Microsoft’s Xbox has been around since 2001, and over that time the gaming brand has given us huge hits like Halo, Gears of War, Forza, and more. Today, the Xbox brand covers consoles like the Xbox One, PC gaming, and has even expanded to other platforms. You can play Minecraft on everything from a computer to an iPhone to a Nintendo Switch. Along the way, Microsoft has pioneered modern services like Xbox Live and Game Pass, introducing new ways to play games. And with Project Scarlett on the horizon, the Xbox looks to have a bright future.
After plenty of teases and licensing news, EA is showing off the official covers for its NIL-enabled College Football 25 game, which is returning after a decade-long break. Even if they don’t have the backup QB from Texas, EA has signed the starter, as its cover features Quinn Ewers alongside Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, and Colorado wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter.
Headquartered in Poland, Elsewhere Entertainment — an all-new internal studio at Activision — is working on a new “narrative-based and genre-defining AAA franchise.” Elsewhere includes developers credited on The Last of Us, Uncharted, Destiny, Cyberpunk, and more. Activision’s new studio announcement comes just a week after its parent company, Microsoft, closed three Bethesda studios. It also follows job postings about a new Activision IP.
Despite the upsetting news that Xbox is shutting down Hi-Fi Rush studio, Tango Gameworks, there is still some time before the lights go out for good. The developers at Tango are using that time to finish some last minute projects including working with Limited Run Games to release a physical version of the game and one final patch that’s scheduled for today.
Update: And here’s the final patch notes.
Announced in an April Beta release, the new recommendation card is moving forward, and now showing up in the latest Developer channel build, XDA Developers reports. It’ll appear for users with Windows 11 Pro and Home versions who are also logged into a Microsoft account — and only targeted to those who play PC games and aren’t already subscribed.
There’s challenging combat and platforming puzzles, but the hardest part of the game is grappling with its emotional story.
Microsoft is adding the ability to save and remember multiple Wi-Fi networks on Xbox consoles. With persistent rumors of an Xbox handheld on the horizon, this would be a very useful feature if such a device is on the way.
It’s a small change, but you’ll soon be able to use any background with the game art feature on Xbox consoles. Microsoft is testing this change with Alpha and Skip-Ahead Alpha Xbox testers, so expect to see it on all consoles in the coming months.
In Promise Mascot Agency, a new game from Kaizen Game Works makers of Paradise Killer, you play as a disgraced yakuza sent up-country to run a mascot agency. This simple premise takes a turn for the surreal as you find out all the mascots are weird and unsavory like a crying block of tofu, a gutted fish, and a giant severed toe.
The developers describe it as the “most ambitious free update yet” for the game, with such important features as mine carts and doors that can open. The “laborratory” update also includes new characters, weapons, and stages — and it’s out today on all platforms.
All You Need is Help, a new game from the Pixeljunk developers, features a gaggle of anthropomorphized tetrominoes (try saying that three times fast) you and your friends use to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles. The announce trailer also featured the cutest theme song that probably won’t be the video game song of the summer, but it’ll come close.
Usually they’re all dark and scary, but in Dungeons of Hinterberg, the dungeons look like colorful, lively places begging to be explored. There’s a hint of Moebius to the art style that I’m very into. It’s coming to Xbox and PC on July 18th, and will hit Game Pass on day one.
Most of the games at this showcase are launching later in the year, but The Rewinder — an intriguingly dark adventure game that’s already out on Steam — is now on Game Pass.
In Centum, a new game from Serenity Forge on display during Xbox’s spring indie showcase, you’re trapped in a computer game...or are you? The vibes of Centum are certainly spooky and the art style is reminiscent of Lucas Pope’s Papers, Please and just as bleak.
The popular trivia series is getting an update that’s a little, let’s say, risqué. We don’t know exactly what the new pack will include, but the developers say it’ll be the franchise’s first M-rated content. It’s dropping later this year.
Keylocker is described as a “cyberpunk, turn-based, rhythm JRPG.” That sure is a lot of things, but at least it’s all rendered with a pretty slick retro style. The game hits Xbox and PC some time this summer.
Imagine a roguelike MMO that’s just fighting raid bosses. In 33 Immortals, your job (along with 32 others) is to make it through ever-changing dungeons, preserving as many of your party members as possible, to face a massively difficult boss that gets easier the more players you have.
PalWorld is getting an update this summer that adds some new creatures. And, as the new trailer shows they’re not only cute, but also flammable.
The year’s latest indie game showcase is coming very soon, with Microsoft’s ID@Xbox event kicking off today at 1PM ET. Expect news on games for Xbox and PC, including new details for Vampire Survivors fans. You can watch it all at the embed below.
A sampling of the four modern games in the series for those jumping in after the Amazon show.
Microsoft has started reminding Xbox owners that it will start deleting game captures from its Xbox Network after 90 days, starting on May 30th. If you don’t want to lose game clips and screenshots, then you’ll need to back up any old ones to OneDrive or an external drive over the next month. There’s more information over on Microsoft’s support site.
Unfortunately this X-Men ‘97-themed Xbox is only available through a sweepstakes, which is disappointing since reading the comic book panels would be great for killing time while your controller updates.
Speaking of Microsoft hedging bets, it’s been doing that with VR since day one. The original Oculus Rift shipped with an Xbox One gamepad and could stream games from Xbox, while Microsoft simultaneously pursued its HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality initiatives.
Microsoft recently brought Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Xbox Cloud Gaming to Meta Quest, too, perhaps in preparation for today’s announce.
If Nintendo’s recent showcase didn’t satisfy your need for indie game news, here comes Microsoft. The company just announced that its next ID@Xbox Digital Showcase will take place on April 29th, and will feature “another batch of hotly anticipated indies.” Of course, there’s one specific game we’ll all be looking out for.
Like Rainbow Six Siege, Call of Duty, and Destiny 2, the developers of Overwatch 2 are going after players who use “unapproved peripherals” to combine the precision of mouse and keyboard controls with the aim assist granted to controller players.
Over the next few weeks, there will be permanent account bans against players who are the most severe abusers of unapproved peripherals. These actions will be targeted towards high-ranked players who have been reported by others and who our data clearly shows are using an unapproved peripheral.
Microsoft has been testing an Xbox Mastercard for more than six months and it’s now opening it up to everyone in the US today. The Xbox Mastercard is a no annual fee credit card issued by Barclays, and purchases made using the card will generate points that can be redeemed on Xbox games and add-ons.
