Xbox

How I Broke My Addiction To Achievements

The first piece I ever wrote for Kotaku chronicled my fun-sucking addiction to achievements. 15 months later, I’m back to tell you how I overcame that addiction. Even back then, at the peak of my achievement obsessing, my resolve was starting to crack. The grind had become too tedious, too time-consuming, and too much of…

Diablo III On Xbox One vs PS4 vs PC

Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition dropped for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this week, and it’s good. So good, in fact, that it has Kotaku‘s Yannick LeJacq switching his Diablo allegiance from PC to PS4 Now the folks at Digital Foundry have put together a helpful side-by-side comparison of the game running on all three…

Microsoft Says Free Xbox Live Game Download Was An Error [UPDATE]

For a while there, it looked like Xbox One owners might soon be able to download and try out even more games from Microsoft free of charge. But Microsoft says that the screen teasing this possibility was an error. First spotted overnight by Reddit users who who’ve downloaded the latest XB1 firmware beta, a tile…

Microsoft’s Pretty New Platformer Is Looking Great So Far

I went into Ori and the Blind Forest… well, blind. I had seen a trailer for it back at E3, but other than that I hadn’t bothered with any information. Nothing against it, I just hadn’t bothered. [This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK] I came out of my demo session with it at Gamescom…

The Xbox One’s August update will start rolling out today, Microsoft says. Improvements include a better friends list, new activity feed updates, and a low-battery notification for the controller.

How Xbox is Changing its Dudebro Image

You know the strange thing about my eight years with the Xbox 360? Despite the fact that I played it most days, I often felt kind of alienated by it. This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK The ads it was serving me, the language used on the dash and the games that Xbox always…

Xbox One Will Soon Let You Play Pirated Movies & TV Shows

It’s not the kind of news that makes the headlines during a press conference, but it is the kind of news that can help sell systems: the Xbox One is getting native, official support for .mkv, one of the world’s most popular video formats (well, containers). Let’s get real: while they have many technical benefits,…

“We will clearly spend money on marketing the game, there’s no doubt about that. And we do [that] on games where we have very little to do with development, and with games that we fully develop. And we will definitely be spending money on developing the game – I want to make sure that it’s…

Rise of the Tomb Raider Isn’t Really An ‘Xbox Exclusive’

Yesterday, Microsoft dropped the first bomb of Gamescom 2014: that Rise of the Tomb Raider will be an Xbox exclusive. Except, wait. It’s not. Turns out this was yet another a case of shady corporate double-speak, and this is actually a timed exclusive. “Yes, the deal has a duration,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer told Eurogamer.…

The Witcher 3 Sure Is Pretty

It’s hard to discern much about how The Witcher 3 plays, or whether it will feel as grand as it looks, or whether the combat is any good. But there’s one thing we can tell from this new gameplay footage: The Witcher 3—out in February for PS4/Xbox One/PC—sure is pretty. I mean, look at that…

No, You Can’t Bite People in FIFA 15

Sebastien Enrique is the lead producer on the PS4 and Xbox One versions of FIFA 15. He’s been at EA Sports since FIFA 06 – in other words, when the series was still awful – and he’s been there to see its rise to greatness. This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK I think he’s…

People Are Pissed That Tomb Raider Is An Xbox Exclusive

This morning’s biggest Gamescom news was that Rise of the Tomb Raider, the next big console installment in Lara Croft’s adventures, will be an Xbox exclusive. And people are pissed. Well, to be honest, it’s not really clear whether Rise of the Tomb Raider is a permanent Xbox exclusive. Game publishers like Microsoft and Sony…

Watch The New Call of Duty Blow Up A Bridge

Most of the Call of Duty news since Advanced Warfare was first announced has focused on the multiplayer. That’s understandable. But it also means that one of the shooter franchise’s other important assets hasn’t had a chance to shine through: its unique ability to make blow up iconic pieces of architecture. Cue giant bridge explosion:…

Goat Simulator, Super Hot and lots of other indie games got a quick spotlight during the Xbox One press event at Gamescom today. Me, I can’t wait for Cuphead. What looks good to you, dear readers?

Microsoft Announces The ‘Halo Channel’

Microsoft just announced that it’s making a special channel for all things Halo related for the Xbox One. It’s known simply as “The Halo Channel,” and looks like it will have lots of stuff to make fans of the shooter happy. Microsoft described it as an “interactive digital network that provides unprecedented, personalized access to…

Come, check out the murderous robots of Sunset Overdrive’s Gamescom gameplay trailer. The game lands on Xbox One on October 28. Until then, enjoy “absent minded scientist” Floyd’s narration of the carnage.

If you’ve been holding out for a white Xbox One, then you’ll be able to get one this fall. Just announced at Gamescom, a Sunset Overdrive bundle will be the first chance the general public gets to own a frosty version of Microsoft’s newest home console.

The Next Tomb Raider Is A Timed Xbox Exclusive [UPDATE]

UPDATE (8/13): Turns out Microsoft was just being misleading—Rise of the Tomb Raider is a timed exclusive. It’ll come to other platforms later. Original story follows: Wow! Microsoft just announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider, announced earlier this year at E3, will be an Xbox exclusive out holiday 2015. Rise of the Tomb Raider,…

Microsoft Offering The First Console To Ship With a 1TB Drive

Today at Gamescom, Microsoft announced that they’re launching a Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Xbox One bundle on November 4. Notably, the included console comes with a 1TB internal hard drive—double the size of the standard console’s HDD. The bundle costs $499.99, and includes an Advanced Warfare-branded console with a 1TB hard drive, a custom…

Assassin’s Creed Unity‘s Paris Looks Damned Good

Paris is a great choice to show off the evolution of the tech powering the next crop of Assassin’s Creed games, n’est-ce pas? In this new trailer for Assassin’s Creed Unity, you can get lingering looks at the bustling crowds, interior spaces and improved parkour that will be hitting the Xbox One, PS4 and PC…