Tag: Microsoft - Page 14
News Blizzard Excited To Have More Independence Under Xbox
A "new era" has begun
During BlizzCon 2023's opening ceremony, Blizzard's president Mike Ybarra mentioned how it was a "new era" for the company under Xbox and Microsoft Gaming, so what exactly does he mean by this? In a new interview with The Verge, Ybarra elaborated on how this essentially translates to more creative freedom and empowerment -...
News Phil Spencer: We Will Think Of Nintendo & PlayStation Users As 'Part Of The Xbox Community'
Phil talks the future of Xbox
Phil Spencer has been busy in the wake of Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal finally being approved last month, but that hasn't stopped the Xbox boss from sitting down for another lengthy interview. This time, Phil talked to Japanese outlet Famitsu about plenty of different aspects of the Xbox brand, including its future...
News Xbox's Dynamic Background Collection Grows With New 'EA Sports WRC' Effort
Kickin' up dust
EA is back again with another dynamic background for Xbox Series X|S - the company seems to be one of the biggest supporters of the feature so far! Following last week's UFC 5 addition comes a new effort for Codemasters' brand-new racer; EA Sports WRC. As is becoming the norm, we'd like it if this one was a bit more 'dynamic', but...
News Blizzard On The Possibility Of WoW On Xbox: 'We Are Microsoft Now'
"Of course we're talking about that"
There's been a lot of conversation previously about whether or not Blizzard's legendary MMO World of Warcraft could one day come to consoles, so is there a chance now that the Microsoft acquisition is complete? During an interview at BlizzCon 2023, World of Warcraft vice president and executive producer Holly...
Guide BlizzCon 2023: Every Diablo, Overwatch & Warcraft Announcement
Everything from the opening ceremony
It's BlizzCon this weekend and in case you somehow missed it, Blizzard is now operating under Microsoft and Xbox. This means all of Blizzard's offerings are now technically a part of the Xbox brand, so there could potentially be all sorts of exciting announcements in the future. On day one of BlizzCon 2023, Xbox...
News Diablo 4's First Expansion Vessel Of Hatred Announced, Coming 'Late 2024'
Featuring a class "never-before-seen" in Diablo
Diablo IV got off to a strong start when it was originally released earlier this year - quickly becoming Blizzard's "fastest-selling game of all time" and biggest launch ever - bringing in more than 10 million players in the first month. Since then, there have been some teething issues with the game's...
News Phil Spencer Says 'The Future Of Blizzard Is Brighter Than Ever' Under Xbox
As he welcomes Blizzard fans to BlizzCon 2023
On day one of BlizzCon, Microsoft's Gaming CEO Phil Spencer appeared at the very beginning of the show to discuss the future of Blizzard under Xbox. In a nutshell, the company's gaming boss believes "the future of Blizzard is brighter than ever" under Xbox. Phil went into a bit more detail about this,...
News Xbox Developer MachineGames Opens Up New Studio In Sweden
Feed the machine
Wolfenstein developer MachineGames came under Xbox ownership when Microsoft acquired Bethesda in 2021, although we haven't seen the team produce a game of its own since the purchase. Still, we know they're working on a new Indiana Jones game, and they've just opened up a new studio to help that project progress. As rev
News Microsoft Employees Will Reportedly Lose 'Free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate'
Update: Phil Spencer confirms this won't be happening
Update [Sat 4th Nov, 2023 11:00 GMT]: Microsoft is now reportedly "reversing" the decision to remove a free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate employee benefit after complaints (via The Verge). Phil Spencer investigated the situation himself and issued the following update to all employees via the...
News Some Xbox Fans Aren't Happy About 'Intrusive' Call Of Duty: MW3 Ads
Boot up your Xbox and take a look
The marketing for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is well and truly underway, and now that Microsoft has finalised the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it seems it's even getting in on the action. Today, alongside the "early access" preload and campaign launch of Modern Warfare 3, Microsoft is running large ads...
News Xbox Adds Another New Dynamic Background For Xbox Series X|S Owners
Celebrating the arrival of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
To celebrate the arrival of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 this month, a new MW3-themed dynamic background is now available to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S owners. To apply it, you'll need to head over to the Settings menu > Personalisation > My Background > Dynamic Backgrounds...
News EA CEO: 'Microsoft & Activision Is A Great Thing For Our Industry'
"One of the world's largest companies is going to continue to invest"
Xbox's huge Activision Blizzard deal has now gone through, and its successful completion has led to questions of other potential acquisitions in the gaming industry. Of course, EA is one of the big names left on the table (either in terms of EA picking up other teams, or a...
News Xbox Series X|S Sales Had A Strong Week In Japan, Rarely Beating Out PS5
The pair of Xbox consoles had a solid week in the region
Japanese outlet Famitsu has released its latest hardware and software sales figures for the region, revealing a solid week for Xbox Series X|S sales - at least in comparison to PS5. According to the outlet (via VGC), Xbox Series X and S sold a combined 3,301 units last week, while PS5 and PS5...
News New Xbox Policy To Block Unauthorised Accessories
Update: Microsoft issues official statement
Update #2 [Thu 2nd Nov, 2023 03:00 GMT]: Microsoft has provided another update to the same source, confirming connections via the USB and 3.5mm ports on the Xbox Adaptive Controller will not be impacted by this new policy. Third-party devices designed for accessibility should also continue to work through...
News Xbox App Dev Gets WebView2 Support, Includes 'Better Performance'
And some other "significant improvements"
Microsoft has today announced WebView2 for Xbox is now available to developers. It's been a "top" request from both WebView2 and Xbox media app developers. As highlighted by Windows Central, Microsoft had already released Chromium-based Edge support to improve the performance on Windows, but developers were...
Deals All 10+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 31 - November 7)
Here are this week's back compat discounts
Xbox's latest round of digital deals went live yesterday, with more than 300 titles discounted across various different promotions. As per usual, those deals include a set of backwards compatible classics on offer via Xbox's digital storefront. <related ids="157710"> So, we've gathered all of those...
News Xbox's 'Series S Starter Bundle' Is Now Available
"Just in time for the Holiday season"
In case you didn't catch the original announcement, here's your reminder that Microsoft has this week launched a brand new Xbox Series S 'Starter Bundle'. It includes the 512 GB Robot White Xbox Series S model, a wireless controller and three months of access to Game Pass Ultimate for £249.99 / $299.99. It...
Deals 300+ Games Included In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 31 - November 7)
Featuring a 'Best Rated Games' sale
Xbox's latest set of digital deals is now live, and we have hundreds of discounts to gaze over this week! Headlining the promotions this time out is a 'Best Rated Games' sale, alongside a 'Game Pass Family Time' promo and our usual array of spotlight sales & specials. So, we've picked out some of the top...
News Another Seven Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass Soon (November 15)
Your latest set of departures
Microsoft has revealed another seven games set to leave the Xbox Game Pass library in mid-November 2023. There's a fair old mix in today's roundup, with some bigger games leaving alongside a few Game Pass indies. <related ids="157698"> Here's what's leaving Xbox Game Pass in mid-November 2023: Xbox Game Pass:...
News Gears Of War Needs A 'God Of War-Like Reboot', Says Original Lead Designer
Cliffy B weighs in on the state of Gears
Cliff Bleszinski has always been synonymous with the Gears of War franchise - the original trilogy's lead designer was the primary public figure for those games during the Xbox 360 days. Since then, 'Cliffy B' has been off doing his own things, but he's always happy to talk Gears, and in a new interview with...
News Xbox's Plan To Block 'Unauthorised' Accessories Has The Fighting Game Community Concerned
"This is essentially a death sentence"
Yesterday, news broke about Microsoft initiating a new policy as of next month where Xbox consoles will block all "unauthorised" accessories. There's a mixed reception to this so far, but one group that isn't taking it too well is the fighting game community (FGC). FGC is potentially one of the communities...
News Starfield's Monthly Active Users For September 2023 Only Beaten By One Game On Xbox
Any guesses as to which?
It's looking like Starfield has been a huge success for Xbox and Bethesda pretty much across the board. The game boosted Xbox console sales in the UK for the month of September, set a record for new Xbox Game Pass subscribers last month, and it seems to be doing incredibly well at keeping people playing as well.
News Microsoft Increasing Xbox Series S Price In Brazil
It's now in the same price bracket as PS5's digital model
The Xbox Series S has proven to be a huge hit for Microsoft this generation, bringing in sales from many consumers who may not have even considered the high-end Series X model. Unfortunately, though, it seems customers located in Brazil will soon have to pay more for this particular unit. As...
"Drop into two painstakingly-recreated Battle Royale maps"
For quite a while now we've known that one of Xbox's biggest goals with its Activision Blizzard acquisition is to grow in the mobile gaming space, and a new Call of Duty blog post shows us a little bit about why that goal is already coming into view. As part of the Call of Duty franchise's...
News Stalker 2 & More Xbox Titles To Feature At Paris Games Week 2023
The event takes place next month
Xbox has detailed some of its plans for Paris Games Week 2023, which takes place early next month. For now, the team has discussed some of the games it will be bringing to the show floor, where fans in Paris can go hands on with the latest Xbox titles - and even sample some unreleased projects. Perhaps the biggest...
News Xbox's October Update Includes Keyboard Mapping For Controllers
And import game captures to Microsoft Clipchamp
Xbox will finally be rolling out its update that allows keyboard buttons to be mapped to Xbox controllers in its October update. This feature was originally announced back in July, but if you did miss it, Xbox owners will now be able to map controller buttons for the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller...
News Activision Blizzard Documents Its 44-Year History With New Infographic Featuring Xbox
"We begin an exciting new chapter"
It's been an exciting period for Microsoft and Xbox with the finalisation of the Activision Blizzard (and King) acquisition. Now, as part of this, Activision Blizzard has released a huge infographic documenting the entire history of both companies, the eventual merger, and joining team Xbox. Throughout it, there...
News Here's A Look At Microsoft And Xbox's New Gaming Leadership Structure
See for yourself
It's been another big week for team Xbox with the latest announcement of a Microsoft reshuffle which sees some familiar faces promoted. Perhaps the biggest changes apart from Activision Blizzard, are the promotions of two execs. As noted in the initial announcement, Matt Booty is now 'president of game content and studios'...
News Microsoft Reshuffle Makes Huge Changes To Team Xbox, Matt Booty & Sarah Bond Promoted
We have a new structure in place at Xbox
Xbox is in the midst of making massive changes to its leadership structure, as a result of recent acquisitions like that of Bethesda Softworks and Activision Blizzard. As detailed by The Verge, multiple Xbox execs will hold new roles after the company reshuffle, including familiar faces like Sarah Bond and
News Xbox's New Marketing Campaign Is Producing Some Amazing Adverts In Europe
You won't miss these!
A week ago, Microsoft launched a brand-new Xbox marketing campaign - right after the company confirmed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Well, as it turns out, that campaign isn't limited to TV & YouTube ads (and giant s
News Xbox Boss Praises Activision Blizzard's 'Amazing Teams' After A Week Of Studio Tours
Phil thinks they're "really inspiring"
Since finalising its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox's leadership team have kept themselves busy with a bunch of studio tours. Most recently, Phil Spencer and co visited Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California, and now in a follow-up to this, the Xbox boss has shared a brief message on social...
Xbox technically owns the franchise now
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 may be missing out on a day one Xbox Game Pass launch this year, but it isn't stopping Microsoft from including the title as a highlight in its
Deals All 30+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 24-31)
Spooky deals, 'Fallout Day' sales & more!
We have quite a few backwards compatible classics on offer this week! Thanks to the ongoing Shocktober sale and this week's Fallout Day discounts, there are lots of old school games and DLC packs available on the cheap right now. <related ids="157377,157318"> As a result, we've rounded up all of the...
News Starfield Launch Set Record For "Most Game Pass Subscriptions Added On A Single Day Ever"
According to Microsoft's CEO
Bethesda's new space RPG Starfield has been a huge success for Xbox since it arrived on Game Pass and multiple platforms in September. In less than a month it surpassed 10 million players and since then, it's had ongoing success in the charts. Now, in an update during Microsoft's latest earnings call for FY24 Q1, the...
News Xbox's Leadership Team Visits Blizzard Post-Acquisition
Microsoft strives to be a "source of trust" for the studio
Following Microsoft's recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Phil Spencer and team Xbox have been busy doing studio tours all around the world. The latest visit was Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California and while Xbox's leadership team hasn't formally shared what exactly went on...
News Xbox Gaming Revenue Up 9% YoY In Latest Earnings Report
Hardware revenue had a decline of 7%
Microsoft has released its earning results for FY24 Q1 and Xbox's gaming revenue is up by 9% year-over-year. Xbox's content and revenue services in this latest quarter grew, this time by 13%. It's driven by the growth of the Xbox Game Pass service and first-party content. Xbox hardware revenue had a decline of...
News Bethesda Revealed Elder Scrolls 6 Early Because The 'Pitchforks And Torches Were Out'
Todd Howard had to say it was happening
The former Skyrim lead designer and Starfield systems designer Bruce Nesmith has explained why The Elder Scrolls 6 was apparently revealed by Bethesda in 2018. While the company prefers to reveal its games as close as possible to release dates, according to Nesmith, Bethesda was supposedly feeling the...
News 800+ Games Included In This Week's Xbox Sales As 'Shocktober' Deals Continue
Time for a Halloween treat?
Xbox's Shocktober Sale continues this week with lots of spooky offers available on Xbox titles. This year's version of the sale went live last week, and it's now joined by other promotions this week, including "Franchise Hits", "Publisher Spotlight", "Sales & Specials", "Bandai Namco" offers and of course, the...
News Starfield Dev Proud Of The Game's Launch Despite Being 'Stressed For 2 Years Straight'
"Goddamn am I proud of what we achieved"
Starfield was in the works for a long time over at Bethesda Game Studios — long before Xbox bought the company — and it seems the game's protracted development period wasn't always easy to deal with. In a recent Twitter thread, BGS Design Director Emil Pagliarulo reflected on Starfield's development, and...
News Microsoft 'Doubling Down As A Game Producer' After ActiBlizz Deal, Says CEO
"Now we'll be one of the largest game publishers"
After Microsoft closed its Activision Blizzard deal earlier this month, Xbox Game Studios has grown exponentially. As you can see here, the amount of studios now under Microsoft's wing is kind of mind-blowing, and the company's CEO is relishing the opportunity to start producing more games. Speaking...
News 'Fallout Day Sale' Now Live On Xbox, Featuring Steep DLC Discounts
Crawl out through the fallout, baby
Slightly ahead of Xbox's typical digital deals roundup each and every Tuesday, a new Fallout-flavoured promotion has just gone live on the Xbox Store. These discounts mostly include Fallout games and their respective DLC packs - although Skyrim also manages to barge its way into the promo as well. Anyway, seeing...
News Square Enix Confirms Early 2024 Launch For Final Fantasy 14 Beta On Xbox
"Mark your calendars Xbox fans!"
Ever since Phil Spencer & co. worked towards a much closer partnership with Japanese developer Square Enix, Xbox fans have been eagerly awaiting news on Final Fantasy 14 and its rollout on Xbox Series X and S. Well, Square Enix has narrowed down a release window for the MMORPG's upcoming open beta - ahead of the...
News Microsoft & People Can Fly Project Confirmed As 'Triple-A Game' Via New Job Post
"A Triple-A game developed in collaboration with Microsoft"
Earlier this summer, we caught wind of a brand-new project in the works between Microsoft and People Can Fly, thanks to a Polish business site that spotted the collaboration. While the Xbox owner hasn't officially confirmed the title since, a new job post from People Can Fly once again...
News Josh Sawyer Reveals The Obsidian Game He'd Revisit With A 'Baldur's Gate 3 Budget'
Between Pentiment 2, Pillars of Eternity 3, or Fallout New Vegas 2
Xbox's Obsidian Entertainment is already hard at work on Avowed, but this is a dev team that seems to always have multiple projects spinning up at once, and the studio's design director has hinted at one Obsidian series he'd like to revisit - given the right budget. Speaking with...
News Nintendo Boss Showers Praise On 'Great Relationship' With Xbox & Microsoft
"We consider them to be partners in many, many ways"
We've seen a nice partnership developing between Xbox and Nintendo over the past few years, with multiple Xbox games making their way over to the Switch such as Minecraft and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and now in a new interview with Inverse, Nintendo's Doug Bowser has showered praise on that...
News Phil Spencer & Co. Given 'Sweet Welcome' As They Visit Candy Crush Developer King
One of the new ActiBlizz teams welcomes Xbox
Phil Spencer and the Xbox leadership team have wasted no time in the wake of Microsoft's huge Activision Blizzard deal. Shortly after the Xbox owner acquired the mega-publisher, Phil & co. have been to visit King Games - the team behind the mobile hit Candy Crush. As posted to Twitter, King has...
News Digital Foundry Host Discusses Missing 'Resolution Boost' Program For Xbox One Games
"It never actually came out"
Microsoft has pioneered plenty of system-level enhancements for Xbox this generation - FPS Boost instantly comes to mind with its frame rate improvements across select Xbox 360 and Xbox One titles. However, some of the team's plans for Xbox Series X|S seemingly never materialised, including its 'Resolution Boost'...
News Giant Animated 'XSphere' Showcases Xbox Games Lineup In Las Vegas
To coincide with Twitchcon
Microsoft's latest advertising campaign for all things Xbox is in full swing as the team closes out its huge Activision Blizzard deal. Earlier this week, Xbox launched the brand-new 'Wake Up and Dream' trailer set to premiere as the main Xbox TV ad for the holiday season, and now team green has taken over Las Vegas with...
Reaction Seriously, Microsoft Doesn't Care About Using Call Of Duty To Sell Xboxes
"We have no goal of trying to use Call of Duty to get you to buy an Xbox console"
We've seen Microsoft move away from the goal of sheer console sales for years now - the team has almost given up the ghost with PlayStation and has accepted that Sony is likely to sell more systems for the time being. Having said that, the acquisition of Activision...
Soapbox Gears Of War Should Return To Its Horror-Themed 'Mad World' Roots
Thinking back to original game's iconic trailer
It's that time of year where the horror fans among us start thinking about what spooky games we might play over the Halloween period, and this year, I feel a little stuck to be quite honest. I've spent some time with the likes of Resident Evil 4, Layers of Fear and Amnesia: The Bunker already in 2023,...
