Photo credit: Wccftech
Microsoft and Nintendo are teaming up to publish more Xbox games on the Switch, involving both direct ports and a Switch app to allow for Game Pass, the Netflix-like subscription service for video games. To be more specific, Microsoft is looking to publish Ori and the Blind Forest, which is currently an exclusive for Windows 10 and Xbox platforms, on Switch. That’s not all, project xCloud, the cloud-based game streaming service Microsoft showcased at E3 2018, could be coming to Nintendo’s console, too, enabling you to play games on the Switch that its limited hardware otherwise wouldn’t be able to handle – like Halo – provided you have a reliable and high-speed internet connection. Read more for another video and additional information.
Playing games between the Xbox, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android players may soon expand beyond “Fortnite,” “Minecraft” and “Rocket League,” as Microsoft plans to release a new cross-platform developer kit that will bring its Xbox Live functionality from 400 million gaming devices and over 68 million active players to “over 2B devices.” The company is “looking to plan a multi-platform strategy that brings the most active, engaged players into a community where they can watch, buy, play, pause, and continue their games from one device to the next on top of the most reliable social and multiplayer network in the world.” Read more for a video and additional information.
NetherRealm Studios’ upcoming Mortal Kombat 11 game is the eleventh main installment in the series and a sequel to 2015’s Mortal Kombat X. It’s scheduled for release on April 23, 2019, across the Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms. Those who pre-order the game will be given access to the character Shao Kahn, and, on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, access to the game’s beta phase, which is set to start in March 2019. There will also be a Mortal Kombat 11 Kollector’s Edition that includes the main game, Kombat Pack, Scorpion mask bust, exclusive steel case, commemorative magnet coin and authenticity plate. “I’ve been a lifelong Mortal Kombat fan, and Sonya Blade was the first kick-ass, female video game character that I related to. Now I get to voice her in Mortal Kombat 11. It’s a dream come true to be a part of the Mortal Kombat franchise that I grew up playing,” said Ronda Rousey. Read more to watch the matches from today’s gameplay reveal event.
Microsoft has acknowledged that its Xbox Live service has unexpectedly gone down because of server issues and its support team has already taken quick action on Twitter to ensure that subscribers are up to date. It’s currently unknown what is causing tonight’s Xbox issues or how long they might last, but engineers are now working on the problems. You can apparently still log into Xbox Live despite multiplayer features being offline. Read more to see how Microsoft responded on Twitter and for additional information.
Microsoft’s 12-Month Xbox Game Pass gives you unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games on Xbox One for just $69.99 [digital code], this month only, normally $119.99. That’s right, you’ll be able to play highly-anticipated new games the same day they’re released, along with a wide variety of other games, whether it’s recent blockbusters, to critically-acclaimed indie titles. In other words, it allows you to download the full game to the console, and this was done to give players “continuous, full-fidelity gameplay without having to worry about streaming, bandwidth or connectivity issues,” according to Head of Xbox Phil Spencer. Product page. Read more to see what it’s in the December 2018 update and for additional information.
The Boring Company is hard at work digging a trench at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, CA headquarters, and a company representative showed off one new way to operate its massive boring machines: an Xbox controller. Work has also begun underneath Highway 405 in Los Angeles, while approval has been given to start digging in Washington DC and Chicago. Continue reading for another video and more information.
Most gamers have either played a Halo game, or at the very least, heard of the franchise, but Halo: Fireteam Raven takes the characters to the next level. This cooperative arcade sci-fi shooting game from arcade legends Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix is set in the timeframe of Halo: Combat Evolved, and hot-drops players feet first into the boots of Fireteam Raven – a group of elite Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST) on the surface of Alpha Halo fighting alongside the Master Chief and the rest of the UNSC as they try desperately to prevent the alien Covenant alliance from taking control of the ancient superweapon – Halo. Continue reading for a full playthrough video and more information.
Photo credit: David Breyer
Apparently, Microsoft has been working on a portable, dual-screen computing device for years, and the prototype looks almost exactly like the concept David Breyer created (above). Well, the designer has just released a new set of images, and one of them shows what the Andromedia Concept would look like as a portable Xbox console – the bottom half would be the joypad, while the top is used as the display. Continue reading for more pictures and information.
Photo credit: Graeme Boyd
There’s one more reason to visit Microsoft’s new Visitor Center in Redmond, Washington, and that’s to see the original X-shaped Xbox prototype that Bill Gates showcased on stage at GDC 2000. According to Dean Takahashi’s Opening the Xbox, it cost around $18,000 to make because the case itself was milled from a solid block of aluminum. Click here for the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one where a person interviews Pepper, the humanoid robot.
Microsoft is releasing an all-new Xbox Adaptive Controller to meet the needs of players with disabilities, who have previously required custom solutions. This input device sports two large buttons on its face, which can be operated with hands but are also large enough for players to control them with their elbows or feet as well. The rear boasts a row of 3.5mm ports for adding inputs and buttons to represent features on the traditional controller as well as giving players a personalized experience tailored to them – adding a foot pedal or other touch-sensitive switch to give the device more functionality, etc. Continue reading for a hands-on video and more information.