From the get go, as soon as I heard that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 would be this year's entry in Microsoft's biggest franchise, my head dropped.

Since Modern Warfare was rebooted, it's been my least favorite. Modern Warfare (2019) was OK, and I played it for a little while but lost interest quicker than in any previous Call of Duty. I barely touched the two that came after it.

I've always preferred Black Ops, and while the last two in that series haven't been perfect by any means, I've really enjoyed playing them. But I've now finally played Modern Warfare 4 for the first time as part of Call of Duty: NEXT, and I'm man enough to admit my initial trepidation may well have been way off base.

I'll preface this by saying I haven't seen much of the game so far. I'll be enjoying the full multiplayer experience, that campaign mission, and the new Warzone map for the first time during the beta like everyone else.

But what I have already experienced has given me hope, because two aspects in particular I was expecting not to enjoy have turned out to be far better than I anticipated: Movement and gunplay.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's movement feels good

I'm no "movement demon" on Black Ops 7, but I do enjoy the fast fluidity to it. I enjoy the pace of Call of Duty when it's flying along, and I appreciate that not everyone does. I don't enjoy slower-paced, more tactical shooters nearly as much.

I just want to run, gun, and then run and gun again. Have some fun.

Modern Warfare 4 is more grounded in that there's no wall jumping, but it still feels fluid. The pace isn't quite at Black Ops 7 level, but it's not slow. Sliding is smooth but doesn't feel ridiculous, and I think the best way I can describe the movement overall is that everything feels deliberate.

You don't feel like a superhero. You feel like you have some weight behind you, like you can't just use movement to get you out of a hole. You actually need to know what you're doing.

I like Modern Warfare 4's gunplay

Again, this is based on only a very brief playtest before the beta opens, but so far I like the gunplay a lot. The way the weapons move as you're running, the way they move when you're firing, and even the way the whole experience looks.

It's pretty satisfying.

Of course, I haven't yet experienced levelling up weapons, strapping on attachments, and such, but I do hope that we don't end up in a position, as we do every year, where there's a single meta that makes every weapon shoot like a laser beam with no recoil.

As it stands out of the gate, I like the recoil, and I like that you actually need to be able to aim a little to hit your shots. I'm not very good, but I like it.

It feels good hitting your shots, especially with a pistol. Call of Duty isn't realistic by any stretch, but Modern Warfare 4 so far seems to be headed in a better direction in this aspect than the last two Black Ops games.

Visually Modern Warfare 4 is the best Call of Duty in a while

Nobody plays Call of Duty because it's a particularly good-looking game, and those who indulge primarily in PvP action on PC always turn the graphics down anyway to get the extra frames. Console players can't do that, so there needs to be a balance.

I've played so far on the Xbox Series X, and I think Modern Warfare 4 looks pretty good. Certainly more like you'd expect a modern shooter to look.

Part of this, I do wonder, is it down to the decision to ditch last-gen consoles? I played Black Ops 7's beta last year on an Xbox One X, and it wasn't great. Visually it looked fine, close enough to the Xbox Series X, but the frame rate was awful. But I also felt like the last-gen consoles were holding back the visuals on the more modern systems.

Everything about the visuals on Modern Warfare 4 so far feels like an upgrade over Black Ops 7. The lighting is nice, textures are decent, and I think the weapons look fantastic. It's just generally all-around nice to look at.

Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 were OK, and I get that Modern Warfare has a whole different aesthetic, but it feels less 'fake' and altogether a more pleasing environment.

That's not to say that there isn't plenty more that needs to be experienced to decide whether Modern Warfare 4 is a "good game" or not. There's still the matchmaking experience, for example, that could make or break things, and plenty of other decisions that could affect the player experience.

But on the face of it, I'm prepared to admit my preconceptions were wrong that I'd immediately dislike this game. The fundamentals of it are a lot better than I expected.

Like everyone else, I'll be really getting to grips with Modern Warfare 4 during this weekend's early access beta. Things kick off today, Friday, August 21, at 9am Pacific for Call of Duty: NEXT, with access for everyone else with a code beginning at 11am Pacific.

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It hasn't been a fun week if you're working on Grand Theft Auto 6.

GTA is no stranger to controversy, but this year seems to have cranked it up a notch. Take-Two has thrown the rule book out of the window for traditional game launches, and it's to be expected given the scale and hype around GTA 6. People have been waiting well over a decade for a follow up to GTA V, in what promises to be potentially the biggest entertainment launch in history.

Take-Two has raised the ire of long-time fans, however, partially for the price of GTA 6, but also for cutting out standard features and placing them in a $100 edition. Take-Two has also paywalled the first real GTA 6 gameplay footage behind a Netflix subscription, set for premier on August 27, 2026. Then came the hackers.

A self-styled group known as Cyberleeks began spreading footage of GTA 6 on X and other sites last week. The leakers are drip-feeding content from the build, while taking donations in crypto currency. The leaks have knocked Take-Two's share price down 2% over the past week, although it's still up 6% for the year overall. Either way, the firm isn't taking the leaks lying down.

Shared by Kotaku, the subpeona filed in New York City in the United States, calls on Microsoft, Discord, Google, and others to produce evidence that could lead to the arrest of the leakers.

"The copyrighted material includes but is not limited to audio visual content, artwork, images, dialogue, or other creative elements. Take-Two, through its counsel of record, has submitted a sworn declaration confirming that the purpose for which the DMCA subpoena is sought is to obtain the identity of an alleged infringer or infringers, and that such information will only be used for the purpose of protecting Take-Two’s rights."

"All internal Microsoft business records and investigative records associated with Microsoft’s internal investigation of the ‘cyberleek’ persona sufficient to identify the user(s), person(s) and/or entity/ies associated with that persona."

It's unclear what involvement Microsoft has here directly, although the subpoena suggests Microsoft is conducting an internal investigation of its own into the leaks. There had been some rumors that the GTA 6 builds had emerged from an Xbox dev kit, although it's unclear exactly if that's true right now.

Either way, Microsoft's vast cloud platform means that it often acts as a first layer of cyber defence for all sorts of companies and even nation states. There's at least some potential here that the Cyberleeks group used or accessed Xbox or Microsoft services in their activities. It could be that the leaked build pings back to Microsoft's Xbox servers, for example, either for uploading telemetry or accessing online services.

Take-Two has also requested information from Discord and Google, and I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually subpoena the crypto exchanges Cyberleeks are using as well.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is set for launch on November 19, 2026, exclusively on Xbox Series X|S and PS5. Other major games have been desperately trying to tailor their launches away from GTA 6, leaving the November launch window somewhat barren.

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A limited-edition translucent green Series X console was unveiled earlier this year at the Xbox Showcase as the "Xbox Series X25", planned for release in November with no confirmed pricing, alongside a matching Series X|S wireless controller.

Fans who attended the show were told they'd receive one for free, but regular consumers have been left in the dark until an apparent €899.99 European price and November 27 release were revealed by "billbil-kun" via Dealabs' High-Tech magazine earlier today.

It's connected to a previous rumor that potential pre-orders for the translucent controller could start during Gamescom 2026, but billbil-kun couldn't confirm whether that aligns with listings for the Series X25 console. Interestingly, Black Friday lands on November 27 this year, kicking off the holiday shopping season.

How much will the Series X25 cost in the US?

Right now, a standard Xbox Series X "1TB Disc Drive Carbon Black" on the official Xbox Store costs €799.99 in France and $799.99 in the US. The same currency-symbol switch applies in the same way to the "1TB All-Digital Robot White" at €749.99/$749.99, so it's reasonable to assume that the limited-edition Xbox Series X25 could cost $899.99.

Dealabs rightly assumes the same, with another translation explaining, "the equivalent of this price is expected to be $899.99 in the US," putting what is otherwise a functionally identical Xbox Series X console at $100 above its standard variant for the benefit of its "OG Green" shell and green-tinted light on its power button.

It all follows Microsoft's earlier hardware price hike announcement, which increased the Xbox Series X price from $649.99 to its current $799.99. That $150 increase was already unpopular among Xbox fans, and particularly so with our readers, who voted that "Xbox consoles are too expensive now." If the price leak is true, asking for another $100 will presumably be equally shunned.

Since the start of its 25th-anniversary celebrations, I've been more interested in the translucent green controller. The original console is special to me, but I can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on something like a build-your-own OG Xbox console. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an affordable X25 joypad.

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Grand Theft Auto VI has been hogging the limelight lately, and for all the wrong reasons. Hackers have been leaking bits of gameplay and other info online, and gamers are gobbling it up ahead of the expected November 19, 2026, release date.

I'm trying to avoid as many spoilers as possible by not viewing the leaks, and besides, I have something better to keep me busy until GTA VI's official launch.

I'm talking about the Grand Theft Auto IV RTX Remix mod that adds Path Tracing to the 18-year-old game.

It's the work of a modder known as xoxor4d, who last week released version 1.4.2 of the mod on GitHub. The mod is compatible with GTA IV: The Complete Edition version 1.2.0.59, and it truly makes the 2008 car-jacking hit feel like it was released in 2026.

What does the RTX Remix mod do to Grand Theft Auto IV?

I know that the GTA IV Remix mod has been out for a while now, but I hadn't been following it that closely. Oh boy, it has come a long way since launch, and it's great to see the project's creator is keeping up with maintenance and new features.

I was reintroduced to the project via the maxrenderedgaming YouTube channel, where the mod was shown off using an NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU.

There are certainly some other mods at play here, which I dig into a bit deeper below, but one thing is for sure: this is an incredible mod that changes the whole grimy, gray feel of the original game.

GTA IV arrived all those years ago with graphics that seemed mind-blowingly good, as is usually the case with Rockstar titles. Looking at the game's stock graphics now, well, you can tell that they're from a bygone era.

The RTX Remix mod drastically changes the appearance. The game's default static lighting has been replaced entirely with full path tracing, making rays jump and bounce off of surfaces quite realistically. Dynamic shadows look better than ever. It really is the best I've ever seen Liberty City look.

My plan is to first get the RTX Remix compatibility mod set up from the project's GitHub page. Next, I'm going to download the 4K Textures Warcaco Graphics Mod to really see what my PC's RTX 5070 Ti can handle.

Here are some screenshots from the texture mod that I know will make you want to play GTA IV again, too.

To say that this combination makes GTA IV look like a completely different game is an understatement. However, you're going to need a beast of a PC if you want to run this combination with any sort of playable success.

The demo video I provided above has the modded game dropping as low as about 60 FPS in some areas, and the GitHub project page notes that your CPU will likely be a bottleneck due to "the amount of detailed meshes the game is rendering."

Be that as it may, I definitely think any fans of GTA should give this one a shot just to see how it performs on their hardware.

NVIDIA's RTX Remix is a big deal, and not just because of one mod

I know, I know, more AI from NVIDIA's RTX division. Some of you might not want to hear of it, but I'm convinced that Remix is the real deal.

Remix arrived in January 2024 as an open-source and free tool, and it's been under development since. It's a clever way to inject path tracing, upscaling, and other materials into old favorites without needing any source code access.

Anyone with the right ambition can give Remix a shot, and there are some other projects I recommend checking out. Portal with RTX and Half-Life 2 RTX are probably the best examples, but they were spearheaded by NVIDIA. It's great to see lone developers jumping into the tool to create their own works.

Considering GTA VI isn't expected to launch with path tracing, and the fact that GTA V only supports ray tracing, this might be the best way to play Grand Theft Auto until the next installment arrives.

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A buildable recreation of the original Xbox from 2001 is coming from Mattel Brick Shop, technically under the same brand umbrella as the MEGA-branded 3:4 scale Xbox 360 from 2023. Listing the "Microsoft Xbox Building Toy Kit For Collectors" without a firm release date for $329.99 at Best Buy, and even less information at Amazon, the pricey set hides some nostalgic dioramas inside.

Alongside the chunky console itself is a close-enough representation of the original "Duke" controller, and three internal displays based on popular titles from the console's lifespan. Miniature set pieces from Halo, Psychonauts, and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind have built-in lighting that's activated by the Duke joypad and fit comfortably inside this 1:1 set with 3,509 pieces.

Slightly bigger, but a lot more expensive

I'm admittedly the target audience for this sort of thing; a total sucker for nostalgia. I already own LEGO models of the SEGA Mega Drive (Genesis) console and its controller, displayed on shelves alongside other happy memories from my childhood. A full-sized, 1:1 recreation of the gigantic original Xbox wouldn't fit with it, but I'm sure I'd find somewhere else.

This isn't LEGO, though. It's the other brand, and it's asking a lot more money for this more complicated representation of Microsoft's hardware than Mattel's bricked-up Xbox 360 set that launched for $150 — one I already skipped. Asking over $300 for a follow-up toy feels steep, especially when many of us could find the real console on eBay for less.

On the other hand, the cute Morrowind feature appeals to a very specific part of my nostalgic heart, and ditto for Psychonauts. Still, to show off those parts and have them all visible, I'd need some serious display space. At that point, I'd rather buy the dioramas separately and show those off instead of a set that just looks like the real thing from a distance.

It's a neat way to celebrate Xbox's 25th anniversary, but I'm still patiently waiting for that translucent green Series X|S joypad instead. Rumor has it we'll see controller reservations opening at Gamescom for an October 20 release (via @eXtas1stv). Fingers crossed. I only have so much disposable income to burn on nostalgic accessories before my family starts getting concerned.

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Xbox has been on a bit of a tear recently with platform updates, and Microsoft just announced another raft of improvements big and small.

The biggest features recently include boosts to how Xbox Cloud saves work, the ability to record your own voice in gameplay clips, and improvements on Xbox achievement visibility. Announced today on Xbox Wire, we're now getting some other goodies, set to go live later today to Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha members.

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Here's what's new for Xbox Insiders today

• Users can now customize any item in the recent games and apps list.

Using the Menu button (start button) you can remove items from the list of recents apps and games, including the "Play History" segment which some don't find as useful as others. I personally like it, but understand those who don't.

• You can also hide all the home screen tiles by pressing the right stick, leaving your dynamic background to take center stage on your TV.

This is a fun cosmetic change I've seen people ask for. Xbox has a range of dynamic backgrounds which are hidden by the tiles and ads on the home screen. If you want to show off your dynamic background and turn your wall-mounted TV into an interactive work of art, now you can, simply by pressing the right stick. Would be cool if they could add slideshows to this in the future too. A connected OneDrive photos album might be rad.

• Improvements to local game storage management.

Microsoft is now letting you manage local game saves more easily, giving you the ability to sort save files by size. For those using smaller storage solutions, sometimes games can take up deceptively large amounts of space. In the new Settings > System > Storage > Manage Local Game Saves section, you can now see all of your local saves in one place, and delete them at will.

If you eventually want to play the game again, Xbox will download your most recent save file from the cloud instead, saving you local storage. Xbox Cloud saves are free by the way, unlike many other platforms.

• You can now click into profile badges, giving users an explanation of what they represent.

Xbox profile badges are getting a big improvement. You can now click on a user's profile badge to see an explanation of what the badge represents.

Part of me is wondering whether this change is designed to facilitate Xbox's future "Platinum" trophies. I wouldn't be surprised if the reward for 100%'ing an Xbox game's achievements comes not with a "platinum" trophy, but instead a custom badge you can place on your profile instead. It would give developers an extra way to let their biggest fans show off some flair for their games, but we'll have to wait and see on that.

• More wishlist improvements.

Wishlisting games has become a major part of the industry's marketing layer, with Steam wishlists becoming a cornerstone for financial projections on how well a game is likely to perform. Microsoft is also trying to ride this wave, adding a variety of improvements and visibility options for its own wishlisting system.

Now, purchased games will automatically be removed from your wishlist for example, which I think is a good change considering how often I've fallen afoul of this one.

I think Microsoft could/should do more to surface wishlisting features on the web, and I'm sure they're working on doing more in this space.

More goodies

The Xbox Insider Program has been pretty boring the last few years, with Microsoft's engineering teams focusing primarily on features like Xbox Cloud Gaming and things beyond Xbox Series X|S. With Xbox CEO Asha Sharma coming on board, the focus has returned to the core user base (namely us), delivering many long-awaited improvements a lot of us have been asking for for over a decade in some cases.

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Microsoft says this update will hit Xbox Insiders on the Alpha Skip Ahead and Alpha rings today, with other updates arriving for all users as well more quickly.

If you want to leave feedback for the Xbox Series X|S OS, you should check out the Xbox Feedback Portal over here.

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As the dust settles from Microsoft's big summer layoffs, many of those impacted are still enduring. Whether it's visa expiry countdown timers, supporting their families, paying bills, etc., the gaming industry in general has a variety of problems, and it's more often than not workers and developers paying the price.

For whatever reason, Microsoft seems to be disproportionately targeting Bethesda and ZeniMax for this layoff round. Hundreds of staffers from teams like ZeniMax Online Studios were laid off, and it looks like Arkane Lyon might end up being spun off to another publisher or taken independent. A lot of the alarm among the gaming community has focused on id Software, whose penchant for consistent quality and stewardship of the legendary DOOM IP has, in my view, represented a highlight of Microsoft's general gaming output.

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Recently, id Software's Chris Hays spoke on a podcast, stating that Microsoft had left legendary DOOM maker id Software a shell of its former self, noting that it was "impossible" for the studio to deliver AAA games like DOOM 2016 with its current staffing levels. Rumors began swirling that Microsoft had well and truly gutted id Software, relegating its potential to a support studio, potentially ditching its legendary id Tech engine and focusing on building Unreal Engine games with other Microsoft studios.

I wanted to begin to learn more about what the truth is — and ultimately the proof will emerge when id Software's next title does eventually materialize. But it seems clear that id Software has been significantly disrupted by Microsoft's actions, and the path back to the top might be a tough one.

The impact of Xbox's id Software layoffs

One person I spoke to recently was Andrew Willis, who was id Software's VFX/Technical Art and Design Producer and most recently worked on DOOM: The Dark Ages and its (very awesome) Revelations DLC.

He explained Microsoft was very blunt with its announcements, which had been rumored in the press for a hot minute. Microsoft told id Software staff not to come into the office on July 6th, then invited everyone onto Microsoft Teams.

"I received a Microsoft Teams invite, there were about 95 of us, no cameras on with chat disabled, everyone muted except [Executive Producer] Marty Stratton. He took about 50 seconds to say that if you were on this call, your positions were eliminated. He said it wasn't a reflection on our performance," Willis explained.

I asked Willis to touch on something other Xbox studio leads have told me in recent months — that Microsoft poorly communicated its metrics for success. Not a couple of weeks before Microsoft shut down and later sold off Tango Gameworks a few years back, they'd called its most recent game 'Hi-Fi Rush' a big success.

"They never explained anything." Willis said, "They never told us what metric they wanted, which is extremely confusing given Xbox Game Pass. If there was something they wanted (downloads, playtime, Game Pass subscriptions, etc.), they never told us." Willis said that had id Software known what targets they were supposed to be hitting, they would've been able to design around it.

"It was frustrating to get laid off before we even saw how successful the [Revelations] DLC was. How can you lay off a team right before they release what gets called 'their best work yet'?"

Willis has been joined by other id Software and ZeniMax union members in protests at Bethesda's HQ in the United States, with more planned in the future.

I also spoke to Executive Producer Marty Stratton, who has been with id Software for over 25 years. Stratton remarked on the "emotion and pain" surrounding id Software's layoffs, but also spoke about the studio's future capabilities.

"I start a lot of conversations internally on how much I understand the emotion and the pain of the layoffs. It really is that. Any time I'm talking about the future, none of that is meant to diminish what people have gone through and their friends and colleagues who have been around for a very, very long time in some cases. I want to make sure that people understand that."

The future of id Software

A lot of the conjecture around id Software's future revolves around just how much capacity the studio is going to realistically have moving forward. It seems as though the studio has lost more than half of its staffers, wiping out decades of expertise and institutional knowledge, reducing the studio to roughly the same size it was when it shipped DOOM (2016).

Some have worried that id Software might be forced to ditch id Tech in favor of Unreal Engine to leverage contractors and the like. Some have expressed concerns that id Software will be reduced to a "support studio" of other Xbox projects; Stratton tells me that isn't the case. id Software will continue to make its own games, lead its projects, and also develop the id Tech engine, says Stratton.

"We're all in on id Tech; we're not moving to Unreal Engine," Stratton tells me. Stratton emphasized that MachineGames, of Wolfenstein fame, also remains all-in on id Tech, and the two studios will collaborate more closely on the tech stack moving forward.

"We had a meeting yesterday with five or six tech directors; sometimes you wish that the audience could've been in that tech meeting to see some of the excitement around some of this stuff. I don't think people should worry; we're going to continue to be a tech powerhouse moving forward."

Former VFX/Technical Art Producer Andrew Willis was a lot less upbeat about the near term. I asked Willis if he felt id Software's previous comments about the studio being the "same size" as it was for DOOM (2016) were cause for optimism for fans.

"This has been one of the most frustrating mischaracterizations I've seen. It is just damage control," Willis said. "Id is now objectively smaller than it was during 2016. They also fired 2/3rds of the folks that were left from 2016; these would be the people who have the experience needed to make a game like that. There are still amazing people there, no doubt. Some of my best friends still work there. But the amount of institutional knowledge lost was just incredible."

I noted to id Software Executive Producer Marty Stratton that fans are generally concerned about the capacity for id to deliver at the quality bar the team has become known for. He said that the recent QuakeCon event, while tough, had been a boost for the community.

"It was nice to be able to kind of share with attendees that, 'you know, hey, we're doing fine. It's tough, but we're going to move forward.' We've always persevered as a studio. We're going to again, we're going to continue to make great games, with great technology. And, like always, you know, we really appreciate the passion and support that they bring to us and the fuel that that gives us."

The industry is in a tough spot

Regardless of the reasons why this happened, the human cost is always the most apparent thing in my mind. Hundreds of staffers across Microsoft have had their lives upended, in Stratton's own words, with no reflection on their performance or skill.

As for id Software, the beloved DOOM maker seems like it will persevere and fight through, but Stratton also acknowledged that the ultimate proof of id Software's future viability will need to come through in the work.

"The verdict is going to be in how we move forward, what we deliver to fans, and whether or not that meets the bar. That's how we go into every single project we make. That's how we're going into what we're doing next."

"As hard as it's been, you know, over the course of the last month to have friends and long-time colleagues leave. I've been here 26 years now. This was my 26th anniversary. When I started, we were 12 people. We finished Doom 3 with 19 people. And again, I know it's a long time ago. That's an old game. Things change; we go through lots of transitions, but every single dev project is different from, you know, this combination of people, technological capability, and then marrying that to a design ambition. And I really believe in our team's ability to create amazing work moving forward."

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The industry has huge challenges, but the disruption from non-gaming external factors is also a stressor. Microsoft is ironically one of the causes of those stressors, in partially facilitating the memory and component crisis, as it chases an uncertain AI bet that at least today, seems to be causing more problems than it's purported to solve.

"I would say to hang in there to developers," Andrew Willis offered. "To fans, I'd say please support the developers during this tough time. We all care about and love games like you, and we need to stop the people who do not care about game industry from ruining it."

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Back in August 2015, Microsoft was working to link console, PC, and mobile gaming into a single network. Coverage at the time framed this "games everywhere" approach as a major shift, with Windows, ironically, serving as the central hub to keep game libraries synced across devices. Phil Spencer was early in his tenure, working through the fallout of the Xbox One's rocky launch and its controversial DRM policies. Industry observers remained skeptical, and players questioned whether Microsoft could actually pull off cross-platform play and cloud integration.

Eleven years later, that initial push sits at the center of Xbox's modern business model. Under Asha Sharma, Microsoft Gaming has pulled back on its controversial "This is an Xbox campaign," trying to reprioritize the console, while deemphasizing Copilot AI. Indeed, there is a big list of things that need fixing. Oh, and apparently it's now XBOX.

The original questions around brand identity and hardware relevance haven't gone away, but their context has completely changed. Looking back at this 2015 report shows that the foundation for today's strategy was already being built, even if the execution took over a decade to solidify (if you can even call it that). — Daniel Rubino, Editor-in-Chief.

The original article below, "The future of Xbox is bright, and it's everywhere," was published on August 13th, 2015, by Richard Devine.

Gamescom 2015 was a blast for Xbox fans. Just as E3 was before it. Microsoft keeps floating the phrase, "the best games line up in Xbox history," and it's probably true. After a flaky launch for the Xbox One by anyone's standards, under Phil Spencer's stewardship things are going in the right direction.

And that direction is out. Xbox is finally becoming something bigger than the box that sits under your television. Gaming is important to Microsoft, and Xbox is its brand. Everywhere.

There have been smatterings of it outside the console for a while, like Xbox Live Achievement support for Windows 8 and Windows Phone games, and the now revoked Xbox branding for Microsoft's music and video services. With the removal of the latter, Xbox is now exactly what it should be for Microsoft. It's all about the games.

The big push really began in January when Spencer appeared at Microsoft's big Windows 10 event. It was the launch of Xbox on Windows 10 and while it all sounded grand, as the months have passed the vision has become so much clearer. Phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, HoloLens, Xbox is going to be everywhere. Cross-buy, cross-play and game streaming are but the beginning.

Take this quote from Spencer in a recent interview with Polygon as an example:

Our recent trip to Cologne for Gamescom helped further put this into perspective. The vast space that was the Xbox booth was lined with both consoles and Windows 10 side-by-side. Windows wasn't shoved away in a corner; it was right there alongside the biggest new titles Microsoft had to show. Games like Fable Legends and Gigantic played together on both platforms. The only difference, your preference for a controller or keyboard and mouse.

Windows 10 is a big step forward for Microsoft in so many spaces. It's allowing the company to do things that it, nor anyone else has done before. Sure, Sony has dabbled with game streaming, but unless you own a PlayStation and at least one other Sony product, it's useless. How many more people already have what they need to stream Xbox One games? A Windows PC. Sony can't boast what Microsoft is able to do with its games on Windows 10. No-one can.

It's also going to become, I believe, less important to focus on how many consoles Microsoft sells versus Sony. And that's because of the platform. In the same way that a smartphone is a way to deliver Microsoft services to your pocket, the Xbox One will be a way to deliver Xbox to your living room. With Xbox as the games platform available here and on hundreds of millions of Windows 10 PCs around the world, who really gets the bigger marketshare?

And let's not forget that as of Windows 10, official Xbox peripherals, including the forthcoming Elite Controller, are compatible out of the box. Just plug 'em in and away you go.

We're only at the beginning. There's so much to look forward to that we do and don't know about. The new Xbox One experience powered by Windows 10, cross-play games like Gigantic, Fable Legends and Killer Instinct, not to mention Halo Wars 2 in 2016. Engineers have told us that yes, they'd love to reverse the Xbox One game streaming feature, but whether it happens or not is still an open question. The Xbox app on Windows 10 will get better every month and we've got things like Crackdown 3, leveraging the power of the Microsoft cloud, to look forward to.

To sum up, I heard this phrase while at Gamescom that I think says everything. What if you could imagine a future where there weren't Xbox One games and Windows games, there were just Xbox games.

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If you're subscribed to Xbox Game Pass, you'll have a wave of new games hitting your app over the next few days — with titles coming to Series X|S consoles, PC, and devices that support the ever-expanding Xbox Cloud Gaming platform — with new picks hitting Ultimate and Premium tiers.

It starts with Egging On launching today, August 18, which you might recognize from last year's ID@Xbox showcase. If you ever played "A Difficult Game About Climbing" on Steam, or any of its many rage-inducing derivatives, you'll know what to expect from this, and how much patience to bring with you.

You can see more after the jump, but the less exciting news is the expiration of The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt Remastered Edition — leaving Game Pass for cloud and consoles on August 31. The successful and nonlinear monster slayer's "Complete Edition" had only joined Game Pass in February this year, so if you abandoned a half-finished save, your time is running out (via Xbox Wire).

Goodbye Geralt, and shoutout to Starsand

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of those gigantic role-playing games with a 50+ hour story, and even more on offer for completionists. It's just huge. The game's Remastered Edition was only recently offered up to xCloud and console players, so I hadn't been tempted by it as a primary PC Game Pass player, but it's a shame to see it leave relatively quickly.

When I had played it, I became so distracted by collecting flowers, herbs, and other busybody side quests that I never actually finished the mainline story. Nevertheless, I know I enjoyed the game and loved roaming its world and listening to its quality voice acting (and noting the interesting accent choices for certain comical NPCs), so try it before it's gone.

I'll get around to it one day. For now, I'm intrigued by the Ghibli-esque life sim, Starsand Island, as it fits the kind of cozy co-op time drainers that my wife and I enjoy playing on a quiet evening. It's definitely different from The Witcher's world, but paying for Game Pass gives us a chance to try it out on PC or console with our Ultimate subscription.

Game Pass in August 2026

• Available today
  • Egging On (August 18)
• Coming soon
  • Vapor World: Over the Mind (August 19)
  • BlazBlue Entropy Effect X (August 19)
  • Relooted (August 19)
  • Starsand Island (August 20)
  • Aerial_Knight's DropShot (August 25)
  • Blood Dungeon (August 25)
  • Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy (August 27)
  • Young Suns (August 31)
  • Shelldiver (September 1)
• Leaving August 31
  • Another Crab's Treasure
  • I Am Your Beast
  • Neon Abyss
  • One Lonely Outpost
  • The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt Remastered Edition
• Leaving September 6
  • NBA 2K26

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Everyone on the internet is angry. I guess that's nothing new, but are things worse than usual?

Over the past week, the X (Twitter) algorithm has been serving me more negativity than usual. When your feeds are algorithmic, you have to stay cognizant of the fact that the platform has basically engineered what you see. Platforms like X, Instagram, etc. have billions of posts covering thousands upon thousands of topics. What you engage with is ultimately what you end up seeing. For me, that's obviously gaming and Microsoft-adjacent topics.

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For whatever reason, X has been boosting visibility for negativity on a variety of upcoming and recently released games. Wolverine for PS5 for example, is currently the subject of memes and mockery. GTA 6 also has a pretty broad hate campaign going on, and Halo Campaign Evolved too has been picked apart and torn to shreds as well.

Are things worse than usual? Is this par for the course? Have you noticed an upswing in negative discourse? Or is it all symptomatic of something else ...?

How much is grift, how much is genuine?

At least with regards to X, since the platform began paying people for their tweets, it seems to have amplified and incentivized some negative behaviors. Humans seem hard wired to engage with negativity in general, and there's likely evolutionary reasons for it if you dig deep enough — avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes is a survival trait oft-exploited by social media platforms to boost engagement. Everyone knows it. Articles with negative headlines simply get more clicks, with Google etc. use as a positive signal. It's why you'll more often see negative headlines even if the outlet or author in question tries to keep things balanced — positive content simply doesn't surface as often.

I do my absolute best to stay out of it and keep things balanced, but the algorithm doesn't really help my visibility therein. I get as many hate comments saying I'm an Xbox shill as I do saying I'm an Xbox hater, because it's ultimately the algorithm that decides which aspects of my content you see.

It could be a simple case of algorithmic perception here on my end, but I also see an uptick in people commenting on said negativity and nitpicking. Whether it's recent games like Wolverine or hate campaigns against recent movies like Nolan's The Odyssey, needless politicization and polarization seems to be social media strategy du jour right now.

There should always be room for genuine, constructive criticism of course. I'd argue that even less-constructive criticism is valid in a free speech context as long as you know you'll get push back for anything that is either outright dumb or at the very least, ill-conceived.

Where it becomes exhausting is when it's either obviously in bad faith or steeped in some kind of agenda. I think in the case of Wolverine for PS5 for example, it's getting a lot of collateral negativity right now owing to PlayStation's decision to kill physical discs — a plan that has large swaths of the internet up in arms. It reminds me of negative blowback some Xbox One games got back in the day unfairly too in my view, like RYSE, Killer Instinct, and even Titanfall, as Xbox's DRM plan was met with similar consternation fairly or not.

People seem to be mocking Wolverine based on a slice of gameplay that showcases some cinematic gameplay, with users suggesting it seems too "on rails" or something. I'm curious if those users have ever played a cinematic action game before ... because these sequences are hardly representative of the full package. Maybe I'm wrong, but it just seems like hate for the sake of hate, rather than genuine feedback.

Grand Theft Auto 6 also has a huge amount of hate flowing towards it right now, partially for Netflix's "exclusive" trailer, partially for its pay-walling of features behind expensive deluxe editions. People seem to be actively hoping for some of these games to fail, and it all seems to share a common thread.

Sometimes it seems to be less about the gameplay really. People seem to be less tolerant and more aware of corporate greed than I've known in previous years covering this industry, and maybe they're using other avenues to express it — regardless of the collateral.

It feels beyond gaming too

The problem is that the anger is feeding grifters who are less concerned with actual corporate shenanigans, and more interested in riding negativity to highlight a political agenda. Many of these people evidently don't even game with any regularity, and have just seen an opportunity to farm engagement.

Furthermore, I'd argue the grift, political or not, buries legitimate feedback at times. I'm not sure humans were designed to be subjected to 24/7 drip feeds of negativity, least of all individual game developers and creators who aren't responsible for the decisions of their higher ups. I have written some pretty scathing critiques of World of Warcraft's writing in recent months, but I'd hope that they're at least constructive and presented in good faith.

Perhaps people are just generally angry right now too. Wealth inequality has become absurd. Global economies revolve around benefitting the few over the many, with opportunities limited and honest work no longer providing a decent quality of life.

Perhaps gaming is a convenient outlet for expressing anger that isn't necessarily stemming from gaming directly. Gaming companies are visible online and individuals who work there often interact with the public, unlike other types of industries.

It perplexes me somewhat, because I feel as though I've got more high-quality games to play than I've ever had access to in my life. Mortal Shell II just came out and it's awesome, Star Wars Zero Company is on the horizon and that seems awesome too. Gears of War: E-Day plays fantastically well too. Onimusha is almost here, that seems excellent as well from what I've played. Blood of the Dawn Walker looks interesting. There are dozens of indie games I haven't gotten around to yet that I want to play as well.

There's plenty of games that have disappointed me ... but I tend to just move on from those, rather than make hating them my entire personality. They're just video games, right? Something else will come along, something better.

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But I could also be wrong, sure. Maybe I'm naïve and overly optimistic, or am more tolerant of the issues. The gaming industry is facing unprecedented disruption, producing more layoffs than I've ever known since doing this. Traditional gaming audiences are being devoured by non-gaming activities and spend, and users are spending more time in free-to-play games without actually spending any money. Ownership rights are under threat by digitization. It's unclear if our hobby will even be affordable in the future thanks to Team Altman hogging all the RAM.

It's an odd thing: there's more games worth playing than ever, but more reasons to be genuinely concerned about the direction of the industry as well.

What's your take? Is it all just a social media bubble? Are games actually worse than ever? Are people aging out and don't want to accept it? I want to hear your thoughts.

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When I saw the first Mortal Shell 2 trailer, I didn’t think this was a sequel in any way, shape, or form, at least, not until the title screen cropped up. One person on my team said, “Dude, I can’t wait,” which had me super confused. You see, I didn’t really like the original Mortal Shell. Cool concept, but I was very “meh” on it.

So why make a sequel? The first game wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire. It felt clunky and awkward and honestly suffered from a case of the mid. I’ve heard plenty of other Soulslike fans say it wasn’t worth their time, and I’m right there with them.

That’s when I saw gameplay and immediately corrected my original impulse. This wasn’t a sequel; rather, it was an entirely revamped adventure, becoming an experience that I imagine the developers, Cold Symmetry, wanted the original game to be. The world was deliciously dark, painted by brutal combat, adhered to by a diverse set of shells, abilities, and areas for players to blindly lose themselves in.

Mortal Shell 2 is every bit of a do-over that Lords of the Fallen took when they jumped from the first 2014 title to 2023. Expanding, refining, and rediscovering the original hook in a way that not only feels right at home as a Soulslike but also as a rarity, feels unique enough that it’s not a simple Dark Souls knock-off like so many try to be.

This review was conducted using a pre-release code of Mortal Shell 2 provided to Windows Central by Cold Symmetry. The company had no input or prior knowledge of its content.

Mortal Shell 2: Gameplay

Normally, I’d kick things off with a nod to the story, since that can be just as important as gameplay. But this is a Soulslike, so let’s get real and talk about what matters most: the gameplay. And honestly? It’s awesome.

Right out of the gate, the camera settings threw me for a loop. The default is this so-called “Cinematic” over-the-shoulder view, just like the first game, and honestly, it’s not great. Trust me, switch to “Action” mode as soon as you can. You can actually see what’s going on around you, instead of catching the action after it’s already happened.

Then you’ve got your standard light and heavy attacks, ranged combat, and abilities, as well as passive and actionable use items. Followed by multi-use healing items that level up over time and your “Beacons,” which are basically bonfire checkpoints, with that added twist that they must be cleansed via a minidungeon completion to grant special items.

But let’s get to the real star of Mortal Shell 2: the Shells!

If you’re unfamiliar, Mortal Shell is based on the concept of the main character being what is called “The Harbinger”, who has the innate ability to use formerly alive warriors known as “Shells”. These Shells grant the Harbinger unique passive and active abilities for the player to make use of.

Right now, my favorite Shell is Proxima. She zaps enemies from a distance with lightning, yanking lighter foes straight to her or launching herself at the big guys. The lightning staggers them, so you can pile on the hits or make a quick getaway if things get too crowded in the area.

Her passive gives you a shot at cutting incoming damage in half, whether it’s ranged or melee. You can level up both her passives and actives, stacking even more damage resistance or getting extra chances to fry enemies with lightning.

Then you’ve got Shells like Tiel, who turns you invisible after a perfect dodge, or Gragu, who ditches the usual healing item for a “Resonant Heart” that only charges up as you rack up kills. More kills mean more health, easy for the good!

And that’s just scratching the surface. There are eight Shells in total and sixteen weapons, both melee and ranged, and you can mix and match however you want. Most players will have different experiences even with the same Shell, since you can upgrade different abilities with Shell Points or Glimpse and really make each Shell your own.

The list of active and passive abilities further expands these combination opportunities, with things like poison resistance or spectral fighters that summon alongside the player based on a percentage chance of every swing. There’s a lot packed into a $50 game!

With that said, there are some minor "oops, that's not right" moments that occur. Like, I often found my perfect parries failing because the enemy would completely miss my character entirely, and not because I was backing away, but because the enemy just didn't connect.

For fights with foes you need to counter, this can become somewhat frustrating. Other similar issues can crop up during your time, where enemies will fly off in weird directions.

Then there are some weird animations that leave the player open to attack. Like a standard finisher, or some other entangled animation with one enemy can leave you open to an attack from another. Making use of the standard finisher/damage mechanic is somewhat problematic at times. Not always.

Mortal Shell 2: World Design and Story

One of my biggest gripes with the original was the map design. For the Dark Souls diehards out there, the leap from Mortal Shell 1 to 2 feels a lot like going from Dark Souls 2 to Dark Souls 3. If you know, you know. If not, just trust me: it’s a massive upgrade.

For the unknowing, the original Mortal Shell’s map design felt overly complex, if only for the sake of being so. It lacked defining characteristics or landmarks and needlessly pushed backtracking, which made it very easy to get lost.

This time, the devs clearly listened. The new map gave me that same rush I felt exploring Dark Souls 3 for the first time. There’s a central hub, but most of the world is split into huge, sprawling areas you can get lost in for hours with no random teleport zones breaking up the flow.

More than once, I’d pick a direction and end up wandering through hidden side areas I had no plan to visit. Maybe a well, a tucked-away passage, or some secret spot with a new weapon or Shell. The world opens up in a way that feels planned, not just random happenstance like before.

I know I said in the beginning that Mortal Shell 2 wasn’t a knock-off of Dark Souls, and I stand by that, but there are some definite nods, or moments where the developers are paying homage to the greats of FromSoftware.

Small spoiler alert, but there’s an entire area dedicated to poison-based creatures. Sure, I didn’t have to wade through endless puddles, ponds, and literal lakes of Scarlet Rot, but we all know there’s one studio that invented these horrible areas.

Then, there’s the main nurturing character or NPC that guides you, and that’s none other than a rather largely endowed woman who looks awkwardly close to Gwynevere from Dark Souls 1. Like, if you’re not making a double-take for the first reason I listed, you’ll do it only because it's a definite Dark Souls mention.

A story that makes sense?

The story is a little more straightforward than your usual Soulslike, but only just. Don’t expect to have everything spelled out for you.

You’re the Harbinger, a being of existence born from one of the uncorrupted Ova or unborn eggs of the Undermother. Your mission is to reclaim the Undermother’s stolen Ova from the creatures, fanatics, and forces that now guard or corrupt them in the world.

After the first game, the Undermother’s corpse crashed down into the world. People started worshipping her remains, and for a while, things were actually peaceful.

That peace didn’t last. Corruption leaked out of her corpse, madness spread, and most of the Ova got tainted or lost. War broke out, temples fell, and the world filled up with mutants, raiders, and cultists.

Most of the Undermother’s unborn kids didn’t make it. You, the Harbinger, are one of the rare survivors, ready to set things right in a world gone sideways.

Most of this story you’ll have to piece together from clues, item descriptions, and cryptic NPC chats. If you’re like me, you’ll probably end up reading someone else’s summary just to make sense of it all, just like I did with Dark Souls and Elden Ring.

I’m someone who can only focus on so many things at once, and for me, I was always more worried about checking every corner for leveling items, shells, weapons, and other trinkets. Even this style of player will be hard-pressed to avoid all story!

After powering up Shells, a total of five memories can be unlocked for each, granting the player a glance into what led to their demise. Whether it be betrayal, self-infliction, or some other circumstance. Each is easily followed along with as the player gains access to more Shell Points and Glimpse.

Mortal Shell 2: Performance and graphics

Our copy of Mortal Shell 2 was reviewed via Steam, using two of my personal computers. A desktop with an RTX 5080, Ryzen 9800X3D, and 64GB of DDR5 RAM at 4K resolution and a gaming laptop with a mobile 4060 at 1080p.

For the most part, I had absolutely amazing performance at either High or Ultra settings, both with and without ray tracing enabled. Very infrequently, I’d notice some frame rate drops, but they were so rare for me that I think I could count them on a single hand.

Given the number of terribly performing games that I’ve reviewed over the last couple of years, it’s so refreshing to get a title that just plays the way it's supposed to while not having to worry about fiddling with one or two overly problematic settings.

I did run into some issues here and there with bugs. Most notably, issues with hit detection or the occasional tutorial message stuck on my screen.

Even more surprising is that Mortal Shell 2 runs on Unreal Engine 5! Something I wasn’t even sure of until I went searching through interviews and game information on the developers' website. Maybe now that Unreal Engine 6 has been announced, developers have finally figured out how to use 5 correctly; yay!

The payoff is that the look and feel of Mortal Shell 2 are awe-inspiring, to the point I legitimately felt irritated there wasn’t a camera mode to take advantage of for screenshots. Instead, many of the shots you’ll see throughout this review are either pulled from in-game cutscenes or cropped from stills I took roaming the area.

Should you buy Mortal Shell 2?

There’s a ton more I could say about this game, but I’d rather not have my editor hunt me down, and honestly, I don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone.

Mortal Shell 2 caught me off guard, not just because it beat my low expectations but because it’s actually a blast to play. Sure, the opening tutorial is the usual slow crawl, but after that, I kept getting that jolt of excitement every time I hit a new area or tackled a fresh Beacon.

I generally don’t feel that way when it comes to Soulslike games from other studios not named Fromsoftware, and it’s not because those titles are bad by any stretch, but they infrequently hold the same level of magic.

Mortal Shell 2 joins the elite group of exceptions to this rule, one that I think I won’t stand alone on. I don’t think I’ll stand alone, and I’m very convinced of putting my stamp of approval on it.

Anyone who enjoys the genre should absolutely look to pick Mortal Shell 2 up. Even with the issues listed, these are far outpaced by the strengths of the game, making an overall sum total that's vast and terrific (many of which I imagine will be largely patched).

I have the strangest feeling that Mortal Shell has a real shot at becoming a grander franchise over time, with a crowd of folks that will be clamoring for yet a third entry. I know I won’t make the same mistake I did before. At this point, I expect more games to come. And yes, I said games.

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We're just a week away from the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Hope of Despair on August 20, 2026, the first DLC expansion for the diehard, open-world survival-adventure game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, releasing for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via GOG, Epic Games Store, and Steam.

On top of that, STALKER 2 will also be getting a free 2.0 update for the base game on the same day the Hope of Despair DLC expansion launches.

It is appropriately titled "Back to the Zone," as it features a ton of visual and gameplay improvements and additions to entice players back to the game, all showcased through a new gameplay trailer and blog post on the official Stalker 2 website.

As seen in the trailer, the Back to the Zone update will feature a ton of overhauled graphics and lighting effects in the environments to make them visually appealing and immersive while maintaining the post-apocalyptic tone of the Zone's setting.

The game's immersion will be heightened further in this update with improvements to the game's unique A-Life system, which will include more behaviour patterns and places for NPCs and monsters to interact in.

These include, but are not limited to: more NPC resting spots at campfires or bus stops, more contested battlefields between Stalkers and mutants, and Stalkers looting the dead even when you're not seeing it happen.

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On the gameplay side of things, Stalker 2's 2.0 update will introduce a "Custom Rules" difficulty mode where you can tweak the game's various settings to your preferred sense of challenge, three types of binoculars so you can scout enemies' positions, and several new weapons hidden throughout the Zone, such as the Arev (AR), GP3A (DMR), SKP (DMR), and Fora-230 (SMG), each with a unique variant to find.

Additionally, there's a new Fog mechanic to obscure your and the enemy's vision and hearing (which will open more opportunities for stealth), a PDA to keep track of your progress, new monsters to fight, and tons of new narrative scripting, audio, and localization tools for STALKER 2's modding tool called the Zone Kit.

Overall, there are tons of changes coming to STALKER 2 from just the free 2.0 update alone to make the game feel alive (and scary) to play while including several new toys to make it more fun to play.

But will it entice new and returning players to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl in conjunction with the Hope of Despair DLC?

If you have any thoughts on the matter, please let us know through the poll below, the comments section, or our Reddit page.

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Update August 14, 3.45 pm ET: Activision has since put out a further update reminding PC players that they will need to have TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled on their PCs to play the Modern Warfare 4 beta. This is the current requirement for Black Ops 7, so it isn't new, but it's a reminder if you haven't been playing this year that without it you can't take part.

Mark your calendars, Call of Duty fans, because Infinity Ward and Activision have revealed the content of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's upcoming beta tests, set to commence over the following weekends.

These beta tests will feature sneak peeks at the game's multiplayer modes, the Battle Royal-like Warzone mode, and an exclusive single-player campaign mission.

Here are the full details on these beta tests and when you can expect to play them.

The first early access beta test will run from August 21, 2026, to August 25, 2026, for those who pre-ordered the game on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Xbox on PC, Steam, and Battle.net.

Its content will include an exclusive campaign mission called "Entrenched", several multiplayer maps, and several multiplayer game modes like Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed, Inflation, Search & Destroy, 10v10 & 3v3, and Mobility Course.

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On a side note, the first beta test begins on the same day as Activision's Call of Duty Next event on August 21, 2026, which will showcase various gameplay aspects of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, such as 6v6 PVP, the first look at Zodiac, Kill Block gameplay, and much more while giving away free beta codes to players who tune in to the event.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's second beta test will run from August 28, 2026, to September 1, 2026, and it will be open to the general public to play on the Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Xbox on PC, Steam, Battle.net, and Nintendo Switch 2 versions of the game.

It will include all the content of the first beta test, with the addition of the Warzone game mode, a new Warzone map, and several new Ground War maps.

So, if you need to get some practice with your aim and are hungry to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 before the full version launches on October 23, 2026, for all the aforementioned platforms, these beta tests will be the perfect time to do it.

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Console war. Console war never changes. Or well, maybe a little bit.

You all know the story. Xbox ran away from exclusives a couple of years ago to boost margins, but all it ended up doing was hollowing out their own platform, with first and third-party sales declines while giving away its market share to competitors without so much as a fight.

It started with Sea of Thieves, and ended with Halo itself going to PlayStation, robbing Xbox of, potentially, a reason to exist at all. "If PlayStation has its own exclusives and Xbox's exclusives, why ever buy an Xbox?" Some might ask.

Fast forward to 2026, and things are changing. Incoming Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is intent on giving Xbox exclusives again, starting with Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution next year.

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But, at the same time, you can't help but wonder "why" on paper.

This week, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma teased The Elder Scrolls 6, which seems to be subtitled "Sentinel."

Following the tease, debate began spreading across social media about whether or not Microsoft should truly go all in and bring the big guns: for Xbox Helix, would it move the needle if Elder Scrolls 6 or Fallout 5 were console exclusive, or would Xbox simply be cutting its nose off to spite its face?

The argument against Xbox console exclusivity

It feels like the era of hardware subsidization is pretty much over. As the bulk of playtime hours go to games like Fortnite, which have very fickle monetization per user, platform holders are increasingly looking to the point of purchase itself to make money. Sony itself said it will no longer sell PlayStation hardware at a loss, and it seems Xbox is following suit.

In that world, it potentially makes far more sense to meet players where they are. With console hardware more expensive than ever, players are less likely than ever to switch platform or buy multiple consoles potentially.

It's pretty simple, really. By skipping PS5 or Nintendo Switch 2 and taking Elder Scrolls 6 Xbox console exclusive, you're potentially going to be harming the very expensive game's margins and profitability, at least on paper. It's not as if PlayStation's audience would deliver a 100% attach rate for Elder Scrolls 6 or Fallout 5, but there are many millions of potential customers who would potentially simply skip the game were it not available on their platform of choice.

Is turning The Elder Scrolls 6 and things like Fallout 5 into a "loss leader" something 2026 Xbox and Microsoft is willing to do?

The argument for Xbox console exclusivity

Microsoft and others don't really really release data on how many users own both an Xbox Series X|S and a PS5, but some analysts suggest it could be up to 50%. Indeed, I've been told that a lot of the users Xbox sees across its network show up on different platforms, suggesting that even if Elder Scrolls 6 were exclusive, it would still have a pretty huge addressable audience to the tune of tens of millions even without PlayStation.

If Microsoft were to take Elder Scrolls 6 exclusive, it would send a very strong signal that Xbox is truly in it to win it (particularly if Elder Scrolls 6 is actually very good) and, the sales would come in strong regardless. If users can't buy it on PS5, they'd probably either grab it via Steam (which I can't see Xbox ditching any time soon) or their dusty Xbox Series X|S they haven't had any reason to turn on for several years.

By the time The Elder Scrolls 6 launches, Xbox will also have a range of new Cloud Gaming initiatives in the market place too. Direct-to-WiFi Xbox controllers will be available, shaving a non-trivial amount of latency off proceedings. Elder Scrolls 6 exclusivity might not just be a "loss leader" for Xbox Helix or Xbox Series X|S in that context, it could also be a marketing vehicle for "buy-to-own" Xbox Cloud Gaming, which I presume Xbox will be looking to market more seriously by the time the game launches.

If sales could become an issue under a console exclusivity package, Xbox could also take the step of keeping it off Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for a time, similar to what we're seeing with Call of Duty — although I imagine such a move would be pretty unpopular.

Poll: What do YOU think?

I can see both sides of the argument. Xbox Helix would have a massive boost in visibility with a tentpole exclusive like The Elder Scrolls 6 for its launch, but I'm not sure if The Elder Scrolls alone would be enough to convince users to drop a potential $1000 dollars on a video game console in this economy.

Xbox would need a steady cadence of high quality exclusives, and a visible strategy that says "if you buy this; you can expect more of these types of exclusives." The sorta "one offs" here and there with Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution aren't going to cut it, I really feel like they need to be all-in and have all studios shoulder the burden of such a strategy, that would take years potentially to ferment.

The other argument is pretty simple: Xbox might end up just harming its studios' potential by limiting access arbitrarily. It's something CEO Satya Nadella touched on in court while explaining to lawmakers why Call of Duty would never go exclusive: the business model revolves around blanket market access.

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The Elder Scrolls is arguably not like that, though ... nor are single player games in general. Xbox, PC, and Cloud Gaming should give Elder Scrolls the addressable audience to do gangbusters regardless. I heard Starfield was profitable before hitting PlayStation, for example, and so was Avowed. But is "profitable" enough for Microsoft shareholders, who are already likely annoyed by Xbox's drag on Microsoft's overall profit margin?

I think Xbox needs exclusive games to survive, and I think The Elder Scrolls 6 going exclusive would give the platform its best chance to make up lost ground over the previous two generations. I think a healthier Xbox is better for the industry, better for third-party developers, and better for Xbox customers in general. It's just unclear whether making The Elder Scrolls 6 exclusive actually would lead to a healthier Xbox ... since it would need to be part of a wider, and more visible strategy that I'm not sure Microsoft has the competitive spirit for in 2026.

At the end of the day: what would PlayStation or Nintendo do if they owned The Elder Scrolls 6 or Fallout 5? I think we all know the answer ...

But, what do YOU think? Vote in our poll above, let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Sim Update 6 for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 was first revealed a couple of months back at the FlightSimExpo. Since then it's had some beta testing, and now, it's ready for prime time.

Sim Update 6 for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is rolling out now, and it's not a huge download, coming in under 4GB on my PC.

There are a few headline features, a ridiculously long list of tweaks and fixes, and something that hasn't made the cut from the beta period.

First up is the bad news, and that's the rolling back from the planned upgrade to FSR 4 with this update. There are some compatibility issues with FSR 4 Frame Gen that the team is currently working through alongside AMD. The FSR version will still be shown, though, according to your GPU's software.

As such, it's back to FSR 3, the same as was present in Sim Update 5.1. There are no such issues for NVIDIA users, though, and DLSS 4.5 has been added as the new default upscaler with Dynamic Frame Generation with in-game VSync support.

One of the big new features is the return of Bush Trips, brought over to Flight Simulator 2024 from Flight Simulator 2020. They're all here, and you'll find them in the Activities menu in the game. Guided tours are now also found here.

There are a host of lighting improvements added with Sim Update 6, too, as well as some bits just for developers, and career mode gets a little attention as well. I've previously covered the headline features coming with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Sim Update 6, so check that out for a summary.

Otherwise, you can dive into the extensive patch notes, but be warned, they'll take longer to read than the update will to install. Definitely grab a beverage!

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If there are two features I'll turn off in every single video game in which they are present, it would be chromatic aberration and film grain.

I get why it exists, but I wish it didn't because it never gives the look (in my opinion anyway) that you think the developers are aiming for.

So, not being able to turn either off in Halo: Campaign Evolved, a shiny futuristic space epic, seems like a misstep.

On PC there were ways around it, but now that won't be necessary, as the next update will allow both to be disabled. As it should have been from the start.

Such is my dislike for both of these graphical 'features' that I haven't even opened Halo: Campaign Evolved yet. I shouldn't need to use config files to turn off something this basic.

The updates to Sgt. Johnson sound pretty important, too, if progression being blocked has been an issue until now.

There isn't much to go on besides the X post shown above, with the update scheduled for some time next week. Full patch notes will be available at that time, and these are just the "highlights," so there'll be a bunch of lower-level stuff as well, it seems.

Crucially, it looks like you'll need to make sure you're at a save point at the end of a mission before the update drops, or else you'll lose some of your progress. The post specifically only mentions mid-mission save points, so everything else will be fine.

In our full review of Halo: Campaign Evolved, my colleague Brendan Lowry said:

"Campaign Evolved ultimately delivers an incredible reimagining of the original Halo, enhancing it with jaw-dropping audiovisual presentation, carefully considered gameplay and level additions, an enjoyable new three-mission story, and a suite of over three dozen collectible Skulls for tons of replay value."

It's not perfect, sure, and it literally is just the campaign with some new missions added, but overall it's pretty well executed. The next update at least will fix some of the irritations.

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Scrolling through social media recently, I stumbled on a Reel (and I'm sorry; I forgot to save it, so my apologies to its creator for not being able to link out) where a dad was explaining how he cancelled Disney+ and saved money in the long run.

But he did it by buying an Xbox One S.

When it first released, one of the killer features beyond being a slimmed-down, brick-less Xbox One was its 4K UHD Blu-Ray drive. We take it for granted now, but the Xbox One S was the first in the family to get that hardware. For $300 you got the ability to play 4K Blu-ray discs, significantly less expensive than most of the dedicated players out there.

Being an affordable 4K Blu-ray player is still one of the strengths of the Xbox One S; only now, it's generally even cheaper. Though yes, let's acknowledge before anyone says it in the comments, obviously you don't get Dolby Vision.

Seeing the aforementioned Reel made the penny drop. It could actually be a viable way to break free of the endless cycle of subscribing to streaming services and buying digital content that we now know for sure could disappear at any time.

The Xbox One S and physical media has always been a winner

The crux of the Reel that inspired this post was that buying a used Xbox One S, plus picking up their kids' favorite movies used on Blu-ray, was cheaper than a year of the Disney+ plan they were paying for.

Obviously on Disney+ there's a ton of content, but the value is only there if you're consuming it. It'd be like paying for Xbox Game Pass for a full year and playing only one game; it doesn't make sense. In this case, most of the content was never being watched, so it worked out cheaper to cancel and just buy the discs.

But Disney+ is just one service. We went from a world where breaking free of cable TV was exciting and a way to save money by only watching what we wanted without the guff. But now we're in a worse position, because the content is locked behind so many paywalls that by the time you add it all up, you may as well have just had cable.

It's frightening, frankly. Looking at my own bills, I'm subscribed to Netflix, Disney+, TNT Sports on HBO Max, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime Video, though the latter I don't really count because Prime is worth it just for the free shipping.

But counting the first five, I'm paying at least what I used to pay for my premium TV package back before I became a 'cordcutter.' And I don't even get everything I want when I want it!

I've always been a fan of physical media. I love my games; I love my movies. Hell, I still have a stack of music cassettes and a Walkman. Today's generation may be finding this stuff for the first time; some of us never let it go.

But depending on how much you spend versus how much you actually watch, maybe it does make sense to buy the physical versions of the stuff you actually care about? At least it won't disappear.

Not owning your content isn't really the answer

If you already have an old Xbox One S spare, or even a One X or your current Xbox Series X (sorry, Series S owners), you're already in a prime position. If you don't, you can pick a used One S up right now at least fairly cheaply. Though as ever, location will have an effect on that.

Xbox also had a leg up on PlayStation, remarkably, which didn't have 4K Blu-ray capabilities on any of the PS4 lineup, despite being able to play games at 4K on the PS4 Pro.

It's a prudent thing to think of, though. There's a whole community out here of folks who like to digitize their own media with a Plex or Jellyfin server, but if you have the discs, this is far simpler.

The argument has been brought to light recently by Sony. First by removing video content from its customers' libraries that they had paid for, and then by deciding to end physical game production from 2028. When you buy digital, you have no ownership of your content.

When you buy a piece of digital content, you're buying a license to consume it. But only for as long as you're allowed to, which apparently isn't forever. At least when it's a physical item in your possession, you have the control.

I'm going to deploy my Xbox One S again

I won't be cancelling the various streaming services I subscribe to anytime soon, more's the pity. When you've got two kids who watch most of them regularly, familial bliss is the price to pay for the, well, price. That and I do enjoy some of the content on them you can't get anywhere else.

But if it's a piece of media I care about and want to truly enjoy for years to come, I already lean towards buying a Blu-ray. The quality is better, it's mine, and I can digitize all of my Blu-Ray discs on my PC and toss a copy onto my NAS.

I have been using my Xbox Series X, but I don't generally keep that in the front room attached to my 4K TV. I'd actually forgotten until thinking about this post that I still have my old Xbox One S stashed away. So it's going to be coming out of retirement to live a second life as a full-time movie box. I think I still even have a PDP Xbox remote control somewhere.

But whether it's to free yourself of the streaming services, throw a middle finger up to the digital future being forced upon us, or you just like to own your stuff, the Xbox One S is still a great value way to enjoy high-quality content. Owned, not rented.

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It's that time in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's seasonal rotation for a Reloaded refresh, and once again the big deal for many is Zombies.

Black Ops 7 Zombies is reaching its narrative conclusion as the Rex Infernus map is open for business when Season 05 Reloaded goes live on August 20 at 9am Pacific.

"As reality stands on the cusp of destruction, the crew face their ultimate challenge. Cleanse the Shadowsmith places of power, find the Warden’s inner sanctum, and put an end to his loathsome existence."

As ever, completing the main quest will bring forth your rewards. If you get it done before Directed Mode launches, you'll get a unique Calling Card that will become unavailable when it does.

Other rewards include the "Bloodthorn" Wonder Weapon skin, calling cards, and 10,000 XP. Collect all the Intel to get another Calling Card and 10,000 XP.

Widow's Wine is also back, complete with new major and minor augments to research, and a new GobbleGum, "Fully Packed," will upgrade your weapon to Pack-a-Punch level 3. So that's definitely going to come in handy.

Two new Ultra-Rarity weapons are being added to the mystery box, too, with the TR2 marksman rifle and the Olympia shotgun joining the ranks of Zombies-based gambling.

It's bittersweet for Zombies players, as this is it. The last new full map content that we're going to see for some time. Modern Warfare 4 doesn't have a Zombies mode, so for now, that's all she wrote.

Naturally Season 05 Reloaded covers all aspects of the game, not just Zombies. The PvE extraction Endgame is about to reach the end of its free-to-play run, as it'll return to being a Black Ops 7-owned (and Game Pass) exclusive when Season 05 comes to a close.

During that time, though, the Burn Run Assignment will continue to appear across Avalon. Keep tabs on your map for the skull icon for a little Forza racing in Call of Duty action. The maximum combat rating you need for any of these is only 45, too, so they're pretty accessible.

Multiplayer will see a new pinball-themed Turbo Tilt map based on Nuketown history, complete with interactive bumpers and ramps. Freerun: Descent is getting a new course, and Cranked Moshpit is back if you like a bit of that.

As for Warzone, Loaded Resurgence will be coming back for another go around. It does also get some new gameplay features, though, with the Quickdrop Kit, which reduces redeploy time in Resurgence, and a Special Delivery Drone you can shoot down in all modes to earn yourself some weapon camos.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Season 05 Reloaded goes live on August 20 at 9am Pacific.

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2023 saw the release of a game that not many expected to be anything special, yet proved its naysayers wrong at every turn: Hogwarts Legacy.

This open-world RPG shocked the world by perfectly capturing the immersive gameplay feeling of being a wizard in the Harry Potter universe while becoming one of the best-selling games of all time by selling over 40 million copies (it even outsold Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in the first week it came out by selling over 12 million copies).

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If you're a fan of Hogwarts Legacy and wanted this unexpected gem to grow into a franchise in itself, you're in luck, as Warner Bros. confirmed in a letter to shareholders that development for Hogwarts Legacy 2 is underway.

This statement comes from page 4 of the shareholder letter, in which Warner Bros. says, and I quote, "We expect Games to more meaningfully contribute to segment profitability going forward as our pipeline expands, including the second installment of Hogwarts Legacy."

Windows Central's take

Now, since this was a casual offhand comment made by Warner Bros., it'll be a LONG time before we see any official gameplay trailer for Hogwarts Legacy 2.

So I'm guessing we'll see Hogwarts Legacy 2's official reveal sometime in either 2027 or 2028 at either the Games Awards or Summer Games Fest events.

Either way, Harry Potter fans are definitely buzzing with excitement at this news. I know my former colleague, Rebecca Spear, certainly should be, as she gave Hogwarts Legacy a near-perfect review score of 4.5 stars, stating, "Like many of you, I've longed to explore the wizarding world ever since I read the Harry Potter books as a child. I'm pleased to say that Avalanche Software's game, Hogwarts Legacy, fulfills this fantasy better than any game before it."

As for me, I wasn't the biggest Harry Potter fan as a kid, as I was more inclined towards Lord of the Rings and Warhammer 40,000 (and still am for the latter). However, with the sequel on the horizon and with me being in a magical mood lately, I might give the first Hogwarts Legacy game a shot to see how this game earned the admiration of so many players worldwide.

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