Xbox announced that Project xCloud streaming will be coming to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on September 15. While the company promises over 100 games from the Game Pass library will be playable on xCloud at launch, they revealed only a shortlist of games today. Project xCloud is Xbox’s cloud streaming service that will let users stream console and PC games to their smartphones or tablets. Project xCloud will allow Game Pass Ultimate members to use the technology at no additional cost. Although Microsoft is promising more than 100 games playable on xCloud at launch, here is a preview of titles confirmed today. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

• Ark: Survival Evolved
• Bleeding Edge
• Costume Quest 2
• Crackdown 3 (campaign)
• Destiny 2
• F1 201
• Forza Horizon 4
• Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
• Gears of War 4
• Gears 5 Ultimate Edition
• Grounded
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo Wars: Definitive Edition
• Halo Wars 2
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection
• Halo: Spartan Assault
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Killer Instinct Definitive Edition
• Max: The Curse of Brotherhood
• Minecraft Dungeons
• The Outer Worlds
• Ori and the Bline Forest: Definitive Edition
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Quantum Break
• ReCore: Definitive Edition
• Ryse: Son of Rome
• Sea of Thieves: Anniversary Edition
• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
• Sunset Overdrive
• Super Lucky’s Tale
• Tell Me Why
• The Bard’s Tale Trilogy
• Wasteland 2 Director’s Cut
• Wasteland 3
• Wasteland Remastered Yakuza Kiwami 2

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Check out IGN’s Xbox Series X page for more on Microsoft’s next-gen plans.

Xbox announced that Project xCloud streaming will be coming to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on September 15. While the company promises over 100 games from the Game Pass library will be playable on xCloud at launch, they revealed only a shortlist of games today. Project xCloud is Xbox’s cloud streaming service that will let users stream console and PC games to their smartphones or tablets. Project xCloud will allow Game Pass Ultimate members to use the technology at no additional cost. Although Microsoft is promising more than 100 games playable on xCloud at launch, here is a preview of titles confirmed today. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

• Ark: Survival Evolved
• Bleeding Edge
• Costume Quest 2
• Crackdown 3 (campaign)
• Destiny 2
• F1 201
• Forza Horizon 4
• Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
• Gears of War 4
• Gears 5 Ultimate Edition
• Grounded
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo Wars: Definitive Edition
• Halo Wars 2
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection
• Halo: Spartan Assault
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Killer Instinct Definitive Edition
• Max: The Curse of Brotherhood
• Minecraft Dungeons
• The Outer Worlds
• Ori and the Bline Forest: Definitive Edition
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Quantum Break
• ReCore: Definitive Edition
• Ryse: Son of Rome
• Sea of Thieves: Anniversary Edition
• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
• Sunset Overdrive
• Super Lucky’s Tale
• Tell Me Why
• The Bard’s Tale Trilogy
• Wasteland 2 Director’s Cut
• Wasteland 3
• Wasteland Remastered Yakuza Kiwami 2

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Check out IGN’s Xbox Series X page for more on Microsoft’s next-gen plans.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to begin streaming select titles to their smartphones and tablets through Project xCloud starting on September 15 at no additional cost. In a new blog post, Xbox announced the release date for when its xCloud streaming service will be available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is Microsoft’s premier version of the video game subscription service, Game Pass, which includes both console and PC Game Pass libraries, Xbox Live Gold, and now xCloud. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/13/hands-on-with-microsofts-xcloud-streaming-service-and-halo-5-e3-2019"] Project xCloud is Xbox’s foray into cloud streaming, which will allow users to stream games directly to a smartphone or tablet. Furthermore, everything tied to your Xbox Account including achievements, friends, game saves, progression, player profile, and controller settings will carry over with you on the new Xbox Game Pass app. Xbox says there will be over 100 titles from Xbox Game Pass’ library ready to play for xCloud at launch, but says a full catalog reveal will arrive later. In the meantime, Xbox shared a smaller list of games that will be available on xCloud including Gears 5 Ultimate Edition, Halo 5: Guardians, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Minecraft Dungeons, Sea of Thieves, and more. Xbox’s big pitch with xCloud is that it will serve as a convenient additional feature to its overall Game Pass package, which lets members download and play games from a library of hundreds of titles, for a monthly fee. While Game Pass Ultimate’s bread and butter is still its library of games, adding xCloud will give existing subscribers a completely new feature for no extra cost. In its blog, Xbox paints a scenario where Game Pass Ultimate members can continue their console or PC gaming on the go, whether it’s traveling or on a lunch break, or if the home console is being used for something else. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] There are also co-op opportunities with xCloud that will let you and a friend play multiplayer games together, in the same room with one person on the console or PC, and the other on a smartphone or tablet. Project xCloud will be available through an updated Xbox Game Pass app that will be available for download on September 15 Microsoft also revealed a series of mobile gaming accessories designed to work with Game Pass titles on smartphones, including new controller peripherals from Razer, PowerA, 8bitDo, and Steel Series. Check out the shortlist of games announced for xCloud as well as our Xbox Series X guide for more on Microsoft’s next-gen plans. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

I am very excited about playing Fall Guys on PS4, but I know I'm going to be pretty terrible at it - at for least a short while - because the game has launched without an Invert Y-Axis option, or any controller options at all, on console. The game show-like battle royale launched on PS4 and Steam today, but only the latter includes controller options, including button-binding, sensitivity, and invert options. You can see the difference between the two versions' menus below. It's not clear why the two versions differ in this way. When asked for comment, developer Mediatonic said, "We're currently looking into this and hoping to have it resolved in a future hotfix." [widget path="global/page/imagecomparison" parameters="comparisons=%7B%22comparisons%22%3A%5B%7B%22caption%22%3A%22%22%2C%22images%22%3A%5B%7B%22id%22%3A%225f2942e5e4b0d33753f649e8%22%2C%22label%22%3A%22PS4%22%7D%2C%7B%22id%22%3A%225f2942d0e4b0d33753f649e7%22%2C%22label%22%3A%22Steam%22%7D%5D%7D%5D%7D"] On a serious level, the ability to rebind buttons as a whole is a key element of accessibility for many players with reduced mobility in their hands. On a less important level, for a fully controller-based version of a game to not offer any customisation (when it exists on other platforms) is, well, just a bit odd. It may seem a minor issue, but for the sizeable number of absolute brain-geniuses like me who prefer their Y-axis flipped, it will make the game meaningfully more difficult to play until the option is added. Hopefully, it won't take too long for Mediatonic to remedy the issue. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Fortnite is receiving an update that will bring drivable cars to the game later this week. The Joy Ride update will land tomorrow, on Wednesday, August 5. The official Fortnite Twitter account has been teasing the update, giving us a glimpse at the type of cars we can expect to arrive in tomorrow's update. So far we've seen a sports car that looks a bit like a Hot Wheels toy called the "Whiplash" and a bulky truck known as the "Mudflap." User Jonathan287 collected all of the in-game posters on Reddit - their collage includes two new vehicles called the Bear and the Prevalent. Further details about how the cars will function in-game are yet to be revealed.

Own the Road.

Experience the #FortniteJoyRide Update on 8.5.2020 pic.twitter.com/tWmmTPcwGE — Fortnite (@FortniteGame) August 4, 2020

Atlantis recently surfaced in Fortnite as the water level has been draining from the map in Chapter 2: Season 3, resulting in a new area known as Coral Castle. We also recently learned that Fortnite will receive special Marvel's Avengers crossover items, tied to the game's upcoming beta. PS4 and Xbox One players who finish the Marvel's Avengers beta will receive a pair of Hulk Smashers which replace the player's pickaxe in-game. The Hulk Smashers will also feature an alternate style which homages Iron Man's Hulkbuster armour. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

A new report claims that Sony plans to make new PlayStation 5 announcements this month. Bloomberg says a PlayStation official - who remained anonymous, as the plan isn't public - explained that Sony "tentatively" plans to make its next announcement in August. It's not clear when that announcement will take place, nor what it will be. That said, it feels likely that the announcement would centre around the console's price and release date, which the remain the major unknowns around PS5 (and its competitor Xbox Series X). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/ps5-sony-reportedly-increasing-production-to-10-million-consoles-in-2020-ign-news"] That would fit into Sony's recent statement saying preorders for the console won't come as a surprise - meaning it's feasible that this next announcement will serve as the early warning for preorders opening. Worldwide Head of Marketing Eric Lempel previously said "I think it's safe to say...we'll let you know when preorder will happen. It's not going to happen with a minute's notice. We're going to at some point let you know when you can preorder PlayStation 5. So, please, don't feel like you have to go run out and line up anywhere until you receive official notice on how that will work." When preorders do arrive, it seems as though Sony may be limiting orders to one per household. Here's everything we know about PS5 preorders right now. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-games&captions=true"] Whatever this announcement is, we know it won't be a part of August 6's State of Play, which will focus on upcoming third-party published PS4 and PS VR games, with check-ins on PS5 games announced at the PS5 reveal showcase, but will feature "no big PS5 announcements." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Netflix's The Devil All the Time releases globally on September 16. The film stars Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan, Mia Wasikowska and Robert Pattinson.

When 2K Games announced that NBA 2K21 will be priced at $70 for next-generation consoles, it kicked off speculation that there will finally be another price hike for video game software in the PS5 and Xbox Series X generation. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick defended the price point for NBA 2K21 and said that the price hike reflects “the quality of the experience,” in a new interview. Zelnick also spoke on the price hike during today’s Q1 earnings call with investors. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/02/nba-2k21-celebrating-kobe-bryant-in-the-mamba-forever-edition-trailer"] “There hasn’t been a price increase for frontline titles for a really long time, despite the fact that it costs a great deal more to make those titles,” Zelnick says in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. “And we think with the value we offer consumers… and the kind of experience you can really only have on these next-generation consoles, and the price is justified.” During the Q1 earnings call, Zelnick clarified that it will announce pricing “on a title-by-title basis,” but defended the price point as a great value based on the hours of entertainment games like NBA 2K offers. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=nba-2k21-current-and-next-gen-cover-art-kobe-bryant-damian-lillard-and-zion-williamson&captions=true"] Other video game developers have been asked about a potential price hike for next-gen video game software. Ubisoft says its next-gen titles being released in holiday 2020 will be $60, though future titles may have different pricing. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Sony announced a new State of Play will be airing later this week. Senior Director Sid Shuman confirmed in a PlayStation blog post that the broadcast will highlight third-party games coming to the PS4 and PS VR with updates on a few of the PS5 games shown at the last showcase. If you’re interested in seeing the show, here’s everything you need to know to make sure you don’t miss it. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/18/the-biggest-ps4-and-ps5-games-of-2020"]

PlayStation State of Play Start Time

The upcoming State of Play takes place on Thursday, August 6, and will start at 1 pm PT, 4 pm ET, 9 pm BST. If you’re tuning in from Australia, that translates to Friday, August 7 at 6 am AEST. It’s expected to be about 40 minutes long.

Where to Watch the PlayStation State of Play (August 2020)

If you’re interested in watching the upcoming State of Play, we’ll be hosting the stream here and across our many channels on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Here’s the full list of places you can watch the PlayStation State of Play:

• IGN.com (homepage)
• IGN's Facebook Channel
• IGN’s Twitter
• IGN's Twitch Channel
• IGN’s Youtube Channel
• IGN's TikTok
• IGN's iOS App
• IGN's Android App
• IGN's PlayStation 4 App
• IGN's Xbox One App
• Roku
• IGN App for Android TV
• IGN for Amazon Fire TV
• Apple TV
• IGN 1 on Samsung TV Plus
• Pluto TV
• Plex Live TV

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/30/the-best-ps4-games-summer-2020-update"]

What to Expect at the Upcoming PlayStation State of Play

Shuman specifically details in the PlayStation blog post that this State of Play is about PS4 and PS VR games, so anyone looking to hear more news about the PS5 may want to temper their expectations. There will be updates on a few of the titles shown at the last showcase but there are no plans to reveal major news such as when PS5 pre-orders will go live or an official release date or price for the console. That said, there are a number of PS4 games we might hear about like Marvel’s Avengers, Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Gods and Monsters, Watch Dogs Legion, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, Little Nightmares 2, Psychonauts 2, Spiritfarer, Twin Mirror, Windbound, Going Under, Carto, Boundary, and more. There’s also PlayStation VR games such as Vader Immortal, After the Fall, Humanity, The Walking Dead Onslaught, and Star Wars: Squadrons to anticipate as well. Which games are you excited to hear more about? Let us know in the comments! [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Since Marvel’s Avengers’ full unveiling at E3 2019, Square Enix had confirmed some indeterminate exclusive content would be coming for PlayStation players. And now we have a better idea of what — an exclusive hero in the form of Spider-Man. But by announcing a hero exclusively to PS4 and PS5 players, Square Enix and Marvel Games have stirred frustrations for non-PlayStation players, and raised some odd questions about Marvel’s Avengers’ future. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvels-avengers-character-combat-breakdown&captions=true"]

A Great Deal for Sony

Spider-Man — a new take on the hero and not the same version as the Peter Parker we played in 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man — will be made exclusive to PlayStation players sometime in 2021. Square Enix has not confirmed if there’s any timed exclusivity window to this or if he’s permanently only available to PS4 and PS5 players. And as of writing, there’s no indication Xbox and PC players will receive platform-exclusive characters to balance things out. So, if you want to play as Marvel’s flagship hero (and the U.S.’s current favorite Marvel hero), you have to buy Avengers on PlayStation. Despite some rocky showings at E3 last year, recent War Table presentations have earned a lot of goodwill for Marvel’s Avengers, and on a more general note, the game is, of course, coming off of the box office record-shattering, blockbuster filmmaking-defining run of MCU movies that culminated in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Avengers as a brand is bigger than ever, and so to have such a beloved hero only available on your systems makes the PlayStation version the clear winner for those who own multiple systems. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/marvels-avengers-beta-gameplay-overview"] It’s, quite simply, a brilliant marketing move on a brand recognition level. This only further solidifies PlayStation’s connection with Spider-Man. Even if it’s not the same Spidey as in the 2018 game, that PS4 exclusive is one of the biggest games of the generation, and the best-selling superhero game ever in the U.S. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is positioned as one of THE reasons to buy a PS5 this holiday. And now, if you want to play the Spider-Man featured in Marvel’s big Avengers game and see him team up with other Marvel heroes, PlayStation is the only place to do just that. And that brand connection is, on the surface, only even more beneficial to the wider Sony corporation. As far as we publicly know, Marvel still holds ultimate rights to Spider-Man, and that’s why we can see the character appear in the multiplatform LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 or a Nintendo Switch-exclusive like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. But Sony has held the movie rights to Spidey for a long time and looks determined to maintain that hold, famously leading to the brief dark times when Spider-Man was going to be yanked out of the MCU, only for Sony and Marvel Studios to come to a renewed agreement to keep him involved… for now. But make no mistake, Sony is doing everything it can to build out a Spider-Man universe that all but features the character. From Venom to Morbius (and its odd inclusion of a Marvel’s Spider-Man trailer Easter egg) to the burgeoning Spider-Verse franchise, many more planned Spider-Man-adjacent character movies, Sony is obviously hoping to use what it can to build out a live-action Spidey-verse either to eventually bring the character into its fold exclusively once more or to at least make the best of both cinematic universes. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-spider-man-movie-spin-off-in-development&captions=true"] Spider-Man is the crown jewel of Sony’s film lineup, even if they’re currently sharing custody with Marvel, and so to have the character in any medium possible associated with the brand is a good thing not just for PlayStation but Sony overall.

But for Players…

At the very least, this announcement likely ensures a healthy playerbase for Marvel’s Avengers on PS4 and PS5 going into 2021. Regardless of how the game is received at launch, the story of many games-as-a-service titles is often written in the months and years after. Giving players on PS4 and PS5 a reason to check in on the game next year as big as Spider-Man will surely bring back even some players who may not stick with the game after launch. But it’s sure as hell not fair for players on Xbox or PC, who have no idea at this stage if they’ll ever get to play as Spider-Man in Avengers, if they’ll receive other exclusive characters to balance things out, or if they’ll just never see the webhead swinging around their games. Cross-play between consoles isn’t announced for Avengers yet (only between generations, so PS4 and PS5 players can play together, but not with Xbox or PC players), and system-exclusive characters make the idea of that even less likely at a time when cross-play and cross-progression have become ever more routinely part of gaming. Sure, it’s entirely possible he will eventually be brought to other systems and the terms of this agreement just prevent that from being announced yet, but as of right now, that remains cruelly unclear. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/hawkeye-reveal-trailer-for-marvels-avengers-4k"] It also raises the unfortunate question of how substantial the Spider-Man content will be, and how essential it will feel to the overall game if only a portion of the audience can play it. Marvel has promised all future DLC characters, which will be free to players, will come with their own story-related content. If Spider-Man’s story is only part of some Avengers players’ experiences, will it not be well integrated into the rest of the team or world’s ongoing story? Will it be particularly self-contained, and will character interactions be superficial, since they theoretically can’t drastically affect ongoing narratives? Or does Crystal Dynamics create a multiverse of Marvel’s Avengers stories, one for Xbox and PC players and one for those on PlayStation? The latter sounds too unwieldy, and the former is a valid concern that could dampen potential excitement for Spidey content in Marvel’s Avengers. Personally, the thrill of playing Marvel’s Avengers comes from the interconnectedness between the characters and the ongoing nature of its storytelling.True, comic-book style storytelling can be integrated into an ambitious Marvel gaming world on a level not seen before in consoles and PC games. But if such a major character - it’s Spider-Man! - can only be played by some players, how does that translate to the overall story ambitions of Avengers, and to the Spidey-specific stories they’re planning? [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/marvels-avengers-how-ms-marvel-is-the-games-unexpected-hero-ign-first"] It’s all unclear at this point, but what is clear is that creating a fractured player-base is like dividing kids in a schoolyard but only some of them get all of the equipment while the rest have something half-built. Destiny players were upset about PS4-exclusive weapons and missions, and it makes sense - when a game is meant to be played across different platforms, not one made by or for a platform holder, you roughly expect to get the same experience from one system to the next. And a full, playable, new character and associated content is a much larger pill to swallow than, say, some exclusive costumes or even sidequests. Platform exclusives like this always feel mean, even if they make sense from a business perspective. PlayStation wants to bring players into its systems with likely one of the most requested characters for Avengers’ lineup and there’s already an association of the character with Sony. But for players on other platforms, it feels like a slap in the face, and only fuels the console divide further at a time when playing together, no matter where we play, is becoming more important than ever. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond! Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.