Tag Archives: microsoft

Microsoft’s surprise purchase of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion shook the video games industry in many ways, leading to a number of secondary and knock-on effects. One of these pertains to PlayStation’s existing relationship with Call of Duty. With Microsoft promising to honour all previously inked contracts, it seems as …

Due to on-going stock shortages and pandemic-related game delays, it still feels like the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S console generation has barely begun. Early adopters haven't had many next-gen only releases yet, but it looks like Sony and Microsoft may be planning to introduce more powerful hardware already.  Last …

Marvel began looking to revamp its efforts in the video gaming space back in 2014, long before the reveals of Spider-Man, Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and Ultimate Alliance 3. So far, only Nintendo and Sony have secured Marvel exclusives, and it turns out that Microsoft passed up on the …

Back in January, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard as part of the largest merger in video games history. It has been a while since we last had an update on the process, but according to Microsoft's President and Vice Chair, things are moving relatively quickly.  Currently, Microsoft plans …

Xbox’s Game Pass subscription service offers a robust and ever-evolving library of games for a relatively small monthly fee. The next set of titles coming to the service has now been announced, and it includes a number of exciting day-one releases. Making the announcement on the Xbox Blog, Megan Spurr, …

Microsoft Flight Simulator released in 2020 to a positive reception with many praising the game’s rendering of the entire Earth – even if there were a few mistakes. Asobo Studio has since been updating its world country-by-country with accurate and bespoke mapping – the 9th World Update of which is …

For a few years now, Microsoft has been pouring resources into peripheral design, with a keen focus on improving accessibility for those who may struggle to use a traditional controller, keyboard or mouse. Microsoft saw success in this area with the Xbox Adaptive Controller and now, the company is launching …

Hardcore EVE Online players have long used spreadsheets to calculate profits and battle damage. Up to now, they have had to fill these manually. However, thanks to an unexpected partnership between Microsoft and the game's developer, players will soon be able to export their game data directly into Excel spreadsheets. …

Microsoft is making headlines this week after bringing Fortnite to Xbox Cloud Gaming, allowing Fortnite to be played on an iPhone or iPad once again, complete with controller and touch-control support. As it turns out, this is part of a bigger play from Microsoft, as the company kicks off its …

Fortnite has officially been unavailable on iPhones and iPads since the 2020 lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple. Epic has been fighting to get the game back onto iOS, but has been unsuccessful in persuading Apple to change its mind. Fortunately, there are other methods of getting Fortnite running on …

Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, has come under fire over the last year, with thousands of employees campaigning to oust him from the company. Instead of stepping down, Kotick decided to negotiate a lifeline deal from Microsoft, something that New York City politicians aren't too happy about.  In a new …

Microsoft has spent the past few years greatly expanding its roster of first party studios through the acquisition of other well-established developers. It seems soon we will see the fruits of this labour as according to one industry insider, the upcoming Xbox games showcase will feature almost every single first-party …

It's the first week of the month, which means we're getting a new wave of Xbox Game Pass titles announced today. Previous months were headlined by the likes of MLB: The Show 22, Weird West, Life is Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy. For May, we're getting a boost in …

While Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have agreed to a merger, there are a number of hurdles still left to clear before the acquisition can happen. Aside from regulators, the deal also needs to be approved by Activision Blizzard shareholders. Due to the company's current stock price sitting far below Microsoft's …

Microsoft held its quarterly earnings report earlier this week and it seems that the Xbox team has been doing extremely well. For the second quarter in a row, the Xbox Series X/S consoles have managed to outsell the PS5. Speaking during the call, Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, reported that the …

As much as video games are considered to be an art form, they also serve as a revenue stream for video game publishers. As such, in the pursuit of more influence, Microsoft is reportedly preparing to include ads in their free-to-play games. As reported by Business Insider, Microsoft is currently …

Marty O’Donnell, best known for his work as a composer at Bungie in the days of Halo, and eventually, the early days of Destiny, filed a lawsuit against Microsoft two years ago. O’Donnell and fellow composer, Mike Salvatori, claimed that Microsoft owes the pair royalties dating back 20 years. Now, …

We have recently seen all manner of video game publishers partaking in what appears to be an acquisition spree. One of the most active participants is Microsoft, Acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68 Billion last year. Despite the surprise announcement, talks between the two actually stretch as far back as the …

Microsoft is known for offering great introductory discounts for Xbox Game Pass, often giving the first month for £1. Now, to bring a boost to Xbox Game Pass for PC, Microsoft is gifting three months of access to anyone who has played Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5 or Age of …

We're just over the halfway mark for April, meaning its time for the next wave of Xbox Game Pass titles to be revealed. Aside from new games coming this month, Microsoft has also given us a much needed update on its growing partnership with Ubisoft, which will see more of …

Earlier this year, Microsoft made some consumer-friendly changes to the way it handles subscriptions on Xbox, following an investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Now a few months later, Nintendo and Sony have adopted similar policies for Nintendo Switch Online and PlayStation Plus.  The CMA has been …

Following an enjoyable honeymoon period, many Halo fans have fallen off of the Halo Infinite train. 343i’s slow rate of updates certainly hasn’t helped. This frustration felt by fans has now led to Halo: The Master Chief Collection surpassing Infinite in concurrent players. As noted by ResetEra user NekoNeko, Halo: …

Though Steam is viewed as the default launcher by many for their PC gaming needs, a number of publishers have in the past tried to draw users towards their own bespoke launcher and service. Bethesda was one such company, however thanks to the acquisition by Microsoft, its launcher is defunct …

Last year, SEGA entered a partnership with Microsoft, which will see the publisher using Microsoft's tech to develop a ‘Super Game' over the next five years. The ‘Super Game' concept wasn't exactly defined back when this announcement was made, but SEGA has since shared more details.  On Sega's Japanese recruitment …

Sledgehammer Games hasn't had the best few years. Back in 2019, Treyarch had to step in and take over development of a previous Call of Duty game, leading to Black Ops Cold War, and now, Sledgehammer's most recent title, Vanguard, has launched to middling reception. Still, the Call of Duty …

Xbox’s first-party studios and recent acquisitions have been getting all the headlines lately, but Microsoft does also have a number of third-party publishing deals in place for the coming years. One of those deals will see one of Xbox’s long-standing partner support studios, Certain Affinity, trying their hands at a …

While Nintendo and Sony have both held game announcement streams this year already, the Xbox team has been very quiet on that front. Fortunately, that silence will be coming to an end soon, with Microsoft set to hold its own E3-style games showcase in June.  With E3 now officially cancelled …

After years of forcing Xbox gamers to pay for the console’s Live Gold service in order to play free-to-play online games, the requirement was removed last year. Premium titles still require a Live Gold subscription, and according to one insider, the base price to access online might be increased. Xbox …

Xbox has faced plenty of criticism in the past for its heavy-handed approach to studio and project management, so when Xbox began acquiring and forming new studios in recent years, it chose to go with a more hands-off approach. Unfortunately, there are downsides that come with this, as we are …

Sony isn't the only company looking to revamp its subscription services this week. Microsoft is reportedly working on a new tier for Xbox Game Pass – a family plan that would allow up to five accounts to use the service.  According to sources speaking with Windows Central, Xbox is planning …