We're also giving away a copy of Overwatch to one lucky commenter! Simply leave a reply and join the discussion for a chance to win.
Every week, I summarize some of the biggest rumors and talking points in one handy post every weekend. You can also rely on this weekly column to catch up with all the latest Xbox One game releases.
Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Xbox One News.
Call of Duty: Black Ops arrives on Backwards Compatibility
If the nostalgic arrival of Call of Duty: Black Ops on backward compatibility is any indication, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered should be making big bucks for Activision come this fall.
The original Black Ops hit backward compatibility this week, instantaneously proving that Microsoft's investment in the feature is a huge hit. Call of Duty: Black Ops launched in 2010, a year after Modern Warfare 2. The game took place during the Cold War, focusing on secret operations that saw military forces undertake missions deep behind enemy lines. Back in 2011, Activision reported Black Ops to have hit $1 billion in sales, putting it among the best-selling games of all time.
On Xbox One, Call of Duty: Black Ops is proving its enduring popularity all over again. Amazon was showing a whopping +13,000% surge in sales for the title (via VideoGamer, wiping out the retailer's in-house stock. Third party vendors are selling the title near to its launch price due to demand, and over the weekend, Black Ops managed to hit over 100,000 players on Xbox Live, beating out some of its more contemporary competition — including more recent Call of Duty versions.
The popularity of Black Ops 1 should prove to critics once and for all that backward compatibility is a powerful differentiator for the Xbox One, and will only increase the value of the console even further as more past-gen heavy hitters arrive on the console.
Developer leverages UWP to get Windows 95 and Duke Nukem running on Xbox One
Speaking of backward compatibility, a Windows developer known as Vcfan on YouTube showed off his Universal Windows Platform port of DOSBOX, a popular solution for running MS-DOS-based applications on modern operating systems. Vcfan took advantage of the new Xbox One UWP developer mode for his port, which launched a few weeks ago. For a guide on how to activate developer mode, head over here.
While the port is slow (due to not utilizing the full breadth of Xbox One hardware), it's a firm proof of concept for the power of UWP apps on Xbox One — which will arrive in their thousands this summer when the Windows and Xbox Store merges.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer teases E3 announcements
With E3 less than a month away, Xbox chief Phil Spencer responded to the Gears of War 4 lead developer in a series of tweets, revealing that Microsoft has locked down their entire E3 show.
@GearsViking @aarongreenberg Good day seeing whole show, for the first time, end to end. More work to do but coming together #XBOXE32016@GearsViking @aarongreenberg Good day seeing whole show, for the first time, end to end. More work to do but coming together #XBOXE32016— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) 20 May 201620 May 2016
Microsoft's E3 conference will take place on June 13th at 9.30AM PST, and is likely to showcase new hardware, new games, and new footage of upcoming titles. I wrote up a collection of our most anticipated Xbox E3 announcements right over here, and we'll be out in force to bring you all the latest and greatest from this year's event.
OneCast Episode 18 - DOOM, Layers of Fear, the value of games, and more!
After a few delays, (due to moving country and an exploded router) team OneCast is back with another episode! This week, we discuss our impressions of DOOM, horror titles such as Layers of Fear, details on Lionhead's closure, how EA needs to treat Battlefront 2, whether we expect too much from our games, and more!
Send us your OneCast topic suggestions on Twitter with the hashtag #AskOneCast or via email for a chance to win a game of your choice at the end of the month!
Giveaway – Overwatch for Xbox One or Windows
This week we're giving away a copy of Blizzard's upcoming hero shooter Overwatch! Taking cues from the likes of Team Fortress 2, Overwatch pits teams of class-based heroes in various competitive game modes. Each character comes with an avalanche of unlockable skins and other cosmetic items, and Blizzard plans to support the game with free DLC such as maps and new heroes into the future.
For a chance to win the game, leave a comment and join in the discussion below!
The winner was Mystictrust!
ICYMI - Some of Windows Central's biggest Xbox articles of the week
- Microsoft still has no plans to release the full version of Halo 5 on Windows 10
- The best game capture cards for Xbox One
- Arcade Game Series: Galaga review — a classic soars on Xbox One and Steam
- Prison Architect is rolling out on Xbox One and 360 on June 28
- Elite Dangerous: Horizons hits Xbox One on June 3, The Engineers expansion for PC on May 26
- Soul Axiom headed to Xbox One on June 8 with exclusive content
- Destiny's next expansion will be called Rise of Iron
- Soul Axiom headed to Xbox One on June 8 with exclusive content
- Halo 5's Forge map maker is coming soon to Windows 10 for free
- Nearly 1 million old Xbox Live gamertags are now up for grabs
New Xbox One game releases for the week ending May 22nd, 2016
Cubikolor - Puzzle & Trivia - Fractal Box & Moving Player
"Armed only with your logic and your Kube, move through the 150 levels outwitting the traps in the System, an evil, scheming entity, to confront the machine and pass the test!"
Homefront: The Revolution - Shooter - Deep Silver
"Homefront: The Revolution is an open-world first person shooter where you must lead the Resistance movement in guerrilla warfare against a superior military force. A living, breathing, open world responds to your actions - you and your Resistance Cell can inspire a rebellion on the streets and turn Occupation into Revolution, as oppressed civilians take up the fight."
Subnautica (Game Preview) - Action & Adventure - Unknown Worlds and Grip Games
"Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with resources, creatures, wonder and threats. Craft equipment and submarines to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more – all while trying to survive."
And that's a wrap!
This week, I've been wrapping up my review of Battleborn, which should go live early next week, and also playing DOOM ahead of our full review. Next week will be all about Blizzard's Overwatch, though, which looks set to take the world by storm with its colorful take on Team Fortress' class-based shooter formula.
What have you lovely people been playing this week? Join the comments for a chance to win Overwatch!
