Gaming in county Spencer. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

Xbox closed down four studios this week, including The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks and Dishonored developer Arkane Austin. The backlash has been overwhelming, and Matt Booty only added fuel to the fire yesterday when he said that the company needs "smaller games that give us prestige and awards", perfectly describing Tango's recently released Hi-Fi Rush.

Many players are still waiting for the Redfall DLC they spent $100 on. Redfall was positioned to be the next big release from popular developer Arkane Studios. Arkane became well known for games such as Dishonored as well as their more recent release Deathloop, which have both received praise for their unique combat and traversal mechanics.

While the name Kareem Choudhry may not be as well-known as, say, Phil Spencer or Matt Booty, Xbox fans who keep abreast with the company’s announcements and showcases are likely to be familiar with his face. As corporate vice president of emerging technologies at Xbox, Choudhry was in charge of a lot of the more innovative things Microsoft’s gaming division offered in recent years, including backward compatibility and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has suggested that Microsoft would be willing to open up their console platform to third party storefronts. Could with see the likes of itch.io and Epic Games Store on Xbox in future?

In recent months, there’s been a lot of debate and concern about the future of the Xbox brand, with Microsoft seemingly tip-toeing away from exclusives and the traditional console business. In a recent “business update,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer and other execs sought to calm fears, saying major exclusives like Starfield are staying put (for now) and Microsoft is working on powerful new hardware, but fans have been skeptical in the face of “flatlining” demand for Xbox consoles.

From the Nintendo Switch and the Steam Deck to the many similar devices the latter in particular has spawned (including the likes of the Lenovo Legion Go, ROG Ally, and more), there’s been no shortage of evidence that there’s incredible demand within the gaming audiences for handheld devices. Interestingly, it seems like Microsoft is at least tinkering with the idea of such a device.

An Xbox insider has responded to recent rumors that have claimed Ninja Theory is porting to the PlayStation 5. Reports of more Xbox-exclusive titles going multi-platform have become more common since Xbox CEO, Phil Spencer, announced four of the platform's first-party games would also be going to Nintendo and PlayStation devices.

A long-time insider has claimed that neither Microsoft nor its subsidiaries are currently working on a PlayStation 5 port for Starfield. The news comes after previous rumors that Starfield may come to PS5 following Xbox's new cross-platform strategy with certain exclusives.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has confirmed that Xbox will not be moving away from physical media anytime soon, despite the market trending towards digital purchases.

The latest co-op craze is Helldivers 2, and it has been achieving some impressive numbers on all platforms it is available on.

It bugs Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer that Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Helldivers 2 is not on Xbox. In a recent interview with Game File, Spencer stated that he’s “not exactly sure who it helps in the industry by not being on Xbox,” even though he understands that “there’s a legacy in console gaming that we’re going to benefit by shipping games and not putting them on other places.”

Diablo IV will be coming to Xbox Game Pass next month, marking the first Activision Blizzard game to launch on the service post-acquisition. 

The president of Xbox, Sarah Bond, has confirmed that the company is already looking forward to the next-generation of hardware, and aims to deliver “the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation.”

Now that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is fully over the line, and its games now fall underneath the Xbox umbrella, questions have been raised as to when we can expect the publisher's titles to be added to Game Pass. Xbox made it clear that all of its first-party titles will be available to play on Game Pass from the day of launch, and Activision Blizzard and its studios are now considered first-party developers.

It's been an odd couple of weeks if you're an Xbox fan, with rumors flying that certain exclusives will be making their way to other consoles such as PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. Pretty much every Xbox exclusive you can think was rumored to be jumping over at some point, with Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and Sea of Thieves being the three games fueling most of the rumors.

Following a weekend of reports and rumours about Xbox going cross-platform with PS5 ports, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has posted to Twitter to announce a “business update” that will reveal Microsoft’s “vision for the future of Xbox.”

Reports suggest that Toys for Bob has been hit hard by the Microsoft layoffs, with some sources saying that the developer has lost up to 40 percent of its staff. This comes just after Microsoft acquired Toys for Bob's parent company, Activision Blizzard, in a deal that cost almost $70 billion.

There is a new rumor going around that Banjo-Kazooie is finally, really, staging another comeback.

The CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, is officially stepping down from his role later this month, it’s been confirmed. 

By Tom Warrenand Ash Parrish

If you’re curious about where to watch and stream Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 10 online, you’ve come to the right spot. This show revolves around the intriguing return of a morally questionable scientist to his daughter’s home after a two-decade absence. He establishes a laboratory in the garage and goes on thrilling intergalactic escapades with his grandson.

Microsoft’s high-profile legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the fate of its $69 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard unearthed a number of explosive revelations, among them the fact Microsoft renegotiated ZeniMax's deal with Disney to make Bethesda's upcoming Indiana Jones game exclusive to Xbox and PC, thus ditching the PlayStation 5 version.

A couple of months after Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the United States Federal Trade Commission has approached a federal appeals court this week to unwind the deal. According to CNN, the FTC has argued that district judge Jacqueline Scott Corley went too far with her ruling allowing the acquisition.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has announced that Starfield has now seen over 12 million players.

12 million people have played the spacefaring Starfield, just three months after takeoff. 

Microsoft’s gaming division is seeking continued growth, and to do that, it is eyeing the mobile gaming market. As Bloomberg reports, Xbox is talking with partners to create a mobile gaming store.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is getting a physical Deluxe Edition next year, developer Larian Studios has announced.

Former Embracer Group chief operating officer Egil Strunke announced on LinkedIn today that he has formally resigned as the company's chief operating officer—essentially, Embracer's number-two guy—and that he's now launching an all-new game company of his own.

This Week in Business is our more-or-less weekly recap column, a collection of stats and quotes from recent stories presented with a dash of opinion (sometimes more than a dash) and intended to shed light on various trends. Check every Friday for a new entry.

By Tom Warren, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.

By Tom Warren, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.

Microsoft has announced some pretty significant leadership and organizational changes in the gaming segment today, as reported by The Verge.

Soon after Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been completed, Xbox leadership visited the headquarters of Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine, California, to address the staff for the first time.

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Mobile is bigger than console and PC, and Spencer discusses what Microsoft needs to do to find success there.

Xbox head Phil Spencer has shed more light on what Microsoft's recent acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision will mean for the series, and no, it isn't about using timed exclusivity deals for the franchise in order to sell consoles.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has discussed plans to take advantage of Activision Blizzard's past titles. 

Activision Blizzard and all of the studios under it now belong to Microsoft, along with every single franchise they own. Even though Activision Blizzard is primarily concerned with Call of Duty these days, the acquisition has brought with it a whole bunch of dormant titles that fans are hoping get a new lease on life now that Xbox is essentially calling the shots. We don't know what the plans are at the moment, but Xbox head Phil Spencer has stated that the company will be "all in" if any Activision Blizzard studios want to revisit games from the past.

Call of Duty has been in bed with PlayStation for quite a while now. Even amongst the trials and tribulations of Activision Blizzard being acquired by Microsoft, the most recent beta for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was exclusive to PlayStation platforms for the first few days. Call of Duty on PlayStation has also had a number of exclusive DLC packs over the years, and does so with Modern Warfare 3 as well due to preexisting contracts penned between Sony and Activision Blizzard.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has reiterated that future Call of Duty games—a franchise that now falls under the Microsoft umbrella thanks to its recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard—will have 100 percent parity when it comes to content on all platforms.

The FTC and Microsoft are presently in court over the FTC's desire to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and as seems to happen every time a big gaming company goes to court, there's been an accidental leak of confidential documents. 

Earlier today, a massive amount of information was leaked through documents surrounding the Microsoft-FTC case. Now, Xbox head Phil Spencer has issued a response.

By Tom Warrenand Jay Peters

The Xbox Microsoft merger saga continues with a new set of leaks allegedly revealing the company's strategies for the future. In addition to unveiling plans for upcoming game titles and remasters, the leaks included information on refreshes of the Xbox current generation consoles, the Xbox Series X and S, and alleged intentions to acquire more gaming companies, including Nintendo. While not all the information revealed was up-to-date, it potentially gives the public a glimpse into Xbox and Microsoft's plans for the future.

It looks like The Elder Scrolls 6 won't be releasing until 2026 at the very earliest, and our PlayStation pals are likely going to be missing out entirely.

Starfield is Bethesda's big new release, but now that it’s finally out in the wild, some have already turned their attention toward any incoming news on The Elder Scrolls VI. While some always assumed the game was a good way off, we now know not to expect it for another two to three years at the earliest. 

Messaging from Microsoft regarding whether or not The Elder Scrolls 6 will be skipping a PlayStation release (whenever it launches, that is) has been mixed at best, though given the fact that two major Bethesda releases in Redfall and Starfield have launches as Xbox console exclusives, many have assumed that the fantasy RPG will follow suit. More evidence has now emerged to support that notion.

By Andrew Webster, an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.

Xbox’s head of gaming says The Elder Scrolls 6’s exclusivity still hasn’t been decided.

Activision has given us our best look yet at Tomb Raider's Lara Croft in Call of Duty.

While the Xbox Series S has always been a bit divisive, controversy over the machine, and whether its holding back current-gen development, has reached new heights. This has largely been spurred by Baldur’s Gate III, which is not launching on Xbox Series X/S because Larian Studios are having trouble splitscreen co-op working on the Series S. There is also increasing reports of Series-S-related grumbling among studios, as the reality of development is, you have to largely design multiplatform games around the limitations of the lowest spec hardware you’re releasing on.

Don't expect to see Call of Duty popping up on Game Pass as soon as the ink dries on Microsoft's proposed Activision Blizzard deal (if it dries, that is — of course nothing has been confirmed as yet).

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said players will need to play the first few hours of Starfield before it «blows up in terms of its epic scale.»

Final Fantasy fans know that if they want to enjoy the franchise’s latest games, they typically need to be on the PlayStation platform. It’s essentially the go-to platform for Final Fantasy games these days. However, a big move happened not too long ago in which Final Fantasy 14 was finally making its way to the Xbox consoles. That’s not a new game by any means. This MMORPG has been available since 2010. However, now Xbox is finally getting this game on their platforms. Could this just be the start?

Over the last year, Xbox has been under one massive spotlight: a giant acquisition and court case, speculation about its upcoming AAA portfolio, Starfield on the horizon, questions around third-party game parity across both its consoles, Game Pass, and so much more. Naturally, we have tons of questions about all of this, and at gamescom 2023, we were finally able to get some answers from Xbox head Phil Spencer about almost everything.

At Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest 2023, game director Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) welcomed Xbox boss Phil Spencer onto the stage alongside Square Enix boss Takashi Kiryu to celebrate the announcement that Final Fantasy 14 is finally on its way to Xbox consoles after years of PlayStation console exclusivity. And it sounded like Microsoft had ensured even more Square Enix games will end up on Xbox in the coming years.