Including a "Rewards Notes" service.

It's been a while since we last talked about Microsoft Rewards here at Pure Xbox, and that's because it hasn't really changed all that much since plans were announced to supposedly overhaul the service earlier this year.

However, we've got a couple of new features on the way! The first of these is called "Rewards Notes", and it'll serve as a destination on console, PC and mobile where Xbox can share details about what's changing with Microsoft Rewards.

Darkest Dungeon II, the turn-based RPG from developers Red Hook Studios is coming to both Xbox Series consoles and Xbox One, at the same time it launches on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. July 15th.

Get out of here Stalker.

The story of Stalker 2 is well known at this point. Finally, after delays, a cancellation, and a re-reveal in 2018, the cult classic PC game was set to get a true sequel in 2022, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine forced the Kyiv-based GSC Game World to relocate much of the studio to Prague. And yet, despite all of the hardships, Stalker 2 is almost here, and it’s looking incredibly impressive.

For context, we had some 'hands on' time with Stalker 2 at Gamescom 2023, and things weren’t looking too good. The game looked rough, the demo was buggy, and it felt a bit aimless overall. Given everything going on, it was totally understandable that things weren’t exactly shaping up, but the fact still remained that it seemed like a long road was ahead for the game, which made its then-2023 release date a bit of a worry with the fear that it would release in a subpar state.

It's no secret that 2024 has been a bit of a wild time to be an Xbox fan. We started out the year with rumours and speculation leading to a special business update podcast, while the last few months have brought numerous PS5 ports and studio closures over at Microsoft. However, this month's showcase was an absolute banger, and it definitely feels like we've been back on track a little bit since the event.

So, we wanted to check in with the Pure Xbox faithful on how you're all feeling about Xbox right now. If you were concerned leading up to the Xbox Games Showcase, have your fears now been squashed? Or do you still have questions about Microsoft Gaming and its future in leading the Xbox brand?

Ubisoft is working on multiple Assassin’s Creed remakes, according to CEO Yves Guillemot.

The publisher’s head spoke about its flagship series’ future in an interview published on the Ubisoft website. When asked if the company will continue to offer a variety of experiences from the franchise, Guillemot told players to get excited for “some remakes.” It’s not clear just how many remakes there will be or which Assassin’s Creed stories they will cover.

“Firstly, players can be excited about some remakes,” Guillemot said, “which will allow us to revisit some of the games we've created in the past and modernize them; there are worlds in some of our older Assassin's Creed games that are still extremely rich.”

He continued: “Secondly, to answer your question, there will be plenty of experience variety. The goal is to have Assassin’s Creed games come out more regularly, but not for it to be the same experience every year. There are a lot of good things to come, including Assassin’s Creed Hexe, which we’ve announced, which is going to be a very different game from Assassin’s Creed Shadows. We’re going to surprise people, I think.”

One remake contender that fans may already have their eyes on is 2013’s Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. Last year, Kotaku reported that Ubisoft Singapore was heavily involved in the development of a reimagining of the fourth mainline Assassin’s Creed game. Now, more than a decade old, the pirate-themed action-stealth game remains a favorite among longtime enjoyers of the franchise, though the company hasn't gone as far as to confirm that a remake for this specific title is in the works.

Ubisoft has never released a full-on Assassin’s Creed remake before, but the series has a lot of options to pull from. The original Assassin's Creed launched in 2007 and was followed by the Ezio trilogy, which includes Assassin’s Creed 2, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. The company reexamined Ezio's three-arc story with a remaster bundle called The Ezio Collection in 2016.

Ubisoft is turning back the clock to reexamine Assassin’s Creed’s past, but its future holds a lot in store, too. Assassin’s Creed Shadows will transport fans to Japan when it releases its dual-protagonist story this November. In 2022, the publisher also revealed a project known as Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe. There company will also eventually release Assassin’s Creed Infinity, a platform that is said to connect other experiences from the franchise under one umbrella.

Capcom has released another update for Dragon's Dogma 2 across PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

While the majority of adjustments have been made across all devices, the team has also added some console specific updates with this patch. It has now added the option for those on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S to change graphics settings to high or low, as well as the option to turn 120Hz output on or off.

Capcom said turning graphics settings down to low on consoles should improve Dragon's Dogma 2's frame rates, adding: "Further frame rate improvements are planned for future updates as well."

Developer Arctic Hazard has announced Norse, an upcoming turn-based tactics game set in Norway in the age of Vikings. It promises an "historically authentic" world where you embark on a quest for vengeance while building settlements, managing communities, forging alliances, and fighting tactical battles. Norse is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

As part of the character creation process for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, players will have to select both a class for their player-controlled Rook and a faction. After customizing much of your Rook's body, including things like a Qunari's horn type and material, for example, with the hundreds of options available in Veilguard, it will be time to pick said class.

There are three classes to choose from: Rogue, Mage, and Warrior. As the names suggest, each features a unique combat system and plays differently as a result. Though you’ll be performing things like light and heavy attacks using the same buttons, what those attacks do varies based on your class. For example, a sword-and-shield Warrior can hip-fire or aim their shield to throw it like Captain America, whereas a Mage can use that same button to throw out magical ranged attacks – read more about the combat of Veilguard in Game Informer's exclusive feature here. Plus, as you spec out these classes and unlock their individual specializations, the differences will only grow even more stark.

The Rogue has access to three specializations. The Duelist is the fastest of the three, with two blades for rapid strikes; the Saboteur uses tricks and traps; and the Veil Ranger is purely range, sniping enemies from afar with a bow. The Mage can utilize necromancy with the Death Caller specialization; Evokers wield fire, ice, and lightning; and the Spellblade uses magic-infused melee attacks. The Warrior can become a Reaper, which uses night blades to steal life and risk death to gain unnatural abilities; a Slayer, a simple but strong two-handed weapons expert; or the Champion, a tactical defense fighter. While these specializations don't matter upfront – you class into them via the skill trees you progress through the game – it's nice to see the potential of each class before you choose it.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Dreadwolf Game Informer Cover Story For the penultimate step of the character creator, at least during the demo BioWare shows me, players select a faction. The Grey Wardens return, joined by other returning favorites and new additions like the Antivan Crows, the Mourn Watch, the Shadow Dragons, the pirate-themed Lords of Fortune, which is what I chose in my demo for the current Game Informer cover story, and the Veil Jumpers.

Each faction has unique casual wear, which is worn in specific cutscenes when the character isn't donning armor, and three unique traits. The Lords of Fortune, for example, gain additional reputation with this particular faction, have increased damage versus mercenaries, and perform takedowns on enemies with slightly less effort. Veilguard game director Corinne Busche says this faction selection, which ties into your character's backstory, determines who your Rook was before, how they met Varric, why they travel with Varric instead of their faction, and more.

"The message of The Veilguard is you're not saving the world on your own – you need your companions, but you also need these factions, these other groups in the world," creative director John Epler tells me. "You help them, they help you now."

He says BioWare wanted to avoid the trope of needing to gather 200 random resources or objects before helping you save the world. Instead, the team aimed to create factions that want to help you but have realistic challenges and problems in front of them so that narratively, it makes sense why you help them in return for their help when the time comes.

"Gameplay-wise – each of our classes has a specialization, and each of them is tied to a faction," Epler continues. "But beyond that, each faction has a [companion] as well as [people we're calling agents, ancillarily] who exist as the faces of these factions. We didn't want to just say, 'Here's the Grey Wardens, go deal with them.' We wanted characters within that faction who are sympathetic, who you can see and become the face of the faction, so that even if there are moments where the faction as a whole may be on the outs with you, these characters are still with you; they've still got your back."

If you want to make changes to your character's physical appearance, you can do that with the Mirror of Transformation, found in the main Veilguard hub, The Lighthouse. However, class, lineage, and identity are locked in and cannot be changed after you select them in the game's character creator.

Dragon Age creator and BioWare veteran Mark Darrah has discussed some of the reasons why big-budget games seemingly take so long to make - and why some projects are announced so long before they're ready to release.

Darrah, a veteran of BioWare back to the original Baldur's Gate, previously headed the Dragon Age franchise and returned to work on the upcoming entry Dragon Age: The Veilguard as a consultant.

Speaking via his YouTube channel, Darrah provides some interesting insight on the topic of big-budget game development. And, while he avoids namechecking any of BioWare's games directly, it's not difficult to read between the lines at certain points as to how this wisdom relates to the company he's spent most of his career at.

Capcom's slapstick zombie series Dead Rising is being reanimated, with a Deluxe Remaster version of the 2006 original launching for unspecified platforms at an unspecified release date.

Created created by Keiji Inafune of Mega Man fame, Dead Rising's first outing took the basic premise of George A. Romero's horror movie classic Dawn of the Dead - which is to say, zombies in a mall - and gave it a fresh spin with a ludicrous anything-goes approach to weaponary and undead hordes appearing in absolute multitudes.

Players - as photojournalist Frank West - were given three in-game days to investigate Colorado's sprawling, zombie-infested Willamette Parkview Mall, the idea being to solve a series of cases before a helicopter picked them up on the final day. There's more to it than that, but it's probably best remembered for the fact pretty much anything found in the mall could be used as a weapon - and if you've never seen a man bash his way through a zombie horde with a mailbox, wearing nothing but his underpants and a Lego head, can you really say you've lived?

Looking for some cheap Xbox games in this week's Xbox sales (June 18-25)?

As usual, there are lots of games in the 90% (and even 95%) range at the moment, including some big titles such as Mortal Kombat 11, Injustice 2, LEGO DC Super-Villains and multiple Sherlock Holmes adventures!