Microsoft

Modders Are Still Working On The Never-Released Halo Online Game

Halo Online is a free-to-play version of the popular shooter series that was only ever offered in a closed beta test in Russia in 2015. After years on ice, a mod that makes it playable the world over is getting a brand new version on April 20. A new trailer, first spotted by PC Gamer,…

Morrowind, Bioware & Star Wars Classics Coming To Xbox One Backwards Compatibility

Microsoft has just announced a new batch of original Xbox games coming to the Xbox One’s backwards compatibility feature, and there are some damn good ones on offer, including KOTOR, Morrowind, Jade Empire and the original Star Wars: Battlefront games. Here’s the full list of original Xbox games on the way: Hey, if you’ve never…

Sea Of Thieves: The Kotaku Review

Playing Sea of Thieves feels a bit like working in a theater before the set has been completely built. There’s plenty of space to goof around and a few swords in the wings to have mock fights with, but none of its quite ready for show time. A lack of features and polish has frustrated…

Sea Of Thieves Players Can’t Stop “Insta-Brigging” Each Other

Sometimes, you need to get a little rowdy when playing Sea of Thieves. But if you cause too much trouble, your crewmates might end up locking you in the brig. Or they might just lock you up for the hell of it. Many solo players joining crews are finding themselves instantly locked up without any…

This Week in the Business: No cursing like sailors on the Sea of Thieves 

STAT | 2 million – Number of Sea of Thieves players in the game’s first week of release. It is Microsoft’s fastest-selling first-party original IP since the Xbox One launched in 2013 QUOTE | “We’ve clarified that use of offensive language and fraudulent activity is prohibited. We’ve also clarified that violation… may result in suspensions…

Sea of Thieves Player Becomes First To Reach Max Rank But Not Everyone Is Impressed

Sea of Thieves is a grindy game where even high level quests can grant only a pittance of gold and reputation. One dedicated streamer has reached maximum reputation with the game’s three factions to become a pirate legend and unlock a secret hideout. There are three major factions in Sea of Thieves: the covetous Gold…

Sea of Thieves Gets Its First Wave Of Hackers

Being a pirate in Sea of Thieves sometimes means being an asshole, using whatever methods you can to kill your foes and plunder their loot. Some Sea of Thieves players are taking this to the next level by relying on hacks to conquer the high seas. As first noted by WIndows Central, Sea of Thieves…

Planned Sea of Thieves Death Tax Canceled After Community Outcry

Sea of Thieves is off to a rocky start; it’s a cool game but feels a bit like a beta. Developer Rare has been trying to address this by adding new features. One proposed feature, a sort of death tax, was met with immediate community disapproval, prompting Rare to quickly cancel the feature. There are…

Being A Sea of Thieves Pirate Sometimes Means Being An Asshole

Sea of Thieves is mostly about hunting down treasure with your friends, but every now and then things get ugly. In a game where everyone wants loot and crews can battle each other at the drop of the hat, the line between being a pirate and being a jerk feels razor-thin. There’s only a few…

Microsoft Executive Is Open To Putting Banjo In The New Smash Bros

Banjo and his partner Kazooie haven’t been in a Nintendo game since 2005’s Banjo-Pilot thanks to complicated intellectual property rigamarole that cropped up when Microsoft acquired Rare in 2002. With a new Smash Bros. coming to the Switch, there’s plenty of speculation about new fighters. Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Gaming seems completely fine with…

Sea Of Thieves Servers Weren’t Prepared For So Many Players

It was anything but smooth sailing for yesterday’s global launch of Sea of Thieves, as the game’s servers struggled to keep up with a massive influx of new pirates. Players were plagued by problems connecting to the game, random disconnects, matchmaking errors and more. At one point, developers had to temporarily suspend new players joining…

Players Say Xbox Game Pass Glitch Is Stopping Them From Playing Some Games [UPDATE]

Xbox Game Pass is supposed to enable Xbox owners to play more games, not less. Unfortunately, over the last few days, some Xbox One owners have reported being unable to play certain games they own due to an error with Game Pass, a problem Microsoft has confirmed it’s looking into. Xbox Game Pass is a…

Microsoft is going to host a separate event at E3 this year. The Microsoft Theater where the company has its June 10 briefing will also have fan activities and game demos. There will still be a Mixer booth at the Los Angeles Convention Center though, so Microsoft isn’t abandoning the E3 show floor completely.  

Microsoft Says Sony Is Holding Back Fortnite Cross-Play

Fortnite: Battle Royale is the latest video game to have cross-platform play among some devices but just can’t link PlayStation and Xbox players. Funny how that keeps happening. Last week we learned that Fornite Battle Royale would be coming to mobile with cross-play between PS4, PC, Android, and iOS. Then, over the weekend in a…

Microsoft Says It’s Fixed Xbox Bug That Exposes People’s Real Names [UPDATE]

Xbox users have started to notice an unwelcome surprise: Their first and last names are suddenly visible to other people without their permission, a problem that Microsoft says it is fixing. Redditor Nadia C. says she received a message this morning alerting her that, instead of her Xbox nickname made of emoji symbols, her real…

The Quest To Make A Better Video Game Controller

Next time you play a video game, look down at the controller in your hand. Is it comfortable? Does it work well with the game you’re playing? Are your fingers all being used efficiently? If you could change one thing, what would it be? This piece originally appeared 9/27/17. About 10 years ago, after permutations…

“Toxic behavior doesn’t just hurt the individual it hurts our entire industry,” said the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, during a keynote address at the 2018 DICE summit. He also touched on low morale following the launch of the Xbox One and the need for more diversity in the gaming industry. You can watch it here

Age Of Empires Is A Weird Game To Play In 2018

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is almost everything an Age of Empires fan could think they want. Unless they want the castles from Age of Kings. An introduction: AoE:DE takes the original 1997 game, throws in its expansion Rise of Rome, cleans up the visuals, makes a few UI changes and sets it loose in…

When Air Jordan Met Xbox

It’s been a poor generation for custom console designs, but I am very in for this official Xbox x Jordan collaboration. Only catch is that they’re for a competition, not a general release The three consoles are each based on an Air Jordan 3 colourway (“Black Cement“, “Free Throw Line“ and “Tinker Hatfield”), and each…

Xbox mobile apps now include party chat functionality. The feature rolled out yesterday, allowing people with either the android or iOS Xbox app on their phone to create or join an Xbox Live Party even when they’re away from their console.