Xbox - Page 47 of 181

The Xbox Series X’s Backward Compatibility Effort Is Pretty Interesting

Here’s something I like very much: interviews with console executives about upcoming next-gen machines that get very into hard numbers, internal procedures and an explanation of just how much work went into making sure the Xbox Series X/s backward compatibility was up to scratch. Like this one that Inverse didwith Xbox Director of Program Management Jason…

By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2020

Culture

The Head Of Xbox Says The Gaming Industry Needs More Black Leaders

Time passes strangely these days, so it is easy to forget things that happened or were said or were pledged just five months ago. But it was indeed in June 2020 that institutions around the world, including video game companies, vowed to do better by their Black customers and Black workers for the cause of…

By Stephen Totilo Published November 3, 2020

Culture

Everything We Know About The Xbox Series X And Series S

Over the summer, information about Microsoft’s next-gen console came out slower than self-serve frozen yogurt. We knew the name (Xbox Series X), broad release date (“Holiday 2020”), and some specs. Then Labor Day weekend happened, and the floodgates opened. Now, we have a release date, a price tag, some detailed information about the long-unconfirmed disc-less…

By Ari Notis Published October 29, 2020

Culture

Here’s November 2020’s Xbox Live Games With Gold

November’s Xbox Live Games with Gold aren’t super exciting, but I’ll take any promise of small pleasures this upcoming month can give me. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold membership. November’s Games with Gold are: Xbox One Aragami: Shadow Edition (November 1-30) Swimsanity! (November 16-December 15) Xbox…

By Riley MacLeod Published October 29, 2020

OpinionImpressions

Here’s How We’ve Set Up Our Xbox Series X and S

Yesterday, we showed you what the PlayStation 5 looks like in the wild. But that’s not the only next-gen console coming out next month. In the event you’ve been living under the planet’s most soundproof rock, on November 10, the Xbox Series X—and its less-expensive, less-powerful counterpart, the Xbox Series S—will be out. Earlier this…

By Ari Notis Published October 28, 2020

Culture

Devil May Cry 5 Won’t Have Ray Tracing On Xbox Series S

Capcom has announced that the next-gen version of Devil May Cry 5 won’t support ray tracing on Xbox Series S despite previous announcements to the contrary. “While ray tracing will be available as a downloadable title update on Xbox Series X, Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition will not support ray tracing on Xbox Series…

By Ian Walker Published October 27, 2020

Screenshot: Xbox Games Studio / The Coalition

Culture

Gears 5’s Next Update Lets You Recast Marcus Fenix As Dave Bautista

Back in the summer of 2019, the internet was pushing to get former wrestler Dave Bautista cast in the recently announced Gears of War movie. It doesn’t seem like that will happen, with Bautista saying on Twitter last year that he had “tried everything” to be in the film. But an upcoming update will at…

By Zack Zwiezen Published October 23, 2020

Culture

Xbox Brazil Host Says She Was Let Go In Part Due To Fan Harassment, Though Microsoft Denies

Last Friday, Xbox Brazil video host Isadora Basile announced that Microsoft had severed ties with her. In a tweet, she said she’d been regularly harassed by members of the local Xbox community since being hired in early September, and that that mistreatment was part of the decision to end her contract. Kotaku has been in…

By Ian Walker Published October 22, 2020

Culture

Report: Microsoft Bringing Xbox Game Pass To iOS In 2021

A few months back it seemed pretty unlikely that Microsoft would be able to bring its Xbox Game Pass (via xCloud streaming) to iOS devices, but a report today says that games boss Phil Spencer is telling employees it’ll be ready next year, and it’ll likely be using a browser to get around Apple’s restrictions.…

By Luke Plunkett Published October 8, 2020

CultureOdds and Ends

Xbox Deletes Tweet Dunking On PS5 For Having A Removable Stand

The UK Twitter account for Xbox fired some shots at PS5 yesterday in one of the silliest ways possible because it’s 2020 and these are the console wars we deserve. It all began after Sony released a tear-down video of the PS5 highlighting all of the next-gen console’s internal components. The first step in that…

By Ethan Gach Published October 8, 2020

Culture

Xbox’s New Parents App Is Great

A couple of years agoI spoke very highly of Nintendo’s parental controls app for the Switch. Microsoft have recently released something very similar, and it’s just as good. The beauty of the Switch’s app wasn’t the fact it had parental controls—all consoles do, and have had them for a while!—but the way it took them…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 30, 2020

Culture

Here’s October 2020’s Xbox Live Games With Gold

There’s a bit of a Halloween theme to October’s Games with Gold, as you’d expect. As ever, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold membership. October’s Games with Gold are: Xbox One Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut (October 1-31) Maid of Sker (October 16-November 15) Xbox 360 (compatible with Xbox…

By Riley MacLeod Published September 29, 2020

Culture

Today’s Xbox Series X Previews Revealed Mostly Good News

Over the past week or so, Xbox Series X preview units were made available to select members of the media. Microsoft did not send us one of these units. I’m not sad, but, earlier today, I was cutting onions and peppers while listening to Phoebe Bridgers, and then, without thinking, I rubbed my eyes. True…

By Ari Notis Published September 28, 2020

CultureMorning Music

Viva Piñata‘s Soundtrack Makes Me Happy To Be Alive

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we look back at a game that is the exact opposite of 2020: the nice, soft, fun, and colorful world of Viva Piñata and its fantastic soundtrack. Before Rare was making a game about pirates,…

By Zack Zwiezen Published September 27, 2020

CultureOdds and Ends

Turn Your Xbox Controller Into A Flight Stick

Hey, Flight Simulator is out, and Squadrons is on the way. What better time to be playing games that require expensive dedicated peripherals! Only the economy sucks and you’ll never use those flight sticks for anything else, so maybe try this cool mod that’ll do kinda the same thing, only for your Xbox controller. Designed…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 24, 2020

Kotaku EastJapan

Microsoft On Japan: “We Learn From The Past”

Let’s face it. Microsoft’s track record in Japan with the Xbox has not been good. In the past few years, Microsoft even stopped going to the Tokyo Game Show, but this year the company is back. At the virtual version of the show, at least. In a pre-recorded message, exec Phil Spencer talked about Xbox…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 24, 2020

Kotaku EastJapan

Xbox Series S Already Got A Price Cut In Japan

The Xbox Series S isn’t out yet, but in Japan, it’s already getting a price cut. Today, Microsoft Japan announced that the smaller next-gen console, originally priced 32,980 yen ($313) in the country, will retail for 29,980 yen, which with the current exchange rate is $285. As pointed out on My Game News Flash, that…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 24, 2020

Culture

Morrowind Completely Rebooted Your Xbox During Some Loading Screens

The latest episode of the official Xbox podcast features a discussion between Microsoft and Bethesda executives about the console manuracturer’s recent acquisition of the Elder Scrolls developer for a whopping $7.5 billion. While the video is mostly about hyping up a massive business deal, Bethesda’s chief software engineer Todd Howard did share a neat anecdote…

By Ian Walker Published September 23, 2020

Opinion

Amazon’s Error Dogs, Ranked

The video game world spent a significant portion of the morning trying to score an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S. More often than not, folks were met with error screens telling them their efforts were in vain. While certainly frustrating, at least evil megacorporation Amazon gave folks some great dogs to look at…

By Ian Walker Published September 22, 2020