Microsoft seems to have taken personal offense to the claims that they have no exclusives. With new studio acquisitions happening quite often for the company, something no one expected was them buying Zenimax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Software. The $7.5 billion deal is larger than Disney’s acquisition of Marvel and Star Wars, indicating that there’s probably more going on behind closed doors at Bethesda than we realize. Does this means games like DOOM, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Wolfenstein, Dishonored, and others will become Xbox exclusive? Let’s discuss. Microsoft Shuts Down The Haters by Throwing Their Wallet into The Ring Sony has some of the best studios on tap that you can ask for in gaming, but Bethesda is no slouch. Sure, their games ship with tons of bugs that people jokingly refer to as “features,” but their selection of franchises and developers is unparalleled. We know they are doing Elder Scrolls VI, and we know about Starfield which is a new science fiction RPG, but all of the franchises I listed above could also have next-gen offerings. For those worried about Deathloop, which is to be a PS5 exclusive at launch, Microsoft has said they will make good on promises like that one, but future games will be exclusive on a “game-by-game basis.” On top of this, Microsoft also said all future Bethesda games would be on Game Pass day one when they launch. Listen, I”m the biggest PlayStation fan in the room, but even I can admit when the competition delivers a crushing blow. It’s possible Microsoft will allow new games to be multiplatform, but it would be within their rights to keep everything under Xbox. Sony’s exclusives have been dipping their toes into the open world RPG genre with games like Ghost of Tsushima and Days Gone, but nothing has ever quite matched the scope of a Fallout 3 or a Skyrim. If those franchises became Xbox exclusive, it would give gamers plenty of reason to consider an Xbox under their TV. What do you think? How will this affect the new generation console war? Let us know in the comments! Article by – Bradley Ramsey Insert date – 9/22/2020

While we know a good amount about next generation consoles, the exact release date and price for both still allude us. After a final, major leak, Microsoft decided to pull back the curtain on Xbox Series S in the middle of the night (Eastern Time), on September 8th, 2020. Now we know that Xbox Series S and X are launching November 10th, 2020. We know the price, and we know that preorders open September 22nd. Time for Sony to drop their own details. Time For Sony to Speak Up! We’ve been waiting for these final details on next generation consoles, and for a time it seemed Microsoft and Sony were waiting to see who would blink first. The last of many major leaks about the second Xbox console seemed to be the tipping point for Microsoft. They admitted defeat and sent out a tweet in the early hours of the morning for U.S. folks, confirming the Xbox Series S and announcing a $299 price point for the budget console. ? Let’s make it official! Xbox Series S | Next-gen performance in the ˢᵐᵃˡˡᵉˢᵗ Xbox ever. $299 (ERP). Looking forward to sharing more! Soon. Promise. pic.twitter.com/8wIEpLPVEq — Xbox (@Xbox) September 8, 2020 While immensely less expensive than I think anyone was expecting, this is going to be a limited experience compared to the Series X or PS5. It still makes promises like raytracing, 1440p, 120FPS, and other features, but it’s also digital only (no disc drive), and the included SSD is only 512GB. We already know Microsoft will offer some sort of expandable solution for memory, but this small amount of space seems to indicate the Series S could be focused on streaming via xCloud. Microsoft also decided to reveal the Xbox Series X release date and price, which is November 10th, 2020 and $499 respectively. All of this on the 25th anniversary of the PlayStation’s original release, no less! I can’t imagine we’ll be waiting long for PS5 news, so stay tuned! Article by – Bradley Ramsey Insert date – 9/8/2020

While outsourcing to Chinese studios is common among AAA game development, these developers are starting to make games of their own. In August of 2020, the developers at Game Science released a 13-minute gameplay demo for Black Myth: Wukong, which looks to be an action RPG sporting some truly stunning next-gen visuals. Take a look: Apparently this is an alpha version of the game, but plans are to eventually release it on “all mainstream hardware.” It could be a while before we see the full release, but the story seems to be inspired by the clasic Journey to The West myth, which has been featured in games before like Monkey King and Enslaved: Odyssey to The West. What do you think of this early gameplay? Let us know in the comments! Article by – Bradley Ramsey Insert date – 8/20/2020

After the PS4 left the Xbox One in the dust this generation, Microsoft managed to turn things around with the introduction of Game Pass, which is an insanely good deal. However, Sony still has them beat in exclusives. Microsoft sought to remedy this with a huge string of acquisitions, and we saw some interesting new announcements during their July showcase, but it was Halo Infinite that seemed to be garnering the most hype for launch, even if the graphics left people less than impressed. Unfortunately, Halo Infinite will no longer be launching in 2020, which means that Microsoft lost one of its most promising titles for the launch window. Meanwhile, it seems Sony is going all in on exclusives, and making some offers of their own. Let’s dive in! Halo Infinite Delayed into 2021 Leaves Microsoft in a Weird Spot The announcement on Halo Infinite’s delay came in the middle of the day on August 11th, 2020, but it quickly gained traction on social media. It’s understandable that things are being delayed due to COVID-19, but I think we all assumed something as big as Halo would find its way out at launch no matter what. It’s a sobering reminder of the times we live in. Of course, this doesn’t stop people from delivering their takes on the news. No matter how you slice it, it deals a big blow to Xbox Series X for it’s launch, which was also confirmed today to be in November of 2020. The full statement is below: It’s understandable that things are being delayed due to COVID-19, but I think we all assumed something as big as Halo would find its way out at launch no matter what. It’s a sobering reminder of the times we live in. Of course, this doesn’t stop people from delivering their takes on the news. No matter how you slice it, it deals a big blow to Xbox Series X for it’s launch, which was also confirmed today to be in November of 2020. How does Sony and PS5 fit into this story? Well, as it turns out, Sony is already pushing to further their selection of exclusives on the new console. Sony Approaches Third-Party Studios With Exclusivity Deals While not confirmed by Sony, Imran Khan, who is known for cohosting at Kind Funny Games and freelancing in the game industry, revealed inside information recently that Sony has been approaching third-party studios. Specifically, he weighed in on a ResetEra thread about the topic, saying: There isn’t a major third party out there Sony failed to approach asking what kind of deals they could work out. Some had content, some had games, some had content and games. It is not like Microsoft was not willing to offer, they just didn’t want to pay the asking price, because Sony approached with pretty high numbers in the first place. That “PlayStation Advantage” branding and “Console Exclusive” wording are both going to get a lot of use in the next few years.” … Read More

Although Sony has showed us most of their hand when it comes to the PS5, there are still some crucial details we don’t know about. Namely: price and release date. Now that Sony has announced a State of Play stream this week, we’ll finally get some more gaming news, but is it the news we’re looking for? Let’s find out. All the Highlights from Sony’s August 2020 State of Play Stream! New details on Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. Keeps the classic look and feel. New platforming elements like wall running, rope swinging, and grinding. New skins to unlock as well. Quantum masks also give you new abilities like slowing time or flipping gravity. Play the entire game as Crash or Coco. Other characters to play as throughout. New visual mode lets you play with remixed visuals and styles that change gameplay. New updates on Hitman III. PSVR mode included! Play the entire trilogy in VR. Braid: Anniversary Edition announced with remastered visuals, improved gameplay, and developer commentary. Releasing in 2021. New PS5 footage of The Pathless. An open world mythic adventure game set in a vast forest. You’re a master archer. Fill your dash meter by shooting talismans in the environment. Focused on timing over aiming so you can move quickly. Use your eagle companion to navigate through the air and hunt for secrets. Finding crystals gives you upgrades. Solve puzzles as well in ancient structures. No map, but you look at the spirit world to find landmarks. Coming holiday 2020. Spelunky 2 updates. Online multiplayer is in. Build a community in the game by rescuing characters. Explore and interact in new ways. Hidden passages and branching paths.Coming September 15th, 2020 Genshin Impact looks like a slick new RPG coming this holiday to PS4.

While we’ve seen the PS5, and the new dashboard was teased, we’re still in the dark on new features. Thanks to a new game preview that was taken down shortly after publication, we now know about something called “activities” on PS5. Color us intrigued, let’s find out what it does! Taking The Resume Concept to The Next Level All of this comes from a preview posted by Gamereactor for a WRC 9, a racing game that’s coming to both current and next-gen consoles. In the article, we heard about this new PS5 system-level feature called “Activities.” It’s described as “an instant deeplink to specific races directly from the console’s menu.” While the article revealing this was taken down, Gematsu managed to screenshot this excerpt and tweeted it out: Gamereactor preview article for WRC 9 mentioned an unannounced #PS5 feature. Article was here but was taken offline: https://t.co/BIKFZEAhnL Archive: https://t.co/zVtjk94ux0 pic.twitter.com/5VdNwyEPpQ — Gematsu (@gematsucom) July 28, 2020 Given that this was an official preview, and that the article was promptly taken down, I’m thinking we can assume this is a real leak. While the PS4 did have a “rest” mode that could let you resume where you left off, this is something entirely different, and objectively better. In this case we’re talking about races, but it seems developers could possibly program other things into the experience. Think of it like an instant chapter select that doesn’t require starting the game at all. An example I’ve see is the ability to jump into a multiplayer queue for a specific mode without ever seeing the main menu. All-in-all pretty exciting stuff. How would you like to see this feature used in PS5 games? Let us know in the comments and tell us which other features you’d like to see in the new PS5 interface! Article by – Bradley Ramsey Insert date – 7/29/2020