Sony's finally ready to show off more of what it's working on for PS5 for this holiday season and beyond. The company will hold a PlayStation Showcase on September 9th.
The presentation, which will run for 40 minutes or so, will feature games from PlayStation Studios as well as other developers. After the main stream, there will be more info from some of the studios that are part of the showcase.
Get a sneak peek at the future of PS5, with updates from PlayStation Studios and industry-leading devs. Hope to see you there!
One thing you shouldn't expect during the event is any news about the next PS VR headset, which won't arrive until next year at the earliest. However, that leaves a lot of cards on the table. Perhaps we'll get a proper look at the God of War sequel, learn more details about the PS5 (and Xbox Series X/S) version of Grand Theft Auto V and maybe even hear about whatever's next for Naughty Dog. Sony might also reveal when the PS5 software update it's beta testing (which unlocks the SSD expansion slot and has some user interface changes) will roll out to everyone.
In any case, we won't have to wait too long to find out. The showcase starts at 4PM ET next Thursday. You can watch it on the PlayStation Twitch and YouTube channels, and Engadget will have coverage of all the biggest news that spills out of the stream.
After a year-long delay, Halo Infinite will reportedly arrive on December 8th. Italian gadget site Aggiornamenti Lumia first noticed that the game's Microsoft Store listing was updated with the new date in some regions, and sources tell The Verge that it's correct. Microsoft is likely saving the big reveal for today's Gamescom Opening Night live event, which kicks off at 2PM Eastern. It's just a shame it had to be left out of the company's fairly uneventful Xbox Gamescom presentation.
343 Industries announced last week that Halo Infinite won't be launching with campaign co-op or Forge mode, which allows players to create and play custom maps. But if it means that the developer can ship a more polished single player campaign and competitive multiplayer modes on time, it may be worth the trade-off. Halo Infinite multiplayer betas also kicked off last month, and so far the general consensus seems to be positive.
It's hard to overstate how important Halo Infinite will be for Microsoft. It was originally meant to be one of the big draws for the Xbox Series X and S last year. Its delay left the company without a major exclusive release, while Sony had several for the PlayStation 5 post-launch.
Were you ready to be underwhelmed? Microsoft really didn’t have all that much to reveal, it seemed, despite the 90-minute run time. (Thankfully, we’ve shaved it down to an 11-minute highlight reel you can watch here.)
The problem with Xbox’s show was that it was so heavy on developer interviews. There really weren’t many headline announcements, either, besides further expansion of Xbox Cloud Gaming — more on that below. Wringing the gaming news towel dry, Psychonauts 2 got a new launch trailer, and we got a better look at the Xbox-bound version of Microsoft Flight Simulator and some shiny vehicles for Forza Horizon 5.
I guess we go back to playing Hades on our Xboxes for now.
Last year, Peloton introduced its new lower-cost Peloton Tread to the market, which was around $1,800 cheaper than the original Tread+ ($4,295). However, the company had to recall both its treadmills after reports of several injuries and one fatality. The Tread had to be recalled because its touchscreen console could detach and fall.
There are, of course, improved safety features, including Tread Lock, a mandatory four-digit digital passcode to stop children from activating the treadmill. Tread Lock will be available for both All-Access members as well as those without. There’s also a physical safety key that a runner can pull to quickly stop during a class.
Starting this holiday season, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will have access to cloud gaming on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles. It could be a huge deal as you'll be able to fire up more than 100 games without having to download them at all. At some point in the future, Xbox One owners will be able to play some Series X/S games through the cloud, such as Microsoft Flight Simulator. Naturally, you won’t get the full next-gen experience on last-gen consoles, but Microsoft is targeting 1080p gameplay at 60 frames per second.
Arcade1Up’s latest arcade cabinets are aimed at a younger crowd. Much younger. The first two machines in the Arcade1Up Jr. line center around the Pac-Man and PAW Patrol franchises. The former includes a trio of arcade classics: Pac-Man, GalagaandDig Dug. The PAW Patrol system also features three games: Chase is in a Race, PAW Patrol Off Duty and PAW Patrol Pups on the Go! Prices will start at $280.
Bungie’s new expansion will have players facing off against the long-teased witch queen. There will be new crafting mechanics — which you’ll need to make new custom weapons and mods. The expansion was first expected to land earlier this year, but as the headline says, the new release date is currently early 2022.
The SNES wasn’t Nathan Ingraham’s first console. Like many kids of the ‘80s, he started with the NES. But that system never quite felt like his. But the Super NES, that console was his. After saving his allowance, finally, at some point in 1992, he had the console, two controllers and Super Mario World. And he never looked back.
Today’s Back to School guide features the best discounts for students. Like Amazon Prime, for $60 a year if you’re in college, with everything the regular package offers. Apple, meanwhile, will throw in free AirPods when you buy selected Macs or iPads to embark upon your educational dreams. On the laptop front, we’ve also scrubbed through the best gaming laptops for the most affordable machines we could find.
OK, we'll be honest: The 2021 Xbox Gamescom show was fluffy. It was a 90-minute live YouTube event populated by drawn-out developer interviews, a mini-documentary on the trebuchet and slightly exciting updates to mid-tier titles, but there were also a few bright spots. Xbox cloud gaming is heading to Xbox Series X, Series S and Xbox One this holiday season; Psychonauts 2 got a shiny new launch trailer, and we got a closer look at Microsoft Flight Simulator and Forza Horizon 5. Competitive multiplayer is heading to Microsoft Flight Simulator this fall, while Forza Horizon 5's cover cars look truly spectacular.
Microsoft is moving into the next phase of its plan to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to as many devices as possible, and it's one of the most important steps yet. Starting this holiday season, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will have access to cloud gaming on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles.
The company, which made the announcement during its Gamescom showcase, said you'll be able to fire up more than 100 games without having to download them first. At some point in the future, Xbox One owners can play some Series X/S games through the cloud, such as Microsoft Flight Simulator. You'll know a title is cloud gaming-compatible if you see a cloud icon next to it in the Game Pass library. Microsoft is targeting 1080p gameplay at 60 frames per second.
Just ahead of Gamescom's official opening, Microsoft is hosting its latest showcase on Tuesday. You can expect around 90 minutes of news and updates during the event, which starts at 1PM ET.
Microsoft is promising more info about Xbox Game Pass and some of the biggest upcoming Xbox titles, including details about some previously announced games from internal studios and third-party developers. Much of the focus will be on the company's holiday slate, so there's a good chance Xbox will finally reveal the release date for Halo Infinite (even if the game will lack a couple of core game modes at the outset). The event will also include another look at gameplay from Techland's Dying Light 2 Stay Human.
You can watch the Gamescom 2021 Xbox Stream on official Xbox channels on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, or simply watch it via the below embed. Microsoft is broadcasting the event on other platforms elsewhere, including Bilibili in China and VK in Russia. There'll be American Sign Language, German Sign Language and English audio description versions of the stream too. The company is subtitling the event in 30 languages, but not all of those will be available during the live broadcast.
It's worth noting that Xbox will stream the event in 1080p at 60 frames per second. A 4K version will be available on its YouTube channel afterward.
Zagreus might struggle to escape the Underworld, but he's no longer bound by the confines of PC and Nintendo Switch. Hades, widely regarded as one of the best games of 2020, is coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and PS5 on August 13th. It'll be on Xbox Game Pass on Xbox and PC on the same date.
Supergiant Games says the dungeon-crawling roguelike is targeting 60 frames per second at 1080p on Xbox One and PS4. It'll run at up to 60 fps in 4K on Series X/S and PS5.
Physical editions will come with a bonus download code for the soundtrack and a 32-page booklet. The Xbox One and Series X versions will be available on the same disk. Both the physical and digital PS4 versions offer a free upgrade to the digital PS5 version.
Unfortunately, unlike the Switch version, you won't be able to transfer Hades saves between PC and Xbox or PlayStation consoles. Still, Xbox and PlayStation owners will at last get their chance to tackle Hades again and again and again in a couple of months.
Sony officially owns both Crunchyroll and Funimation. Its Sony Pictures division completed the $1.175 billion acquisition yesterday and the plan now, according to CEO Tony Vinciquerra, is to "create a unified anime subscription experience as soon as possible."
For anime fans, it might be a relief that Sony’s purchase has gone through. Funimation pulled most of its content from Crunchyroll when Sony acquired a majority stake. This move should mean all this content can happily coexist on the same service (again).
Sony might have made a smart purchase. In an era of streaming services everywhere, it gets a dedicated audience that continues to grow. When Sony first announced the acquisition, Crunchyroll had 3 million subscribers. Less than a year later, there are 5 million paying for the service and 120 million registered users.
A surprise Xbox Series X/S optimization patch for Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice has appeared, three years after the action-adventure game arrived on Xbox One. Along with enhanced visuals, you can take advantage of ray-tracing on your next playthrough. A PC update is also in the works, although no word on a PS5 upgrade. Lest we forget, Ninja Theory is now a Microsoft studio. Continue reading.
Facebook has added two new destinations for when you want to move your data from the social network. In a blog post, the company said that users will be able to move their images to Photobucket and event listings to Google Calendar. It also promises a simpler and more intuitive process to move your data across. Continue reading.
According to a new report from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it's no longer possible to prevent the planet from heating over the next 20 to 30 years. Since the mid-19th century, the planet's temperature has increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius, or 2 degrees Fahrenheit, as a direct result of greenhouse gas emissions related to humans burning coal, oil and other fossil fuels for energy. "We can expect a significant jump in extreme weather over the next 20 or 30 years," climate scientist Piers Forster told The New York Times. "Things are unfortunately likely to get worse than they are today." Continue reading.
Before Gamescom 2021 gets officially underway on August 25th, Microsoft will kick off the all-digital event with a livestream of its own. The company will share an update on its holiday Xbox lineup on August 24th at 1PM ET/10AM PT. “Holiday lineup” will probably translate to more details on two of its biggest upcoming games, Starfield and Halo Infinite.Continue reading.
Before Gamescom 2021 gets officially underway on August 25th, Microsoft will kick off the all-digital event with a livestream of its own. The company will share an update on its holiday Xbox lineup on August 24th at 1PM ET/10AM PT. We don't expect Microsoft to announce too many new titles. Instead, it sounds like we'll see more of the games it highlighted at its E3 2021 presentation, including Starfield and Halo Infinite.
"You'll get in-depth updates from some of our previously announced Xbox Game Studios titles alongside some of our third-party partners, including some of the incredible titles coming to Xbox this holiday, upcoming releases to our monthly subscription service, Xbox Game Pass and much more," the company said.
Microsoft will stream the presentation to YouTube, Twitch, Facebook Gaming and Twitter. It also said today it would have more information to share about Xbox FanFest at a later date. As always, if you can't watch the livestream, we will have you covered after the event with coverage of all the biggest announcements.
Sony is adding Nier: Automata, Ghostrunner and Undertale to its PlayStation Now service, the company announced on Monday. Subscribers can play all three games starting on August 3rd, with Nier: Automata only available on the service until November 1st, 2021. While none of the titles Sony is adding tomorrow are exactly new or, for that matter, exclusive to PlayStation Now, they’re smart additions to the platform’s library all the same. Nier and Undertale are particularly well-regarded and just niche enough that not everyone has gone out of their way to play them.
As Sony looks for ways to counter Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Now subscribers can look forward to more high-profile games making their way to the platform. Back in May, the company said it was working on “strengthening” the service by investing in and partnering with external studios.
