A massive week ends with Little Nightmares VR launching today, Xbox Free Play Days live, the 'We Are Xbox' memo dropping, a Game Pass Starter Edition leak, and Diablo 4 preloads available. Here's your Friday digest.
Friday April 24 Gaming Roundup — Everything You Need to Know Going Into the Weekend
It's Friday. This week has been one of the most eventful in gaming in recent memory. Before you close the laptop for the weekend, here is everything that happened today and this week, and what to prioritize over the next two days.
What Happened Today
Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes launched on PSVR2, Meta Quest, and PC VR. Standalone VR entry with Dark Six searching for Six across purpose-built VR environments. The most immersive way yet to experience the franchise's specific brand of scale-based horror.
Xbox Free Play Days kicked off for the April 23–26 window. Three games free to play all weekend, no Game Pass required. Check the Xbox Store hub for the current lineup.
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Game Pass Starter Edition officially confirmed — details of the new tier bundled with Discord Nitro continued circulating, with Windows Central updating their coverage to confirm the bundle is tied to Discord Nitro at $9.99/month. 50+ games, 10 hours of cloud gaming per month, Xbox Rewards.
What Happened This Week
Monday was the start of the week; the week ended with a completely different landscape.
Tuesday April 22: Tides of Tomorrow and Masters of Albion launched. Forza Horizon 6's May 19 date confirmed in full detail.
Wednesday April 23: Kiln launched (Day one Game Pass). AC Black Flag Resynced fully revealed for July 9. ID@Xbox and IGN Showcase dropped 10 new Game Pass announcements. Asha Sharma and Matt Booty published the "We Are Xbox" memo, dropping the Microsoft Gaming name. Splatoon Raiders confirmed for July 23 on Switch 2. Poncle confirmed 15+ projects and new studios in Japan and Italy.
Thursday April 24: Game Pass Starter Edition leak confirmed via Discord. Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes launched. Xbox Free Play Days began.
Weekend To-Do List
If you have Xbox Game Pass:
- Download Vampire Crawlers and play your first deck run
- Try Kiln — the pottery brawler is free, weird, and fun
- Check Free Play Days — three games free until Sunday
- Pre-load Diablo IV Lord of Hatred if you play that
If you have PS5:
- Pragmata is still your best new option if you haven't played it
- Pre-order Saros Deluxe if you want April 28 early access
- Claim PS Plus Essential games before May 5 (Lords of the Fallen, SAO, Tomb Raider 1-3)
For everyone:
The AC Black Flag Resynced showcase is on-demand on Ubisoft's YouTube. 30 minutes, worth watching if the July 9 release is on your radar.
Next Week's Big Events
Tuesday April 28: Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred launches. Saros Digital Deluxe early access starts.
Wednesday April 29: Trepang2 joins Game Pass.
Thursday April 30: Saros general launch. Invincible VS launches. Inkonbini: One Store. Many Stories launches.
Have a good weekend. It's the last quiet one before the end of April hits.
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