We are ready to do the work (with a few hundred fewer people than we had when Destiny 2 was at its peak)

@TDHorizon That's because you didn't get the comment physically. Next time, print it so you have proper ownership.

@TDHorizon @RTGX Do you have ownership of that comment? Or do you only have a licence to comment, which can be taken away at any moment? 😉

I'm looking forward to this. Gears has been away for too long.

I find it ridiculous that developers and publishers are still describing games as having "gone gold", as if the idea of having a version of a game that's going to be printed on a disc means a damn thing in 2026.

@Drewdub Fallout 76 was not - and will likely never be - my cup of tea, but obviously people care.

If a substantial number of people hadn't been regularly engaging with the game for the past eight years, don't you think that Bethesda would have abandoned it long ago, or decide against supporting it with constant free content and a fancy current gen spruce up?

You don't care. Hell, I don't care. But asking who the hell cares? Obviously a lot of people or you wouldn't be reading or commenting on this specific article 🙄

I'm slightly disappointed as I do absolutely love Origins and Legends and am looking forward to Retold, but if the extra two months results in a better game, I can't moan.

@FraserG

I'm personally loving the ability to turn off startup sounds - it's common that I leave the TV volume too loud and get blasted by the startup screen audio!

I hear you. My wife's PC plays this absolutely horrendous whoosh! sound effect on bootup. Countless times I've had the bejesus scared out of me because she's left the volume up.

Spend the money financing and publishing Physint for PlayStation consoles, or back away and let Microsoft do it for you? Clever move, Sony. 😉

@IronCrow86 call me Jason Schreier II.

I went straight to the Kingdom Hearts IV achievement list.

@abe_hikura Well, they could be all over the place. Them being in one cupboard is... kind of organised! 😆

@abe_hikura Now that is organised. 👍😀

@HelloCraigo Ah yes, gamers. Noted for our patience 👀

Time once again for me to don the Dr. Robotnik costume 😀

@dskatter

OoT remake > GTA6.

I will not be taking questions.

And I for one have no questions. 😁

Nintendo's got a gorgeous remake of one of the all time greats and what is still to this day the highest rated game on Metacritic. It gives no f**ks about GTA VI.

I'll be there day one for Ocarina of Time.

@Mr-Cage when GTA VI releases, I anticipate equal parts discourse and gooning. And it will be popcorn worthy.

If this was developed in Wales, it'd be called "Cheers Drive".

@FraserG Isn't it Otacon, not Octacon? Admittedly, it's been well over a decade since I played a Metal Gear game, so I might be wrong.

@Cherip-the-Ripper I did wonder about that. Considering Microsoft's recent culling of its first-party developers, you'd think that they'd want as many in-house games on Game Pass as they can get.

I will be playing Pokémon Champions (surprise, surprise, with your host Cilla Black).

I also recently started Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. It's the first time I've played any substantial amount of a Metroid Prime game, having maybe played half an hour to an hour of the original on Gamecube all those years ago. I just met Miles MacKenzie and got the first key, and I have to say that so far it really is quite good and I will be seeing it through to the end.

I also picked up the complete edition of Metal: Hellsinger on sale on Steam earlier in the week (or possibly earlier than that?) so I'll be putting on the headphones and giving that a whirl over the weekend.

Reports are coming in of a road traffic collision in Redmond, Washington. Eyewitness say that an 18-wheeler carrying a shipment of rakes has overturned, spilling its contents outside Microsoft campus.

Borderlands 3 routinely goes down to less than a fiver on Steam. I doubt the situation is much different on consoles.

@Weebleman The "This is an Xbox" campaign really did bugger all to get those Cloud numbers up, huh? 🤣

If this is going to impact 4% of Game Pass subscribers, that basically says that 96% of Game Pass subscribers either aren't using the Cloud Gaming service a substantial amount or aren't using it at all.

So 96% of Game Pass subscribers are paying for something they don't want.

Xbox should bin it off or spin it off into its own service. The people who do want it will still pay them for it.

@BeastfromtheEast that is true. I suppose some teething issues are to be expected.

But also to be fair, was the fact that some earlier print runs of discs don't contain the unique identifier that this entire disc to digital program is reliant on not known by Microsoft? Or, more importantly, if it was known by Microsoft, correct me if I'm wrong but I've not seen the company mention it once when talking publicly about the program.

Couldn't just go smoothly, could it? But then, what does?

I liked the four N64 Turok games at the time. Turok Evolution was complete and utter arse and the 360/PS3 game was also pretty bad.

Having gone back to play the N64 games in the last 2-3 years, I can confidently say that there has never been a good Turok game.

I still look forward to Origins because:
1. Dinosaurs
2. I'm always chasing that high that comes from playing a game with dinosaurs in it

This is a weirdly pro-consumer move and I'm not sure I like it. It feels strange. Maybe any disc that you redeem the digital licence for will spontaneously combust a month or so later and all will be right in the world.

@Cherip-the-Ripper I think all the Skylanders games were physical only, along with LEGO Dimensions, the Disney Infinity games and anything Rock Band or Guitar Hero related. Basically anything that was bundled with a peripheral. I could be wrong, but I don't recall ever seeing any of the above games on any digital stores.

@TheOfficialJW Agreed. If someone bought it years ago and is only just now getting around to it, then why buy it? And if they're buying it right now, then they go in knowing that the online modes aren't playable.

Yes, it sucks that a part of the game will be unplayable and I don't agree with the practice of removing access to any part or all parts of a game, but it's up to the consumer to exercise their own due diligence in this digital age. Oh, and exercise restraint as well; just because a game came out, doesn't mean you have to buy it straight away, especially if you're not going to get around to it for over four years.

I've been playing it on Switch 2 🤣

@Fiendish-Beaver best of luck, buddy. I'm sure you'll get by just fine with one kidney 😆

@Fiendish-Beaver If I were in your position I would be looking to pick up a 4K Blu-ray player right now, rather than waiting until Helix launches. Who knows what further bulls**t and price hikes the tech/electronics industry is going to be subjected to? Better to grab it now if you can. Plus, who can afford to buy a Helix and 4K Blu-ray player at the same time? 😂

@MrMoses it's possible that it could work with games that support Smart Delivery; for example, the disc for - let's say - Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Theoretically, if you were to insert that disc into your One X and redeem the digital licence, you could then play the Series X|S version of that game on a Series S, Series X or Helix because Smart Delivery would upgrade you to the best possible version.

Theoretically.

@Brian_G_Stanley ...

Can I borrow a tenner?

@Brian_G_Stanley You are officially the Pure Xbox comments section's biggest baller. I salute you 😀

Only £1,300? I shall have two!

@swedetrap They were told to make games for Game Pass and did what they were told to do. If the Xbox management wanted something different, they'd have said so, surely?

The truth is that Double Fine and the games they make were never a good fit for Microsoft. If you want more mainstream blockbusters, why on Earth would you buy Double Fine? You're just not going to see a massive return on your investment. Take Two made the same mistake when (through Private Division) it bought Roll7 and Intercept Games; what the company that has Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption on its books thought it was going to get out of small indie projects will forever be a mystery.

Best of luck to Double Fine. They did what was asked of them and almost paid the price. Hopefully they can forge a path forward; the industry needs Tim Schafer around for as long as possible.

Same goes for Compulsion. South of Midnight was special and I'd hate to see the studio disappear.

Captain Tsubasa II is top of the list for me this week. I had a lot of fun with the previous game.

@Tasuki Toys for Bob split from Microsoft not too long after the ABK acquisition. They're independent now.

Blinx 3, because we Banjo fans aren't asking quite enough.

Or...

Halo: Campaign Devolved. It's the Halo campaign again but as a 2D Metroidvania.

@fizban3332 I would love that, but wouldn't it be the third game? Fourth if you count the DS one?

@Vaako007 Wash your mouth out with soap right now.

Dispatch's success is well deserved. Its quality is head and shoulders above other games in its genre. I eagerly await whatever AdHoc studio does next.

Not being able to turn off chromatic aberration and film grain is practically a war crime.

I'll jump on the beta tomorrow. I do like a Gears game.

Speaking of which: @Fiendish-Beaver, guess what I just snapped up on Steam for the paltry sum of £7.49 😁

The demo was cool. I'm not a Kingdom Hearts person - I've played the first 30 minutes of the first one - so I can't speak to how Duskfade is similar to that series, but I enjoyed what I played. It went straight on my already bloated wishlist.

@Weebleman you heard it here first: Asha Sharma is a crusty juggler.

@Weebleman Luckily, no one's there to sit in on the disciplinary hearing so the janitor's doing it.

@Weebleman When I originally started reading about it, I thought "oh this must be from one of the people laid off". No, the big-balled mofo was out there properly airing out the laundry while still working at id Software. 🤣 Good on them, I say.

The Elder Scrolls VI: ******** ?

Eight letters.

Bugladen?

@Coletrain Ah, it's just one of those things. It's happened to me the opposite way in the past as well though, where I really didn't like a game the first time I tried it, then when I tried it again later - sometimes years down the line - it clicked. Mass Effect, God of War (2018) and Forza Motorsport spring to mind.