Apple is increasingly focusing on building its own devices and expanding its ecosystem by taking steps towards a more native experience for users and relying less on third-party accessories. While the Cupertino-based tech giant's HomePod and AppleTV have left quite the mark in the smart home category, it generally relies more on outsourcing cameras and other hardware for smart homes. Now, a new report suggests that the company intends to create a fully integrated experience by developing its own smart home accessories. Gurman hints about Apple working on making smart home products like security cameras for a more integrated experience […]
We’re continuing our Best of Black Friday posts today with a look at the best current deals on power stations and their respective bundle options. Folks across the country and beyond have been steadily investing more and more in the industry for a vari...
Blizzard has announced that two decades after its release, World of Warcraft is finally going to let players build a home and live in it. The feature has long been requested by WoW players and now it’s finally coming in the game’s next expansion.Read m...
Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds will receive the Godspawn update, adding a new 50-player boss battle, a new 10-player raid, and a legendary spear. Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds is getting the first major update "Godspawn" on November 19th, expanding the story with new story chapters The MMORPG Guild Wars 2 by ArenaNet is receiving its first major update for the Janthir Wilds expansion soon. It's the first of three major updates, and it'll land on November 19. The update will add new content to the game for the players. The Janthir Wilds expansion DLC was released in August this year, […]
Early signs on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 sales and overall reception were great, and now we have confirmation from Microsoft and Activision. During the company's Q1 2025 earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that the game set new franchise records and also helped the Game Pass subscription service reach records of its own. One year since we closed our acquisition of Activision Blizzard King, we are focused on building a business positioned for long-term growth, driven by higher-margin content and services. You already see this transformation in our results as we diversify the ways that gamers access […]
During Microsoft's Q4 2024 earnings call, CEO Satya Nadella talked quite a bit about gaming. He shared (quotes via Fool.com) a new milestone for monthly active users (MAUs) for games owned by Microsoft. We now have over 500 million monthly active users across platforms and devices, and our content pipeline has never been stronger. We previewed a record 30 new titles at our showcase this quarter. 18 of them, such as Call of Duty, Black Ops 6 will be available on Game Pass. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can now stream games directly on devices they already have, including as of […]
Following earlier rumors, leaker extas1s has now shared a partial Game Pass lineup for the month of August. Most of the games were previously leaked, but now we have dates. Deck13's Action RPG Atlas Fallen, for instance, will land on Microsoft's subscription service on August 13, exactly one week after the launch of the Reign of Sand update, which is aiming to vastly improve the game in various areas thanks to brand new voice acting, new areas, new enemies, new Essence Stones, a New Game Plus mode, and quality-of-life improvements. Activision Blizzard's Crash N.Sane Trilogy was also rumored to join […]
Mafia Definitive Edition is headed to Game Pass next month, according to insider NateDrake. The game released in September 2020 is a remake of 2002's original installment, which marked the debut of the franchise. The remake was handled by Hangar 13, the same studio that developed Mafia III a couple of years earlier, using that engine. It featured an updated script filled with new dialogue, expanded backstories, and additional cutscenes, not to mention all-new gameplay sequences and features, improved cinematics, and other enhancements. The game was also included as part of the trilogy pack. Mafia Definitive Edition received an eight […]
The US FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has filed a new complaint to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit against Microsoft following the recent Game Pass price hike, alleging that this is exactly the type of post-merger behavior they wanted to prevent by blocking the acquisition. Here's an excerpt from the complaint filed by FTC counsel Imad Abyad: Product degradation—removing the most valuable games from Microsoft’s new service—combined with price increases for existing users, is exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger the FTC has alleged. Microsoft’s price increases and product degradation—combined with Microsoft’s reduced investments […]
For those eagerly awaiting the new Call of Duty game, players won't have long to wait. The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 beta is coming soon. It will be released simultaneously across all platforms, and subscribers to Game Pass can get early access to the game alongside those who have pre-ordered the game. It's been a long time since that happened. Due to contracts with certain platform holders, such as Sony, the beta used to be available first on PlayStation, much to the dismay of eager Call of Duty players. Now that Activision Blizzard is owned by Microsoft, though, […]
The biggest news of the week in gaming so far has undoubtedly been the substantial rise in Game Pass pricing announced by Microsoft. Game Pass for console is being removed as an option for new users; Core's annual price has been increased from $59.99 to $74.99; PC Game Pass's monthly fee has risen from $9.99 to $11.99; and Ultimate is now going to cost $19.99, up from $16.99. Additionally, a new 'Standard' tier has been introduced at $14.99, featuring just online multiplayer and around 25 games from the back catalog. Microsoft has been a bit ambiguous about Game Pass pricing […]
The wait for Call of Duty Modern Warfare III on Microsoft's Game Pass subscription service is nearly over, at least according to a new report from insider Tom Henderson. The report says the game will be added to the library later this month and goes on to state that the original plan was to announce it alongside the Game Pass price increase news that was shared a few hours ago, likely in an attempt to soften the blow. The official announcement may come later today. As a reminder, the Xbox Game Pass for console service will be closed off to […]
It's been eight months since Microsoft closed the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, following a lengthy legal battle with regulators worldwide. Given that Microsoft had touted early on its intention to bring Activision Blizzard to its Game Pass subscription service, arguably the most important pillar of its gaming strategy, Xbox fans expected this to happen in relatively short order, but that wasn't the case. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer explained at the time: Frankly, there was a lot of uncertainty in that process up until really a week before we closed, or the week of, when the CMA finally […]
On February 21, 2023, Microsoft announced a partnership with NVIDIA to bring its PC games to the GeForce NOW cloud platform. The move was ostensibly directed at regulators, who were in the middle of the regulatory process for Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but it was also very beneficial for consumers. A few months later, Microsoft took the obvious next step, slowly starting to allow PC Game Pass subscribers to play games through GeForce NOW for select games. The list greatly expanded over time. However, the integration between the two services might be about to get even tighter, […]
Is Call of Duty coming to Xbox Game Pass? When Microsoft first began pursuing it’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, many assumed using Call of Duty to bolster Game Pass was one of their goals, but things have changed since then. Game Pass growth has slowed, badly missing growth targets, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer has admitted there’s a ceiling to its success. While some Activision Blizzard games like Diablo IV have been added to Game Pass, recent reports suggested that Microsoft was still “evaluating” whether to do the same with the headliner that is Call of Duty. Well, […]
Vampire Survivors draws tons of inspiration from Castlevania, so it is no surprise that the new Ode To Castlevania DLC is fantastic. I’m here to guide you through unlocking each Hero and evolving each weapon, because that’s how you’ll end up accessing ...
I started playing Overwatch in 2019. By the time I was pushing payloads and getting Play of the Game with a well-placed Tactical Visor, a lot of the old hero kits and team compositions that were infamous when the hero shooter launched in 2016 were more...
Early signs on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 sales and overall reception were great, and now we have confirmation from Microsoft and Activision. During the company's Q1 2025 earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that the game set new franchise records and also helped the Game Pass subscription service reach records of its own. One year since we closed our acquisition of Activision Blizzard King, we are focused on building a business positioned for long-term growth, driven by higher-margin content and services. You already see this transformation in our results as we diversify the ways that gamers access […]
During Microsoft's Q4 2024 earnings call, CEO Satya Nadella talked quite a bit about gaming. He shared (quotes via Fool.com) a new milestone for monthly active users (MAUs) for games owned by Microsoft. We now have over 500 million monthly active users across platforms and devices, and our content pipeline has never been stronger. We previewed a record 30 new titles at our showcase this quarter. 18 of them, such as Call of Duty, Black Ops 6 will be available on Game Pass. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can now stream games directly on devices they already have, including as of […]
Following earlier rumors, leaker extas1s has now shared a partial Game Pass lineup for the month of August. Most of the games were previously leaked, but now we have dates. Deck13's Action RPG Atlas Fallen, for instance, will land on Microsoft's subscription service on August 13, exactly one week after the launch of the Reign of Sand update, which is aiming to vastly improve the game in various areas thanks to brand new voice acting, new areas, new enemies, new Essence Stones, a New Game Plus mode, and quality-of-life improvements. Activision Blizzard's Crash N.Sane Trilogy was also rumored to join […]
Mafia Definitive Edition is headed to Game Pass next month, according to insider NateDrake. The game released in September 2020 is a remake of 2002's original installment, which marked the debut of the franchise. The remake was handled by Hangar 13, the same studio that developed Mafia III a couple of years earlier, using that engine. It featured an updated script filled with new dialogue, expanded backstories, and additional cutscenes, not to mention all-new gameplay sequences and features, improved cinematics, and other enhancements. The game was also included as part of the trilogy pack. Mafia Definitive Edition received an eight […]
The US FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has filed a new complaint to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit against Microsoft following the recent Game Pass price hike, alleging that this is exactly the type of post-merger behavior they wanted to prevent by blocking the acquisition. Here's an excerpt from the complaint filed by FTC counsel Imad Abyad: Product degradation—removing the most valuable games from Microsoft’s new service—combined with price increases for existing users, is exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger the FTC has alleged. Microsoft’s price increases and product degradation—combined with Microsoft’s reduced investments […]
For those eagerly awaiting the new Call of Duty game, players won't have long to wait. The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 beta is coming soon. It will be released simultaneously across all platforms, and subscribers to Game Pass can get early access to the game alongside those who have pre-ordered the game. It's been a long time since that happened. Due to contracts with certain platform holders, such as Sony, the beta used to be available first on PlayStation, much to the dismay of eager Call of Duty players. Now that Activision Blizzard is owned by Microsoft, though, […]
The biggest news of the week in gaming so far has undoubtedly been the substantial rise in Game Pass pricing announced by Microsoft. Game Pass for console is being removed as an option for new users; Core's annual price has been increased from $59.99 to $74.99; PC Game Pass's monthly fee has risen from $9.99 to $11.99; and Ultimate is now going to cost $19.99, up from $16.99. Additionally, a new 'Standard' tier has been introduced at $14.99, featuring just online multiplayer and around 25 games from the back catalog. Microsoft has been a bit ambiguous about Game Pass pricing […]
The wait for Call of Duty Modern Warfare III on Microsoft's Game Pass subscription service is nearly over, at least according to a new report from insider Tom Henderson. The report says the game will be added to the library later this month and goes on to state that the original plan was to announce it alongside the Game Pass price increase news that was shared a few hours ago, likely in an attempt to soften the blow. The official announcement may come later today. As a reminder, the Xbox Game Pass for console service will be closed off to […]
It's been eight months since Microsoft closed the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, following a lengthy legal battle with regulators worldwide. Given that Microsoft had touted early on its intention to bring Activision Blizzard to its Game Pass subscription service, arguably the most important pillar of its gaming strategy, Xbox fans expected this to happen in relatively short order, but that wasn't the case. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer explained at the time: Frankly, there was a lot of uncertainty in that process up until really a week before we closed, or the week of, when the CMA finally […]
On February 21, 2023, Microsoft announced a partnership with NVIDIA to bring its PC games to the GeForce NOW cloud platform. The move was ostensibly directed at regulators, who were in the middle of the regulatory process for Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but it was also very beneficial for consumers. A few months later, Microsoft took the obvious next step, slowly starting to allow PC Game Pass subscribers to play games through GeForce NOW for select games. The list greatly expanded over time. However, the integration between the two services might be about to get even tighter, […]
Is Call of Duty coming to Xbox Game Pass? When Microsoft first began pursuing it’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, many assumed using Call of Duty to bolster Game Pass was one of their goals, but things have changed since then. Game Pass growth has slowed, badly missing growth targets, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer has admitted there’s a ceiling to its success. While some Activision Blizzard games like Diablo IV have been added to Game Pass, recent reports suggested that Microsoft was still “evaluating” whether to do the same with the headliner that is Call of Duty. Well, […]