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This is regardless of the fact that overall gaming revenue has declined during the same period of time. During the earnings call, Microsoft spoke with investors regarding the second quarter of FY2023, with chairman and CEO Satya Nadella sharing the information regarding active users. “We saw new highs for Game Pass subscriptions, game streaming hours, and monthly active devices. And monthly active users surpassed a record 120 million during the quarter,” Nadella discloses....

Earlier this month, Microsoft laid off roughly 10,000 employees to supposedly prepare for slower revenue growth, and Xbox owned studios like Halo developer 343 Industries and Bethesda were affected too. Spencer recently spoke with IGN about what lies in Xbox’s future for the year, but also spoke of the layoffs. “As somebody who’s been on Xbox for an awful long time, it’s always a challenge whenever a coworker…a team member is not going to be on the journey with us going forward,” Spencer told IGN....

At its most simple, the Xbox Cloud Gaming service arriving on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S will allow you to stream games and try them out before you commit to saving them to your console. Don’t expect 4K functionality here, though; this is all targeted at 1080p in a ’try before you buy’ fashion. But there’s another, more important application of the service on console: the service will also eventually allow you to play Xbox Series X/S exclusive games - like Microsoft Flight Simulator - on Xbox One, though that won’t be viable at launch....

The leaks just keep on coming. After Microsoft was forced to hurriedly reveal Xbox Series S’s design and confirm its $300 price this morning, new information has now come to light. H0x0d_, the same Twitter user who initially showed a snippet of what looked to be Xbox Series S’ official product reveal trailer, has now published the whole thing. Normally, this wouldn’t constitute big news, but since Microsoft didn’t share any details - beyond the price - the full reveal trailer does highlight a couple of interesting details....

Microsoft has officially published detailed specs of both Xbox Series X and Series S, revealing certain specifics that don’t typically get mentioned in trailers. More specifically, the spec sheets confirm that both next-gen Xbox consoles are equipped with an 802.11ac dual band Wi-Fi antenna, which means they’re both rated for the Wi-Fi 5 spec, rather than the faster, modern Wi-Fi 6. This is the same spec being used with the Xbox One X/S, and Sony’s PS4 Pro....

According to a report from Thurrott, Microsoft initially planned for Xbox Series X to launch in late August. Xbox Lockhart would later follow in mid-October. Coronavirus obviously altered these plans dramatically, but it’s interesting that Microsoft originally planned to launch earlier than the usual November spot. Though the site isn’t quite ready to believe recent reports that Lockhart will be unveiled in August, it does say that the plan was indeed for it to be announced at a since-cancelled June event....

Doom developer id Software has one of the most optimised modern engines: id Tech. This is what powers the 2016 Doom reboot, last year’s Doom Eternal, and MachineGames’ Wolfenstein games. The engine is known for delivering a lot of detail without compromising on performance. It’s part of the reason why Doom 2016 and Eternal are both 60fps games on consoles, and why they run at very high framerates on PC....

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, like older games, eating fruit provides you with the energy necessary to gather resources, which are later used in crafting. But when you don’t feel like doing any actual work, players discovered another, equally natural way of getting rid of excess energy. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, your character can poop. While toilets existed in other Animal Crossing games, New Horizons is the first to actually find a use for them beyond just being a different kind of chair....

After the roaring success of the Resident Evil 2 remake, it seemed the third entry in the survival horror series was also set to get the same treatment. After a couple of leaks, it was confirmed during a State of Play update in December along with the upcoming 4v1 multiplayer mode Resistance. In fact, right now, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are both down to $49. A little while before that you could also get the Final Fantasy 7 remake for $42....

If you start CD Projekt’s upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you’ll be able to carry on where you left off on the Sony and Microsoft’s newer machines. As spotted by Polygon, the Polish developer has outlined that players will be able to migrate their save data from to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S when they make the leap to the newer generation of hardware....

There’s a second side to Infinite, however – and that’s where the contradiction creeps in. While deeply traditional and dedicated to restoring Halo’s core, it’s also a highly experimental entry in the series. Its new ideas about open-ended play are very different to anything the series had attempted before – and yet, these new ideas had to mesh with Halo’s classic ‘golden triangle’ of guns, grenades, and melee to create something new that is still undeniably in possession of the series’ greatest hits....

If you’re not up to speed, here’s the lowdown. Earlier this year, Kotaku released a report about the working conditions at Naughty Dog. The article paints a picture of “simultaneously the best and the worst workplace in the world”. “They do try to take care of you, providing food, encouragement to go take breaks,” said one former developer. “But for the most part, the implication is: ‘Get the job done at all costs....

If you’ve not been following the game, Dragon Quest 11 S: Definitive Edition is a re-release of 2018’s decent enough JRPG, that introduces an orchestral soundtrack, a traditional 2D-style retro-inspired mode, and more besides to the title. If you’re keen to try the improved version of the esteemed JRPG out for yourself, you can download a chunky 10-hour demo on your console of choice from today. Any progress you make during the demo can be stored and brought over to the full game – a nice idea, considering so many RPGs of this type can often be arduous slogs in the beginning....

Assassin’s Creed is 15 years old this week. I can scarcely believe it. I could swear on a stack of bibles that it’s a “new” series, in the same way that my kids will always be “little”, or that The Rock will always be “from the wrestling”. And what a 15 years it’s been: in that time, gaming has absolutely exploded, transitioning full from being a sort of silly hobby for weans and saddos to a mainstream phenomenon that (yes, alright, sorry, I’m going to say the thing) makes tonnes more money (ugh, let’s just get it over with) than any other entertainment medium (sigh, sorry)....

Shareholder rights law firm Robbins LLP is investigating Activision Blizzard to determine whether certain Activision officers and directors violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and breached their fiduciary duties to the company, according to a note shared on BusinessWire. Pre-market stats suggest the shares are starting to rally – albeit slightly – but overall, Activision Blizzard stocks have dropped by as much as 7% on Tuesday as the legal mess continued to get stickier....

You’ve come here to read about Elden Ring, I know. But indulge me for a moment, yeah? Feelings about games can be nebulous, and difficult - if not impossible - to properly quantify. They’re entirely subjective, and when based upon just a small slice of a much larger work can also quite easily be entirely wrong. And yet… I do trust my gut. One recent example is Marvel’s Avengers. You never want to stick the boot in at preview too much - things can always get fixed - but I knew that game had problems, despite its massive budget, by the end of a 30-minute hands-on....

Now, with the recent release of Sonic Origins, I’ve added yet another compilation to my always-growing classic Sonic trilogy rerelease pile. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m a sucker for bells and whistles, and any chance to play some of my favorite games ever with new features, tweaks and quality of life upgrades will never fail to pique my interest. Still, I can’t help but want more — especially at the price point Origins asks for how much it offers....

A decade has passed since Alan Wake launched on Xbox 360, but Lake is still as passionate about the character as the fans who bombard his Twitter account asking for an overdue sequel. It’s that unbridled enthusiasm that helped to spark wild fan speculation about how Alan Wake and Control may be linked. Alan Wake Easter eggs found in Control’s Panopticon section teased such a possibility but, as much as their inclusion were a form of fanservice, those secrets provided some catharsis to Lake for a property he’s constantly revisited....

It’s an impeccably-timed deal from the mega-retailer as many of us are now cooped up at home looking for something to do or play. And there are lots of great games included – whether you’re looking for something for your console or your tabletop. You can browse the full range of products in the Buy 2 Get 1 Free promotion here. I’ve also listed a few of the standout games included below to give you an idea of what’s up for grabs....

Now, though, the developer has successfully enabled server transfers within the same region, ahead of a bigger change coming at some point that will allow regional migration, per a Server Transfer Megathread over on the New World forums. If this migration option is tempting you back into the game, may we suggest learning how to quickly farm XP, or checking out our popular PvE and PvP build guide? We also have guides showing you how to acquire gems, how to craft armor, where to sell items, and we also have plenty of item farming guides....