Welcome. I decided to make this blog after being a Xbox Ambassador for a number of years.
If you don't know an Ambassador is a Volunteer that Microsoft uses to help ease the load on the actual hard working support people.
I noticed that alot of the questions I would get could easily be solved by using Microsofts Xbox.com site.
Since some of the help articles may be hard to find, understand or the issue may be called something different in the gaming community making it more difficult to solve, I've decided to make this blog to make it easier for fellow gamers to get xbox assistance, news and all things Xbox.
If you have any Xbox related question you can find the answer to feel free to contact me on YouTube, twitter or in the comments.
For the month of January, Xbox Live Gold members will receive four new free games – two on Xbox One and two on Xbox 360 – as part of the Games with Gold program. You can play both Xbox 360 titles on your Xbox One with Backward Compatibility.
On Xbox One, Xbox Live Gold members can download Killer Instinct: Season 1 Ultra Edition ($39.99 ERP) for free during the month of January. Zheros will be available as a free download from January 16th to February 15th.
On Xbox 360, starting Friday, 01 January, DiRT Showdown ($14.99 ERP) will be free for Xbox Live Gold members through January 15th. Then on January 16th, Xbox Live Gold Members can download Deus Ex: Human Revolution ($14.99 ERP) for free through January 31st.
*Titles are available as free downloads for qualifying Xbox Live Gold members in all markets where Xbox Live is available. Some regions may offer different titles depending on market availability.
Plex, the home media streaming app, is now available for free on the Xbox One.
To date, the apps were available in beta to Plex Pass customers, but now everyone can get their hands on the core app for free (without some of the features paying subscribers get).
The setup is very quick, and includes creating a Plex account, downloading the media server to your PC/NAS and then downloading the app on your console.
Plex can play nearly any format you have saved and it also catalogs your movies and shows with artwork, descriptions and more.
Last month we launched one of the most requested features: Xbox One Backward Compatibility, with an initial set of more than 100 titles, allowing fans to take their Xbox 360 experience to Xbox One and still be able to play with their friends, take screenshots, stream and record in-game DVR clips. Today, we’re excited to announce even more Xbox 360 titles available now on Xbox One via Backward Compatibility.
Since launch on Nov. 12, fans have been enjoying Xbox 360 games on Xbox One for the first time ever, logging more than 9 million hours spent playing Xbox 360 games on Xbox One. And the most popular games fans from around the world have been spending those hours playing are Fallout 3, Gears of War 3, Just Cause 2, Assassin’s Creed II and DiRT 3.
*Disclaimer: Games and availability subject to change. Title availability varies by region.
New Additions to the Xbox One Backward Compatibility List
Braid
Motocross Madness
DEUS EX: HUMAN EVOLUTION
MS.PAC-MAN
Doritos Crash Course
Peggle
Fable III
Portal: Still Alive
Halo: Reach
Spelunky
Hydro Thunder
Splosion Man
Iron Brigade
Ticket to Ride™
Kane & Lynch 2
Zuma's Revenge!
Do you want to see a specific Xbox 360 title on Xbox One? Let us know. Fan feedback is essential in shaping the Xbox Experience, and it was integral in making Xbox One Backward Compatibility a reality. Keep voting for the Xbox 360 games that you want to add to Xbox One Backward Compatibility at Xbox.UserVoice.com.
Cartographer’s Gift, the latest free update for Halo 5: Guardians, is now available, adding new maps, weapons, armor sets, assassinations and the highly anticipated Forge mode to the game’s multiplayer experience.
Cartographer’s Gift will automatically download and install for all Halo 5: Guardian players. For more details about all the new content included in the Cartographer’s Gift update, please visit Halo Waypoint.
A sample of the new content that fans can expect in the Cartographer’s Gift update includes:
Forge Mode – Forge has been rebuilt from the ground up for Halo 5: Guardians. Giving more power and control to the Forge community was the primary goal, and community feedback will continue to fuel the evolution of Forge. New Weapons, Armor Sets and Assassinations – The classic M41 “SPNKr” Rocket Launcher, MARK IV [GEN 1] armor set and two new assassinations – “Nice Try” and “Oh Snap” – REQs have been added for you to collect for your arsenal.
New Warzone and Arena Maps – Four new maps – the Warzone map “The Battle of Noctus,” Arena map “Overgrowth,” and Big Team Battle maps “Antifreeze,” and “Entombed” – are now available in Halo 5: Guardians
High-tech fitting rooms have been around for quite some time, but most of the gear stays inside a retail location. However, Xbox One owners can now have a personal setup in the comforts of their living room. Thanks to a new shopping app called The Mall, the console's Kinect motion-tracking camera and the software's virtual wardrobe tech drives the in-home fittings. Launching with the help of Von Bismark, a Dublin-based television e-commerce company and veteran of Microsoft Ventures, the shopping platform allows Xbox users to browse for new clothes before standing in front of their TV to try them on in real time.
When you find something you like, you can make the purchase using the PowaTag app. The payments system scans an on-screen (or physical) QR code tag to complete the shopping experience. The Android and iOS software stores your payment and shipping details so you don't have to worry about struggling to enter all of your info with an Xbox controller. The Mall is launching in the States today, with selections from brands like SoccerPro, Style PB, Grayers and Go2Games. Those names are said to be just the beginning as you can expect more variety in the future.
Rocket League, the award winning soccer-meets-driving sensation from Psyonix is coming to Xbox One this February!
Announced earlier this evening at The Game Awards 2015, Rocket League is currently one of the hottest titles on the PC and soon Xbox One gamers will be able to enjoy all of the same features, upgrades, and content found in the PC version, plus several significant additions including two Xbox One-exclusive Battle-Cars.
HogSticker – an alternate version of the Warthog from the Halo universe. Armadillo – based on the the Armadillo from the Gears of War series.
Explore a Mediterranean island paradise with complete vertical freedom – skydive, BASE jump and free dive in an open world with virtually zero limits. Glide through the air and swoop across mountains with your Wingsuit giving a new way to rain death from above. Use your Grapple and Parachute to scale buildings, hijack vehicles, move quickly or tether objects together for creative new ways to cause Chaos. Cause massive chains of destruction in military bases, harbors, prisons, police stations and communications facilities to bring down a dictator. Arm yourself with a wide range of explosive weaponry from shotguns and missile launchers to tank-busters and air-strikes.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is the upcoming installment of the acclaimed first-person shooter franchise developed by the renowned Ubisoft Montreal studio. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege invites players to master the art of destruction. Intense close quarters confrontations, high lethality, tactics, team play, and explosive action are at the center of the experience. The gameplay sets a new bar for intense firefights and expert strategy in the rich legacy of past Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six games.
The offer includes codes for Rainbow Six: Vegas and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 on your Xbox 360. The codes for these two games will be delivered to your Xbox message center in 7-10 days. You can redeem the code on your Xbox 360 console or at xbox.com/redeemcode.
Put on your wide-brimmed hat, grab your weapons and embark on an incredible adventure in the gothic-noir world of Borgovia, where mad science threatens the fragile peace between monster and mortal. Be Van Helsing, monster-hunter extraordinaire and save the day with your charming and beautiful companion, Lady Katarina (who happens to be a ghost, by the way).
Xbox Live Gold members get this game FREE during the month of December 2015 with Games With Gold.
For the month of December, Xbox Live Gold members will receive four new free games – two on Xbox One and three on Xbox 360 – as part of the Games with Gold program.
*Titles are available as free downloads for qualifying Xbox Live Gold members in all markets where Xbox Live is available. Some regions may offer different titles depending on market availability.
On Xbox One, Xbox Live Gold members can download The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing ($14.99 ERP) for free during the month of December. Thief ($29.99 ERP) will be available as a free download from December 16th to January 15th.
On Xbox 360, starting Tuesday, 01 December, Castlestorm ($9.99 ERP) will be free for Xbox Live Gold members through December 15th. Then on December 16th, Xbox Live Gold Members can download Sacred 3 ($19.99 ERP) for free through December 31st. And as an extra gift for the holidays, Gold members can get Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising for free from December 16-31.
In addition to the New Xbox One Experience update released for Xbox One last week, we continue to improve our other Xbox products and services including the Xbox App on Windows 10. I discuss some of these new features in the video below, while Mike Ybarra, Director of Program Management, Xbox comments on the update in his post over at Xbox Wire, which I’ve included below.
Those of you running Windows 10 on your PC or tablet may have noticed some exciting updates in the Xbox app over the past few days. Just like on Xbox One, regular updates inspired by fan feedback have been a cornerstone for the Xbox app on Windows 10. Your feedback through the Xbox beta app has been extremely valuable, and we’ve been listening. Today, you’ll notice an upgraded social experience in the Xbox app as we’re unifying your Xbox Live and Facebook communities with the release of the Facebook friend finder. This feature joins the recently launched Game DVR voice recording feature and improvements to the Xbox Store accessible through the Xbox app.
Here’s an overview of the new experiences that you can now enjoy:
Facebook friend finder in the Xbox app and on Xbox.com: Inspired by a top requested fan feature, we’re bringing two of your favorite social networks together – Xbox Live and Facebook – and making it easier than ever to find more people to play games and have fun with. In the Friends column on the right side of the Xbox app, look for the Facebook icon in the Suggested Friends area. Click it to link your Facebook account to your Xbox Live account and start seeing suggestions for Facebook friends who you can add on Xbox Live. Facebook friend finder can also be found in the Settings area of the Xbox app.
As your friends link their Facebook accounts to their Xbox Live accounts, you’ll see increasing numbers of Facebook friend suggestions, so be sure to spread the word. One easy way to do this: when you first link your Xbox Live account to your Facebook account in the Xbox app, take advantage of the “Share to Facebook” option which will generate an “I’m on Xbox” post on your Facebook timeline.
When your friends see your shared “I’m on Xbox” post on Facebook, they can click through and access the Facebook friend finder on Xbox.com, which also becomes available this week. In this way, web users on any platform and device can grow their Xbox Live network with Facebook friends as well.
Record voiceover in your Game DVR clips on your PC: With today’s Xbox app update running on the latest Windows 10 update, you can now plug in a headset and narrate your Windows 10 game clips with your own voice using Game bar and Game DVR hotkeys. To turn microphone recording on or off for a gaming session, press Win + Alt + M. Want to turn microphone recording on for all gaming sessions? Go to Game bar > Settings > Audio or Xbox app > Settings > Game DVR > Audio. And if you like personalizing your Game DVR hotkeys and want to customize the microphone recording hotkey, do it here: Game bar > Settings > Shortcuts or Xbox app > Settings > Game DVR > Keyboard shortcuts.
Share your Windows Store game clips with your voiceover commentary with your friends on Xbox Live through the Xbox app, or share any of your game clips on the social network of your choice through your PC.
Record ANY game on your Windows 10 PC: The recent Windows 10 update also enables you to record game clips and capture screenshots for ALL games, including PC games where Game bar and Game DVR hotkeys didn’t work earlier.
Xbox Store section: The Store section in the Xbox app will now bring you into the Xbox Store – a launching point for browsing and searching for both Windows 10 and Xbox One games. The new interface allows you to see more content in the Store at a glance and brings you the latest crop of the most popular Windows 10 and Xbox One games, plus you can redeem Games with Gold games or get discounted games through Deals with Gold. Additional details on Xbox Store improvements that we tested recently in the Xbox beta app and have now officially released to the Xbox app can be found here.
