While Microsoft is now publishing more PC games than it has in years, very few of them actually make their way to Steam, which remains the premier distribution platform for PC games, and almost synonymous with PC gaming (for good or for bad…) at this point. Microsoft, of course, is trying to push its own Windows Store platform, so it makes sense- but while they wait for sales there to actually begin mattering to any appreciable degree, it seems like they are fine with some of their smaller games coming over to Steam in the meanwhile.

Not that they will be bringing said games over themselves- according to an early report published on Worth Playing, it sounds like THQ Nordic has signed a deal to bring over five of Microsoft’s games over to Steam for them. These games are ReCore: Definitive Edition, Super Lucky’s Tale, Disneyland Adventures, Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure, and Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection.

Microsoft, of course, has seen some of its first party content release on Steam in the past, such as Halo Wars: Definitive Edition and Quantum Break, so in that sense, this isn’t much of a change from them. Now, if Forza Horizon 4 were to launch on Steam too, for example, then it could be seen as them throwing in the towel on the Windows Store initiative…

ReCore was a flawed game, but many felt that the game had potential- now, one year later, Microsoft will be launching ReCore: Definitive Edition, which essentially finishes the game up, adds new content to it as well as a full fledged story expansion, and is available in just a little over a week- on August 29, to be specific.

ReCore: Definitive Edition will have a new campaign, as mentioned above. It will be called Eye Of Obsidian, and it focuses on Violet. A new tank companion corebot named T8-NK was also confirmed for the game.

The best part of this all is that the package will be extremely cheap- Microsoft is going to be releasing this for just $20. But if you already own the game, you’ll get this for the low, low cost of absolutely nothing- that’s right, it will be a free update. Finally, if you are on Xbox Game Pass, the Definitive Edition will also be made available on there right at launch.

https://youtu.be/wd7482WHdNM

Comcept’s ReCore, the not-all-that-bad-but-not-all-that-good third person shooter platformer, has been confirmed to support high-dynamic range lighting or HDR on the Xbox One S in 2017. Xbox Studios GM Shannon Loftis noted on Twitter that the game will be patched for the same next year.

Furthermore, Xbox technical director Mike Ybarra confirmed the news. On Twitter, he said, “Recore with HDR? Yes, it’s coming.”

There are already several Xbox One titles which support HDR on the Xbox One S, notably Forza Horizon 3 and Gears of War 4. Fans who have an HDR display will benefit from these visual improvements the most. Going forward, it’s more likely that other exclusives like Halo Wars 2, Scalebound and so on feature HDR support from launch itself.

The question then is: Which other currently released game will receive HDR support through patches? Let us know which ones you’d like to see in the comments below and stay tuned for more information on the same in the coming months.

If you’re not sure whether Comcept’s ReCore is to your liking, then you might want to check out the new 30 minute trial version that just released for the Xbox One and Windows 10 title.

It’s relatively short at 30 minutes but you can carry over your save data and Achievements to the full game if you decide to buy it. Head here for the free trial.

Microsoft also thanked players for their feedback and noted that the newest patch available today brings several “key updates”. This include fairly significant decreases to loading times, improvements to audio and visual lements and changes to gameplay elements like respawn locations, collision locations, waypoints and checkpoints.

ReCore released last month for Xbox One and Windows 10 and garnered average critical acclaim. It was criticized primarily for its pacing and visuals but the long loading times proved to be the biggest annoyance. What are your thoughts on the support it’s been receiving since then? Let us know in the comments below.

Comcept’s ReCore had some neat concepts and a pretty cool world but nearly everyone agreed that the loading times were atrocious. Thankfully, the developers have been listening and will release an update later this week to “improve load times” on the Xbox One and Xbox One S.

A post on the official website says, “[W]e want you to know that we’ve been listening closely, and the number one thing you’ve mentioned you’d like to see improvements on is load times. We heard you, we appreciate your patience, and we have good news!

“Keep in mind, some areas may continue to take more time than expected to load because they are larger zones, but we hope this update improves your overall experience traveling through Far Eden.”

What are your thoughts on ReCore and the loading times? Let us know below in the comments and we’ll let you know when the update goes live later this week.

"How does this all tie back to ReCore? Well, it’s again another case of a new IP that doesn’t quite have that huge marketing push."

Not that it matters either way. If a developer makes a good game, then it deserves its recognition. I’ll have fun playing it and I’ll recommend that other people play it. Unfortunately, in the games industry, when judging a game’s success, it’s about more than just “Well, I enjoyed playing it” (pretentious as that may sound). Take Until Dawn, for instance. That’s one PS4 exclusive that succeeded despite having a long development cycle, being a relatively new IP and having very little marketing might behind it. That too in a year when Sony wasn’t exactly blossoming with exclusives.

How does this all tie back to ReCore? Well, it’s again another case of a new IP that doesn’t quite have that huge marketing push. When it was first showcased at E3 2015, this seemed like an amazing new IP with a strong female protagonist. Flash forward to E3 2016 and we have a snazzy trailer and…that’s it. Compare this to Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3 or even Sea of Thieves and you’ll begin to wonder why there wasn’t more time devoted to it. Yes, there have been gameplay demos that emerged courtesy of other media outlets but it feels like Microsoft isn’t really pushing ReCore as much as it should. Where are the “Making of” trailers, especially given the talent that’s on this game?

Think about it for a minute. Armature Studio has designers and employees who worked on Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Keiji Inafune is the man behind some of Capcom’s most treasured franchises including Mega Man and Resident Evil. Joseph Staten was in charge of directing cinematics for the Halo series at Bungie. He also wrote the story for Destiny before it was scrapped, causing him to depart the studio. That’s a pretty strong roster to tout and then you tell people that this team is creating a new IP? How is this not getting more attention?

"All indications from Microsoft point to ReCore being great value for your money and worth investing in. Then why in the world isn’t it being pushed more?"

There could be any number of factors, including Inafune’s recent lackluster release in Mighty No. 9 and the controversy that followed. But surely the other talented developers would be enough to offset that. One could argue that it’s a $40 title because it’s relatively small. Heck, that’s why I thought it was $40 and not getting nearly enough attention. The genre itself isn’t exactly the stuff of marketing dreams either. Imagine a third person, Mega Man-esque shooter/platformer in a new universe and boom, you have ReCore, at least from a casual bystander’s perspective. A few minutes watching the game is enough to indicate that this isn’t the set-piece heavy drama that adorns titles like Tomb Raider and Uncharted. And hey, more power to developers for creating experiences that are divergent from the norm but set pieces are the norm because they impress people.

Regardless, the game isn’t $40 because it’s viewed as a small title (which by extension means less marketing). It’s because Microsoft wants to offer a strong experience at great value to build a fan base. This would indicate it has plans for the franchise. I could understand not pushing ReCore because it’s a new IP and you have no idea how it could perform. The game could be short and not warrant a $40 price tag. However, all indications from Microsoft point to ReCore being great value for your money and worth investing in. Then why in the world isn’t it being pushed more?

Look, I’m not telling you to skip the game if you think it looks interesting. It’s just a shame to see new IPs like this that have to flourish simply on word of mouth. When good games are recognized, pushed and receive support, that often means the developers behind said games can thrive and make even more good games.

"Hopefully, ReCore and other future titles that may not have “Halo” or “Forza” emblazoned on it receive as much investment and publicity especially when that could lead to more such great game in the future."

And while I railed on Sony earlier for not pushing Until Dawn all that much, it did give a strong amount of publicity to The Witness despite its long development cycle. Lo and behold, The Witness broke $5 million in sales for its first week, which can be attributed to both console and PC sales but it’s more about getting the word out there. No Man’s Sky, as controversial as it may be, received strong support from Sony including time on stage at E3 and has been pretty successful even if too much hype may been its undoing.

What happens if ReCore is a good game and doesn’t sell well simply because not many people knew about it? Where will that leave Armature or Inafune, especially when this might be the latter’s attempt at redemption for Mighty No. 9?

There’s a fine line between advertising one’s game and really pushing it to the moon. Microsoft has done a great job letting consumers know about its biggest exclusives but should push its smaller, newer IPs like ReCore all the more. Once again, whether the game is good or bad, there’s a way to let your fans on Windows 10 and Xbox One know more about it even for the purpose of whether they should be playing it. Hopefully, ReCore and other future titles that may not have “Halo” or “Forza” emblazoned on it receive as much investment and publicity especially when that could lead to more such great game in the future.

Microsoft has updated the Windows Store page for Comcept’s ReCore to reflect the minimum and recommended system requirements for PC users. And as it turns out, they’re not too hefty. That is, if you’re not planning on maxing everything out.

Minimum requirements for ReCore on PC include either Intel Core i5-4460 2.70GHz or AMD FX-6300; an Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 or AMD Radeon R7 with 2 GB VRAM; and 8 GB of memory. The recommended requirements include an Intel Core i5 4590 3.9 GHz or AMD equivalent; an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 with 4 GB VRAM; and 16 GB of memory. Naturally, you need Windows 10 and DirectX 11 to run the game along with roughly 6.5 GB of internal storage.

ReCore is set to release on September 13th for North America and September 16th for Europe on the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. Buying the digital version on one platform makes it immediately free on the other thanks to the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative.

Keiji Inafune’s ReCore is almost here – it launches on September 13 – and ahead of its release less than two weeks from now, Microsoft have put out a new trailer to celebrate the game’s impending launch. And it, as it always does, looks great fun.

ReCore is being developed by the talent that brought us the original Metroid Prime, as well as Keiji Inafune, best known for his work on Mega Man– the game is said to be a new age reimagining of the Legend of Zelda and Metroid franchises, and you can definitely see shades of those games in the new trailer below.

The game will be launching on Xbox One and Windows 10- it is the first Xbox Play Anywhere game to be launched, actually (although Microsoft have launched PC versions of their Xbox games previously, too). It will be out on September 13- let us know what you think of the launch trailer below in the comments section.

For a very long time, the common refrain about Microsoft’s exclusive offerings for the Xbox used to be that they were all centered around a few central brands- Halo, Forza, Gears of War, and Fable. But credit to Microsoft, they’ve made an honest, concerted effort to diversify their offering of games this generation, with multiple new IPs- they’ve already delivered games like Ryse, Sunset Overdrive, and Quantum Break, and they’ve got ReCore, Sea of Thieves, and Scalebound all coming within the next one year.

Speaking to WindowsCentral, Xbox marketing head Aaron Greenberg discussed Microsoft’s reason for pushing out new IP. “You’re right, though, creating new is harder, but there’s also something really fun about that. We did that with Quantum Break, with ReCore, with Platinum Games on Scalebound, we’re creating all new franchises. All of today’s big game franchises started at that point. It’s fun, and it’s fun to be able to get to do both, and that’s what our fans want. It’s good to have a diverse library,”

It’s good to see Microsoft try new IP- it also makes business sense for them, because their older franchises like Gears of War and Halo are going to wear thin eventually if Microsoft can’t space them out with other games. Let’s hope that they stick with the effort to push out more brands, too- a Microsoft with a healthy and diverse first party will be good for their business, and it will be good for us as gamers, too.

Of the many Xbox One/Windows 10 titles that Microsoft is releasing this year, one particular name sticks out – ReCore from Comcept and Armature Studio, produced by Keiji Inafune and written by Joseph Staten. The pricing for the game is actually $40 but it’s still considered a triple A release. So what gives?

Speaking to the TXR Podcast, Xbox marketing head Aaron Greenberg said there were a multitude of reasons for this. “We wanted there to be no barriers. We wanted to be able to give you a great triple-A title that gives you $60 of value but if you aren’t sure, not let that be the barrier of a trade-off. That’s why we priced it at $40. We hope that will increase its chances of having success as a new IP.

“With new IP like that, launch timing matters a lot. So that’s why you’re seeing us launch it as our first title of the season, getting it out early. The second thing is it doesn’t have an existing base of fans. So we have to build that fan base, earn their trust [and] earn their dollar.”

Given that Inafune’s name isn’t exactly held the highest of regards after Mighty No. 9, it’s not too far-fetched for Microsoft to appeal to gamers in any way possible. Regardless, we’ll see if ReCore‘s quality can speak for itself when it releases on September 13th for Xbox One and Windows 10.