NEWS: Three New Security Features On The Xbox

Microsoft  announces 3 new security features on the Xbox. These updates will help keep you safe, and they will also come in handy if you ever forget your account name or become a target for malicious activity.

For more ways to help protect your account, check out our security tips.

Get help remembering your username
Some customers only know their Xbox Gamertag, and they have trouble remembering their Microsoft account. This becomes a problem when signing in to a new console. Previously, you’d have to call Xbox support for help with this issue. Now there’s a self-help flow from the sign in screen. Just select “Forgot your account?” and follow the steps.

Remember to update your recovery options
Security info is an alternate email address or phone number that you add to your account. If you forget your password, or if someone else is trying to access your account, we send a security code to that alternate email or phone number. When you give the code back to us, we know that you’re really you and we can get you back into your Microsoft account. Now on the Xbox, we’ll remind you to double check your recovery options if you haven’t used them for a while.

Recover your account if a malicious user may have gained access

If Microsoft has identified any suspicious activity on your account, we’ll lock the account for your security. If this happens, you’ll see the message “It looks like someone else might be using your account.” Before, you’d have to go to another device (like your phone or computer) to solve the problem. Many people would end up calling Xbox Support. Now, we support the full recovery flow on the Xbox console. So you’ll be able to change your password and review your security settings, then get back to gaming.

NEW RELEASE: de Blob 2 Xbox One

de Blob 2 

In de Blob 2 Comrade Black and the Inkies are back with a whole new plot to rid the world of color. With all-new help from Papa Blanc and his followers the Blancs, Blob and his friends will have their work cut out for them bringing color back to the citizens of Prisma City. Set off on an action packed color adventure with 12 new single player story levels where custom paints, patterns and music bring the world to life any way you want.

NEW RELEASE: Gravel Xbox One

Gravel 

Gravel delivers arcade-style gameplay and a thrilling rush experience: destroy obstacles, take shortcuts and forget any rules till the end to win! Race around the world in a variety of environments through 4 different disciplines. Meet the five Off-Road Masters winners of the previous year’s edition of the show. Compete against them in a real show, gain fame and fans in more than 60 events from the most extreme places on Earth or against other players online for the title of Gravel World Champion!

BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY: Xbox 360 Classic Crackdown is Backwards Compatible Today

Today the Xbox 360 Classic Crack down will be backwards compatible.

Also announced is crackdown will be a Xbox One X Enhanced 360 game.  Read All about it here:  New Enhanced Xbox 360 Titles And Feature Come To Xbox One Backward Compatibility

*As always, those that own these games digitally will be able to download them again for free from the "Ready to Download" section of the Xbox One

The Games on Demand version supports English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese. 

NEWS: New Enhanced Xbox 360 Titles And Feature Come To Xbox One Backward Compatibility

Bill Stillwell, Lead Program Manager on the Xbox Platform team, provides an update on the Backward Compatibility program including new enhanced Xbox 360 titles and a new feature.

Starting today, four new Xbox 360 titles will be enhanced for Xbox One X, which includes The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Forza Horizon, Fable Anniversary and Crackdown, the newest addition available now in the Xbox One Backward Compatibility library. We’re also excited to release a new graphics setting for enhanced Xbox 360 titles on Xbox One X to give you more control over your gaming experience.

Xbox 360 games that are enhanced for Xbox One X run at a higher resolution and 9X the original pixel count on Xbox One X. The power of Xbox One X enables the Xbox 360 emulator to showcase the very best version of the game possible with the existing assets—all without touching the game code. Today’s additions join the seven previously released Enhanced Xbox 360 titles like Halo 3, Skate 3, and Gears of War 3 for a total of 11 Xbox One X Enhanced Xbox 360 games.
Here is the full list of Xbox 360 games that are in the Xbox One X Enhanced catalog:

1. Assassin’s Creed
2. Crackdown
3. Fable Anniversary
4. Fallout 3
5. Forza Horizon
6. Gears of War 3
7. Halo 3
8. Mirror’s Edge
9. Oblivion
10. Skate 3
11. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

When you play Enhanced Xbox 360 games on Xbox One X, you can now choose how to experience them—with enhanced graphics or in their original form. Enhanced graphics will be turned on by default, running your game with higher resolution, 9X the pixel count, increased texture details and antialiasing, allowing you to enjoy greater visual clarity than ever before. If you turn off the Graphics setting, the graphics will be comparable to the experience on Xbox One or Xbox One S. Here’s how to access the setting. Note, once you change the setting, you’ll need to restart the game:

1. Press “View” and “Menu” buttons on the controller to pull up the Xbox 360 guide
3. Navigate to “Settings” blade
4. Select “Xbox One X Settings”

1. Select to optimize for “Graphics” or “Performance”

We’re thrilled with the continued excitement for Xbox One Backward Compatibility—the community has played more than 840 million hours of Xbox 360 games on Xbox One. Compatibility is important to Xbox, to developers and their games, and our community. Preserving the art form of video games is part of our DNA, which is why Xbox One is the only console designed to play the best games of the past, present and future. We’re excited to continue to deliver on our vision of compatibility and grow our current Backward Compatible library, which includes more than 460 Xbox 360 games, 11 Xbox One X Enhanced Xbox 360 titles, and 13 Original Xbox games.

GAMES PASS: Eight new titles coming to Xbox Game Pass in March

In March, Xbox Game Pass members can also look forward to Sea of Thieves,Rise of the Tomb Raider, Super Lucky’s Tale Resident Evil Revelation 2, Oxenfree, Sonic CD, The Final Station, and Euro Fishing coming to Xbox Game Pass March 1, in addition to over 100 more great games included in your membership.

Sea of Thieves
It’s time to #BeMorePirate! Starting March 20, get ready for Sea of Thieves as it drops anchor in Xbox Game Pass the same day as its global release. Sea of Thieves is the essential pirate experience, from sailing and fighting to exploring and looting – everything you need to live the pirate life and create all-new legends. With no set roles, you have complete freedom to approach the world, and other players, however you choose. Whether you’re adventuring as a group or sailing solo, you’re bound to encounter other crews in this shared-world adventure game – but will they be friends or foes, and how will you respond?

Sea of Thieves is an adventure that will grow and evolve over time, with new content arriving regularly to ensure a fresh, exciting experience whenever, and wherever, you choose to set sail. With mounting praise from fans and critics alike, Sea of Thieves is set to be the next unforgettable adventure for players and pirates alike – be sure to check out the enhanced features on Xbox One X.

Rise of the Tomb Raider
Discover the legend of Lara Croft in Rise of the Tomb Raider, the acclaimed hit sequel to 2013’s Tomb Raider, coming to Xbox Game Pass this March.

Featuring epic, high-octane action moments set in the most beautifully hostile environments on earth, Rise of the Tomb Raider delivers a cinematic survival action adventure where you will join Lara Croft on her first tomb raiding expedition. In Rise of the Tomb Raider, Xbox Game Pass members can look forward to exploring awe-inspiring deadly tombs, huge ancient spaces littered with deadly traps, solve dramatic environmental puzzles, and decipher ancient texts to reveal crypts as you take on a world filled with secrets to discover.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is now fully enhanced for Xbox One X, featuring several visual and performance improvements to deliver true immersion in the award-winning experience. Xbox Game Pass subscribers can play Rise of the Tomb Raider base game and can save 10% to purchase add-on content.

Super Lucky’s Tale
Join Lucky and head back to an era of classic platformers with challenges players of all skill levels and all ages can enjoy when Super Lucky’s Tale enters Xbox Game Pass March 1. Super Lucky’s Tale is a delightful, playground platformer for all ages that follows Lucky, the ever-optimistic, energetic, and lovable hero, on his quest to find his inner strength and help his sister rescue the Book of Ages from Jinx.  Along the way, encounter a hilarious supporting cast of friends and adversaries. Lucky must confront the nefarious Kitty Litter, Jinx’s mischievous kids – self-taught villains who might not be getting Jinx’s plans quite right. Lucky meets friends and allies along the way too.  He meets misplaced Yetis, Kooky Spookies, a village of farming worms, and other colorful friends inhabiting the Ages.

Resident Evil Revelation 2
Resident Evil Revelations 2 is a survival-horror thriller featuring the interwoven stories of Claire Redfield and Barry Burton across four playable episodes. The series favorite Raid Mode also returns in a big way, offering members countless hours of gameplay. This Complete Season gives you full access to all four story episodes, the two additional side stories and playable hunk character for Raid Mode.

Oxenfree
Oxenfree is a supernatural thriller about a group of friends who unwittingly open a ghostly rift. Play as Alex, a bright, rebellious teenager who brings her new stepbrother Jonas to an overnight party on an old military island. The night takes a terrifying turn when you unwittingly open a ghostly gate spawned from the island’s cryptic past. How you deal with these events, your peers, and the ominous creatures you’ve unleashed is up to you. You determine every aspect of Alex’s story while exploring Edwards Island, uncovering the base’s dark past, and changing the course of your friends’ lives.

Sonic CD
It’s time to usher the past into the future in this enhanced recreation of Sonic CD! Sonic travels to the distant shores of Never Lake for the once-a-year appearance of Little Planet – a mysterious world where past, present, and future collide through the power of the Time Stones that lie hidden within it. His arch-nemesis, Dr. Eggman, has come for the Time Stones and with them, will soon have the power to control time itself In order to put an end to Dr. Eggman’s nefarious schemes, Sonic must use the power of Little Planet to travel through time; breaking Dr. Eggman’s hold over the future by destroying his machines in the past and recovering the missing Time Stones! Experience the adventure through time that introduced the world to Amy Rose and Eggman’s most evil creation, Metal Sonic.

The Final Station
The world is over. But it’s not quite over for you… at least, not yet. And now that you’ve got thousands of tons of locomotive at your disposal, ready to take you as far down the tracks as you have fuel to feed it, you’ve got the definite advantage over the infected hordes. This is The Final Station. The real question is whether you’ll help the survivors get to their destinations…. or let them die and loot their bodies. Sometimes people can be more trouble than they’re worth. A post-apocalyptic adventure about traveling a dying world on a train – survive for as long as you can by riding the rails, and finding supplies along the way. Infected are ready to stop your progress whenever you exit the train to look for supplies.  Maintain your train in operating condition and craft valuable items from the resources you scavenge. Pick up survivors along the way, gaining perks (and hindrances) for your troubles.

Euro Fishing
If the cold, wind, sleet, and/or snow is hampering the outdoorsperson in you this winter, we may just have the remedy with Dovetail’s Euro Fishing. It is exactly as it sounds – a digital escape to a wide range of different, calming natural outposts. Take a few minutes to acquaint yourself with your rod and casting, before you tackle some of the monster fish that live beneath the surface. Once you have discovered your inner angler and start landing trophies, be sure to take a screenshot so you don’t end up as just another digital fisherman with a big story of the “one that got away.”
With over 100 great games for one low monthly price, including highly anticipated new games from Microsoft Studios the day they’re released, plus more games added every month – Xbox Game Pass is your ticket to endless play. Thanks for reading March’s Xbox Game Pass update and don’t forget: if you haven’t tried Xbox Game Pass yet, you can play free for 14 days.