Microsoft

Microsoft’s Custom Wonder Woman 1984 Xboxen Are So Fancy

In celebration of the spirit of cross-promotional marketing with Wonder Woman 1984, Microsoft has cobbled together a trio of custom Xbox One X consoles decked out in gold, fur, and the odd Lasso of Truth. We’re going to start with the golden one, AKA the Wonder Woman Golden Armor Xbox One X Console. (I really…

Microsoft has filed a declaration in support of Epic’s case against Apple, Phil Spencer tweeted today. The declaration focuses on Apple’s threats to cut off support for Unreal Engine on iOS and reads in part “Apple’s discontinuation of Epic’s ability to develop and support Unreal Engine for iOS or macOS will harm game creators and…

Chill Out, Battletoads

I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to call Battletoads 2020. A long-awaited sequel? A spiritual reboot? A love letter to an old classic whose most memorable quality was that hardly anybody could beat it? In any event, it feels good to play in short bursts, but its humor and chaos overshadow it. I wanted…

How Microsoft Flight Simulator Makes The Ground Look So Good

While in-air screenshots and footage from the latest installment of Microsoft Flight Simulator are gorgeous, it’s not too shabby at ground level either, depending on which of the three different cityscape rendering types the game uses. YouTuber ObsidianAnt shows us the difference between handcrafted, auto-generated, and photogrammetry-built cities. In their video, ObsidianAnt uses the game’s…

Xbox Boss Appears In Animal Crossing, Discusses Halo Delay

The head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, took to the popular Animal Crossing talk show hosted by former PC Gamer Editor-in-Chief Gary Whitta last night to chat about Halo: Infinite’s delay, next-gen hardware, and what makes Nintendo such a special company in the gaming industry. Spencer had already been slated to appear on Whitta’s Animal Talking…

Xbox Series X Launches In November

Until today, we only knew that the next Xbox, the Xbox Series X, was coming out sometime later this year. Now we’ve got a firmer date: November. Microsoft made the announcement as part of a post also acknowledging Halo Infinite’s delay to 2021. “We have plenty to keep you busy until Chief arrives: There will…

Halo Infinite Delayed To 2021

343 Industries has announced that Halo Infinite will launch in 2021, missing its original “holiday 2020″ release window. “The decision to shift our release is the result of multiple factors that have contributed to development challenges, including the ongoing COVID-related impacts affecting us all this year,” studio head Chris Lee explained via Twitter. “I want…

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Streaming Beta Starts Tomorrow

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to start playing a limited number of Game Pass games streamed to their phones as part of a new xCloud beta starting August 11. “[W]e’re entering a limited beta period to ensure a smooth transition of the cloud gaming experience to the Xbox Game Pass app on…

Report: Leaked Controller Mentions Second Next-Gen Xbox Console

While the machine has yet to be officially announced, there has long been speculation that Microsoft is planning on releasing a second next-gen console besides the Xbox Series X called the Xbox Series S. Speculation that’s about to get a lot stronger. The Verge reports that while we’re still waiting on such an announcement, a…

Apple Says Xbox, Stadia Streaming Apps Would Break The App Store’s Rules

Google’s Stadia app can’t stream games on iOS, and yesterday Microsoft said its new xCloud streaming service wouldn’t be coming to Apple devices either. Turns out there’s a pretty concrete reason for both of those omissions: Apple won’t let them. In a statement released to Business Insider earlier today, Apple says “The App Store was…

Xbox’s New Streaming Service Doesn’t Look Likely For iPhone, iPad Users

When Microsoft announced that its Project xCloud game streaming service was coming to Xbox Game Pass, it only mentioned Android phones and tablets, despite the fact xCloud has also been in testing on iOS devices. Any iOS users hoping this was an oversight, something that might be fixed or revealed at a later date, should…

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Adds Cloud Gaming September 15

As announced in July, Microsoft’s Project xCloud game streaming service is becoming part of the $15-a-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription service on September 15, allowing users to stream more than 100 Xbox games to their Android phones and tablets. In a pair of posts on Xbox Wire, Microsoft details the games subscribers can play…

Halo Infinite Multiplayer Might Be Free-To-Play According To Store Listing [Update: It Is]

A now-deleted description for Halo Infinite on the Xbox Series X pre-order registration page at the Smyths Toys website said the game’s multiplayer would be free-to-play and operate at up to 120fps on Xbox Series X. Update – 4:43 p.m., 7/31/20: Microsoft says the information in the leaked store listing is true. “Halo is for…

Israel Wants To Use Xbox Controllers In Its Tanks, Which Is Horrifying

Israel is currently testing a new armored vehicle prototype that uses a wide array of modern technology, most notably an Xbox controller that allows soldiers to perform combat functions as if they were playing a video game. According to The Washington Post, the tank was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which employed the feedback…

CrossfireX‘s Campaign Doesn’t Seem Like A Remedy Game Yet

During today’s Xbox event, Remedy Entertainment revealed the single-player campaign for CrossfireX, the next installment of a long-running multiplayer franchise developed by Smilegate Entertainment. Later, I sat in on a preview of a single mission, which lasted around 15 minutes. Even with the folks behind Alan Wake and Control at the helm, I didn’t see…

Clarifying Just How Exclusive The Xbox Series X’s Third-Party Exclusives Are

The idea of an “exclusive” has always been imaginary—or at least ephemeral—in the world of video games, but in 2020, it’s less real than ever. Today, Microsoft seemingly announced several new third-party Xbox exclusives. That are coming to multiple generations of Xbox. And also PC. And probably other consoles too, in the future. During a…

Microsoft Sends Mixed Signals About Cross-Gen Exclusives

Microsoft showed off a number of first-party games during today’s big Xbox showcase, but contrary to previous statements by the company, it’s not clear how many of them will be coming coming to Xbox One in addition to next-gen’s Xbox Series X. Many games shown were listed just for Xbox Series X, not for Xbox…

Everything Microsoft Showed During Today’s Xbox Showcase

Microsoft finally showed off what it has planned with Halo: Infinite and a bunch of other first-party exclusives today during its Xbox Games Showcase. There were a lot of games, and a lot of exclusives, but not a lot confirmed for this holiday launch of the Xbox Series X. Still, Halo: Infinite at least will…

Here’s Halo Infinite Gameplay, Including The New Grappling Hook

Microsoft kicked off today’s games showcase with a first look at gameplay of Halo Infinite. The assault rifle is back in all its glory. There’s a big map. Everything looks very pretty. And, oh, yeah, there’s a sweet grappling hook. See it all for yourself: The grappling hook is a brand-new tool in 117’s arsenal,…

Here’s Where To Watch Today’s Xbox Series X Showcase

To Infinite, and beyond! Today, Microsoft is hosting an hour-long showcase. According to Xbox’s Aaron Greenberg, the event will laser-focus on upcoming games for Xbox platforms. That means we likely won’t get any hard info about the Xbox Series X price or release date. But hey, at least we get to see what Master Chief’s…