As the year concludes, Microsoft (among many others) have published their annual Spotify-Wrapped-like experiences, letting you take a look back at all the games you played throughout the year – and any specific trends or patterns that you happened to engage with over the past 365 days. The Xbox 2023 …
Read More »Starfield has reached 12 million players since launch
Starfield has had an interesting trajectory. Following an extensive and lengthy marketing strategy, the game launched to a great deal of interest, amassing more than 10 million players within its first month. Since then however, growth has slowed down significantly, with the title garnering just a couple more million players …
Read More »Xbox spends over $1 Billion a year to bring titles to Game Pass
Ever since Xbox Game Pass was first introduced, the game subscription service has become Microsoft’s primary strategy for the Xbox ecosystem, adding a bunch of games on a monthly basis – both first and third-party. Thanks to an interview with CEO of Gaming Phil Spencer, it has now been revealed …
Read More »Hellblade 2 may return next week with new trailer
Microsoft has already confirmed plans to share some big news at The Game Awards next week but the big surprise may have just been spoiled. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 has begun to appear in ratings board listings, indicating that a new trailer is on the way. As spotted by Insider …
Read More »Nvidia’s latest game bundle includes three months of PC Game Pass with RTX 40 GPUs
Recently, Nvidia announced plans to bundle a three-month subscription to PC Game Pass when picking up a six-month GeForce Now Ultimate subscription. As it turns out, the company's partnership with Microsoft doesn't end there. Now, Nvidia has revealed its latest GeForce game bundle, giving new RTX 40 GPU buyers access …
Read More »Xbox confirms plans to appear at The Game Awards with new announcements
While Xbox's first-party studios don't have any games in the running for GOTY at this year's edition of The Game Awards, the company does have a few nominees in other categories, with Starfield, Hi-Fi Rush and Forza Motorsport in the running for a few categories. Now, Microsoft has publicly revealed …
Read More »Microsoft and Iron Galaxy team up for Killer Instinct Anniversary Edition
When the Xbox One launched in 2013, Microsoft brought back Killer Instinct. The game has since been made available across Xbox and PC and now in celebration of the game's 10th anniversary, Iron Galaxy is returning to the project. Iron Galaxy announced plans for a new 10th Anniversary Edition of …
Read More »OpenAI reinstates CEO and brings in new board of directors
OpenAI, the company behind the increasingly popular ChatGPT AI tool, really shot itself in the foot over the weekend. At the end of last week, the board of directors chose to fire CEO, Sam Altman, leading to Microsoft swiftly offering him a CEO role at their company, while also offering …
Read More »ChatGPT maker ‘OpenAI’ is crumbling and Microsoft is swiftly picking up the pieces
There has been quite a bit of drama in the AI space. On Friday, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, fired its CEO, Sam Altman, a move that shocked many within and outside of the company. Up to this point, OpenAI has been hugely successful under Altman, who also helped bring …
Read More »SEGA refutes Microsoft acquisition rumours
Earlier this year, it was reported that Microsoft was considering an acquisition of the Japanese entertainment giant SEGA – among other potential purchases. Now, SEGA’s COO has spoken out on these rumours, claiming that “I don't think that kind of transaction is going to happen.” During this year’s Web Summit …
Read More »Baldur’s Gate 3 Xbox announcement teased by Larian
So far, Xbox players have been missing out on one of the biggest games of the year, with Baldur’s Gate 3 initially not arriving on Microsoft’s console due to parity clauses surrounding the Xbox Series S. In working with Microsoft, Larian Studios have promised that an Xbox version of BG3 …
Read More »Microsoft partners with AI company for ‘characters, stories, and quests’
The recent adoption of AI has seen many game publishers look to the technology for assistance with game development. Following the likes of Ubisoft and their ‘AI Ghostwriter’, Microsoft is now partnering with Inworld AI to “allow developers to create AI-powered characters, stories, and quests.”
Read More »Phil Spencer welcomed Blizzard to Microsoft at BlizzCon’s opening ceremony
This year's BlizzCon was a little different, taking place just weeks after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard King. While we didn't get any major Xbox-related announcements, Phil Spencer did make an appearance during the show's opening ceremony. Speaking during the BlizzCon Opening Ceremony, Microsoft Gaming lead, Phil Spencer, took to the …
Read More »Baldur’s Gate 3 ‘on track’ to release on Xbox this year
Due to issues achieving feature parity on the Xbox Series X and S consoles, it certainly looked like Baldur's Gate 3 may skip Xbox entirely. Fortunately, the biggest RPG release of the year is indeed on the way, after Microsoft granted Larian special terms to drop split-screen co-op on the …
Read More »Xbox will soon block ‘unauthorised’ peripherals on consoles
It looks like Microsoft is going to start blocking “unauthorised” Xbox controllers and accessories soon. Until now, you could release a third-party controller or peripheral and connect it via USB. However, users have begun noticing a new “connected accessory is not authorised” error message. Several users on Resetera have seen …
Read More »Starfield was the best-selling game in September, drove record Game Pass subs
While it may not be making as many headlines this month, Starfield is still very popular, ranking amongst the most-played games on Xbox and maintaining high concurrent player counts on Steam. Starfield ended up being the top-selling game in the US in September and as expected, Microsoft has now confirmed …
Read More »Nvidia and AMD reportedly working on Arm processors for Windows PCs
Microsoft has been working on Windows for Arm for years at this point but for the most part, the PC industry still relies on x86 processors. Apple began to change this with the launch of Apple Silicon, its own specialised processors for Macs using Arm technology. Now, it looks like Nvidia and AMD might be preparing Arm processors of their own for Windows PCs.
Read More »People Can Fly is working on an Xbox exclusive RPG
People Can Fly didn't quite strike it big with Outriders but the studio has multiple new games lined up. One such game is Project Maverick, a new RPG developed in collaboration with Xbox. We first heard about Project Maverick earlier this year but People Can Fly has now confirmed a …
Read More »Sea of Thieves Season 10 adds private PvE worlds and more
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 team at Rare have added a whole bunch of long-requested features – …
Read More »Xbox head is “all in” on reviving old franchises if devs want to
With Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King finally complete, the Xbox console manufacturer has started to open up about their plans for the publisher. With so many IPs and franchises now under Microsoft’s belt, Xbox head Phil Spencer spoke on their plans for ABK claiming that “If teams want to …
Read More »“We have no goal of somehow using Call of Duty to get you to buy an Xbox” claims Phil Spencer
After months of legal battles, Microsoft has finally officially acquired Activision Blizzard, giving the Xbox console manufacturer control over one of the biggest franchises in gaming: Call of Duty. According to the head of Xbox Phil Spencer, the FPS juggernaut will feature 100% parity on content for Call of Duty …
Read More »Phil Spencer confirms plans to bring Activision Blizzard titles to Game Pass in 2024
Earlier this month, Activision put out a statement saying that it does not expect to bring its games to Game Pass until next year. An additional report claimed that we could see some older titles coming to the service earlier. However, Xbox head, Phil Spencer, has now straightened things out, …
Read More »Pete Hines is leaving Bethesda after 24 year career
When we think of Bethesda and past Bethesda game launches, two names immediately spring to mind, Todd Howard and Pete Hines. Just six weeks on from the launch of the studio's latest game, Starfield, Hines has now announced that he is retiring. Pete Hines joined Bethesda back in 1999, working …
Read More »Minecraft has officially sold 300 million copies
For years, Minecraft has been the best-selling video game of all time, with the creativity-focused sandbox surpassing 200 million copies back in 2020. Its sales trajectory has not slowed down, with the team at Mojang now revealing that the title has officially sold more than 300 million copies. Making the …
Read More »Activision Blizzard games are heading to Ubisoft+
As of today, Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has completed and as a result, Ubisoft now owns the cloud streaming rights to all Activision Blizzard games, including all previously released games and all new games released over the next 15 years. As a result, Ubisoft announced today that it plans …
Read More »It’s official – Bobby Kotick is leaving Activision
While Bobby Kotick has managed to turn Activision into a hugely successful publisher over the last few decades, the CEO has had his fair share of controversies too. Just two years ago, employees were protesting and calling for his resignation. Now, following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Kotick will indeed …
Read More »Microsoft now officially owns Activision Blizzard
The largest deal in gaming history has now completed after 20 months of battling regulatory hurdles. Microsoft now owns Activision Blizzard King and most importantly, employees at those studios are looking forward to the change.
Read More »Microsoft wins UK approval of Activision Blizzard acquisition, deal now set to close
Over a year and a half on from Microsoft's announcement of its $69 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, the company has cleared the final regulatory hurdle. The UK's Competition & Markets Authority has now approved the deal and Microsoft is set to complete the transaction.
Read More »New Xbox Series S holiday season bundle to drop soon
We are coming up towards the start of the holiday season which means we are bound to see new console bundles to entice those who have yet to pick up a current-gen system. Last year's big Xbox Series S bundle contained a selection of bonus content for Epic's popular titles, …
Read More »Activision interested in reviving Guitar Hero following Microsoft merger
At this point, all signs are pointing towards Activision Blizzard merging with Microsoft by next week. Another sign that this is indeed happening comes via Activision, as the company held an internal meeting this week to discuss the future of the company under Microsoft. According to sources speaking with Windows …
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