Tag Archives: microsoft

Following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, one of the publisher’s dozen+ studios – Toys for Bob – expressed their desire to be independent. Microsoft obliged late last month, freeing the Crash/Spyro devs from their new owners. The positive outcome with Microsoft has now led to a 2nd-party relationship, …

Sea of Thieves will be one of the first titles from Xbox Games Studios to come to PlayStation – following in the footsteps of Pentiment and most-recently Hi-Fi RUSH. Ahead of this, the team at Rare have shared some of their plans for the game’s next 3 Seasons worth of …

Overwatch 2 has not had the best trajectory since its launch, with the free-to-play title losing many of its promised features over time. Following the announcement last year that one of the game’s primary selling points – its PvE campaign – was cancelled, its replacement is now reportedly also on …

Currently, developers have to implement DLSS, FSR and XeSS separately, a situation that can sometimes lead to one of the three major GPU upscalers being left out of a game. Soon, Microsoft will simplify the process with DirectSR, allowing developers to easily enable multiple upscaling technologies from multiple vendors for broader support.

Toys for Bob were one of Activision's hidden-gem studios, having done fantastic work on the Spyro and Crash Bandicoot remakes, before launching new games like Crash Bandicoot 4 and Crash Team Rumble. Now, following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision, as well as a round of layoffs, Toys for Bob is going …

Microsoft is gearing up for the Graphics Developer Conference (GDC), where it plans to make some exciting announcements. One of the primary focuses of the conference will be DirectSR, a new super-resolution technology that Microsoft is reportedly unveiling. DirectSR aims to establish a standardised solution for graphics cards operating at …

Sea of Thieves has proven to be one of Xbox’s most successful console exclusives. Launching all the way back in 2018, the game has gone from strength to strength, selling millions of copies on Steam alone and promising a decade’s worth of support from the team at Rare. Following reports …

Prior to Microsoft’s Xbox Business podcast (in which they revealed that 4 of the console’s titles would be going to other platforms), leaks and datamines suggested that Hi-Fi RUSH would be one of the games – and that it would come to PS5 and Nintendo Switch. The game has now …

Earlier this month, Microsoft confirmed plans to bring a few of its exclusive games to other platforms. We're getting four games in all, thought to be Sea of Thieves, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment and Grounded. To kick things off, Microsoft will be shipping both Pentiment and Grounded for Nintendo Switch.  As …

With the Switch soon to be on its way out, there remain a small number of Nintendo Directs left before focus shifts towards the company’s next generation device. With that, the Switch maker has now announced a 25-minute Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase – where we might see the official announcement …

We already know through court document leaks that Microsoft is already well into planning its next generation Xbox console. Surprisingly, Microsoft is now talking about its next-gen plans openly.  We should be at least four years away from the next console, according to documents leaked through the court system during …

Yesterday during the Official Xbox Podcast, Phil Spencer announced plans to bring four Xbox games to rival consoles. While this is happening, Xbox, PC and mobile will continue to be the only places with Xbox Game Pass access, and soon, Microsoft will finally start bringing Activision Blizzard titles over.  During …

Just as promised, today Microsoft uploaded the official Xbox podcast, with Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond and Matt Booty all sitting down to discuss 'updates on the Xbox business'. Ignoring how odd it is to see something like this from a console maker like Xbox, we do get some much needed clarifications on recent rumours. Kicking off with the games exclusivity discussion, Spencer confirms that four first-party Xbox games will be going to PlayStation and Nintendo. 

Microsoft releases new software updates for its Xbox consoles at a regular cadence, adding both small and large changes alike. February’s update is available now and brings with it some much needed new functionality – including a way to circumvent stick drift. Making the announcement on the Xbox blog, Jonathan …

We're still awaiting Xbox's ‘business update', during which Microsoft will make its plans for future multiplatform games clear, after a string of leaks and rumours sent Xbox fans into a furore last week. In the meantime, we're hearing more about discussions going on internally at Xbox, including assurances from higher-ups …

In recent years, upscaling features have become a staple for PC gamers, with many utilising DLSS, FSR or XeSS to save on performance. Now, Microsoft appears to be working on its own AI-assisted upscaling feature, which will come baked right into Windows.

Despite Microsoft already completing its acquisition of Activision Blizzard and has made many concessions to get the deal approved by regulators across the world, the FTC is still hoping to reverse the transaction. In its latest appeals letter, the FTC takes issue with the recent lay-offs announced at Activision Blizzard. …

Is Microsoft moving away from exclusive games and embracing multiplatform development? Phil Spencer responds to the latest rumours...

There has been a lot of drama around Xbox in recent days, as news broke that Microsoft is considering ditching game exclusives and moving towards multiplatform development. Microsoft hasn't addressed those rumours yet, but while we await an official response, the next batch of Game Pass titles have been announced. …

Microsoft going multiplatform could finally end the 'console war' for good and PC gamers stand the most to gain...

In recent weeks we have heard a great deal about Microsoft and their alleged plans to adopt a more multi-platform approach with their games. This was followed up by an update to Xbox exclusive Hi-Fi RUSH which seemed to suggest that the game would be coming to PlayStation. Now, thanks …

Several months on from acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft kicked off 2024 with the announcement that it would be laying off nearly 2000 employees. Unsurprisingly, this has been followed up by a glowing earnings report from Microsoft executives.  With the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft's gaming business is now one of …

Just as 2022 saw Sony revamp its PlayStation Plus game subscription service, Microsoft’s 2023 included a refresh of its own Game Pass platform, eschewing the rarely-used and antiquated Xbox Live Gold with Game Pass Core, while keeping its regular Game Pass service as is – aside from a slight price hike. As I did last year, we will be looking at the past 12 months of Xbox Game Pass to determine whether the service is worth its ever-increasing asking price...

Ever since they helped Infinity Ward with the development of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 all the way back in 2011, Sledgehammer Games have been positioned as the 3rd main development studio for the highly popular franchise – having been the lead dev for entries including Advanced Warfare, WWII …

Blizzard has recently cancelled one of its largest projects, the survival game codenamed Odyssey. The announcement came as part of a reorganisation of Microsoft's game studios, resulting in 1,900 layoffs, or 8% of the gaming division's workforce. According to Bloomberg, the game was designed as a survival game similar to …

In recent weeks we have heard a great deal about Microsoft and their alleged plans to adopt a more multi-platform approach with their games. It seems as though one of the first titles to get a PlayStation port is last year’s breakout hit Hi-Fi RUSH – with the latest update …

We might not get Windows 12 after all. According to a recent report, it seems that the AI-centric changes coming to Windows will arrive via a regular update to Windows 11, rather than an entire a new OS...

After years of waiting, Microsoft and Square Enix finally announced that the highly popular MMO Final Fantasy XIV would be coming to Xbox consoles next month via an open beta. Ahead of the game’s launch, Microsoft has detailed exactly how the beta will work. In what appears to have been …

Twice a month Microsoft updates its Game Pass library with a number of new and exciting titles. For the second half of January, the console manufacturer has now detailed the full list of titles dropping onto the service over the next two weeks, including the much-anticipated Persona 3 Reload and …

Sea of Thieves has quietly become one of Microsoft’s best Xbox console exclusives. Launching all the way back in 2018, the game saw a lukewarm response upon its initial release. 5 years and 10 Seasons later however, the game is better than ever. Following rumours that Microsoft is planning to …