Xbox Game Studios News Articles
Thursday29th Jun 2023
News Microsoft's CEO Isn't A Fan Of Console Exclusives, Blames Sony
Sony has "defined market competition using exclusives"
Exclusives are arguably one of the main selling points of console gaming, but if Microsoft's boss had any say, he would apparently abolish them. During his testimony in the Microsoft v FTC hearing today, Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella said he would do away with exclusives on Xbox consoles if it...
Wednesday28th Jun 2023
News Jim Ryan: Publishers 'Unanimously' Do Not Like Xbox Game Pass
It's apparently "value destructive"
There have been a lot of positive success stories emerging from Xbox's Game Pass service such as Tango Gameworks' surprise release Hi-Fi RUSH earlier this year, but according to PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, publishers aren't big fans of the model at all. During his pre-recorded video deposition for the hearing...
Friday16th Jun 2023
News Here's The Latest Xbox Game Studios & Bethesda Roadmap (June 2023 Version)
Exciting times ahead!
Now that the madness of the summer showcase season is over, we've got an even better picture of what Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda are working on — and it's looking like a bright future for first-party releases! The popular Xbox fan Klobrille has put together one of their famous Xbox Game Studios & Bethesda roadmaps on...
Wednesday14th Jun 2023
News Xbox Boss Shares Heartfelt Message Following Summer Showcases
"We need that moment here where we come together to celebrate"
Xbox boss Phil Spencer is always open about how much he enjoys being a part of the gaming industry, and in the wake of Microsoft's big summer blowout, the man has a message for all who enjoy these sorts of gaming get-togethers. In a tweet posted yesterday, Phil thanked the gaming...
Tuesday13th Jun 2023
News Redfall Dev Had 'Tunnel Vision' During Development, Says Xbox Game Studios Boss
"They just had a little bit of tunnel vision"
It's no secret that development on Redfall didn't exactly go to plan - as evidenced by the state of the game when it finally released in May 2023. Since launch, Phil Spencer has come out and said that he's "disappointed" with how he handled the release, and now a fellow Xbox exec has made some...
News Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Seems Extremely Excited About id Software's Next Game
He knows they're cookin'
Lots of Xbox first-party developers were present at Sunday's big showcase, but unfortunately, DOOM developer id Software wasn't one of them. However, the team is being inserted into the conversation anyway, with Xbox boss Phil Spencer seemingly doing his best to mention the studio. In a sit-down chat with GiantBomb, Xbox's...
Monday12th Jun 2023
News Phil Spencer's Xbox Games Showcase Shirt Has Hexen Fans Excited
Update: The Xbox boss reveals all
Update: During a chat with Polygon, Phil Spencer mentioned how the Hexen shirt apparently wasn't intended as a teaser for an upcoming announcement, but rather to "recognise the importance of some of the games in our portfolio". That said, he suggested it might be worth bringing the IP back at some point...
Wednesday24th May 2023
News Xbox Is 'Focused' On Finding New Developers Outside Of Well-Known Locations
"We have focused on trying to get more global with it"
Major deals like Xbox's huge push to acquire Activision Blizzard make regular headlines, of course, but Xbox is keen to expand its development portfolio in different ways as well. Speaking to UK outlet The Guardian, Xbox's Sarah Bond spoke about Microsoft's attempts to find developers who...
Thursday18th May 2023
News Xbox One Launch Title 'Killer Instinct' Gets Major Quality-Of-Life Update In 2023
10 years strong
Killer Instinct may give us somewhat fear-inducing flashbacks to the Xbox One launch era, but it's grown into a bit of a cult classic since its Xbox launch in 2013. The team has continued to update and improve the title over the years, and this month's update is looking like it will keep the Xbox exclusive fighter going for years to...
Wednesday17th May 2023
Rumour Forza Motorsport To Release This October, It's Claimed
Do we think this is likely?
Turn 10 Studios has been working away on its grand Forza Motorsport reboot for more than five years at this point, and we're still none the wiser on when the game is coming out. Sure, we have a 2023 window, but beyond that, it's anyone's guess really. The months of October and November have been kind to Forza fans in...
Monday15th May 2023
News EU Makes Microsoft 'Automatically License' ActiBlizz Cloud Games Post-Merger
"This will apply globally", says Microsoft's president
Following today's news of the EU approval over the Xbox Activision Blizzard merger, Microsoft president Brad Smith has quickly made a follow-up statement that makes for interesting reading. While we knew of lots of individual cloud gaming deals that the Xbox owner struck with various companies...
Thursday11th May 2023
News State Of Decay 2's First Major 2023 Update Is Out Now On Xbox Game Pass
Zombie heart attacks
State of Decay 2 developer Undead Labs has delivered the 33rd (!) update to its zombie survival sequel - this one titled 'Heart Attack'. This is the team's first big update of 2023, bringing loads of new features, fixes and more to the Xbox Game Pass title. Believe it or not, the game will be five years old later this month,...
Saturday6th May 2023
News Xbox Gets Another Free Dynamic Background, Available Now On Series X|S
Celebrating the arrival of Ghostwire: Tokyo
If you're eager to update your Xbox Series X|S dashboard with a new background, the latest dynamic one is now available. This time it's based on the Tango Gameworks release Ghostwire: Tokyo. To apply it, you'll need to head over to the Settings menu > Personalisation > My Background > Dynamic...
Thursday4th May 2023
News Xbox Boss Insists Microsoft Will Deliver A Packed Schedule Of Releases
"We've got collections of games coming"
The Xbox Series X|S generation has had a lot of exciting moments, but there's also been a lot of delays and a lot of waiting for releases. So, when will Microsoft actually start getting more games out the door on a regular basis? Speaking on the Kinda Funny Games Xcast, Microsoft's head of gaming Phil Spencer...
News Phil Spencer Says Xbox 'Needs To Improve' Its Development Process
"I think we need to improve on engaging in games that are midway through production"
In a first appearance since the launch of Redfall, Xbox Boss Phil Spencer today featured on a Kinda Funny podcast to discuss the state of Xbox moving forward. Naturally, the discussion quickly moved to Redfall's launch and how Xbox might go about navigating its...
Tuesday25th Apr 2023
News Xbox Adds A Brand-New Dynamic Background For Series X|S Owners
Prepare for the release of Redfall
If you're looking to freshen up your Xbox Series X|S dashboard, you might want to check out the latest dynamic background available. This time around, it's based on Arkane Austin's upcoming co-op vampire FPS, Redfall. To apply it, you'll need to head over to the Settings menu > Personalisation > My...
Saturday22nd Apr 2023
News Forza Horizon 5's 'High Performance' Content Update Races Onto Xbox Next Week
A new series begins
In the latest episode of Forza Monthly, Playground Games discussed the Forza Horizon 5 series update, starting next week on 25th April. As part of this, there'll be a new 'High Performance' content update, coming a few days later on 27th April. To cut to the chase, High Performance will add a "permanent race oval" to the Horizon...
Friday21st Apr 2023
Deals Xbox Game Studios Hosts Extensive Steam Sale (April 20 - May 4)
Looking for a new Steam Deck game?
Xbox is hosting another major Steam sale for the new two weeks-or-so, shortly following its recent Spring Sale on the platform. This selection of discounts doesn't include anything from Bethesda unfortunately, but there are still some great deals to be had from Xbox's other first party studios and partnership...
Wednesday29th Mar 2023
News Halo Infinite Gets Another Season 3 Update, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Download it today
It's been almost a month since the arrival of the Halo Infinite Season 3 update and in that time frame, 343 has released a few other updates, including a limited-time 20-tier event pass. Now in another update today, it's released a minor patch update, which is now live across all platforms. In short, this patch contains "various...
Friday17th Mar 2023
Deals Get Up To 85% Off In Xbox & Bethesda Spring Sales On Steam (March 16-23)
Plenty of titles discounted
If you're anything like us and have caved at Valve's current Steam Deck offer (or you game regularly on PC), you might be looking for some new Steam titles to bulk out your PC library. Well, you're in luck! Both Xbox and Bethesda are running major Steam sales right now, with some deep discounts available across a bunch of...
Monday6th Mar 2023
News Forza Motorsport Developer Update Hints At Post-Launch DLC Plans
Some showcased cars won't be ready at launch
Forza Motorsport showed up to Xbox's January Developer Direct event in a big way, even if we didn't get a solid launch date for the upcoming racing reboot. The team showcased more of the game's cars, tracks and general features at the show - maybe even a few too many cars, as it turns out. Shortly after...
Friday3rd Mar 2023
Rumour Fable Reboot Is 'Miles Away' While Xbox Focuses On Hellblade 2 And Avowed
What will Team Xbox show off this summer?
In a recent episode of VGC's new podcast, journalist Andy Robinson spoke about Xbox's upcoming games lineup, with the hosts speculating on what may appear at the Xbox summer showcase in 2023. While the outlet hasn't heard anything specific about what's planned for the conference itself, Robinson
Thursday2nd Mar 2023
News Hellblade 2 Coverage Returns As Ninja Theory Drops New Dev Diary
Take a trip to Iceland
Xbox studio Ninja Theory is back to show off more of the development process behind its impressive-looking Hellblade sequel - Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. To be clear upfront; there's no new gameplay in here, but there is plenty of info to dig into about the team's upcoming 10th century Icelandic adventure. Speaking of Iceland...
Wednesday1st Mar 2023
News Hitman Developer Announces Fantasy RPG Once Reportedly Pitched To Xbox
Project Fantasy or Project Dragon?
Long time Hitman developer IO Interactive has announced a new fantasy RPG — aptly named 'Project Fantasy' for now — as the team ramps up its hiring process to get the game made. While this is being treated as a brand-new game announcement (albeit in a very early form), some are beginning to speculate that this...
News Xbox Team Visits Kojima Productions To Kick Off 'Exciting Journey Ahead'
"Bringing engineering, cloud, marketing & production teams together"
One Xbox project that remains shrouded in mystery is the team's upcoming collaboration with Kojima Productions, of course headed up by famous developer Hideo Kojima. We know it's coming, we know it involves 'the cloud' in some fashion, but beyond that we've been largely left in the...
Monday27th Feb 2023
News Fallout Creator Says New Vegas Remaster Would Be 'Awesome'
The studio behind the original is now owned by Xbox
Since Xbox's acquisitions of both Obsidian and Bethesda — the two companies behind 2010's Fallout: New Vegas — fans' wishes for a modern remaster of the Xbox 360 RPG have been rife. Having said that, the notion of 'New Vegas Remastered' clearly isn't just a fan wish either. In a new interview...
Thursday23rd Feb 2023
Report Resident Evil Creator Shinji Mikami Is Leaving Xbox Studio Tango Gameworks
Update: Bethesda confirms Mikami's departure
Update (14:15 GMT): Bethesda has now publicly announced the departure of Shinji Mikami from Tango Gameworks. The long-time developer will leave the company "in the coming months", with Bethesda posting this statement on his exit: Original Story (11:00 GMT): Legendary game designer Shinji Mikami is...
Sunday29th Jan 2023
News Hi-Fi RUSH Has Xbox Boss Thinking About Jet Set Radio Future (Again)
"I thought it would be fantastic to have that game back"
Earlier this week, Xbox and Tango Gameworks shadow dropped Hi-Fi RUSH on Xbox Game Pass. As you've probably already noticed, it's got quite a unique-looking style, drawing comparisons to certain past releases such as SEGA's graffiti rollerblade game, Jet Set Radio Future. It seems Hi-Fi RUSH...
Thursday26th Jan 2023
News Early Impressions Of Xbox's Hi-Fi RUSH Seem To Be Pretty Good
Here's what the players think
Xbox's first Developer Direct showcased five major games in the end, and the surprise of the lot was the new Tango Gameworks title Hi-Fi RUSH. Not only was it announced, but it's also been made immediately available on
Wednesday25th Jan 2023
News Xbox Surpasses 120M Monthly Active Users, As Game Pass Reaches 'New Highs'
Despite Microsoft's decline in gaming revenue
It's a new year and as part of this, Microsoft has shared its latest earnings results for the quarter ended December 31st, 2022 (FY23 Q2). Overall, gaming revenue for the company saw a decline of 13% year-over-year. Xbox's "content and services" revenue also saw a decline of 12% and Xbox hardware...
