Tag: Microsoft - Page 7
News Free Play Days: Try These Nine Xbox Games For Free (May 23-26)
There are a whopping 9 games to play!
Microsoft is bringing a special Free Play Days lineup to Xbox players today, with a total of nine games playable for free on Xbox consoles this weekend. The reason for such a stacked lineup is because all of this week's games are Warhammer themed, ahead of the 2024 edition of the Warhammer Skulls showcase. The...
News Beta Footage Of Valve's New Game Has Apparently Leaked
And no, Microsoft isn't buying Valve
Closed beta footage of Valve's new "6v6 4-lane third-person shooter MOBA" has apparently leaked online. Allegedly codenamed 'Deadlock', this new title is expected to follow in the footsteps of games like Counter-Strike and DOTA, and will supposedly feature more than 19 heroes. The footage that appears to have...
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (May 23)
Both are new day-one releases!
Welcome to another Xbox Game Pass update! Microsoft is adding two more games to the library today, and they're both brand-new day one releases on Xbox. Here's what to expect from your two new Xbox Game Pass additions: Galacticare (Console, PC, Cloud): "Build, manage and optimise intergalactic hospitals! Recruit...
Talking Point What Dream Reveal Would You Like To See At The Xbox Games Showcase 2024?
How about Gears 6?
It's exciting and a bit scary to say that we're only two weeks away from the start of Summer Game Fest 2024, which includes the big Xbox Games Showcase on June 9th! As usual, we're expecting some major announcements this year. If you listen to the rumour mill, we're hearing all kinds of things about the 2024 show already. A new...
News Ninja Theory Explains Why Headphones Are So Important In Hellblade 2
It's the "best way" to experience the sequel
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is now available on Xbox and Game Pass, and while it's already quite different to a lot of other games, the developer Ninja Theory wants players to take the experience to the next level by wearing headphones. When you boot up the game, you'll receive a message recommending you...
News Microsoft's 'Copilot AI' Could Have A Big Effect On Xbox And PC Games
A glimpse into the future
Yesterday, Microsoft hosted a special Keynote introducing a range of Copilot+ PCs which are designed "with AI at the center" to allow their users to achieve things that weren't possible in the past. You can watch the full Keynote up above. The bit we're most interested in though relates to Xbox and PC games. During the...
News Starfield's 60FPS Update Results In Huge Player Boost On Xbox
Jetting off
Starfield's huge May update was a big one, bringing loads of new performance modes and other fixes and tweaks to Bethesda's 2023 RPG. Shortly after last week's release the update was getting very good feedback from fans, and n
Roundup Here's What The Critics Are Saying About Xbox's Hellblade 2
A lot of varied opinions on this one!
Ninja Theory's Hellblade 2 launch is finally upon us, marking the first major Xbox Game Studios release of 2024. We've already delivered our thoughts on the team's highly-anticipated sequel earlier today, so now it's time to take a look around and see what other folks are saying about the Xbox Game Pass title...
News Xbox Game Pass Will See 'Changes' When Call Of Duty Arrives, Rumours Suggest
Could we see a price hike?
Last week we saw a fresh report from the Wall Street Journal on Microsoft bringing brand-new Call of Duty games to Xbox Game Pass, and some follow-up rumours have circulated over the weekend suggesting that the service will make "changes" in order for this to happen. Well-known insiders
News Microsoft Adds New State Of Decay Dynamic Background For Xbox Series X|S
Celebrate 6 years of SOD2!
Microsoft's Undead Labs has created a new dynamic background for Xbox Series X|S users, to mark the six year anniversary for State of Decay 2. The background itself stems from the team's 'Juggernaut Edition' artwork for the title, and you can take a look at the dynamic version of the art down below. This marks the...
Report Call Of Duty 2024 Will Launch Day One On Xbox Game Pass
According to the Wall Street Journal
A new report has just dropped that claims Activision's upcoming 2024 Call of Duty title will be included in Xbox Game Pass on day one. The Wall Street Journal is the source on this one, with the outlet claiming that the plan is "expected to be announced at the compan
News Xbox Confirmed For Summer Game Fest Ahead Of Upcoming Showcase
Showcase season is upon us
Gaming event guru Geoff Keighley has revealed a bunch of 'partners' for the upcoming Summer Game Fest - a collection of livestreams that take place throughout June. Xbox has been confirmed as one of "more than 55 partners", with Microsoft's own Xbox Games Showcase also included in the Summer Game Fest Calendar. As we...
News Minecraft Game Pass Ultimate Perk References Steam
Could an announcement be on the way?
Microsoft's Minecraft has already had tremendous success over the years across multiple platforms, but there are still some platforms it's not available on. One, in particular, missing out is Steam - while Minecraft can be downloaded through the Microsoft Store on PC, it's not yet expanded to Valve's launcher...
News Activision Is Opening A New Studio To Build 'Genre-Defining' Games At Microsoft
'Elsewhere Entertainment' is a-go
Microsoft's newly-acquired Activision team has today announced the opening of a brand-new development studio in Poland. The team, which is confirmed to not be working on Call of Duty, is setting out to build a "state-of-the-art and next-generation gaming experience" at 'Elsewhere Entertainment'. The studio also...
News Ninja Theory Puts Together 'The Story So Far' Recap For Hellblade
A quick catchup
So, our big Hellblade 2 release guide is now live as we prepare ourselves for this month's major Xbox release, but what about those of us who could do with a quick recap on the first game? Well, Xbox and Ninja Theory have us covered. As you can see above, the dev team has posted a nice, succinct recap of the events in Hellblade:...
News Microsoft Unveils New Xbox Accessibility Controller, Pre-Orders Live
The Proteus Controller is a collaboration with ByoWave
As part of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Microsoft's Gaming Accessibility Team has today unveiled the Proteus Controller. Xbox has been "collaborating closely" with its partners at ByoWave to develop this new controller, which is described as a modular adaptive kit that gives disabled...
News Xbox Reveals 26 Games Getting Mouse & Keyboard Support For Cloud Gaming
As part of the May 2024 update
Xbox's May 2024 update has been detailed today by Microsoft, and although we don't actually have any new features to report on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, there is something really cool for Xbox Cloud Gaming users. As of today, xCloud now includes Mouse and Keyboard support for 26 games, allowing you to...
News Xbox Launches Hellblade 2 Merch Line Ahead Of Next Week's Release
Okay, this stuff looks awesome
The Hellblade 2 hype is properly kicking into gear now, with Xbox dropping a new Series X|S dynamic background last week before the team at Ninja Theory showed off the game's incredible photo mode yesterday. Now, we have a fresh merchandise line to browse while we all wait for the big day. Yep, Microsoft has just upd
News Xbox UK Is Hosting Hellblade 2 Play Sessions At The Microsoft Experience Centre
"Experience the first 2 hours of immersive gameplay"
Hellblade 2 officially launches one week today, and Xbox has announced that fans can go down to the Microsoft Experience Centre in London and play two hours of the title in its 'Xbox Gaming Lounge' next week. Unfortunately, there's no early access with these Hellblade 2 'Play Sessions'. Fans can...
News Overwatch 2 Meets Porsche In Bizarre Xbox Custom Console Collaboration
"Is that an Xbox, a mech, or a Porsche?!"
We've seen some weird and wonderful custom consoles over the years, and while this latest design is quite modest in comparison to some, it's certainly not a collaboration we expected to see on a random Tuesday afternoon in May. But, here it is. Microsoft has detailed its latest Xbox Series X sweepstakes...
News Fallout 4's New Next-Gen Update Is Getting Much Better Feedback On Xbox
Update 2 is now live
Bethesda's big next-gen update for Fallout 4 initially launched on Xbox with a bit of a whimper, but the team has just issued a brand-new patch for the upgrade - and it seems to be going down much better with players so far. We're seeing reports that all of the different visual and performance modes are now working as intended...
News Fallout 4 Next-Gen 'Update 2' Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Available now on Xbox
Last week we got news that Fallout 4 was due a fresh patch following the next-gen update's initial launch - and that fresh patch is now here! Fallout 4 Next-Gen 'Update 2' is live on Xbox, containing a number of performance improvements and general bug fixes. Highlights here include the 'Frame Rate Target' option which allows...
Rumour State Of Decay 3 Is 'Coming Along Very Nicely' Over At Xbox
In a good state
State of Decay 3 is one Xbox title that we've heard basically nothing about since its announcement back in 2020 — aside from news that Gears developer The Coalition is helping out on development — but a new rumour from Windows Central's Jez Corden suggests that the game is shaping up rather nicely over at Xbox. Talking on a...
News Ex-Blizzard President On Xbox's Future: 'Xbox Can Find A Path To Great Success'
"For their teams and players around the world"
It's been a wild week for Xbox following the announcement of four studio closures, and while the video game giant is currently facing a lot of criticism, many ex-Microsoft and Xbox employees still believe the brand can overcome this difficult period. Following
News Xbox's Hi-Fi RUSH Limited Run Physical Release Is Still Happening
"Hi-Fi Rush is go"
Earlier this year, alongside the announcement that Hi-Fi RUSH would be releasing on the PlayStation 5, Limited Run Games revealed a physical release for this platform as well as the Xbox Series X|S. After this week's studio closure, some fans are wondering if the hard copy version is still happening. It seems so - with Limited...
News Fallout 4 Will Be Getting A New Update Next Week On Xbox
"Thanks for your continued feedback and support!"
Bethesda has taken to social media today to announce that a new update is on the way for Fallout 4. The team's big next-gen upgrade initially arrived last month, but with numerous issues present at launch, the studio still has work to do getting things up to scratch. For now, Bethesda hasn't...
News Hi-Fi RUSH Is Currently Being Reverse-Review Bombed On Steam
Rushing to the review button
If you've been following gaming as closely as we have in recent years you'll have come across a 'review-bombing' campaign or two - where disgruntled fans rush to post negative reviews, usually as a reaction to a publisher decision. Well, in response to Xbox's sudden closure of Tango Gameworks, Hi-Fi RUSH fans have taken...
News Xbox's Sea Of Thieves Plunders PS5 Charts, Becoming Europe's Best-Selling Game In April
Shiver me timbers
Rare made its PlayStation debut last month with the arrival of Sea Of Thieves on PS5, and it sounds like its pirate adventure is doing quite well on the platform so far. As revealed by Sony in the company's latest PlayStation Blog sales post, Sea of Thieves was the best-selling game in Europe during the month of Apr
Talking Point Is Sarah Bond Hinting At Eventually Moving Away From Xbox Hardware?
Reading between the lines
After all of the Xbox drama that's unfolded in recent days, today has brought our first official response from Microsoft - with Xbox president Sarah Bond appearing on Bloomberg News to discuss the future of gaming. During the chat, Bond talked about the team's commitment to Game Pass, and even gave
News Xbox Veteran Suggests Recent Decisions 'Probably Aren't Being Made By Phil Spencer'
"I 100% believe this is a board-level decision"
This week has been chaotic to say the least in the world of Xbox, with four studio closures and various other reports about the situation being shared earlier this week. We don't have all the details on the exact reasons behind the closures just yet, so unsurprisingly we're getting a lot of varied...
News Tango Gameworks Manager Proudly Displays Hi-Fi RUSH Awards Following Studio Shutdown
"Not enough?"
It's no secret that Xbox fans seem most baffled about Tango Gameworks in regards to this week's studio shutdowns, with the community not taking the news particularly well when it dropped on Tuesday. Xbox fans aren't the only ones questioning why the developer has been shuttered though - the team's Game Project Manager has been...
News Xbox Reiterates Every First Party Title Is Coming To Game Pass 'Day One'
A recent report suggested Call of Duty could be excluded
Following a recent report claiming Xbox was considering not including new Call of Duty releases on Game Pass, it seems Microsoft's gaming division remains committed to "day one" releases. Xbox president Sarah Bond has mentioned at the Bloomberg Technology Summit this week how "day one"...
News Recent Studio Closures Tied To 'Long Term' Health Of The Business, Claims Xbox President
"It's hard when you have to make decisions like that"
It's been another rough week for the video game industry, with Microsoft shutting down four Xbox studios. One closure in particular though that's created a lot of confusion (and even some outrage) is Tango Gameworks - the same team behind the award-winning and critically-acclaimed title Hi-Fi...
News Xbox Mobile Store Launches This July With Its Own 'First Party Portfolio'
Expect games like Candy Crush and Minecraft
For some time now Microsoft has been planning to launch its very own Xbox mobile store in hopes of shifting consumers away from the competition. Now, in a new interview at Bloomberg's Technology Summit, Xbox president Sarah Bond has confirmed the launch is on the horizon. Xbox's mobile store will...
News Former Microsoft Exec Gives 'Two Reasons' Why Xbox Closed Bethesda Teams
"Neither of them have anything to do with Bethesda"
It's been a tumultuous time in Xbox land as of late, with news breaking throughout the week about job cuts - including four studio closures within Xbox's Bethesda division. At the time of writing Microsoft hasn't released a statement about all of these reports, but one former executive thinks he...
News Xbox Is Reportedly 'Considering' Hellblade 2 For PlayStation 5
A PS5 port hasn't been announced, yet
In recent months, Microsoft has started to experiment with launching some of its exclusive games on other consoles, with Grounded, Hi-Fi RUSH, Pentiment and Sea Of Thieves all now playable on other platforms. We're yet to really see how Microsoft's experiment will play out in the long run, but it sounds like...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (May 9-12)
Included with Game Pass Core and Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox's Free Play Days selection for this week is now live, with four games in total playable for free this weekend. Crime Boss: Rockay City is probably the highlight of the bunch here, with 505's star-studded FPS only launching last summer. Here's your full Xbox Free Play Days lineup for the...
Random Phil Spencer Is Getting Trolled In Fallout 76 Following Xbox Controversy
"Someone nuked Phil Spencer’s camp"
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has been unusually quiet amidst all of the Microsoft controversy going on right now, and this radio silence from the typically-open Xbox exec seems to have driven some Fallout fans to start 'trolling' Phil in-game. As spotted over on Twitter, 'P3's Camp' appears to have been nuked within...
News Xbox Apparently Still Needs Smaller Games For 'Prestige And Awards'
Matt Booty outlines the division's future goals at the latest town hall
Just a day after Xbox announced the closure of four studios including the Hi-Fi RUSH developer Tango Gameworks, it's apparently touched on the importance of "smaller games" during its latest town hall meeting. According to "internal remarks" shared with The Verge, Xbox Game...
News Arkane Apparently Wanted To Work On New 'Immersive Sim', Potentially More Dishonored
Arkane Austin is now closed
Tucked into tonight's fresh report on the inner turmoil happening at Xbox right now, Bloomberg has dropped a tidbit of information on what Arkane Austin might have done next - had the studio not been shuttered by Microsoft. According to the
News Xbox Reportedly Considering Game Pass Price Hike To Accommodate Call Of Duty
Multiple options are seemingly on the table
Just when we thought the slew of megaton Xbox news was starting to die down, multiple new reports hit the web, including one from The Verge that talks about Microsoft's internal struggles regarding its Game Pass subscription. According t
News Report Claims Xbox Is Planning More Cuts Following Studio Closures
"A widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn’t finished"
The bad news keeps on coming for Xbox this week, as Bloomberg is reporting that following the four studio closures that were mentioned on Tuesday, there are apparently plans for more job cuts in the seemingly near future. As described by the outlet, Xbox has apparently been offering...
News Subscription Services Like Xbox Game Pass Appear To Have 'Stalled' In The US
The figures are barely moving
We've heard for a while now that Xbox Game Pass growth is slowing down these days - Microsoft has said that the service has struggled to expand numbers-wise since at least late 2022. Well, the overall US numbers seem to be backing that up, and that's across gaming subscriptions in general. Circana's Mat Piscatella (NPD...
News Redfall's Offline Update Was Reportedly Planned For This Month, Prior To Arkane Shutdown
Yeah, you read that right
Yesterday, we learnt of the devastating news that Xbox is closing four of its Bethesda development studios in a move to further consolidate, with Redfall developer Arkane Austin one of the unfortunate victims here. However, can you believe that the team was reportedly working on a major update for its vampiric shooter to...
Random Xbox Drops 'Feel The Burn' Tagline On New Controller After Four Studio Closures
It was feeling the burn...
Xbox yesterday lifted the lid on its new Fire Vapor Special Edition Xbox Series X|S controller. Attached to the reveal was the tagline "feel the burn today", and unsurprisingly this didn't go down very well after it announced four studio closures. In an update, it seems Microsoft has now made a quick edit to the...
News Tango Gameworks Founder Responds To Xbox Shutting Down Studio
"Sad"
It's another tough period for the video game industry this week with Xbox announcing the immediate closure of four teams - including its Japanese studio Tango Gameworks, responsible for Hi-Fi RUSH and multiple other IP over the years. Past and present developers have been sending their messages to these teams and now the studio founder, who...
Reaction Xbox's Push Towards 'Microsoft Gaming' Looks More Drastic Than We First Thought
The price of ever-expanding growth
It's been a wild few years over at Team Xbox, with the brand being marked by vast change since the launch of Xbox Series X and S back in late 2020 - which is starting to feel like a lifetime ago now. Huge acquisitions like that of both Bethesda and Activision Blizzard have massively changed how the team now...
News Xbox Insider Update Aims To 'Improve' Sale Searching On The Microsoft Store
But we're not sure how just yet
Microsoft's latest Xbox Insider patch notes are now live — for Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead users — and there's an interesting note tucked in here about sales an
News Xbox Studio Shutdowns Are A 'F***ing Gut Stab', Says Arkane Lyon Boss
"This is absolutely terrible"
Bethesda's Arkane Austin is one of a few Xbox studios that will officially be shutting down following an unexpected piece of news that broke earlier today, and now the boss of Arkane Lyon has chimed in on the situation. In an emotional thread on social media, Dinga Bakaba called the Xbox closures "absolutely terrible"...
News Xbox Exec Provides Reasoning Behind Bethesda Studio Closures
"I’m sharing changes we are making to our Bethesda teams"
We're all somewhat in shock by today's news surrounding the closure of four Bethesda development studios, including the teams behind the likes of Hi-Fi RUSH and Redfall. While it's hard to wrap your head around why Xbox would go out and buy these studios only to shut them down a few years...
