The passionate community of gamers on Xbox are our inspiration. As we get ready to share a fantastic lineup of new games for Xbox players at E3 2018, we want to take a moment to thank them for a record-setting start to the year.

Today, we’re witnessing a record-setting number of players, playing at record levels, and engaging in new ways. Xbox Live players are up 13 percent and Xbox One sales are up 15 percent over the same period last year, but that’s not all. We’ve seen more than 600,000 friendships forged with the Looking For Group feature and there are now more than 1.2 million Clubs on Xbox Live.

We’re seeing tremendous engagement of mega-hits like Fortnite and Far Cry 5, both of which play best in 4K Ultra HD on Xbox One X, joining the more than 200 games that now feature Xbox One X enhancements. But we’re also seeing fantastic engagement with Xbox One console exclusives like Sea of Thieves, the fastest-selling Microsoft Studios new IP of this console generation, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, whose new desert-themed map is now available to play on a dedicated test server ahead of its launch in Xbox Game Preview later in May. We also reached a couple milestones recently with players having enjoyed over 4 billion hours on games released through our ID@Xbox program and nearly 1 billion hours on games in our Xbox One Backward Compatibility library.

Xbox Game Pass has been a great contributor to growth in players and engagement. With over 100 great games available for one low monthly price and new games added every month, including new games from Microsoft Studios the same day as their global release, Xbox Game Pass is all about introducing you to new genres, franchises, and games. It’s been incredible to see the growth in the service and the growth of engagement in franchises made available in Xbox Game Pass. We’re next looking forward to bringing State of Decay 2 to Xbox Game Pass members on May 22^nd, the same day as its global release, as we continue to work to deliver the ultimate gaming membership for our fans.  

It’s also been amazing to see what the passionate Mixer community has achieved in such a short period of time. Late last year, Mixer exceeded more than 10 million active users in a month for the first time – a milestone we’ve since eclipsed, and then some, each month to start 2018. HypeZone channels for Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds are now among the most popular on Mixer, introducing you to a range of streamers in the midst of the most intense Battle Royale moments. Creative new channels have been started for game developers sharing their work-in-progress games, as well as cooking, music, and art, as just a few examples. Mixer will continue to grow thanks to you all, staying true to remaining a positive and fun space for gamers, streamers, and viewers.

It’s a great time to be a gamer and to be a part of Team Xbox. We’re hard at work on exciting plans for E3, from what will be a great briefing filled with new games to the fan experience at the Microsoft Theater. This is our biggest E3 yet, and we look forward to a great week for gamers. Again, thank you to the amazing Xbox community.

Stoic, an independent game development company, and Versus Evil, one of the leading independent video game publishers, have revealed that indie role-playing strategy hit The Banner Saga is coming to Switch eShop on 17th May.

The Banner Saga is an epic single-player driven Viking saga, where a player’s choice in travel, conversation and combat determines the outcome of their own personal story as well as the survival of an entire civilisation. The game features stunning 2D animation and art, a unique tactical combat system and a cast of unforgettable characters, all of which drive this epic journey forward.

Here’s what Steve Escalante, General Manager of Versus Evil had to say about this impending release:

“Launching The Banner Saga on Nintendo Switch is an exciting moment for us, as we gear up in 2018 to enter the third and final chapter of the series it’s only fitting we give Nintendo players an opportunity to enjoy this award-winning Viking inspired saga where the journey begins.”

John Watson, Technical Director at Stoic added to this:

“We’ve always strived to share this epic series and the narrative of the saga across a variety of platforms and we are thrilled to now bring the Banner Saga to a whole new community of console players on the Nintendo Switch.”

Well it all sounds rather lovely. Let us know if you plan to pick up The Banner Saga for your Switch when it arrives on 17th May.

As you might have heard, the annual Eurovision Song Contest is currently underway with the final taking place on 12th May. This is the 63rd edition and the first time it’s been held in Portugal. 

With 43 countries participating, there have been plenty of weird and wonderful performances on display. Israel’s entrant – 25-year-old Netta Barzilai – appears to be one of the favourites going through to the grand final with her fittingly obscure, but arguably catchy song, TOY.

Having already racked up millions of views on YouTube, it seems to have caught on with listeners all because Barzilai squawks like a chicken throughout. Any Pokémon enthusiast who saw her performance during the semi-finals might have also noticed a lyrical reference to Pikachu with, “I’m taking my Pikachu home,” as well as a pixel display of the beloved electric rodent. Fans of the song have even been celebrating by holding plush versions high in the air above their heads.

We doubt Pikachu has swapped sides permanently, and suspect he’ll be supporting Japan when the national team arrives in Russia next month for the FIFA World Cup.  

Watch the full act below and tell us in the comments if you think this song could go all the way at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. 

© 2018 Valve Corporation. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owners in the US and other countries.

This week at Bungie, we launched Warmind.

Guardians are breaking new ground on Mars, meeting up with Ana Bray to investigate the mysteries of Rasputin. If you haven’t had a chance to dive in yet, we have a trailer to serve as your mission briefing.

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We’re not done yet. Another activity is going live tomorrow…

Spire of Stars

Your next raiding adventure goes live on May 11 at 10 a.m. PDT. If you think you’re ready, line up at the starting line to make an attempt at becoming World First to complete the new raid lair, “Spire of Stars.” We’ll be watching and cheering you on as you travel back to the Leviathan to face a new challenge.

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We’ll be standing by to congratulate the first fireteam to complete the activity. Good luck out there, Guardians!

Trials 

The raid lair is not the only activity going live tomorrow. Trials of the Nine will return at 10 a.m. PDT with new Season 3 rewards. Here is what you can expect to earn as you battle other players for access to the Spire.

Bungie Versus

Next week, we are firing up the streaming studio again. This won’t be a reveal stream or a Bungie Bounty—we’ve been challenged in the ways of old by a player who claims he can defeat a Bungie Community Manager in the fires of the Crucible. PopeBear, one of the hosts of the popular Destiny Community Podcast, has bravely stepped up to go against Dmg04 in a friendly 1v1 match in Destiny 2. The stream kicks off at 6 p.m. PDT on May 16.

That won’t be the only bout. Immediately following the 1v1, Dmg04 and Pope will each be reinforced by three of their peers for a best-of-three challenge: Bungie Versus Destiny Community Podcast. Here are the lineups: 

1. PopeBear 

2. Ms 5ooo Watts

3. TeftyTeft

4. TheBriarRabbit

Team Bungie

1. Dmg04

2. Cozmo

3. Josh Hamrick

4. ???

All matches will take place in Private Matches. Game types will be chosen on the stream. May the best team win!

In the Know

As new updates go live, Destiny Player Support is actively responding to issues and giving you the information you need. 

This is their report.

Known Issues

Since the release of Warmind, Destiny Player Support has been all hands on deck troubleshooting issues reported to the #Help forum. The following issues have been confirmed, and teams are actively investigating solutions.

Perfectly Balanced

Let’s check in on our weekly visit to the Creations page to see what cool movies the community has put together.

Movie of the Week: Answering the Protocol

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Honorable Mention: Funnies

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This was a short one. We know you have new things to do and items to earn, so we won’t keep you away from the game with a lot of words. We’re monitoring your feedback on anything and everything you’re playing in the update and keeping track of the changes you’re enjoying and what you think could be better in the future.

Have fun in the raid lair tomorrow. We’ll be watching.

<3 Cozmo