Microsoft

The Impossible Problem of Where Minecraft Goes Next

It’s been two years since Microsoft bought Minecraft, and the new owners are faced with a conundrum: what do you do with a game that is already a phenomenon? Complicating things further, Minecraft is now a seven-year old game. While lot of work has been put into keeping the game current, Minecraft is also beginning…

I Keep Going Back To The First Forza Horizon

Do you have a game you regularly return to, just because you like how it feels? For me, that game is Forza Horizon I love hopping into a car and zipping my way through Horizon’s Colorado to the tune of pulsing music and the roar of the engine. I also like zipping my way through…

Gears Of War 4 Runs Like It Was Made For PC

Earlier this year Microsoft released the DX12-powered Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on PC, and it was a stuttering mess. Looks like Microsoft and developer The Coalition learned a lot from that debacle, because the Windows 10 version of Gears of War 4 runs like a proper PC release should. Now keep in mind that I…

A playable demo for ReCore is now available on Xbox One and PC. Players put off by themiddling reviews and long loading times now have a chance to experience 30 minutes of Far Eden robot play at no charge.

N64 Emulator Pops Up On Xbox One, Gets Removed

A Nintendo 64 emulator was briefly available on Xbox One earlier this week, but Microsoft yanked it from the store today. Sad news for people who yearn to play Paper Mario on an Xbox. The emulator Win64e10, which has been a Universal Windows App for months now, popped up Sunday on the Xbox One. Microsoft’s…

Forza Horizon 3 Is A Good Upgrade

Forza Horizon 3 is classified as a racing game, only really it’s not. It’s an open-world adventure game of the (mostly) four-wheeled variety, with a focus on celebrating everything exciting about cars and driving—even racing. This piece originally ran 9/20/16. We’ve added video impressions from the PC version at the bottom. Playground Games’ open-world spin-off…

Forza Horizon 3 Runs Fine On PC

Forza Horizon 3 marks the series’ PC debut as part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program. I’ve been playing the PC version since yesterday, and so far nothing horrible has happened. In fact, almost everything is fine. It’s sad that a PC port of a game that’s traditionally been a console exclusive had me primed…

Microsoft Accidentally Sent An Xbox One To A Random Customer Two Months Before It Was Announced

In March of 2013, two months before Microsoft officially unveiled the Xbox One, they accidentally mailed one of their prototype units to a random customer. For years that story has remained quiet—until today. Over at Business Insider, my good friend Ben Gilbert tells the story of the time Microsoft lost track of top-secret hardware. Back…

Halo‘s Warthog Probably Handles A Lot Better In Forza Horizon 3

After years of pleading from fans on both sides, Microsoft is finally crossing-over two of its most popular characters: Forza car and Halo Warthog. I spent most of my time in the wonderfully off-road friendly Forza Horizon 2 wishing I were driving a Warthog over the hills and through the other cars of Souther France…

Every Xbox One S Has A Tiny Master Chief Inside

Look at him. Cute as a button. Just don’t go trying to find him on yours, if you ever decide to pick one of these things up. That’s because, just like Sony’s nice little PlayStation screws, Master Chief is inside the computer He was discovered in this teardown of the new console by Ifixit, etched…

God Damn This Halo Trailer Was Good

Game trailers tend to be forgettable things. Explosive diversions paving the way for a marketing campaign that hits you, tries to sell you something then fades into nothingness as the next hype train takes its place. ODST’s live-action clip, though, lingers long after the game has disappeared off the charts. I watched this the other…

It’s Hard To Make The Official Xbox One Custom Controllers Look Bad

Last month Microsoft announced fans would be able to apply their own style to the Xbox One’s new wireless controller, creating a custom design to have shipped to their door. Mine just arrived, and it’s even prettier in person. There are several options for picking up the new smaller Xbox One, but not as many…

All The Current Options For Buying An Xbox One S

The sleek-looking Xbox One S starts shipping next week, but if you want one, you may want to hold off. More options will be available later in the month thanks to a new set of bundles Microsoft announced today Here’s a quick breakdown: 2TB hard-drive ($400) – This is the highest-end version, available August 2.…

The $399 2TB version of the Xbox One S will start shipping to select regions on August 2. The less expensive 1TB and 500GB versions will be available at a later date.

Meet The Developers Who Are Still Making A Kinect Game

When Microsoft unbundled Kinect from the Xbox One in 2014, it was the beginning of the end. Unfortunately for the developers of Fru, the game they were building required Kinect. They were more than two years away from shipping. “We were shattered,” designer Mattia Traverso told me. When Microsoft announced Xbox One in 2013, Kinect…

Original Xbox Controller Prototypes Look Like Dreamcast Tears

Seamus Blackley, one of the key people involved in the creation of the original Xbox, has shared some concept images for Microsoft’s debut control pad, which date all the way back in November 1999 (the Xbox wouldn’t launch until 2001). Obviously the final design looked remarkably different; the “Duke” controller (below, left) was a massive,…

Halo 5 is free to download and free to play for the next week (June 29 to July 5) if you’re an Xbox Live Gold subscriber. Not a bad deal that, since you can easily wrap up the singleplayer campaign in that time.

Get A Load Of This Official Game Of Thones Xbox One Console

Xbox could have gone so many ways with this limited edition giveaway. Model it on a castle, or a sigil, or a city. Perhaps just a custom colour scheme with some nice graphics on them. But no, they had to do more So here we have one of a handful of limited edition Game of…

Microsoft Altering Its Shady Windows 10 Forced Upgrade System

It’s telling that most of my stories about Windows 10, a genuinely decent operating system, have been about how crappy Microsoft has made the upgrade experience. Microsoft seems to be getting the hint, though. For more than a year, upgrading to Windows 10 hasn’t cost anything. Rather than let people organically upgrade, the company began…

The Minecraft movie (yes, there’s going to be a Minecraft movie) will be out on May 24, 2019. According to Mojang, it will be released in 3D and IMAX.