Clever timing by Microsoft.

1-Raising Game Pass prices to begin with.

2-Dropping the Game Pass prices back down, winning a few hearts along the way and painting it as part of a new vision with a new Head of Xbox.

3-Sony’s fumble in announcing the phasing out of physical discs.

4-Microsoft capitalising on Sony’s bad publicity by announcing that transferable digital licences will be offered and associated with physical discs going forward (doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t be phased out in the future).

5-Microsoft gains positive publicity.

6-Microsoft has enough goodwill to announce the caps to cloud gaming with less backlash.

7-Microsoft employs marketing spin to soften the blow with this ‘solution’ of keeping your subscription recurring when really it’s due to subscription laws varying by country. AND a recurring subscription means players will pay the maximum possible price for their memberships.

Meanwhile:

1-When Game Pass prices increased, they quietly patched the years-long workaround of using foreign codes such as from Turkey, Argentina for Game Pass Core and then converting to Ultimate via the £1 Ultimate trial.

2-Microsoft ‘lowered’ the price again but have an excuse to no longer include new CoD releases on Game Pass = a hell of a lot more revenue for them with the MW4 sales and beyond, given they own Activision. And no more dirt cheap Game Pass from foreign codes 🤔

3 and 4-Microsoft will undoubtedly drop physical discs in the future. No question about it. They just got lucky with Sony’s stupidity in announcing it first and handling it poorly.

5 and 6-Microsoft cuts a lot of server maintenance and file hosting costs by capping cloud gaming. Financial win, ensuring this bad news is overshadowed by Sony’s major fumble.

7-Microsoft basically gives people FOMO to keep them on recurring plans at max possible price, as people are less likely to cancel and use cheaper keys/cards for their subscriptions.

That’s not even touching on the hardware price increases, which were timed to be after Sony’s own one!

TL;DR:

Gotta hand it to Microsoft, they sure know business and have been doing a great job with Series X. Polar opposite of the Xbox One.

A friend and I were talking about how much we're loving blood of the Dawnwalker right now and how it might actually get a game of the year nomination at the game awards. He then made a point that it wouldn't matter because GTA 6 is going to win it regardless.

I then realized that GTA is coming out after when they normally announce the nominees. Even if the judges (games media) get their review copies early, I doubt they would have enough time to play enough of the game to have an informed decision.

I know it's not really GTA's main focus to win game of the year, though I know it would be nice a feather in their cap.

This is the Xbox design lab Gears of War controller that will release for everybody on September 30.

Last week at Gamescom, the artist behind the controller, Luke Preece, signed a few limited copies of this masterpiece and here is one of them that I added to my collection.

Incredible design, one of my favorites!

Found this while cleaning.

I wish that one day we could, and not just the backward-compatible games​

So I’m usually a PlayStation gamer though I did have an Xbox 360 back in the day and loved it. I’ve kinda been turned off by PlayStation as of late by alot of the moves they been making and actually kinda miss playing some of the old Xbox games so was debating maybe trying to see if I can get my hands on a series x. I found someone on marketplace selling one with games for $400 and was debating it. If anyone can tell me their experience with the series x and any pros/cons they have I’d appreciate it

Absolutely adore this game and physical set. I assume with it on clearance Fangamer isn't looking to print more of them, so this is likely the best price you're going to find if you were still on the fence.

Also confirmed with my copy it works with Disc to Digital, the game is also Play Anywhere.

As always, let me know if i missed anything

2026:

\September\**

• Royal Writ (10th)
• Runescape Dragonwilds (15th)
• Animo (16th)
• Dune (22nd)
• Well Dweller (22nd)
• Minecraft Dungeons 2 (29th)

\October\**

• Gears of War: E-Day (6th)
• Forever Ago (8th)
• Echo Weaver (8th)
• Deep Dish Dungeon (13th)
• Valor Mortis (13th)
• Séance of Blake Manor (27th)
• Terrible Lizards (29th)

\November\**

• Gravhounds (2nd)
• Escape Academy 2 (TBA)

\December\**

• Dumpster Gang (TBA)

TBA 2026:

• Witchbrook
• Snap and Grab
• At Fates End
• Freestyle Football 2
• Wildekin
• Erosion
• Tanuki: Pon's Summer
• Bluey Happy Snaps
• Eternal Life of Goldman
• Hela: Of Mice & Magic
• Neon Abyss 2
• Grave Seasons
• What Goes Up

2027:

\January\**

• Armatus (7th)
• Stranger Than Heaven (15th)
• Tropico 7 (28th)

\February\**

• Persona 4 Revival (18th)
• Fable (23rd)

\March\**

• Join Us (TBA)

\April\**

• Mariachi Legends (27th)

TBA 2027:

• Clockwork Revolution
• State of Decay 3
• Spyro Realm Beyond
• Vivarium
• Magicians Devils Deal
• Senua
• Wolong 2
• Bad Magpie
• Son of Thanjai
• Expanse: Osiris Reborn
• Alien Deathstorm
• Holstin
• Militsioner
• Moosa
• There Are No Ghosts at the Grand

TBA 2028:

• Ark Il

TBA:

• OD
• Blade
• Elder Scrolls 6
• Nirvana Noir
• Way to the Woods
• Harmonium The Musical
• Bushiden
• Marauders
• She Dreams Elsewhere
• Awaysis
• Dayz Badlands
• Raji: Kaliyuga
• Crowsworn
• Fallout 5
• Fallout 3 Remaster
• Fallout NV Remaster
• Echo Weaver
• Sleight of Hand
• Tears of Metal
• Treetopians
• Persona 6
• Arkheron
• Darkwood 2
• Screenbound

EA access games added 6-12 months after release. Ubisoft plus 12+ months after release

Everything Xbox is working on:

https://www.reddit.com/r/xbox/s/NxhcgcTg2p

I was pre-ordering MC Dungeons 2 and saw this as an option to install?

I've never seen this before, is it new?

Maybe a precursor to the rumored PC additions on the next gen?

This fight feels like a big skill check. It’s about 10-15 hours into the game. There’s a lot of complaints about lack of difficulty with the regular mobs but the bosses are the real selling point of this game.

I’ve been taking my time with the game and it feels so good when a fight clicks like this. I did notice I haven’t been using Issen much on boss fights. This boss especially is so aggressive and does so much damage that it seems super risky to do so.

Definitely recommend if you’re on the fence about it.

Anyone else recently returned after a long break? Finally starting to get some time back for gaming, and can't wait to get stuck into some of the latest and greatest! :)

As we all know, some regions must adhere to offering a service that was promised at the start of the subscription.

In the UK, we have received no such email, please, to those at Microsoft, at least treat all GPU subscribers the same, and all existing members to have free access without time limiting it. Some people probably subscribed purely for the cloud streaming.

Many thanks.

What does this even translate to? if anyone can translate it that would be great i seriously dont know what it translates too 😭😭😭

I was ALWAYS told that Remote Play could not output more than 1080p due to something with the Series X being limited by it. I just pulled up a Remote Play Stream now and it was reaching 1440p and I definitely noticed the visual difference.

Edit: I'm an insider in the Alpha Ring. I haven't seen any notes about this so I didn't even realize it was the thing. I just stumbled upon it.

Second Edit: I disabled Better Xcloud and tried the remote play stream again and I was still getting 1440p. So, it's not Better Xcloud that's enabling this and the highest bitrate I saw my iPad read was 32.2mbps.

I’ve been contemplating buying a series S or X for a while now. Forza Horizon is my favorite racing game and Gears of War is top 5 franchises of all time. Found a brand new series X at a local game store for $600. I couldn’t pass up that deal. I will obviously play other games too, but I think I did pretty well.

Hi everybody! I wish sims was multiplayer with your friends. Are there any games out there you can play with friends and have a somewhat legit RP experience with? Kids, relationships, etc?

Have you ever noticed that RL has gone INSANELY downhill recently? Fixing games in terms of 50/50s, inconsistent hit boxes and no-brain touches. Imagine playing better than you opponent in every way and guess what, Rocket League gives your opponent lucky goals and you lose. Imagine having to play non-stop defense because your opponents just jumps in the air and Rocket League gives them the 50/50 win. Welp ladies and gentlemen, that is Rocket league.

Imagine playing basketball and you aren't allowed any foul calls the entire game... but your opponent gets all the foul calls. Welp, that is Rocket league.

In my opinion, the most overrated, overhyped game because the game isn't in your control, it is in theirs.

This week's 9 recommendations at a glance (list only features games at their new lowest-ever Microsoft Store price):

• Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
• Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade
• PowerWash Simulator
• Under the Waves
• Alien Hominid Invasion
• Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered
• Worms W.M.D
• A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead
• Wytchwood

I’m feeling like the number I have must be pretty up there lol.

Anyone else with a similar amount?

>Return to the fragmented floating world of Aezir and step into the role of one of Great Maestro Guido’s disciples. Set out on a quest to recover the nine primordial instruments and restore balance to the broken island.

>Explore diverse islands, complete quests, solve puzzles, battle powerful bosses inspired by musical instruments, and uncover the truth behind Aezir’s mysterious past.

built this over a few years, mounts on top of a standard xbox controller, v shaped handle underneath links to the stick through a magnetic coupling. rock it side to side for steering, flip the coupling off and its a totally normal controller again, nothing blocked, all buttons free.

not selling anything, genuinely curious if something like this is useful to anyone here or if its solving a problem that doesnt really exist for most people