Microsoft Studios

News

Attempts Were Made | "There was always going to be live action" - As the Minecraft movie gets a new trailer, its director and producer try to defend its controversial look

"A lot of the people who will see it were not born when the first contracts and the first discussions were had."

Nov. 20, 2024 Oisin Kuhnke

News

Tough Times | "The whole studio was burning the candle at both ends" - Two of Halo 2's most important designers reflect on the beloved sequel's working conditions

"We really didn’t know what was going to happen."

Nov. 11, 2024 Oisin Kuhnke

News

The Neck-t Chapter | Dragon Age: The Veilguard's first patch isn't just about dressing up like someone who bangs, ok, it's saved us all from unexpected NPC neck growth

Forget Elven gods, this was clearly the biggest threat facing Thedas.

Nov. 8, 2024 Mark Warren

News

2Massive2Effective | Mass Effect is officially getting an Amazon TV series, penned by the writer of that Fast & Furious film where Vin Diesel and John Cena have a big fight about family

N7 Day might have been "quieter" this year, but it certainly wasn't silent.

Nov. 8, 2024 Mark Warren

News

Massively Effective | No Man's Sky brings back Mass Effect's Nomandy as a special N7 Day treat, alongside some handy cross-save support

To be fair, Commander Shepard's got experience with fish, so NMS' last big update should be up their alley.

Nov. 7, 2024 Mark Warren

Guide

DOUBLE JUMP SCARES | The best horror games to play in 2024

From founding fathers of horror to underrated gems, here are some of the best horror games to sink your teeth into.

Nov. 1, 2024 Kelsey Raynor

Guide

PASS THE GAMES | The best Game Pass games on Xbox and PC in 2024

Our top picks of the greatest games on gaming's best subscription service.

Oct. 31, 2024 James Billcliffe

News

Not Normessing About | As Dragon Age: The Veilguard ignites Mass Effect chatter, BioWare lead declares the latter will stick to being about serious, mature alien shaggers looking "photorealistic"

Even as they're put in some "humorous situations" like, I don't know, asking someone to bang, ok?

Oct. 29, 2024 Mark Warren

Guide

Open Roads | The best open-world games to play in 2024

It feels good to take the path less travelled, sometimes.

Oct. 24, 2024 Kelsey Raynor

Guide

Rock Hit Tree | The best survival games to play in 2024

It’s time to put your survival skills to the test with this list of the best survival games.

Oct. 24, 2024 Kelsey Raynor

Guide

NO MONEY, NO PROBLEM | The best free-to-play games to try in 2024

Here are some good games for you to play without the need to splash the cash.

Oct. 22, 2024 Kelsey Raynor

Article

PODCAST | Which expansions are better than the main game?

From The Shivering Isles to Toussaint: some downloadable content is worth every penny twice.

Oct. 7, 2024 Jim Trinca

News

Ad Nauseam | If Warner Bros wanted to inspire confidence in the Minecraft movie, then its first clip that looks more like a Super Bowl ad wasn't the way to go

Please, Hollywood, can you reinvent good lighting?

Sept. 29, 2024 Oisin Kuhnke

Article

PODCAST | The best rings of power in video games

Another ring-themed podcast! But this time nothing to do with broken Xboxes. Or Ian Higton.

Sept. 29, 2024 Jim Trinca

News

He's Said A Thing | Peter Molyneux reckons AI will "be a real game changer" in the future of games, and it'll "allow anyone" to make an entire title with a single prompt

"AI-generated characters, animations, dialogue, VO, there is so much that AI will be able to tackle."

Sept. 6, 2024 Mark Warren

News

Al In This Together | Alan Wake and Control TV and movies look to be on the way from Annapurna, thanks to new partnership with Remedy over Control 2

Relinquishing some control in order to gain some, er, control over Control.

Aug. 30, 2024 Mark Warren

News

X-Rated | Watch Microsoft's Xbox Games Showcase here

Another year, another round of World Premieres - probably.

June 9, 2024 Oisin Kuhnke

News

Halo Again | Looks like Xbox is making Halo: Combat Evolved again, but this time it might also come to PS5

A fresh remaster is reportedly in the works.

June 7, 2024 Mark Warren

News

RED LINE | Amazon is swerving into driving games - via a "narrative-led" open world title from the creators of Forza Horizon

A new genre for Amazon Games, which is stepping away from MMOs towards four solid wheels.

May 29, 2024 Connor Makar

News

CATCH ME UP TO DATE | Hate waiting to play your Xbox games because of a new update? Don't worry, you'll soon be able to pre-download them

The feature has been available on PlayStation for a while now.

May 19, 2024 Oisin Kuhnke

News

STORMIN' THE PS5 | Sea of Thieves Season 12 raises the Jolly Roger: Prepare for zipline adventures, loot, new weapons, pets, and a PS5 premiere

Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen!

April 30, 2024 Stephany Nunneley-Jackson

Article

THE SHU FITS | Remembering Blue Dragon, the spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger that everyone wanted and nobody played

Remembering the other great Akira Toriyama game that doesn't get the attention it deserves from under the shadow of one of the all-time RPG greats.

March 14, 2024 Siobhán Casey

News

FRIENDLY RIVALRY | PS5 owners seem very keen to buy Xbox console exclusives - Rare hit topping the pre-order chart

The times really are changing.

March 11, 2024 Oisin Kuhnke

News

GOOD JOB, ORI | Former Xbox console exclusive, Ori and the Blind Forest, saved Moon Studios from bankruptcy

The game has passed 10 million sales, according to CEO of Moon Studios.

March 11, 2024 Connor Makar

News

UPDATE AHOY | Sea of Thieves' next update brings in anti-cheat, solo-play Safer Seas changes, and plenty more

You should hopefully soon see a lot less cheaters on your journeys.

March 10, 2024 Oisin Kuhnke

News

MASTER GOOD GRIEF | Ex-Halo composer goes into politics, of course his campaign site looks like a rejected sci-fi main menu design

“I never wanted to be a politician and I still don’t,” says the man announcing that he's becoming a politician.

March 4, 2024 Mark Warren

Video

DISC-USTING | What's the best game that shipped on multiple discs? The Best Games Ever Podcast

Most games shipped on multiple discs, if you think about it...

Feb. 27, 2024 Jim Trinca

News

ZOMB-EEE, LOOK HERE | Surprise, Dead Island 2 has quietly landed on Xbox Game Pass

Just in case there wasn’t enough Xbox news this week.

Feb. 22, 2024 Mark Warren

News

PORTS ON PORTS | Pentiment and Grounded weren't the only Microsoft games announced for Switch today

You've got plenty to make your way through, now.

Feb. 21, 2024 Oisin Kuhnke

News

IT NEVER ENDS | Yes, a Nintendo Direct is coming tomorrow, so of course everyone's talking about Xbox again

Oh, and there’s also a Pokemon Presents coming next week, which is cool.

Feb. 20, 2024 Mark Warren

News

EVERY SCREEN | Xbox stands by its hardware while pushing its games can be "accessed across any screen"

Every screen is an Xbox, as reports stated was the message earlier this month.

Feb. 15, 2024 Mark Warren

News

VERY PODDERS | Good news, Phil Spencer's very important Xbox business update is coming this Thursday...via a podcast

Here comes the big news we’d been promised by Microsoft, in a format we all expected.

Feb. 13, 2024 Mark Warren

Video

EVERYONE LIKED THAT | That game everyone loves that you just can't stand? Turns out, everyone's got one of those

Some popular games are actually real stinkers.

Feb. 12, 2024 Jim Trinca

News

FRESH CHOOMS | Cyberpunk 2077 sequel's team looks to be nearly set, with ex-Remedy and BioWare writers coming on board

A pretty formidable squad of devs is properly kicking Project Orion into life.

Feb. 6, 2024 Mark Warren

News

SERIOUSLY, CHILL OUT | Don't panic, but Halo is the latest Xbox exclusive series that may have hinted at a multiplatform future

You probably won’t want to read a listing for a job you’re not applying for as closely as this ever again.

Feb. 6, 2024 Mark Warren

News

SOON(TM) | Don't worry, Phil Spencer says Xbox will address all your very urgent questions about exclusivity...next week

No time like the present, eh Xboxers?

Feb. 6, 2024 Mark Warren

News

SHIFTING GEARS | CliffyB thinks Microsoft would be "smart" to consult him on Gears of War, but also thinks it's time to move on

"As much as I appreciate your support and those who know me from my Gears work… it's time to move on."

Jan. 28, 2024 Oisin Kuhnke

News

REMEMBER REACH | Full Halo season 2 trailer promises all the stuff we wanted the first time around

Master Chief still won't keep his damn helmet on though.

Jan. 11, 2024 Fran Ruiz

News

CHAMPIONS OF LIGHT | Alan Wake 2 rewrites reality to make its fictional band's album top 10 worldwide

A well deserved accomplishment!

Dec. 11, 2023 Oisin Kuhnke

News

GUH-HUH | Phil Spencer knows you want more Banjo-Kazooie: “I hear you”

"When we find the right team, and the right opportunity, I love going back to revisit stories and characters that we've seen previously."

Dec. 3, 2023 Oisin Kuhnke

News

A QUIET LIFE FOR ME | Sea of Thieves' private servers will finally let you pirate in peace next week

Now you don't have to worry about anyone but yourself.

Dec. 3, 2023 Oisin Kuhnke

News

MURDEROUS INTUITION | For its 10th anniversary, Killer Instinct has gone free-to-play on all platforms

Plus, a brand new Anniversary Edition.

Nov. 26, 2023 Oisin Kuhnke

Article

SUNSET, SUNRISE | Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is great, but I wish Insomniac would bring back Sunset Overdrive

It might have released almost a decade ago, but I'm still thinking about it.

Nov. 15, 2023 Oisin Kuhnke

News

GO TO HELL | Netflix is getting one of the best roguelites around and more next year

Netflix continues its attempt to be the Netflix of games.

Nov. 12, 2023 Oisin Kuhnke

Article

ELECTRIC BOOGALOO | Gears of War 2, which turns 15 today, is peak absurdity that would be near impossible to reboot

I love me some OG Gears of War, but its greatest strengths are very much of its time.

Nov. 7, 2023 Connor Makar

News

NUMBER ONE FAN | Even Alan Wake 2's directors had to rely on fan wikis to keep track of some details

Looks like you're not alone.

Nov. 6, 2023 Oisin Kuhnke

News

CHEAP AS CHIPS | Bag the original Alan Wake and more for a tenner right now

Hard to argue against eight games for a tenner.

Oct. 20, 2023 Oisin Kuhnke

News

ALAN WAKE EVENT | Epic Games is using the might of Fortnite to make Alan Wake popular

All it takes is a skin and a remake of a 13 year old game.

Oct. 19, 2023 Oisin Kuhnke

Article

FIRE WAKE WITH ME | Now that I'm finally watching Twin Peaks, Alan Wake makes a lot more sense to me

It turns out that Alan Wake makes a lot more sense if you watch the show that serves as its main source of inspiration.

Oct. 15, 2023 Oisin Kuhnke

News

SAVE ME | Beware of Forza Motorsport's loading screens, they could break your game

There are some known issues with the game previously known as Forza Motorsport 8, and they could affect your save file.

Oct. 9, 2023 Oisin Kuhnke