Xbox allegedly used AI art for indie games promotion

Microsoft reveals the patch notes for the newest Xbox Insider Console Update on the Alpha ring, which adds a number of fixes and improvements for those who are participating. For many fans, January has been a strong month for Microsoft's Xbox division, with Game Pass continuing to offer new games as well as the debut of the Developer's Direct livestream. This year's showcase highlighted some highly anticipated Microsoft first party titles, like Avowed, Ara, and Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2. In addition the Developer's Direct also gave fans their first look at Machinegames' upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

The so-called "Pokemon with guns" game Palworld doesn't have dedicated servers on Xbox, which means players can only play 4-player co-op instead of 32-player co-op like in the Steam version of the game. Palworld has been turning heads since its initial reveal, with many fans intrigued by its darker take on the monster-catching genre and how it blends Pokemon-style gameplay with survival game mechanics.

Award-winning indie game Sea of Stars is set to expand its reach with a physical release in spring 2024. The surprise announcement of its boxed edition arrived some five months after Sea of Stars debuted to critical acclaim.

Japanese publisher Square Enix has revealed that it used generative artificial intelligence to produce some of the artwork in the upcoming Foamstars.

Xbox has confirmed that it has no plans to shadow drop any of the games set to be shown off at its upcoming Developer Direct. Having recently confirmed its second Developer Direct for January 18, Xbox is prepared to showcase new trailers and info for several of its most anticipated titles, like Oxide Games' Ara: History Untold, Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed, Ninja Theory's Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, and even MachineGames' Indiana Jones.

Ubisoft's director of subscriptions Philippe Tremblay has said that for all the growth of videogame subscription services in the past few years, players are still accustomed to "having and owning their games". Accordingly, he feels his task is to help you grow "comfortable" with the idea that the game you're playing might be taken offline as part of the release schedule, with Tremblay pointing out that you can still resume your save file when the game is next available.

A year ago, one Pokemon Red speedrunner set a world record so good that big chunks of the community thought it would never be broken. Last month, a runner named Jadiwi seemingly did the impossible by claiming a new world record, but the keepers of Pokemon speedrunning have now declared Jadiwi's world record too good to be true, alleging that the miracle run was the result of cheating.

The Xbox Developer Direct will be on January 18th at 2pm central. It will feature four games: Indiana Jones, Avowed, Ara: History Untold, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. The Direct will go to each of the game’s studios and look into the making of the games and show off footage.

Fasten your seatbelts — Xbox has announced its first Developer_Direct event of 2024, which will include the full reveal of MachineGames’ upcoming Indiana Jones action-adventure game.

Microsoft is ready to get 2024 rolling. The company has announced that it will host an Xbox Developer Direct on January 18.

There are a few games that are so unusual and incredible that I wish I could erase my memory and play them again for the first time. While I haven’t figured out a way to achieve that goal, there’s a fun alternative — find projects inspired by those games, and appreciate them. Buckshot Roulette, a game made by Mike Klubnika, is a perfect example of this.

Xbox hit Hi-Fi Rush is heavily rumored to be set for rival console the Nintendo Switch in 2024, sparking a vociferous debate about Microsoft’s exclusives strategy.