Over the last year, Activision Blizzard has been dealing with a series of internal disasters, including a major lawsuit brought on by the state of California, alleging misconduct and management issues throughout the company. With Activision Blizzard now set to become part of Microsoft, the company is keeping a close …
Read More »Original Halo composers could block TV series release as Microsoft faces lawsuit
Marty O'Donnell, best known for his work as a composer at Bungie in the days of Halo, and eventually, the early days of Destiny, has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft. O'Donnell and fellow composer, Mike Salvatori, claim that Microsoft owes the pair royalties dating back 20 years. As reported by …
Read More »Microsoft promises to keep Call of Duty multiplatform
In January, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for a record-setting $70 billion. Upon regulatory approval, that will give Xbox full control over some of the biggest franchises in gaming. To avoid setting off alarm bells for regulators, this week Microsoft has made some public assurances, such as keeping Call of Duty multiplatform, even after Activision Blizzard's current contracts with rival console makers expire.
Read More »PlatinumGames wants to revive Scalebound with Microsoft
While the Xbox team did have a great turnaround towards the end of the last console generation, there were some major errors made along the way, with one of the biggest being the cancellation of Scalebound, an exclusive title developed by PlatinumGames. The IP has been in limbo since then, …
Read More »Resident Evil creator wants to direct one more game before retiring
Shinji Mikami is a legend within the video games industry, having created some of the best-selling and well-regarded games in the whole medium. Mikami has taken somewhat of a hiatus in directing, with some thinking he had retired. This is not the case…yet, as the aging director claims to have …
Read More »Microsoft may pivot on HoloLens and partner with Samsung for future AR headsets
One of the more exciting projects to come out of Microsoft in recent years is the HoloLens, a bold push into Augmented Reality. Following the launch of the HoloLens 2 and Microsoft's deal with the US military, we've heard very little about the future of the headset. Recent reports claim …
Read More »Microsoft CEO responds to anti-trust claims following Activision Acquisition
Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion gives the console manufacturer access to dozens of IPs and hundreds of older titles spanning Activision Blizzard’s decades-long history. This move has been criticised by some as anti-competitive, though according to Microsoft’s CEO, there is no need for concern. In his first …
Read More »Keighley claims more major game studio acquisitions are on the way
We've seen a number of major acquisitions lately, with Microsoft announcing plans to buy Activision Blizzard, Bungie joining PlayStation Studios and Take Two acquiring Zynga. According to sources, there is more to come on this front too, with multiple other deals currently in the works. Following Sony's acquisition of Bungie …
Read More »FTC to hold antitrust review of Microsoft’s $70 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition
Sony's newly announced acquisition of Bungie isn't the merger making headlines this week. Microsoft's recent deal with Activision Blizzard is now back in the news, as the FTC reveals plans to review the deal on antitrust grounds. As reported by Bloomberg, the US Federal Trade Commission is conducting an antitrust …
Read More »Microsoft Flight Simulator to get DLSS in future update
We previously reported that Microsoft Flight Simulator had been updated to offer a DirectX12 version of the highly successful latest entry in the globe-trotting simulator. Thanks to that update, Nvidia’s impressive-yet-propretary DLSS is now coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator. The Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann sat alongside Sebastian …
Read More »The Halo TV series will air in March, full trailer revealed
After years of development hell, the live-action Halo TV series is finally on the way thanks to a partnership between Microsoft, Showtime and Paramount. The series is set to debut in just under two months time and now, we have our first full trailer. The Halo TV series trailer aired …
Read More »Microsoft makes consumer-friendly changes for Xbox Game Pass and other subscriptions
Following an investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, Microsoft has announced some changes it will be making to its subscription services to make them more consumer friendly. The biggest change is that the UK CMA has managed to push Microsoft to agree to cancel an auto-renewing subscription if …
Read More »Xbox to publish new ‘Monster Hunter-style’ game
Xbox’s first-party studios and recent acquisitions have been getting all the headlines lately, but Microsoft does also have a number of third-party publishing deals in place for the coming years. One of those deals will see one of Xbox’s long-standing partner support studios, Certain Affinity, trying their hands at a …
Read More »Windows 11 Insiders will soon get to test Android apps
When Microsoft first announced Windows 11, one of the marquee features of the new OS was the ability to install and run Android apps without the need for an emulator like Blue Stacks. The feature wasn't ready in time for launch back in October, but Windows Insiders can now finally …
Read More »Activision Blizzard CEO is getting hundreds of millions from Microsoft deal
There are times when it is made clear that the unfortunate side of business allows for some people to have their cake and eat it too. Activion’s CEO Bobby Kotick is one such man, as it has now been reported that he will receive $375 Million as part of the …
Read More »Halo Infinite surpasses 20 million players, crowned biggest launch in franchise history
With Halo Infinite being the first game in the series to launch on Xbox Game Pass on day-one, while also being the first mainline Halo game to release on PC at the same time as Xbox since 2001, we were expecting big things from the launch. So far, it seems …
Read More »PS5 to outsell Xbox Series X|S by 2-to-1 in 2022, but both behind Switch
Following strong sales from all consoles in 2021, expectations for 2022 are sky-high, with analysts claiming manufacturers will sell about 48 million consoles in total. The best-selling unit is expected to be the Nintendo Switch, but its margin over PS5 is likely to decrease compared to last year. According to …
Read More »Call of Duty may no longer release annually
Call of Duty is one of the biggest franchises in gaming, selling 10s of millions of copies every single year despite launching a new game annually. Under the new management of Microsoft however, things are about to change. In a report by Bloomberg, Jason Schreier has claimed that the recent …
Read More »Activision Blizzard CEO wanted to buy a gaming publication for propaganda purposes
Prior to the announcement that Microsoft is acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion, the Call of Duty creator was in a great deal of hot water. Instead of tackling the root cause of the issue, Activision Blizzard’s CEO Bobby Kotick wanted to buy good press by acquiring a gaming publication. …
Read More »Sony officially responds to Activision Blizzard acquisition
Microsoft recently dropped a bombshell when it announced that the Xbox creator will be acquiring Activision Blizzard for a staggering $68.7 Billion. What this means for the future of Activision Blizzard’s games is up in the air currently – though Sony has now officially responded to the announcement. In a …
Read More »Activision Blizzard CEO will leave company after Microsoft deal closes
Microsoft recently dropped a bombshell on the video games industry as they announced that the Xbox manufacturer will be acquiring the publishing behemoth Activision Blizzard. But what does this mean for the company’s highly controversial CEO? We now have an answer. Bobby Kotick has served as the CEO of Activision …
Read More »New Xbox Game Pass titles leak
Every few weeks, Microsoft updates its Xbox Game Pass library with a dozen new games or so. While they have not yet announced the official list of upcoming titles, a new leak has now detailed Xbox Game Pass’ upcoming lineup. While they have yet to release an official list, Microsoft’s …
Read More »Activision Blizzard will still release some multiplatform games
Today saw some behemoth-level news drop in the form of Microsoft announcing that it will be acquiring Activision Blizzard for a staggering amount nearing $70 Billion. Even so, it would seem the publisher’s games are too lucrative on other platforms, and so with at least some franchises, they will continue …
Read More »Xbox Game Pass hits new major milestone
Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription service has been seeing impressive and consistent stable growth. Since its launch back in 2017, the service has gone from strength to strength, adding a plethora of major titles and announcing many partnerships for the service. This has seemingly all paid off, as Game Pass …
Read More »Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard for almost $70 Billion
Microsoft has been the force behind many industry-shaking moments: from the original announcement of Xbox Game Pass to the reveal that they had bought Zenimax Media (i.e. Bethesda). Even so, the recent announcement made by Microsoft may be the biggest piece of industry news ever.
Read More »The Series X|S is the fastest-selling Xbox generation of all time
Gaming is bigger than it's ever been, both in terms of mindshare as well as profits. Whether in consequence, or due in part to, Microsoft is feeling the positive effects of the current gaming boom, with Phil Spencer revealing that the Series X|S is the fastest selling Xbox console family …
Read More »New achievements suggest 007 GoldenEye remaster coming to Xbox
Over the last couple of years, a number of leaks have shown that Rare was at one point working on a remaster of 007 GoldenEye, with plans to release the game on Xbox consoles. The project was eventually scrapped, but new evidence suggests that it may have been revived recently. …
Read More »More Microsoft characters are coming to Fortnite (including DOOM Slayer)
At the rate that Fortnite is continuing to add new characters to its ever-increasing roster of IPs, many would think that the Battle Royale game would soon run out of new characters. It seems that is not the case, as 2022 is set to bring with it many Xbox and …
Read More »Some of Xbox Game Pass’ best titles are leaving soon
Xbox Game Pass represents excellent value for money, offering over 100 quality titles for a relatively low monthly cost. Unfortunately due to the nature of digital games and subscription services, third-party titles are only available until their contracts expire. Such is the case with the Yakuza series, with many of …
Read More »Xbox Live Gold free games for January 2022 revealed
Earlier today, the free games for PlayStation+ subscribers in January leaked online. Now, this has promptly been followed up with a leak for Microsoft's planned games for Xbox Live Gold subscribers next month. Xbox Live Gold, and by extension, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, will be able to claim four …
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