Xbox

One Year Later, Did Microsoft (And Friends) Keep Their E3 2018 Promises?

E3 2019 is just around the corner, and it’s going to look very different this year without PlayStation. Before we look to the future and are blinded by the razzle-dazzle of trailers and announcements at this year’s event, we need to address what happened in 2018. As we ask every year: Did the three big…

Microsoft will have 14 games from its internal studios to show at this year’s E3. That’s according to a new tweet by the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer. Microsoft has been busy acquiring a bunch of new game studios recently. It sounds like we’ll finally get to hear what they’re working on.

Portal Headlines June’s Xbox Games With Gold

There’s a fun mix of games in June’s Xbox Games with Gold, from sports to puzzles. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription. June’s Games with Gold are: Xbox One EA Sports NHL 19 (June 1-30) Rivals of Aether (June 16-July 15) Xbox 360 (compatible with…

Microsoft has hinted at this for a while, but now it’s official: Xbox Game Pass is coming to PC. No word on timing or any other details just yet; Xbox boss Phil Spencer says they’ll elaborate more at E3.

The head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, says the platform is committed to fighting the “growing toxic stew of hate speech, bigotry and misogyny” people experience in their digital lives in a blog post today. It goes on to lay out the principles and actions Xbox will pursue to be inclusive environment.

Report: Microsoft And Sony’s Cloud Gaming Collaboration Caught The PlayStation Team By Surprise

It was a surprise to say the least last week whennews broke of a vague agreement between Microsoft and Sony—normally arch rivals in the console gaming space—to team up on “new cloud-based solutions for gaming experiences”. If you think you were shocked, though, spare a thought for the PlayStation team. According to this Bloomberg report…

Hacker Appears To Get Original Xbox Emulator Running On Switch

Game development hobbyist and self-described Xbox fan Voxel9 recently shared a YouTube video in which he boots up the XQEMU Xbox emulator on a Switch and manages to load and play some games, including the first Halo The video begins with the code for the emulator being compiled, followed by the intro animation for Microsoft’s…

Hoth in Video Games: A Thirty-Year Battle

Let’s take a look at video games’ favorite scene from the Star Wars series: the battle of Hoth. Developers have been trying for over 30 years to get it right. Which is your favorite? (This post was originally published in May 2010. We’re bumping it today in celebration of Star Wars Day.) 1982: The Atari…

Microsoft has announced the new games coming to Game Pass in May and they start with Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus on May 2. Wargroove also joins that day, followed by Surviving Mars, Black Desert, and Tacoma arriving on May 9. The month ends with Lego Batman 3 on May 16. 

Here’s May 2019’s Xbox Live Games With Gold Lineup

May’s Xbox Live Games with Gold aren’t too exciting, but it’s at least a diverse lineup. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription. May’s Games with Gold are: Xbox One Marooners (May 1-31) The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA Tour (May 16-June 15) [Correction 4/30 9:16am—This…

Cuphead: The Kotaku Review

Cuphead turns players into perfectionists. The long-awaited hand-drawn action game is full of cartoony boss battles that demand enough precision and focus that even a single hit of damage feels unacceptable. Playing Cuphead is like a stage performance; every mistake is embarrassing, but the curtain call of each defeated boss is like nothing else. This…

Microsoft plans to sell a combo deal of Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Gamepass for $14.99 a month, the company announced today in their Inside Xbox game stream. While both services already exist, Microsoft isn’t offering the bundled sub until “later this year.” No word if they’ll offer a better deal for an annual subscription…

Monster Hunter: World will be on Xbox Game Pass starting April 18. It’s one of six new games coming to the paid subscription service this month, the rest of which are Prey, The Golf Club 2, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, Life Is Strange: Episode 2, and Resident Evil 5.

New Windows Game Bar Does Spotify, Friends And Memes

The Game Bar is what pops up when someone presses the Windows key plus G while playing a game on a Windows PC, giving quick access to screenshot, capture, and streaming tools. Now it does a bit more: Friends lists, messaging, Spotify access and the ability to drop funny text on screenshots. Or just regular…

I Video Gamed So Hard That I Broke My Xbox Elite Controller

I don’t have many strong feelings about video game controllers, except for this: The Xbox Elite Controller is the most comfortable thing on the planet. It’s a highly customizable and reliable option for any video game enthusiast. But last night, I encountered a problem. The shoulder button broke, turning limp and useless. My Elite controller…

Here’s April 2019’s Xbox Live Games With Gold Lineup

If you’ve been wanting to revisit 2005’s Star Wars Battlefront II, April’s Xbox Live Games with Gold has you covered. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an Xbox Live Gold subscription. (Correction 12:24pm- The top image for this article was initially an image from 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront II. We’ve updated the…

Void Bastards Is A Shooter That Looks Cool As Hell

Out this summer, Void Bastards promises to wrap the pulp comic aesthetic up into an intergalactic strategy shooter. Demonstrating the game at GDC’s ID@Xbox event today, Void Bastards’ tattooed art director, Ben Lee (Card Hunter, and before that, ‘90s animation) wore a matching turquoise beard. It fit; Void Bastards was among the flashiest indies around.…

Just checked out a puzzle game called The Sojourn at an Xbox event at GDC. Really neat Portal-style game in which you swap places with statues and activate other stuff in the environment to move through the levels. Coming this summer. 

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Won’t Be Part Of Xbox Play Anywhere

343 Industries studio head Bonnie Ross confirmed yesterday during the Halo Championship Series Invitational at South By Southwest that Halo: The Master Chief Collection will not be part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program which makes Xbox One games cross-buy and cross-play on PC. Those who already own it on console will have to buy…

Just Cause 4 Hits Xbox Game Pass Only Three Months After Release

Despite all of the explosions in Avalanche Studios’ open-world chaos simulator, Just Cause 4 did not set the world on fire when it launched last year on December 4. Now, less than 100 days later, it’s free for Game Pass subscribers to download and play on Xbox One. Microsoft announced the game would be the…