Tag: Microsoft - Page 8
News Valve 'Happy' To Work With Microsoft To Get PC Game Pass On Steam
Gabe Newell is up for it
Valve has just launched its handheld PC device the Steam Deck, and Valve boss Gabe Newell is currently doing the PR rounds to promote the system. Of course, he's getting asked all sorts of questions - some that are just about Steam in general. With this in mind, PC Gamer asked him if Valve would be interested in its own...
Video Watch Phil Spencer's Lifetime Achievement Speech At DICE Awards
In Phil we trust
Phil Spencer has done a lot to change the narrative around Xbox in recent years, and he's getting formal recognition for it! At this year's DICE awards, which took place in Las Vegas, Phil was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to gaming. After a short introduction by the one and only Todd Howard, Phil...
News Fallout New Vegas 2 Development Is In 'Very Early Talks', Says Jeff Grubb
Could it be?!
Right, we can't have been the only ones to think of a Fallout: New Vegas sequel once Xbox bought both Obsidian — the New Vegas creator — and Bethesda, owners of the Fallout series. Well, it looks like Xbox has already thought of the prospect. On Jeff Grubb's latest Giantbomb show, the leaker aficionado said that talks of New Vegas...
News Former Lionhead Employee Signs On With The New Fable Dev Playground
"I hope we can make my fellow Lions proud"
The next Fable game is one of the most mysterious projects within Xbox Game Studios right now. So far there's been a single teaser trailer, but apart from that, nothing else is really known about this anticipated release. That's what makes any news about it that much more exciting and with this in mind,...
News Microsoft Wants To Create A 'Universal' Store That Works On Any Device
Console, PC, mobile... and more?
In the face of regulatory approval of its Activision Blizzard purchase, Microsoft is looking to change the way it operates. The company has laid out its plans for after the deal goes through, and it'll include a universal app store for all devices. By all devices, Microsoft means all devices. The vision, seemingly,...
News Halo's OG Composers Are Suing Microsoft Over 20 Years Of Unpaid Royalties
It could even block the TV show release
It's being reported by Eurogamer today that the original composers on Halo are suing Microsoft over 20 years' worth of unpaid royalties, and it could even potentially have an effect on the release of the upcoming Halo TV show. Marty O'Donnell and Mike Salvatori filed
News The Lord Of The Rings Gaming Rights Are Up For Sale
Will Microsoft swoop in?
There seems to be a lot of gaming stuff up for sale right now doesn't there? And it's not all developers and publishers either. Variety has revealed that the film and gaming rights for Lord of the Rings are now up for grabs. The projected value of the rights is at least $2 billion, which is understandable, given the value...
News Cheeky Xbox Game Pass Advert Offers Up Hot, Eligible Games For Valentine's
A new partner
In recent years, Xbox has embraced viral marketing, y'know, the 'off-brand' posts that make us all laugh. The Xbox Game Pass Twitter account is practically built on this, with a much-less-serious tone than other Xbox channels. Well, Game Pass has outdone itself this time.
News Phil Spencer "Wouldn't Take No For An Answer" When Creating Xbox Game Pass
Persistence pays off
It's safe to say that Phil Spencer has transformed Xbox since he took over the brand in 2014. Perhaps the biggest transformation, aside from studio acquisitions, is Xbox Game Pass. However, persuading those at Microsoft that Game Pass was a good idea, wasn't always easy. In a WSJ report on Microsoft's
News Major Gaming Deals Are In The 'Final Stages Of Negotiations', Says Geoff Keighley
Who's next?
The latest gaming company to get snapped up is Bungie, with Sony picking them up at a price of $3.6 billion. Well, there may be more deals coming in the short term, as companies compete for the strongest library of games. The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley has taken to Twitter today to reveal that he's heard some major video game...
News The Xbox Activision Deal Will Receive An Antitrust Review In The US
Will it pass?
So, it's already been a few weeks since Xbox announced its intentions to buy Activision Blizzard. Concerns over a 'monopoly' were brought up pretty much straight away, with many looking at how much Microsoft is growing its Xbox division. Well, according to Bloomberg, a review of the deal will go ahead in the US, conducted by the...
News Microsoft Is Making Changes To Refunds And Auto-Renewals On Xbox
After the CMA "identified concerns"
Have you ever been caught out by auto-renewing subscriptions on Xbox? We know the pain, sometimes things can be a little more complicated to cancel than they should be. Well, it looks like the UK's Competition and Markets Authority agrees, as it "identified concerns" relating to some Xbox policies. As a result,...
News Xbox Gaming Revenue Up 8% YoY In Latest Earnings Report
Driven by Game Pass, first-party releases and hardware
Microsoft's latest earnings results have been published for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 (FY22 Q2), revealing Xbox gaming revenue has increased by 8% year-over-year. Xbox's content and services revenue grew by 10% and was driven by growth in first-party titles and Xbox Game Pass...
News Microsoft And Sony 'Have Never Been Competitors', Says Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford
You sure about that?
As Xbox gobbles up publishers and studios like nobody's business, we're all left wondering what the end game is. The company has expressed that it has Amazon and Google in its sights, rather than Sony, and Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford seems to agree that Microsoft doesn't want to directly compete with Sony. In a series of...
News Insider Patch Addresses Issue With Xbox Game Pass Not Working Offline
Rolling out!
We're extremely quick to champion Xbox Game Pass here at Pure Xbox, as are most of the Xbox community! However, that doesn't mean there aren't issues from time to time, and one cropped up recently regarding offline games. Basically, players were reporting that Game Pass games weren't launching properly when offline. Sometimes it only...
News Xbox Can't Really Talk About Activision Blizzard Until The Deal Is Done
"The reality is, this is gonna take a while"
Earlier this week, Microsoft broke the internet when it announced it would be acquiring Activision Blizzard for close to $70 billion. While there's a lot of conversation surrounding this future acquisition and how it will pan out, don't expect to learn too much about it right away. According to Xbox's...
News Xbox Fans Call For Microsoft To Bring Back Classic Activision Games
Blur, anyone?
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard means that the company will have access to massive range of IP, and Xbox fans are already calling on various franchises from Activision's storied history to be brought back in the future. The one we're seeing requested most prominently right now is Blur. This was a beloved but...
News Sony Stock Value Drops By $20 Billion After Microsoft Buys Activision Blizzard
How will PlayStation respond?
Not to stoke the console war flames, but it looks like Sony is in the middle of dealing with the Xbox Activision Blizzard purchase. After news of the deal dropped yesterday, January 18th, Sony stock plummeted overnight. In total, shares in Sony have lowered by 13 percent in the wake of the deal. Bloomberg noted that...
News Activision Looked For Other Buyers Before Accepting Xbox Offer
"The board weren’t sold on Microsoft as the acquirer"
Xbox might be one of the biggest players in gaming, but it took some convincing for Activision Blizzard to accept Microsoft's offer. Looking at who else was involved, we can be happy Xbox came out on top! According to another Bloomberg report, Activision was looking for potential buyers when...
News Rare's N64 Classic Banjo-Kazooie Is Out This Week On Switch
Another "modern way" to enjoy this title
Update: Rare has passed on the news to Xbox fans that its classic N64 title Banjo-Kazooie is out on the Switch tomorrow. Of course, Xbox fans can still play the title via Game Pass and Rare Replay. Original article [Fri 24th Sep, 2021 03:30 BST]: Rare might have been purchased by Microsoft long ago, but...
News Activision Blizzard Boss Expected To Leave Once Xbox Deal Is Done, According To WSJ Report
But he'll still likely receive a substantial payout
Will he stay, or will he go? That's the question everyone is asking about Bobby Kotick right now after Microsoft announced its plans to purchase Activision Blizzard in a deal worth around $70 billion. Although The New York Times suggested Kotick would be "available as needed" after the acquisition...
News Mobile Gaming A 'Critical' Part Of Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Acquisition
Yes, it includes the Candy Crush IP
Today's mammoth announcement that Microsoft is purchasing Activision Blizzard brings to mind IP such as Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot and Overwatch — but the company is also really excited about the potential for mobile gaming. Speaking as part of a con
News Bobby Kotick Will 'Continue To Serve' As Activision Blizzard CEO, Says Microsoft
Update: WSJ reports he will leave post-acquisition
Update: Kotick told The New York Times this afternoon that he will be "available as needed" after the acquisition goes through, and reportedly declined to confirm that he will be CEO after the deal has been finalised. Additionally, The Wall Street Journal has suggested that Kotick will be leaving...
News Microsoft Is Buying Activision Blizzard, Reportedly For $70 Billion
Oh my goodness
This is not a drill! Microsoft has announced today that it is acquiring Activision Blizzard, in a transaction reportedly valued at $70 billion (update: now confirmed as $68.7B). When the deal closes, Activision Blizzard's games will also be integrated into Xbox Game Pass — Microsoft says it expects the deal to close in fiscal year...
News Xbox Fan Feedback Survey Highlights Game DVR As Biggest Series X|S Issue
OS problems a close second
Largely, Xbox Series X, and Series S, handle the Xbox operating system much better than last-gen systems. Things felt sluggish at the best of times on those pesky hard drives, and there's a clear improvement with the move to SSD storage. However, there are still problems. Those problems have been highlighted in an Xbox...
"The real people who made Xbox successful are gamers and fans"
In some parts of the world, it's now the 15th of November, and that means it's officially the 20th anniversary of Xbox. Yes, Microsoft's original Xbox hardware first launched in the US on 15th November 2001. If you weren't around back then, nobody really knew what to expect from this...
News Microsoft Is Randomly Sending Out $100 Gift Cards To Lucky Users
Check your emails!
You might want to check your emails if you live in the US, as Microsoft is reportedly sending out gift cards up to $100 in value, but the catch is that it seems to be completely random - there's no guarantee you'll get one. Various lucky people have been taking to social media to report that they've received one of these emails,...
News Microsoft Wants To Use The Metaverse To Build 'Full 3D Worlds' Of Xbox Games
"We absolutely plan to do so"
Alright, stick with us here. If you've never heard of the 'metaverse', it's what Meta (formerly Facebook) is calling "the next evolution of social connection." According to Mark Zuckerberg and his team, "3D spaces in the metaverse will let you socialize, learn, collaborate and play in ways that go beyond what we can...
News SEGA And Microsoft Partner Up To Bring Next-Gen Games Via The Cloud
"Together we will reimagine how games get built"
In some big news over the weekend, SEGA and Microsoft announced they would be partnering up to form a "strategic alliance that explores ways for SEGA to produce large-scale, global games in a next-generation development environment built on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform." The alliance is said to...
News Microsoft Acquires Two Hat To Help 'Invest In The Safety Of Xbox Players'
A leader in content moderation solutions
Microsoft has announced today that it's acquired Two Hat, "a leader in content moderation solutions", which has been working with the company for a while now to "remove harmful content" from Xbox and beyond. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer weighed in on the announcement earlier today with these thoughts:...
News Crystal Dynamics Partnering On Perfect Dark Was Too Good To Pass Up, According To Xbox
"Personal connections" played a big role
One announcement we didn't see coming last month was Crystal Dynamics partnering with The Initiative to help bring the new Perfect Dark game to the next generation. Head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, elaborated on this surprise announcement (in the same appearance on the Kinda Funny Gamecast) -...
News Microsoft Considering Offering Xbox Owners 'Right To Repair' Their Own Systems
Study findings will be shared next May
Microsoft will investigate the possibility of allowing consumers - including Xbox owners - to repair their own hardware. Grist reports the American tech giant has reached an agreement with the non-profit investor group 'As You Sow' - who asked the Xbox manufacturer to study the "environmental and social...
News Obsidian Was Approached By 'Another Major Publisher' Before The Microsoft Acquisition
But it wasn't the right "cultural fit" in the end
Obsidian Entertainment - known in recent years for titles like Grounded, The Outer Worlds - recently revealed the studio was approached by another publisher, prior to joining Microsoft. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Obsidian's studio head, Feargus Urquhart, revealed how "another major publisher"...
News Xbox Joins In On #ThankYouSakurai Smash Bros. Ultimate Celebrations
"It's an honor for us and our friends"
Although many Xbox fans were hoping to see Halo's Master Chief added to the roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the final fighter, it turned out to be Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series in the end. Microsoft fans didn't walk away empty-handed, though - with id Software's Doom Slayer entering the battle as...
News Microsoft CEO: Xbox Is Now A Much More Central Part Of The Company
"Xbox was part of Microsoft but it was out on the side"
It's been clear in recent years that Microsoft is putting a bigger emphasis on Xbox. From huge studio acquisitions such as Bethesda to introducing Xbox Game Pass, the company is working hard to involve the brand in its ecosystem. This is something Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has publicly...
News Xbox ANZ Shows Off 'NAIDOC Artwork Wrapped Xbox Series X'
The prize for this year's Indigital Minecraft Education challenge
Xbox is known for releasing all sorts of "limited-edition" controller and console designs, and the latest one comes from the land down under, Australia. It's a special "NAIDOC artwork wrapped Xbox Series X" and controller done by Gubbi Gubbi artist Maggie-Jean Douglas, which was this...
News Halo Infinite Xbox Series X Restocks Might Happen This Week
Stay alert, Chief
When Microsoft revealed the Halo Infinite Xbox Series X in August, the system sold out in most parts of the world in record time. Being "limited-edition", it's raised questions about a possible restock. The good news is there seems to be news doing the rounds online about one happening between now and 12th September. According to
Random Xbox Fans Want Microsoft To Add Clippy AI To Halo Infinite
Halo's Twitter account seems open to the idea...
With Xbox lately, a lot of things have been born out of a meme...Craig the Brute, a fully functioning Xbox mini fridge - so what's next? Video game accessory maker Astro Gaming shared the following mock-up of a Halo Infinite multiplayer avatar holding a rather interesting personal AI -
Random Team Xbox Wants To Know The First Xbox Game You Ever Played
Halo or something else?
If you've got a Twitter account, Xbox wants to know what the first Xbox game you ever played was. Perhaps you played Halo on the original Xbox, or first joined the Xbox generation during the 360 generation - whatever Xbox game it is that you first played, let them know and the official account might share it in its official...
News Not Everyone Is Happy With Xbox's Recent Comments About Preservation
There's a bit of scepticism
You may have seen that Xbox boss Phil Spencer made a few comments this week on the importance of game preservation. The reception to his statements have been somewhat mixed, with a few naysayers criticising the company's approach to preservation in general. During the Kinda Funny Gamecast earlier this week, Spencer said...
News Bethesda's Deathloop Will Be A Timed Exclusive On PS5 Until September 2022
Phil has also voiced his excitement about Arkane's work
One of Bethesda's upcoming releases is Arkane's Deathloop. During Sony's latest State of Play today, the studio shared an official gameplay walkthrough of the PlayStation 5 build. Towards the end is where it gets interesting for Xbox fans - with the trailer reminding everyone in fine print...
News Report Reveals How Microsoft Employee Stole $10 Million Via Xbox Gift Cards
The offender "found a bug that would change his life"
This is perhaps one of the strangest stories we've ever written, but it's an incredible narrative about how someone partook in a digital heist against Microsoft. It's an elaborate story about one man, the 25 digital digits used to redeem codes on the Microsoft Store, and how he managed to...
News PlayStation Boss Claims Sony Is Not In An 'Arms Race' Against Xbox To Acquire Studios
"We're very selective about the developers that we bring in"
Following the news that Sony has acquired former Xbox developer Housemarque, head of PlayStation Studios, Hermen Hulst, has claimed it's not in an "arms race" against Xbox to acquire more studios. Speaking to GQ Magazine, Hulst was probed about the on-going race between companies to...
News Unknown id Software Project Rated By Aussie Classification Board
Is it DOOM, Quake or something else?
A rating for an untitled project by id Software surfaced on the Australian Classification Board yesterday. It is codenamed 'Project 2021B' and nobody seems to be entirely sure what this mysterious rating might be for. The code name is similar to 'Project 2021A' - which supposedly ended up being DOOM 3 for PSVR...
News Another Bethesda IP Has Joined Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Skyrim's Dragonborn becomes a Mii Fighter
Nintendo recently announced a new fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. As part of this, it also revealed a new line of Mii Fighter costumes. In total, there were four new outfits revealed and one of them happens to be Dragonborn from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. This new costume is a swordfighter and is...
News Microsoft 'Encourages' Steam and Epic Games To Join Windows 11's New App Store
"As others want to come to the Store, they’re very welcome"
Microsoft held the big unveiling of Windows 11 yesterday, and in addition to highlighting many of its Xbox gaming-related features, the company spoke a bit about the possibility of Steam and the Epic Games Store being integrated. In an interview with The Verge, Windows and device chief...
News Xbox Just Had Its 'Most Viewed' E3 Ever
Showcase peaked at around 2.3 million viewers
Just a day after we heard how Phil Spencer has put Microsoft's gaming business in a very good place, we've now got some milestones to share about Xbox's E3 broadcast this year. Coming from the head of Xbox himself, it's been revealed E3 2021 was Xbox's "most viewed" ever. Phil went onto state how him...
News 2023 Is When Xbox Will Deliver With The Likes Of Fable & Perfect Dark, Claims Insider
We could be waiting a while...
Following on from Jeff Grubb's comments about what not to expect at the Xbox and Bethesda Games show, the same industry insider has now shared a bit more insight about what fans can apparently expect from Microsoft moving forward. Many of the same games mentioned in yesterday's list have been named-dropped once again...
News Xbox Games Showcase: Extended Airs June 17th
Talk time with key Xbox studios
If you somehow left wanting even more after the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, don't worry Microsoft has got you covered. On 17th June (that's later this week) at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST / 7pm CEST, video game and tech YouTuber 'Parris' will be hosting a special Xbox Games Showcase: Extended. As you can see...
News Insider Lists IP We Shouldn't Expect To See At Xbox's E3 2021 Showcase
Eight games mentioned
We're so close to the kick-off of the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, but it seems we're going to keep getting predictions and insider information right up until the last minute. While we're expected to learn more about Halo Infinite, the rest of it has been guessing games for most parts. GamesBeat journalist and reliable industry...
