Tag: Microsoft - Page 6
News Team Green Reflects On 22 Years Since The Birth Of Xbox
"Thank you to everyone who has been party of this journey"
Yesterday we celebrated Xbox's 22nd birthday - yep, the big green machine is now 22 years of age, as is the Xbox brand as a whole! As you'd probably expect, some of Xbox's public-facing execs have commented on the big anniversary too, and we're feeling all warm and fuzzy inside thinking back...
News Microsoft Unveils Console Discounts For Black Friday, Including $50 Off Select Bundles
"Includes everything you need to play right out of the box"
Microsoft has announced its full suite of Xbox Black Friday sales for 2023, including discounts on its pair of current-gen consoles. The company will be offering up $50 discounts on both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S systems, and the sales sound pretty widespread - at least in the US...
Talking Point Today Marks 22 Years Of Xbox As OG Console Celebrates A Big Birthday
Happy birthday to the big green machine
The big 22! Yep, Xbox is now 22 years of age as Microsoft launched its first ever gaming console on November 15th, 2001. We still remember the days of the OG Xbox very fondly, and what came after has been an amazing ride for Xbox fans around the world. It's always weird to think that whenever we talk about...
Reaction Looking Back, Xbox Has Had Some Strange GOTY Omissions Over The Years
Or are we just salty about Starfield?
Yesterday, Geoff Keighley & co. unveiled this year's Game of the Year nominees for The Game Awards 2023 - and we noted that Bethesda's brand-new IP Starfield failed to make the GOTY cut, despite being nominated for Best RPG. This GOTY omission has got folks talking (and us thinking) about Xbox's history with...
News Another Seven Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass Soon (November 30)
Including a batch of EA departures
Microsoft has revealed another seven games leaving Xbox Game Pass in the latter part of November 2023, and it includes a few pretty big departures from EA and others. Since April, three classic Battlefield titles have been unavailable to purchase as EA removed them from digital storefronts. Ahead of their online...
Random Xbox Fan Shows Ridiculously Dusty Series X Console After 3 Years Of Use
Xbox Series Xscrement
Xbox Series X|S just passed three years on the market this month, which means all of our launch-era consoles have had plenty of time to get dirty, full of grime, and load up on huge stacks of dust. While one of our very own Series X consoles has gathered plenty of dust in just a couple of years (pictured up above is our Halo...
News Xbox's Latest Custom Console Bundle Features An Edible Chocolate Controller
Wonkalicious
We have another custom Xbox console unveiling today, and this is certainly a unique bundle if nothing else! To coincide with the upcoming Wonka film, Microsoft has created a new custom Xbox Series X console package that's themed on all-things chocolate - including an actual edible controller. As you've probably guessed already, you...
News Xbox Celebrates New Series X Wraps With Free Dynamic Backgrounds
Here's what they look like
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced special Xbox Series X console wraps, which are able to give the higher tier model a new look at an affordable price. While the Starfield design was the primary focus at the time, alongside this was actually the reveal of an 'Arctic Camo' and 'Mineral Camo' design. These other themes...
Talking Point Xbox Series X|S Has Been Out For Three Years, And It's Now Hitting Its Stride
Happy third birthday, Xbox Series X|S!
We're officially three years into the current generation of Xbox gaming! Yep, Xbox Series X|S hit the market three years ago today, bringing super-fast SSD speeds and plenty of 120FPS gaming to Xbox fans around the world on November 10, 2020. We must admit though, it's been a bit of a weird generation so far,...
News Former Xbox Boss Reflects On His Famous Tattoo As Halo 2 Turns 19
"We at Xbox changed blockbuster gaming marketing forever"
This week marks 19 years since Bungie's global hit Halo 2 arrived on the original Xbox. While we're not quite at the two-decade milestone just yet, there are already some celebrations going down. Former Xbox boss Peter Moore has used it as an opportunity to reflect on that famous Halo 2...
News Xbox Wants 'All Of The Games' In Its Portfolio To Matter, Not Just Huge IP
Matt Booty: From Halo to Psychonauts "and everything in between"
Following its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft and Team Xbox now have more studios (and games) than ever. If there was any concern about how all this is going to be managed or if certain franchises will be overshadowed by others, there's apparently no need to worry...
News Steam Deck Dual-Boot Windows Support Is Still A High Priority For Valve
A new Steam Deck OLED has just been announced
Valve has just lifted the lid on the Steam Deck OLED, the next iteration of its portable handheld gaming hardware. As part of this, it's now reassuring fans native dual-boot support for the system is "high on the list" of priorities. As highlighted by The Verge, Valve designer Lawrence Yang recently...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (November 9-12)
Included with Game Pass Core & Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox's latest set of Free Play Days titles is now live - with four games making up this week's promotion. We do have a few Xbox Game Pass titles in here this weekend, but none are available on Game Pass Core - so there are some good options here for members of Microsoft's entry-level subscription...
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (November 9)
Including a brand-new AAA release!
Welcome to your biggest Xbox Game Pass drop of the month so far! We have three titles heading to the library today, including a major AAA launch in Like a Dragon Gaiden and your latest addition to the EA Play selection with Wild Hearts. Here's an introduction to each of today's new Xbox Game Pass arrivals:
News Return To The Skies In Flight Simulator's Free Content Update
Nordics & Greenland available now
Ahead of the launch of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, the existing release Microsoft Flight Simulator has received a new content update 'World Update XV'. This new update focuses on the Nordics & Greenland and adds 90 "hand-made" points of interest, 10 triangulated irregular network cities, 5 hand-crafted...
News 'Clockwork Revolution' Dev inXile Talks About Benefits Of Working Under Xbox
"They trust us"
It's well-known how Microsoft likes to let its studios within Xbox do their own thing nowadays, and it seems it's no different for Wasteland developer inXile Entertainment, who is currently working on its RPG-inspired game, Clockwork Revolution. In an appearance on 'The Fourth Curtain' podcast recently, the studio head of InXile,...
News Microsoft Appoints Former Forza Boss As New Xbox Game Studios Head
Matt Booty recently moved into a new role
Last month, Xbox revealed a company reshuffle with multiple executives moving into new roles. One of these individuals was Matt Booty, who is now 'President of Game Content and Studios' overseeing Bethesda and leaving behind his old role as Xbox Game Studios head. If you're wondering who is replacing this...
News Xbox Boss Makes Time To Help Mentor Game Critics In New York
"Spencer was honest, self-deprecating and offered sage advice"
It's safe to say that Phil Spencer has been busy as of late, right? The Xbox boss has been doing his fair share of travelling and meeting dev teams recently as Microsoft wraps up its ActiBlizz purchase, but as we've come to expect from the main man, he's also made time for a less...
Talking Point Xbox's Influential Gears Of War Sequel Is Now 15 Years Old
Happy belated birthday, Gears 2!
Ahh, the original Gears trilogy - one of our absolute favourite collections in the Xbox library. We had so much fun on these games back in the day, and this week, the second game in the series celebrated a rather substantial birthday. Gears of War 2 is now 15 years of age, and it was a pretty influential game for its...
News Microsoft Adds New Feature To Help Track Games Leaving Xbox Game Pass
This could come in pretty handy!
For a good while now, Microsoft has typically updated us all on what's leaving Xbox Game Pass through its regular Xbox Wire roundups. These roundups are clear and concise enough, but they don't give players much time to find such info before the titles leave the library - usually around two weeks or so. However, the...
News Blizzard President Says 'Players Have No Patience' And 'Want New Stuff Every Day'
So it aims to serve up "more content" in a "responsible" way
Blizzard's president Mike Ybarra is currently doing the press rounds, and in the same interview with The Verge, he touched on content delivery in modern games, noting how challenging it can be to find the right balance to satisfy everyone in the community. Ybarra, who leads massive...
News Xbox's 'Buy Two, Get One Free' Sale Contains Really Random Selection Of Games
From Starfield to, err, Pure Farming 2018?!
Xbox's latest set of deals is now available, with more than 300 offers live for at least the next week or so across various Xbox promotions. However, we have another sales promo that expires later this week (on November 10th), and it features a very random selection of titles. Yep, it's one of those 'buy...
News Blizzard Open To StarCraft Revival Under Microsoft, New Idea Requires 'Vision And Passion'
Blizzard president: "I'll bet on that team"
Now that Microsoft and Xbox's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has gone through, there are many fans out there calling for the return of series like StarCraft. Believe it or not, but the last entry released was the remaster of the original title back in 2017, so what are the future plans for this famous...
News Blizzard Excited To Have More Independence Under Xbox
A "new era" has begun
During BlizzCon 2023's opening ceremony, Blizzard's president Mike Ybarra mentioned how it was a "new era" for the company under Xbox and Microsoft Gaming, so what exactly does he mean by this? In a new interview with The Verge, Ybarra elaborated on how this essentially translates to more creative freedom and empowerment -...
News Phil Spencer: We Will Think Of Nintendo & PlayStation Users As 'Part Of The Xbox Community'
Phil talks the future of Xbox
Phil Spencer has been busy in the wake of Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal finally being approved last month, but that hasn't stopped the Xbox boss from sitting down for another lengthy interview. This time, Phil talked to Japanese outlet Famitsu about plenty of different aspects of the Xbox brand, including its future...
News Xbox's Dynamic Background Collection Grows With New 'EA Sports WRC' Effort
Kickin' up dust
EA is back again with another dynamic background for Xbox Series X|S - the company seems to be one of the biggest supporters of the feature so far! Following last week's UFC 5 addition comes a new effort for Codemasters' brand-new racer; EA Sports WRC. As is becoming the norm, we'd like it if this one was a bit more 'dynamic', but...
News Blizzard On The Possibility Of WoW On Xbox: 'We Are Microsoft Now'
"Of course we're talking about that"
There's been a lot of conversation previously about whether or not Blizzard's legendary MMO World of Warcraft could one day come to consoles, so is there a chance now that the Microsoft acquisition is complete? During an interview at BlizzCon 2023, World of Warcraft vice president and executive producer Holly...
Guide BlizzCon 2023: Every Diablo, Overwatch & Warcraft Announcement
Everything from the opening ceremony
It's BlizzCon this weekend and in case you somehow missed it, Blizzard is now operating under Microsoft and Xbox. This means all of Blizzard's offerings are now technically a part of the Xbox brand, so there could potentially be all sorts of exciting announcements in the future. On day one of BlizzCon 2023, Xbox...
News Diablo 4's First Expansion Vessel Of Hatred Announced, Coming 'Late 2024'
Featuring a class "never-before-seen" in Diablo
Diablo IV got off to a strong start when it was originally released earlier this year - quickly becoming Blizzard's "fastest-selling game of all time" and biggest launch ever - bringing in more than 10 million players in the first month. Since then, there have been some teething issues with the game's...
News Phil Spencer Says 'The Future Of Blizzard Is Brighter Than Ever' Under Xbox
As he welcomes Blizzard fans to BlizzCon 2023
On day one of BlizzCon, Microsoft's Gaming CEO Phil Spencer appeared at the very beginning of the show to discuss the future of Blizzard under Xbox. In a nutshell, the company's gaming boss believes "the future of Blizzard is brighter than ever" under Xbox. Phil went into a bit more detail about this,...
News Xbox Developer MachineGames Opens Up New Studio In Sweden
Feed the machine
Wolfenstein developer MachineGames came under Xbox ownership when Microsoft acquired Bethesda in 2021, although we haven't seen the team produce a game of its own since the purchase. Still, we know they're working on a new Indiana Jones game, and they've just opened up a new studio to help that project progress. As rev
News Microsoft Employees Will Reportedly Lose 'Free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate'
Update: Phil Spencer confirms this won't be happening
Update [Sat 4th Nov, 2023 11:00 GMT]: Microsoft is now reportedly "reversing" the decision to remove a free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate employee benefit after complaints (via The Verge). Phil Spencer investigated the situation himself and issued the following update to all employees via the...
News Some Xbox Fans Aren't Happy About 'Intrusive' Call Of Duty: MW3 Ads
Boot up your Xbox and take a look
The marketing for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is well and truly underway, and now that Microsoft has finalised the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it seems it's even getting in on the action. Today, alongside the "early access" preload and campaign launch of Modern Warfare 3, Microsoft is running large ads...
News Xbox Adds Another New Dynamic Background For Xbox Series X|S Owners
Celebrating the arrival of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
To celebrate the arrival of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 this month, a new MW3-themed dynamic background is now available to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S owners. To apply it, you'll need to head over to the Settings menu > Personalisation > My Background > Dynamic Backgrounds...
News EA CEO: 'Microsoft & Activision Is A Great Thing For Our Industry'
"One of the world's largest companies is going to continue to invest"
Xbox's huge Activision Blizzard deal has now gone through, and its successful completion has led to questions of other potential acquisitions in the gaming industry. Of course, EA is one of the big names left on the table (either in terms of EA picking up other teams, or a...
News Xbox Series X|S Sales Had A Strong Week In Japan, Rarely Beating Out PS5
The pair of Xbox consoles had a solid week in the region
Japanese outlet Famitsu has released its latest hardware and software sales figures for the region, revealing a solid week for Xbox Series X|S sales - at least in comparison to PS5. According to the outlet (via VGC), Xbox Series X and S sold a combined 3,301 units last week, while PS5 and PS5...
News New Xbox Policy To Block Unauthorised Accessories
Update: Microsoft issues official statement
Update #2 [Thu 2nd Nov, 2023 03:00 GMT]: Microsoft has provided another update to the same source, confirming connections via the USB and 3.5mm ports on the Xbox Adaptive Controller will not be impacted by this new policy. Third-party devices designed for accessibility should also continue to work through...
News Xbox App Dev Gets WebView2 Support, Includes 'Better Performance'
And some other "significant improvements"
Microsoft has today announced WebView2 for Xbox is now available to developers. It's been a "top" request from both WebView2 and Xbox media app developers. As highlighted by Windows Central, Microsoft had already released Chromium-based Edge support to improve the performance on Windows, but developers were...
Deals All 10+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 31 - November 7)
Here are this week's back compat discounts
Xbox's latest round of digital deals went live yesterday, with more than 300 titles discounted across various different promotions. As per usual, those deals include a set of backwards compatible classics on offer via Xbox's digital storefront. <related ids="157710"> So, we've gathered all of those...
News Xbox's 'Series S Starter Bundle' Is Now Available
"Just in time for the Holiday season"
In case you didn't catch the original announcement, here's your reminder that Microsoft has this week launched a brand new Xbox Series S 'Starter Bundle'. It includes the 512 GB Robot White Xbox Series S model, a wireless controller and three months of access to Game Pass Ultimate for £249.99 / $299.99. It...
Deals 300+ Games Included In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 31 - November 7)
Featuring a 'Best Rated Games' sale
Xbox's latest set of digital deals is now live, and we have hundreds of discounts to gaze over this week! Headlining the promotions this time out is a 'Best Rated Games' sale, alongside a 'Game Pass Family Time' promo and our usual array of spotlight sales & specials. So, we've picked out some of the top...
News Another Seven Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass Soon (November 15)
Your latest set of departures
Microsoft has revealed another seven games set to leave the Xbox Game Pass library in mid-November 2023. There's a fair old mix in today's roundup, with some bigger games leaving alongside a few Game Pass indies. <related ids="157698"> Here's what's leaving Xbox Game Pass in mid-November 2023: Xbox Game Pass:...
News Gears Of War Needs A 'God Of War-Like Reboot', Says Original Lead Designer
Cliffy B weighs in on the state of Gears
Cliff Bleszinski has always been synonymous with the Gears of War franchise - the original trilogy's lead designer was the primary public figure for those games during the Xbox 360 days. Since then, 'Cliffy B' has been off doing his own things, but he's always happy to talk Gears, and in a new interview with...
News Xbox's Plan To Block 'Unauthorised' Accessories Has The Fighting Game Community Concerned
"This is essentially a death sentence"
Yesterday, news broke about Microsoft initiating a new policy as of next month where Xbox consoles will block all "unauthorised" accessories. There's a mixed reception to this so far, but one group that isn't taking it too well is the fighting game community (FGC). FGC is potentially one of the communities...
News Starfield's Monthly Active Users For September 2023 Only Beaten By One Game On Xbox
Any guesses as to which?
It's looking like Starfield has been a huge success for Xbox and Bethesda pretty much across the board. The game boosted Xbox console sales in the UK for the month of September, set a record for new Xbox Game Pass subscribers last month, and it seems to be doing incredibly well at keeping people playing as well.
News Microsoft Increasing Xbox Series S Price In Brazil
It's now in the same price bracket as PS5's digital model
The Xbox Series S has proven to be a huge hit for Microsoft this generation, bringing in sales from many consumers who may not have even considered the high-end Series X model. Unfortunately, though, it seems customers located in Brazil will soon have to pay more for this particular unit. As...
"Drop into two painstakingly-recreated Battle Royale maps"
For quite a while now we've known that one of Xbox's biggest goals with its Activision Blizzard acquisition is to grow in the mobile gaming space, and a new Call of Duty blog post shows us a little bit about why that goal is already coming into view. As part of the Call of Duty franchise's...
News Stalker 2 & More Xbox Titles To Feature At Paris Games Week 2023
The event takes place next month
Xbox has detailed some of its plans for Paris Games Week 2023, which takes place early next month. For now, the team has discussed some of the games it will be bringing to the show floor, where fans in Paris can go hands on with the latest Xbox titles - and even sample some unreleased projects. Perhaps the biggest...
News Xbox's October Update Includes Keyboard Mapping For Controllers
And import game captures to Microsoft Clipchamp
Xbox will finally be rolling out its update that allows keyboard buttons to be mapped to Xbox controllers in its October update. This feature was originally announced back in July, but if you did miss it, Xbox owners will now be able to map controller buttons for the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller...
News Activision Blizzard Documents Its 44-Year History With New Infographic Featuring Xbox
"We begin an exciting new chapter"
It's been an exciting period for Microsoft and Xbox with the finalisation of the Activision Blizzard (and King) acquisition. Now, as part of this, Activision Blizzard has released a huge infographic documenting the entire history of both companies, the eventual merger, and joining team Xbox. Throughout it, there...