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Phil Spencer is the now ex-boss of the Xbox division at Microsoft, promoted to VP of Gaming at Microsoft in late-2017 he has been hard at work on the future of gaming for Microsoft with both the PC and Xbox.

PC Gamer recently spoke with Spencer about the world of gaming under his control at Microsoft, with some good questions thrown in about the future of PC gaming, what freedom acquired studios will have under Microsoft, and whether we'll see Xbox Games Studio releases make their way to Steam. That is a big deal on its own, seeing Microsoft unravel some of that tightly gripped control over to a competitor like Steam, but with the likes of every developer and company opening up their own digital distribution platforms it makes sense for Microsoft to relax that grip, even if it's just a little.

Spencer said to the question about future Xbox Games Studios releasing on Steam as well as the Microsoft store with: "It's a good question and something we've spent a lot of time thinking through. I expect us to share more details on our plans here soon". Maybe we could expect some news at E3 2019, which is where Microsoft should also unveil its larger plans for Windows 10 and Xbox gaming, as well as the next-generation Xbox consoles.

Intel has kicked off the hype train for its next-gen Lakefield processor, which will be the first to use Intel's new Foveros 3D packaging technology, and will start production later in the year. The teaser below does a great job of what to expect, which will see Intel fighting directly against Qualcomm in the SoC space for the next generation of laptops and portable devices.

Lakefield is going to be one of the most insteresting and tech-packed system-on-a-chip releases this year, with Intel getting to show off its 3D design packaging that will pack a slew of chips, GPU, memory and I/O on top of the main base die.

The two DRAM layers are placed on top of the compute chiplet that houses the CPU and GPU which are both on 10nm, and then placed on top of the base die with cache and I/O.

Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment is at its peak right now, but things are about to get a whole lot better with news that the team will be unveiling Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in April.

It was previously rumored that Respawn and EA would show off Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order at E3 2019, but through an announcement on StarWars.com today, we found this out: "In a special panel on Saturday, April 13, EA and Respawn will pull back the curtain on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, in which gamers will meet a Padawan who survived Order 66 and explore the galaxy in the time after the fall of the Jedi Order".

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will be detailed during the Star Wars Celebration between April 11-15, 2019, to McCormick Place in Chicago, IL with Respawn teasing: "The discussion will feature never-before-released details ahead of the game's fall 2019 release". We don't have much longer to wait, and there are plenty of other Star Wars related releases this year to be excited over.

On the heels of Aquaman's monumental success, Warner Bros. has announced a concrete release date for a sequel starring Jason Momoa.

Aquaman 2 is set to launch on December 16, 2022, Warner Bros. today confirmed. The movie has been in planning phases as early as this month when original screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick returned to pen the script.

With its exotic, stunning visuals and incredible atmospheric storytelling mixed with old-school comic themes, Aquaman is a huge win for the DC brand and pulled in boatloads of cash for Warner Bros. Aquaman has currently netted over $800 million worldwide and is on the top 20 highest grossing films of all time.

Sony doesn't add anything back to fill the big Vita and PS3-shaped holes in its PS Plus service, significantly dropping its attractiveness.

Starting next month, Sony will reduce the overall value of its PlayStation Plus subscription by ceasing free PS Vita and PS3 games. PS Plus will now only include two free PS4 games and nothing else outside of store discounts various promos. March's free games, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered and The Witness, are pretty good but not amazing enough to offset the value the service loses.

We knew this would happen but we didn't know if Sony would add something new to make up for the loss. I originally thought this move would lead to bigger games offered on PS Plus, but the first month under the new rules isn't as attractive as it should be. This move comes at a point where Sony is constantly re-evaluating ways to increase PS Plus subscriber growth. It recently boosted value by expanding cloud saves to 100GB, but pulling free games is a big mark against the service.

In a strange move, FOX will piece together Alien: Isolation's CGI cutscenes to make a "show" out of. But why? If we're right, their motivations are quite interesting.

Today IGN announced it'll have exclusive premiere rights to a 7-episode Alien CGI series centered around Amanda Ripley. But rather than being totally original, the series will use pre-existing footage from Creative Assembly's Alien: Isolation masterpiece. "20th Century Fox has expanded on Alien: Isolation by taking the cut scenes from the 2014 game and adding in new story beats to bring the tale of Amanda Ripley to life in a whole new way," IGN writes.

This is a tactical decision on FOX's part, one that ties into its big plans for the Alien game universe. The show is the "watch" part in the company's recent "read, play, watch" Alien marketing campaign. The company is likely re-releasing this footage to remind everyone about Ripley's story and re-engage the audience, ramping up visibility before it drops its big new Alien online multiplayer shooter that's in development at FoxNext for consoles and PC.

After two months of monetization, Red Dead Redemption 2's online mode isn't making nearly as much revenue as Grand Theft Auto V's multiplayer mode...but this is to be expected.

Despite selling 23 million copies and amassing over $700 million in three days of sales, Red Dead Redemption 2 shouldn't be expected to beat or even match GTA V. Take-Two certainly doesn't expect it to, nor does it expect Red Dead Online to overtake GTA Online's huge $1 billion in microtransaction earnings. But how well is Red Dead Online actually doing?

According to the latest findings from SuperData, Red Dead Online is earning 500% less than GTA Online. The game's monetization system, which sees players spending money for premium gold to unlock weapons, skins, and even emotes, hasn't caught fire the same was GTA Online did.

It's official: Nintendo Switch's new big Pokemon duo is called Sword and Shield, and brings a bunch of new gen 8 Pokemon, new starters, and a new region called Galar.

Today Nintendo announced Pokemon Sword and Shield for the Switch, two fresh mainline entries into the landmark RPG series. The games will introduce a bunch of never before seen Pokemon in a new generation throughout the Galar region, a colorful land of whimsy and adventure. The three starters are absolutely adorable additions to gen 8, and follow the traditional Grass, Fire, and Water archetype.

First up we have Grookey, a mischievous chimp that uses his charm and grass powers to topple foes. Then there's Scorbunny, a fire-rabbit with tons of energy and speed. Last but not least we have Sobble, the amphibian water-lizard who's more defensive and uses his powers to blast combatants and hide in pools.

It seems that the days of straightforward standard naming are behind us, with USB-IF determined to rename both the USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 standards to USB 3.2. Back when USB-IF renamed USB 3.0 (5Gbps) and USB 3.1 (10Gbps) to USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.1 Gen 2, many people were confused as to why they would rename a standard that was so easy to understand.

It seemed like a marketing move to intentionally confuse consumers, and it seems like they are going to do it again. USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps) will be renamed to USB 3.2 Gen 1, USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) will be renamed to USB 3.2 Gen 2, and the actual new 20Gbps standard will be renamed to USB 3.2 Gen2 x2, which will be two lanes of USB 3.1, USB 3.1 Gen 2, or USB 3.2 Gen 2 depending on the time of the year.

We also learned from a USB-IF partner company rep on Reddit, that there will also be a USB 3.2 Gen 1 x2, which is two 5Gbps lanes, for a total of 10Gbps. While USB-IF has said that the marketing names for these ports will be SuperSpeed USB (5Gbps), SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps, and SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps, we expect most device specifications and product markings to use the former naming scheme as most currently do.

A press release from Funcom has revealed that the studio is partnering up with Legendary Studio to begin pre-production on a new 'open world multiplayer' game based in the DUNE universe.

DUNE, which is a science fiction novel created by American author Frank Herbert in 1965 encapsulates a desert-like world set in a distant future feudal interstellar society. The book grabbed the attention of many readers and even went on to win numerous awards, such as the 1966 Hugo Award and 2003's best-selling science fiction novel. Herbert then went on to write five more novels, each diving deeper into the DUNE universe.

Now, Conan Exiles, Age of Conan and The Secret World developer 'Funcom' have announced a partnership with Legendary Studios to create a brand new "open world multiplayer" game based in the DUNE universe. According to the press release, the partnership between the two companies will last six years and will produce "at least three titles on the PC/Console platforms", one being the "open world multiplayer" game. The full press release can be found within the entirety of this post.

It seems Nintendo Switch users will most-likely never see the day of smooth 60FPS in Fortnite.

The Nintendo Switch version of Epic Games' immensely popular battle royal experience 'Fortnite' takes some considerable losses in the performance department compared to the other platforms its available on. Unfortunately, don't expect this is going to get better with time. In a recent Reddit AMA with Fortnite's developer Epic Games, a fan asked the company if the Nintendo Switch version of the game would see an update that would increase the FPS to 60FPS, the response wasn't promising.

According to the developer, increasing the FPS cap in Fortnite for the Nintendo Switch is just "not in the cards". In fact the developer chose to remove the video game capture last year to help increase performance for the struggling Switch. This has also led to reasoning for Epic choosing not to add that feature back either. The leap from the current 30FPS on the Switch to the expected 60FPS is not a small feet, and would require large levels of optimization.

Square Enix has shined a light back on 2017's hit success NieR: Automata, as the company has announced a 'Game of the YoRHa Edition'.

We first heard about the 'Game of the YoRHa Edition' back in November of last year when the Entertainment Software Rating Board revealed the title of the edition before an official announcement could be made. Now, Square Enix has officially announced the new edition for both PC and PS4 with a brand new launch trailer which can be found above.

The Game of the YoRHa Edition doesn't come with any new content to enjoy, but will arrive with all previously released DLC's plus some added bonuses. The added bonuses are added cosmetics, avatars for PS4 users, skins, and wallpapers. I have provided a full list of what players will receive when purchasing for their respective platform. The NieR:Automata Game of the YoRHa Edition is currently available now, a link to the Steam listing for the title can be found here.

The controversy surrounding the whacky unfinished release of OVERKILL's The Walking Dead is coming to an end, as Skybound Entertainment has simply had enough.

The release of OVERKILL's The Walking Dead simply did not meet The Walking Dead IP owner, Skybound Entertainment's standards, nor the standards of players who pre-ordered the title on PC. Unfortunately, Skybound Entertainment has "terminated our contract with Starbreeze Studios and will discontinue all efforts on OVERKILL'S THE WALKING DEAD" which effectively means that all work towards a console release for the game will now be canceled.

This makes sense considering Sony began refunding gamers who pre-ordered the title via PSN Store last week, but also contradicts the statement that 505 Games made, saying that the console version of the game is not canceled and just "postponed". Since Skybound Entertainment is the IP holder of The Walking Dead and this is more updated statement on the current affairs, I would say that a console release for OVERKILL's The Walking Dead won't be happening. In fact, PC support for the title will most likely end as well since all ties to publisher Starbreeze Studios and OVERKILL have been cut.

Following up on yesterdays teaser for a brand new trailer to the upcoming Pokemon Detective Pikachu live-action movie, we have a fresh trailer from Warner Bros. that encumbers a Mewtwo shaped twist.

For those who haven't been following the upcoming Pokemon Detective Pikachu movie, the movie is based around 21-year old Tim who is attempting to uncover the mystery of his missing father. Tim's investigation is aided by none other than the Pikachu voiced by Ryan Reynolds. Tim is the only person who can hear Pokemon talk, and after getting over the fact that he is listening to a caffeine-addicted Pikachu tell him that he is the greatest detective, he decides to team-up with him to find his father.

From the new trailer, we get an awesome display of some classic Pokemon. We see the likes of; Ludicolo, Snorlax, Lickitung, Growlithe, Machamp, Psyduck, Charizard, Blastoise, Gengars, Greninjas, Eevee, Cubone, Aipom and of course Mewtwo. I'd like to harp on the fact that Mewtwo was revealed right at the end of the trailer and was followed by Pikachu saying "That's a twist! That's very twisty!", which could suggest that that Mewtwo might also be a villain? Who knows at this point, what we do know for sure though is that each of the Pokemon seen in this trailer look visually fantastic. Pokemon Detective Pikachu is planned to hit theatres around the world on May 10th, 2019.

Microsoft has made some interesting changes in the latest Windows 10 preview build, something that hints towards a world of Xbox and PC gaming being closer than ever before.

In the latest Windows 10 preview build Microsoft is giving out a free copy of State of Decay, asking users to test out an install phase of the game, and then report any issues that they discover. The reports of issues surround the installation of the game, not the actual playing of the game or any issues from once it's loaded up.

State of Decay has some Xbox One extensions on Windows in the form of .xvc files meaning PowerShell can now install Xbox games, and that's a really, really big deal. The game already has some PC like parts where during the installation of the game it'll update the DirectX runtime, something you don't see on Xbox.

Anthem is now out in the wild and the damage control from EA will start soon, but ahead of that are bad to worse reviews on console and PC, as well as some harsh words from Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter.

During a chat with CNBC, the analyst had some harsh words to say about EA, so much so Pachter said Anthem simply wasn't meant to be a PC game. He said that EA had "made a mistake", adding: "My personal view is that this is just not a PC game - there is flying in the game, and maneuvering your flying character is like driving a car; the controls just don't work well for that on PC, and they work flawlessly on (video game consoles)".

EA allowed early access to Anthem for PC gamers through its Origin Access Premier program, which contributed towards the bad reception and negative reviews of the game. Personally, I'd say reviews aren't the issue... A bad game is a bad game, and BioWare are on a roll in that regard.

Visceral's Star Wars project was deep in development before it was cancelled by EA, but the studio's progress won't be wasted.

EA has killed multiple Star Wars projects lately. First it cancelled Visceral Games' ambitious third-person story-driven game Project Ragtag, closing the studio in the process. Then Project Orca, which was built on the bones of Ragtag and in development at EA Montreal, was killed off so the studio could morph to a smaller-scale project. While the publisher didn't explicitly outline its reasoning, its focus on billion-dollar live services played a part in the decision.

Now we have more visibility into Visceral's Project Ragtag and how far along it was before EA axed it. In a recent interview with VentureBeat, Amy Hennig, who helmed development of the third-person singleplayer Star Wars game, talked about the process and confirmed the project was pretty far along when EA decided to kill it. "We were very far into development. We had a lot of material. I just think that there was a shift that started feeling inevitable," Hennig said in the interview.

Anthem is a curious game that always fights itself. Like the cataclysmic storms that blast the world's surface, Anthem has a lot of inner conflict. The genre-melding mechanics often clash with each other; the live elements and incessant loot grind directly pull against the deep lore and sci-fantasy story. So to really enjoy Anthem you have to treat it as an old-school BioWare game in some ways...but that's easier said than done. Here are a few tips to enjoy Anthem as a die hard BioWare fan.

Anthem is way different than any game BioWare has ever made. But in many ways it's quite similar. Sure it's online-only and predicated on insanely randomized loot, engagement, and repeating missions to the point where you simply don't care about the story, but it also has that signature BioWare magic (more on that in another article). There's something special in Anthem, but to see it you need to brush away EA's microtransaction-focused influence.

The trick to really enjoying Anthem is to betray the game's core focus. Don't let the grind consume you. Anthem was built from the ground up to be a live game that's immensely replayable and grindy with lots of min-maxing gear and pressure on obsessing over that loot hunger. The game loses its soul and magic once you get swallowed up in that loot quest and becomes a rote, sometimes boring and predictable experience. Instead you should enjoy Anthem at a slow and steady pace to really understand and revel in its beauty.

Nintendo will finally reveal more info on this year's big Pokemon game for its handheld-console hybrid.

Not much is known about the Switch's upcoming Pokemon RPG, but Nintendo plans to show off new tidbits during a special Pokemon Direct tomorrow at 9AM EST. The video presentation will last around 7 minutes, and we could get a closer look at starter Pokemon and unique Switch-exclusive features (and maybe some Pokemon GO integration too).

So what do we know about the game? We know it's a mainline RPG that will deliver a "traditional find, battle, train type experience," and it's slated for a late 2019 release (likely during Nintendo's critical Q3 holiday quarter). The game could also have specially-modified JoyCon attachable controllers or wireless Pokeball devices for more interactive play, and these peripherals may be used with the Switch and smartphones too.

CD Projekt RED's wholly-owned storefront GOG.com is missing earnings targets and is close to operating loss, anonymous sources tell Kotaku.

As the PC Game Store Wars rage on with Epic, Discord, and Steam battling it out for dominance with different revenue splits, GOG is having some trouble raking in cash. CD Projekt RED's digital store recently fired about a dozen employees, or 10% of its staff, and one person affected by the layoffs told Kotaku it was a financial decision.

"GOG's revenue couldn't keep up with growth. The fact that we're dangerously close to being in the red has come up in the past few months, and the market's move towards higher revenue shares has, or will, affect the bottom line as well," the source told Kotaku's Jason Schreier.