Tag: Microsoft
News DOOM, Elder Scrolls, Fallout Devs Strike in Protest of Parent Company, Microsoft
Xbox boss says business "has never been more healthy"
Hundreds of unionised ZeniMax staff have walked off the job and are striking today, fed up with parent company Microsoft dragging its feet. Developers from Bethesda's various studios are downing tools due to Microsoft's alleged refusal to act in good faith at the bargaining table. The one-day...
News Six Months After Closing Tango Gameworks, Xbox 'In the Market' for Asian Studios
Phil Spencer talks possible acquisitions
Phil Spencer, Xbox's top dog, has made it clear that it remains interested in acquisitions, with one eye on the Asian games industry. Microsoft made history when it concluded its enormous $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard King. Though this took a long time to close, it followed on from the...
News No Xbox Games Are Off the Table for Release on PS5, Says Phil Spencer
No "red lines"
Ever since Xbox's initial steps into multiplatform releases, fans have been wondering where the company will draw the line. Earlier this year, a quartet of previously Xbox-exclusive titles made their way to PS5 and PS4 (Sea of Thieves, Pentiment, Grounded, and Hi-Fi Rush), and with a new comment from top exec Phil Spencer, it sounds...
News Xbox Appears to Be Readying More Releases for PS5
Age of Empires 2 playtesting underway
It seems like nothing is sacred after all, with arguably the greatest game Xbox Games Studios' ever published, the immaculate Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, seemingly set to charge forth on PS5. More specifically, it seems the game is currently being played on PS5, which lines up with earlier reporting...
News Wolverine PS5 Lead Dev Leaves for Xbox's Perfect Dark Team
Reportedly due to "creative decisions"
Marvel's Wolverine has lost its original creative director Brian Horton to Xbox's upcoming Perfect Dark title, a Game File report has revealed. As confirmed by both Sony and Microsoft representatives, Horton made the switch in the summer and Marcus Smith has taken his place, who has served in directorial roles...
Project Latitude continues
The ongoing will-they-won't-they story surrounding Xbox and its plans to release some of its games on rival platforms continues apace. After some dubious online scuttlebutt, Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, appears to have inadvertently nullified rumours that this strategy is slowing down. A leaker who goes by eXtas1s...
News Expect Plenty of PS5, PS4 News At Xbox's Partner Preview This Week
Alan Wake 2! Like a Dragon! More
Microsoft has announced a Partner Preview broadcast, a livestream designed to spotlight titles from third-parties. While the show will, of course, focus on Xbox – it’ll also inevitably include news and updates for PlayStation fans. Officially, the tech titan is promising 25 minutes of trailers and info, with a...
News PS5 Fans Believe Halo Could Make Its PlayStation Debut
Hope they don't Flood the market
A contingent of PlayStation fans believe Xbox stalwart series Halo could make its PS5 debut in the future. As part of the Halo World Championships overnight, Microsoft made some surprise announcements: developer 343 Industries has been renamed Halo Studios and all future franchise entries will be created using...
News Microsoft Is Investigating Why Devs Are Prioritising PS5 Over Xbox
Wants to address "pain points"
A blog post on Microsoft's game developer website has highlighted the firm's intention to learn why Xbox is being skipped over in favour of other platforms. It's no big secret that certain developers have faced struggles with the Xbox ecosystem in recent times. The biggest example is Baldur's Gate 3, which was delayed...
Random Xbox Boss Complains About X Button After Being Handed PS5 Pad
He's worried he may Push Square instead
A video clip of Xbox boss Phil Spencer at the Tokyo Game Show has gone viral after he jokingly complained about the position of the b:X button on the DualSense controller. “The b:X button’s in the wrong place,” he laughed. “b:X is supposed to be over there.” He then pointed to the position of the...
News Xbox on Bringing Exclusives to PS5: The Industry Is Changing for All of Us
Spencer continues to talk
Xbox boss Phil Spencer never misses an opportunity to speak publicly, and at Gamescom today he’s been chatting as part of an official livestream. Asked specifically about his company’s decision to bring Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to PS5,
Rumour Xbox to Announce a 'Big' Game Coming to PS5 at Gamescom
Might be Forza Horizon 5
A big gaming event is just around the corner, and as usual, rumours have begun appearing from every direction. The latest scuttlebutt doing the rounds online starts with Shinobi602, a notable source currently working at Keywords Studios; apparently, Xbox will reveal the next of its first-party titles going multiplatform...
News The Stars Align for Big Sea of Thieves Season 13 Update on PS5
The return of Captain Flameheart
Sea of Thieves continues to sail from strength to strength, and now the chaotic booty simulator is charting a course towards a whole new season of piratical content. Season 13 will allow players to tackle the tyrannical Flameheart, seizing his skeleton-crewed vessel in a climactic encounter, and it's live now...
News 'PlayStation's Blessed with Marketing Budgets We're Not Able to Enjoy,' Xbox Bigwig Bemoans
Marketing man doesn't mince his words
Microsoft is in a dire position in Europe, with the latest round of data suggesting PS5 is outselling the Xbox Series X|S by a ratio of almost 10:1 on the continent. One of the reasons for that enormous discrepancy all comes down to brand awareness, and Sony has spent the past 30 years carefully and effectively...
News Microsoft 'Really Pleased' with Sea of Thieves PS5 Sales
More games likely to come
Microsoft is "really pleased" with the overall sales and performance of Sea of Thieves on PS5 after its recent port, with engagement across its Xbox and PC versions also increasing as a result. The comment comes from Matt Booty, game content and studios president at Microsoft Gaming, who added the success allows the series...
News Xbox Really Wasn't Happy with PlayStation's Call of Duty Marketing Deal
Phil Spencer says Microsoft won't do "slimy platform things"
Microsoft has spent $69 billion on Activision Blizzard, so now it calls the shots when it comes to juggernaut franchise, Call of Duty. Of course, previously, starting with Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 in 2015, Sony had marketing dibs on the series, which meant it could advertise annual...
News Xbox Explains Why It Shuttered Beloved Hi-Fi Rush Developer
"I have to run a sustainable business"
Hi-Fi Rush released on PS5 earlier this year to the same kind of critical acclaim it had already received on Xbox Series X|S and PC – then Microsoft decided to unceremoniously shut the studio down. Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who has been curiously quiet in the aftermath of the closure, piped up during an IGN...
News Xbox Bigwig Confirms Many More Microsoft Games Are Coming to PS5
"You are going to see more of our games on more platforms"
Phil Spencer, the talkative head honcho of Xbox, has confirmed his company will be bringing more of its games to other platforms, like PS5. After its bemusing business meeting earlier in the year, the executive would only officially commit to four ports, all of which are already available:...
News Many, Many More Major Xbox Games Are Being Plotted for PS5
Starfield! Age of Empires! Hellblade! Halo!
In the coming days, Microsoft will host its big Xbox Showcase, where it’ll try to shift the conversation away from the negativity that has circled the brand ever since it controversially shuttered Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin earlier this year. While this will likely harbour huge news for those...
News Microsoft Commits to Next Call of Duty Game on Xbox Game Pass, New Report Says
All or nothing
Following reports of internal debates at Microsoft over whether the next Call of Duty entry should be part of Xbox Game Pass at launch following the firm's acquisition of Activision, a new article from the Wall Street Journal claims it has now settled on going forward with plans to bundle the FPS in with the subscription service...
News Microsoft Leadership Reportedly Want No 'Red Line' Stopping Xbox Games Coming to PS5
Is nothing sacred?
A new report suggests that Microsoft's big boss, Satya Nadella, wants to bring more Xbox games to PlayStation as soon as possible. With the instant success Sea of Thieves found on Sony's platform, considered a "key test," it seems like the writing is on the wall at this point; Microsoft leadership reportedly wants there to be no...
News Sony Shipped 4.5 Million PS5's Last Quarter, Almost Five Times More Than Xbox Series X|S
Estimates indicate enormous gap
As the industry digests the latest deluge of earnings reports, attempting to parse the information and present a clearer picture, one piece of news is likely to fuel more than a few pointless arguments on social media: despite marginally missing its own revised target, Sony shipped 4.5 million PS5s last quarter,...
News Founders, Long-Time Employees Reportedly Say Xbox Now Effectively Microsoft Gaming
Doesn't really hit the same way
It's been a torturous week for Microsoft, but we aren't quite at the weekend yet. New reporting suggests that longtime employees and even some of the brand's founders agree that things have shifted so dramatically at Xbox since the bad old days that, effectively: "It's no longer Xbox, but Microsoft Gaming." That's...
News More Xbox Layoffs Reportedly Inbound as Company Attempts to Cut Costs
Microsoft execs aren't quite done yet
In a week that has been something of a bloodbath for longtime rivals Microsoft and Sony, it appears that the dust hasn't quite settled yet for the Xbox platform holder, which just announced the closure of multiple internal studios. New reporting from
News Founder Shinji Mikami on Microsoft's Surpise Closure of Tango Gameworks
"Sad"
Legendary master of horror, Shinji Mikami, has commented on the surprise closure of the studio he founded, Tango Gameworks, shuttered in the latest round of Microsoft layoffs. Mikami, the creator of the Resident Evil series, spent many years at Capcom, co-founded Platinum Games, and seemed intent on training the next generation of creatives at...
Rumour Hi-Fi Rush Dev Was Pitching Sequel Before Microsoft Closed It Down
No rush
Microsoft's sudden shuttering of several game development studios has sent shockwaves through the industry. The company's restructuring of Bethesda — which it acquired back in 2021 as part of a $7.5 billion deal — has meant that teams such as Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Hi-Fi Rush) and Arkane Austin (PREY,...
News Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, More Closed in Brutal Bethesda Restructure
Microsoft makes significant cuts
Microsoft is making some major changes to Bethesda and its development teams, resulting in job losses and the closure of multiple studios. As reported by IGN, head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty sent a company-wide email detailing the restructure plan. In it, it's confirmed that Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and...
News Many, Many More Xbox Ports Plotted for PS5, New Speculation Suggests
Halo! Forza! More?
The hugely successful launch of Sea of Thieves on PS5 this week fulfilled Microsoft’s commitment to Sony’s system, following its widely publicised business update earlier in the year. During that broadcast, boss Phil Spencer focused on four titles: Rare’s aforementioned seafaring release, Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush, and Pentiment...
Talking Point What's Next for Xbox Games on PS5, PS4?
Phase one complete
Following yesterday's launch of Sea of Thieves on PS5, Microsoft has now delivered on its initial multi-platform promise to bring some of its exclusive Xbox experiences to new consoles. Having made the surprise announcement in February, the firm has brought Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, and the aforementioned seafaring...
News Microsoft 'Meeting Players Where They Are' as Xbox Games Among PS Store's Bestsellers
Lots of Xbox-owned titles in top 25
Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, has passed comment about Xbox's increased presence on other platforms. Speaking during an earnings call, he said how titles under the Xbox umbrella have been selling rather well on PlayStation Store. "Earlier this month, we had seven games among the top 25 on the PlayStation Store,...
News Game Pass Woes for Indie Devs as Microsoft, Epic Funding Reportedly Drying Up
"The gold rush is over"
It looks as though the plump pockets of big corporations like Epic and Microsoft are beginning to empty, and it's putting some smaller studios in an awkward position. After offering funds in exchange for exclusivity or availability on Game Pass, many indie devs have come to rely on these deals to finance their projects...
News Xbox Planning to Release the 'Majority' of Its Exclusives on PS5
Third-parties apparently unsure whether to support Microsoft's system
Xbox will apparently release the “majority” of its tentpole first-party titles on PS5 in the future, as its multiformat strategy gathers pace. Earlier in the year, the Redmond firm broadcast a strategic business meeting, where it announced four console exclusive titles –...
News Sea of Thieves Will Be the First PlayStation Game in Rare's 39-Year History
Better late than never
Rare, the developer behind all-time classics like Banjo-Kazooie and Perfect Dark, has never made a PlayStation game before – but all that changes on 30th April, when the studio will ship Sea of Thieves on PS5. Despite being founded almost 40 years ago, in 1985, the UK developer has never worked on any of Sony’s systems;...
News Xbox May Need to Familiarise Itself with PS5, PS4's Platinum Trophies
PlatinumTrophy
The first Xbox game has launched on PS5 and PS4: it’s historical adventure Pentiment, from developer Obsidian. By all accounts thus far, it’s a strong port of an exceptionally well-liked game, and we’re looking to bring you a review as quickly as possible. In the meantime, there’s one thing we noticed about the conversion that...
News Xbox's 'Everywhere' Future Outlined in Company Memo from Phil Spencer
Read the message now
In case you missed it, Xbox's top dogs set live a podcast yesterday, publicly announcing the company's long-rumoured intention to bring a selection of first-party games to rival consoles. After so much noise around the subject, it hardly came as a surprise, but it's still a noteworthy shift in how the platform holder will handle...
News Sony May Have Made the Right Call Not Copying Xbox Game Pass with PS Plus
Subscription numbers have stalled overall
For the best part of this generation, Sony’s been pressured by a vocal part of the gaming community to borrow Xbox Game Pass’ unproven business model with PS Plus. The platform holder eventually decided to take a half-step, merging PS Now with its existing subscription but resisting the urge to add day...
Reaction Xbox Is Bringing Some Great Games to PS5, But Rumours Will Remain Rampant About What's Next
Redmond firm fails to set out its strategy
More great games are coming to the PS5, and that’s never a bad thing. Microsoft announced during a highly massaged corporate message that it’ll bring four first-party titles to rival systems, although it wouldn’t name any names. Fortunately, the rumours have been so strong that we can surmise...
Rumour Xbox Has Considered Microsoft Flight Simulator, Gears of War, and DOOM for PS5
Just the start
Microsoft only announced four first-party titles for PS5 today, and it’s refusing to name which ones, although the likelihood is that Sea of Thieves, Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush, and Pentiment will all get ported. However, its stance is
News Starfield, Indiana Jones Aren't Coming to PS5 Just Yet
But
Microsoft will not release Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5 – yet. Xbox boss Phil Spencer stressed these two titles are not part of the four unnamed outings it’s officially bringing to Sony’s system, but in a follow-up interview with The Verge he seemed hesitant to rule out the possibility of them ever getting...
News Xbox Is Bringing Four Exclusives to PS5, But It Won't Say Which
It's not Starfield or Indiana Jones... Yet
Microsoft has officially confirmed it’ll bring four formerly exclusive games to rival platforms like PS5, but it won’t say which ones. As part of a bizarre podcast featuring executives Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty, the trillion-dollar tech titan danced around the rumours which have been...
News Microsoft Allegedly Told Employees 'Every Screen Is an Xbox' Ahead of PS5 Port Speculation
All will be revealed imminently
More information on Microsoft’s previously reported employee town hall has emerged on Inverse, where it’s claimed by staff that leadership declared “every screen is an Xbox”. There’s been rampant speculation recently that the Redmond firm will bring formerly exclusive titles, like Hi-Fi Rush and
News Pentiment Pegged for PS5 Amid Ongoing Xbox Strategy Shift Rumours
Still no confirmation, though
Microsoft will reveal more about its new business strategy during a podcast later this week, where it’s expected it’ll announce several formerly Xbox exclusive titles for PS5 and Nintendo Switch. The strongest speculation seems to surround Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves, although others like Starfield and
News Xbox's Multiplatform Plans to Be Revealed on Thursday
Feeling green
Microsoft has confirmed that it will "share updates on the Xbox business" this Thursday, the 15th February, at 12PM PT / 3PM ET / 8PM GMT / 9PM CET. In other words, this is when the beans will finally be spilled on Xbox's all-but-official multiplatform plans. The news will be delivered through the Official Xbox Podcast — which...
News PS5 Outsold Xbox Series X|S Nearly Two to One, According to Take-Two Sales Data
The hits keep on coming
According to recently revealed sales data from publisher Take-Two, it looks like Sony's PS5 has outsold Microsoft's Xbox Series X|S by a factor of roughly 2:1. Microsoft stopped trumpeting console sales a while back, so getting to a concrete number requires taking a slightly circuitous route. As reported by GameSpot,...
News Xbox Has Allegedly Insisted It Won't Stop Making Consoles, As PS5 Port Rumours Mount
Will apparently support "multiple kinds of devices"
No one really expects Microsoft to suddenly step out of the hardware race, but it’s been a hellish week for the Redmond firm, where rumours have swirled with reckless abandon. All the way back on Monday – which feels like an eternity ago now – boss Phil Spencer announced it’d share news...
News Readers Vote Gears of War Above Halo as Their Most Wanted Xbox Series on PlayStation
Cogs of conflict
The people have spoken. Amid countless rumours that Xbox is planning a pivot to bring some of its games to other consoles, we now know what's top of the list when it comes to what fans want to see make the jump to PlayStation. We held a poll earlier this week asking our readers which Xbox franchise they'd most like to play on PS5...
Poll Which Xbox Franchises Would You Buy on PS5?
The big question
There’s strong speculation that some first-party Xbox franchises are being considered for release on the PS5. In some cases, the rumours are incredibly strong, like Hi-Fi Rush – which had a handful of in-game shirts datamined, clearly showing that a PlayStation port is on the way. In other instances,
News Microsoft's Recent Layoffs Contradict Activision Blizzard Buyout Pledges, Says FTC
When can we stop writing about this
In case you missed it, Microsoft made an industry-shaking acquisition at the tail end of last year, buying up Activision Blizzard King for an eye-watering $69 billion. It took a long time to close, though, because of intense scrutiny from a handful of different sources — one of those being the USA's Federal...
News Microsoft Employee Inadvertently Adds More Fuel to the Xbox Multiplatform Fire
Oopsie daisy
The Internet is extremely unforgiving. Whatever you put on it will be preserved in some fashion, for better or worse, and it's a lesson still being learned in the year 2024. Case in point: the LinkedIn page of a Microsoft employee, who may have added yet more evidence to the heavily rumoured move from Xbox to publish its games on other...
Poll How Do You Feel About All of the Xbox Multiplatform Rumours?
A PlayStation perspective
While we use the word 'rumours' in the headline of this article, the reality of the situation is that it really does look like Xbox is making significant changes to its business strategy. Speculation is absolutely rampant at the time of writing, with numerous reports all coming to the same conclusion: Microsoft wants to...
