Xbox Series X
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Watch Microsoft's Xbox Series X gameplay stream here at 11AM ET
Microsoft will reveal live gameplay footage from the Xbox Series X during a special episode of Inside Xbox that starts at 11AM ET.
Microsoft to slowly reveal Xbox Series X details through a monthly video series
E3 is cancelled, so Microsoft will reveal more details about its upcoming Xbox Series X console via monthly updates.
Infinity Ward will update 'Warzone' as new Call of Duty games arrive
Call of Duty: Warzone has a long life ahead of it, with Infinity Ward confirming it won't abandon the game once the latest CoD game is out.
Summer Game Fest promises four months of big news and events
Sony, Microsoft and major publishers are on board for the psuedo-E3 replacement.
Microsoft will show off Xbox Series X gameplay next week
Microsoft will reveal gameplay on its upcoming Xbox Series X console next week during its Inside Xbox streaming event.
'Assassin's Creed Valhalla' arrives this holiday on Xbox Series X and PS5
You'll be able to play the new Assassin's Creed game this holiday season on both current- and next-generation consoles.
A hacker stole and leaked the Xbox Series X graphics source code
AMD has been having a particularly rough few months, apparently. The chip designer has revealed that a hacker stole test files for a "subset" of current and upcoming graphics hardware, some of which had been posted online before they were taken down. While AMD was shy on details, the claimed intruder told TorrentFreak that the material included source code for Navi 10 (think Radeon RX 5700 series), the future Navi 21 and the Arden GPU inside the Xbox Series X.
Microsoft's DirectX 12 Ultimate brings ray tracing effects to more games
More efforts are underway to bring ray traced visuals to more of your games. Microsoft has introduced a DirectX 12 Ultimate framework that makes ray tracing and other visual effects both more efficient and more flexible. A new inline ray tracing technique gives more control over the lighting effects that make more sense for certain games, GPU shaders can invoke ray tracing without talking to the CPU and streaming engines can more efficiently load ray tracing shaders as you roam around. Your games won't demand as much from your system as they did before.
The PlayStation 5 vs. the Xbox Series X: Which is more powerful?
The next generation of consoles is coming, with plenty of emphasis on how much power these things have — the better to render modern graphics. Last week we got a look at what's inside Microsoft's Xbox Series X, and today we're finally seeing what's under the hood with the PlayStation 5. As usual, we've lined up their specs for a side-by-side comparison, though for a final verdict we'd wait to see what games each system has lined up and Engadget's full review when both systems launch later this year.
Seagate's Xbox Series X storage card has 1TB of space, but no price
Microsoft only just revealed that the Xbox Series X will support "expansion cards" that allow for faster storage, but it already has an accessory maker lined up. As you might have noticed in the hardware preview, Seagate has introduced a Storage Expansion Card for the Series X that will deliver an additional 1TB of game space while maintaining the same performance as the console's built-in SSD. If you primarily intend to play games optimized for the new system, this may be vital -- 1TB is already something of a tight fit with the current generation.
Microsoft details its low-latency Xbox Series X controller
A new Xbox console also means a new controller. In a Q&A, Microsoft's Ryan Whitaker, a senior designer with the company's Xbox team, detailed some of the enhancements you can expect to see on the Xbox Series X's controller when it becomes available later this year.
Microsoft unveils a ton of Xbox Series X hardware details
If you had any lingering questions about the Xbox Series X hardware, they've probably been answered. Microsoft has published a deep dive into the console's specs, including just what the company hopes to achieve with all that tech. To begin with, the semi-custom AMD Zen 2 processor runs its eight cores at a fixed 3.8GHz (3.66GHz with SMT in use), with one core set aside for basic system functions. The Xbox will also have 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, although just 10GB of that will have the full 560GB/s bandwidth games will want for GPU-friendly tasks. The remaining 6GB runs at a 'standard' 336GB/s -- 3.5GB reserved for less-demanding gaming tasks and 2.5GB for the operating system.
Game Developers Conference will stream panels and awards for free
Just because the in-person Game Developers Conference is cancelled for 2020 doesn't mean you'll be out of luck if you want to keep abreast of game industry news. GDC organizers are planning to stream free, recorded versions of the talks that presenters had intended to deliver between March 16th and March 20th, from 12PM to 8PM Eastern each day. You'll also see the GDC Awards and the Independent Games Festival ceremonies on GDC's Twitch channel starting March 18th at 8PM Eastern, while the Day of the Devs showcase from Double Fine and iam8bit will air at 7PM. A full schedule should be available March 13th.
Does the Xbox Series X make gaming PCs obsolete?
The Xbox Series X is going to be a beast. On paper, its sheer power blows away most gaming rigs today -- but what does that mean for PC enthusiasts? To be honest, there's still plenty we don't know about the Series X or what the state of PC hardware will be later this year. But based on Microsoft's spec dump last week, we can start making some educated guesses.
'Cyberpunk 2077' studio commits to a free Xbox Series X upgrade
Microsoft promised that its current generation in-house games would use Smart Delivery to take advantage of the Xbox Series X's performance, but what about the hinted-at third-party games? There appears to be one already lined up. CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 will get an Xbox Series X upgrade for free when it's ready. You should "never be forced to purchase the same game twice or pay for upgrades," the developer said. In short, you can buy the Xbox One version in September knowing that it'll see an improvement sometime after your Series X arrives.
Microsoft confirms Xbox Series X will have a 12 teraflop GPU
We already know the Xbox Series X is going to be significantly faster than Microsoft's current consoles, but in a blog post by Xbox head Phil Spencer, the company revealed a few more details about how big of a leap it's going to be. Most notably, Microsoft confirmed that the Series X will feature up to 12 teraflops of GPU performance. Previously, the company only vaguely said it was twice as fast as the Xbox One X, and four times more powerful than the original Xbox One. The new console will be powered by AMD's Zen2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU architecture, the latter of which isn't yet available on PCs.
Hasbro's Halo-themed Nerf gun lineup includes a Needler (updated)
Over the last year, we've seen Hasbro jump on the Fortnite bandwagon by releasing themed Nerf guns. It's now turning its attention to a more historic gaming franchise, with the company announcing three Halo-themed Nerf guns that will come out this fall.
E3 2020 registration opens February 15 at 11AM ET
If you're determined to see games for next-gen consoles months in advance, your opportunity might be close at hand. The ESA is opening registration for E3 2020 through the E3 website on February 15th at 11AM Eastern. You'll have to pay $165 to visit the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 10th and 11th if you're part of the general public (only the industry and press get in on June 9th), but the ESA is promising perks that include a new "floor experience" where you'll see conversations with creators.
'Outriders' trailer reveals a superhuman co-op shooter
People Can Fly and Square Enix finally have something more substantial to show for Outriders than what you saw back at E3. They've released a "reveal" trailer that doesn't show much gameplay for the co-op shooter, but does say a whole lot more about the premise. You play one of many human colonists who settled on the planet Enoch to escape a decaying Earth, only to find that an "anomaly" is warping them with strange powers. Think of it as a much less benign equivalent to the Traveler in Destiny. Naturally, that means mixing up your gunplay with some space magic.
Xbox is the only weak point for Microsoft's strong quarter
If you've been paying close attention to Microsoft's quarterly earnings, you've probably noticed they've started to sound like a broken record. The company's cloud business typically grows steadily (it's up 27 percent this quarter), and for the past few years it's driven continual revenue growth. According to the company's latest earnings report, it's been a particularly great few months for the company, with continued revenue growth for Office (up 19 percent for consumers, 16 percent for businesses), LinkedIn (up 24 percent) and Windows (up 18 percent). The only blip in an otherwise positive quarter? Xbox, which saw an 11 percent revenue drop from last year. The company's overall gaming revenue fell by $905 million or 21 percent from a year ago.
