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CultureReport: Microsoft No Longer In Talks To Buy Discord
Last month, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft was in exclusive talks to acquire Discord. Today, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, those talks are off. Microsoft initially considered buying the popular chat and community platform for a figure north of $10 billion, but it wasn’t the only interested buyer. Per the Journal’s sources,…
By Ari Notis -
Xbox Cloud Gaming For Windows 10 And iOS Launches Limited Beta Tomorrow
As promised back in December, a browser-based version of the Xbox Cloud Gaming service for Windows 10, iPhones, and iPads is kicking off tomorrow, with a limited number of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers invited to stream and play games directly through Edge, Google Chrome, or the Safari browser. The streaming action will take place…
By Mike Fahey -
CultureMuslim Civil Rights Group Calls For Microsoft, Sony, And Valve To Deplatform Six Days In Fallujah
Calling the controversial first-person shooter that aims to recreate the events of the Second Battle of Fallujah an “Arab murder simulator,” Muslim civil rights and advocacy group CAIR, the Council on American–Islamic Relations, is requesting that Microsoft, Sony, and Valve avoid hosting or distributing Six Days in Fallujah No matter how developer Highwire Games and…
By Mike Fahey -
OpinionWhile Xbox Game Pass Gets Better, PS Now Gets…Avengers
Outriders came out last week on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It also immediately came to Microsoft’s Game Pass, adding yet another big new game to the subscription service’s already-impressive library. Meanwhile, PS Now users can get excited to play last year’s mediocre Avengers game, and just for a few months.…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureMorning CheckpointMLB The Show Coming To Game Pass, LEGO Star Wars Delayed Again, Sony Closing PS3 Store In July, And More
This week on Morning Checkpoint we watch a very rich person forget to pay their bills, learn how valuable your old Pokemon cards might be, find out which games will be free on PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold next month, and learn about more delays. Great Kotaku Stories From The Past Week Oh no,…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureXbox Cloud Gaming Adds A Bunch Of Older Xbox Games
Starting today, you’ll be able to play more than a dozen Xbox and Xbox 360 games via cloud streaming, Microsoft announced in a blog post. As with other game streaming, the perk is only available to members of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Cloud streaming first became available last September with an initial launch slate of…
By Ari Notis -
CultureOdds and EndsThankfully, The Boat Is Still Stuck In Microsoft Flight Simulator
Ever Given, the massive container ship that captivated the world after blocking Egypt’s Suez Canal for more than a week, is free as of 3:05 p.m. local time, but the ridiculous incident will live on forever in Microsoft Flight Simulator Over the last few days, the dedicated Microsoft Flight Simulator community has released several third-party…
By Ian Walker -
CultureOdds and EndsHalo: Infinite Devs Destroyed A Piano To Create Some In-Game Sounds
As my great uncle often said, “To create art, sometimes you must destroy an old, unwanted upright piano.” He was a strange man. In the latest Inside Infinite blog, 343 Industries shared a bunch of details and information about how it’s creating the sounds in the upcoming Halo Infinite. There’s a surprisingly large amount of…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureMorning CheckpointGhost Of Tsushima Film Announced, Back 4 Blood Delayed, Xbox Live Name Change, And More
This week on Morning Checkpoint we talk about how great SonicFox is, dunk on Shinra, find out what games are now delayed, fondly remember demo discs, and say goodbye to Xbox Live and hello to Xbox Network. Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week SonicFox is the best and I’m so happy to see them…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureHades Wins Best Game At The 2021 BAFTA Game Awards
In addition to prestigious accolades like Best Indie Game at the 2020 Game Awards and Best Game Times 10 at the 2020 Ari Notis Awards, Hades just picked up top honors at today’s online-only BAFTA Games Awards. Hell yeah, Hades Here’s the full list of nominees, with winners in bold. Congrats to everyone involved. Best…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesHow To Sign Up For The ‘Xbox Insider’ Program
Yesterday, Microsoft announced that party chat, previously only available to members of Xbox Live Gold, will soon be free to all Xbox players. The company revealed the news in a tweet with phrases like “Alpha,” “Alpha Skip-Ahead,” and “flighting.” Meanwhile, an accompanying blog post featured a string of numbers: 2104-210323-0000. What the hell does all…
By Ari Notis -
CultureXbox Controllers Now Come In Tasty Limeade And Cherry Camo
Microsoft calls them Electric Volt and Daystrike Camo, but that’s not important. What is important is there are two new Xbox wireless controllers coming out next month, both sporting candy-colored analog sticks I want to chew right out of their housings. The Xbox Design Lab is still on hiatus, so for the time being we’re…
By Mike Fahey -
OpinionSo-Called Pirates Are Doing The Work When Publishers Fail To Preserve Their Games
Yesterday, TheGamer reported that Sony has plans to shut down the online PS3, PS Vita, and PSP stores that service those older consoles. While this has yet to be confirmed, and Sony has not responded to Kotaku’s request for comment, the internet discourse around this potentially troubling news immediately began to swirl. If these stores…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureRIP, Xbox Live (2002-2021)
The name “Xbox Live” is dead. You’ll still be able to play Xbox games online, but the suite of Xbox’s online services will now be known as “Xbox network,” Microsoft confirmed today to The Verge This morning, many Xbox users noticed a small change on the the Xbox dashboard. While uploading a screenshot to Xbox…
By Ari Notis
