Skip to main content

Prototype 1 and 2 stealthily released for Xbox One in Prototype Biohazard Bundle

Prototype 2
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Sometime in the next few months, the Xbox One will see an update that adds backward compatibility to the console, enabling a large portion of Xbox 360 games to be played on the newer console. Apparently, this isn’t stopping Microsoft from porting older games to the system.

Today Microsoft announced the Prototype Biohazard Bundle, which packages Prototype and its sequel Prototype 2 together along with any downloadable content released for the games. The bundle sells for $50 and is on sale now, according to Xbox Live’s Major Nelson.

Though the Xbox One versions of the games can only be bought together in the new bundle, they’re listed as separate games, and are offered as individual downloads. Prototype is a 7.38GB download, while Prototype 2 is 10.22GB in size.

In Prototype, players take control of Alex Mercer, a “genetically mutated shape-shifter with no memory of his past, hell-bent on solving the mystery of his existence as he tears through a densely populated New York City, moving with Parkour-style fluidity and consuming anybody that gets in his way.”

Prototype 2 features a different main character in James Heller, who has been transformed into a Prototype by the same viral outbreak that killed his family. In our review of Prototype 2, we found the game to be a bigger, better version of the first game, and while it didn’t add much new to the series, it remained as fun as its predecessor.

Aside from the included DLC, not much is known about what is actually different here when compared to the original Xbox 360 versions of the games. Given the price, it doesn’t seem likely that the games have gotten the full remaster treatment, and considering that developer Radical Entertainment hasn’t been active lately, we’re not expecting much more than better resolution and possibly higher frame rates.

After finishing Prototype 2, Radical suffered massive layoffs, and the company has been dormant ever since. There is no word on a third game, but it’s possible that this sudden re-release of the games is intended to gauge interest in a sequel.

The Prototype Biohazard Bundle can be found on the Xbox Store.

Kris Wouk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…
Bringing Helldivers 2 to Xbox eventually isn’t such a bad idea
Four soldiers walk in front of a blue Super Earth flag in the Helldivers 2 trailer.

It bugs Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer that Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment's Helldivers 2 is not on Xbox. In a recent interview with Game File, Spencer stated that he's "not exactly sure who it helps in the industry by not being on Xbox," even though he understands that "there's a legacy in console gaming that we're going to benefit by shipping games and not putting them on other places."

That raises a good question: Should Helldivers 2 come to Xbox Series X/S? No plans for that are announced at this time. Although Spencer is likely saying Sony should do this because it would line up with Microsoft's current strategy, I don't think it would be such a bad idea once we're a ways out from this console exclusive's launch. At the very least, the wild success Helldivers 2 has seen on PC proves that PlayStation may benefit from eventually releasing more of its games on other platforms. The company already seems keenly aware of that, too.

Read more
Xbox lays off 1,900 developers, cancels Blizzard’s survival game
A hunter crouches before footprints in Blizzard concept art.

Concept art from a now-cancelled Blizzard survival game. Blizzard Entertainment

Microsoft is laying off around 8% of its Gaming Workforce, affecting game developers across Xbox, ZeniMax Media, and the newly acquired Activision Blizzard.

Read more
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more
Senua stares at a burning tree in Hellblade 2.

Given how impressive Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was, it seemed inevitable that there would be a sequel. The game, despite being made independently by Ninja Theory, blew even the highest-budget games on the market out of the water in terms of graphical fidelity and storytelling. Microsoft realized this potential as well and purchased the studio to provide a bigger budget to the team for the eventual sequel and to secure it as a console exclusive for its then-unreleased Xbox Series X and S systems.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 was one of the earliest games shown off for the Xbox Series X and S, and was even initially thought to be one of the system's launch titles. That didn't come to pass, but the team has taken that extra time to craft this sequel into something that looks to be even more impressive than the original. Between the first Game Awards event where the game was announced and the latest footage we've seen, we have a very solid understanding of the important details surrounding this sequel. We have all the information you need to know about Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.
Release date

Read more