Xbox

With just a few weeks left before its May 15th launch date, Bethesda has released a second trailer for Doom: The Dark Ages. The last two Doom games have slowly been building up the mythology of the Doom Slayer, the nigh godlike entity whose favorite hobby is ripping and tearing until it is done. With this The Dark Ages trailer, it seems like Bethesda is poised to give us the most story laden Doom game yet.

From a big Variety interview published yesterday: “I’m really a big believer in what Nintendo means for this industry and us continuing to support them,” Spencer said. “And getting the support from them for our franchises, I think, is an important part of our future.”

Doom: The Dark Ages is launching in May and Microsoft is celebrating the new release with not one, but two special edition Xbox controllers. You can pick up a regular Xbox controller with the Doom Slayer’s armor for $79.99, or go for a transparent red top Xbox Elite 2 controller for $199.99. There’s even a $54.99 Xbox Series X wrap, too.

While GTA V (and GTA V Enhanced on PC) is available, again, on Game Pass as of today, Xbox announced that 2022’s Call of Duty game will join the library in a couple of weeks. A reboot of 2009’s Modern Warfare 2, and predecessor to 2023’s Modern Warfare III reboot, it will include the “...globe-trotting single-player campaign, immersive multiplayer combat, and an evolved Special Ops game mode.”

Here’s a launch trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which releases on April 17th, and a blog post detailing some PlayStation-specific features for the game.

Continuing the tradition of established directors making weird-as-hell video game commercials, here’s David Fincher partnering with French director Romain Chassaing for an Xbox ad. It honestly wouldn’t look out of place as a new Secret Level episode.

The review embargo is up for Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight. I desperately wanted to have this up in time but I was off tearing up my wrist and shoulder trying out the the Nintendo Switch 2’s new Joy-Con mouse functions among other Nintendo-related shenanigans. The review is on the way though and I’m really excited to share my thoughts. For now though, whet your appetite with my interview with the game’s developers including voice and motion capture director Ahmed Best.

Microsoft announced that Grand Theft Auto V is returning to the Game Pass library (with the Enhanced edition on PC) on April 15th, continuing a trend that seems to keep the long-in-the-tooth title popping up every couple of years.

Microsoft turns 50 on Friday April 4th, and its celebrating early with a new Xbox Dynamic Background, some nostalgic wallpapers, and a 50th anniversary theme for Solitaire. You can grab the wallpapers from here, apply the Dynamic Background on Xbox Series S / X console, grab an Xbox profile badge from the Xbox Insider Hub, and apply the 50th anniversary theme directly in Solitaire. Microsoft is also holding a special event on Friday to announce some new additions to Copilot.

A Windows Insider build deep diver found a reference for a “full screen experience” startup mode in Windows 11. As noted by Windows Central, the reference implies that multiple gaming interfaces will likely be selectable. Could it all point toward the next-gen Windows handheld gaming experience change Microsoft has been talking about?

From Asus and, seemingly, Xbox. My colleague Tom Warren reported earlier this month about how the two companies were working together.

Following Hyperkin announcing a translucent green controller at CES 2025 based on the Halo-themed Xbox Microsoft introduced in 2004, and Backbone releasing a green Xbox-branded Backbone One last week, 8BitDo almost feels late to the party with its new $69.99 Ultimate 3-mode Controller for Xbox.

There’s now an Xbox-branded Backbone One inspired by the Halo-themed original Xbox Controller S (like the one that Hyperkin recently modernized). It is no different than the standard Backbone — or even the PlayStation 5 version — but it’s got Xbox-specific buttons that are great for those who primarily play GamePass. This translucent green color is also undoubtedly nicer than Death Stranding’s amniotic-y yellow one.

Microsoft has started testing a new Game Hubs feature in the Xbox dashboard that will display game information instead of immediately launching a title. A select number of Xbox Insiders can try this new Game Hubs feature out right now, and it does mean you’ll have to hit A twice to launch games from various parts of the Xbox dashboard.

Microsoft has now reached the milestone of more than 1,000 Xbox Play Anywhere titles. Originally launched in 2016, Xbox Play Anywhere lets you purchase an Xbox game once and play it across consoles and PCs. Xbox Play Anywhere will be a key part of Microsoft’s merging of Xbox and Windows, and VP of Next Gen Jason Ronald says “many many more” Play Anywhere titles are on the way.

An Xbox Support page describes “Bluetooth connectivity and performance with some older non-Xbox devices,” that might result as a part of the 5.23.5.0 firmware, and sas owners can now revert the update, but that’s about it.

The news follows the January announcement that uBreakiFix will be able to do in-person Xbox Series X / S repairs.