Recently Pocket Gamer Connects celebrated its tenth anniversary as part of the annual flagship event Pocket Gamer Connects London. Of course, this also meant the return of The Very Big Indie Pitch.
16.01.2024 - 18:46 / gamerant.com / Phil Spencer / Square Enix / Dominik Bo
Microsoft may be in preliminary discussions to bring Final Fantasy 7 Remake to Xbox, an established industry insider has said. This claim arrives mere months after a well-known leaker labeled a Final Fantasy 7 Remake Xbox port as unlikely, at least in the foreseeable future.
The first installment in the planned trilogy of Final Fantasy 7 remakes was originally released as a timed PS4 exclusive in April 2020. An enhanced version of the game, called Final Fantasy 7 Remake Integrade, launched on the PS5 in June 2021 before making its way to PC six months later. Square Enix has yet to give any indication that an Xbox port of the game is on the cards, despite the fact that its exclusivity deal with Sony ended years ago.
Be that as it may, Microsoft may currently be in talks to finally bring the game to the Xbox Series X/S, according to Windows Central's Jez Corden. «I've got evidence tentatively that there are discussions about Final Fantasy 7 [Remake] for Xbox,» Corden said during the latest episode of The Xbox Two Podcast. His insight dovetails with Phil Spencer's recent comments on the possibility of a FF7 Remake Xbox port that saw the Microsoft Gaming CEO reveal he's often in Tokyo discussing potential new releases with Square Enix.
But even if these purported talks were to amount to anything, Corden believes that a near-future announcement of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Xbox port is unlikely, as such a move would «take the shine off Rebirth.» For clarity, FF7 Rebirth—the second installment in the planned remake trilogy—launches February 29 as Square Enix's biggest game of the year, budget- and expectations-wise. Much like its predecessor, the upcoming JRPG will be a timed PlayStation exclusive.
Maybe Sony and Square Enix both wouldn't want to take the shine off [FF7] Rebirth right now by announcing FF7 Remake for Xbox, but I do think it'll happen.
Nevertheless, Xbox fans eager to play some Final Fantasy won't be without options in the near future. That's primarily because the Final Fantasy 14 Xbox Series X/S open beta is on the horizon, with Square Enix planning to launch it on or around February 21.
As for the possibility of Final Fantasy 7 Remake finally making its way to Microsoft's consoles, stranger things have happened. Ultimately, even Square Enix itself wants to bring more of its games to Xbox, having said as much as late as summer 2023, shortly after announcing that FF14 is finally coming to Microsoft's current-generation consoles. But even assuming more Final Fantasy games are on their way to Xbox, that's not to say FF7 Remake will be leading that batch. After all, the FF16 exclusivity period just ran out in late December, making that game another potential porting candidate for Square Enix.
S
Recently Pocket Gamer Connects celebrated its tenth anniversary as part of the annual flagship event Pocket Gamer Connects London. Of course, this also meant the return of The Very Big Indie Pitch.
Following rumors from Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb about the next State of Play this month, insider NateTheHate2 has revealed that it’s likely happening on January 31st/February 1st.
As part of major changes to Apple’s App Store policies to comply with EU regulations, the company has also announced that game streaming apps are now to be accepted on the App Store for the first time. This opens the door for Xbox Game Pass, GeForce Now, PlayStation Plus, Amazon Luna and other game streaming subscriptions to have dedicated apps on iPhone and iPad – they were previously only accessible via built-in web browsers.
Following the news that Microsoft is laying off around 1,900 people from its video game workforce, there is further confirmation that a survival game that was in the works over at Blizzard Entertainment has now been canceled.
Microsoft’s head of gaming has confirmed that 1,900 staff will be laid off across Activision Blizzard, Bethesda and Xbox.
Microsoft is laying off 1900 people across its video game teams, including Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and Xbox, equating to approximately eight percent of its gaming workforce.
Update, 9:51 a.m. ET, 1/25/24:
The critically-acclaimed Immortality, that was previously only available on consoles through Microsoft's Xbox Series X and S machines, has made its way to the Sony PlayStation 5 today. This title, which used to be available on Xbox’s Game Pass service, was among the highest-rated games of its year, and it even won several prestigious awards.
A most critical PlayStation console vulnerability was recently fixed, according to a new report shared online this week.
The recent Xbox Developer Direct has confirmed previous leaks that Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is launching for PC and Xbox Series X/S on Tuesday, May 21 as a day one Xbox Game Pass game. The original Hellblade is a critically-acclaimed, award-winning game, and so expectations are high for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.
Based on a recent series of tweets from Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke, it doesn't sound like Baldur's Gate 3 will be coming to any subscription service like PS Plus or Xbox Game Pass anytime soon. Vincke's discussion comes shortly after discourse surrounding a Ubisoft CEO saying fans should get used to not owning their games was shared in many online circles; in short, it seems Vincke wholeheartedly disagrees.
Tech giant Microsoft's loyalty program, Microsoft Rewards, has given Xbox users an extra way to earn points, gamers have discovered. However, it seems like the new method either offers different rewards or does not pop up at all for some folks.