Xbox: Last News

Rudie Obias editor If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Back in October 2023, Microsoft acquired the game studio Activision-Blizzard with an eye towards growing Xbox‘s exclusive game library. And now, “Diablo IV” is the first major Activision-Blizzard game to hit Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s premium cloud gaming subscription service.

Rudie Obias editor If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. With the release of the “Fallout” TV series on Prime Video, Amazon has partnered with Bethesda Softworks and Microsoft to give away copies of the “Fallout 76″ video game (about a $40 value) for Xbox Series X/S (or the previous generation Xbox One) and PC.

Microsoft has announced it has set up a special team dedicated to Xbox game preservation as work continues on the successor to the Series X/S.According to an internal memo shared by Windows Central, the team was created by Xbox president Sarah Bond and is out to “ensure the future-proofing of the current Xbox game library against future hardware paradigm shifts”.“It’s been nearly six months since we came together as an organisation,” she explained. “Our collective achievements in that timeframe are tremendous.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has explained that the company’s focus is on attracting “younger audiences”.Over the past few months, Spencer has spoken at length about making Xbox-exclusive games available on “rival” platforms. Last weekend, while at the Game Developers Conference he spoke to Polygon about the possibility of an Xbox handheld console as well as having digital storefronts like Itch.io and the Epic Games Store available on Xbox, alongside their own store.“This notion that Xbox can only be this one device that plugs into a television isn’t something we see in the Gen Z research because nothing else is like that for them,” he explained.“Some of them will have an iPhone, some will have an Android, but all the games and everything is the same [for both of them].

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Persona 3 Reload is receiving several pieces of DLC this year, it was announced yesterday (March 6), and will be available through an expansion pass.As was announced during a Xbox Partner Preview, three separate pieces of DLC will be available through an expansion pass this year. The expansion pass is included at no extra cost to subscribers of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, though will cost £28 ($35) on other platforms.The expansion pass will include background music from Persona 5 Royal and Persona 4 Golden, releasing on March 12, new costumes and music from The Velvet Room in May, and a full epilogue in September titled Episode Aigis: The Answer.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Netflix will launch a mobile game version of the indie hit “Hades” in March. Per Netflix’s description, “Hades” is “a rogue-like dungeon crawler in which you defy the god of the dead as you hack and slash your way out of the Underworld of Greek myth.” Pre-registration to play the streamer’s exclusive version of the game, which launches on iOS devices March 19, opens Tuesday at 9 a.m. PT.

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Hi-Fi Rush has been officially announced for release on PlayStation 5 next month, alongside several other formerly Xbox console exclusive titles.The title will launch on March 19 on PlayStation 5, with physical versions for the platform available exclusively through Limited Run Games. While a Switch release for Hi-Fi Rush has been rumoured, there is currently no official notice on if those rumours were actually true.Alongside Hi-Fi Rush, Xbox is also bringing three other previously exclusive games to new systems.

Call Of Duty titles will launch day and date on Xbox Game Pass, according to an interview with Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer.Spencer spoke about how Xbox Game Pass will work with new studios that have been purchased by Xbox in an interview with Gamefile‘s Stephen Totillo.“Our intent is the full portfolio from ZeniMax, Activision Blizzard and XGS- Xbox Game Studios – will be on Game Pass, day one,” Spencer said in the interview. It’s important to note however, that there’s still work to be done before they’re ready to launch day and date on the system.“We’re doing the back end work to make them come to PC and console simultaneously,” Spencer confirmed.In the same interview, Spencer also spoke about what he believes the future of physical media is in regards to the Xbox platform, stating that while Xbox themselves are fans of physical media, they “don’t have a need to drive that disproportionate to customer demand”.“Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive.

Nintendo Direct has been announced for later today (February 21), with the presentation set to showcase a number of third-party titles coming to the Nintendo Switch.The Partner Showcase is set to premiere at 2pm GMT/6am PT/9am ET and will last for roughly 25 minutes.The first Nintendo Direct of the year will be available to watch live on Nintendo’s website or on their official Youtube channel.

Microsoft has begun to tease the successor to the Xbox Series X/S, promising the “largest technical leap” in Xbox console history.Following rumours Xbox was set to make a number of exclusive titles available to both PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch gamers, many fans assumed Microsoft could be about to follow the lead of Sega and pivot away from hardware to become a software-only studio.However during a podcast presentation about the “vision for the future” of the brand last night (February 15), Microsoft confirmed it was set to continue to manufacture consoles.“There’s some exciting stuff coming out in hardware that we’re going to share this holiday and we’re also invested in the next generation roadmap,” said Xbox president Sarah Bond. “What we’re really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation”“That makes it better for players, and better for creators and the visions that they’re building,” she added.

Microsoft has confirmed that Diablo 4 will be the first Activision Blizzard title to come to Xbox Game Pass.Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard was finally approved in October 2023 after being announced in January 2022 via a deal thought to be worth £50billion.Now the first of Microsoft’s new franchises is coming to its subscription-based Game Pass service. Head of Xbox Sarah Bond confirmed the news during an official Xbox podcast last night (February 15).Diablo 4 will be available to play via Game Pass from March 28 and is said to be the first of multiple Activision and Blizzard-developed titles coming to the service.Elsewhere in the podcast, Xbox boss Phil Spencer announced that Game Pass now had 34million “fully paid” subscribers compared to 25million in 2022.

Xbox has confirmed that four exclusive games will be released on rival consoles, after weeks of speculation.Earlier this month, several reports emerged that Microsoft was planning on releasing several big exclusives like Starfield, Indiana Jones & The Great Circle, Halo and Gears Of Wars on the PlayStation 5. Microsoft then confirmed a press conference to discuss the “vision for the future” of Xbox, which finally took place last night (February 15).Those rumours were swiftly debunked, but Microsoft did announce their intention “to take four games to the other consoles [PS5 and Nintendo Switch]”.

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note sent to customers and displayed on their website, GAME wrote:“The Trade-In programme operated by GAME which offers customers the ability to trade-in unwanted consoles, games or gaming accessories in-store for credit will cease. GAME will also stop selling pre-owned games and consoles in-store and online at game.co.uk once stocks have run out.”“We haven’t taken this decision lightly and we are extremely grateful for your loyal custom throughout the years and remain committed to continue to give our passionate gaming fans the best customer experience,” they added.According to GAME, customers should still be able to sell or exchange games, consoles and accessories up until February 16 but stores “do have a right to refuse trade ins”.GAME was taken over by The Fraser Group in 2019, who have since shut down a number of standalone high-street shops and opened up concessions in larger department stores like House Of Fraser and Sports Direct.The news comes as Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, has spoken about stopping the sale of physical games at some point this year.

Atlus has announced that Persona 3 Reload is the fastest-selling game in the history of the company.Atlus West posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Persona 3 Reload has sold over a million copies in the first week of release, making it the fastest-selling game that the company has ever published.The game was launched on February 2 across all platforms. The game was originally revealed by Xbox in June of last year, along with the reveal that the game would be launching on Xbox Game Pass at no additional price to existing subscribers.As reported by Persona Central back in 2021, the Persona series had hit fifteen million sales by the end of Fiscal Year 2021, meaning that Persona 3 Reload has already sold roughly a fifteenth of what the entire series had sold in by the end of its 25th anniversary year.NME reviewed Persona 3 Reload, with our reviewer calling the game a “must-play marvel”.“As the sums of its parts, Reload is phenomenal as both a remake and a standalone game.

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