Focus Home Interactive have announced the acquisition of German studio Deck13 Interactive, developer of the likes of The Surge, The Surge 2 (both of which were published by Focus Home Interactive), and Lords of thee Fallen. In a press release, the company said that they have acquired 100% of Deck13’s share capital, which gives them full ownership of the studio, all of its IP, as well as Deck13’s publishing initiative of indie titles, which Focus Home plans to leverage to “explore new opportunities”. The deal saw Deck13’s acquisition coming up to a total of €7.1 million.

“We are very happy to welcome the team of Deck13 and look forward to working together to achieve our ambitious objectives,” said Jürgen Goeldner, chairman of Focus Home Interactive’s management board. “This acquisition marks a major milestone in our growth story and will strengthen our business model.”

“I am delighted to announce that Deck13 is now part of Focus Home Interactive,” said Jan Klose, Deck13’s management director and co-founder. “Our companies have been working together successfully since 2011, developing award winning brands such as The Surge. We are looking forward to leveraging the incredible capabilities of Focus Home Interactive to develop new successes.”

Deck13’s The Surge 2, published by Focus Home, launched for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in September last year. In our review, we praised it for its combat, weapon variety, level design, and progression, but pointed out issues with its story, lack of originality, and technical hiccups. You can read our full review through here.

A few months prior to The Surge 2’s launch, it was also confirmed that Deck13 and Focus Home Interactive were also working on a new IP together. Read more on that through here.

With Focus Home Interactive and Deck13 bringing The Surge 2 out next month, why not brush up on your hack and slash skills early? The Surge is currently free to play on Steam right now. It’s only available till tomorrow though, so hurry up.

Thankfully, even if you only play it for a handful of hours, The Surge and its DLC will be discounted by 75 percent. This offer is available until August 30th. You can also read our review for the first game to learn more about the setting and how it handles Souls-like combat.

Meanwhile, The Surge 2 has recently received a new trailer, which showcases its dynamic combat. Along with appearing to be faster and more fluid, there are options for hopping over sweeping attacks, over 80 weapons to try out, and the same limb-targeting system that makes the first game fun. Plus you can customize a drone to snipe your enemies. The Surge 2 is out on September 24th for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

We’ve had a string of months where some excellent titles have been added to the Xbox Game Pass catalog, with both March and April seeing some strong games joining its ever-growing library. May is looking similarly exciting, and offers a number of great games. Of the eight games being added, the most notable is Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, which is probably among the best stories and single player campaigns you’ll find in a first person shooter.

Chucklefish’s recently released turn based strategy title Wargroove also joins Game Pass. With solid gameplay, a decent campaign, and excellent creation tools, it’s a great game regardless, but at the price of free, it’s an absolute steal. Also part of the new games is Fullbright’s excellent science fiction adventure title Tacoma, while Paradox Interactive’s unique simulation game Surviving Mars joins the library as well.

Deck13’s Soulslike sci-fi title The Surge is also coming to Game Pass, while the recently released Xbox One version of the MMO Black Desert, Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, and strategy RPG For the King are included as well.

You can get the details on exactly when each of the eight titles joins the Game Pass catalog below:

• Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus – May 2
• Wargroove – May 2
• Surviving Mars – May 9
• Tacoma – May 9
• Black Desert – May 9
• For the King – May 10
• The Surge – May 16
• Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham – May 16

Last month saw one of PS Plus’s strongest months on record, because in March, which marked the first month of the service without free PS3 and PS Vita games, Sony offered The Witness and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered to subscribers. Expectations can naturally be high, given how March went, as well as the fact that Sony has to only support PS4 with free games now.

Which makes this month’s showing, announced today, that much more disappointing. The PS Plus games for the month of April are The Surge, the science fiction Souls-like from Deck13, and Conan: Exiles, the survival open world multiplayer action game in the Conan universe.

Both these games are good. They’re actually perfect for PS Plus in that they’re the kinds of games most people are probably interested in playing, but not in paying for. But when Sony is now offering a third of the number of games they used to, and half the games the competition does, they can’t just offer “fine”. They need to be better, and these games don’t cut it.

You’ll be able to download these games starting April 2.

FINAL FANTASY 15

Final Fantasy 15’s larger narrative is a bit of a mess, while the game often also receives criticism for how it sheds its open world approach and forces player down linear corridors in its final chapters. Not to mention the fact that after over a decade of anticipation, there were many who felt that the final product just wasn’t worth the wait. But while Final Fantasy 15 is not a perfect game, it is still a damn good one. Great combat, an open world begging to be explored, some excellent boss fights, and a memorable ensemble cast of four excellently developed characters make it a true diamond in the rough.

Deck13’s sci-fi Souls-like The Surge has recently received new downloadable content with The Good, The Bad and The Augmented. The DLC sees players traveling to an abandoned Quality Assurance lab deep within CREO. They face off against Dr. Rischboter, who’s created dangerous test chambers teeming with twisted foes themed on the Wild West. Check out the trailer below.

Along with new stages, new Challengers await at the end of each to test your limits. They’ll drop 30 new pieces of equipment, ranging from armour and weapons to implants, which can be ripped off for your own arsenal. If you want even tougher challenges, then use up to four of 16 different modifiers to alter the experience and garner some more rewards.

The Surge: The Good, The Bad and The Augmented is now available for PC, Xbox One, and PS4. If you’ve never played the base game, then The Surge: Augmented Edition will be available on October 16th. This comes with the base game, A Walk in the Park, and The Good, The Bad and The Augmented in one package.

The Good, the Bad, and the Augmented expansion for The Surge was announced just a couple of weeks ago, a major new content drop that will allow players to explore a Wild West themed setting. Some brand new screenshots of this expansion have now been released, which showcase exactly what the world and characters are going to look like.

Unlike the base game, it looks like this expansion will take place in various stages. In this expansion, you will have to fight your way through the testing chambers of Dr. Rischboter. There  will be lots of challenges and modifiers available that will allow you to experience this content in different ways. There will also be 30 new unique pieces of equipment to find.

The new screenshots showcases the protagonist in his Western outfit, some enemies, scenes of battle, and a ghost train. You can check out all of them below. The Good, The Bad, and The Augmented is set to release on October 2.

Deck13’s sci-fi Souls-like The Surge is receiving a new expansion on October 2nd. Wait, The Surge? Not it’s sequel? Yes, the first game. Check out The Good, the Bad, and the Augmented in the new teaser trailer below. Try your hardest to decipher what’s going on.

Lest you think The Surge suddenly hopped back in time, The Good, the Bad, and the Augmented actually takes players to an abandoned Quality Assurance Lab in CREO. Players will battle their way through one Dr. Rischboter’s chambers, which recreate the Wild West.

Along with these different test chambers, players can apply four of 16 modifiers to increase their rewards. Different Challengers will emerge from the woodwork as well and utilize 30 new items, from armour to weapons and implants. Naturally, you can claim these for yourself.

If you haven’t hopped into The Surge and want to try out The Good, the Bad, and the Augmented, there’s the recently announced Augmented Edition for you to consider. This includes the base game and all DLC. Of course, The Surge 2 is also in development and will be coming next year.

N++

Xbox One might not be anyone’s first thought when they want a hardcore platform game, but there’s a surprising amount to be found. N++ is Metanet’s follow up to XBLA darling N+ and though it originally launched as a PS4 and PC title, the return to the Xbox Platform has the minimalistic ninja runner as gloriously, and infuriatingly hard, as it ever was. 

Deck 13’s sci-fi Souls-like title The Surge has recently received its Cutting Edge Pack, DLC which contains unique weapons and Exo-Gear to equip. The backstory behind these technologies that following The Incident, they arrived by virtue of being strapped on to now-deranged workers. Your mission is to locate said former colleagues, dismember them and claim the gear and weapons as your own.

Among the new Exo-Gear is the Angel VI space Exo-Gear, the Asclepius medic Exo-Gear and the Nano Ward Exo-Gear. Each set has a unique weapon for three in total and there are even three new jumpsuits that can be equipped from the OPS room.

The Surge has received other free DLC including the Fire and Ice Weapon Pack. Paid DLC includes A Walk in the Park and the CREO Special Employee Kit. You can own everything for a 50 percent discount when purchasing The Surge: Complete Edition on Steam. In terms of the franchise’s future, Deck 13 is currently working on The Surge 2 so expect even more sci-fi hack and slash hijinks in 2019.