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A Bunch Of Slept-On Games Are About To Hit Game Pass
14.5.2024
May is shaping up to be a very, very good month for Xbox Game Pass—with some sleeper hits, like magic FPS Immortals of Aveum, and new games, like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, arriving soon. And I bet Xbox is happy to have some good news to share right now, following the last few months.Read more
Tons Of Xbox 360 Games On Deep Sale Before Store Gets Shut Down
14.5.2024
The Xbox 360 is a legendary console, and its storefront, the Xbox Marketplace, was similarly legendary, becoming one of the most prominent online stores in console history and helping pave the way for digital distribution. The Xbox store has hosted the likes of Xbox Live Arcade, which shone a light...
Hi-Fi Rush: The Kotaku Retrospective Review
13.5.2024
There’s a scene late in Hi-Fi Rush, the rhythm action game by the now-defunct Tango Gameworks, in which protagonist Chai explores a museum dedicated to the antagonistic, oppressive megacorp Vandelay Technologies. In it, the corporation tells a sanitized version of its own history, one that glosses...
Xbox Boss Can Finally Get His Revenge, Unlocks Ability To Nuke Other Players In Fallout 76
13.5.2024
Amid turmoil and disillusionment over recent studio closures, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has continued grinding through Fallout 76 and has just finished the “Officer on Deck” questline, granting him the ability to launch the survival MMO’s infamous nukes. The new capability was unlocked just...
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...
Bethesda Promises New Fallout 4 Update To Fix The Last Big Update
10.5.2024
Last month’s disastrous Fallout 4 update was intended to fix and improve the old RPG, but instead broke a lot of stuff and angered fans. Now Bethesda is patching the patch with a just-announced upcoming update to Fallout 4.Read more
13 Things You Should Never Say To A Fallout: New Vegas Fan
10.5.2024
Following the release of Amazon’s live-action Fallout TV show, it seems everyone is playing a Fallout game again. From newer titles like Fallout 76 to older games like Fallout 3, Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic franchise is arguably bigger than ever thanks to the recently released hit series.Read more
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
What those studio closures mean for Xbox's future
8.5.2024
Sigh, we gotta talk about it. Also: a great indie game & lots of discovery news
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...