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Source: JUNG YEON-JE / Getty / Xbox
The Xbox community is in shambles after several leaks over the weekend, indicating a significant shift when it comes to the company’s “exclusive” titles is coming.
Multiple reports from The Verge, XboxEra, and Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb claim Xbox will put exclusive titles like Bethesda releases, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Starfield, and even Gears of Wars are coming to the PlayStation 5, adding a lot of fuel to those Xbox going multiplatform fires.
According to The Verge’s reporting, a source close to Bethesda told the outlet that MachineGames, which is owned by Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media, is “considering” releasing the upcoming Indiana Jones game on the PS5 console after its launch on PC and Xbox Series X/S in 2024.
We got our first look at Indiana Jones and the Great Circle during the recent Developer_Direct presentation, and it met with some mixed reactions, with some excited about the game and others mum on the idea of the game being in first person.
Per XboxEra’s reporting, Starfield, the massive Xbox exclusive, is also coming to the PlayStation 5, allegedly sometime after the release of the Shattered Space DLC. The website also claims Microsoft has invested in more PlayStation 5 dev kits to make the interstellar RPG’s jump to the PS5 happen.
“The other one that I’ve heard that’s definitely under consideration—it doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen, but it’s in talks—is Gears of War,” Grubb said on a recent episode of Game Mess Mornings.
Other games like live service pirate adventure Sea of Thieves and Tango Gamework’s surprise hit Hi-Fi Rush are also rumored to jump from Xbox consoles to the PS5.
As you can imagine, the news sent the Xbox community spiraling on X, formerly Twitter, with Spaces titled, I’m not an Xbox fanboy anymore.”
We’re dead serious. Well-known Xbox enthusiast Tim Dogg started it, and we paid a visit to it, and it was A LOT, to say the least.
Phil Spencer Hears You
Hilariously, while all this was happening, Xbox Chief Phil Spencer was happily playing Diablo IV, according to Tim Dog, but he finally broke his silence on Monday, Feb 5.
In a very Spencer-like response, he wrote on X:
“We’re listening and we hear you. We’ve been planning a business update event for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox. Stay tuned.”
Oh boy.
He honestly needs to say something now, but we’re just going to have to be patient and wait on Phil.
Justified Anger or Just Overeacting?
Until that day comes, and Phil drops the news many Xbox fans are dreading, there are plenty of reactions, some hilarious, also quite delirious.
Are these reactions to this news warranted? We guess. Listen, we get it; some people buy these consoles due to brand loyalty and love the idea you can have certain titles on them.
Believe it or not, some gamers bought a PS4 or PS5 because they want to play exclusives like Marvel’s Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, or God of War.
Xbox console owners were hoping to get the same thing, and hearing games they used in their arguments to prop up their consoles are now possibly heading to the competitor.
Then, some don’t care where they play their games; they want a machine that can run them flawlessly.
But if this news is accurate, it does seem that Xbox is waving the white flag, and understandably, the people who ran out and bought Xbox Series X and Series S consoles are now giving them the ultimate side-eye.
We shall see if there is any truth to these reports next week when Phil Spencer speaks on it; until then, you can see more reactions in the gallery below.
3. Howling
5. Did they?
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Source: 343 Industries / HALO Infinite
It’s Black History Month, which means companies are doing their best to show how inclusive and down for the Black cause they truly are. Halo Infinite studio 343 Industries’ attempt to celebrate BHM is getting clowned on social media.
Don’t get it twisted; we know there was goodwill in 343 Industries’ attempt to celebrate Black History Month by introducing armor shaders to commemorate the annual celebration of Black excellence.
But, man, we understand why the jokes are flying across the timeline.
Gamers can now add bold green, gold, and maroon colors, typically associated with African country flags, plus kente cloth, the West African traditional textile as a pattern on their Spartan armor.
To announce the new Black History Month-inspired shaders, the Halo account on X, formerly Twitter, dropped a photo of a Spartan with all the custom shaders, which did not land well.
Immediately, comparisons to A-Train, the only Black superhero on The Seven in the hit Amazon Prime series, The Boys, hit timelines.
In that particular episode, Jessie T. Usher’s character got an African-themed super suit to gain the approval of Black people, but 343 Industries’ attempt was nowhere near as egregious in terms of pandering. However, you still can’t unsee it, especially when you compare A-Train’s costume.
The Verge’s Ash Parrish confirmed that with her well-timed response to the Halo account tweet.
Xbox’s Other BLM-Inspired Initiatives
The announcement of the Black History Month-inspired Halo Infinite shaders was just a small part of a more significant initiative that Xbox announced to celebrate BHM.
The Microsoft-owned company announced a partnership with the Gameheads development program and other amazing Black History Month initiatives.
Announcing a partnership with Gameheads to showcase games created by students (ages 11-25) who have gone through Gameheads’ game development program. Gameheads is a California-based non-profit that uses game design and development to engage, prepare and train low-income youth and youth of color for careers in the video games and technology industry. Check out the games, and how you can play them here.
As part of the partnership, Xbox also donated to Gameheads to support their commitment to diversifying the pipeline in the gaming industry & empowering the next generation of game developers.
Sharing a collection of games available on Xbox, made for and by the Black community, including spotlighting Black game developers from the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program who, with Xbox’s support, are increasing Black representation and elevating underrepresented voices in the games they create.
Encouraging players to donate Microsoft Rewards points to both Gameheads and/or Cxmmunity.
Sharing Xbox Ambassador stories, including tips they have for how to stay safe when gaming, and more!
By heading here, you can learn more about how Xbox and Gamesheads are working together to amplify Black voices in the gaming industry.
Still, Xbox, you are going to get these jokes. You can see more reactions to the Blackety, Black Spartan armor in the gallery below.
2. Won’t be shocked to see this at New York Comic Con
3. Howling
5. Someone likes it
6. Intriguing
7. Wait a minute
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Source: Microsoft / Xbox /Activision Blizzard
New year, more layoffs in the video game industry, sadly.
Can we hit the reset button?
The video game industry continues to be hit with layoffs despite companies seeing massive amounts of profit and games selling like hotcakes.
Microsoft is the latest company to take an axe to its workforce, laying off 1,900 employees from Activision Blizzard and Xbox. The Verge reports that most of the layoffs will affect roles at Activision Blizzard, and these cuts will also impact some employees at Xbox and ZeniMax.
The 1,900 layoffs will account for 8% of Microsoft’s gaming division’s 22,000 employees.
The website obtained an internal memo from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirming the horrible news.
Per The Verge:
It’s been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft. As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we’ve set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we’re all aligned on the best opportunities for growth.
As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team. The Gaming Leadership Team and I are committed to navigating this process as thoughtfully as possible.
The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they’ve accomplished here. We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion and dedication they have brought to our games, our players and our colleagues. We will provide our full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws. Those whose roles will be impacted will be notified, and we ask that you please treat your departing colleagues with the respect and compassion that is consistent with our values.
Looking ahead, we’ll continue to invest in areas that will grow our business and support our strategy of bringing more games to more players around the world. Although this is a difficult moment for our team, I’m as confident as ever in your ability to create and nurture the games, stories and worlds that bring players together.
Phil
Blizzard president Mike Ybarra Is Also Bouncing
Among the 1,900 will also be Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, who did his best impression of the Spongebob “might imma head out” meme.
“As many of you know, Mike previously spent more than 20 years at Microsoft. Now that he has seen the acquisition through as Blizzard’s president, he has decided to leave the company,” Microsoft’s game content and studios president, Matt Booty, said in an internal memo.
Also leaving is Allen Adham, Blizzard’s chief design officer.
Booty adds, “As one of Blizzard’s cofounders, Allen has had a broad impact on all of Blizzard’s games. His influence will be felt for years to come, both directly and indirectly, as Allen plans to continue mentoring young designers across the industry.”
The Verge has also reported that a game Blizzard has been working on for over six years has also been canceled. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier says the name of the game was Odyssey.
Schreier notes that Activision Blizzard employees are reaching out to him to learn their fate and waiting to see if they are among the 1,900.
Social Media Reactions To The Layoffs
As expected, the news of the layoffs is not landing well on X, formerly Twitter, with reactions pouring in from those involved in the gaming industry.
Kinda Funny’s Andy Cortez perfectly summed up in one post on X how these layoffs can affect the future of the video game industry.
“You’re a student in game dev school. You’re reading about Microsoft laying off 1,900 people after buying Activision Blizzard. You just read about more Embracer layoffs from yesterday. Nearly 6,000 games industry workers are jobless so far this year. It is still January,” Cortez said.
The frightening trend, which saw an estimated 10,500 game industry workers in 2023, is currently on pace to match or smash that number. Video Games Chronicle reports over 5,000 workers will lose their jobs in 2024.
Damn.
You can see more reactions to Microsoft layoffs in the gallery below.
1. Unbelievable
2. Great point
7. Well damn
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Source: Xbox / Developer Direct
Xbox is showing its hand early in 2024.
Following a strong 2023, Xbox is looking to keep the momentum going and announced it will hold its first Developer Direct of the new year, and they will be bringing the heat.
The Developer Direct, which goes down Thursday, January 18 at 12:00 pm PT/3:00 pm ET, will give Xbox fans an “inside look” at highly anticipated titles coming to the Xbox Series S | X.
Like the previous Developer Direct, the game creators themselves will be taking us on a journey to Sweden to give us our first look at MachineGames Indiana Jones, Obsidian’s Irvine studio to learn more about Avowed, Oxide Games’ Maryland home for more insight on Ara: History Untold and finally across the pond to England to see more of Ninja Theory’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.
In the announcement of the Developer Direct, Xbox notes that we can expect updates from Activision Blizzard later in the year while promising the show will be “just a selection of our slate of upcoming games from Xbox.”
Following the Developer Direct, ZeniMax Online Studios will host The Elder Scrolls Online 2024 Global Reveal at 1 pm PT / 4 pm ET / 9 pm UK to preview 2024’s biggest update.
Xbox Has Gamers Buzzing With Excitement Early In 2024
The reactions to the upcoming Developer Direct are ones full of excitement because these are games that Xbox fans have had high on their lists and now are finally getting to see more of.
“Getting details on Indiana Jones this early into 2024 was not on my bingo card. Machine Games has always been one of my favorite studios and I am expecting them to knock this reveal out of the park,” GamerTag Radio and Kinda Funny creator Parris Lily wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
You can add us to the list as well. We also want to see precisely what MachineGames’ Indiana Jones game looks like. You can see more reactions to the news in the gallery below.
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Photo: Xbox / Developer Direct
2. Possibly
3. A spicy take
4. We all did
6. Will they?
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While the Xbox is a very versatile console, its “box” shape lends itself to other designs outside of gaming. There’s the Xbox Series X Mini-Fridge (or other fun mini-fridges for gamers), which can keep up to eight 12-ounce cans chilly and cold, and now there’s the Xbox Series S Toaster.
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The Xbox Series S Toaster can toast up to two slices of bread at once. It resembles the carbon white digital-only 512GB model of Microsoft’s gaming console, while the toaster even burns the iconic Xbox sphere logo on one side of the toast itself. If you’re looking to get your hands on the Xbox Series S Toast, Walmart has it priced at $39.99.
And you can get free shipping with Walmart+, so you can have it for breakfast at home. Not a member? You can sign up for a free 30-day trial here. Without Walmart+, you still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more (including the Xbox Series S Toaster). Walmart+ includes exclusive perks, such as free grocery delivery, free shipping with no minimum order, access to Paramount+ to watch hit originals such as Halo, Fatal Attraction, Star Trek: Lower Decks, fuel savings at Exxon, Mobil, Walmart or Murphy gas stations, access to early deals and much more.
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Xbox Series S Toaster
Meanwhile, the Xbox Series S Toaster has a shade selector with six settings, so you can have the level of burn and brown you want, while its digital LED countdown timer adds a bit a high tech function and fun. It has a defrost setting, so you can quickly go from freezer to table with just a push of a button.
Aside from slices of bread, the gaming console replica toaster can toast English muffins, frozen waffles, bagels and other pastries and morning time treats. Clean up is also easy, thanks to its removable crumb tray.
At $39.99, the Xbox Series S Toaster is a great gift for the gamer in your life, or for yourself, if you’re a fan of Xbox or fun breakfast foods, in general.
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Source: Xbox / Series S Toaster
Xbox is making a solid push to take over your home entertainment centers and kitchens.
The Microsoft-owned gaming company also sells a Series S toaster to compliment your Xbox Series X Compact Fridge that you can still pick up for only $199.
For just $40 bucks, you can show your allegiance to Team Green with this next-generation toaster, and it comes with many features to help you unlock many achievements in your toasting game.
Thanks to the Series S Toaster’s ability to toast the Xbox sphere logo on your bread, you can showcase your love for Xbox. The toaster can fit two slices of bread, has six browning levels, an LED countdown to eliminate those surprise jump scares, and a removable crumb tray to keep things tidy around the kitchen.
There is also an anti-jam function and automatic temperature control.
It can also toast your bagels or English muffins and features a defrost setting.
The Series S Toaster was originally only available in France in March 2023. Wario64, who dedicates time to sharing video game-related deals on X, formerly Twitter, the toaster’s wide availability.
With the arrival of the Series S Toaster, Xbox continues to push out exciting items and collaborations. Ahead of the launch of Starfield, the company linked with Tempur for a one-of-a-kind “Dream Chair.”
Xbox also dropped mini hoodies for Xbox controllers.
There were also insane console collaborations with movies like Barbie, Wonka, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
It would be nice to see PlayStation doing something similar with appliances.
Just saying.
You can pick up the Xbox Series S toaster by heading here. It will make the perfect gift for the gamer in your life.
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Photo: Xbox / Series S Toaster
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Source: SOPA Images / Getty / PS5
When it comes to moving consoles, Sony remains king.
Sony has a lot to be happy about. Roughly three years after its release, the popularity of the PS5 console remains high, and according to Reuters, the company has reportedly sold over 50 million units.
The Japanese tech giant also says it has the best-ever Black Friday period for the video game console.
Per Reuters reporting, Sony expects to finish the year on a high note thanks to a strong holiday performance, putting the company on pace to reach its sales target of a record 25 million units to close out the current financial year ending March 31.
Eric Lempel, senior vice president for global marketing, sales, and business operations at Sony Interactive Entertainment, said, “Given the momentum we’ve had in November and a lot of what we’re seeing in December, just in general, we’re feeling very good about sales overall.”
Remember that this number could have been higher, but PS5 sales were hampered due to supply chain issues when the console first hit the market.
Still, despite that, you can expect to see a PS5 in a home thanks to a solid first-party game lineup with games like God of War: Ragnarok and, most recently, Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Xbox & Nintendo Are Not Seeing The Same Success With Its Consoles
The outlook isn’t so rosy for the PS5’s direct competitors, Microsoft’s Xbox Series S | X and the Nintendo Switch.
IGN reports the Xbox sales have hit a snag. According to the website, PS5 sales are up “65% to 22.5 million units,” while Xbox’s sales took a dip to “about 15% to 7.6 million.”
The Nintendo Switch, which at one point was impossible to find on shelves during the pandemic, has fallen nearly 20%.
We are curious to see if Sony can continue its dominance in the gaming space in 2024.
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Photo: SOPA Images / Getty
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. It’s that time of the year again! Colder weather, hot chocolate at night and, of course, holiday gift-giving. However, it seems […]
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
The third installment in the reboot series Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III drops on Friday, Nov. 10
Ready for pre-order for $69.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Target, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III — for current generation consoles PS5, Xbox Series X, as well as previous generation PS4 and Xbox One — is a first-person shooter with open-world elements from Sledgehammer Games and Activision. Modern Warfare III is the reboot of 2011’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Modern Warfare III follows a multinational special operations unit called Task Force 141. The unit is on the trail of Vladimir Makarov, a Russian ultranationalist and terrorist who wants to start World War III. Task Force 141 must stop him and his roaming armies.
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The game has 16 base maps from the previous installment Modern Warfare II, and also features a new special Zombie Mode that’s open world — a first for any Call of Duty game. Players can select linear missions, which are straightforward and on rails, or “Open Combat Missions,” which are open world. And of course, Modern Warfare III has online multiplayer with up to 24 players at once.
One of the best features is “Carry Forward,” which imports inventory from Modern Warfare II to Modern Warfare III. This is ideal for those who don’t want to spend the time to re-collect or upgrade their weapons and gear.
Additionally, Standard and Cross-Gen are the two editions of the game that are available. First is the Standard Edition, which just has the game. The second is the Cross-Gen Edition, which has the game itself and five different content packs, which includes early access, new locations, new missions, new characters and more — all unlocked.
Dropping on Nov. 10, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III comes out for PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4 and Xbox One, and is available for pre-order for $69.99 each. In the meantime, watch a trailer for the game, below.
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / PlayStation
You can now add Sony as the latest company that will no longer play nice with Elon Musk’s mess of a social media platform X.
PlayStation is killing off its X (formerly known as Twitter) integration. So what does that mean? Well, PS4 and PS5 owners used to enjoy being able to share screenshots and clips directly to their Twitter accounts from those two consoles.
Now, that will no longer be the case.
Spotted on The Verge, Sony announced the significant change to social sharing via a message on its website.
“As of November 13, 2023, integration with X (formerly known as Twitter) will no longer function on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 consoles, Sony said.
“This includes the ability to view any content published on X on PS5/PS4 and the ability to post and view content, trophies, and other gameplay-related activities on X directly from PS5/PS4 (or link an X account to do so)” the message continues.
Notable gaming news source Wario64 shared a screenshot of the message PS5 owners are receiving about the change on X’s biggest competitor, Threads.
As to why Sony is making this decision, the company didn’t give an exact reason for its decision, but many believe it has something to do with X’s ridiculous API pricing the company introduced earlier this year.
Sony did share how gamers could still share their screenshots and clips on X through other means, specifically through the PlayStation app, where you can download your content to your phone and directly post it to your social media accounts.
Xbox Also Made A Similar Move
Sony’s decision to no longer support Twitter’s API is not unheard of. Xbox also announced earlier this year that it was removing the feature.
Threads, it’s your time to shine.
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Photo: NurPhoto / Getty