February2024
News Halo TV Show Actor Says Season 2 Is A Great Time To 'Jump In'
It "takes it more in a direction like the games"
Season 2 of Halo on Paramount Plus kicks off this week and so far the critic reception has gone down pretty well. If you are wondering whether now is the time to jump in or not, one of the newcomers to the show's cast thinks it's the perfect time. When asked by GamesRadar+ if fans should hop straight...
News Phil Spencer Addresses Xbox Speculation Ahead Of 'Business Update Event'
"We look forward to sharing more details"
Well, it looks like we're about to get some answers on the direction of Xbox moving forward. Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft's gaming division, has taken to social media to address the rampant speculation that's gone on over the last day or so in regards to Xbox exclusives launching on PS5. In response to...
Roundup Halo TV Show Season 2 Impressions Are Starting To Go Live Ahead Of Launch
Here's what the critics are saying so far
Halo The Series returns this week on Paramount Plus, as the TV network's Halo adaptation moves into its second season. Ahead of the release of Season 2, some early reviews have gone live from various outlets - giving us a glimpse at how this second season of Halo the Series is shaping up. Now, it should be...
News Palworld Server Costs May Explain Why Xbox Is Helping Out With Pocketpair's Game Pass Hit
"We’re providing support to enable dedicated servers"
Last week, Xbox provided an update on the mega-successful Palworld and how the team was helping out with the Game Pass phenomenon - and a new post from the developer's CEO explains why this may be necessary. Taking to Twitter, Pocketpair's Takuro Mizobe joked about the server costs for...
Reaction We're Conflicted About Xbox Exclusives Potentially Going To PS5
It's... complicated
Update: In case you haven't seen, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has now addressed some of the rumours and speculation floating around online, promising to reveal more about the "future of Xbox" at an event next week. <related ids="161730"> Original story: The closing stages of this past weekend have been awash with
News Xbox Might Be Looking Into A Handheld Console As PlayStation Rumours Circulate
"They are."
Thanks to a new 'PlayStation Vita 2' leak via YouTuber Moore's Law Is Dead, rumours that an Xbox handheld console could be in the works have now started to appear. Outlet Insider Gaming reported on that initial 'Vita 2' leak, and Windows Central's Jez Corden has responded with an Xbox rumour of his own. Basically, Insider Gaming's Tom...
News Xbox Games Are Reportedly No Longer Being Stocked At Some European Retailers
"Several retailers have started not listing Xbox anymore"
Xbox's move towards a more digital-focused future is coming under increased scrutiny these days - especially when more reports on the matter keep cropping up. Last month we heard that US retailer Walmart may have planned to pull Starfield discs from store shelves, and now a new industry...
News Xbox Adds Another Seven New Dynamic Backgrounds For Series X|S
Take your pick!
Xbox continues to bolster its Dynamic Background roster and the latest drop includes seven themes celebrating several events throughout 2023. Below is the full list of what's included in this latest Dynamic Background update. We've also got some samples of some of them: International Day of World's Indigenous People 2023 Gaming...
News Xbox 'Providing Support To Enable Dedicated Servers' In Palworld
It's now "the biggest 3rd party Game Pass launch ever"
Palworld has become an overnight sensation and Xbox has now confirmed it's performing just as well on Game Pass. It's officially the subscription service's "biggest" third-party launch ever, with more than 7 million Xbox players experiencing the game since its 'Game Preview' debut last month...
January2024
News Microsoft Adds 'Vapor Collection' To Xbox Design Lab & Unveils New Special Edition Controller
"Introducing the newest collection"
Microsoft is back with even more Xbox controller options today, as the team expands its Design Lab program into 'Vapor' territory. Remember last year's 'Stormcloud Vapor' pad? Well, you can now apply the very same effect to Xbox Design Lab controllers across a variety of different colours. They're calling this...
News Xbox Predicts 'Hardware Decline' Despite Huge Revenue Boost From ActiBlizz
Services are on the up
Microsoft's latest earnings report has been an eye-opening one, with its gaming division posting huge revenue boosts - propelling the sector to Microsoft's third largest business within the company. While much of that is attributed to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, one area that doesn't seem to be growing so fast is...
News Gaming Becomes Microsoft's 'Third Largest Business' In Latest Quarter
It has surpassed Windows with the help of ActiBlizz
It's been a bit of a wild start to the year for Xbox with a Developer Direct, mass layoffs, some record-breaking milestones, and now the
News Xbox's Gaming Revenue Receives Huge 49% Boost YoY From Activision Blizzard Acquisition
The second quarter fiscal year 2024 results are in
Microsoft has just released its earning results for FY24 Q2 and Xbox's gaming revenue has experienced huge growth in the latest quarter, up by 49% year-over-year. This growth is credited mostly to Microsoft securing Activision Blizzard, which closed last year on October 13, 2023. This latest figure...
News 'Visions Of Mana' Isn't Launching On Xbox Game Pass Despite Dev Direct Appearance
"This was an error"
On the back of Xbox Developer Direct there were rumours that Visions of Mana might be coming to Xbox Game Pass - fuelled by some vague wording on the Xbox website. Well, the team has now come out and confirmed that the Square Enix RPG is not launch
News Halo Infinite Releases New Halo Wars-Themed Operation, Reveals Free 20-Tier Pass
Content Update 29 is out today
Halo Infinite receives a brand-new update today, which sees the departure of Seasons and the introduction of content updates. As previously noted, Content Update 29 adds a new Arena map "Illusion", new Forge features including a 'Covenant object palette, a free Mark IV armor core and
News Microsoft Will Apparently Announce Blizzard's New President 'Next Week'
Mike Ybarra is departing
Xbox this week revealed it was laying off 1,900 employees and in the process, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, who was an ex-Microsoft executive before this, also announced his departure. There's still obviously a lot to take in, but if you are wondering who will replace Ybarra, apparently that update will be happening as...
News Halo Infinite Says Goodbye To 'Seasons' With Community Montage
From here on out it's "Content Updates"
Last week, 343 Industries announced it would be ending "Seasons" in Halo Infinite, with this model being replaced by "Content Updates" in the future. With this in mind, the developer has now put together a compilation video of Season 5: Reckoning - highlighting the many talented players within the community...
Talking Point Would You Buy A 'Revised' Xbox Series X|S Controller In 2024?
Or are you perfectly happy with the current one?
After first leaking last September, this week brought fresh rumours that a new Xbox controller could be revealed soon. Reportedly set to be announced around the time of Xbox's summer showcase this year (although unconfirmed at this stage), project "Sebile" sounds promising so far. According to that...
Feature Hellblade 2 Brings True 'Cinematic Immersion' To Xbox This May, And We're Hyped For It
A proper Xbox blockbuster launches in just a few months
This year's Xbox Developer Direct delivered big - with huge deep dives for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Avowed and Ara: History Untold. However, only one of the show's titles feels like it's truly within touching distance, and that's Ninja Theory's Hellbl
News Microsoft Hits Historic $3 Trillion Valuation On Same Day Of Xbox Layoffs
It's the second company after Apple to achieve this
Microsoft announced 1,900 jobs had been axed in the Xbox division earlier today, with MS Gaming CEO Phil Spencer explaining how the goal going forward is for leadership to "align on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure" to support the whole of its growing business...
News Apple Opens The Door For Xbox Cloud Gaming App On Its Devices
Developers can now submit game streaming apps
Xbox Cloud Gaming has managed to natively roll out on a lot of devices so far, but on Apple products, it's only been accessible through browsers. Fortunately, this may change in the future - with the iPhone maker announcing developers are now able to "submit a single app with the capability to stream all...
News Xbox Is Employing 'A More Focused Strategy' After Merging With Activision Blizzard
"Together we will continue to create amazing games"
Following the Microsoft and Blizzard layoff news posted earlier today, Xbox's Matt Booty has also made a lengthy statement on the company's reasoning behind such a huge round of job losses. Coming by wa
News Blizzard President Quits Microsoft, In-Development Survival Game Also Cancelled
"It’s an incredibly hard day"
After today's megaton news of almost 2,000 job losses over at Team Xbox, we have even more disruption amongst the ranks. Long-time Blizzard president and ex-Microsoft executive Mike Ybarra has announced his departure from the studio - and with it the cancellation of Blizzard's in-development survival game. Ybarra has...
News Microsoft Cuts 1,900 Jobs Across Xbox, Bethesda And Activision Blizzard Teams
"We have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce"
The move to bring Activision Blizzard into the Xbox ecosystem has largely been seen as a positive one, but unfortunately we have some bad news to share today. As part of a company restructure post-ActiBlizz deal, Microsoft has laid off almost 2,000 people. Shared by IGN...
News 'People Can Fly' Reportedly Cuts 30 Devs From Unannounced Square Enix Project
The same team has a new triple-A collab with Microsoft
People Can Fly, the Polish developer associated with titles like Outriders and Gears of War: Judgement, has reportedly axed 30 developers who were working on a new "unannounced" Square Enix title, codenamed Project Gemini. The company's developer director told Kotaku it was a result of "budget...