Tag Archives: microsoft

Over the past few years – but particularly during recent times – we have seen an increasing number of discussions surrounding Microsoft’s lower-powered current gen console: the Xbox Series S. Previously described by one dev as “annoying to optimize for,” the team behind the upcoming DUNE Awakening Survival MMO have …

Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, skateboarding was all the rage, with the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game series in particular being massive during the PS1/2 generations. In celebration of the franchise’s 25th anniversary, THPS’ social media accounts have started to show new signs of life – …

Activision has made many beloved licensed games over the years, most of which have been lost to time. With Microsoft now set to acquire Activision this year, there is some hope that we'll see some classic games return. Hasbro has already publicly said it wants Microsoft to bring back some …

Microsoft sold its current-gen console on the idea of delivering "True 4K" and "frame rates we've never seen before". However, when it came time to back up those claims, Xbox has fallen woefully short, with promises being repeatedly broken...

Right at the start of 2024, Square Enix officially announced that the much-loved MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV would finally be coming to Xbox consoles. Following this, the publisher confirmed its intentions to bring more games to Microsoft’s platform – now reaffirming these plans once again.

AMD revealed last week that Ryzen CPU owners could expect a performance upgrade in games after updating to Windows 11 24H2, an update that is still currently in testing amongst Windows Insiders. At the time, AMD said it was working with Microsoft to get the new code optimisations into Windows sooner and now, that update has arrived.

With the 9th generation of consoles, Microsoft opted to take an interesting route with its console strategy – releasing two systems at the same time on the polar ends of the power spectrum. In the years since, we have seen some developers struggle to bring their games to Xbox due …

Earlier this week, reports claimed that Bethesda and Machine Games' upcoming title, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, would only be a timed exclusive for Xbox consoles and PC, with plans for a PS5 version in 2025. Last night at Gamescom, Microsoft confirmed exactly that.  The release date trailer for …

As part of Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass revamp last year, the console manufacturer unveiled a new tier of its subscription service. Replacing Xbox Live Gold, Game Pass Core offers console owners the ability to play games online as well as giving access to a limited line-up of games. Four months …

Back in April of this year, the former Xbox console exclusive ‘Grounded’ from the team at Obsidian Entertainment was released on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch – marking one of the 4 initial Xbox games which were promised to come to other systems. The multi-platform release arrived alongside a pretty major …

Microsoft made the shocking decision to shut down its only Japanese studio, Tango Gameworks, earlier this year. As Xbox's one foothold in the Japanese market, and given the fact that the studio was coming off of a hit game, Hi-Fi Rush, many wondered why Microsoft would outright close the studio. …

Microsoft has officially revealed the latest round of Game Pass titles for August. Unfortunately, there is very little ‘new' information here, as every game on the list had leaked weeks ago.  Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Mafia: Definitive Edition are indeed landing on Game Pass this month. While we …

Xbox has offered gamers some more time to clear their backlogs heading into the final months of 2024 by delaying the release of Avowed until early 2025. The highly anticipated action RPG from Obsidian Entertainment is now slated for release on February 18th, 2025.

Microsoft has been present at quite a few events over the course of 2024 so far, and it seems they have no plans of slowing down, with the console maker confirming that Xbox will be present at the upcoming Gamescom convention. Set to go live on the 21st of August, Xbox’s plans for the event have now been detailed.

Historically known for their work on the Forza Horizon series, Playground Games have been tasked with the development of the much-anticipated Fable reboot. Seemingly in order to assist with these expanded responsibilities, Playground Games have now opened up a 3rd studio location. Back in 2017, it was announced that Playground …

A couple days ago, one of the upcoming titles set to drop onto Xbox’s Game Pass service was leaked, with Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy reportedly arriving in August. Quickly following this, another of August’s titles were leaked, with Mafia said to be added soon. As reported by known industry …

Microsoft/Xbox was recently in the centre of a mini controversy, when it was announced that the Marvel vs Capcom collection would not be coming to Xbox consoles – seemingly due to its use of the unsupported MT Framework. According to an insider however, Microsoft is actively working with Capcom to …

Following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, the console manufacturer promised that it would begin to bring the publisher’s back catalogue of titles to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service. While it took some time, Activision games are finally coming to the platform – with Crash Bandicoot arriving in …

Earlier this week, Bethesda Game Studios became the very first team under the Xbox umbrella to unionise. Now, Blizzard has done the same thing, with the World of Warcraft team forming a union, known as the World of Warcraft Game Makers Guild.  The WoW Game Makers Guild is going to …

This generation has been a bit shaky for Microsoft, with the company selling far fewer consoles than its competition and Game Pass adoption being slower than hoped. That said, despite the negative sentiment surrounding the company’s decision to increase the price of Xbox Game Pass (while removing day-one games from its lower tiers), it seems this controversial move will likely pay off big time monetarily.

In recent years, there have been efforts across the games industry to unionise workers, allowing collective bargaining for better working conditions. Microsoft revealed that it would voluntarily recognise unions at its game studios previously. Now, Bethesda Game Studios has become the first gaming company under Microsoft to complete the unionisation …

While Microsoft has seen massive success with the recent release of the Fallout TV show, the console maker’s other efforts in bringing its IPs to TV has not fared as well. Following two seasons and a middling reception, Paramount+ is officially cancelling its Halo TV show. As published by TheHollywoodReporter, …

Recently, it was rumoured that Microsoft and Nvidia may be furthering their cloud gaming partnership with more integrations. Now, an official announcement has arrived, with Microsoft confirming plans to allow users to stream games via GeForce Now (or Boosteroid) straight from the web. Games with cloud support on the Xbox.com …

Microsoft are no strangers to producing odd and gimmicky Xbox controllers, with the latest generation alone seeing a ton of different and weird crossover controllers – including but not limited to a pizza-scented TMNT controller and furry Sonic the Hedgehog / Knuckles the Echidna themed Xbox controllers. Not to be …

Last year, HBO’s The Last of Us made a big splash at the Emmys, securing a total of 24 Emmy nominations – and going on to win 8 of those awards. It seems we will have a similar situation this year with Amazon’s Fallout TV show, as it has now …

Given that Microsoft just confirmed plans for a major Game Pass shake-up that will see prices going up, we were hoping for a bit more of a substantial list of games in the second half of July. While there are some decent games coming over the next two weeks, the …

As a console platform, Xbox has historically focused on the US market, with Europe, Africa and Asia in particular being relatively weak markets for the US-based Microsoft. Following the recent announcement to changes with its Game Pass subscription service, Xbox is reportedly moving away from EMEA regions almost entirely. As …

Last month, Amazon announced a partnership with Microsoft/Xbox to bring Game Pass to its Fire TV Sticks via cloud streaming. Said to be coming some time in July, the Xbox Game Pass app is now officially available. Following the announcement last month that the Xbox Game Pass app would be …

Despite the fact that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is set to release in just a few months, the team at Asobo Studio are continuing to add new features and improvements to 2020’s MSFS – with City Update 9 bringing a revamp of the Northeastern United States. Making the announcement on …

Microsoft had some negative press earlier this year, after announcing mass layoffs a few months after closing its blockbuster acquisition of Activision Blizzard King. Unfortunately, it seems the troubles aren't over just yet, as reports of another round of lay-offs at Microsoft are now hitting the web.  Former Microsoft Senior …