‘DC Universe Online’ Debuting On Xbox One This Year

Heroes and villains in DC Universe Online are presently celebrating the game’s fifth anniversary. Players are logging in now to receive free gifts, like the DC Bombshell poster and the Daybreak emblem, as part of the revelry. The festivities are nice, but Daybreak developers of DC Universe Online unveiled some major news today, too. DC Universe Online is coming to the Xbox One this year.

The action MMO game filled with popular DC heroes is planned to release on the Xbox One console in spring 2016. Right now, that is the most information on the release that there is; however, more news is expected in the coming weeks according to the post on the game’s official site. Of course, the 5-year-old game is currently on PC and PlayStation, but this will be its debut on the Xbox One console.

It's official! We're coming to #XboxOne this Spring! @Xbox #DCUO5Years

— DCUO (@DCUO) January 11, 2016

When DC Universe Online first released in January 2011, the game was buy-to-play with a mandatory subscription. The title soon moved to the free-to-play business model with an optional subscription in late 2011. When the PlayStation 4 launched in November 2013, DC Universe Online was one of the launch titles available on the system from day one. It remains one of the more popular free-to-play titles available in the PlayStation Store today.

In DC Universe Online, players can create their own hero or villain to apprentice under iconic mentors. For example, on the hero side of things, players can choose Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman as a mentor. Conversely, villains can choose from the Joker, Lex Luthor, and Circe as their mentor according to the official site. Players work closely with their mentor often receiving quests from them and occasionally fighting alongside them in battle. These mentors guide the player through the game to its level cap of 30 while filling them in on the various storylines in the game.

Players choose a set of Powers at character creation along with a weapon choice. The Power chosen will influence the character’s role with some Powers only supporting certain roles. Powers comes in many forms like the elemental specialties Fire, Ice, or Earth powers. Each of these sets support a Tank role perfect for players willing to take a hit for their group. There is even an Atomic power set that lets players wield atomic energy to cause explosions, regenerate their health, and more. Other Powers include Gadgets, Munitions, Mental, and Quantum; all power sets that have a Controller option. Controllers in DC Universe Online often provide superior crowd control while giving power to their allies. Finally, the Healer role is also present in the game with Powers like Nature, Celestial, Electricity, and Sorcery providing many abilities to protect and heal allies.

DC Universe Online boasts a versatile skill point system with points being spent in the character’s weapon trees. Skill points are earned for completing certain feats in the game like completing a duo or participating in a raid. Earn enough feats and another skill point will unlock. Unlike Power Points, which can only be spent on Powers or Iconic Powers, skill points let players unlock new weapons for use including their attached passive bonuses.

Combat in DC Universe Online is rather fast-paced with active attacks, combination moves, and Power abilities. Players will need to interrupt abilities and even actively block to truly master the combat. In fact, most each weapon has a unique way of interrupting or blocking attacks. Knockdowns, stuns, pushes, and even juggles are common in the game.

DC Universe Online is currently available on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 3. Players on the two PlayStation consoles currently play together while DC Universe Online players on PC only play with each other. Very early last year, the game’s senior community manager posted news on name validation in the game and what it meant for the game’s future on the official forums. At that time, DC Universe Online players were informed that name were being freed up and shared between the PC and PlayStation servers because cross play was coming to the game. This would let PC players and PlayStation players enjoy DC Universe Online together on the same server. No further information on that possibility is currently available, however. Confirmed later today during a livestream, PC and PlayStation players will be able to play together starting later this month.

[Image via Daybreak Games]