Yesterday, Square Enix held a celebratory livestream for NieR’s 10th anniversary. The livestream brought with it a number of announcements including an enhanced remaster of the original game for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC and a new mobile game set in the same universe. Furthermore, it was announced that …
Read More »Microsoft services see a 775% increase in demand in the wake of COVID-19
It is known that with many countries imposing self-quarantining and urging citizens to stay home in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, internet services have been strained. Video services such as Netflix have already announced measures in order to limit the amount of strain placed on bandwidths. Though no …
Read More »Project xCloud will soon come to Windows PCs
Late last year, Microsoft made a number of huge announcements for Project xCloud, which is expanding at a swift rate in preparation for launch in late 2020. The streaming service is being tested on Android and iOS already but Windows 10 support is also on the way. On PCs, Microsoft's …
Read More »Xbox Series X set to launch in November
This week has been chock-full of next-generation console news. Not only have we seen detailed hardware spec reveals for the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, but today Microsoft has also seemingly announced the launch date for its new console. So far, Microsoft has maintained that Project Scarlett, now known …
Read More »Assassin’s Creed Odyssey receives free weekend trial
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is the most recent game from the stealth-action franchise. Set in ancient Greece, the game was received positively by many, and was deemed a return to form for the series. Though it was released in 2018, if you have yet to try the game, you now have …
Read More »Ubisoft and Microsoft announce their plans following E3’s cancellation
Though E3 2020 has been cancelled, console manufacturers and publishers will still be hosting events around June. In the wake of the cancellation, Microsoft and Ubisoft have both announced their plans for Summer’s announcements, stating that their traditional press conferences will instead be replaced by digital events – though no …
Read More »Gamescom 2020 still going ahead with Microsoft, Nintendo, CD Projekt Red and more attending
Gamescom is on track to take place once again this year, with plenty of publishers, developers and platform holders confirming plans to be there. Beyond that, Geoff Keighley will be hosting Opening Night Live to kick off the event again this year, so we can expect some surprise announcements from …
Read More »Microsoft announces ‘Game Stack Live’, will feature DirectX Raytracing and Xbox Series X talks
With GDC 2020 being cancelled, March was in danger of being a relatively quiet month for next-gen gaming news. Fortunately, Microsoft is opting to host all of the panels, talks and announcements it had lined up as part of its own livestream. Today, Microsoft announced ‘Game Stack Live', which is …
Read More »Black Desert gets cross-play between PlayStation and Xbox
There was once a time when the thought of Xbox and PlayStation players being able to play together was nigh-on-impossible, however over the course of this generation the console manufacturers have embraced the more positive aspects of each other and have begun to allow their respective players to enjoy gaming …
Read More »Xbox Game Pass titles for March announced
Microsoft has been steadily adding titles to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service. The console manufacturer has now announced which games will be joining the service in the first half of March for both PC and Xbox. The titles include first-party additions such as ‘Ori and the Will of the …
Read More »Gears of War confirmed to be receiving Xbox Series X “enhancements”
With the release of the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X, the concept of the ‘pro patch’ was introduced. These patches were released by developers and were introduced in order to allow older games to take advantage of the higher-end console hardware. Thanks to Phil Spencer, we now know …
Read More »Xbox Series X will let you pause and resume games even after rebooting
A few days ago, Microsoft announced a number of details and Specs for the Xbox Series X. It seems they weren’t done announcing new features however, as it was revealed that the Series X will allow you to continue playing where you left off even after the console has been …
Read More »Microsoft, Unity and CD Projekt Red are the latest to pull out of GDC 2020
Just a few days ago, it was announced that GDC was still planned to go ahead in early March despite increasing concerns around the coronavirus. At this point, Sony, Oculus, Capcom, Square Enix, Capcom, EA and more have all pulled out and this week, Microsoft, CD Projekt Red and Unity …
Read More »Xbox Games with Gold titles announced for March
As March quickly approaches, Microsoft has announced which games are set to be gifted to all Xbox Live Gold subscribers. As usual, four games will be offered – two Xbox One titles, and two Xbox 360 titles (available on Xbox One through backwards compatibility). This month’s offerings are Batman: The …
Read More »Cyberpunk 2077 will support Xbox Smart Delivery and free upgrade for Series X
With the jump to Xbox Series X, Microsoft wants to make games ‘platform fluid', meaning full compatibility for games between console generations. This starts with Series X, which will be fully compatible with Xbox One games. We don't know much about how publishers plan to handle graphical/performance upgrades between consoles, …
Read More »New titles join Microsoft’s Project xCloud, including Cities: Skylines
Project xCloud is Microsoft’s cloud streaming service which allows players to stream Xbox titles directly to their phones or tablets. The service is currently in Preview with access available only through invites, but despite this new titles are being added on a regular basis. The the latest set of games …
Read More »PS4 and Xbox One hardware sales seeing ‘sharper than expected’ decline
While we have been expecting next-gen consoles to arrive in 2020 for a long time, we did not expect such early announcements from both Sony and Microsoft. The next-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles were confirmed in late 2019 and it would seem these early reveals are having a pretty major …
Read More »Xbox Elite Series 2 controller enters top 5 highest earning gaming accessories
Back when Microsoft first introduced the Xbox Elite controller, it quickly went on to become one of the most popular gamepads on the market despite its premium price. When the Elite Series 2 controller came around in late 2019, the upgrades seemed impressive, but it also game with a price …
Read More »Samsung partners with Microsoft on mobile gaming and streaming
Last night during Samsung Unpacked, not only did the Galaxy S20 series get unveiled, but Samsung also took another step towards establishing itself in the gaming market. Samsung is partnering up with Microsoft, which will see new games and services like Project xCloud launch on Samsung devices. Few details were …
Read More »VR is on the cards for Xbox’s future, as Phil Spencer clarifies previous comments
A few months ago, head of Xbox Phil Spencer stated in an interview that VR wasn’t a focus for the console manufacturer, and that Xbox is “responding to what our customers are asking for and… nobody’s asking for VR”. Since then, Spencer has returned to clarify the situation, claiming that …
Read More »Turtle Beach adds new colour options to its Recon 70 affordable headset series
Turtle beach is giving one of its best-selling headsets a makeover, the popular Recon 70 series will be available with new colour options including an exclusive silver, as well as two Camo versions, one in green and a blue version. The new Recon 70 headset will be exclusively available in …
Read More »Xbox head views Google and Amazon as biggest competitors over Sony and Nintendo
We already know that Microsoft plans to continue competing in the console hardware space with the Xbox Series X, but services and more specifically, cloud gaming, are becoming increasingly bigger areas of focus. With that in mind, Phil Spencer is eyeing up competition from the likes of Google and Amazon, …
Read More »Gears of War studio head leaves Microsoft to ‘oversee Diablo franchise’
Back in October, former Xbox executive, Mike Ybarra, departed from Microsoft in order to helm a General Manager position at Blizzard. Now, Microsoft is losing another big name, with Gears of War studio head, Rod Fergusson, leaving to work on Diablo IV. The Coalition is on a high right now, …
Read More »First batch of February Xbox Game Pass titles announced; includes Final Fantasy XV
Microsoft continues to add new titles to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, increasing the value of the service as time goes on. The company has now announced which games will be coming to the service during the first part of February – with more to be added later in …
Read More »Platinum Games may have been in talks to join Xbox Game Studios before new investment
Platinum Games has managed to remain independent for years now while delivering solid action games like Bayonetta and Nier Automata. Last year, the studio went on a fundraising spree to gain support for new projects. While it didn't come to fruition, the studio was apparently in talks to join Microsoft's …
Read More »Xbox head wants to focus on better frame rates with next-gen games
One of the bigger disappointments back at the start of this console generation was the lack of support for 60 frames per second gameplay. The situation improved once the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X came out, but weak CPUs continued to hold frame rates back. While developers won't be …
Read More »Xbox Console Streaming on Android is now open to Insider testers globally
While Project xCloud gains the most headlines as Microsoft's big all-encompassing cloud streaming solution, Xbox Console Streaming is also a very nice feature. Streaming from an Xbox console to a PC has been available for a while now but enabling streaming to smartphones is a newer feature, which is now …
Read More »A Plague Tale: Innocence, Children of Morta, and Gris announced for Xbox Game Pass for PC
Microsoft is continuing to update its Game Pass subscription service with a number of high quality titles. Announced to be arriving on the service for PC is A Plague Tale: Innocence, Children of Morta, and Gris – three highly rated titles from the last two years. These games will be …
Read More »In the wake of PlayStation’s announcement, Microsoft confirms its E3 presence
Sony once again took many people by surprise when it announced late last night that the company would not be showing its face at 2020’s E3 expo. While Microsoft’s plans for the expo were unconfirmed until now, the Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, took the opportunity to officially confirm that …
Read More »Head of Microsoft Studios isn’t interested in directly competing with PlayStation
As we inch closer to the release of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, comparisons between the two are inevitably going to begin sprouting up. Unlike in previous generations however, when console manufacturers would directly target one another, it would appear as though things might be different with the …
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