While Microsoft had a blockbuster showcase last week with Starfield as the main feature, there were two notable absences, Microsoft’s main two action games before this new era: Halo and Gears of War. While Gears 6 is supposed to be in the works, Halo Infinite has shifted to its live service seasonal model with nebulous plans for Master Chief himself to return, as there were recent cuts to those working on campaign content at 343. In an interview with The Guardian, Phil Spencer was asked about Halo, which he says is still important,  but… “I wouldn’t say Halo is of lesser importance, but we have over 20 studios now,” Spencer said. “I’ll go back to the years where I had basically four games – Fable, Forza, Halo, Gears, the four horseman of the apocalypse. We have a lot more games now.” This was always the point of Microsoft picking up more and more studios, and big ones at that, so they could expand their reach past those limited franchises. The original Fable trilogy is ancient at thi

  Blizzard had a “Fireside Chat” about   Diablo 4   on Friday, which was not an official developer stream going over every nerf and buff coming, but they did reveal a lot of additions and quality of life changes that are coming either before, during or after season 1. Many of these are pain points in the community they are attempting to address as soon as they can, including some common questions about the upcoming season itself. Here are the highlights from the hour-ish long stream if you don’t have time to watch all that (which I did!). As announced previously, season 1 is still on track to launch in mid to late July, albeit no specific date has been announced yet. Nightmare Dungeons are not necessarily increasing mob density, but they will give more XP per monster, making them a better source of farming XP. Also, Nightmare Sigils will now teleport you directly into a dungeon rather than making you walk there, and once you finish one, you can pop another sigil and go directly to the

  Having been out for the best part of a month now, we think it's fair to say that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is going to be one of those games where we never stop discovering new things. In our playthroughs so far, these discoveries have had us grinning cheek to cheek on a pretty consistent basis, but that hasn't stopped the smiles from being wiped from our faces as we stumble across some game-changing mechanic at the 100-hour mark. The question of whether Tears of the Kingdom is "too open" of an open world (if there is such a thing) might be best left until we have a better idea of  everything  that this Hyrule has to offer, but the sheer range of possibilities and options does mean that there have been countless occasions where we stumbled across a new feature only to think "I really wish I knew about that earlier!" For us, the list of these features is growing longer by the day. A quick whip around Nintendo Life Towers produced a compendiu

  Some of Microsoft’s biggest missteps over the years have come not from being too late but rather too early, leaving the door open for competitors — especially Apple, it seems — to popularize a product category years later, when the technology and the market are ready. Pocket PC … iPhone Tablet PC … iPad HoloLens … Vision Pro? That last one sure looks like a possibility after Apple unveiled its new augmented reality headset this week. The device, which looks like a pair of high-tech ski goggles, lets users navigate with gestures in a manner very similar to Microsoft’s mixed reality headset, the first version of which was unveiled in 2015 and shipped in 2016. The similarities even extend to the language used by Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday, and then-HoloLens leader Alex Kipman at a Microsoft event in 2015. Cook:  “Vision Pro is a new kind of computer that augments reality by seamlessly blending the real world with the digital world. … You can see hear and interact with digital content

  Blizzard Entertainment developers previously confirmed the new Diablo title will include microtransactions. The game’s monetization comes in the form of a Battle Pass and Cosmetics Shop, neither of which will offer pay-to-win options. Addressing monetization in a blog post last year, Director of Product Kegan Clark noted the following, “Our goal in designing our in-game purchases is that we want to create beautiful things which add value to players’ experience of the game.” These good intentions aside, prospective players are already concerned about the pricing of certain in-game purchases. Diablo 4 players aren’t happy about prices of microtransactions Redditor Uberkull recently shared a screenshot highlighting the cost of a Wraith Lord cosmetic set. In terms of in-game currency, users can expect to spend 2,800 Platinum for the set, which translates to approximately $28. Needless to say, that’s a pretty big ask for cosmetics in a game that costs $70 upfront. Those looking forward to

  Naughty Dog, the renowned developer behind franchises such as Uncharted and The Last of Us, has released a statement on its multiplayer title in The Last of Us universe. In the post, the developer says it needs more time than originally forecasted for the multiplayer project, but softens the blow by teasing an unannounced single-player-focused game. "We know many of you have been looking forward to hearing more about our The Last of Us multiplayer game," the statement reads. "We're incredibly proud of the job our studio has done thus far, but as development has continued, we've realized what is best for the game is to give it more time. Our team will continue to work on the project, as well as our other games in development, including a brand new single-player experience; we look forward to sharing more soon. We're grateful to our fantastic community for your support – thank you for your passion for our games, it continues to drive us." This statement

  Assassin’s Creed Mirage   will not be released on Steam, according to a new announcement. The game is among the most anticipated   Ubisoft games for 2023 , so that’s fairly disappointing news for fans of the franchise who play on PC. After a few more RPG-focused releases,  Assassin’s Creed Mirage  promises to be more like the original games . Set in Baghdad with the assassin Basim as the protagonist, the title will return the franchise to its roots by focusing primarily on stealth and parkour once more. There are high hopes that  Mirage  may appeal to those that preferred the original  Assassin's Creed  style of gameplay. Unfortunately, PC players who only use Steam won’t be able to play  Assassin’s Creed Mirage  at launch. Aside from the console release, players will only be able to play  Assassin's Creed Mirage  on the Epic Games Store or through the official Ubisoft Store. Ubisoft has yet to clarify whether the title will be seen on Steam at a later date or not, so it may