Microsoft announces PAX Prime Xbox lineup

Microsoft, via the Xbox Wire, has announced what they’ll be showing off during PAX Prime which takes place in Seattle beginning this Friday, August 29th.

If you wanted to get up close and personal with upcoming Xbox One releases such as Sunset Overdrive, Halo 2 Anniversary, Forza Horizon 2, Killer Instinct Season 2 or ID@Xbox, make sure to stop by. They also have a couple of panels, competitions and giveaways scheduled too.

Check out the details and schedule below.

The Xbox Booth [#412] is the place to play this holiday?s hottest blockbusters! We?ll be featuring hands-on Xbox One exclusives like Sunset Overdrive, remastered Halo 2 Anniversary and Forza Horizon 2, the highly anticipated Electronic Arts title Dragon Age: Inquisition and digital favorites like Ori and the Blind Forest, Killer Instinct, Project Spark, and Project Totem, plus various ID@Xbox titles.

We?re also leading panels, participating in Pinny Arcade, hosting a Halo Tournament with Twitch, giving PAX fans a way to put themselves in the world of Sunset City at the Paramount Theatre and inviting everyone to a pre-PAX ID@Xbox event on the Microsoft Campus showcasing over 25 of our upcoming ID@Xbox titles! Learn more about these activities, our full Xbox@PAX Schedule and more at our U.S. Events Website.

Need more convincing? Read on to learn more about what you?ll find when you visit the Xbox Booth or attend any number of special Xbox/Microsoft activations at PAX Prime this year:

Sunset Overdrive
Fizzie and friends are showing up big for our hometown show! Come play 8-player ?Chaos Squad? for your chance to survive the night against the mutants and take home a Pinny Arcade limited edition Fizzie pin. Then, get your photo taken in our Sunset Overdrive Photo Booth located at the Paramount Theatre or hop a ride on the Sunset Overdrive Bus to grab a ?Sunset City? burger at Li?l Woody?s over the weekend.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection
It?s the Stateside hands-on debut of Halo: The Master Chief Collection at PAX Prime! Come to the Xbox One booth to get hands-on with an all-new Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer map.

Feeling competitive?  Then assemble your Spartan fireteam and come qualify in the ?Halo PAX Prime Showdown? for a chance at the $10,000 prize pool. Come to the ASTRO Gaming (Booth #842) and Skullcandy Gaming (Booth #3117) areas on Friday, 8/29 to get hands-on with Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer and qualify for the Halo PAX Prime Showdown. At the end of the day, we?ll be taking the top performers from each booth, and giving them a spot in the 8-team weekend finals on Saturday and Sunday.

Be sure to catch the Halo PAX Panel at Benaroya Hall (Sat. 8/30, 11:00AM PT) for all the latest information on Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Halo: Nightfall, as well as a behind-the-scenes look with 343 Industries personalities Frank O?Connor, Kiki Wolfkill, Dan Ayoub, and more! Play the game, meet the team, get free swag, and be a part of Halo eSports history in the making. For those not able to attend PAX, the Halo panel and Halo PAX Prime Showdown will be live streamed starting 10:30AM PT, Saturday (8/30), on http://twitch.tv/Halo.

Forza Horizon 2
Come get hands-on with the best racing game of E3, according to Electronic Gaming Magazine and Game Informer. In Forza Horizon 2 you will race through a massive wide-open world featuring dynamic weather and dramatic day-to-night cycles. The PAX demo features a high-speed race from the Horizon Festival to the Italian seaside city of Castelletto. Drive amazing cars, blast through fences and across fields, and go for first place in this pulse-pounding road trip!

Dragon Age: Inquisition
Bioware?s biggest and most expansive RPG, Dragon Age Inquisition, has a brand new demo, ready for hands on, exclusively at the MSFT booth! Meet our producers, get your burning questions answered and be the first to play the new content.

Project Spark
Ever play a game and think ?this would be better if??? Have you always wanted to try your hand at creating your own game, or even just play something completely new and different? Project Spark unlocks hundreds of thousands of games to play, provides simple yet powerful tools to create your own, and connects to a global community of inventive creators just like you. Come see Project Spark at the Xbox booth and experience the first ever 4-player multiplayer demo of creation and play. Meet members of the Project Spark beta community as well as Team Dakota, who will be on-hand to answer questions and hand out Penny Arcade Pins to those who try Project Spark. Project Spark Starter Pack ships to retail stores around the world beginning October 7, 2014. The Project Spark beta is currently available for digital download on Xbox One and Windows 8. Discover the world?s next best game? or create it yourself!

Killer Instinct
?Killer Instinct: Season 2? begins Oct. 15, starting with new fighters TJ Combo and Maya, enhanced game modes and a completely revamped interface. ?Killer Instinct: Season 2? – Combo Breaker Pack ($19.99) includes eight fighters starting with TJ Combo and Maya, and a new fighter added each month. ?Killer Instinct: Season 2? ? Ultra Edition ($39.99)? includes everything from the ?KI: Season 2 Combo Breaker Pack?, plus select fighter costumes and accessory packs, plus an arcade perfect version of ?Killer Instinct 2 Classic? with full Xbox Live multiplayer support. Fans can get TJ Combo and ?KI2 Classic? early by purchasing ?Killer Instinct: Season 2? – Ultra Edition between Sept. 23 and Oct. 14.  Come check out the newest Killer Instinct characters only at the Xbox booth.

Ori and the Blind Forest
The forest of Nibel is dying. After a powerful storm sets a series of devastating events in motion, an unlikely hero must journey to find his courage, and confront a dark nemesis to save his home. ?Ori and the Blind Forest? tells the tale of a young orphan destined for heroics, through a visually stunning action-platformer crafted by Moon Studios for Xbox One and PC. Featuring hand-painted artwork, meticulously animated character performance, and a fully orchestrated score, ?Ori and the Blind Forest? explores a deeply emotional story about love and sacrifice, and the hope that exists in us all. Play the latest gameplay only at the Xbox booth.

Project Totem
In Project Totem you control two pieces of a totem pole at the same time with the same input. The challenge? The two are not always on the same path. Project Totem plays in solid 60 fps full HD with controls tighter than tight. It feels both retro and new at the same time and its mind bending puzzle design and twitch gameplay present plenty of challenge for the experienced gamer. Project Totem also features a local ?couch? co-op campaign that you can challenge yourself and a friend with. It is designed to be played right away and does not require tutorial or unlocks. The basic premise for the co-op campaign? We have doubled everything ? except the double jump. It has been quadrupled!

ID@Xbox
Check out some fantastic new games from great independent developers. Other Ocean will have ?#IDARB,? a crowd-sourced, couch-competitive multiplayer eSport game for up to 8 players at the same time! Asteroid Base will have ?Lovers in a Dangerous Space Time,? a frantic co-op platformer-inside-a-shooter, in which players work together piloting a neon-drenched battleship to save space animals, explore the galaxy, and fight evil robots. Chainsawesome Games will have ?Knight Squad,? which can loosely be described as SNES era Bomberman meets Gauntlet ? play as a Knight and defeat your opponents using epic weapons and power ups. SpeedRunners, from DoubleDutch and tinyBuild is a cut-throat multiplayer running game that pits four players against each other ? run, jump, swing and use devious pick-ups to knock your opponents off-screen.

If you?re in town early for PAX Prime, you can come and play over 25 upcoming ID@Xbox titles at our ID@Xbox Pre-PAX Open House on Thursday, August 28th from 6-8:30pm at the Microsoft Campus. The event is free, and we?re even offering shuttles from the Convention center to Campus! Check out all the details here.

Age of Empires Booth – #6608; 6th Floor
Be the first to demo the new touch-based, free-to-play game, Age of Empires: Castle Siege, grab medieval weapons and get your picture taken in the OneDrive booth, or compete in other Age of Empires games on our daily Twitch stream at the Age of Empires booth!  All will earn you your own limited edition Castle Siege Pinny Arcade pin and your Castle Siege bandana (while supplies last).  Join The Siege!

State of Decay Booth ? N5; 4th floor
Wanna survive the zombie apocalypse?  Then come on over to Booth N5; 4th floor, and meet Undead Labs and the State of Decay development team!  Come play State of Decay as well as the latest DLC, ?State of Decay: Lifeline?.  On Saturday between 1-3pm, come meet both one of the authors who inspired the franchise, J.L. Bourne, and Drew Hobson, the voice-actor behind ?Marcus??.and others.  Who knows, there might even be some surprises in store.  #snacksofdecay

Xbox Panels

Halo and the Journey of The Master Chief
Main Theatre
Saturday, 11:00 am ? 12:00 pm

Join the Halo Developers from 343 Industries for an in-depth look into Halo: The Master Chief Collection and other upcoming Halo projects and releases. Come celebrate The Master Chief and the future of the franchise as we take you on the next steps of your Halo journey.

Panelists:

Dan Ayoub [Executive Producer, 343 Industries], Frank O’Connor [Franchise Director, 343 Industries], Kiki Wolfkill [Partner Executive Producer, 343 Industries]

Major Nelson Radio at PAX Prime
Sphinx Theatre
Saturday, 4:30 pm ? 5:30 pm

For the 10th year in a row, it?s Major Nelson Radio at PAX Prime! Like a fine wine that has gotten better with age, Major Nelson Radio goes down smooth and leaves no bitter aftertaste.

Join Larry Hryb, Xbox LIVE?s Major Nelson, e, lollip0p and JEF United as we record an episode of the award winning podcast ?Major Nelson Radio? LIVE in front of a studio audience. We will have prizes, guests and probably fun.

Note: Clowns are not permitted at the recording.

General PAX Info
EXHIBIT HALL HOURS
Friday, August 29 ? 9:00 am to 6 pm (press only until 10:00 am)
Saturday, August 30 ? 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sunday, August 31 ? 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Monday, September 1 ? 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

See PAX website for extended event hours and other evening activities.