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The Buck Stops With Phil Spencer, 1000xRESIST Is A Must-Play, And More Gaming Opinions For The Week
11.5.2024
People had strong feelings, to put it mildly, after Xbox shuttered Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and other studios, and we share some of our own. Also,PlayStation finally relented on a requirement that PC players maintain a PSN account, but not before colossal fan uproar, and as the dust started...
Xbox Shutters Studios, Switch 2 Specs May Have Leaked, And More Of The Week's Gaming News
11.5.2024
This past week started with a shock, as Microsoft announced it was closing a number of studios including Tango Gameworks, responsible for the very well-liked Hi-Fi Rush, leading many to wonder just what a studio has to achieve in this day and age to be deemed successful enough to exist. Also,...
Kotaku's Weekend Guide: 9 Incredible Games We Can’t Stop Thinking About
10.5.2024
Whether you have a bunch of free time or hardly any at all, whether you’re playing on console or PC, there are plenty of great games to obsess over right now. Our recommendations for what to play this weekend include everything from sci-fi thrillers and loot-driven action-RPGs to esoteric puzzle...
The Xbox Fallout: Breaking Down Microsoft's Worst Gaming Week In Years
10.5.2024
It has been a very bad week for Xbox Game Studios. On Tuesday, May 7, Microsoft announced it would shut down three studios: Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush creators Tango Gameworks, and Mighty Doom studio Alpha Dog Games. On top of this, Roadhouse Games is being absorbed into Elder...
Nintendo Switch Owners Are More Willing To Buy Indie Games, Says Publisher
9.5.2024
Nigel Lowrie, the co-founder of indie publisher Devolver Digital (Hotline Miami, Cult of the Lamb), says that indie games do much better on Switch than on other consoles because Nintendo has cultivated a playerbase that is more “open to interesting concepts” and smaller games. Read more
Meet The Guy Who Just Nuked Xbox Boss Phil Spencer In Fallout 76
9.5.2024
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer is taking a lot of heat online for recent decisions to close beloved studios like Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks. Last night the long-time gaming exec was apparently exploring the wasteland in Fallout 76 when another player nuked his entire campsite. Read more
Report: Xbox Closing Studios Blamed On Too Many Games
8.5.2024
After shutting down multiple Bethesda studios, Xbox and Bethesda leadership held a town hall meeting with staff to discuss the closures, explaining that the company’s studios had been spread too thin and that it wanted to focus on fewer projects moving forward.Read more
Xbox’s Shift To ‘High-Impact’ Games Is Misguided At Best, Reckless At Worst
8.5.2024
Earlier this week, Xbox announced that it would be shuttering several studios it had attained as part of its $7.5 billion purchase of Bethesda, including Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Studios, the last of which is being absorbed into another team. Collectively,...
What’s Even The Point Of Xbox Game Pass Now?
8.5.2024
On May 7, Microsoft closed down four first-party development studios it had acquired from Zenimax Media in 2021 including Tango Gameworks, developer of The Evil Within series and 2023’s surprise hit Hi-Fi Rush. It’s the latest round of layoffs and closures that the gaming industry, and Xbox...
Report: Devs Were Working On Redfall's Offline Mode Up Until They Were Fired
8.5.2024
Earlier today, Redfall development studio Arkane Austin was closed by Xbox alongside Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog Games. And it sounds like, before the shutdown, the team was working on new content and updates for the vampire-hunting shooter that, now, won’t ever be released.Read more
Microsoft Tried To 'Steal' Little Big Planet From Sony
7.5.2024
According to Media Molecule’s co-founder Mark Healey—the creative director on Little Big Planet, its sequel, and Dreams—early on in LBP’s creation, Microsoft was “on the prowl” and trying to “steal” the game from Sony. Read more
It's Time To Stop Giving Xbox Boss Phil Spencer A Pass
7.5.2024
On May 7, Xbox announced that it was closing four studios: Arkane Austin (Redfall), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush), Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom), and support studio Roundhouse Games. The news is yet another example of Xbox—which has spent billions buying up studios—cutting costs, laying people...
Hi-Fi Rush Was The Hit Xbox Needed, And It Still Wasn't Enough For Them
7.5.2024
Today, May 7, Xbox announced it’s shutting down three studios and merging another. This includes Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Mobile Doom studio Alpha Dog Games, while Roundhouse Games is being absorbed into Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios. But perhaps most shocking...
Microsoft Promises 'Make-Good Offers' As It Cancels Redfall DLC Players Already Paid For
7.5.2024
Just days after Redfall’s one-year anniversary, Microsoft has announced it’s shutting down the studio behind it, Arkane Austin, and ending all further development on the vampire shooter. That includes its promised Hero DLC which some fans already paid for in the $100 Bite Back edition of the Xbox...
Microsoft Closes Studios Behind Redfall, Hi-Fi Rush, And More To Prioritize 'High-Impact' Games
7.5.2024
Xbox is shutting down four studios in its first-party stable, specifically ones that fall under the Bethesda/ZeniMax umbrella. The brutal cuts will affect Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, and Mobile Doom developer Alpha Dog Games. ZeniMax subsidiary Roundhouse...
A Year Later, Redfall Players Who Spent $100 Are Still Waiting For Its Promised Heroes
2.5.2024
Players were excited at the prospect that Redfall might combine the fun co-op loot mechanics of a Borderlands with the bespoke environmental storytelling of a Dishonored. Ultimately, though, the day-one Game Pass blockbuster didn’t quite accomplish either of these things, and it was burdened...
Everything’s Getting More Expensive, Even Anime (On Crunchyroll)
1.5.2024
In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, Crunchyroll, the Netflix-esque repository for all the anime you could probably ever need, is increasing its prices. The price hike, however, only affects the two most expensive tiers in certain countries. But regardless, it’s the first price...
Next Starfield Update Adds Better Maps And 60 FPS Option To Xbox
1.5.2024
Starfield’s next big patch, 1.11.33, is now out for PC players on Steam via the game’s beta branch. This new update, which will go live later for everyone, adds performance options to Xbox, improved maps while walking around planets, new difficulty options, and a huge list of bug fixes.Read more
Everything Shown At Today's Indie Xbox Showcase
29.4.2024
Microsoft is still working hard to court indie games. The company showed off a bunch of them, old and new, during its 2024 ID@Xbox showcase, though once again Hollow Knight: Silksong wasn’t among them. In addition to a small tease for upcoming Palworld creatures, we also got our first look at some...
17 Options, Settings, And Tricks To Get More Out Of Your Xbox Series X/S
26.4.2024
Don’t shoot the messenger, but even if you’ve played your Xbox consistently for the past four years and you think you know it inside and out, you may still be surprised by what your console is capable of. Just like the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have...