The long-runningrumors and hints that Microsoft is planning to enter the portable gaming market accelerated forward this week. That's thanks to a Windows Central report that Microsoft is planning to partner with a "PC gaming OEM" for "an Xbox-branded gaming handheld" to be released later this year. The device, code-named Keenan, will reportedly feature "Xbox design sensibilities," such as the branded Xbox guide button, but will almost certainly be a PC gaming device running Windows at its core.
Any Microsoft entry into the world of gaming handhelds will join a market that hasbecomequitecrowded in the wake of the Steam Deck's success. To make its own portable gaming effort stand apart, Microsoft will have to bring something unique to the table. Here are some of the features we're hoping will let Microsoft do just that.
A bespoke user interface
There's never been a better time to bring back the old Xbox 360 "blades" interface.
Credit:
Microsoft / Reddit
For decades, Windows has been designed first and foremost for the world of large monitors driven by a mouse and keyboard world. When hardware makers try to simply stick that OS into a handheld screen size controlled by buttons and analog sticks, the results can be awkward at best.
After a whole lot of teasing, it’s now official: remakes of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 are on the way. Activision officially announced the new release — called Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 — which will include remakes of both seminal skateboarding games and is launching on Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and the Switch on July 11th. It’ll also be available for subscribers of Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass PC.
Just like the previous remakes, the new collection will include all of the content from the original games, alongside some modern additions, including brand-new parks and a handful of current skaters like Olympic stars Rayssa Leal and Yuto Horigome. They’ll join the original cast, including the likes of Bucky Lasek, Steve Caballero, Kareem Campbell, Elissa Steamer, Chad Muska, Rodney Mullen, and, obviously, Tony Hawk.
The new game is being developed by Iron Galaxy Studios, which worked with Vicarious Visions — now a part of Blizzard — on the previous remake. Here’s a little before-and-after image comparing the original games to the updated version:
Activision says that the soundtrack — always an important part of a Tony Hawk game — will include classic songs from Motörhead, Gang Starr, KRS-One, and others, “alongside new tracks that capture the spirit of modern skate culture.” The game will also support cross-platform online multiplayer for up to eight skaters.
The original remakes were well-received updates of some true classics, and the new game will be launching at a very interesting time for skateboarding games. In addition to clever indie releases like Skate City, OlliOlli World, and the upcoming Skate Story, EA is also bringing back its long-dormant Skate series.
Split Fiction, the new game fromIt Takes Twodeveloper Hazelight Studios, doesnât do anything particularly new. The game is a straightforward co-op adventure that strings together disparate sci-fi and fantasy games like links on a chain. If you bundled together the sci-fi and fantasy sections as separate entities, they wouldnât form a cohesive experience in either gameplay or story. And the overarching narrative that connects them all is a pretty heavy-handed (though necessary, in todayâs climate) parable about the rapaciousness of generative AI tools and the creative bankruptcy of the executives that develop them.
Nevertheless, thereâs an ironic genius in Split Fiction precisely because it takes so many little gameplay elements that Iâve seen and done before and executes them with a brilliance and polish I have not.
In Split Fiction, you and a partner play as Zoe and Mio, two people who have come to the curiously named Rader Corporation under the auspices of getting their stories published. But â gasp! â instead of getting paid, they get trapped in a machine designed to extract peopleâs creative ideas. After mishaps and shenanigans, Zoe and Mio are forced to w …
Microsoft might say its top priority right now is security, but itâs been clear for months that AI is just as important. The odd division out has been Xbox, which hasnât discussed its use of AI much in public. But that changed last week when Microsoft ripped the band-aid off and waded, somewhat clumsily, into the debate over AI in gaming.
Last Wednesday, Microsoft revealed Muse, its new AI model that can generate gameplay. It was trained on Ninja Theoryâs Xbox game Bleeding Edge, and it can understand a 3D world and physics and then respond to playersâ interactions. While Muse is a Microsoft Research project at heart, Microsoft presented it in a way that linked it directly to Xbox and the future of the companyâs gaming efforts. That has divided opinion between those who argue that Microsoft will use this model to build games and lay off developers, and others who think this is still very early and simply another tool in a game developerâs kit.
Iâve been speaking to game developers over the past week to get a better understanding of the response to Muse. Of the handful Iâve spoken to, no one is willing to speak on the record for reasons like career concerns and th …
You could potentially triple the storage capacity of your Xbox Series X / S.
FromMonster Hunt Wilds toNinja Gaiden 4,there are a ton of great Xbox Series X / S games coming out this year. Luckily, if you need more storage to play them all, Western Digital’s officially licensed WD_Black C50Storage ExpansionCard for Xbox is down to its best price since Black Friday, with the 1TB model going for $109.99 ($48 off) at Amazon, B&H Photo, and SanDisk’s online storefront. You can also pick up the 2TB configuration from Amazon, B&H Photo, and SanDisk for $199.98 (about $50 off), which — like the 1TB version — is just $10 more than its lowest price to date.
Like Seagate’s Storage Expansion Cards, Western Digital’s NVMe-based expansion cards are one of the few on the market that not only store games but also let you play them directly from your console’s storage (no data transfer required). They offer speeds that are nearly as fast as your console’s built-in storage, too, so you don’t need to worry about running into any performance issues like you would if you were to use a traditional external hard drive or other USB-based storage solutions.
What’s nice, too, is that they support many of the quality-of-life features found on Microsoft’s latest consoles, including the handy Quick Resume function, which allows you to run multiple titles simultaneously and quickly switch between suspended games in an instant. The compact plug-and-play cards are also incredibly easy to install — just insert them into one of the dedicated ports on your console, and you’re all set.
Tons of colors are on sale, some cheaper than others.
Of the three major gaming consoles, the Xbox Series X / S may have the most diverse controller selection, but Microsoft’s basic Xbox Wireless Controller is still the best Xbox controller for most people. That’s mostly because it’s the cheapest one you can buy with native support for Xbox’s built-in wireless protocol (you can also use it with PC and mobile via Bluetooth or USB-C), but it’s also just really solid overall.
It’s hard to beat the value, especially when they’re on sale for as low as $39, just a few dollars more than their all-time low, as they are in select colors at Amazon and Walmart right now. That’ll get you the basic crop of colors such as black, white, and blue. You can spend a bit more to get the awesome translucent models, which are starting at $57.50 (about $12 off) at Amazon and Walmart.
The Xbox Wireless Controller isn’t loaded with fancy features and gimmicks like newer, more expensive controllers. You can’t easily remove or replace any of its parts, for example, nor does it have back buttons, sensitivity adjustments, or built-in means for customizing and swapping button mapping configurations. But it still sets the standard for how a controller should look, feel, and work. The ergonomic shape and button layout are still the most widely emulated of any controller, perhaps ever.
Some people still scoff that it doesn’t have a rechargeable internal battery, but that’s a point in its favor. Its versatile battery bay lets you either use standard AA batteries or slot in a rechargeable pack. Some of those batteries offer much more play time than controllers with built-in batteries. You’ll never have to plug it in or dock it if you have a charged spare handy, and you won’t have to dismantle an entire controller or shell out for a replacement once they run dry
As part of its February Xbox update, Microsoft is making it easier to invite your friends to an Xbox Cloud Gaming session by letting you generate shareable links. You can send the link through an Xbox message or by copying it to your clipboard for pasting into any messaging app you want. Players can accept the invite on a supported PC or mobile web browser and jump in right away or receive a code to enter on any TVs or streaming devices with Xbox gaming features.
Willing participants must have an Xbox account, with some games requiring an active Game Pass Ultimate subscription. It also requires each player to have an “entitlement” to the game, presumably by owning it outright or having access through Game Pass or a free-play period. You can invite as many friends as the game allows and revoke access to the link at any time. Some games will also allow you to remove unwanted players from your session.
This new feature arrives as part of the continued expansion of Xbox Cloud Gaming, which recently added the ability to stream your own games on your Xbox console or on mobile, PC, and TVs. (Previously, you could only stream select Game Pass titles.) That feature launched with 50 supported titles, but Microsoft recently expanded it with about half a dozen, including notable additions like Blasphemous II, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, and Subnautica.
Microsoft has decided to delay the release window of its upcoming Fable game to 2026. The Xbox maker originally said last year that Fable would arrive at some point in 2025, but now Xbox Game Studios chief Craig Duncan has provided an update on the game during an appearance on the official Xbox podcast.
“We previously announced the date for Fable as 2025, we are actually going to give Fable more time and it’s going to ship in 2026 now,” says Duncan. “While I know that’s not maybe the news people want to hear, what I want to assure people of is that it’s definitely worth the wait. I have unequivocable confidence in the Playground team.”
We got to see some early gameplay footage of Fable at last year’s Xbox summer showcase, which was largely focused on the characters and story of the fantasy game. Fable will be centered on a hero named Humphry, who “will be forced out of retirement when a mysterious figure from his past threatens Albion’s very existence.” Microsoft provided a little more gameplay footage today, too.
Playground Games is the developer behind this latest Fable installment, best-known for their work on the Forza Horizon series. “What they’re bringing to the Fable franchise, just think of the visuals of what you expect from Playground Games, plus amazing gameplay, British humor, and Playground’s take… in quite frankly the most beautifully realized version of Albion that you’ve ever seen,” says Duncan.
Microsoft still has a busy year of Xbox games ahead, including South of Midnight, id Software’s Doom: The Dark Ages, The Outer Worlds 2, and potentially even Gears of War: E-Day.
It was hard playing a preview of South of Midnight because, 20 minutes in, I just started bawling. The demo for the action-adventure platformer starts at the beginning of chapter three. The protagonist, Hazel, is working her way through a swamp trying to find her mother, who, along with their house, had been washed away in a hurricane. At the same time, she comes to learn her newfound powers as a Weaver â a person who can manipulate the metaphysical strands that connect all life â from the ghostly echoes of an enslaved woman who used her powers to escape to freedom and help others do the same.
With all that weighing on me, I held it together pretty well. But as I went through the double jump tutorial, a choir started singing a hymn in the background and I just lost it. It wasnât that it was an emotional hymn; I didnât even recognize it. But I knew the song was of me and for me even without having heard it before. Thatâs the kind of cultural weight the developers at Xbox studio Compulsion Games have invested in South of Midnight.
The authenticity that oozes from the game was intentionally cultivated. Its story draws upon American Southern Gothic folklore, which itself i …
Hello, and welcome to a special episode of Decoder! This is David Pierce, editor-at-large at The Verge. Nilay is off this week for a much-deserved break from what I can only describe as a pretty bleak news cycle. So I’m filling in for him, and the Decoder team thought this would be a good opportunity to switch gears a little bit from the political apocalypse beat and talk about something completely different.
So today we’re diving into the video game industry and discussing a particular set of thorny problems facing Microsoft and its Xbox division. Microsoft is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and for nearly half of that history, Xbox has been a central pillar of the company’s consumer hardware and software businesses. The first Xbox launched in 2001, and it has sat alongside Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo as the Big Three of console gaming for the last quarter century.
But things in Xbox land have not been that great lately. In fact, Xbox has been struggling for quite some time now. And a lot of the issues it’s facing can be traced back to core problems at the heart of software distribution: as video games get more expensive to make, and the demands for their scope, size, and quality become greater, how do you produce certifiable hits that get people to buy your hardware? How do you finance those hits, and when they launch, how do you get them into the hands of more consumers — consumers who may not want to buy an Xbox anymore and balk at the idea of shelling out $70 for a new game?
Nintendo and Sony seem to have this pretty much figured out, and both companies have been reaping the benefits of dominating the console-gaming market, albeit in different ways, since at least 2017. That’s when the first Switch launched and when it became clear Sony’s PS4 had cemented the PlayStation as the clear winner of the 2010s. But 2017 is also when Microsoft launched Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service designed to be a bit like Netflix for gaming.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer developed a master plan to shift the Xbox business model. After the better part of 20 years having proprietary hardware at the center of its strategy, Microsoft pivoted. The idea was it would lean on its expertise in cloud computing and its considerable war chest of software profits from Windows to try something new. It would mix subscription gaming, cloud streaming, and a willingness to put its software on competing platforms to try and break free from a losing race against its rivals.
Listen to Decoder, a show hosted by The Verge’s Nilay Patel about big ideas — and other problems. Subscribe here!
Eight years later, and well… it hasn’t quite worked out like we might have thought. Xbox is still in a distant third place in the console race, with some estimates putting Xbox hardware sales at less than half the number of PS5’s Sony has sold. That’s despite some record-breaking game studio acquisitions that have cost Microsoft almost $100 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, Nintendo is off in a league of its own. It has sold more than 150 million Switch units since that console launched, and the eventual Switch 2, coming later this year, is also expected to be a smash hit.
So, sure, GamePass is reasonably successful for what it is — but it definitely hasn’t changed the world like Netflix did to Hollywood. People are still mostly buying new games, sometimes even still on a disc from Best Buy or Walmart. Streaming a game to your phone or TV over the cloud remains pretty niche.
So, what exactly happened here? Why did Microsoft’s master plan not pan out? And can it still succeed if the right combination of factors comes together over the next several years? To break all this down, I invited Ash Parrish, The Verge’s video game reporter, on the show to talk all about the struggles of Xbox and Game Pass, as well as where she sees the future of the game industry headed next.
If you’d like to learn more about the topics we discussed in this episode, check out the links below:
Xbox continues its push beyond consoles with new ad campaign | The Verge
Why the video game industry is such a mess | The Verge
The next Xbox is going to be very different | The Verge
Scuf just announced its latest pro-style controller for Xbox and PC, the first to come close to the $100 price point. The $99.99 Scuf Valor Pro — available for purchase starting today in 15 different styles — isn’t exactly a budget controller in its own right, but context matters.
I’ve tested the delightfully translucent version of the controller for nearly two weeks now to see where exactly it fits among Scuf’s current Xbox lineup, consisting of the $169.99 Instinct and the $219.99 Instinct Pro (our previous pick for the best pro-style Xbox controller), both wireless. The wired-only and Valor Pro somehow sits in the middle.
It has the Instinct’s smooth thumb sticks with replaceable tops, now with Hall effect magnetism to reduce the chance of developing stick drift. It also borrows the flagship Instinct’s four programmable rear buttons, its dedicated switch for swapping between its three mapping profiles, and the interchangeable faceplates.
At the same time, you get the Instinct Pro’s rubberized rear grips (adding comfort while retaining that premium feel) and trigger stops. And yet, neither has the Valor Pro’s dedicated dials to adjust game volume and chat mix, nor the dedicated mute buttons embedded beneath both.
As a long-time Xbox gamer, I felt at home using the Valor Pro, which still largely takes after the official Xbox Wireless Controller’s ergonomic design. Scuf’s refinements to that winning formula seem minimal, but can make a meaningful difference. For example, the bumpers are a bit wider and a few millimeters longer than you’ll find on most controllers, draping further down each side. This makes it easier to shift my finger from the trigger to the bumper.
I don’t even have to remove my fingers from the triggers to press the bumpers. The design allows me to use the sides of my index fingers to actuate them with a light press. That meant I could lob grenades in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 while staying at the ready for a gunfight or jump out of fights as Doctor Strange in Marvel Rivals without lowering my shield. The travel and feel are consistent across the entire surface, so it doesn’t feel stabby or straining.
I immediately noticed the redesigned rear paddles, which felt off to me on the Instinct Pro. They’re in roughly the same position as the Instinct’s, designed for all four buttons to be comfortably reachable where your middle and ring fingers drape when gripping the controller.
But the two inside buttons have a bit more topside surface and use a downward vertical force for actuation instead of the horizontal motion required on the Instinct Pro. They’re easier to press while maintaining control over the bigger side paddles. They also don’t require as much force as they did on the Instinct Pro, but the give isn’t so light that misfires become problematic (and you can disable them entirely, if so).
As much as I’ve tried, I’m simply not a back-button gamer. My proportionally stubby fingers combined with cast iron skillets I call palms make it difficult for me to use them effectively in most games. The Scuf Valor Pro is the first controller with four rear buttons that feel natural and don’t make me feel cramped.
PC gamers will soon get support for a 1KHz polling rate in a post-launch update. That update wasn’t available as of writing, but I’d wager you’d find the intended reduced input lag imperceptible if you aren’t the type to qualify for tournaments. I sure couldn’t tell the difference on other controllers I’ve tested with the feature.
Should you buy a Valor Pro? That depends. Although you can swap thumbstick sizes and remove two of the rear paddles, it’s not quite as customizable as something like the Xbox Elite Series 2, but also not nearly as expensive. There are also considerably cheaper wired options with comparable features I’ve tested recently like the $69.99 PowerA Fusion Pro 4, which offers four rear buttons, Hall effect sticks with adjustable height, and Hall effect triggers with three stop levels.
Most don’t remain as faithful to the patented Xbox shape, however, and that might be a deciding factor. Perhaps after an eventual sale, the Valor Pro can be a great first stop for someone new to Scuf, so long as you don’t mind playing with a cable.
I reported in November that Microsoft was about to start a bigger effort to bring AI features to Xbox, and today, the company is unveiling what it’s calling a breakthrough in AI for gaming. Microsoft’s new Muse AI model could help Xbox developers create parts of games in the future, and the company says it’s even exploring the potential of using it to preserve classic games and optimize them for modern hardware.
Microsoft Research has created Muse, a first-of-its-kind generative AI model that can generate a game environment based on visuals or players’ controller actions. It understands a 3D game world and game physics and can react to how players interact with a game.
“This allows the model to create consistent and diverse gameplay rendered by AI, demonstrating a major step toward generative AI models that can empower game creators,” explains Fatima Kardar, corporate vice president of gaming AI at Microsoft.
The Muse model was trained on a large amount of human gameplay data from the Xbox game Bleeding Edge thanks to a collaboration between Microsoft Research and Xbox studio Ninja Theory — both of which are based in Cambridge in the UK. “This partnership allowed us to closely collaborate with the game studio to understand what needs to be in place and how we can responsibly unlock access to a large amount of gameplay data,” says Katja Hofmann, head of Microsoft Research’s game intelligence team.
This allowed Muse to access the equivalent of seven years of human gameplay, resulting in the model being trained on a billion image action pairs in total. It’s a milestone research project that’s being published in Nature today, but as it’s early work, the model is limited to generating gameplay visuals at a resolution of just 300×180 pixels. That’s up from the 128 x 128 resolution of Microsoft’s earlier work on generative AI gaming models, but it’s still far behind the 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution that is common among PC gamers.
Microsoft has released a number of examples of the Muse model in action, generating gameplay and even allowing players to load visual elements into the game to prompt the model. This could be used for the early iteration stages of a game, but Microsoft is stressing this isn’t designed to generate an entire game and replace creators.
Gaming is coming to Copilot! Get your keyboards/controllers ready, I can't wait for you to try it out.
“For Xbox, the principles that drive our approach to AI are to create more value for players and game creators, bring more games to more people around the world, and recognize that the development of a great game will always be grounded in the creator’s vision and artistry,” says Kardar. “We believe generative AI has the potential to enhance this creativity and unlock new possibilities.”
During a press briefing, Hofmann also demonstrated a real-time version of Muse that Microsoft is currently experimenting with to enable interactive AI-powered games. The demo generated game visuals on the fly in real time and even reacted to objects being dropped into the game to change the environment. While the real-time gameplay only ran at 10fps and a 300×180 resolution, it was an early demonstration of what might be possible in the future.
Microsoft is now exploring how Muse could help improve classic games and bring them to modern hardware. “You could imagine a world where from gameplay data and video that a model could learn old games and really make them portable to any platform where these models could run,” says Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. “We’ve talked about game preservation as an activity for us, and these models and their ability to learn completely how a game plays without the necessity of the original engine running on the original hardware opens up a ton of opportunity.”
Microsoft is also exploring how Muse can help game developers prototype games or how teams could add new AI-powered experiences to existing titles. Some short interactive AI game experiences will be available on Copilot Labs soon for people to try out. Microsoft is also planning to share AI tools and experiments with Xbox players and creators “earlier on” so that it can “make sure that our AI innovations address real problems and add new value to creating or playing with Xbox.”
While Microsoft is still in the exploration phase of AI in gaming, it’s also making it clear it’s up to individual studios at Xbox how they want to use AI in games. “As part of this, we have empowered creative leaders here at Xbox to decide on the use of generative AI. There isn’t going to be a single solution for every game or project, and the approach will be based on the creative vision and goals of each team,” says Kardar.
There is already a lot of fear from game developers and studios about how AI could affect the creative process of making games, particularly at a time when barely a week goes by without layoffs in the gaming industry. A recent report revealed that 1 in 10 game developers lost their jobs in 2024 alone.
“We don’t intend to use this technology for the creation of content,” says Ninja Theory studio head Dom Matthews. “I think the interesting aspect for us that’s exciting, is how can we use technology like this to make the process of making games quicker and easier for our talented team, so that they can really focus on the thing that’s really special about games: the human creativity.”
Weâre likely still a long way out from Bethesdaâs next Elder Scrolls game. But that wait isnât such a big deal when the Xbox has other excellent roleplaying games like Avowed. The latest from Fallout: New Vegas and The Outer Worlds developer Obsidian, Avowed doesnât shake up the genre. Itâs just a really solid fantasy RPG, one that keeps you pushing through with a combination of epic story, delightful companions, difficult decisions, and a true sense of adventure in a massive world.
The game puts you in the role of a godlike, a race of rare human-like creatures believed to have been blessed by â and thus are close to â the many gods that exist in this world. Youâre immediately put to work investigating a deadly plague that is impacting a region known as The Living Lands. Itâs an ecological disaster, slowly killing people (after it causes them to go mad) while also being responsible for everything from gigantic sinkholes to very angry bears. Avowed is actually a spinoff of Obsidianâs Pillars of Eternity series, but it serves as a great entry point; I rarely found myself lost or confused, and thereâs a handy glossary to help you with key names and places durin …
Overwatch 2 is getting quite the shakeup in 2025 as it faces growing competition from other online shooters. It starts with the season 15 update that’s coming on February 18th that’ll tease a new hero and introduce an in-game Perks system for existing ones, plus the return of the 6v6 competitive queues Blizzard tested late last year. There’s also the return of loot boxes and then, in April, a Counterstrike-like mode, two new characters, and a revamped ranked queue that lets you ban heroes and vote on maps.
Reintroducing loot boxes may be a polarizing move, as games that implement them have received backlash over the years for their predatory nature. Blizzard removed them from Overwatch a few years ago in favor of an in-game shop when it restructured its monetization model after going free-to-play. The company will responsibly publicize drop rates and is guaranteeing that you’ll receive an item of “Rare” rarity or better in each box, plus a guaranteed “Epic” after opening five and a “Legendary” after opening 20. We’re not sure whether you’ll still be able to purchase cosmetics directly from a rotating in-game shop, but you can earn loot boxes as part of weekly and event rewards, and you can get up to three guaranteed Legendary loot boxes in each seasonal battle pass.
Stadium is arguably the biggest change announced for Overwatch 2 so far. The new gameplay mode is a best-of-seven romp between two teams of five that’s akin to CounterStrike: Go or Valorant. You’ll earn currency each round, with rotating maps and objectives alternating between Control, Clash, and Push.
The cash goes toward upgrades for your hero that are unique to the mode, whether you’re unlocking an ability or upgrading it with enhanced potency or transformative effects that buff your offense and team utility. You can even choose between first-person or third-person POVs. It’s getting its own ranked queue, too, and launches with 14 heroes to start, with more planned to be added in future updates alongside a steady rollout of new maps.
Season 16 will also introduce Freja, a high-mobility character who can dash horizontally and jump vertically while wielding a dual-mode crossbow that enables both rapid-fire shooting and precision sniping. You’ll be able to play her for a bit during a trial weekend in Season 15. Blizzard is also teasing a new character for Season 18 named Aqua, appropriately named for his water-based abilities.
As for the new Perks system, it promises to enhance all of the game’s heroes with two unique upgrades per match. Your first upgrade is a minor one that lets you choose one of two slight boosts, perhaps a slightly stronger passive or a reduced cooldown for a core ability. The second upgrade offers a more substantial play style shift designed to help turn the tides of battle — Torbjorn can choose between a stronger level three turret or the ability to mount it on a wall, for example.
These drastic changes are almost necessary for any service-based online arena shooter to stand out amidst growing competition, as evidenced by Fortniterecently receiving a similar mode as Epic Games continues experimenting. There are only so many players to go around, after all, especially with newcomer Marvel Rivals making a loud and very noticeable Namor-sized splash of late.
Microsoft will also launch Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition on the PS5 later this Spring. The games will include content parity across platforms plus cross-play support. The company previously dropped big news that Forza Horizon 5 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are also headed to PS5 this Spring, and the jaw-dropping Doom: The Dark Ages announced last month will make its way to the PS5 this Summer. The Age of Empires franchise is another heavy hitter for Microsoft to share beyond the PC; the company says the games brought in 10 million players last year, growing to 60 million players worldwide.
Preorders for Age of Mythology: Retold are open, and those who order now on PS5 will get two exclusive Blessings for the Arena of the Gods mode. You can also get the Premium Edition for 5-day early access starting February 27th, and it includes access to the Immortal Pillars expansion “and much more.”
Sid Meier developed the first Civilization game in 1991 and has contributed to every iteration since. When I visited Firaxis Games last year, I saw that the company maintains the very computer Meier used to develop the game, which can still be booted up and played. Walking through the halls of the studio, I saw not only the legacy of its games but its employees, too, some of whom have children who work or worked at Firaxis, including Meierâs own son. Itâs no wonder, then, that Civilization VII is a game about legacy and all the ways it leaves a mark on history and contributes to the future.
Civilization VII is a strategy game in which you shepherd a country or people plucked from throughout world history through the ages of time. As their leader, often a famous ruler or notable historical figure, your job is to grow your empire to become the preeminent society of the world either through conquest, commerce, culture, or scientific advancement. As time progresses, you must make choices and take actions for your civilization that determine how it develops into a world power. You must acquire resources, choose systems of government and social policy, research technologies to impr …
Forza Horizon 5 is the next Xbox Game Studios title making the jump to PlayStation. The open-world racing game is launching on PS5 this spring and will include the same content as what’s available in its Xbox and PC versions, according to a blog post. If you want to play the game online with your friends, crossplay between PS5, Xbox consoles, and PC will be available.
Forza Horizon 5 will also be getting a new content update on all platforms called Horizon Realms. “Realms will give players the chance to explore a curated collection of some of the community’s favorite previously released Evolving Worlds, alongside some other surprises,” developer Playground Games said in the post.
The game originally launched on Xbox and PC in 2021, and my former colleague Sam Byford called it the “best Forza Horizon yet.” I also had a great time playing it as a portable game, meaning it could be a lot of fun on a PlayStation Portal.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer says Xbox is sticking with making consoles but is committed to releasing more games across other devices and platforms.
After spending three years in early access and releasing officially on August 3rd, Baldur’s Gate 3 is on the short list for 2023’s Game of the Year. It’s a beefy Dungeons & Dragons-based RPG and the successor of the Baldur’s Gate series developed by BioWare. The game features some of best, most memorable characters this side of Mass Effect 3, even if they’re a bit hornier than usual.
After its PC release, Baldur’s Gate 3 quickly rocketed up the Steam charts, at one time boasting over 800,000 concurrent players, making it the ninth most-played game on Steam ever. Though released initially on PC, it is now available on PS5 and Xbox Series consoles as well.
There's never been a better time to bring back the old Xbox 360 "blades" interface.
Credit:
Microsoft / Reddit
