Project Spark transitions into free incubation engine next week

By Xbox Wire Staff posted September 28, 2015 at 2:00 PM

On October 5, Project Spark will transition from its microtransaction model to a free and open creation engine. This will automatically unlock previously paid downloadable content for new and existing Project Spark users. Microsoft will pivot from producing DLC and active feature development to encouraging more user generated content and opening the Project Spark experience.

“Project Spark’s goal has always been to empower creativity. We’ve been an incubation engine for ideas from epic to artistic and we plan to continue doing so,” said Rahul Sandil, Head of Project Spark Acquisition/Engagement. “Project Spark inspires and empowers over 200,000 creators who have shared tens of millions of custom objects, behaviors and experiences. Every day we see anywhere between 300 and 400 new games being uploaded on our platform. Our support of these creators and our communications with them will continue in an open, free and collaborative environment.”

In light of these changes to a fully free model, all players who have purchased Project Spark digital content on or after July 28, 2015, purchased and activated retail discs on or after July 28, 2015 or have a remainder balance of purchased in-game tokens will be entitled to Microsoft Store credit equivalent to their money spent. Microsoft Store credits will be awarded to all users within 30-60 days after October 5. 

Alongside this news, a number of new content and features will be added to Project Spark available on October 5 for creators, including:

• The maximum terrain limit in creations has been doubled
• The maximum prop limit in creations has been increased by 500
• 200+ new assets have been added in game, including a dragon, goblin warlord, bog biome and a set of new primitive building blocks
• Each creator will now have a total of 100 Upload Slots for their creations
• UGC ranking will be based on downloads and favorites, instead of upvote/downvote ratings
• The Project Spark Marketplace has been removed
• The Project Spark Tour and Treasure Trove have been removed
• Achievements have been revamped for players and creators

For more details and information on this announcement and more, be sure to join in the conversation on the Project Spark forums.

ere are this week’s games and add-on deals on the Xbox Games Store. Discounts are valid now through 05 October 2015.

XBOX ONE DEALS

Please note: prices and availability are subject to change and may vary by region.

*These Deals with Gold offers are valid for Xbox Live Gold members.

XBOX 360 DEALS

Please note: prices and availability are subject to change and may vary by region. 

*These Deals with Gold offers are valid for Xbox Live Gold members.

http://majornelson.com/2015/09/28/this-weeks-deals-with-gold-and-spotlight-sale-22/

My wife has been asking me to buy The LEGO Movie game for us to play together, might be picking it up now.

It’s day two in our week full of bundles and to help gamers get into the holiday spirit, we’re packing a punch today with value like never before. We’re excited to unveil theXbox One 1TB Holiday Bundle featuring a few of our favorites from the greatest games lineup in our history: Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Rare Replay and a full-game download of Ori and the Blind Forest. With 1TB of storage, you can play and store more games than ever, including your Xbox 360 favorites thanks to Xbox One Backward Compatibility.

With the Xbox One 1TB Holiday Bundle, fans can look forward to:

• Experiencing the original Gears of War rebuilt from the ground up in 1080p, including 60FPS competitive multiplayer with 19 maps and six game modes and five campaign chapters never released on console.
• Accessing the entire Xbox 360 Gears or War collection to play on Xbox One through Backward Compatibility at no additional cost when you play Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on Xbox Live by Dec. 31, 2015.
• Playing a jaw-dropping collection of 30 iconic games with Rare Replay, fromBattletoads and Banjo-Kazooie to Perfect Dark and more.
• And immersing themselves in the critically acclaimed action-platformer, Ori and the Blind Forest.

This year we’ve also got an incredible roster of exclusives like Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Forza Motorsport 6. With new features added all the time, and the fastest and most social Xbox experience ever coming this November, there’s never been a better time to jump ahead with Xbox One.

The Xbox One 1TB Holiday Bundle will be available starting in October for $399 USD. Check with your local retailer, including Microsoft stores, for details today

Not sure if it is a smart idea to bundle the 1TB consoles and not the 500GB ones. Especially on holidays there are many who look at price and not if a HDD has 500GB more or not so that the "normal" HDD in bundles with cheaper prices should help to sell more consoles as 500 extra GB will.

Honestly they should just sell both, 500 and 1TB

I'm sure in November and December the 1TB consoles will be on sale for around $349. Whatever 500GB bundles they announce will probably be on sale for around $299. Casuals and parents will probably go for the cheaper option while more exprienced gamers will probably go for the 1TB. I'm sure M$ will be smart enough to cover all bases here.

Good news about Project Spark. I was trying to earn enough credits or tokens to redeem the Champions Bundle. Now there's no artificial barrier anymore to get some of the achievements.

Ashen this round for me.

MS better put Sunset Overdrive in a bundle.