Xbox Game Pass adds Need for Speed, drops Monster Hunter

By DeAngelo Epps June 23, 2021

The next game lineup for Xbox Game Pass just got announced through the official Xbox news site. While the list includes some heavy hitters like Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered, the service is losing some major games at the end of the month as well.

Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service from Microsoft available on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Windows 10, and even Android devices thanks to Xbox Cloud Gaming. It’s quickly become a big selling point for the Xbox brand, allowing gamers to access tons of games, both new and old, by paying a set premium.

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Many different games will be making their way to the service between now and July 1. Worms Rumble, a multiplayer Worms game that launched on PS Plus, is available on cloud, console, and PC starting today.

On June 24, subscribers will have access to Iron Harvest (PC), Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered (console and PC), and Prodeus (PC). Five more games will hit the service on July 1: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (cloud), Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (cloud, console, and PC), Gang Beasts (cloud, console, and PC), Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars (cloud, console, and PC), and Limbo (cloud, console, and PC).

While new games are coming, a few will be leaving Xbox Game Pass on June 30, including Battle Chasers: Nightwar, Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, Mistover, Monster Hunter World, Out of the Park Baseball 21, The Outer Wilds, Soulcalibur VI, and The Messenger. As always, subscribers can opt to buy those games and receive a 20% discount.

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Netflix expands its game lineup with new titles from Ubisoft and more

Netflix is doubling down on its commitment to gaming. During a presentation attended by Digital Trends, the streaming service's games team teased four new titles. It highlighted how many games are in the works for Netflix as it continues to put its mark on mobile gaming and ramp up its efforts on its cloud gaming service.
The four games Netflix discussed were all from external studios. Following Valiant Hearts: Coming Home, Netflix is collaborating with Ubisoft again on the action roguelike Mighty Quest: Rogue Palace, which is based on the game Mighty Quest for Epic Loot and launches on April 18.
Ustwo Games is bringing complete versions of both Monument Valley titles to Netflix in 2024, building on the partnership established with Desta: The Memories Between. Netflix also confirmed that it is working with Catalyst Black and Vainglory developer Super Evil Megacorp on a tie-in game for an unannounced Netflix IP.
Finally, Netflix confirmed that it is working with developer Nanobit on another game based on the show Too Hot to Handle. Their previous tie-in game for that show is the most popular Netflix game.

Netflix made it clear that it understands that people like games that tie into known franchises and that there are plenty of titles still in the works. Leanne Loombe, vice president of External Games, confirmed that Netflix is currently working on 70 games with external developers, in addition to 16 titles that are in "early ideation" at its internal studios. She explained that the ultimate goal is for Netflix to release batches of new games that appeal to a wide variety of gamers every month.
"It's going to require us to release a variety of different games and take some risks, and not everything we launch will be a hit," Loombe explained. "But everything is going to be a great opportunity for us to continue to evolve our strategy and also our approach around games to make sure that we're bringing those most-played games to our members."
In the near term, that means the focus will remain on mobile games that players download on the App Store and Google Play Store before authenticating them through Netflix. Loombs also reaffirmed Netflix's efforts to build a cloud gaming platform, albeit slowly and steadily.
"We are very early in that side of our journey, but we are very committed to making sure that games can be played wherever you have Netflix," Loombe said. "We do believe that cloud gaming will enable us to provide that easy access to games on any screen, be frictionless, and provide that accessibility into gaming experiences. But we do want to be super thoughtful about how we build that and how we bring it to our members, ... just like we're doing for mobile games, we will take it slow."
Don't expect Netflix to be an immediate competitor for Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo, but don't be surprised if it ends up becoming very relevant in the mobile and cloud gaming spaces in the future.

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All Sims 4 cheat codes: money, building, romance, and more

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The Sims franchise has been around for a while now and has become extremely successful thanks to its quirkiness and ability to rope players into its bizarre world. The most recent entry, The Sims 4, launched in 2014 and has continued the series' legacy, giving players a refined way to create a Sim, along with adding a hefty list of quality-of-life improvements. When you're ready to goof off and get even crazier, you might want to dive into the game's expansive selection of cheats, which grant you the ability to do all sorts of things, including a way to increase your stats, gain unlimited money, and negate (or cause) death.

Cheat codes in video games are mostly a relic of the past, but The Sims 4 still puts them at the forefront. There are dozens upon dozens of cheats. In this list, we'll share the absolute best ones, ranging from the most useful to the silliest, and everything in between. These are the best Sims 4 cheats.

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The best Final Fantasy games, ranked from best to worst

Final Fantasy X

While the role-playing game (RPG) has become a catch-all genre, now encompassing an almost silly range of games that don't share much in common, there was one video game franchise in the 1980s that was the quintessential RPG. Yes, we're talking about Final Fantasy from Square Enix.

The fantasy Japanese RPGs debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1987, but they became cultural touchstones in the '90s as Super Nintendo games. From there, the series made an incredibly successful jump to 3D on the PlayStation 1 before the mainline series started to take more risks, including the elimination of turn-based battles and massively multiplayer online game (MMO) entries, and the latest game, Final Fantasy XVI, becoming a full-on character-action game.