Microsoft’s Xbox has been around since 2001, and over that time the gaming brand has given us huge hits like Halo, Gears of War, Forza, and more. Today, the Xbox brand covers consoles like the Xbox One, PC gaming, and has even expanded to other platforms. You can play Minecraft on everything from a computer to an iPhone to a Nintendo Switch. Along the way, Microsoft has pioneered modern services like Xbox Live and Game Pass, introducing new ways to play games. And with Project Scarlett on the horizon, the Xbox looks to have a bright future.
The FTC called Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass price hike “exactly the sort of consumer harm” it had predicted ahead of the company’s Activision-Blizzard buy.
Microsoft’s response (PDF) claims that with included multiplayer and the upcoming day-and-date release of Call of Duty, the offering isn’t degraded at all.
It’s a “global outage,” according to an Nvidia status message. “We are working on a fix to bring back the service as soon as possible.”
Nvidia’s other GeForce Now services appear to be operational, so perhaps this issue is tied to everything else going on.
Just in time for Deadpool and Wolverine, Xbox is giving away a new controller that puts the “ass” in assassin...and I hate it.
Now, I don’t mind gimmicky controllers. Those furry Sonic controllers didn’t bother me because they were still regular controllers, sweaty hands notwithstanding. But this monstrosity doesn’t even look ergonomically functional. All that ass and no way to properly grip it.
Microsoft has added a new “Xbox 360 Blades” Dynamic Background for Xbox Series S / X owners. It’s a blast of nostalgia, just as Microsoft prepares to close the Xbox 360 digital store on July 29th. A bunch of games are discounted ahead of the store closure, and there are even Xbox 360 t-shirts, hoodies, and other gear available for a limited time.
Pre-orders are available for the Hyperkin DuchesS, which re-imagines Microsoft’s Xbox Controller S (the one that replaced the console’s original “The Duke” gamepad) for Xbox One and Series X / S consoles, and PC.
Based on the game’s first trailer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed developer AHeartfulofGames seems to have nailed the Mutant Mayhem visual style.
Disappointingly, Mutants Unleashed only supports two players. It’s out for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PCs on October 18th.
The demon hunting, speedrunning visual novel launches on Xbox today, after previously hitting Switch, Steam, and PlayStation (it’ll also be available to Game Pass subscribers). I promise that it is just as weird as that description makes it seem — but in a very good way.
Rare’s hit pirate simulator game is coming to Nvidia’s cloud gaming service this week. No, I’m not sorry for the tortured cloud pun.
We got another look at Avowed during the Xbox Games Showcase yesterday, but no exact release date beyond a promise of 2024. After the showcase wrapped, Obsidian accidentally revealed Avowed is targeting a release on November 12th. The blog post was quickly edited after the release date mention was discovered, but not before I managed to take a screenshot.
Microsoft squeezed three new Xbox models into its bumper games showcase last night. There’s a new white disc-less Xbox Series X, a 1TB version of the Xbox Series S, and a “Galaxy Black” 2TB Xbox Series X. All three will be available later this year, just in time for plenty of new Xbox games over the holidays.
Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase is full of release dates today, but we still don’t have an exact one for Avowed. Obsidian’s upcoming first-person RPG is still arriving in 2024, though. I heard from sources a few months ago that it was targeting a November release. Last year, we got a good look at Avowed and a promise of a 2024 launch, and we’re getting much of the same today.
Bethesda’s Indiana Jones game still doesn’t have a release date, but we got an even closer look at the game during the Xbox Games Showcase today. Sources familiar with Bethesda’s plans tell me that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is currently targeting a December release.
