September2022
News Xbox Game Pass 'Friends & Family' Pricing Confirmed For Starting Regions
Ireland & Colombia kick things off
Xbox has confirmed its plans for the new Xbox Game Pass family subscription, at least in the two regions where the plan is currently available. As rumoured, 'Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family' costs €21.99 a month in Ireland, and 49,900 COP per month in Colombia. In addition to confirmation on pricing, the sub...
News Xbox's 'Approach' With Starfield Is Leading To More ActiBlizz Scrutiny
The UK CMA is once again concerned
Earlier today, we covered a little bit about the UK Competition and Markets Authority's concerns over the Activision Blizzard deal. Those concerns mostly related to how big some of Activision's games are, and whether Microsoft owning them could harm competition. Well, the whole first phase document has now been...
News Xbox App Search Function Finally Sees Improvements In Latest Update
Hurrah!
Searching for content on Xbox has always been a bit hit and miss, and that extends to secondary devices like mobile as well. Players have long complained about the usefulness — or lack thereof — of the search bar on the Xbox app on mobile, and well, Microsoft seems to be making some changes. A new update for the Xbox app has just gone...
News Microsoft Says Sony Doesn't Need To Be 'Worried' About Call Of Duty Exclusivity
"We want people to have more access to games, not less"
Well, Microsoft seems to be on it today with its responses to concerns over the Activision Blizzard deal! Xbox boss Phil Spencer just put out a lengthy response to matters, discussing multiple elements of the merger, and now Microsoft president Brad Smith has made his own statement on things...
News Phil Spencer: We Intend To Put 'Call Of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch' On Xbox Game Pass
But when Phil, WHEN?!
As the Xbox ActiBlizz deal continues to push on through its regulatory rounds, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has come out with a fresh statement on what the deal means for the industry. Within that statement, Spencer talks about Xbox's Game Pass growth, and how the Activision deal will help expand the service. The Xbox boss says that...
News Xbox's Phil Spencer Responds To 'Concerns' Over Activision Blizzard Deal
"We will pursue a principled path"
Earlier today, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) revealed that it had "concerns" over Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and now Xbox's Phil Spencer has penned a long public letter in response. Speaking on the Microsoft website, Spencer recognised that "regulators, game developers and...
News UK Authority Reveals 'Concerns' Over Xbox's Acquisition Of Activision Blizzard
It could end up being investigated further
Update: Xbox boss Phil Spencer has now responded to this in a long letter on the Microsoft website: Read More: Xbox's Phil Spencer Responds To 'Concerns' Over Activision Blizzard Deal Original story: We've got some not-so-good news to share on the progress of the Activision Blizza
August2022
News Xbox Will Be At Tokyo Game Show 2022 With Japan-Focused Livestream
"This will be a show curated for our players in Japan and Asia"
Team Xbox has revealed that it'll return, at least digitally, to the Tokyo Game Show this year, which takes place mid-September. Xbox will host a livestream focused mainly on Japanese and Asian titles from "developer partners" around the world. The team has tempered expectations...
News 10 Major Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass Today (August 31)
The latest batch of departures
Well, the time has come. Xbox Game Pass is losing a selection of pretty big titles today, August 31st, as the service refreshes its library. In and amongst these are some heavy hitters that'll be sorely missed. Here's the full list of leavers for August 31, 2022: Date Game Platform August 31, 2022 Elite...
News Xbox Has Unveiled This Custom Pac-Man Xbox Series S Console
Up for grabs via Xbox Sweepstakes!
The latest in a long line of custom Xbox Series S consoles is a bright and colourful rendition based on the legendary Pac-Man! As is the norm, this custom console is only available to acquire through entering a competition, but still, it looks pretty darn sweet! All the rules & regulations are laid out in...
News Xbox Is Adding New Install Options For Different Game Types
Choose where next-gen & last-gen games download
The latest round of Xbox Insider patch notes have revealed a very welcome install-related feature on its way to Xbox. Basically, we'll soon be able to pick a default install location for each game type, meaning Xbox Series optimised titles can be automatically downloaded to your console's SSD or a...
Reaction More Gaming Acquisitions Doesn't Necessarily Mean More Exclusives
The tides are changing
We seem to be caught in a whirlwind of gaming acquisition news as of late, from progress on the Xbox ActiBlizz deal, to Embracer buying a bunch of studios, to rumours about an EA deal, and even more besides. While these deals often bring out both supporters and sceptics in
News Xbox Series X & Series S Will Not Follow PlayStation 5 Price Increase
Microsoft responds
In recent developments, Sony has made the "difficult decision to increase" - yes, increase - the price of its PlayStation 5 console in select locations around the world due to a whole host of factors. It had Xbox fans wondering if Microsoft would follow, but it seems there is no need to worry. As you might have already seen,...
Reaction Will Xbox Follow PlayStation In Raising Console Prices?
Update: Microsoft issues a response
Update: It looks like we've got our answer! Microsoft has issued a statement today to various outlets suggesting that the price of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will remain the same - at least for the forseeable future. Phew! Here's the full quote: “We are constantly evaluating our business to o
Feature Xbox Elite Series 3 Controller: Five Features We'd Like To See
If Microsoft makes it happen
So, PlayStation has entered the 'Elite Controller' game with the announcement of the PS5 DualSense Edge. Sony's effort, for all intents and purposes, lifts what Microsoft created with the Xbox Elite (and before that the likes of SCUF) and moulds those features into its DualSense frame. It's an impressive looking pad and...
News Xbox Continues To Look For Potential Acquisitions, Says Phil Spencer
Especially in different markets
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has sat down with Bloomberg to discuss all things Xbox, as the industry focuses on Gamescom 2022. Microsoft's head of gaming expressed how he feels about the ongoing Activision Blizzard deal, while also touching on what could potentially come next. In short, Spencer says the company continues...
News Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal Officially Approved By Saudi Authority
The Asian nation is the first to publicly approve the deal
Since Xbox announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, official approval of the deal by nations around the world has been a key topic of discussion. The FTC is scrutinising the deal over in the US, while the UK CMA is taking a good long look at proceedings over here. Well, we've now...
Pick One What's The Best Racing Series In Xbox History?
C'mon, it's PGR!
Right, after our recent rant about Forza Horizon's current direction and the greatness of the PGR series, we started to think about some of the most popular racing series' on Xbox, past and present. Forza, as a whole, has been a platform mainstay for years now and is absolutely one of the best racers out there when you look at the...
Video Here's A Look At Xbox 360 Emulation On The Steam Deck
MVG investigates
The Steam Deck was released some time ago now, but people are still putting it to the test with all sorts of retro video games and emulators. Youtube channel Modern Vintage Gamer previously investigated OG Xbox emulation running Valve's system, and now he's back with Xbox 360. The Xenia Canary emulator just got a "massive" update -...
Reaction Death Stranding's Reception Makes Us Very Excited For Kojima + Xbox
We love it when a plan comes together
So, it's really happening folks. Death Stranding, Hideo Kojima's latest game, is coming Xbox Game Pass for PC. Sadly, we likely won't ever see an Xbox port for this one (on console it's published by Sony), but the news of its PC Game Pass arrival is getting us real excited for Kojima's proper Xbox project. Back...
News Sony Didn't Pay To Keep 'Cult Of The Lamb' Off Xbox Game Pass, Says Publisher
Update: "This is absolutely untrue"
Update: Devolver Digital, which publishes Cult of the Lamb, has since reached out to TheGamer about this story to state that the rumour is "absolutely untrue" and Sony didn't pay to keep the game off Xbox Game Pass. "This is absolutely untrue". Original story: There's been a lot going around lately about how...
News Some Notable Titles Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass This Month (August 31)
10 in total
We've delivered the good news in the form of eight new titles coming to Xbox Game Pass, however we must now look at what's leaving the library this month. Unfortunately, it's quite a chunky selection of mostly-well-known games with this update. The list includes heavy hitters like World War Z, What Remains Of Edith Finch, Two Point...
Deals 300+ Games Added To This Week's Xbox Sales (August 16-23)
In addition to the ongoing Ultimate Add-On sale
A new set of deals have just gone live on the Xbox storefront! More than 300 games have been discounted this week, not to to mention the huge add-on sale that carries over from last week. We've rounded up a set of deals that stuck out to us, trying to avoid as much Xbox Game Pass crossover as...
News Xbox One Seemingly Sold 50-60 Million Units Last Generation
About half as many as PS4!
As Microsoft pushes on in pursuit of wrapping up its Activision Blizzard acquisition, countries around the world are continuing to scrutinize the deal. Brazil is one such country, where a regulatory body in the South American nation has been has been looking at Microsoft, and various other third parties, in relation to the...
News Xbox Execs Praise Discussion Around Gaming & Mental Health
Wholesome content
Xbox's Aaron Greenberg and Sarah Bond have both praised a new article from Fortune Magazine; one that discusses the potential mental health benefits of gaming. FM's feature discusses the rise in gaming time due to the pandemic, and how it's "reshaping our understanding" of the medium's effect on mental health. Both the article's...