Phil Spencer: Last News

Microsoft is laying off about 1,900 people in its gaming division following the closing of its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Phil Spencer broke down in tears as he opened up about the tragic loss of his parents earlier this year, due to a car accident. His mum Anne, 82, and dad Richard, 89, sadly passed away in August when their car plunged into a river in Kent on their way to lunch. Phil released a heartfelt statement at the time, saying that his family was "holding onto the fact mum and dad went together" and it was some comfort to know "neither will ever have to mourn the loss of the other one".

Janette Manara shared a throwback snap on Instagram as she starred alongside husband Aljiaz Skorjaenic on Celebrity Escape to the Country. The former Strictly Come Dancing professionals appeared in Wednesday night’s episode of the BBC property show.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is to leave his role next week.Kotick became CEO of Activision in 1991 after purchasing a 25 per cent share in the near-bankrupt company the previous year. Over the next 32 years, he headed up the company as it grew to become one of the biggest and most influential pillars in the world of video games, acquiring a number of other studios on the way.However, it was claimed Kotick knew about cases of sexual misconduct happening within the company and kept it secret, even after state regulators started investigating the company in 2018.

Bobby Kotick, the longtime CEO of Activision Blizzard, is stepping down Dec. 29 following the company’s drawn-out $69 billion sale to Microsoft that closed in October. The exec — who oversaw some of the industry’s most popular games from Pitfall to Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Candy Crush Saga and Farm Heroes Saga — had said previously he would stay on through the end of 2023.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Bobby Kotick is officially leaving Activision Blizzard on Dec. 29, after more than three decades as CEO of the gaming giant, following Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of the company.

The full inquest into an incident that killed Location Location Location star Phil Spencer's parents has revealed their death was a "most tragic" accident, according to a coroner.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has been released on Xbox Series X|S. The hit fantasy game was surprise dropped last night (December 7) during The Game Awards 2023.Baldur’s Gate 3, which is based on the long-running tabletop role-playing game (RPG) Dungeons & Dragons, was released on PC back in August, with a PlayStation version following in September.

Love It or List It star Kirstie Allsopp has revealed that she'll call the wife of her colleague Phil Spencer if she's ever worried about him. The Location Location Location co-stars have worked together on the Channel 4 show for over 23 years and have since presented Relocation Relocation, Love It or List It UK and Location Revisited. Speaking to OK!, Kirstie said that she spends a lot of time with her co-presenter as they're always working with one another and own their production company, Raise the Roof, together.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has hinted that a new Banjo-Kazooie title could be in the works.The original Banjo-Kazooie was released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 and was followed by three sequels and a spin-off racing game with the last game in the series (Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts) coming in 2008.Since then, the games have been re-released for Xbox while the original Banjo-Kazooie was added to the Nintendo Switch Online library at the start of last year, but there’s been no news about further additions to the series.However, in a new interview with Windows Central, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has hinted that new Banjo-Kazooie adventures could be on the cards. “You’ve seen from our history that we haven’t touched every franchise that people would love us to touch,” he said, before he added “Banjo fans, I hear you.”“But it is true that, when we find the right team, and the right opportunity, I love going back to revisit stories and characters that we’ve seen previously,” he continued.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has confirmed the company has “no plans” to bring Game Pass to Nintendo or PlayStation.Game Pass currently allows gamers access to hundreds of PC and Xbox titles on a subscription-basis. In a new interview with Windows Central, Spencer confirmed that the company had spent over a billion dollars in 2023 (£780million) “supporting third-party games”.“What we see in Game Pass is a service that supports all kinds of games, from the biggest games, to the unknown indie games that you didn’t know you would love until you played it,” he continued (via Eurogamer).“Game Pass is an important part of the Xbox console identity.

The inquest into the death of Channel 4 host Phil Spencer 's parents has been taking place, with further details of the horror crash they were involved in being released.

Phil Spencer's father died from a lung injury after a horror car crash that claimed the life of his beloved wife, an inquest heard on Monday. The Location, Location, Location presenter, 53, lost both of his parents - Richard, 89, and Anne, 82 - on Friday 18 August when the car they were travelling crashed into a shallow tributary river that runs through their farming estate in Kent. An inquest into Richard's death on Monday 30 October heard how he had passed away from aspiration pneumonitis, which is a lung injury caused by inhaling toxic and/or irritant substances.

The father of TV presenter Phil Spencer died from a lung injury after his car overturned in a river, a coroner has said. The 89-year-old farmer was rushed to hospital after he nearly drowned, but he never regained consciousness, the inquest heard.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 or Modern Warfare 3 are on their way to Xbox Game Pass this year, Microsoft has confirmed, as there wasn’t enough time to sort out a “secret celebration drop”.Activision Blizzard stated that there were no intentions for its “upcoming and recently launched games” like Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo 4 to be playable through Xbox Game Pass this year.Yet, rumours swirled that there was something in store. In the latest episode of the official Xbox podcast, Microsoft CEO of gaming Phil Spencer explained that there simply wasn’t enough time to arrange the games’ arrival on Game Pass.The acquisition of Activision Blizzard was only finalised last week following repeated revisions to the terms of the agreement.

Microsoft‘s Phil Spencer has shared that special Call Of Duty content or events on Xbox would exclude the rest of the “Call Of Duty nation”, and therefore is not a part of the company’s plans for the series.On October 13, the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft was finalised, passing on properties like Crash Bandicoot, Diablo, Overwatch and World Of Warcraft as well as the immensely popular shooter series to the corporation.In spite of repeated insistences from Microsoft that it would not exclude players on other platforms from the future of Call Of Duty, there were still some concerns from fans.Spencer addressed these in the latest episode of the official Xbox podcast, reiterating that exclusive content for Xbox is not in Microsoft’s vision for the series (via Video Games Chronicle).“For Call of Duty players on PlayStation, and in the future Nintendo, I want you to feel 100 per cent a part of the community,” said the CEO.“I don’t want you to feel like there’s content you’re missing out, skins you’re missing out, there’s timing that you’re missing out on… that’s not the goal.”Historically, the series has prioritised those on PlayStation – Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 offered players exclusive monthly double experience point events, weapon bonuses when playing in parties with other PlayStation players, and additional loadout slots, to name a few features.This will not be replicated in future entries on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Phil Spencer has broken his silence after both of his parents died together in a car crash last month. The 53 year old Location, Location, Location star - who stars alongside Kirstie Allsopp on the show - took to Instagram on Thursday, September 14, almost a week after the funeral of his beloved parents.

TV presenter Phil Spencer has returned to filming Location, Location, Location with co-host Kirstie Allsopp, less than a month after the death of both his parents in a car accident. Phil's parents, Anne and David, died on their farm in Littlebourne, Kent, after their car toppled off a bridge and into a river while on their way to have lunch on 18 August.

Baldur’s Gate 3 will get cross-play between PC and PS5, and eventually Xbox Series X|S, according to an interview with a Larian Studios employee.Michael Douse, director of publishing for the developer, shared the news with Eurogamer. “It was always in the planning, but we knew it wouldn’t be for launch,” he said.

Phil Spencer and his family are “all going to the pub for lunch” where his parents were driving to when their car toppled off a bridge and into a river, his co-presenter Kirstie Allsopp has said. Phil's parents, Anne and David, tragically died on their farm in Littlebourne, Kent, while on their way to have lunch in August.

Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S versions of Baldur’s Gate 3 will not share the same features, but this is an concession that allows Larian Studios to release the role-playing game for the consoles before the end of the year.At the moment, Baldur’s Gate 3 is only playable on PC with a PS5 port arriving next month. Yet, the game has been an enormous success for Larian Studios, snagging enviable review scores and becoming a sensation on social media.Phil Spencer, Microsoft‘s CEO of Gaming, recently stated that the feature parity policy between the two consoles is something that guarantees as much accessibility as possible.