[NewsPoster]

Welcome to the Game Replay, the thrice-weekly look at the wider world of gaming by the staff of MacNN. In today's edition, a team laid off in the Lionhead closure launches a Fable card game Kickstarter, Superhot VR will be heading onto the Oculus Rift later this year, and Microsoft cuts the cost of the Xbox One by $50 ahead of E3.

Former Lionhead staff launch crowdfunding campaign to develop Fable Fortune card game

The death of the game studio Lionhead may have been a major blow to the UK games industry, but one group recently laid off by Microsoft is looking to continue working on one game from the Fable franchise. The team working on the digital card game Fable Fortune have taken to Kickstarter to crowdfund the development of the title, with Microsoft agreeing to license the franchise to the team.

The newly-created Flaming Fowl Studios is made up of the core team developing the title while at Lionhead, reports Eurogamer. Expecting a negative response from Microsoft, the team claims "they were very open to the idea and agreed to grant us the license for Fable Fortune. To be clear, we don't own the license to the entire Fable franchise, Microsoft do, but we have the creative freedom to continue developing Fortune as an independent studio. We care deeply about Fable and it means the world to us that Microsoft has trusted us to continue using the IP."

The campaign seeks to raise £250,000 ($362,000) and at the time of publication has raised close to a tenth of the goal with 27 days left to run. Co-developed with Mediatonic, the collectable trading card game differs from others by allowing some cards to turn into "good" and "evil" versions, echoing the gameplay of the main games in the franchise, with the change also altering the properties of the card itself. A co-op mode, PvP league, and "gameplay warping events" are also promised.

The original plan is for a release on PC via Steam, with the possibility of an Xbox One version if a stretch goal is reached. Versions of the game for iOS and Android devices are also touted, though not as a stretch goal.

Microsoft cuts Xbox One cost down by $50 ahead of E3

Microsoft has lowered the cost of the Xbox One console in the United States, bringing it down to $300. The price drop of $50, which Gamespot notes brings it down to a level it temporarily sold at late last year and earlier this year, is taking place just before E3, a time when the company may reveal details of a rumored upgraded console.

The $300 price tag is for the main 500GB bundle, typically consisting of the console itself and a game, though this does vary between retailers. The price cut is not only for the lower-capacity model, as it is noted the Microsoft Store is offering the 1TB version with an extra controller and five games for $320. It is unclear if this price cut will be permanent this time, though after previous discounts ended, gamers were briefly offered a $50 gift card.

Rumors suggest Microsoft is working on two new models of Xbox One that it could ship in the future, and announced at the upcoming E3. One said to be arriving later this year will be a smaller device compared to the current hardware, while another speculated for release next year is believed to be more powerful, potentially at four times the performance of existing models.

VR version of Superhot arriving this year on Oculus Rift

Superhot, a stylistic first-person-shooter, will be available to play in virtual reality, through only one headset. The Superhot Team has signed a deal with Oculus to bring the VR version of the game to its hardware, but as an exclusive title that prevents HTC Vive owners from playing it.

"We're now working super close with the guys at Oculus to release Superhot VR later this year," the team advised to Polygon. "We're really trying to capitalize on all of the new design possibilities that virtual reality is giving us."

Unlike other FPS games, Superhot's gameplay stems from its motion-based time mechanic, in that everything moves extremely slowly when the player is still, but speeds up if the player moves, allowing them to see and dodge bullets and other attacks. Due to the difficulty of players to stay perfectly still when using VR, the mechanic has to be fine tuned to allow for natural movements even if the player is standing still, such as breathing. The addition of VR does open up more potential design avenues, which could mean new levels for the game meant just for VR users.

Existing owners of the game can expect to play new levels later this year, with the downloadable content said to be free and to use a "cool new twist."