Documents related to Microsoft's potential acquisition targets have surfaced through the ongoing hearing against the FTC over the Activision Blizzard acquisition. This document revealed a number of high-profile targets, including the likes of SEGA, Square Enix, CD Projekt Red as well as plenty of smaller studios. Microsoft was indeed considering …
Read More »Xbox’s Perfect Dark reboot is still ‘years away’ devs say
The Initiative's Perfect Dark reboot was announced about three years ago, so you'd be forgiven for thinking we might get our first good look at it in the next year or so. Unfortunately, it sounds like development is making slow progress and is still quite a ways off. A new …
Read More »MSFS 2024 to get massive simulation improvements
During Microsoft’s recent Summer Game Fest Showcase, the console manufacturer announced a surprise sequel to 2020’s Microsoft Flight Simulator. Set to arrive next year, the team at Asobo have now revealed many of the changes set to come with the sequel. As part of the 2023 FlightSimExpo, Jorg Neumann – …
Read More »Call of Duty almost abandoned Xbox this generation
During the hearing between the FTC and Microsoft last week, we learned new details about the events that preceded Microsoft's decision to acquire both Activision and Bethesda. Sony was in talks with Bethesda to make Starfield a PS5 exclusive, which prompted Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda. A very similar situation almost occurred with Activision pulling Call of Duty.
Read More »The Elder Scrolls 6 is still more than five years away
Last week, the FTC and Microsoft finally began butting heads in court over the Activision Blizzard King acquisition. During the hearing, many interesting details about Microsoft's acquisition of Zenimax/Bethesda came to light. In one part of the hearing, we learned that The Elder Scrolls 6 is still more than five …
Read More »Bethesda exec confirms Indiana Jones is an Xbox console exclusive
Prior to being acquired by Microsoft, Bethesda announced that Machine Games was working on its own Indiana Jones game. At the time, the game was planned to release on multiple platforms, but after the acquisition, the agreement between Bethesda and Disney was amended. This week, the US District Court of …
Read More »Video games are bigger than films and music combined
In a relatively short number of years the video games medium has transformed from a niche hobby to a multi-billion Dollar industry whose influence is being felt across all other mediums. In a new report, it has now been revealed that the video games industry is bigger than both films and music combined.
Read More »EVE Online adds Microsoft Excel integration with latest update
It has been a little over a year since CCP Games and Microsoft announced a new partnership to bring Microsoft Excel integration to the game. Now, that update has finally arrived. Hardcore EVE Online players have long used spreadsheets to calculate profits and battle damage. Up to now, they have …
Read More »The Series X is considered Xbox’s ‘mid-gen refresh’ – meaning no ‘Series X Pro’
During the 8th generation of consoles we saw both Sony and Microsoft release mid-generation refreshes of their consoles, with Sony developing the PS4 Pro and Microsoft making the Xbox One X. Interestingly, it seems as though we will not be getting any mid-gen refreshes from Xbox this time round – …
Read More »Microsoft is officially no longer developing any games for Xbox One
In the wake of the Xbox Games Showcase, Xbox Game Studios chief Matt Booty took part in an interview where all manner of topics were discussed – from Redfall to Halo to Activision Blizzard and more. One of the more interesting tidbits from the interview saw Booty confirm that Microsoft are no longer developing any games for the last-gen Xbox One...
Read More »Microsoft offers updates on Halo, Redfall, Perfect Dark and more
In the wake of Microsoft’s recent Xbox Games Showcase, the console manufacturer has engaged in a host of interviews. Now, Xbox’s game studio chief has weighed in on a number of titles which we did not see at the event, including Halo, Redfall and Perfect Dark. In an interview conducted …
Read More »Head of Xbox Game Studios claims the days of 2-3 year dev cycles is over
In recent years, Xbox in particular has struggled to get many of its games across the finish line, with a majority of first party titles announced years ago still in development. Speaking on these development times, the head of Xbox Game Studios claimed that the length of development for AAA …
Read More »Microsoft is bringing Game Pass to Nvidia’s GeForce Now
Recently Microsoft officially began bringing its first-party PC games over to rival cloud gaming services like GeForce Now. Soon, Microsoft will be upping its offering, with Game Pass set to come to GeForce Now too. Later this year, Microsoft will bring the PC version of Game Pass over to GeForce …
Read More »Phil Spencer says there is ‘more work to do’ on bringing Japanese games to Xbox
With Microsoft being the only current console manufacturer to not hail from Japan, it makes some degree of sense that the Xbox has in the past struggled to secure a number of Japanese games. That said, this has been improving significantly in recent years – with Xbox forming partnerships with …
Read More »Skyrim has officially sold over 60 million copies
When you think of games being re-released, many think of Skyrim. First launched all the way back in 2011, the open-world RPG has appeared on pretty much every platform available in some way or another. That said, this wide reach has allowed for the game to be a huge commercial …
Read More »Sea of Thieves gets Monkey Island crossover
Sea of Thieves has over the past half a decade amassed a dedicated audience of swashbuckling buccaneers, thanks in no small part to the game’s exciting crossovers. Following the massive Pirates of the Caribbean crossover back in 2021, Sea of Thieves is now set to get its next major collaboration …
Read More »1TB Black Xbox Series S variant announced
Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase brought with it a bunch of announcements. Perhaps the most surprising however was the reveal of some new Xbox hardware. While not the most exciting, those wanting to get in on the Xbox ecosystem can now do so in a new way, with a brand new …
Read More »Starfield will run at 30fps on Xbox Series X|S
We have seen plenty of console titles offering a wide range of graphics and performance options, allowing games to run at 40fps, 60fps, 120fps and even arbitrary framerates thanks to VRR. Unfortunately, the upcoming Xbox exclusive Starfield will offer just one mode: 30fps...
Read More »The Xbox Games Showcase will stream in 4K/60 on YouTube
The E3 / Summer Game Fest season is always fun as we get to see a boatload of new game announcements, updates, release dates and more. Unfortunately, these showcase streams typically do not do the games justice due to compression on the part of Twitch, YouTube and other streaming services. …
Read More »Microsoft shares upcoming Xbox Showcase details
With one week until the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, the rumour mill has started to turn. We have had some teases from Microsoft in the past, but the console manufacturer has now answered many of the fans’ most pertinent questions – promising a bigger and better show compared to 2022.
Read More »June’s Xbox Games with Gold announced
Ever since Microsoft debuted its Xbox Game Pass subscription service we have seen the console manufacturer’s legacy Xbox Live Gold fall somewhat out of relevancy. Despite this, Xbox Live Gold and its Games with Gold program remains – though with a noticeable decrease in the quality of its offerings. That …
Read More »EU says benefits of Microsoft-Activision deal were recognised by devs, consumers and cloud providers
Shortly after the European Commission announced its decision to approve Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the CMA took to Twitter to outline the reasons it disagrees with the decision and is moving ahead with its decision to block. Now today, the EU has put out a lengthy statement on its …
Read More »GeForce Now adds more Xbox titles and six brand new releases
Last week, Microsoft officially began bringing Xbox PC games over to Nvidia's GeForce Now cloud gaming service. This week, more Xbox titles are joining the library, alongside nine games from other developers, including recent indie hit Planet of Lana. Nvidia will be bringing support for more Xbox PC titles on …
Read More »Microsoft will begin bringing Xbox games to Boosteroid in June
This month, Xbox began pushing ahead with its plans to bring its first-party games to rival cloud gaming services, starting off with GeForce Now. As we look ahead to June, Microsoft will be ramping things up, bringing Boosteroid on board. Boosteroid is one of the smaller Europe-based cloud gaming providers …
Read More »The first Xbox PC games are heading to GeForce Now this month
A couple of months ago, Microsoft and Nvidia reached a deal to bring Xbox first-party games to the GeForce Now streaming service. Now, we're finally starting to see that rollout kickoff, starting off with Gears 5, with more to come next week. Nvidia will be bringing support for more Xbox …
Read More »KitGuru Games: Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition has turned into a political circus
The Microsoft-ABK acquisition has turned into a political circus here in the UK and Microsoft is making sure to throw its weight around, going as far as to hint at the possibility of pulling products out of the UK and investing elsewhere.
Read More »Stray seemingly confirmed for Xbox thanks to ESRB
One of the more unique titles to release last year was Stray, a game which has you play as a cat in a futuristic cyberpunk robot world. Having launched for PlayStation 5, PS4 and Windows on the 19th of July 2022, the game looks set to be finally coming to …
Read More »Microsoft is now offering a free global license to all cloud gaming services for Activision titles
We've all seen the ten-year deals Microsoft has signed with various cloud gaming companies to offer Activision titles like Call of Duty to rival cloud gaming providers. As it turns out, in order to get its acquisition of Activision Blizzard approved by the EU, Microsoft had to go a step …
Read More »The CMA says it stands by decision to block Microsoft-Activision deal despite EU approval
This afternoon, the European Commission officially approved Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, noting that the remedies offered by Microsoft should be enough to do away with competition concerns. Now, the UK's Competition & Markets Authority has responded, saying it stands by its initial decision. In a series of tweets …
Read More »The EU officially approves Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard
Last week, it was reported that the European Commission would announce its decision on Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard this week. As it turns out, that report was indeed accurate, with the commission publishing its press release today, approving the deal.
Read More »