Microsoft has announced its plans for San Diego Comic-Con 2015, which begins later this week.
First, Microsoft will host an “Xbox Lounge” featuring more than 90 gaming stations at the Manchester Hyatt hotel in download San Diego. Anyone can show up and play unreleased Xbox One games such as Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Forza Motorsport 6, The Division, and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2.
Microsoft will host daily gaming tournaments and some celebrities will stop by, Microsoft said. What’s more, Microsoft will reveal a new Halo 5: Guardians Warzone mode map during the event through a 6′ x 6′ map built by Mega Bloks.
Also during Comic-Con week at the Xbox Lounge, Microsoft will host a “real” Halo 5 tournament inspired by the game’s Breakout multiplayer arena mode. Teams of players wielding BOOMco’s Halo-inspired blaster toys can duke it out in the “Breakout Arena.”
The Xbox Lounge will be open Thursday through Saturday from 11 AM – 8 PM, and Sunday, July 12, from 10 AM – 5 PM.
If you’re attending Comic-Con itself, you can visit Microsoft’s Xbox booth on the show floor to try out Halo 5’s new, massive-scale Warzone mode. GameSpot got to try Warzone at E3, but Comic-Con marks the mode’s first public appearance.
In addition, Microsoft is hosting a handful of panels at Comic-Con for Xbox games. On Thursday, July 9 at 10:30 AM, you can hear directly from Rare developers about the upcoming Xbox One bundle Rare Replay in a panel called “A Rare Chit Chat: Past and Future.”
Later that day at 4:15 PM, Microsoft will hold a panel called “Gears of War: Ultimate Edition: The Art of Improving on an Xbox Classic.” Developer The Coalition studio head Rod Fergusson and other designers will be on hand to talk about the upcoming game, which launches for Xbox One in August.
Then on Friday, July 10 starting at 10:15, Microsoft will host a Halo 5 panel that will dive into the “mysteries surrounding the Master Chief.” Other Microsoft-led panels at Comic-Con include presentations about the Fable and Tomb Raider franchises.
It is unclear if any of these panels and events will be streamed live. But GameSpot will have an editorial team on the ground, bringing you the big Comic-Con gaming news as it happens.
Check out this Xbox Wire post for a full rundown of Microsoft’s Comic-Con events.
In other Comic-Con gaming news, Capcom plans to talk more about Street Fighter V during the event, while Ubisoft is bringing Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate to the show. Activision will also attend the event to reveal Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s Zombies mode and more.