Latest Xbox, multi-platform Game News & Updates
☁ Xbox, multi-platform News
645 articles
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformWill Persona 4 Revival feature Persona 4 Golden content?
With the Persona 4 Revival release date trailer, Atlus gave us a seems to have confirmed that Persona 4 Golden content is present in the remake.
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformFable 4 will indulge my cruelest impulses from Fable 3
2027's Fable promises to let you become once again a ruthless landlord in Albion, but will it carry the same emotional resonance as previous games?
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformFF7 Revelation's visionary is looking beyond a Final Fantasy 6 remake
It doesn't seem like director Naoki Hamaguchi wants to work on another remake after Final Fantasy VII Revelation
🎮 PlayStation, Xbox, Multi-platformDestiny 3 should make these 4 major changes (if it ever comes out)
Destiny 2 live service has ended, but with player counts reaching major heights, is it possible that Bungie might eventually develop Destiny 3?
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformMicrosoft hasn’t ruled out spinning off Xbox
Microsoft is preparing to lay off a significant chunk of its Xbox division and is reevaluating the plans for its next-generation Project Helix console. It's apparently also considering dramatically restructuring its relationship with Xbox, and hasn't ruled out spinning it off into a separate company. A new report from The Information suggests that Microsoft has &8230;
🎮 PlayStation, Xbox, Multi-platform007 First Light's 20-hour playtime is perfect for an action video game
Some 007 First Light players expressed frustration at the new Jame Bond game's length, but it's actually exactly as long (or short) as it needs to be.
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformNew Xbox boss wants new Fallout, Halo, and Elder Scrolls games ASAP
Reports reveal Microsoft is considering spinning off Xbox as it reinvests in it biggest franchises, like Halo, Fallout, and Elder Scrolls
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformWhat's new on Xbox Game Pass this week (June 8-12)
Here are some of the best new games to hit Xbox game Pass this week.
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformMicrosoft Considering Spinning Off Xbox, Speeding Up Elder Scrolls And Fallout Game Releases – Report
Microsoft's potential options for the future of the Xbox brand reportedly include spinning it off into a separate company or operating as a "wholly owned subsidiary" rather than a division within Microsoft. According to The Information(https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsoft-considered-spinning-xbox-plans-new-halo-fallout-games) (via Reuters(https://www.reuters.com/business/microsoft-has-considered-spinning-out-xbox-information-reports-2026-06-12/)), these are just a few of the options Microsoft is considering. Xbox has struggled mightily(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/is-xbox-fixable/) in recent years, most recently losing millions of subscribers(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-game-pass-lost-millions-of-subscribers-after-massive-price-hike-in-2025/) to its Game Pass subscription service after a major price hike. Game Pass has, at least partially, seen improvement following a price cut that also removed new Call of Duty games from the library. A spin-off would, on paper, make the Xbox brand free from the high-profit-margin expectations of Microsoft as a whole, though it would also no longer have access to the vast resources of such a large company. The Information's report also said Microsoft is planning to increase investment in a few of Xbox's biggest franchises, including Halo, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout, in order to speed up development, but just what that means remains unclear. The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 were both technically announced many years ago, with very few updates on either, while Halo: Campaign Evolved will serve as a stopgap of sorts when it launches next month--for the first time on PlayStation 5 in addition to Xbox and PC. That PS5 release may be a one-off for Halo, however, as Microsoft looks to renew focus on console exclusives. Gears of War: E-Day, for instance, reportedly had a PS5 version in the works, but is no longer coming to the platform(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-e-day-ps5-version-canceled-report-says/).
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformHow The Offspring Inspired Crazy Taxi And Became Inseparable From The Franchise
!Game Informer News(https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/bodydefault/public/2026/06/12/8d28e504/ss00d09430d63c17c5ec5cf19c4e957e250840e24f.1920x1080.jpg.webp) Ever since Crazy Taxi burst onto the scene in 1999, it has been associated with American rock band, The Offspring, in particular, the band's fast-paced 1997 track, "All I Want." The music became such a key part of the package that when the original entry in the series was brought to PS3, Xbox 360, and PC without the synonymous tracks from bands like The Offspring and punk-rock outfit Bad Religion, it was a major point of criticism from fans. We spoke with series creator Kenji Kanno(https://www.gameinformer.com/sgf-2026/2026/06/08/crazy-taxi-world-tour-producer-clarifies-ai-use) not long after the reveal of Crazy Taxi: World Tour(https://www.gameinformer.com/xbox-games-showcase/2026/06/07/crazy-taxi-and-the-offspring-are-back-in-world-tour-launching-next) on the importance of those songs and how they ended up in the series in the first place. According to Kanno, when he began developing a new Crazy Taxi game, as originally reported in 2022(https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/04/19/sega-reportedly-developing-big-budget-reboots-of-crazy-taxi-jet-set-radio), the conversation often circled back to the soundtrack. "Music is very important for Crazy Taxi," Kanno says. "Every time I talk to stakeholders about the game, they ask the same thing: 'Will you have The Offspring? Will you have Bad Religion?'" !Game Informer News(https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/bodydefault/public/2026/06/12/438f7595/ss24f2dcfd4e52bb49cc5c0bdac091a86563753ceb.1920x1080.jpg.webp) And the emphasis and importance placed on music in Crazy Taxi have been significant, dating back to the very first game. According to Kanno, it was integral to the development of the original title, and finding the soundtrack has been a crucial part of development in many of the projects he oversees. "When I design a game or when I create a game, the first thing I decide on is actually the theme song," Kanno says. "I decide on the song, and then I tell the development team, 'Hey, we're going to make a game based on this song,' and I make them listen to it on repeat. Like, they can be a designer, they can be a programmer; they have to listen to the song on repeat, and then they can work on the game with mimicking "All I Want" while pantomiming typing 'Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!' playing in the background. laughs" !The exterior of Tower Records in Shibuya(https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/bodydefault/public/2026/06/12/6f001197/img9222.jpg.webp "The exterior of Tower Records in Shibuya") The exterior of Tower Records in Shibuya As for how The Offspring landed in Crazy Taxi, it all stemmed from doing what many music fans who grew up in the '90s were accustomed to doing: going to a nearby record shop and sampling new music, hoping to find something that resonated. For Kanno, that journey took place in one of the most iconic record shops: Tower Records, which is still open to this day. "I went to Tower Records in Japan," he recalls. "I listened to a bunch of songs, like, all day. A bunch of songs all day, and when I came out, what I narrowed down to was The Offspring and Bad Religion." !Game Informer News(https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/bodydefault/public/2026/06/12/9b91ec8b/fn-hnqfxoaer7kg.jpg.webp) The upbeat tempos and punk rock vibes of those songs are felt throughout Crazy Taxi's design, so it makes sense that these songs were the starting point for the original game's creation. That moment was so important that a Tower Records location became one of the destinations in the original Crazy Taxi. Songs like "All I Want" and "Change The World" by The Offspring, as well as "Ten in 2010" by Bad Religion, became mainstays for Dreamcast owners and arcade-goers, so much so that all three of those songs were present in the demo of Crazy Taxi: World Tour that I had a chance to see. From everything we saw, Crazy Taxi: World Tour(https://www.gameinformer.com/product/crazy-taxi-world-tour) looks like an appropriately chaotic modernization of the original premise. However, the game has attracted some controversy upon the reveal that generative AI was used during its development(https://www.gameinformer.com/2026/06/07/sega-confirms-and-responds-to-generative-ai-content-in-new-crazy-taxi-game). We also asked Kanno about the team's use of that technology in development. You can read what he has to say on that topic here(https://www.gameinformer.com/sgf-2026/2026/06/08/crazy-taxi-world-tour-producer-clarifies-ai-use). Crazy Taxi: World Tour arrives on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC in 2027.
🎮 PlayStation, Xbox, Multi-platformGTA 5 Joins A Subscription Ahead Of GTA 6 Launch
Ahead of GTA 6's release this November, GTA 5 is now available on a subscription service, and it's Rockstar's own GTA+. The game's single-player campaign is now included with the GTA+ games library, while GTA+ members on PC can now get GTA Online through the games library. Available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, GTA+ costs $8/month and includes access to a library of games, as well as a variety of perks. Some of the other games included in the library are Bully, L.A. Noire, and Red Dead Redemption. Games don't always stay forever, though. !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/GTAOnline.jpg?w=1024) A scene from GTA Online. As for the perks, GTA+ subscribers get an allotment of $GTA 500,000 every month, access to "The Vinewood Club" in GTA Online, a free car each month, and other member benefits that change each month. GTA 5 has been available on Game Pass and PlayStation Plus for periods of time over the years, but it's no longer part of either library. The game keeps selling, too, as it's now passed 230 million units sold(https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/top-10-best-selling-video-games-of-all-time/2900-4814/). GTA 6 arrives on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but one of the many unanswered questions about the game is what the multiplayer may look like, or how GTA+ may factor in. Rockstar Games will kick off the marketing efforts for GTA 6 this summer, so it may not be much longer until we finally see and learn more about the game.
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformNew Xbox Exec Advocates For Something Everyone Hates To Help Save Gaming
Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball believes one way to help revitalize gaming is through something most people do not care for: in-game ads. Speaking to The Game Business(https://www.thegamebusiness.com/p/the-big-matthew-ball-interview-the), Ball said there exists a "two-sided problem" in the modern gaming space. Development costs for many games are now "way too high," and consumers do not want to pay more. Something has got to give, and one possible solution, as Ball sees it, is through advertising. He cited streaming TV as an example here, saying most of the growth for a variety of streaming platforms comes from ad-supported tiers. At the same time, people can still pay money to kill the ads on higher-priced tiers. While ad-based games are already prevalent and popular on mobile, they are less so on console. Finding a solution on console for ad-supported games could be one of the ways the gaming business can return to growth, Ball said. "The question is not can we cram ads in everything. The question is, are there opportunities that allow the people who can’t afford, or wouldn’t try, to have an onboard to our properties and franchises?" he said. Ball went on to say he has nothing to share about Microsoft's plans specifically, but he said companies would be smart to look at advertising to help grow and manage costs. “How do we keep our products affordable? How do we make sure that we can continue to fund outstanding work from our development teams? That’s the goal. It’s not about placing an ad in front of someone so that we can sell, you know, a pizza," he said. Ball previously advocated for more in-game ads(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pause-screen-ads-may-be-the-future-for-pc-and-console-says-expert/1100-6538447/), saying people should embrace them, or else things may just get worse for developers and consumers alike. "We don’t want layoffs, we don’t want fewer games, we don’t just want the same games … We don’t want price increases. The money needs to come in one way or another," he said. Developers have tried in-game ads before, like with EA Sports UFC 4's pause-screen ads. There was a swift and angry backlash(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-removes-in-game-ads-from-ufc-4-after-backlash/1100-6481859/), and EA removed these ads. Before that, Square Enix launched a gaming platform, Core Online, that allowed people to play games for free in exchange for watching ads, but people didn't embrace it and Square Enix quickly shut it down(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/square-enix-kills-ad-supported-streaming-service/1100-6417195/). Former BioWare veteran Mark Darrah recently said developers can make more money and help the industry become more sustainable by selling product placement(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/product-placement-can-help-save-the-aaa-games-business-former-bioware-dev-says/). “Product placement is a very small part of video games right now compared to movies and television. Maybe it could be a larger part of development. Maybe there are relationships there to be formed," he said. Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick, meanwhile, has said in-game ads for full-priced games "would seem unfair."(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/in-game-ads-for-full-price-games-would-seem-unfair-gta-6-parent-company-boss-says/1100-6538831/) Ball joined Xbox earlier this year as Chief Strategy Officer as part of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's new leadership team. He recently said Xbox languished under previous leaders Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/is-xbox-fixable/) and has said he is a "strategic optimist"(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/is-xbox-fixable/) when it comes to trying to fix Xbox. Sharma recently announced plans to "reset" the Xbox business, and this is expected to include more layoffs and possible studio closures in July(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-reportedly-planning-big-layoffs-for-next-month/).