Welcome back Xbox fans, Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) enthusiasts, Final Fantasy fans and fellow geeks!
Over a week ago, Square Enix officially releasedFinal Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S plus Windows PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming. For Xbox gamers who love JRPGs and the Final Fantasy games franchise, this development marked the end of a years-long wait for the big budget remake of Final Fantasy VII to be released on their consoles.
This is Aerith Gainsborough in the big-budget remake?
There are multiple reasons why FF7 Remake will have sold well on Xbox, even beyond the fact that it’s one of the most requested Xbox releases of the past few years. For one, it’s available at the pretty low launch price of just £39.99 / $39.99, and as a “limited early” bonus, it even comes with the original version of Final Fantasy 7 as well. Don’t forget it’s an Xbox Play Anywhere title too, which means you get a free PC version when buying it on console.
Meanwhile, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade co-director Naoki Hamaguchi expressed his happiness that Xbox gamers are enjoying the game and he already confirmed that the remaining chapters of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy will be released on Xbox. Read his Twitter post below.
Final Fantasy VII Legacy and Cultural Significance
Historically, the original Final Fantasy VII was released on PlayStation in 1997 and it became a massive commercial juggernaut which arguably made the JRPG more popular among Western gamers. Characters like Cloud Strife, Barret Wallace, Tifa Lockhart, Aerith Gainsborough, and Yuffie Kisaragi became wildly popular not only among Final Fantasy fans but with JRPG enthusiasts. Sephiroth meanwhile became one of the most defining villains of video gaming.
Battles in the game are often fast, intense and filled with visual spectacle.
The road to the big budget remake was a long one and it eventually Final Fantasy VII Remake was released as an exclusive game on PlayStation 4 in 2020. A year later, the upgraded version called Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade was released on PlayStation 5.
Xbox gamers who purchase Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade can expect the following: Quests, mini-games, and missions set in expanded areas of Midgar. There are also some new characters and content that adds even more depth to the story.
The main cast in Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade.
Long before the birth of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and his incredible 2016 US Presidential Election victory, Donald Trump made his presence felt in video games.
I am talking about Trump’s participation in a short video that was presented during the Xbox conference of the 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The video was a parody of Trump’s popular show The Apprentice in which he appeared in a business meeting with the executives of Team Xbox (the real-life Robbie Bach, J Allard and Peter Moore) and Team PlayStation (with actors playing the PlayStation executives).
Back in 2004, as I was anticipating online media coverage of that year’s E3, I visited one particular Xbox website which streamed the said Trump-Xbox-PlayStation video and even offered a downloadable version for Windows media. I downloaded the video, watched it and was delighted ultimately. For your viewing pleasure, posted is a direct-feed video of from the This Week In Gaming YouTube channel.
Next, I posted below for you all another video that is slightly longer, was recorded off-screen at the Xbox conference, and has the live audience reactions that you should listen to. Watch the video below.
Is the 2004 video (titled “The Novice”) entertaining? For me it still is fun to watch again and it is one of the more memorable moves Xbox executed at the E3 (which today no longer exists). It is intriguing and entertaining to see Trump at the center of the video about the console war between Microsoft and Sony at the time.
As an entertainment piece of history, The Novice video is a reminder about how exciting console gaming was back in 2004 (note: intense competition between console makers was the standard of the time) when compared to what happened in recent times. Xbox gaming this year has been disappointing considering the following developments that happened: 50% price hike on the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription service, Xbox Series consoles price hikes, thousands of game developers laid off, the sudden cancellation of unreleased Xbox games, and Team Xbox directed by Microsoft to go full multiplatform with their own games (examples: Gears of War: Reloaded and Forza Horizon 5 got released on PlayStation 5).
Over at the side of PlayStation, Sony itself was embarrassed with its over-budgeted and poorly made game Concord. Concord is easily one of the most expensive flops in the history of video games.
Indeed, a lot has changed since 2004. Trump is now on his 2nd term as President of the United States solving the nation’s many problems while tackling several matters happening overseas. Sony and Microsoft are still active in the video games industry in different ways and they are still having their respective consoles manufactured outside of America. Console gaming nowadays is getting too expensive.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: Do you find Donald Trump’s participation in the 2004 video with Xbox and PlayStation entertaining to watch? Were you a constant viewer of The Apprentice? Do you own a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S console?
Welcome back Xbox fans, geeks, role-playing game (RPG) enthusiasts and other gamers!
It is official! Following this year’s Xbox Games Showcase, Team Xbox announced that the sci-fi role-playing game (sci-fi RPG) The Outer Worlds 2 will be released on October 29, 2025, on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Battle.net, Steam, Xbox Cloud, PlayStation 5 and also on the Xbox Game Pass (XGP) service (Ultimate level).
Watch the in-depth presentation of The Outer Worlds 2 by Xbox studio Obsidian Entertainment in the video below. Also check out the game’s official trailer.
To find out what to expect when playing The Outer Worlds 2, posted below are selected excerpt from the Xbox.com post. Some parts in boldface…
From branching chaos to faction-fueled futures, everything unfolds across Arcadia: a lawless new frontier where your choices cut deeper, the stakes hit harder, and the corporations somehow got even worse. Bigger choices, weirder science, stranger weapons, and even worse decisions. Just the way we like it.
Cut off from Earth, Arcadia is a colony cracking under pressure, torn apart by space-time rifts, shifting alliances, and three power-hungry factions locked in a war for control. It’s louder, riskier, and more unpredictable than anything the Halcyon system ever threw at you.
You’ve been sent in as an Earth Directorate agent, but how you handle the mission – who you help, hinder, or exploit – is entirely your call. Build your character with expanded traits, flaws, and backgrounds that shape every decision and unlock new ways to fight, sneak, talk, or blow things up.
Players can play the game in 3rd-person view.
At the heart of The Outer Worlds 2 are three factions with fundamentally opposing visions of what humanity should be:
The Protectorate: A military regime powered by endless resources that believes people are happiest when they don’t have to think for themselves. Order is peace. Obedience is comfort. Truly loved by all loyal citizens – just ask them.
Auntie’s Choice: The loud, smiling merger of Auntie Cleo’s and Spacer’s Choice. They promise freedom, fulfillment, and a future where your only real choice is which Auntie’s product you’ll need next.
The Order of the Ascendant: Rogue scientists turned faith-based futurists, determined to perfect humanity by solving the Universal Equation. They worship patterns, predict the future through math, and perform rituals in labs with terrifying precision all in service of a better tomorrow.
Each faction has its own areas, followers, audio design, and propaganda. You’ll see the war in real-time as towns change hands, radio stations shift tone, and the world responds to your choices.
And thanks to Arcadia’s ever-present radio system, you won’t just hear the news – you’ll be the news. Your decisions are retold with spin, bias, and cheery jingles tailored to each faction’s agenda. One station might call you a folk hero. Another might name you public enemy number one. All of them think you should try their new line of health tonics.
RPG systems have been reimagined for this sequel to give players more freedom and more flavor. For example, Traits and flaws dynamically evolve based on how you play. Steal enough and you’ll be offered Kleptomaniac, which boosts loot sales but risks auto-theft when you so much as glance at an item.
Science weapons and armor return in full force. The Shrink Ray is back – only now, you can crush enemies underfoot once they’re bite-sized. And yes, there’s a suit of armor made from something that used to be alive. His name is Gary.
First-person view is available for those who want it. Lots of new weapons and unique shooting experiences await gamers.
Movement and combat also feel better across the board. Dash, leap, and parkour your way through Arcadia, or switch to third person and marvel at how cool you look while doing it.
You’ll travel with six companions, each with personal stakes in the colony’s future – and their own opinions on what you’re doing.
One might beg you to spare a faction leader. Another might ask you to murder an entire town. Sacrificing a companion could help you survive a key moment, but lock you out of their questline – and you’ll hear about it. On the radio. From the faction you just betrayed.
This is one of the companions players will encounter in the game.
These aren’t just followers. They’re allies, wild cards, and occasional liabilities who breathe fire (literally). And each one brings something different to the table:
Niles: Another Earth Directorate recruit torn between duty and defection.
Inez: A former experiment from Auntie’s Choice with a grafted combat edge and a moral core.
Aza: A chaos-loving Rift worshipper with a taste for violence and room to grow – maybe.
Marisol: A stoic killer from the Order of the Ascendant with calculations to settle.
Tristen: A walking tank and judge from the Protectorate, looking to dispense justice – or redefine it.
Valerie: A floating, chirping support unit with unexpected upgrades and untapped potential.
The Outer Worlds 2 will be available in two editions: Standard Edition for $79.99 USD and a Premium Edition for $99.99 USD. The Premium Edition includes up to five days early access, DLC Pass for two future expansions, Corporate Appreciation Premium Pack (Golden Moon Man armor and helmet, signature melee and long-range weapons, a loyal Golden Sprat pet), plus a digital artbook and soundtrack.
If you purchase the Standard Edition or are playing with Xbox Game Pass and decide you want the Premium Edition, you can upgrade at any time for $29.99 USD. Upgrade before launch to play up to five days early and get the pre-order bonus Commander Zane Battle Pack, in addition to all the digital extra content.
Having seen Obsidian’s video presentation and the detailed information released on Xbox.com, it looks like The Outer Worlds 2 will be a loaded and feature-rich game. The developers added new features here and there, ensured the conversation sequences have enough depth, made some adjustments on gameplay features inherited from the 2019 game, and they came up with an all-new sci-fi setting (a new colony with environments that are large and ideal for exploring personally) as well as a new cast of characters.
Instead of the “blank slate” protagonist seen in The Outer Worlds, the sequel has Earth Directorate agent as the playable protagonist and there will be ways on how gamers can play the game as they want to (within the limits set within).
Quite predictably, the upcoming game still has that anti-capitalism theme like the first game, only this time they added themes of dictatorship, propaganda, and war.
While Obsidian Entertainment’s video presentation of The Outer Worlds 2 is clearly comprehensive, they failed to emphasize the aspect of space travel in the sequel. Considering the limited budget of The Outer Worlds, it was understandable that the game’s space travel was simplistic and really limited in terms of scope and freedom of travel.
I was hoping The Outer Worlds 2 would have better space travel and more interactivity such as being able to pilot the space ship and be able to blast enemy ships similar to what Bethesda pulled off in Starfield. Perhaps Team Xbox and the developers will come up with another trailer of The Outer Worlds 2 showing space travel.
To put things in perspective, I am a fan of The Outer Worlds (2019) and I replayed it a lot – including finishing the two DLC releases – on Xbox One and on Xbox Series X over the past few years. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, The Outer Worlds was technically Fallout with space travel and some Wild West-inspired elements. The 2019 sci-fi RPG clearly does not have the high production values and epic design of Starfield, and yet it has certain elements and features that made it more enjoyable than Bethesda’s 2023 game.
Are you ready to explore new worlds and take part in combat and intriguing tales? Obsidian Entertainment really looked like they gave it their all in The Outer Worlds 2.
The way I look at it right now, The Outer Worlds 2 looks very promising and it could deliver the great stuff and high enjoyment that Avowed lacked. If the upcoming game really turns out great to play on October 29, 2025, I might be convinced to go back to subscribing to Xbox Game Pass again to play it. Right now, The Outer Worlds 2’s retail prices are simply too high for me and I am certain there are other Xbox fans and other gamers who feel the same way. Do you have $79.99 for the standard edition of The Outer Worlds 2? Are you satisfied with what Team Xbox prepared for the $99.99 premium edition?
Author Carlo Carrasco 