Xbox

I Video Gamed So Hard That I Broke My Xbox Elite Controller

I don’t have many strong feelings about video game controllers, except for this: The Xbox Elite Controller is the most comfortable thing on the planet. It’s a highly customizable and reliable option for any video game enthusiast. But last night, I encountered a problem. The shoulder button broke, turning limp and useless. My Elite controller…

Here’s April 2019’s Xbox Live Games With Gold Lineup

If you’ve been wanting to revisit 2005’s Star Wars Battlefront II, April’s Xbox Live Games with Gold has you covered. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an Xbox Live Gold subscription. (Correction 12:24pm- The top image for this article was initially an image from 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront II. We’ve updated the…

Void Bastards Is A Shooter That Looks Cool As Hell

Out this summer, Void Bastards promises to wrap the pulp comic aesthetic up into an intergalactic strategy shooter. Demonstrating the game at GDC’s ID@Xbox event today, Void Bastards’ tattooed art director, Ben Lee (Card Hunter, and before that, ‘90s animation) wore a matching turquoise beard. It fit; Void Bastards was among the flashiest indies around.…

Just checked out a puzzle game called The Sojourn at an Xbox event at GDC. Really neat Portal-style game in which you swap places with statues and activate other stuff in the environment to move through the levels. Coming this summer. 

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Won’t Be Part Of Xbox Play Anywhere

343 Industries studio head Bonnie Ross confirmed yesterday during the Halo Championship Series Invitational at South By Southwest that Halo: The Master Chief Collection will not be part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program which makes Xbox One games cross-buy and cross-play on PC. Those who already own it on console will have to buy…

Just Cause 4 Hits Xbox Game Pass Only Three Months After Release

Despite all of the explosions in Avalanche Studios’ open-world chaos simulator, Just Cause 4 did not set the world on fire when it launched last year on December 4. Now, less than 100 days later, it’s free for Game Pass subscribers to download and play on Xbox One. Microsoft announced the game would be the…

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 Headlines March’s Xbox Live Games With Gold

If you have an Xbox One and haven’t given Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 a try, you no longer have an excuse. It’s one of the more imaginative online shooters in recent years. Don’t let the Plants vs. Zombies wrapping fool you, there’s lots of tactical and strategic depth here and also it’s just…

Microsoft’s Inside Xbox Show Isn’t Working

Yesterday afternoon, Microsoft aired its latest episode of Inside Xbox, a monthly livestream in which the company updates players on new stuff in the world of Xbox. Like most episodes of Inside Xbox, it was long, precisely staged, and light on interesting news. If new Nintendo Directs have become exciting, mini-E3 press conferences, new episodes…

Last fall’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider will join Xbox Game Pass starting February 7. Pumped BMX Pro and the first season of The Walking Dead will also get added that day. Crackdown 3, de Blob, and the Batman: Return to Arkham collection will follow later in the month.

Here’s February 2019’s Xbox Live Games With Gold Lineup

February’s Games with Gold is an interesting mix, from retro stylings to series like Star Wars and Assassin’s Creed. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Games with Gold subscription. February’s Games with Gold are: Xbox One Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (February 1-20) Super Bomberman R (February…

500+ Games Are Backward Compatible On Xbox One And More Interesting Stats

ResetEra user MauroNL spent some time putting together a comprehensive list of stats and dataabout the Xbox One backwards compatibility program. Using Wikipedia, Xbox.com and other tools, MauroNL figured out how many games are backwards compatible on Xbox One and how many have yet to receive support. MauroNL also put together some interesting stats about…

A Catalogue Of Some Of The Rarest Consoles Ever Made

I’ve always had a weird thing for collections of video game hardware. Rare colourways, odd promotional designs, Japanese-only releases with crazy hardware features, I live for it. So I’ve just spent the last 24 hours clicking throughthis website, whose goal is to catalogue every console variant there is and ever has been, from fancy PS2s…

Sea Of Thieves Update Will Cut Down On File Size

Sea of Thieves is a constantly evolving game with an expanding roster ofmonsters to battle and islands to explore. In a blog post yesterday, Rare announced that it’s nerfing a dangerous foe: file size. Executive Producer Joe Neate announced the changes in an official blog post. Following an update on February 6, Sea of Thieves’…

Xbox Game Pass Quests Give You Money For Earning Achievements

Today, Microsoft announced a new slate of quests for Game Pass games in January. Earning certain achievements in particular games available through the monthly subscription service will net you rewards points. It’s a small but interesting new development in how the company has been trying to gamify how people play games on Xbox. Announced over…

Celeste Headlines January’s Xbox Live Games With Gold

I’m not the best at Celeste, but my colleagues’ love of it sure makes me wish I were. If you’ve been meaning to give this platformer a shot, it’s part of January’s Xbox Live Games with Gold lineup. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an Xbox Live Gold subscription. January’s Xbox…

Dumb Kids Will Try Anything To Get Out Of An Xbox Live Ban

Back in the earlier days of Xbox Live, while the Xbox 360 was still in its prime, the platform’s support forums used to allow users to complain about bans they’d received, and Microsoft staff would actually reply. Even if the users were being racist little shits. It seems a universe away from how platforms are…

Here’s December 2018’s Xbox Live Games With Gold Lineup

I’ve been encouraging my sister to play Never Alone with her kids since they got an Xbox, so I’m excited to see it in this month’s Games with Gold lineup. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription. December’s Games with Gold are: Xbox One Q.U.B.E. 2…

The World Record For Highest Xbox Gamerscore Is Now Two Million

Ray Cox, known in the gaming world as Stallion83, previously held the world record for being the first person to get 1 million points in Xbox achievements. Yesterday, he beat his own record by bringing his Gamerscore to 2 million. Cox streamed the achievement on Twitch, which he completed by playing Halo 2 from the…

Void Bastards is a strategy-shooter inspired by BioShock and System Shock 2. In it, you guide a group of prisoners through “derelict spaceships and myriad dangers.” You plot a course, study ship layouts, infiltrate ships, and fight/sabotage/distract your way through them. Also, your distraction tool is a kitty. Oh, and if the aforementioned stew of…

Microsoft’s New Studio Acquisitions Show How Much Xbox Has Changed

It came as a mild surprise when Microsoft announced Saturday that it was purchasing not just one but two mid-sized studios with a focus on role-playing games. But as strange as it seems on the surface, the deal makes perfect sense for all three parties. At the end of a relatively uneventful Xbox showcase in…