During a big update on expectation for the launch of Senua's Saga #Hellblade2, Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades has left the studio, confirmed by Xbox Game Studios acknowledging his unignorable absence on the latest updates of the game. The game has achieved Unreal Engine 5 visual benchmark, regardless being capped at 30 fps for Xbox consoles, it is touted as true next-gen experience & one of the best good-looking games so far as game's realistic FMVs scenes will match movie theater's quality at 24 fps. Hellblade 2's Storyline will be a narrative, linear action experience with very high production values, focus on story and cinematic craft, impactful combat & puzzles, expected to take players between 8 to 9 hours to complete. Combat system was designed to be a one on one only, slow-paced and expect to feel brutal with swinging your sword always feeling heavy & impactful. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 launches DIGITAL ONLY on Xbox & PC, both for sale & Day One release with Game Pass on May 21, 2024 with no physical version announced (yet maybe?). #Gaming #GameNews #youtubegaming 🕹 🎮

In a more than upbeat presentation than the "dire" scenarios that many outlets were rumoring, Microsoft Gaming finally came forward about the future of #Xbox and while acknowledging that all the mentioned things in the special Xbox Podcast episode were planned as early in December, it doesn't need to be taken a change of plans at all. Xbox Game Studios will be launching 4 unnamed games for Playstation 5 and Nintendo Switch and it was hinted that 2 of them are more than a year since launched, are community-drive games and no, is not neither Starfield nor Indiana Jones and for now they are not committing on more games. First party Xbox games will be on Game Pass with no End of date, including new launches and actually, new games will be releasing on Day1 and Game Pass is an Xbox service exclusively. Activision Blizzard King Games will be coming to Game Pass starting with Diablo IV on March 28th. Phil Spencer interestingly acknowledged that there is an importance of exclusive games for platforms, that includes Xbox, but he foresee that the strategy will be small part for the industry in between the next 5 to 10 years. Regardless of that, Xbox President Sarah Bond assured that Xbox is not abandoning the hardware business and actually, next-gen Xbox is already in development and we are inbound for some news this Holidays season but, Microsoft Gaming did not acknowledged the future of physical games while addressing Xbox's view on gaming preservation. Tomorrow I will be given my takeaways in a new gaming podcast episode. #Gaming #GameNews #youtubegaming 🕹🎮

Unfortunately for Sony this week, Rhysida hacker group went on their deadline after only 2% of the stolen data on their hack to #Playstation Studios' Insomniac Games was actually sold and the remaining 98% was released on the Dark Web. The loot is actually more than 1.3 million files totaling 1.67 terabytes and includes much more than anticipated than a swift hacking usually manages to copy. As expected in this kind of big stole, future games, and internal HR documents, budgets, more are in the public yes and as well Insomniac’s future projects, including the upcoming Marvel Wolverine game, a publishing agreement with Marvel that promises future games. Of course, the "promised games" is on the stipulation that Sony and Playstation needs to comply with goals set by both Disney and Marvel and maybe isn't just that Sony has strategically held the movies and videogames rights for Spider-man. Along with Wolverine, seems that Sony is ready to answer EA's take on Marvel Iron Man and now Bethesda/Xbox Game Studios's take on Marvel Blade as Insomniac landed a exclusive X-Men game, pending to be announced. As for more Marvel games, the Venom game is slated for a 2025 release, followed by a 2026 release of Wolverine and early estimate for X-Men is at 2030, which probably might see Iron Man and Blade being in this 7 years interval. Other documents reveals that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was not a total financial success despite being the flagship game for the launch of PS5 with a miss of 10% below Return Of Investment or in plain language, the game was not profitable at least in normal sales channel. A follow-up Ratchet & Clank main game is currently in development with a target release year of 2029. Finally and honestly I wasn't expecting anything centralized on the Playstation business and much-less being housed on one of Playstation Studios's servers but, here is the bad luck for Sony. Apparently, Insomniac Games had probably copies of documents that appears to be for Sony Interactive Entertainment to actually hold and there was a report on Steam sales of Playstation games brought to PC. Numbers includes: -Horizon Zero Dawn - 3.3 million units -God of War 2018 - 2.5 million units - Days Gone - 1.7 million units -Marvel Spider-Man Remastered 1.3 million units -Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves 483k units -Marvel Spider-Man: Miles Morales 450k units -Sackboy A big adventure - 62.9k units Surprisingly, there are documents related to the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft and as excepted, concentrate on the Call Of Duty side of thing including the fear that Microsoft could find ways to differentiate Xbox and Playstation versions of COD. Game Pass subscription and the public perception that Xbox has indeed "lost the console war" as a way to transform the gaming business in one that could have Playstation left behind because their premium sale model and pro hardware model as subs are more feasible for gamers The insistence that the Playstation model is outdated is because Sony feels that Activision Blizzard gives Microsoft strategic value in live service, mobile and PC Storefront and Microsoft can supply, console, PC and subscription services. Reminder, currently the main tasks that Activision Blizzard is working along side Xbox is the new Mobile game app store, reportedly being made from the best of Battle Net & Microsoft Store with King leading the project, which Microsoft has said was the main reason to buy ABK. And with this recap.... BE CAREFUL, Wolverine's leaks apparently are in the wild and there is a PROBABILITY of seeing videos of an early version BOOTABLE of the game as well pics and assets for the game. I am not spoiling anything after this post. #Gaming #GamingNews #Gamestr

Turn 10 boss Alan Hartman is now leading #Xbox Game Studios after 18 years tenure with Forza Motorsport developer. Microsoft Gaming restructured after the ABK deal closure and now Matt Booty is President of Game Content & Studios and Sarah Bond as Xbox VP. #Gaming #GamingNews

After almost an hour in a part where press/public were banned in the courtroom due non-public info discussion, Day 2 of FTC vs. Microsoft hearing is focusing on Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. TLDR Highlights: -Revenues formulas for both Xbox and Game Pass -Xbox is better competitive in USA and Europe -FTC trying Nintendo not being counted at all for sales metrics to help on their counterattacks on Xbox -FTC tried to have the "Xbox lost the console war" exploding back, but failed. -Sony claims 30% of games that are published on Playstation by Xbox Game Studios members. -Xbox lacks AAA 1st party games -Minecraft narrative brought in and basically Mojang is having no problem on the game being multi-platform but Playstation version feels behind Xbox, PC and Nintendo Switch because Sony's lack of support. -Spencer admitted conversations about already making Activision games skipping Playstation -FTC tried to imply that buying ABK is to avoid paying Call Of Duty fees, Spencer responded that Sony pays to have games published on Playstation, Xbox doesn't feel the need to do that. -Mincreaft Dungeons was almost an Xbox exclusive. -Spencer accused Sony on delaying sending PS5 dev kits to Mojang (Minecraft) because their skepticism of Microsoft being owner of the gaming studio.

Xbox Games Studios head Matt Booty responded to a suggestion that future Halo games can be co-developed by Call Of Duty studios from Activision, saying that it has to be requested, not imposed. Of course, IF the ABK acquisition survives the FTC & CMA. https://www.axios.com/2023/06/15/xbox-game-studios-matt-booty

Microsoft Games head Matt Booty claims that Xbox is on a new chapter for the remainder of the 9th Gaming Gen where Xbox Series S/X games as a reason for just stopping developing games for Xbox One games. As for Arkane, Microsoft has no plans to break the studio and let it be abosrbed within the Xbox Game Studios roster due Redfall's initial performance as this one is on XGS itself for not helping enough the studio. https://www.axios.com/2023/06/15/xbox-game-studios-matt-booty

We are one week away from the #Xbox Games Showcase and followed by a all-focused presentation of Starfield, Xbox Game Studios next main launch and Bethesda new IP in years, hoping to clean the bad tastes that Redfall left in many gamers. Mainly for Starfield, I foresee Bethesda y confirming that the game will reach 60fps BUT actually, capped at that frame rate even on 4K and maybe the 1K planets is not a day 1 content. Hope I am wrong!

Pro Playstation gamers are lucky that I am not interested in tracking every time that I cannot get the substance or the context on why Xbox buying Activision Blizzard is "bad" in a debate. I can swear that I have already been out of my fingers to count since months ago... Meanwhile...I may get the "you are 100% ok with the sale but, saying that Bobby Kotick getting benefit is bad, doesn't sound like you are counter-pointing yourself?!". To that I say if Microsoft is getting rid of him (last time I read it appears that he has no place in Xbox Game Studios) for the better of Activision, Blizzard and co., by Zeus then so be it!