You might be disappointed if you were planning an Ubisoft-themed nostalgic gaming session. Kotakureports Ubisoft has shut down online services for 91 games. Many of them are ancient, or versions for old (and sometimes defunct) platforms. You aren't about to play Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood using the long-dead OnLive service, for instance. However, there are some games you could still play on current hardware, or might have good reason to revisit.

The first two Far Cry games have lost online support for PC, for instance, and Blood Dragon won't connect on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Just Dance fans may need to stick to newer games. While it isn't surprising that Ubisoft dropped support for PS3, Wii, Wii U and Xbox 360 versions of Just Dance 2018 and before, PS4 and Xbox One players might not enjoy losing access to the songs from Just Dance 2014 or 2015.

Other classics you might miss include Beyond Good & Evil, the original Ghost Recon, multiple Rainbow Six games, older Settlers titles and certain Splinter Cell releases (including Chaos Theory and Conviction). Games that used Ubisoft Connect won't let you earn Units, and you can't unlock content on any platform or access it on PCs.

Ubisoft isn't exactly rushing to leave some players in the dark — it's just now shutting off Rainbow Six Lockdown support for PS2, GameCube and original Xbox owners. All the same, you probably won't be thrilled if you've kept an old console around to play the games of your youth.

Sony is gearing up to roll out the revamped PlayStation Plus in the coming weeks. Ahead of the new tiers being introduced, the company is reportedly placing more demands on certain developers. According to Game Developer, it's asking studios working on games with a price point of at least $34 to create timed trials that last at least two hours.

The report suggests that Sony informed studios of the directive through its developer portal and without advance warning. They can reportedly release their timed trial (which will need to be available for at least a year) up to three months after their game hits the PlayStation Store. The policy is said not to apply to previously released games, titles that will be sold for less than $34 or PlayStation VR2 games.

The highest tier of the overhauled subscription service, PS Plus Premium, will include access to time-limited game trials. Sony started testing such trials on PS5 in October. It granted players access to Death Stranding: Directors Cut for six hours and Sackboy: A Big Adventure for five hours at no extra cost.

While many folks appreciate game demos and being able to try out a title before paying for it, this move will require studios to dedicated precious time and resources to create the timed trials. That'll surely put more strain on smaller developers. 

It's not clear why Sony decided on a $34 threshold for this policy, but there's a case to be made that developers selling games at a higher price point are more likely to be larger studios with more resources. Engadget has contacted Sony Interactive Entertainment for comment.

Sony will be aware it has to make sure PS Plus Premium delivers good value to users. That tier will cost $18 per month, $50 per quarter or $120 per year (the lowest tier is the same as the current version of PS Plus and won't have a price increase).

The new PS Plus service is different from Xbox Game Pass in that none of the tiers will offer first-party games on their release day. Offering trials of many new and recent games on top of a library of several hundred games from every generation of PlayStation may make up for that, at least to some extent.

Sure, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands supports cross-play on all platforms, but what about that promised Borderlands 3 update? Don't worry, it's coming. Gearbox has confirmedBorderlands 3 will add cross-play support for PlayStation sometime later this spring. PS4 and PS5 owners will finally get to join the adventures of their PC, Stadia and Xbox counterparts.

Gearbox first added cross-play to Borderlands 3 in 2021, but PlayStation owners were conspicuously left out. Pitchford revealed that Sony blocked full cross-platform support. It later came to light in the Epic vs. Apple lawsuit that Sony asked for royalty fees for any game with cross-play, determining them based on the popularity and financial success of the PlayStation version. It's not certain if that arrangement applied here.

Sony used to be adamantly against cross-play for PlayStation. Former SIE America CEO Shawn Layden said in 2018 that any inter-platform gameplay would only work if it was "supporting our business," but many critics saw it as a cash grab — Sony didn't like that you might buy content on a rival platform and get to use it on your PS4. The company gradually relented, though, and allowed the feature in games like Fortnite and Rocket League. Borderlands 3 is a latecomer in that regard, but the support remains a welcome sign of thawing relations between Sony and the rest of the gaming world.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has revealed its rollout plan for the overhauled PlayStation Plus service. It's targeting a launch date of May 23rd in select markets in Asia before expanding to Japan on June 1st. The new tiers are then expected to arrive in the Americas on June 13th, followed by Europe on June 22nd.

In addition, SIE is opening up access to cloud streaming in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Folks in those countries and the 19 others where PlayStation Now is currently available will be able to sign up for the Premium tier of PS Plus at launch.

Sony announced the long-rumored PS Plus restructuring in March. The current version of PS Plus will soon be the lowest tier of the updated service. As is more or less the case now, PS Plus Essential will offer online multiplayer access, cloud storage, PSN Store discounts and two claimable games per month (down from the usual three).

The middle tier is PlayStation Plus Extra, which adds a library of 400 PS4 and PS5 games that players can download to their console. At the outset, those are expected to include the likes of Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11 and PS5 exclusive Returnal.

At the highest end is PlayStation Plus Premium, which includes access to another 340 games from PlayStation, PS2 and PSP titles that you can stream or download. PS3 games will be available through cloud streaming. Premium will also offer limited-time game trials and cloud gaming on PC.

In countries where cloud streaming isn't available yet, Sony will offer a Premium tier replacement called PS Plus Deluxe. This will be a bit less expensive than Premium and include downloadable PS1, PS2 and PSP games as well as everything from the Essential and Extra tiers.

US pricing starts at $10 per month, $25 per quarter or $60 per year for PS Plus Essential. Extra costs $15 per month, $40 per quarter or $100 annually. As for Premium, you'll need to pay $18 per month, $50 per quarter or $120 for a year of access. PlayStation Now will be folded into the new PS Plus, and subscribers of that service will be moved to the Premium tier.

Unlike with Microsoft's Game Pass, none of the tiers will offer access to first-party PlayStation games on their release day. However, a year of access to PS Plus Premium costs $60 less than 12 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at the standard price.

Microsoft might not be the only console maker hoping to place more ads in games. Insidersources (sub. required) say Sony is testing an initiative that would sell and place ads in free-to-play PlayStation games through a private marketplace. This would include billboards and other environmental ads, but also character skins and similar collectible items.

Some details are reportedly in flux. Sony isn't certain if it will take a slice of any ad revenue, the tipsters claimed, and it might instead ask studios to pay for data. The PS5 creator is apparently "strict" about screening the ad tech companies it works with, however, and won't allow the collection of personal information like email addresses.

If accurate, the leak has Sony launching the PlayStation ad program by the end of 2022. We've asked the company for comment.

The rumor comes just a week after Microsoft was said to be planning a very similar strategy. The objective would be simple: the easier it is for developers to place in-game ads, the more likely they are to release free-to-play games. While that could irritate gamers who'd rather not see obvious product plugs, it could also help companies release free-to-play games that don't rely quite as much on paid skins, season passes and other gated content.

You've long been able to use a DualSense controller with your PC, but it wasn't quite so appealing when you couldn't update the firmware without access to a PlayStation 5. Thankfully, that's no longer necessary. Sony has released a firmware update tool for Windows that lets you upgrade the DualSense through a USB connection on your PC — no console required. You won't miss out on bug fixes or refinements just because you prefer computer gaming.

The software requires Windows 10 or 11. You'll need to update multiple controllers one at a time.

The tool will be helpful for PC-only gamers who want the same controller functionality as their PS5 counterparts, of course. At the same time, it might also useful for Remote Play. You can keep a DualSense by your computer knowing that you won't have to visit the living room (and partly defeat the purpose of Remote Play) just to bring the gamepad up to date.

Sony and Nintendo are following Microsoft in halting payments for unused gaming subscriptions in the UK. The country's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has obtained an agreement with Sony that will wind down unused PlayStation Plus accounts. Sony will remind inactive subscribers how to end payments and, if there's still no activity, stop taking payments altogether. Nintendo, meanwhile, no longer auto-renews Switch Online subscriptions by default.

Microsoft said in January it would cancel dormant Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass subscriptions in the UK, and eventually worldwide. Like Sony, it will first notify customers (albeit after a full year of inactivity) and, one year later, halt payments. Microsoft also said it would provide more immediate information about memberships to customers, such as auto-renewal details and refunds.

The changes have led the CMA to end an investigation into online gaming services that began in 2019. The probe focused not only on auto-renewals, but on the difficulty of obtaining refunds and on potentially unfair subscription terms. While it's not yet clear if the CMA has resolved every problem, the core issue appears to have been addressed — you're less likely to get a bill for a service you stopped using a long time ago.

After nearly two years of PlayStation and Epic Games Store exclusivity, indie darling Bugsnax is making its way to additional platforms. Starting April 28th, you can play the game on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam, in addition to PlayStation 5 and PS4 as was previously the case. The game is also coming to Xbox and PC Game Pass, as well as Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming platform.

That same day, developer Young Horses will release The Isle of Bigsnax, a free content update that adds a new island for players to explore. The studio estimates the DLC includes three to four hours of additional gameplay for players to complete. 

On the island, you’ll find new Bugsnax, including one that’s a mashup of a stick bug with celery for its long, tendril-like legs. Additionally, the update adds new challenges in the town of Snaxbug. Completing those will reward you with furniture and accessories you can use to decorate your in-game personal hut. But the most exciting part of the update is that you’ll be able to find hats for your Bugsnax.

You can see all the improvements detailed in the trailer above. The new versions of Bugsnax will cost $25 if you decide to buy them to own.

You won't have to reach for a remote the next time you're ready to return to your Xbox after a TV session. Microsoft is rolling out an update that lets you press the Xbox button on your controller to switch the input to your Series X or Series S. You can flip to cable TV during a download knowing that you just have to grab your controller when you're ready to play.

The feature depends on the newer Xbox consoles' support for HDMI-CEC. You can enable it through the "Sleep mode & startup" settings section through the "TV & A/V power options" selection.

The concept isn't completely new, whether in consoles or for HDMI-CEC devices in general Even so, it's difficult to complain when this could save you time wading through TV menus just to get back to Halo Infinite.

For today only, you can get $50 off the Xbox Series S through camera retailer Adorama. With the discount, Microsoft’s entry-level ninth-generation console costs $250. That matches one of the best prices we’ve seen for the system to date. To take advantage of the offer, you’ll need to input the code“XBOXS2250” at checkout. Today’s promotion is only available until midnight.

Engadget awarded the Series S a score of 85 when it was first released in November 2020. We liked the console for its compact design and expansive library of Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games accessible through Microsoft’s backward compatibility program. Since then, its library has only grown with the release of first-party exclusives like Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5 and Psychonauts 2.

We called the Series S the next-gen starter pack when it came out. That aptly highlights some of its shortcomings. It only comes with 512GB of internal storage. You’ll need to buy one of Seagate’s expensive expansion cards to add additional space, and those start at $139 for the 512GB model. The Series S is also limited to 1440p and doesn’t offer the same backward compatibility experience as its more expensive sibling. We don’t think those are deal-breakers, but if you have the money to buy the Series X, it’s the more capable console.

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