AverageGamer

In most case buying the game is the tip in and of itself. But there are a lot of very good indie developers who vastly under value their work to be able to break into market.

These small studio and team should definitely be tipped. Maybe set up a ko-fi or buymeacoffee.

But TBH... I already view microtransactions or DLC/expansions as "tips". Which is why I tend to buy a lot of microtransactions or DLC since I don't think most companies warrant further support.

@CutchuSlow Cause not everyone interested in the current set of title available on the market or one set to release, so people are ready for the next big event to see if more titles get announced that they’ll enjoy.

@NintendoByNature Man… I wish we existed in the a different timeline where Insomniac Games wasn’t owned by Sony, and was stuck in Marvel Game mine pits.

@BAMozzy They was rumor to be working on 2 unannounced games other than gears 6. Both has now been canceled which why they were affected by the layoffs last year. They are now full speed ahead on Gears 6.

@Neither_scene "They have no experience of managing development studios, but I doubt they could do any worse than Microsoft has been for the last decade."

They actually do have some experience managing a development studio... They have their own internal studio, NVIDIA Lightspeed Studios, who have been responsible for a lot of RTX remakes, the Wii ports to the Nvidia Shield, and other ports.

@OldGamer999 Wasn't the whole point of making Phil CEO of Microsoft Gaming, and separating the Xbox division from the Windows division to allow more freedom in decision making? The only person higher than Phil is Nadella... Phil probably does get to make a lot of the decisions. So, I wouldn't count Phil out so easily of these not being his choices. Granted his decision have to make shareholders happy.

@RIghteousNixon Yup. Financial stability vs creative freedom.

@LX_FENIX Not every studio wants to be independent. Gearbox was independent before the Embracer purchase, and it seems it just not the life they want.

@GamingFan4Lyf Yeah… This a Sony style purchase. Borderlands has literally been a backbone franchise of 2k for over a decade. The fact it took them this long to purchase gearbox is amazing. But Take-Two is stingy, so not surprising.

@CutchuSlow There is still plenty of reasons to get a steam deck without needing a steam account. The Steam Deck make for a very good Linux machine, and you don't need a steam account for that. There also come issue of parents/grandparents trying to buy them for younger folks.

@CutchuSlow I never said only accessible through a PC... Even downloading the app or buying it from their website still requires a Steam account. Even almost 3 years into the Steam Deck life, it is still very restricting on who and where people can purchase the steam deck. It not available in major store or retailer. Good luck buying one if you outside of Steam region of support. Australians still can't technically buy one without a bunch of hassle.

@CutchuSlow I think it could sell if done well. Most handheld PC are vastly out of most people’s price range, and the Steam Deck can only be purchased through Steam… So that only accessible by PC gamers.

A lot of the rumor are saying a native device, so no relying on the cloud and console. MS need to make this a Xbox OS device, not a Windows PC. We don't windows hogging system resources and having to put up with its terrible sleep/hibernation. MS funding and partnerships with hardware manufacturers will allow them to get the handheld into an affordable price range something the Asus and lenovo can't really do. Plus it will probably be available in more stores unlike the Steam Deck which is still limited to Steam...

@TheSimulator First, it would probably be 343 directions and not Phil’s. But they’re not gonna limit their potential audience by making it gory.

@TheSimulator They're not going to do an adult gory one cause Halo is not adult orientated. Even the games aren't rated M anymore. They're rated T now.

@TheSimulator They mostly already did that with Halo Legends

Ubisoft can finally move pass this game and the baggage associated with it. Hopefully the singapore government is happy with their trash game.

Only 10 years… It feels so much longer ago. x-x

@Widey85 So quickly to reply unnecessarily to every comment.

Microsoft has repeatedly stated multiple time during the ABK purchase that this was not their last purchase. Moving their games to multiple platforms is a way to avoid the regulatory clashes and legal costs. As the only thing the regulator cares about was whether or not those games stayed available on multiple platforms. The ones who are scaling back are the one not flushed with cash.

But who was expecting ABK games on game pass this early? The deal only closed October then we went into the holiday season. Even before the deal closed we was advised to not expect anything till 2024. It takes time to go through the catalog and deal with licensing to get the games on the subscription.

Microsoft still has interest in purchasing more publishers and studios. This way they’re pleasing regulators since they won’t be removing game ms from other platforms.

Server up keep is not cheap. There a reason companies are quick to down game if they don’t sell or making enough revenue.

@Sol4ris Unfortunately it probably doesn’t look like Rocksteady is going back to what they’re know for. WB wants all their game to “Always online” so the studio is essentially dead if you don’t like this stuff. Rocksteady founder did create a new studio named, Hundred Star Games, so I would keep a lookout on what they’re making.

@Bionic-Spencer @CharlieChooChoo What is with this idea that Microsoft will rebrand Xbox gamepass to Microsoft gamepass? Nothing is getting rebranded cause no one wants a Microsoft branded product. Plus what are they going to do? Rebrand Xbox games studios back to Microsoft Game Studio? The Xbox will likely continue to stay around even after the death of the console unless some new CEO comes in and mess everything up.

@JokerBoy422 “ I'm not a Blizzard fan but people always spoke of this guy as some sort of mastermind wizard. ”

Who spoke of him as some mastermind wizard? He was only at blizzard since 2019, and was only in he current role since 2021. He was hired along with Jen Oneal just please people during the sexual harassment lawsuit. Jen O’Neal left 3 months later… But now has her own studio.

@BacklogBrad "I was hoping it was going to be the big leap forward that the long dev cycle suggested."

This is why you shouldn't base a games quality off of how long it was in development for. I'm pretty sure the only reason it was in development for so long was cause of UE5 (this is only the second year the engine official been on the market in terms of game releases) and the fact they were developing for next (current) gen console.

@InterceptorAlpha My only experience with people who still think Microsoft as the "butt of most jokes on PC" are people who has an overall issue with Micrsoft/Windows, and not particularly Xbox Games Studio & Friends themselves; or still hold a grudge about GFWL. There was bit a disinterest when they originally came to PC because everything was locked to the Microsoft store. But that went away once they started putting their games on steam. But Xbox has garnered a lot of praise from the PC side due to bringing back AoE, and Flight Sim. The quality releases of the newer Gears and Forza Horizon. Games like Sea of Thieves and Grounded player base probably skews more PC now.

@CharlieChooChoo I'm pretty sure it was leak or announced long time ago that it was going to be first person. So it's whatever for me...

@InterceptorAlpha I don’t know any PC players that aren’t watching this event when they know all the games are launching day and date with PC, myself included.

Unless you’re talking about the kind of PC player that has potato PC and stick to nothing but low budget Early Access games or LoL/WoW/Dota… etc.

@OldGamer999 TC was busy updating Gears 5 for next gen consoles, released new story DLC, was working on The Matrix Awakens, was working on a new IP (canceled), and had to wait for UE5 to release officially... They haven't just been sitting there twiddling their thumbs.

EDIT: They also had to deal with the lost of Rod which was kind important since he was the guy who in charge of Gears, so moving forward with Gears 6 isn't an easy task without him.

@SacredPYRO It probably going to have a bigger open world. Gears is a franchise that is used to show the advancement of UE, and with UE5 big thing being larger open environment with incredible detail. Open world is not going anywhere. TC is also the studio that helped with The Matrix Awakens, so everything they learned to big that open world to life will probably in the Gears 6.

The crew had it services up for almost 10 years... We're on the 3rd game. Anyone who is still playing it is far and few between. I could understand had the game been taken offline 5 years ago. But that game offers nothing that sequels didn't improve unless you want to play the boring story line they had.

Xbox really just need to do a premiant price cut. Neither console is worth their current price. Xbox need to realize they aren't a premiere console brand and need to target a lower price bracket. Drop the Series X under $400 and be done with it.

@Sol4ris TBH... Wait longer than 6th months. I said wait until ultimate edition releases with all the DLC, and the removed content that they'll add back.

@Savage_Joe idk… While Doom campaigns have been interesting. ID has struggled on the multiplayer side… Halo multiplayer is just as important as it campaigns.

We better hope that Satya Nadella stay CEO for another couple of decades and doesn't leave in the next couple years. Cause who ever come after him, may not be kind to Xbox and it years of failures.

@CenturianShark It is still being used... somewhat. Hunt Showdown uses the engine. CryEngine just isn't an easy engine to work with; and the last thing i heard is that there barely any documentation and effectively no support from Crytek. So, it a very risky time investment for any studio that may want to use it.

I didn't even realize developers could reply to steam reviews. Then i was like why would a billion-dollar company waste their time doing this? We only see stuff like this from a small indie companies... My conclusion is that someone hacked their steam account and is doing this, or a disgruntled developer who is about to get layed off.

@Cherip-the-Ripper If i remember correctly he led the team that ported the original DOOM to window 95. It was him doing that is what made Windows a viable game platform.

@Maddie47 Normal people also don’t spend their time entering competitions for a console theme after a blue dog from a “children” cartoon…

It really funny how both Ybarra and Fergusson are back at Microsoft after both leaving around the same time. The conspiracy theorist in me think them joining blizzard was Microsoft laying the groundwork for a buyout long before it was even announced.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Why you assuming I’m talking about Sony buying EA?

I’m talking about game marketing right. Sony just lost their biggest marketing partner with this purchase. CoD marketing was a major help with pushing consoles during the holidays months. Sony will be looking for something to replace that (even tho they have their own game to market).

EA can easily step in an offer Sony marketing exclusivity for Battlefield now. Meaning that Battlefield will get the premium ad space on PSN store instead of CoD, console bundles… etc.

Of course EA thinks it great. Microsoft just gobbled up their biggest competitor. Sony will be looking for a CoD replacement, and EA has a well known franchise called Battlefield.

@JokerBoy422 Given how bad HDR has been on PC… PC HDR don’t get benefit from HGiG like consoles do. So I’m glad they’re testing it and taking player feedback instead before pushing it out.

@InterceptorAlpha “ Hopefully Microsoft learned their lesson.”

They probably didn’t… Microsoft is incapable of launching a console without shooting themselves in the leg, and the sales number the Series S are too good. There will probably some form of a S model next generation.

@TheRealPaperKut Hyenas is a completely different studio and publisher.

Pillars of Eternity was his baby, so it not surprising he would pick that before even thinking about Fallout New Vegas.

@old-dad Unfortunately there no turning this around… The game is basically on live support at the moment. The developers have already started development on the next game.

@ZuneTattooGuy But that is extremely pricey to the point it just vastly cheaper to just buy outright buy the company.

@BRT15 “ this washed out look of the game which is clearly an artistic choice. GT on the other hand has more contrast and punchy colours.”

The funny part is that it used to GT with the washed out realistic look while Forza had the more contrast and punchy colors… but people complained about Forza. Now they switched.

@Titntin Well, yeah, but I’m talking about the fact they wanted to do more actual detailed planet, and not just stuff you go to during the story. Even their original plans for Earth was more of a fallout style planet instead the barren dessert planet we got. For all we know, they was probably planning on going back over the procedurally generated worlds and making them more detailed and handcrafted.