Hello Windows Insiders, today we are beginning to roll out updates to Snipping Tool and Paint to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels on Windows 11.
Snipping Tool (version 11.2404.35.0)
In this update, we’re introducing a few new features including support for emoji and QR code scanning, as well as other improvements.
Emoji are a fun new way to markup your screenshots. To get started, open the Shapes toolbar and find the new Emoji option. Select an emoji and see it drop into the middle of the canvas. You can move or resize it before clicking away and finalizing any changes.
Snipping Tool emoji panel showing cursor hovering over the star emoji option.
We are also adding the ability to detect QR codes in screenshots so that you can easily follow the link on your PC. You will automatically see QR code detection appear when you enter Text Actions from Snipping Tool’s markup canvas.
QR code link detected in Snipping Tool.
Finally, we have made some improvements to shapes based on your feedback and have added the ability to change opacity of shape fill and outline colors. We have also reintroduced the ruler tool in the “See more” dropdown (you can toggle ruler with Ctrl + R keyboard shortcut key as well).
Snipping Tool shape outline color dropdown menu opened to opacity slider at 35%.
Thank you for sharing your creations and for all of your feedback on Paint Cocreator since we introduced it last fall. With this update, Cocreator is becoming Image Creator. Aside from the new name, the feature works the same as before—Image Creator helps you create amazing artwork in Paint by describing in a few words what you’d like to create.
Paint app open showing Image Creator panel.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Paint.
As always, we love getting feedback from the community and we will be looking out for your thoughts and suggestions on this update!
Thanks,
Dave Grochocki, Principal Product Manager Lead – Windows Inbox Apps
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and the Windows Store.
Interrogate suspects and pilfer evidence to find clues and quack the case!
Two to three hours of light-hearted narrative adventure mystery.
Fully voice-acted cast of eccentric suspects to inspect and interrogate.
Solving crime is no walk in the pond.
We’re very excited to announce that Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and the Windows Store! Duck Detective is Aggretsuko meets Return of the Obra Dinn, in a cozy mystery setting where a down-on-his-luck duck is tasked with exposing a sinister sausage-based conspiracy.
You play as Eugene McQuacklin, part-time private investigator, full-time duck. As a recent divorcee and ex-police detective, you must use your supreme powers of deduc(k)tion to save your ailing career and maybe, just maybe, pay next month’s rent.
Our small team at Happy Broccoli Games have been greatly inspired by the classic Agatha Christie novels. While they take a darker and more suspenseful approach, we wanted to create something that would keep you guessing as much as it will make you smile. It has been fantastic fun for our team to write such an energetic and twisty tale. A pompous detective, mismatched characters, and cramped environment, all mixed together surely makes for a big hoot!
Justice is a dish best served at the bottom of a pond. And you’re sure to get your flippers wet when it comes to the case of The Secret Salami.
We are very much looking forward to having all you detectives quack the case on release! We don’t have a firm date just yet, but we’ll work hard to get it in your hands as quackly as possible. Please look forward to more puns and more fun when the game launches on Xbox!
Hey, I’m Pac-Man! Maybe you’ve heard of me? I’m always running around the maze and chomping everything in sight — sometimes I even go exploring bigger worlds! But one thing that hasn’t changed is my hunger for dots, fruit, cereal, pasta – you name it! You may have seen me in action, but my recent dance moves have made my appetite even more insatiable. So much that maybe a single maze won’t be enough for me!
That’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about the 64-maze action happening now in my latest game, Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs. I’m not sure how many dots that is per match – but believe me when I say, it’s a tasty buffet of competitive fun! Waka waka! It’s 64 players per match in an eating competition across many connected mazes to see which Pac can not only chomp the most dots, fruit, and Ghosts – but also survive long enough to be the last Pac standing!
Allow me to recap for you one of my more recent adventures within my latest game…
For starters, I kicked things off in the Classic-themed maze — it reminds me of my roots and allows me to focus on warming up. I intended to keep it vanilla and go accessories-free for this match… but I couldn’t resist those radical sunglasses.
When the match started, the Ghosts wasted no time in coming after me! I could tell there were other players in the mazes around mine, but first I wanted to rack up some points by chomping Ghosts. I ate a Power Pellet and chomped Blinky, then Clyde. On my way to catch Pinky, a Dazer power item emerged from the Warp Tunnel and I held it to use later. Just before I could chomp Pinky, another PAC entered my maze and ate one of my Power Pellets… and Pinky! Then they came after me. I took some tight corners, but they stayed close. But, they didn’t know about my Dazer! In a flash the other player was stunned, and I continued through a Mega Tunnel to another maze, leaving everyone behind. Power up and push forward, as I always say!
The next maze I entered had a spacey Galaga theme, I love space! Three players were already here just finishing up the dots, so the maze refreshed, setting all four of us to the Ready-point. We started chomping and raced to the first Power Pellet! The other three went left, but I went right. One Pac used a Speedy power item to reach the Power Pellet first before instantly chomping the other two! Meanwhile, I camped at a Power Pellet on the right side and waited for the other Pac’s energizer to wear-off. Then I ate the Power Pellet, took the Warp Tunnel to the other side where I surprised the other player with some chomping time! Then a fruit caught my attention! Winning does taste sweet!
Later, I partied-up with friends, but I had to remind them that even though we’re dropping into the same match together, it’s still every Pac for themselves! Before the match we wanted to take a fun group screenshot, so we all selected accessories that made us look like a rock band! Maybe our band name would be the Waka-Stars?
Our party queued for the same match together. I chomped from maze to maze, chomping Ghosts, dodging other Pacs, and barely escaping a maze that glitched-out! Then I found my pals in a candy-themed maze. Mmm, candy! I recognized them from their accessories! But as I said before: it was every player for themselves! I don’t want to embarrass my pals by telling who got chomped, but I will say that my rank went up after this match.
I kept playing after my friends dropped off; I was hungry! This time, I changed my look with some fun 3D specs! With my natural talent and a little luck, I found myself in the final four of the match… and I was holding a Shield power item. When one of the other players thought they could chomp me, the Shield was my defense! Then I learned the Shield can be used to push Pacs and Ghosts across the maze! The other players were so confused that the Ghosts caught them all and I became the last Pac standing! Waka waka!
Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs is my latest outing in chomping fun, and I couldn’t help dancing to the game’s catchy new music. Hmm, this might give me some new dance video ideas! In the meantime, I hope to see you in game! Stay hungry, friends!
PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs – Deluxe Edition
PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs is an online-only PAC-MAN eating competition! Eat your way through multiple interconnected mazes using Power Pellets and a variety of Power Items to chomp the GHOSTS and opponent PAC-MAN players! Be the last PAC standing at the end of each match in this 64-player Battle Royale to be the Chomp Champ!
• EAT TO COMPETE
The only PAC-MAN Battle Royale with cross platform play!
• CONSUME ALL
Eat everything in your maze! Then tunnel to other PAC-MAN players’ mazes and munch even more for the high score!
• PAC-MAN À LA MODES
Elimination Mode features arcade style action against players of any rank where you earn Tokens to trade for cosmetics. Ranked Mode features serious competition against players of similar ranking where you earn Rank XP to place on the leaderboards!
• MISSIONS ADD META
Fulfill specific conditions during the match for a score boost!
• TRUE PAC VS. PAC ACTION
Munch Dots and Fruit, then eat a Power Pellet to chomp the GHOSTS… and even chomp other PAC-MAN!
• POWER TO THE PACS
Power Items add to the action with shields, speed, and more to give you the upper hand against the GHOSTS as well as other PAC-MAN players! Some Power Items help PAC-MAN, but others help the GHOSTS!
• ELIMINATING MAZES
Beware of flashing mazes as they drop out one by one during each match! Escape before they’re eliminated!
• PERSONALIZE YOUR PAC
With a fun variety of body, head, and face cosmetics you can stand out from the pack with your own style!
• GET YOUR PACS TOGETHER
Add players to your Friend list, track friends’ progress, spectate friends’ plays, and even invite them to play in the same match as you!
• PLAY OR SPECTATE
Spectate ongoing matches from the general player-base or observe your friends’ skills. Elimination Mode spectators can even vote on what Power Items will be released to the players!
• BE THE CHOMP CHAMP!
Out-maneuver, out-last, and out-PAC to be the last PAC standing against 63 other PAC-MAN opponents!
*In addition to this edition, a Standard Edition is also available. Please be careful not to purchase the same content twice.
*This product is a multiplayer game that is played mainly through online matches between players. The only mode that allows single play is the tutorial.
PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs is an online-only PAC-MAN eating competition! Eat your way through multiple interconnected mazes using Power Pellets and a variety of Power Items to chomp the GHOSTS and opponent PAC-MAN players! Be the last PAC standing at the end of each match in this 64-player Battle Royale to be the Chomp Champ!
• EAT TO COMPETE
The only PAC-MAN Battle Royale with cross platform play!
• CONSUME ALL
Eat everything in your maze! Then tunnel to other PAC-MAN players’ mazes and munch even more for the high score!
• PAC-MAN À LA MODES
Elimination Mode features arcade style action against players of any rank where you earn Tokens to trade for cosmetics. Ranked Mode features serious competition against players of similar ranking where you earn Rank XP to place on the leaderboards!
• MISSIONS ADD META
Fulfill specific conditions during the match for a score boost!
• TRUE PAC VS. PAC ACTION
Munch Dots and Fruit, then eat a Power Pellet to chomp the GHOSTS… and even chomp other PAC-MAN!
• POWER TO THE PACS
Power Items add to the action with shields, speed, and more to give you the upper hand against the GHOSTS as well as other PAC-MAN players! Some Power Items help PAC-MAN, but others help the GHOSTS!
• ELIMINATING MAZES
Beware of flashing mazes as they drop out one by one during each match! Escape before they’re eliminated!
• PERSONALIZE YOUR PAC
With a fun variety of body, head, and face cosmetics you can stand out from the pack with your own style!
• GET YOUR PACS TOGETHER
Add players to your Friend list, track friends’ progress, spectate friends’ plays, and even invite them to play in the same match as you!
• PLAY OR SPECTATE
Spectate ongoing matches from the general player-base or observe your friends’ skills. Elimination Mode spectators can even vote on what Power Items will be released to the players!
• BE THE CHOMP CHAMP!
Out-maneuver, out-last, and out-PAC to be the last PAC standing against 63 other PAC-MAN opponents!
*In addition to this edition, a Deluxe Edition is also available. Please be careful not to purchase the same content twice.
*This product is a multiplayer game that is played mainly through online matches between players. The only mode that allows single play is the tutorial.
We’ve got a jam-packed weekend for you with Free Play Days! Crime Boss: Rockay City, Cities Skylines – Remastered and From Space are available this weekend for Xbox Game Pass Core and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to play from Thursday May 9 at 12:01 a.m. PDT until Sunday, May 12 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.
Additionally, expansions for Destiny 2 including Shadowkeep, Beyond LightandThe Witch Queen are free for all Xbox members from May 7 until June 4 (Xbox Game Pass Core and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate not required).
Game Pass Core will give players access to our advanced multiplayer network, a select collection of over 25 games to play with friends around the world, and exclusive member deals! Read more about Game Pass Core at Xbox Wire.
How To Start Playing
Find and install the games on each of the individual game details page on Xbox.com. Clicking through will send you to the Microsoft Store, where you must be signed in to see the option to install with your Xbox Game Pass Core or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership. To download on console, click on the Subscriptions tab in the Xbox Store and navigate down to the Free Play Days collection on your Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
Keep The Fun Going
Purchase the game and other editions at a limited time discount and continue playing while keeping your Gamerscore and achievements earned during the event! Please note that discounts, percentages, and title availability may vary by title and region.
Free Play Days (Game Pass Core or Game Pass Ultimate Required)
Crime Boss: Rockay City Play Crime Boss: Rockay City for FREE! This co-operative, organized heisting game can be played either solo in the single-player campaign or with friends in multiplayer. Start levelling up and earning rewards in the new progression system and enjoy tons of new content from our latest update.
Cities: Skylines – Remastered Cities: Skylines – Remastered puts you in charge of a growing city, from the ground-breaking of its first streets to the ever-changing needs of thousands of citizens. Design, build, and manage the city of your dreams, from public services to civic policies, and challenge yourself to grow from a simple town to a bustling metropolitan hub.
From Space From Space is a solo and co-op action-shooter for squads up to four players. Take on the challenge of liberating the earth from an alien infestation with your friends, using over-the-top weaponry in a post-apocalyptic world with awesomely stylized graphics. The apocalypse has never been so much fun!
Destiny 2 Expansions (Shadowkeep, Beyond Light, The Witch Queen) During Destiny 2’s Expansion Open Access month, you can play through Shadowkeep, Beyond Light, and The Witch Queen, along with all four Year-6 Seasons. Enjoy the updated New Light experience by exploring the Cosmodrome or skip it and join your friends right away. Open Access Month ends when The Final Shape launches, but any rewards you collect are yours to keep.
Don’t miss out on these exciting Free Play Days for Xbox Game Pass Core and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members! Learn more about Free Play Days here and stay tuned to Xbox Wire to find out about future Free Play Days and all the latest Xbox gaming news.
Do you know the feeling of moving to a new city for a new job all by yourself?
In Fishbowl, our main character Alo is doing just that. You experience a slice of Alo’s ordinary life, at home. Set in urban India at the onset of the pandemic, Fishbowl serves as a vignette of that time through our eyes. A new PS5 demo available today lets you get a taste of Alo’s life.
The game follows Alo over a month during which she spends time indoors, in isolation, her phone and computer being the only connection to others. Taking care of home chores, doing her best with self care and staying on top of work-from-home are things she is still getting used to.
Until unusual dreams and bittersweet childhood memories begin to crop up, all thanks to a package sent from home, containing a mysterious toy fish. Tumble into a story of nostalgia, melancholy and self-discovery, where the choices you make, determine the path that Alo takes, leading to multiple endings, true to how you play.
Figuring out life one day at a time
As Alo slowly gets familiar with her new home, do care tasks like watering your plants, snacking from the fridge (samosas or idlis anyone?), make sure to stay hydrated and take moments to relax between work and chores.
The mood at home is a reflection of Alo’s emotional state and sometimes, ordinary objects may give you an idea of a larger meaning behind them—that writing desk seems awfully dingy. We hope for everybody to tinker around and discover little hints and secrets we have planted throughout the game.
Fishbowl prioritizes the every day—simple things and mundane acts, and how living through them mindfully is a way to understand our emotions and check in with ourselves.
Moving through grief at your own pace
Alo recently lost her grandmother and is uncertain about how to cope with this loss and grief. Fishbowl represents grief as an ongoing feeling and not as something to “get over” on a time limit.
Players unpack Alo’s late grandma’s belongings and uncover memories from her childhood which help them connect the dots to her past—whether it’s time spent with friends after school, your very first sleepover or the one day you were all alone in the park.
Each object in Fishbowl is a storyteller, celebrating the idea of how the things in our life can be little time capsules, reminders of days gone by—from an old sweater your grandma knitted to a storybook you barely remember. Some of these objects also unlock new things to do at home, like the beat-up record player which still lets you play a familiar tune from back when you were little.
A look into the “player first” mechanics of Fishbowl
In Fishbowl, we place importance on allowing players to experience the game as they’d like, with no time limits and no fail state. Don’t feel like doing the laundry, let it pile up, enjoy a warm shower, go for it! Much like life, we allow for players to do as much or as little as they are able and have their story unfold accordingly.
It’s our way of showing what prioritizing people over the pressure of productivity could look like. Taking the focus away from giving value to the player for their actions, but rather simply valuing them because they are.
Like when you work from home as a video editor, your colleagues encourage you to do your best if you fall behind and cheer you on if you get things done in time. And you support them too, whether it’s the intern who is struggling or an old-timer who doesn’t see their worth.
Meet our characters and experience a slice of urban India
As the game progresses you meet characters, each one with a rich, unique story of their own. You get to know them through video calls that have branching conversations where choices matter. Through these, you understand how others are managing in the lockdown, you get to delve further into Alo’s life, forge new friendships and stay in touch with those dear to you.
We give players a window into Indian craft and culture. As fans of pixel art, we were keen to portray everyday Indian objects and diverse characters in this style. Tiny details in the backgrounds will tell you a little more about their personalities, like Zuari’s certificate for becoming one of the youngest government school teachers or how Iris’ love for DIY has her sewing and knitting her own clothes.
Through Fishbowl we’d like to take you on a journey to feel all feelings as there are no right endings. Fishbowl’s demo is now out on PS5 and we hope you enjoy playing this one day in our month-long story made by a two-person team from Goa, India.
It’s time to see which PS5, PS4, PS VR2, PS VR, and free-to-play games topped the download charts last month. April’s PS5 list saw a healthy addition of newcomers with Stellar Blade and Sea of Thieves entering the top 5 of most downloads in the US and EU regions. The PS VR2 list welcomed an old favorite with Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition obtaining the most downloads in April.
Check out the full listings below. What titles are you playing this month?
PS5 Games
US/Canada
EU
HELLDIVERS 2
Sea of Thieves
Stellar Blade
Grand Theft Auto V
Sea of Thieves
HELLDIVERS 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
Stellar Blade
MLB The Show 24
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
Grand Theft Auto V
EA SPORTS FC 24
NBA 2K24
TopSpin 2K25
WWE 2K24
Grounded
Grounded
It Takes Two
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Fallout 4
Madden NFL 24
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
WWE 2K24
Rise of the Ronin
Need For Speed Unbound
Fallout 4
Hogwarts Legacy
EA SPORTS FC 24
Cyberpunk 2077
Sker Ritual
NBA 2K24
Cyberpunk 2077
Resident Evil 4
ARK: Survival Ascended
Gran Turismo 7
Baldur’s Gate 3
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Hogwarts Legacy
Rise of the Ronin
*Naming of products may differ between regions *Upgrades not included
PS4 Games
US/Canada
EU
Fallout 4
Fallout 4
Red Dead Redemption 2
Minecraft
Minecraft
Red Dead Redemption 2
Fallout 76
Need for Speed Heat
Need for Speed Heat
Kingdom Come Deliverance
Batman: Arkham Knight
Need for Speed Payback
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
Grand Theft Auto V
Need for Speed Payback
Burnout Paradise Remastered
Grand Theft Auto V
A Way Out
NBA 2K24
Fallout 76
Castle Crashers Remastered
Batman: Arkham Knight
MLB The Show 24
EA SPORTS FC 24
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
STAR WARS Battlefront II
STAR WARS Battlefront II
Outlast
theHunter: Call of the Wild
Mortal Kombat X
Burnout Paradise Remastered
Need for Speed
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – Game of the Year Edition
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
Mortal Kombat X
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – Game of the Year Edition
Outlast
Thief Simulator
Madden NFL 24
theHunter: Call of the Wild
*Naming of products may differ between regions
PS VR2 Games*
US/Canada
EU
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition
Beat Saber
Beat Saber
Among Us VR
Arizona Sunshine 2
Arizona Sunshine 2
Among Us VR
Pavlov
Pavlov
Synapse
Horizon Call of the Mountain
Swordsman VR
Job Simulator
Crossfire: Sierra Squad
Swordsman VR
Job Simulator
Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition
Horizon Call of the Mountain
Synapse
*PS Store purchases only. Game upgrades or games bundled with hardware not included
