Microsoft

Former Xbox Executives Say Nintendo ‘Laughed Their Asses Off’ When Microsoft Offered To Buy It

Microsoft once proposed buying Nintendo in order to lock in its first-party games for the Xbox. The Japanese video game company didn’t just decline to entertain the offer; it laughed the tech giant’s executives out of the room, according to a new report by Bloomberg. “Steve [Ballmer, Microsoft’s former CEO] made us go meet with…

Minecraft Earth Ends This Summer

Augmented reality mobile game Minecraft Earth is shutting down in June, developer Mojang Studios announced this morning “Minecraft Earth was designed around free movement and collaborative play–two things that have become near impossible in the current global situation,” the official announcement reads. “As a result, we have made the difficult decision to re-allocate our resources…

Xbox Emulation Is Coming Along Nicely

While platforms as recent as the PS3 and even the Switch are now running very nicely in emulators, the original Xbox has remained something of a thorn in the side of the scene. So it’s cool to see the xemu emulator making such solid progress. xemu’s v0.5 has recently been released, and this video shows…

The Biggest Video Game Surprises Of 2020

Every year, we run down the best annual surprises from the world of video games. Needless to say, 2020 was not like previous years. That’s why, this year, we’re reorienting our annual tradition to focus on the biggest—not necessarily the best—ones. 2020 was full of shockers. This was the year Sony held a virtual event…

The State Of Xbox In 2020

This time last year, Microsoft’s current flagship console was little more than a swanky video spot aired during a swanky awards show. Now, it’s the capstone to one of the biggest years for Xbox in recent memory. Time sure works in funny ways. Yes, it’s been almost one year to the day since Microsoft officially…

Cyberpunk 2077 Refund Options Expand, With Updates From Xbox, Best Buy, And CD Projekt Itself [Update]

Update (3:03 p.m. ET, 12/18/2020): Cyberpunk 2077 refund options continue to grow for disappointed players. In addition to both Sony and Microsoft loosening their refund policies, Best Buy and even CD Projekt itself have promised to make things right for customers. According to a Best Buy social media specialist, the retailer will refund physical copies…

Four Generations Of Xbox Consoles Can Play The Same Game Together

When we think of backwards compatibility we tend to only think of a game from an older system running on its replacement. But as this video shows, in the right circumstances, a console released in 2001 can play the same game at the same time as one released in 2020, as well as the two…

Microsoft, Sony, And Nintendo Team Up To Promote Safer Gaming

In a post shared across all three companies’ websites this morning, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have released a joint set of principles to foster a safe gaming environment across all of their platforms. Posted under the title “Our Shared Commitment to Safer Gaming,” the triumvirate present a three-pronged approach to ensuring their platforms are a…

Cyberpunk Players Say They’re Getting Refunds For A “Broken” Game

For some lucky people (like me, sorry!), Cyberpunk is running great and looks amazing. For many, though, especially on older hardware, it runs like shit and looks like ass. Not an ideal situation! As a result, there are more and more people reporting that they’ve asked for—and been given—refunds on the game, on both console…

Microsoft’s 2021 Release Calendar Doesn’t Include Many First-Party Games

A month into the launch of the Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft has given a rundown of what people can expect to play on the new machines in 2021. There are a lot of games, but very few of them are from Microsoft’s own studios. A new post over on the Xbox Wire blog outlines some…

Xbox Cloud Gaming is coming to Windows PC and iOS devices this spring. Available now for Android devices as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Microsoft today announced an official release window for PC and iOS (via web browser), furthering the value divide between regular and Ultimate Game Pass subscribers.

Halo Infinite Isn’t Coming Out Until Fall 2021 At The Earliest

343 Studios just announced that Halo Infinite—a game that was supposed to launch alongside the Xbox Series X last month—now won’t be released until at least Fall 2021. The lengthy delay was made in a long post on the studio’s site, and while it goes into all kinds of detail on features being added to…

Quick Resume Is Working For More Xbox Series X Games

Microsoft is slowly starting to roll out more Quick Resume support on Xbox Series X|S again, after it took the supposedly signature next-gen feature offline for some games right before the console’s launch last month. This is according to Xbox director of program management Jason Ronald. “As launch games were coming in, we identified some…

Fortnite Leaks And Teases Suggest Major Xbox, PlayStation Characters Coming To The Game (Update: Kratos Confirmed)

Update (12/03/2020, 4:11 p.m. ET): Fortnite has officially announced Kratos. God of War items are available now across all platforms. Our original story follows below. Kratos and Master Chief could be headed to Fortnite soon based on recent tweets and leaks that hint at a major new cross-over in Epic Games’ massive battle royale game. The…

Sea Of Thieves Is Getting A Battle Pass

Sea of Thieves will ditch its monthly update schedule and move to a Fortnite-style seasonal model starting next year, Rare creative director Mike Chapman announced in a new update to players. “After a year of updating the game [monthly], we’re moving to a new way,” Chapman said. “So from January, seasons are coming to Sea…

Trying To Buy A Next-Gen Console Is Still A Nightmare

The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are in high demand but short supply. That’s not completely surprising given the challenges of launching next-gen consoles in the middle of a pandemic. But trying to get a hold of one continues to be a bigger headache than it otherwise might be due to scalpers, scammers, and the…

Head Of Xbox Calls Out Toxic, Console War ‘Tribalism’

Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in a new interview that if there was anything that could make him quit the video game industry altogether, it would be the ongoing toxic fandom around consoles. Spencer discussed a number of subjects with Verge Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel on the latest episode of the Decoder podcast, from why Microsoft…

Here Are Japanese Launch Sales Figures For PlayStation 5 And Xbox Series X/S

Curious to know how the PlayStation 5’s launch went in Japan? What about the Xbox Series X and S? Well, good news, because Famitsu is reporting the first Japanese sales numbers for both new consoles. According to Famitsu, between November 12 and November 15, the PlayStation 5 sold 118,085 consoles in Japan. (Note these numbers…

The Xbox Elite Controller Was Premium, And I Respect That

For a multi-billion dollar industry that is supposedly at the vanguard of 21st-century technology advancement, video games sure like to keep things basic. Think about it: there’s very little that’s premium about console video gaming. You can’t buy a fancier version of the Switch with an OLED screen and stronger buttons. You can’t buy a…

Goodbye To The Xbox One, The Most Pointless Console I Have Ever Owned

I moved house last year, and while packing everything away my wife and I made a simple rule: if anything was still in its box 12 months later, we would get rid of it, because that meant we never used it and didn’t need it. Last month, I sold my Xbox One. I remember lining…