May2024
News Microsoft Revokes Access To 'Amazing' James Bond Movie Deal On Xbox
Refunds are being processed
Every now and then a ridiculous price error crops up on one of the digital storefronts we all shop on these days, and this week saw a pretty insane one appear on the Microsoft Store. For a brief time, a $200+ James Bond Film Collection was mistakenly priced at just $5 - A mistake that's now being refunded and revoked by...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (May 2-5)
Included with Game Pass Core and Game Pass Ultimate
Update: Microsoft has since revealed that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's inclusion in Free Play Days only features a five-hour gameplay trial. As mentioned below though, the game is available in full on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play. Original Story: Xbox's Free Play Days titles are now live for...
Soapbox The Best Modern Tomb Raider Is Well Worth Your Time On Xbox Game Pass
The island of Yamatai awaits
May 2024's very first Xbox Game Pass update has brought Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition to the service more than 10 years after it launched on Xbox One, however, don't let the game's age put you off trying it out. This Tomb Raider reboot may have originated as an Xbox 360 game way back in 2013, but it's easily the best...
News Xbox Cloud Gaming Is Adding The Ability To Manage Save Files
Starting out with Insiders
Following this week's news about dynamic backgrounds being improved over at Microsoft HQ, Xbox Insiders are also being treated to another neat quality-of-life feature; this time in regards to cloud gaming on other devices. As spotted by The Verge's Tom Warren, a new Xbox Cloud Gaming save feature has started to appear for...
News New Xbox Update Makes It Easier To Swap Between Wi-Fi Networks
"Another day, another great Xbox dashboard feature"
Xbox is always tinkering with the system dashboard, and following the news about a feature to improve backgrounds, another handy new feature has now been revealed. As highlighted by The Verge's senior editor Tom Warren, Microsoft is currently testing the "ability for Xbox consoles to remember...
News Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (May 2)
A top-tier Tomb Raider title
Your first Xbox Game Pass title for May 2024 is officially here! Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is now live on the service, as Crystal Dynamics brings the Xbox One version of its Tomb Raider reboot to Game Pass. To this day we reckon this is one of the best Tomb Raider games ever, so if you've not tried it yet, we...
News Starfield Is Getting A 60FPS Performance Mode On Xbox Series X
Coming as part of the big May update
As part of today's May update reveal for Starfield, Xbox Series X players are being treated to some brand-new display options for Bethesda's mammoth RPG. The big news here is that the game is getting a proper 60FPS Performance mode on Xbox Series X, although Xbox Series S appears to miss out for now. There's...
News Microsoft Gauges Interest In 'Handheld Gaming' Devices With New Survey
Is a portable Xbox being planned?
An Xbox handheld console is starting to feel more likely than ever, despite rumours of such a device circulating since the heyday of the PSP. Recently, we've read rumours about prototypes, have witnessed Phil Spencer liking tweets about Xbox handhelds, and the Xbox boss has even
News Xbox Is Testing A New Dashboard Feature To Improve Backgrounds
Dynamic backgrounds are becoming more flexible
Microsoft is testing a pretty cool Xbox dashboard feature in its Insider Program at the minute - one that adds a welcome bonus to using and applying dynamic backgrounds on your console. Basically, the new update will allow Xbox users to combine dynamic backgrounds and game art backgrounds at the same...
April2024
News Fallout 76 Drops First Xbox Update Since Franchise's TV Show Bonanza
Here are all the details
There's so much Fallout going on right now that it almost feels like we should be talking about a brand-new entry in the franchise, but nevertheless, Bethesda's existing releases are still being patched and updated in 2024. We just got our first taste of new-gen Fallout 4 with its 'next-gen' update, and now Fallout 76 has...
News Xbox Teases Call Of Duty 'Direct' To Follow 2024 Summer Showcase
"We can’t say much"
Following multiple reports in recent months about 'Call of Duty: Black Ops Gulf War' launching in 2024, it looks like Xbox is about to officially unveil the game this June. As part of today's Xbox Summer Showcase announceme
News Eight Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass In Early May 2024
The first batch of departures for May
The first six games leaving Xbox Game Pass in May 2024 have been revealed today, and sadly we've got a few big ones in the mix! The most notable example is Just Cause 4 Reloaded - Square's latest Just Cause title has been on the service for just over five years, until it leaves this month. Here's the full list...
Random Xbox Boss Spotted Rocking Huge Fallout Helmet Behind The Scenes
"Guess who this is..."
Fallout fever is certainly spreading at the moment, as the brand-new TV show hits a massive viewership milestone in just over two weeks since its release - and it seems that Xbox boss Phil Spencer has caught the bug over at Microsoft HQ right now. Posting to Instagram, Xbox exec Sarah Bond initially asked fans to guess who...
News Former Xbox Exec Shares Achievement Sound That Was 'Rejected' At Microsoft
"We went through quite a few iterations"
During the Xbox One era, Microsoft introduced 'Rare Achievements' - complete with their own unique sound effect to set themselves apart. Well, that achievement sound went through multiple iterations according to former Xbox exec Major Nelson; who's taken to social media today to share one of the team's...
Talking Point Would You Like To See Xbox Focus On A New Fallout Game?
Have you caught Fallout fever this month?
Well, we're officially in a bit of a Fallout renaissance, folks! Amazon Prime's TV show has drummed up huge levels of hype for Bethesda's post-apocalyptic series — so much so that the nine-year-old Fallout 4 has shot to the top of the gaming charts in recent weeks — and the
News Microsoft CEO Comments On Xbox's New PlayStation Store Success
"More than any other publisher"
Microsoft's latest quarterly results are in; with the team seeing huge gains across its Xbox division thanks to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year. However, it's not just ActiBlizz bringing the good news at the moment - some of Xbox's older studio acquisitions are bringing continued success too. As part...
News Xbox's Gaming Revenue Is Up 51% YoY Following Activision Blizzard Acquisition
The FY24 Q3 results are in
Microsoft has today released its financial results for Q3 2024 and its Xbox gaming revenue growth is up by more than 51% year-over-year. Once again, this is mostly credited to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which was closed on October 13, 2023. This latest figure factors in 55 points of net impact from...
News Xbox Talks Sustainability Efforts As Rare's New 'Solar-Powered Studio' Is Unveiled
Earth Day 2024 brings new Xbox innovations
As part of Earth Day 2024, Microsoft has broken down a number of new initiatives going on at Xbox right now - including a brand-new "solar-powered studio" at Sea Of Thieves developer Rare. This new studio, also known as 'Barn X', opened last year - and it's since been "certified LEED GOLD for its design...
News Sea Of Thieves On PS5 Has Slight Edge Over Xbox Series X, Notes Digital Foundry
In two key areas
Over the weekend, the folks at Digital Foundry posted some interesting findings about Sea Of Thieves on PlayStation 5, following its recent beta test on the Sony console. We'll put the video version of their analysis up above, but the gist of it is that PS5 has a few advantages despite being very similar to the Series X version...
News Bethesda's Todd Howard Says 'Really Good Updates' Are Coming For Starfield
"That are going to get announced soon"
It might be Fallout hype season over at Bethesda HQ thanks to the Amazon Prime TV show, but plenty of focus is still on the company's other games and IP at the moment. The Elder Scrolls 6 is the next biggie in the pipeline, but Starfield is still being worked on
News World Of Warcraft For Xbox Is Still Discussed Internally At Blizzard
"Of course we still talk about it"
Can you believe that World of Warcraft is 20 years-old this year? Nah, us neither, and as it turns out - new versions of the title are still a hot topic over at developer Blizzard. Yep, two decades later the team still ponders a console release, and whether it's something worth pursuing. Talking to VGC, the...
News Blizzard Says It's Already 'Benefitting' From From Being A Part Of Xbox
"If anything, it’s just been helpful"
It's no doubt a pretty huge task to incorporate a team like Blizzard into your organisation - we've already seen evidence of this back in January when a studio shakeup resulted in a cancelled Blizzard project. However, things seem to have settled down since, and a new comment from one Blizzard dev suggests...
News Xbox One Call Of Duty Title Shows Up As Cloud Gaming Compatible
But is it an error?
Since Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, there's been lots of speculation about the team's library and how it'll work with Xbox Game Pass / Xbox Cloud Gaming. The details aren't exactly clear right now, but work relating to some of ActiBlizz's biggest series' could be going on behind the scenes. As posted over on
News Multiple Xbox Cloud Games Get Mouse And Keyboard Support
Quake, Valheim, The Sims 4 and more!
Xbox Cloud Gaming has added mouse and keyboard support to even more games this week. There's a good mix and 14 all up to try out. These can be tested out in the Xbox App and supported browsers (Edge and Chrome). Here's the full list: Cities: Skylines - Mayor’s Edition Cities: Skylines - Remas
Talking Point What Do You Want To See From Xbox's New 'Game Preservation' Team?
New features like FPS Boost? More back compat games? Tell us!
Earlier this month, we learnt via internal Microsoft emails that Xbox has recently set up a new team dedicated entirely to game preservation - building on its "strong history of delivering backwards compatibility" to players on its platform. While the leaked memo doesn't contain much...