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, […]
President of Xbox Sarah Bond announced during yesterday's Bloomberg Tech talk with Dina Bass that the long-awaited Xbox mobile store will debut this July via Web (to avoid the limitations of the App Store and Play Store while regulators around the world enforce new guidelines). The first games to be added to the store will be Microsoft-owned franchises, like Minecraft and Candy Crush, though the store will be opened to partners shortly afterward. We talk a lot about how there's 3 billion gamers. Two of those play on mobile, and half of those actually play on mobile and they play […]
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 con...
The news that Microsoft's Xbox division shuttered three studios and folded a fourth into ZeniMax Online is still ringing throughout the entire games industry at a time when layoffs and studio closures are almost a weekly certainty. To try and make sense of the shocking announcement, we reached out to our good friends at MIDiA Research. Games Industry Analyst Rhys Elliott kindly answered a few questions, pointing out that the new Xbox vision centered on big IPs required 'breaking a few eggs to make an omelet'. He also reckons an impressive Xbox Games Showcase in June could mostly eclipse fans' […]
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 anothe...
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced a number of their studios were being shuttered, including Arkane Austin (Prey, Redfall), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Hi-Fi Rush), and Alpha Dog Games, while Roundhouse Studios will be absorbed into ZeniMax Online Studios to work on The Elder Scrolls Online. This follows nearly 1,900 layoffs earlier in the year, largely from Microsoft’s newly-acquired Activision Blizzard teams. Unfortunately, it seems this isn’t the end of the pain. According to Bloomberg’s reliable Jason Schreier, folks across the Xbox organization have been told more cuts are on the way. It’s unclear at the moment which divisions will […]
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...
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 bein...
Xbox fans and some employees were blindsided earlier this morning when Microsoft announced a number of their studios were being shuttered, including Arkane Austin (Prey, Redfall), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Hi-Fi Rush), Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Studios. In the hours since then, additional rumors and details about what’s going on behind the scenes with some Xbox teams have emerged. Starting with Redfall, IGN reports that despite the game’s poor initial reception, major updates were still in the works right up until Arkane Austin's untimely demise. Reportedly, an update planned for this very month would have added the game’s […]
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, no...
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...
On May 7, Xbox announced that it was closing three studios: Arkane Austin (Redfall), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush), and Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom). Support studio Roundhouse Games was also being absorbed by Zenimax Online Studios (Elder Scrolls Onli...
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 ZeniMa...
President of Xbox Sarah Bond announced during yesterday's Bloomberg Tech talk with Dina Bass that the long-awaited Xbox mobile store will debut this July via Web (to avoid the limitations of the App Store and Play Store while regulators around the world enforce new guidelines). The first games to be added to the store will be Microsoft-owned franchises, like Minecraft and Candy Crush, though the store will be opened to partners shortly afterward. We talk a lot about how there's 3 billion gamers. Two of those play on mobile, and half of those actually play on mobile and they play […]
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 con...
The news that Microsoft's Xbox division shuttered three studios and folded a fourth into ZeniMax Online is still ringing throughout the entire games industry at a time when layoffs and studio closures are almost a weekly certainty. To try and make sense of the shocking announcement, we reached out to our good friends at MIDiA Research. Games Industry Analyst Rhys Elliott kindly answered a few questions, pointing out that the new Xbox vision centered on big IPs required 'breaking a few eggs to make an omelet'. He also reckons an impressive Xbox Games Showcase in June could mostly eclipse fans' […]
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 anothe...
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced a number of their studios were being shuttered, including Arkane Austin (Prey, Redfall), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Hi-Fi Rush), and Alpha Dog Games, while Roundhouse Studios will be absorbed into ZeniMax Online Studios to work on The Elder Scrolls Online. This follows nearly 1,900 layoffs earlier in the year, largely from Microsoft’s newly-acquired Activision Blizzard teams. Unfortunately, it seems this isn’t the end of the pain. According to Bloomberg’s reliable Jason Schreier, folks across the Xbox organization have been told more cuts are on the way. It’s unclear at the moment which divisions will […]
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...
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 bein...
Xbox fans and some employees were blindsided earlier this morning when Microsoft announced a number of their studios were being shuttered, including Arkane Austin (Prey, Redfall), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Hi-Fi Rush), Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Studios. In the hours since then, additional rumors and details about what’s going on behind the scenes with some Xbox teams have emerged. Starting with Redfall, IGN reports that despite the game’s poor initial reception, major updates were still in the works right up until Arkane Austin's untimely demise. Reportedly, an update planned for this very month would have added the game’s […]
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, no...
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...
On May 7, Xbox announced that it was closing three studios: Arkane Austin (Redfall), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush), and Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom). Support studio Roundhouse Games was also being absorbed by Zenimax Online Studios (Elder Scrolls Onli...
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 ZeniMa...