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.
Xbox has revealed a new controller that seems designed to revive the impossibly cool gadget trend from the late 90s and early aughts where everything was see-through. Called the Pulse Cipher Special Edition, the controller features a deep-red transparent casing that lets you see all its innards including the rumble motors. It’s $74.99 and goes on sale February 4th.
As in, the original PC game, which will be available to subscribers starting on January 14th. It’s the highlight of a rather scant batch of new titles coming to Game Pass.
It’s “coming soon” to LG’s gaming portal, per a slide from LG’s CES keynote. You’ll need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to use it.
The long-awaited Competitor gamepad, which brings a PlayStation-like symmetrical stick layout to the Xbox, has been redesigned. Hyperkin announced the new version at CES with a separated D-pad, Hall effect joysticks and triggers, and two programmable back buttons.
It’s a wired-only gamepad and will be available sometime in the second quarter of 2025, with pricing still to be announced.
The DuchesS, Hyperkin’s recreation of the smaller Xbox Controller S it upgraded with Hall effect joysticks, will soon be available in a new color option.
The $49.99 Special Edition Greenhaven DuchesS matches the Controller S that was included with the Halo-themed Xbox Microsoft introduced in 2004. Hyperkin hasn’t finalized a release date or when preorders will start.
From postapocalyptic wastelands to cozy sci-fi futures, there’s a lot to dig into on Microsoft’s subscription service this year.
The “Xbox 360 glitch holiday sweater” includes a power button that illuminates green, and there’s even an interchangeable module that produces the Red Ring of Death. Microsoft loves ugly sweaters, but this one is exclusive to Microsoft employees right now. I’ve heard this one went on sale at Microsoft’s company store today and it has already sold out.
The game’s most interesting bits are trapped in cutscenes while its boring bits are the stuff you actually have to play out.
This year Microsoft highlights your preferred gaming platform, total time played, and number of games played for its Xbox year in review. You can see how you stack up against other players, how much gamerscore you earned in 2024, and a list of your favorite games. There’s even a little shout-out from Xbox chief Phil Spencer, too.
[www.xbox.com]
The minimum PC specs for Indiana Jones mean you’ll need at least a 10700K CPU, RTX 2060 Super, and 120GB of SSD storage. Interestingly, Bethesda says GPU hardware ray tracing is “required” at minimum, so that rules out Nvidia’s older 10 series of cards. Bethesda also lists the i7-13900K and Ryzen 7 7900X, both of which don’t exist. We’ve asked Bethesda to clarify the typos here.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has had a pretty rough launch, and now Microsoft has put out a hotfix aimed at addressing some of the performance and stability issues. “We will continue to investigate any issues and keep the community informed,” says game lead Jorg Neumann.
[Microsoft Flight Simulator]
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 launches on Xbox and PC today, and in addition to hot air balloons and firefighting planes, Joby Aviation has announced that its electric air taxi will also be available to fly in the game.
Joby worked with the game’s developers to digitally recreate its air taxi, including its interior, exterior, and unique vertical take-off capabilities.
Ratatan doesn’t just look and sound like Patapon, it even has Hiroyuki Kotani, the designer of the PSP original, working on it.
Oh, and it’s a four-player co-op roguelike? Okay, that’s it — I’m dead. Someone please res me when this launches in 2025.
As my colleague Tom Warren reported last week, Xbox’s AI-powered search will let you enter things like, “FPS games with zombies” or “cozy farming games with fishing,” which should come in handy if you forget the title of a game, or don’t know what you’re looking for.
The upgraded search experience is coming to the Xbox console and Xbox app on Windows.
