Xbox Exec On Why Microsoft Closed Hi-Fi Rush Studio Despite The Game Doing Well

Xbox has made headlines throughout 2024 for some of the dramatic business decisions it’s made, including laying off more than 1,000 people and shuttering studios. Specifically, many have commented on and passionately reacted to the closure of Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks. But why close Tango, and what efforts might have been made to avoid such a move? Xbox president of gaming content and studios Matt Booty was asked by Variety if Microsoft attempted to seek another buyer for Tango, and he suggested that this could have occurred.

He cited an example of how Microsoft once owned Splosion Man studio Twisted Pixel before the team regained its independence. He said Twisted Pixel evolved to no longer become a good match for being an internal Microsoft team, and Microsoft wanted t…

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Xbox Game Pass Adds A Nice New Feature, But Only For Testers Right Now

Microsoft has announced that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can now stream some games they own on Xbox consoles as part of a pilot program, with the expectation for the feature to roll out for everyone in 2025. In a blog post, Microsoft said Xbox Insiders who are in the Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha rings can test out this feature right now. The Xbox Insider program is free and open to everyone.

In November, Microsoft announced that Game Pass Ultimate members could stream select non-Game Pass games they own on a smartphone, PC, or tablet in 28 supported countries. Now, however, this is being extended to consoles.

This new feature is called “Stream your own game,” and it allows players to stream games they own that are outside of the Game Pass catalog–the list of supported ti…

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The Witcher 4 devs say romance will “absolutely” be a part of the RPG, it just has to be “super compelling and very meaningful”

The Witcher 3 is famous for its divisive love triangle, but an emotionally ambiguous, magical throuple could never stop developer CD Projekt Red from believing in love, so they promise The Witcher 4 will have enough of it. That’s because romance is “a part of the way we make games,” director Sebastian Kalemba tells GameSpot in a new interview. “It is a part of human nature. It’s a very normal thing. Without that, I think we wouldn’t be able to tell the very full story.”While Ciri hasn’t yet had the chance to meaningfully explore romance in The Witcher games, Andrzej Sapkowski’s books depict the powerful princess as having passionate relationships with both men and women, causing bisexual women around the universe (including me) to rejoice. One of us, one of us…  But these flirt…

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The Silent Hill 2 Remake director has pitched a Lord of the Rings horror game, and suddenly I’m hunched over growling ‘my precious’ at the thought of it

Silent Hill 2 Remake director Mateusz Lenart once pitched a Lord of the Rings horror game, and now I feel utterly lost in a world without one.First spotted by The Gamer, Lenart appeared in a recent episode of the Bonfire Conversations podcast (timestamped here) and said his dream project is a medieval horror RPG. He also expressed his passion for fantasy and Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien in particular, which prompted the interviewer to say a Lord of the Rings horror game would be “cool.”Lenart agreed, saying, “don’t think I didn’t pitch my ideas for one.”I suppose now’s as good a time as ever to throw my hat into the ring and also say I emphatically agree with this. The Lord of the Rings franchise is ripe with Free Bonuspotent…

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Palworld drops a massive update that further distances the survival game from Pokemon following the Nintendo lawsuit, and fans couldn’t be more proud: “Justice for Palworld”

Palworld might be getting sued by Nintendo, but Pocketpair won’t let that ruin Christmas – the developer just issued a gigantic update that largely tears the monster-hunter survival game away from Pokemon.The Feybreak update acts like a mini earthquake for Palworld, shaking up and rearranging many of the early access game’s most key features. Along with introducing the new island Feybreak, the update alters how Pal Spheres work, which Pocketpair began differentiating from Pokeballs earlier this month, by adding “modules” that alter a Sphere’s trajectory and, in turn, its capture success rate. Among a host of other changes to weapons, skins, bug fixes, and more, the Feybreak update also notably adds Vicious Predator Pals that roam Palworld offering the opportunity for exRead more

“This is incredibly rare”: How Mouthwashing quietly became 2024’s breakout horror hit

I first heard about Mouthwashing through a friend, who heard about it from Tumblr. This is quite bizarre if you know anything about Mouthwashing, a low poly, grimy horror game about the last days of the crew aboard a spaceship. It came out in September on PC, and like many indie gems, launched to some critical acclaim but didn’t take off at first. But some time in October, word started to get around about this strange little game. On Tumblr, users had begun creating fanart and engaging in heated discussions about its characters, and who was ultimately responsible for the ship’s demise. I then started noticing it getting picked up by streamers more, consistently showing up in my live recommendations on TikTok.So one night, I decided to try it for myself. It only takes three hours to play, b…

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Master Chief’s absence from Halo Wars wasn’t Bungie’s fault, it was a move to make players “care about everybody else” in the RTS

After years of fans speculating the contrary, Halo Wars’ lead designer has revealed that the lack of a certain series figurehead from the 2009 spin-off wasn’t Bungie’s fault after all.”We didn’t want to use Master Chief,” Ensemble Studios’ Dave Pottinger tells VideoGamer Podcast of its executive decision, omitting the character from the RTS because the game “needed you to care about everybody else. We thought as soon as Master Chief shows up, that’s all anybody’s going to [care about],” he explains. This means theories that Bungie snubbed Ensemble by withholding the Master Chief license – and that the publisher objected to the game’s existence in the first place – aren’t true after all.Spinning off a series renowned for delivering some of the best FPS games of…

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Update: Microsoft confirms it’s laying off 650 game workers

Update (09/13/24): Microsoft has confirmed it's laying off 650 workers, or around 3 percent of its global workforce."We can confirm that what’s reported in Variety is accurate–we have nothing further to share," said the company in a statement sent to Game Developer. Much like Game File, Variety is reporting the cuts will impact employees in "corporate and supporting functions." The publication also states that Microsoft has downsized the Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile team by conducting layoffs and moving staff around internally. Some members of the Warcraft Rumble team have also been laid off.Original story: Microsoft is cutting 650 roles across its video game division. That's according to Game File, which obtained an email sent to employees by Xbox boss …

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Saber Interactive nets ‘significant’ equity investment to pay Embracer debts

Private equity firms Aleph Capital and Crestview Partners have made a "significant" investment in Saber Interactive, which will use the cash to pay off its debt to former parent company Embracer.In March, Embracer sold Saber and several other subsidiaries to Beacon Interactive in a $247 million deal. That divestment included the option for Beacon to purchase Metro developer 4A Games and Pinball FX maker Zen Studios, but the company ultimately allowed both remain with Embracer.Saber plans to use its latest investment to accelerate growth initiatives across its 13 studios in Europe, the United States, and South America."This investment aligns with our strategy of supporting dynamic companies that have the potential to shape the future of their industries," wrote Aleph man…

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Hades 2 guide: Everything you need to know

Hades 2 is out now in Steam early access, and it’s a fantastic window into the work Supergiant is completing on this surprise sequel. Over the studio’s history, it has never once invested in a direct continuation – with the team diving from Bastion, to Transistor, to Pyre, until finally settling on Hades. Still, it’s no surprise to see Supergiant heading back in for, given the wild success of its roguelike. In fact, Hades is now considered one of the best roguelikes of the modern era, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see Hades 2 make the list when it leaves early access. We’re still waiting for a firm date for the final build, and info on the console editions, but while we wait for all of that you can keep scrolling to find all the new Hades 2 tips, guides, and news that we have …

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