During its investigation into Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition, the CMA conducted various surveys, including one that found that roughly 15 percent of PlayStation users would switch to Xbox if Microsoft made Call of Duty exclusive. Microsoft conducted its own study on this, finding that the amount of users that would …
Read More »Sea of Thieves: Voyage of a Lifetime documentary announced
In recent years we have seen a greater effort by both studios and publishers to document the development process for a wide variety of games. Following the recent release of the 23-hour long documentary chronicling the development of Psychonauts 2, Microsoft has now announced that a Sea of Thieves documentary …
Read More »Redfall will have full crossplay between PC platforms and Xbox
For the most part, Xbox's first-party titles have included crossplay when released for both Xbox and PC. However, with Bethesda's various studio being relatively new to Xbox, we've been wondering if future Bethesda multiplayer games would include it. Things are off to a good start in that regard, as Arkane …
Read More »Xbox’s Fable reboot is still reportedly ‘miles away’
While the Fable reboot was only officially announced in 2020, we had known about the project for two years prior thanks to leaks. At this point, the game has been in development for at least four years, but it seems the game is still not close to release. Prior to …
Read More »Guilty Gear Strive finally comes to Xbox (and Game Pass) this week
2023 is set to be a huge year for fighting games. That said, with the complexities of the genre and its mechanics, fighting games live far beyond the year of their release. It is therefore exciting to see that Xbox is set to finally be getting 2021’s much-loved anime-styled fighter …
Read More »Insider offers updates on multiple Xbox projects
Microsoft has started off the year well with the surprise release of the rhythm-action game HI-FI Rush, with other major Xbox heavy hitters such as Redfall and Starfield planned to be coming out over the months. That said, there are still many other Xbox titles deep in development – with …
Read More »You’ve seen the Xbox Series X fridge, now prepare for the Xbox Series S toaster
Microsoft had a bit of a viral moment leading up to the Xbox Series X launch when it unveiled a full-sized fridge designed to look like the console. Eventually, Microsoft released a limited run of Xbox Series X mini-fridges and now, it looks like Xbox Series S-like toasters are up …
Read More »The EU will reportedly approve Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition
The competition and market regulators are still evaluating Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. While it seemed like things were trending towards the acquisition being blocked, sources this week have claimed that the EU is actually now planning to approve the deal.
Read More »March’s Games with Gold continues the service’s downward trend
Ever since Microsoft chose to focus on growing its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, the quality of games being offered as part of the console manufacturer’s Games with Gold program has seen quite a decline. March’s free games have now been announced, continuing the downward trend of the service. Making …
Read More »HI-FI Rush adds Photo mode as game surpasses 2 million players
HI-Fi Rush might be the biggest surprise of 2023 so far, with the Xbox console exclusive game getting announced and released on the same day to great fanfare thanks to its unique gameplay mechanics and punchy art style. A little over 1 month after its release the game has reached …
Read More »FTC judge rules Sony must give Microsoft access to PlayStation business documents
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard that the FTC is suing to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. As part of the preparation for trial, Microsoft issued a subpoena to Sony, requesting a number of business-related documents. As expected, Sony fought back on this, but a …
Read More »Sifu is finally heading to Steam and Xbox
Sifu was without a doubt one of the best indie games of 2022, but due to platform exclusivity deals, there are still millions of gamers who have yet to try the game. That may finally change soon, as Sifu is set to finally hit Xbox consoles and Steam on PC. …
Read More »IO Interactive unveils upcoming fantasy game
IO Interactive has been independent for a few years now and is rapidly expanding to take on additional projects. We know that a James Bond game is in the works, but IO also has a new studio set up in Barcelona working on a secret project – a new fantasy …
Read More »Paradox teams up with Xbox for new game showcase
Out of nowhere, Paradox Interactive has announced its next game showcase and interestingly, the publisher is teaming up with Xbox for the occasion. This likely indicates a bigger partnership at play, likely to bring more Paradox titles to Xbox Game Pass. In the event, Colossal Order (Cities: Skylines), Harebrained Schemes …
Read More »Starfield showcase announcement ‘imminent’
The last we heard, Starfield is still heading out in the first half of this year, but Bethesda has yet to put an official date on it. Sources claimed a few weeks ago that the game is now ‘fully playable' from start to finish, with the team primarily focusing on …
Read More »Baldur’s Gate 3 is in development for Xbox but ‘technical issues’ are getting in the way
Last week, Larian Studios found itself in a spot of controversy after announcing Baldur's Gate 3 for PS5 and skipping over other platforms. Pretty quickly, Larian co-founder, Swen Vincke, stated that there was no exclusivity deal in place, and now, the studio has explained its position further. Baldur's Gate 3 …
Read More »Larian founder hints that Baldur’s Gate 3 will release on Xbox too
Last night during Sony's State of Play stream, Larian Studios made a surprise appearance with a new trailer for Baldur's Gate 3, confirming that the game will release on PlayStation later this year. While no Xbox version has been confirmed yet, Larian founder, Swen Vincke, seems to be hinting that …
Read More »Atomic Heart and Blood Bowl 3 headline new GeForce Now library update
This week has already been pretty big for GeForce Now, with Nvidia and Microsoft entering an agreement to bring all Xbox PC games over to the service. It'll be a while before the Xbox library migrates over, but for now, there are six new games joining the service, including the …
Read More »Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family plan is now available in six more countries
The Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family plan is slowly rolling out to additional countries. Up to recently, the plan was only available in Ireland and Colombia, limiting its benefits to a small population of users. Fortunately, things are changing, as Microsoft has expanded availability to six more countries. From …
Read More »Microsoft says PlayStation holds 80% market share in Europe
Microsoft sat down with the European Commission once again this week to further argue its case for the Activision Blizzard acquisition. In a press briefing after the meeting, Microsoft laid out its case, revealing Sony's dominant position in the European console market. At the briefing, Microsoft President, Brad Smith, produced …
Read More »Microsoft isn’t interested in acquiring Activision without Call of Duty
Yesterday, Microsoft had a meeting with the European Commission to further discuss the Activision Blizzard acquisition. Shortly after, Microsoft held its own press briefing to answer a few questions about the deal and the ongoing process. During this, Microsoft President, Brad Smith, was asked if the company would be open …
Read More »Microsoft teams up with Nvidia to bring Xbox games to GeForce Now
While Call of Duty has been a big part of the discussion around Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard, regulators have also expressed concern regarding the cloud market. To help with that, Microsoft has now entered an agreement with Nvidia to bring all of its Xbox PC games to GeForce Now.
Read More »Forza Horizon 5 passes 28 million players
The Forza Horizon sub-franchise has been going from strength to strength – with the spin-off series in many ways surpassing the mainline Forza entries. In a little over one year since its launch, Forza Horizon 5 has now amassed over 28 million players. As reported by the Xbox-focused Twitter page …
Read More »Atomic Heart, Soul Hackers 2 and Wo Long headline new Xbox Game Pass update
The next batch of titles for Xbox Game Pass has now been revealed. As previous rumours indicated, Atlus RPG, Soul Hackers 2, will be joining the library, following on from the addition of several Persona games in recent months. Soul Hackers 2 launched in August last year to decent reviews, …
Read More »Microsoft enters 10-year deal to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo consoles
As Call of Duty has become the focal point for regulators scrutinising Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the company decided to put all of its cards on the table, promising to keep the series multi-platform and even sending out 10-year agreements to Sony, Nintendo and even Valve to ensure the …
Read More »Valheim is coming to Xbox next month
Valheim launched in Early Access on the 2nd of February 2021 to almost immediate success, selling 2 million copies in under two weeks and going on to surpass 10 million copies by July of last year. Following its success on PC, the sandbox survival game is soon set to come …
Read More »Publisher ‘No More Robots’ will bring all future titles to Xbox Game Pass
The current generation of gaming has seen Microsoft shift its strategy to focusing on Xbox Game Pass – the console manufacturer’s game subscription service. The service itself has had its diehard supporters, while others have criticised its effects on the industry. In the wake of this small controversy, one publisher …
Read More »Microsoft to make ‘last-ditch’ effort to gain EU approval of Activision Blizzard deal
It is no secret that Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard is on shaky ground, with regulators seemingly wholeheartedly buying into Sony's objections to the deal, while also having concerns about the future of the cloud gaming market. According to a report this week, Microsoft is now preparing its ‘last-ditch' …
Read More »New Xbox update includes ‘carbon aware’ game downloads
In late 2022, Microsoft began working on a new power saving mode for Xbox consoles, allowing for “carbon aware” game downloads and updates. The new power saving mode has been tested in the Xbox Insider program for a while and today, it is rolling out to all users. This month's …
Read More »Microsoft clarifies Game Pass business model following recent reports
Documents from the CMA's investigation into the Microsoft-Activision merger have been made public for a while and plenty have found interesting details within them. Most recently, a line in one of the documents shows Microsoft confirming that titles on Game Pass do lose a non-disclosed percentage of sales while on …
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