Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S users have been surprised with a free upgrade for a popular Xbox One game. The Xbox game in question can actually trace its roots back to 2012. In 2012, the likes of Mass Effect 3, Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2, The Walking Dead, Dishonored, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Journey, Guild Wars 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Halo 4, Hitman: Absolution, Dragon’s Dogma, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, Max Payne 3, Assassin’s Creed 3, Diablo 3, Spec Ops: The Line, Fez, and Hotline Miami all released. It was a pretty eventful and jam packed year in terms of game releases.
One game that also released in 2012 you may have noticed missing from this most notable games of 2012 list is Darksiders 2. A sequel to 2010’s Darksiders, Darksiders 2 was famously one of the most expensive games ever developed at the time. Its $50 million budget is nothing compared to the hundreds of millions AAA games spend only a decade later, but back then $50 million was a lot.
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At the time of its release, Darksiders 2 received Metacritic scores ranging from 77 to 83, a decent return for the sequel, but perhaps not in line with the ambitions of the budget. Nonetheless, it did well enough to get a sequel in 2018. Before this though, it was re-released in 2015 on PS4 and Xbox One, previously releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360, as Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition.
Fast-forward nine years, and now the Xbox One version of this game has been upgraded for free. This means, any that own the Xbox One version just got the Xbox Series X|S version for nothing.
This may seem random — and a surprise to many — but it not as random as some may think. This week, on October 15, the game came to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles. Those that don’t already own it must fork over $29.99 for this new version of the Xbox 360 classic. Those who own the Xbox One version though get the upgrade for free.
As for what these upgrades include, not a ton, but there is now 4K resolution, ray tracing, and enhanced lighting and shadows, and faster loading times. How much faster though, has not been specified.
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