the sunset just yet as we’ve got a couple more surprises hidden up our sleeves for this update, but we’d like you to go out and discover them on your own! With every content update, Rust Console Edition becomes bigger and better and Horsepocalypse is the prime example of that. Round up your teammates, throw some meat on the Barbeque, and see for yourself why this is one of the best survival experiences you can play today on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Rust Console Edition

Double Eleven Ltd.

☆☆☆☆☆
922

★★★★★

$49.99

Get it now

Welcome to Rust.

The only aim in Rust is to survive – Overcome struggles such as hunger, thirst and cold. Build a fire. Build a shelter. Kill animals. Protect yourself from other players.