A few weeks back, Phil Spencer threw out the idea of an Xbox One mid-generation hardware upgrade and the reaction was pretty mixed. Since then, Microsoft has been going back on that idea, with Phil Spencer now saying that there won't be an Xbox 1.5, instead the company wants to …
Read More »Microsoft has officially begun shipping the Hololens
Microsoft's Hololens is one of the most interesting pieces of tech that the company is currently working on. While the likes of Sony, Oculus and Valve are chasing virtual reality, Microsoft is focussing on an augmented reality experience. The company announced that the Hololens would be selling to developers earlier this …
Read More »All Xbox One consoles can now double as dev kits
One of the big promises Microsoft made back when it first launched the Xbox One was the ability to turn any retail unit into a development kit. Now, after a couple of years of working on it, Microsoft is rolling out the feature but it does come with some fairly …
Read More »Microsoft: DirectX 12 adoption rate is fastest ever
It looks like developers are wasting absolutely no time in upgrading to DirectX 12 as Microsoft has revealed that its new graphics API has the fastest adoption rate of any DirectX version. DirectX 12 is the latest graphics API from Microsoft and it has strong ties to Windows 10, which …
Read More »Microsoft may reveal more AI bots today
While Microsoft's most recent bot, Tay, may have faced its share of issues after turning racist following its interactions with the Internet, the company may not have been deterred just yet as reports indicate that Microsoft might be revealing more AI bots later today at the annual Build developers conference. …
Read More »Microsoft’s impressionable teen-girl AI voiced pro-Hitler support
It turns out that even if you're a robotic teen girl, you can be just as susceptible to falling in with the wrong crowd, as Microsoft found when it launched its learning AI, Tay, on Twitter. Designed to converse with younger social networking users in a more engaging manner, as an …
Read More »Windows 7/8.1 will now have Skylake support until mid-2018
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it would not be supporting Intel's Skylake processors on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 after July 2017. As you might imagine, this was seen as a very controversial announcement that was put in place to try and force those building a system using Intel's …
Read More »Would you sell back your digital games?
PC gamers have been getting used to digital-only gaming for years now and console gamers are adopting it pretty fast with this current generation of consoles. However, one of the big downsides to owning a game digitally is not being able to sell it on when you're finished, so over …
Read More »Microsoft launches Windows 10 preview with Edge browser extensions
Update: Just a few short days after our original report, Microsoft has officially launched a new preview version of Windows 10, containing a version of the Edge browser that officially supports extensions. Once public testing has wrapped up, everyone with Windows 10 will get access to the updated version of …
Read More »Universal Windows apps coming to Xbox One this Summer
Following a few weeks of building up, Microsoft has finally spoke out about universal apps coming to the Xbox One at the Game Developers Conference this week. At GDC, Microsoft announced that developers would soon be able to publish Universal Windows Platform apps (UWP) to the Xbox Store, on top …
Read More »Sony is open to discussing PS4 cross-play with other platforms
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced that it would be opening up Xbox Live to allow developers to implement cross-platform multiplayer on certain games. While Fable Legends was originally set to be the first game to show off this feature, that game has now been cancelled, so Rocket League will be …
Read More »Updated: Microsoft will continue accepting Bitcoin after all
Update: Earlier this week, Microsoft's support page was updated to say that the company would no longer be accepting Bitcoin transactions as a form of payment for Microsoft account credit, which could be used to make purchases on the Windows and Xbox Stores. However, it turns out that this was …
Read More »Microsoft will soon be testing Edge browser extensions
Back before the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft began talking about its new Edge browser and there has been plenty of talk about extension support but unfortunately, that got pushed back to 2016. Now, Microsoft is close to finally implementing extensions for the Edge browser, at first for Windows Insiders …
Read More »Xbox One vs PC: more gamers may soon face-off
Although there are always debates about who would win in certain titles: console gamers or PC gamers, it's not often been feasible, due to a variety of reasons, to have them find out. However now Microsoft may open it up to many more games, suggesting that theoretically, there's little stopping any …
Read More »Microsoft is dropping support for Bitcoin payments on its stores
The winds are constantly changing when it comes to Bitcoin, with values constantly rising and falling, so much so that Microsoft appears to have lost confidence in the digital currency and will no longer be supporting it or accepting it as a form of payment on its stores, including the …
Read More »Sony is looking to recruit ex-Lionhead developers
Sad news hit long-time PC gamers this week, as it was announced on Monday that Lionhead studios, the company responsible for classics like Black and White and the original Fable, was being shuttered by parent firm Microsoft. Fortunately though, it looks like just having worked there will get you in …
Read More »Microsoft’s list of game studios continues to shrink
Yesterday, Microsoft made the out of the blue announcement that it would be cancelling Fable Legends and proposed the closure of Lionhead Studios. On top of that, Press Play Studios was also shut down in the process. Following on from this, Microsoft has gone ahead and altered its list of …
Read More »Microsoft delays Windows 10 Redstone update again
Microsoft has had to delay the release of its long-rumoured Windows 10 Redstone update once again. This update was initially expected to come out in the summer and will be one of the first major updates to Microsoft's new OS. However, the timeline may have shifted to Spring next year …
Read More »Fable Legends cancelled, Microsoft to close down Lionhead UK
Microsoft is making some big changes to its studios based in the UK and Denmark this week. The company just announced today that firstly, Lionhead Studios will be ceasing production on Fable Legends and the studio will likely shut down following on from that. Secondly, a studio in Denmark will …
Read More »Microsoft to reveal universal Xbox apps later this month
Microsoft is all set to finally unveil which Windows 10 universal apps will be coming to the Xbox One this year. According to sources familiar with Microsoft's plans, an announcement should be coming this month, with a number of apps set to debut alongside a new initiative to open up …
Read More »Intel said to be working on a HoloLens rival
It looks like Microsoft could have some serious competition in the augmented reality space soon as reports are suggesting that Intel is developing its own competitor to the HoloLens. According to sources familiar with Intel's plans, the company's new Augmented Reality headset will use the firm's own RealSense 3D technology. …
Read More »Windows 10 is the second most popular desktop OS
Microsoft's aggressive pushing of Windows 10 appears to be paying off as it has now become the second most popular desktop operating system. On top of that, Windows 10 is continuing to grow in market share while other versions of the OS are continuing to shrink. This information comes from …
Read More »Microsoft is thinking about hardware upgrades for Xbox One
It is no secret that the Xbox One suffered a bit in terms of hardware, with most games limited to 30 frames per second at even sub-1080p resolutions in some cases. However, Microsoft could be looking to change that over time with hardware upgrades rather than the generational leaps we …
Read More »Hololens’ Young Conker is skinny, clean and contextual
Yesterday was a big day for virtual reality, with thousands of HTC Vive headsets sold to pre-orderers around the world. But Microsoft also debuted a developer version of the Hololens headset. Priced at $3,000 (£2,150), its augmented reality offers something very different, even if it can also do gaming. One of …
Read More »Xbox head responds to PC gaming concerns on Windows 10 Store
Last week, we reported on the current state of games developed for Microsoft's Windows 10 store system. Games released on the Windows Store need to be developed as a ‘Universal App', which is different to your average .exe file, this means that there are certain limitations on features, some of …
Read More »Hololens will be available next month for $3000
Microsoft has opened up pre-orders for its Hololens augmented reality headset today with the first developer units set to ship out at the end of March. As previously reported, the developer edition of the headset will cost $3000 so it is an expensive investment but that price will likely come …
Read More »Hololens pre-orders may start today, with bundled Conker game
Although the last news we heard about Microsoft's Hololens headset was that it wouldn't be available to consumers for some time, there's now a real suggestion that it may officially go up for pre-order later today, 29th February. The rumour also suggests that it will be bundled with a few games, …
Read More »Microsoft is killing off its Android to Windows 10 App porting tool
Early last year, Microsoft announced Project Astoria, a tool designed to allow developers to easily port their Android apps over to Windows 10, a similar tool known as Project Islandwood was also announced for porting iOS apps to Windows 10. Now almost a year later, Microsoft has announced that it …
Read More »Xbox One to get Windows 10 Universal Apps
Microsoft made some huge changes to the Xbox One last year with the launch of ‘the new Xbox One Experience', which changed the entire software layout and updated the operating system to Windows 10. Now, it looks like Universal App support could be on the way for the console fairly soon. …
Read More »Bill Gates ‘disappointed’ in reports that he sides with FBI in iPhone case
Over the last 24 hours or so, plenty of reports have been floating around stating that Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, has sided with the FBI when it comes to asking Apple to help them crack into a criminal's iPhone. This topic has sparked much debate over the last week but …
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