Gaming - Page 299

Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming (also known "as xCloud") may not ever become a standalone subscription service due to the constrained logistics of the business.

During yesterday's evidentiary hearing the FTC v Microsoft case, Xbox SVP Sarah Bond highlighted the practical realities of Microsoft's game streaming initiative. The Xbox executive highlights how xCloud operates, reiterating that Xbox's game streaming fork is powered by actual Xbox Series X consoles and not Azure servers. Microsoft has made it clear that it makes no money from Xbox hardware sales, and since these servers are powered by Xbox consoles, Microsoft themselves must acquire Xbox units for the service and potentially reduce consumer product availability in the process.

This could put constraints on the practicality of the business. It's unclear that xCloud is even profitable, which is likely why the delivery method is combined with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate--the premium value-oriented part of Game Pass could offset any losses from xCloud, the same way that software sales and services help Microsoft offset the losses from console hardware sales.

In new court filings, Microsoft's legal counsel reiterates a 2028 forecast for the next PlayStation and Xbox console generation.

If the traditional hardware cycle is anything to go by, Gen10 could launch in 2028. The modern games industry has taught us that things change quite fast, especially with disruptive services like Game Pass, and world-altering events like the pandemic and challenging economic climate.

In a recent findings of fact filing in the FTC provisionary injunction court case (Case 3:23-cv-02880-JSC Document 177), Microsoft lawyers once again mention a potential release date for the PS6 and next-gen Xbox. It's a very small mention, and the date is in relation to the 10-year Call of Duty deal that Microsoft has offered Sony. Microsoft lawyers say that the 10-year deal would overlap with the launch of Gen10 consoles...assuming they came in 2028.

After engaging tens of millions of players and making tons of revenues, Warzone 1.0 will officially shut down in September.

Warzone Caldera, the first iteration of the landmark free-to-play Call of Duty mode that radically transformed Activision-Blizzard's business, is officially closing shop on September 21, 2023. The mode will be pulled offline on all platforms and gamers will need to move over to Warzone 2.0. The move remains clear: Activision has unified the Call of Duty ecosystem with a new updated proprietary games engine that is capable of belting out new premium games, the F2P Warzone 2.0, and the upcoming Warzone mobile--there's just too many spinning plates going at once.

Activision says that all existing content that was purchased in Warzone 1.0 from MW 2019, Black Ops Cold War, and Vanguard will still be available in those games, but the base F2P game will be taking offline.

Microsoft's corporate VP of Xbox Sarah Bond clarifies why Xbox game streaming is a costly venture.

Xbox,s game streaming infrastructure isn't cheap to operate. The service is bundled as a value proposition in Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which helps subsidize the cost of the service. But ultimately it sounds like Xbox Cloud Streaming, aka xCloud, has not been profitable for Microsoft for one big reason: the service is powered by unprofitable Xbox console hardware.

As part of her testimony in the recent FTC vs Microsoft evidentiary hearing, Xbox exec Sarah Bond offers more details about how xCloud works. Microsoft's game streaming service doesn't actually use server blades or Azure. Instead, xCloud uses literal Xbox Series X hardware to power the service. That means Microsoft has to acquire more Xbox consoles--which it does so at a loss--in order to beef up its servers.

Microsoft executive Sarah Bond confirms that Activision refused to bring Call of Duty to its Gen 9 consoles unless Microsoft promised a better revenue share.

Activision has used its $31 billion Call of Duty franchise as a very influential negotiation tactic to secure lucrative multi-year deals. These deals extend to favorable revenue shares that go beyond the typical 70-30 split (Activision keeps 70% of revenues, platform-holder gets 30%).

As part of her testimony at a recent FTC vs Microsoft evidentiary hearing, Sarah Bond confirmed that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick refused to bring Call of Duty to the Xbox Series X/S Gen 9 launch unless Microsoft made a specific revenue split deal. "It was clear that Call of Duty would be on PS5 and that would not have been good if it was not also on Xbox if it was launching at the same time," Bond said. "It was clear if we did not move beyond the standard rev share, he would not place Call of Duty on Xbox."

As the CEO of Microsoft's video games division, Phil Spencer has authority on which games become exclusive and which games don't.

The evidentiary hearing for the FTC vs Microsoft preliminary injunction case is under way--a case that could ultimately determine the fate of the $68.7 billion Microsoft-Activision merger--and key Xbox executives have given interesting testimony to defendants and plaintiffs. A large part of the FTC's case hinges on Microsoft's willingness and incentive to make content exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem, and we've received some interesting answers from Xbox leadership on this topic.

Xbox Game Studios lead Matt Booty was one of the key witnesses in today's evidentiary hearing and his testimony outlined a general understanding of the Xbox business. Testimony from the Xbox Game Studios head confirms that Xbox's CEO Phil Spencer has the final say on game exclusivity.

If Microsoft successfully acquires Activision, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan confirms that Sony will stop sharing details of its new PlayStation hardware with Activision in order to protect its trade secrets.

In a recent court filing (Case #3:23-cv-02880-JSC, document #134-2) in the FTC's preliminary injunction case against Microsoft, Sony's Jim Ryan outlines a new business relationship that would ensue as a result of the Microsoft-Activision merger. If Microsoft is able to merge with Activision, then Sony will cease providing Activision with information about its next-generation PlayStation consoles, including its upcoming PS6.

The filing includes part of Jim Ryan's deposition taken in April 2023, which mentions "Once Microsoft acquired Activision...SIE could no longer share confidential details about its next console in development."

ZeniMax's head of publishing Pete Hines indicates that MachineGames' Indiana Jones game was originally a multi-platform game before Microsoft purchased ZeniMax in 2021.

New testimony and evidence in the FTC vs Microsoft evidentiary hearing reveals details about MachineGames' Indiana Jones project (aka Project Relic). Although the game was revealed in 2021, the new Indiana Jones game actually pre-dates Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda. As it turns out, Disney had signed a licensing deal with ZeniMax before the acquisition was made.

Following the $7.5 billion buyout, Disney had inquired on which platforms the Indiana Jones project would release on. This makes sense, as Disney probably prefers wider net of platforms that could reap more sales revenues. In the hearing, FTC counsel asked ZeniMax's Pete Hines if the licensing deal was leader-changed, and Hines confirmed that it was. The original licensing agreement saw the Indiana Jones game coming to multiple consoles. Hines also confirmed that the Indiana Jones project is indeed an Xbox platform exclusive, meaning it won't be coming to PlayStation.

BREAKING: Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan allegedly never thought Call of Duty would be excluded from PlayStation platforms, new evidence from Microsoft legal counsel submits.

In a recent evidentiary hearing regarding the FTC's preliminary injunction case, Microsoft legal counsel Beth Wilkinson reveals an email that alleges that Jim Ryan never really truly believed that Call of Duty would be withheld from PlayStation. The email was between Ryan and former Sony CEO Chris Deering, which is quoted:

"It is not an exclusivity play at all. They're thinking bigger than that, they have the cash the make these moves. I've spent a fair amount of time of Phil and Bobby and I'm pretty sure we'll continue to see COD on PlayStation for years to come," Ryan said, as quoted by Microsoft's legal counsel.

NVIDIA DLSS 3 has been one of the most impressive bits of technology from the company's new GeForce RTX 40 Series of graphics cards, thanks to it leveraging the power of AI to generate new frames to boost perceived in-game performance.

It's also a combination of NVIDIA technologies, with the 3 in DLSS 3 all about combining the excellent DLSS Super Resolution AI upscaling technology that has been around for a few years now, with the brand-new Frame Generation exclusive to the GeForce RTX 40 Series and NVIDIA Reflex low-latency technology.

The groundbreaking technology makes real-time path tracing in Portal with RTX and Cyberpunk 2077's RT Overdrive Mode possible - both are basically unplayable without the added magic of DLSS 3. The combination of tech and the advanced AI hardware in the GeForce RTX 40 Series (the Optical Flow Accelerator) gives us a look at the future of PC gaming.

Xbox Game Pass is moving to the next phase in its value-oriented subscription model. Here's where Game Pass could go next.

Today reports broke out that Microsoft is raising the price of Game Pass in nearly all countries. Both the base Game Pass and Ultimate subscriptions are increasing to $10.99 and $16.99, respectively. This rise is well-timed in a number of ways. The price increase reflects the global economic situation and is a way to help offset rising costs of goods and services. Games aren't getting any cheaper to make, and 5-6 year development cycles are the new normal.

It's also an opportune time for Microsoft to raise Xbox Game Pass subscription prices ahead of the potential merger with Activision. Microsoft lawyers have told regulators that there are no plans to increase subscription costs if the merger is approved, ergo the pre-emptive hike. The merger has a termination date of July 18, and the price increase goes into effect July 6.

Microsoft is raising the price of Xbox Game Pass on console, but PC isn't getting a price hike. Here's a big reason why.

Xbox Game Pass will soon rise by $1 for the base tier and $2 for Ultimate. The increase is only on consoles PC will remain the same. There's a key reason for this: Microsoft still hasn't secured enough PC gamers to meet a specific threshold.

Shortly after Microsoft legal counsel said that there were no plans to increase Game Pass subscription prices if the Activision merger were to close, Microsoft is apparently taking a pre-emptive strike to raise prices before the merger is either terminated or consummated. The Microsoft-Activision merger has a termination date of July 18, and the first price hike is set to start on July 6.

Reports from The Verge indicate Microsoft is raising the price of its premium games subscription before the merger either passes or terminates.

Microsoft is making good on its warning of price increases for its Xbox brand. The company will reportedly raise the price of both of its Xbox Game Pass subscription options, including the base console version and and its Game Pass Ultimate subscription, in nearly all worldwide markets.

Starting July 6, the regular Xbox Game Pass subscription will raise from $9.99 to $10.99 a month, and Game Pass Ultimate will move from $14.99 to $16.99 in the United States. The price of PC Game Pass will not change.

It's finally happening; Nintendo is officially remastering Mario's first and only turn-based RPG.

Today Nintendo announced a big surprise for 30-something gamers who grew up with a Super Nintendo back in the day: A fully-fledged Super Mario RPG remaster is releasing later this year on the Switch. The original isometric game was released in 1996 by none other than Squaresoft, who was then at the height of their role-playing glory. The game garnered a cult following that grew into a devoted fan base as decades went by, but ultimately the RPG didn't hit it big due to the N64's launch just a few months later.

The new Super Mario RPG remaster will feature upgraded visuals and graphics befit of the Switch, but the core turn-based action remains intact. The remaster will launch on November 17, just a month after the ultra-weird new Super Mario Bros. Wonder game.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a game that's been blighted by performance issues since its launch, with gremlins in the works that are still to be cured - but one enterprising PC gamer has taken matters into their own hands.

Wccftech spotted that 'Snight01' took to the Steam forums with a post linking to their DIY mod (that you stick in the PAKS directory) which fixes some of the most annoying problems with Jedi: Survivor.

Namely the game crashing with ray tracing turned on, plus the mod fixes occlusion culling pop-in (that causes horrible flashes of white to appear fleetingly).

Nintendo's new Mario game is weird...really weird.

Today Nintendo announced Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a new 2D side-scroller that hearkens back to the old-school days of SNES platforming. The game looks pretty familiar on its surface, but things get truly strange when Mario touches a "wonder flower." After that, all bets are off.

The game basically goes into a psychedelic trip that makes Alice in Wonderland look tame; Mario literally turns into an elephant, gets stretched out like a giraffe in a strange shadow world, power flowers start talking to you, and pipes even come alive and wriggle around like caterpillars.

The Sims 4 is getting a new expansion that's broadly cowboy-themed and introduces horses, according to heavy hints dropped by EA.

This follows recent rumors of a horsey expansion, fueled by listings at retailers for 'The Sims 4 Horse Ranch' (as PC Gamer pointed out).

With EA announcing on Twitter that a 'rootin' tootin' expansion' is coming that'll allow you to 'take the reins,' there's not much doubt that horses are inbound for The Sims 4. Especially as in a following tweet, EA tells us that there's a trailer due to arrive on June 22 (tomorrow) and to "giddy up for good news coming soon."

Here's a strange one, with all props going to the team at Wccftech for doing a little sleuthing when it comes to recent major PC game releases. It might be a case of 'tin-foil hat conspiracy' thinking, but the evidence does point to a very noticeable trend.

And that is, regarding PC game releases sponsored by AMD and Radeon, titles with FSR do not feature NVIDIA DLSS support - widely considered the superior rendering tech for boosting performance with a minimal hit to visual fidelity. The flip side to this, NVIDIA sponsored PC games with DLSS support; these games also feature support for AMD's FSR.

Some of the notable AMD-sponsored games without DLSS support include new AAA titles Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Dead Island 2, and Resident Evil 4 Remake, with older releases like Far Cry 6, Callisto Protocol, Saints Row, and many more making up the list.

Traditional console and PC gaming segments are expected to comprise less than half of 2023's total revenues in the United States,

New data from analyst firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) indicates that console and PC gaming are expected to shrink from 2023 onwards, driven by gains in the social and casual gaming segment. According to the figures that were published by VentureBeat, the firm expects console and PC gaming to generate $15.514 billion in the United States throughout 2023, comprising about 27% of total regional earnings.

Casual gaming, which includes mobile titles, is expected to make $34.459 billion in 2023, driven primarily by advertisements (over $20 billion) and in-app spending like microtransactions.

A new patch has arrived for Cyberpunk 2077 which makes an important fix for some PC gamers, plus a bunch of other tweaks and honing across console and PC platforms.

The significant development for those with a gaming PC that pairs a new AMD processor with an NVIDIA Lovelace GPU is that CD Projekt Red has improved the performance of DLSS 3 with Ryzen 7000 CPUs in patch 1.63.

You may have seen reports online that the game engine (REDengine) doesn't play nice with Ryzen 7000 chips, with players experiencing bad stuttering (highly off-putting, of course - and also affecting The Witcher 3, it should be noted).