Agents will fight to save Washington D.C. this time around.
It may well have leaked out before the show begins, but The Division 2 has now officially debuted at the Xbox E3 press conference and the first big question has been answered.
The action is moving to Washington D.C.
Microsoft has announced a new first-party development team while acquiring four existing studios.
Microsoft has announced five new game development studios joining its first-party lineup – doubling down on its commitment to top-tier games for Xbox One. Announced on stage at its E3 2018 press conference, the firm has kickstarted a new studio, while acquiring four existing teams from across the globe.
As we previously reported, "The Initiative" is a new in-house studio headed by Darrell Gallagher – former head of Crystal Dynamics and senior vice president at Activision. The new Santa Monica-based will work on "AAAA" experiences to further develop Microsoft's exclusive offerings.
Microsoft has also acquired "Playground Games" of Forza Horizon fame, State of Decay 2's "Undead Labs," "Compulsion Games" of We Happy Few, and "Ninja Theory" behind Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.
This makes for Microsoft Studio's biggest commitment to delivering first-party games so far, with some significant talent backing the publisher. While it might take time for new titles from these studios to surface, it paints a promising future for its gaming efforts.
Terry Crews goes ham in the latest Crackdown 3 trailer.
Crackdown 3 may have been the subject of development hell, with its release date now set for February 2019, but Microsoft was ready to show it off in action once again at E3 2018.
Tea and crumpets for everyone.
Microsoft, as expected, has unveiled a brand new Forza game for Xbox One and PC at E3 2018. Forza Horizon 4 is taking the open world action to the United Kingdom.
And on the Xbox One X there will be a 60 FPS mode.
Bethesda has debuted a new trailer for Fallout 76 at Microsoft's E3 2018 press conference.
Bethesda has taken to the stage at Microsoft's E3 2018 press conference, providing a first look at its next game within the Fallout series. Following its initial reveal last month, Fallout 76 is set to offer a new prequel set in West Virginia, pitched as the series "biggest" title yet.
Speaking at the show, Bethesda Game Studios director, Todd Howard announced Fallout 76 will be four times the size of 2015's Fallout 4. Paired alongside a second trailer, we now have a clearer idea of its premise and gameplay. Although its genre wasn't specifically outlined, it appears to retain the beloved third-person gameplay of recent role-playing games (RPGs).
We also learned Fallout 76 will be enhanced for Xbox One X, running at 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (HDR) support.
We still have a lot of questions about Fallout 76 – many likely to be answered at the publisher's E3 2018 press conference at 9:30 PM ET on June 10.
Access over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles anywhere.
Update: This deal is back in stock!
Xbox Game Pass is a new service by Microsoft which offers unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games with a regular payment of $10 per month. For a limited time however, Amazon is offering a six-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass for only $29.99. This offer takes 50% off the regular price of this membership. It'll be delivered as a digital code so you can easily activate it on your account within minutes after purchasing.
If this deal sells out at Amazon, you can also grab it via Best Buy currently.
Xbox exclusives like Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, and Crackdown 3 have premiered on the service the very same day those games became available to buy. The service features a range from well-known titles to critically acclaimed indie games which can be played on your Xbox One or Windows 10 PC. New games are added each month too, so you'll always have something new to play. The Xbox 360 titles available include some classic games which are still great to revisit to this day.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps looks absolutely gorgeous.
Following the surprise reveal of Halo: Infinite, Microsoft kicked off its E3 2018 conference with a bang by giving Ori fans a look at the series' next game, Ori and the Will of the Wisps -- an it looks absolutely gorgeous.
There's a new Halo coming with a new engine.
Today, Microsoft opened its E3 2018 briefing with a teaser for Halo Infinite which is powered by the new "Slipspace Engine". According to Phil Spencer, the game is Master Chief's greatest story yet.
Developing...
Keep an eye on WindowsCentral.com/Gaming for all the latest in Xbox and Windows 10 gaming, accessories, news, and reviews!
Our hands-on preview of Grand Operations on the Norway map
At E3 2018, Battlefield V was one of the EA's highlights. EA DICE's reimagining of World War II looked fantastic in its brief presentation. EA dropped details during the show, including gameplay types (Battle Royale, folks!), and hints at what was to come from the game's War Stories campaign mode. The highlight, though, was Grand Operations.
What sort of reaction do you normally receive from others when they see you rocking a Windows phone?
Using a Windows phone has always been met with a mixed bag of reactions from other smartphone owners. They're either interested in learning more about the unique object you have in your hand or react with shock and horror at something that isn't as amazing as their precious Android or iOS. Still, Windows phones continue to be used to this very day so we're interested
Will there be any surprises left for E3 2018?
A few days ago, Steam suffered from a rather embarrassing situation where the company accidentally leaked Just Cause 4. Numerous gamers around the world saw a news post on the Steam client which prompted them to "pre-purchase" the title.
Gifts for dad or gifts for you.
Father's Day is June 17, but Amazon is getting ahead of the curve with week-long sales on pretty much all hardware. You can get all these low prices with free shipping and some even bundled together for more savings. Here are all the deals available starting today:
Need a new gaming chair? Ikea will help you out in 2020.
Big clubs supporting esports is nothing new, but more names are being thrown into the pot, including Leicester City defender Christian Fuchs. Not only are more financial backers making their way into the arena, but retailers are looking at ways to tap into the huge gaming market. Ikea has announced plans to offer gaming and esports equipment in the next few years.
Square Enix has announced that its hit action role-playing game, Nier Automata, is finally releasing for Xbox One. Despite launch in early 2017 as a PlayStation 4 console exclusive, this latest version bundles together the base game and subsequent downloadable content (DLC) is a single package. The game is set to hit Xbox One on June 26, 2018.
One day only deal. Get it while it's hot.
The Instant Pot 8-quart multi-use programmable pressure cooker is down to $99.95 on Amazon. We share lots of Instant Pot deals, but almost all those deals have been for the 6-quart size or smaller. We haven't seen a deal on the 8-quart since Black Friday, and that was a less advanced model. If you have a larger family or very hungry children, you should go for this larger cooker. This price is $60 off what it normally goes for, but this deal is part of Amazon's Gold Box deals of the day and won't last long.
The 8-quart Duo Plus is meant for families of six or more people. It can work as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker or egg cooker. It can also saute, steam, warm, sterilize, and make cake. The 15 microprocessor-controlled programs make it easy to get the settings right. Users give it 4.5 stars based on more than 3,000 reviews.
Greece looks gorgeous in Assassin's Creed Odyssey.
A few days ago, an innocent little keychain leaked Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the latest entry in the staple Ubisoft franchise. While the publisher confirmed that the game was coming to Xbox One and other platforms, it didn't provide any screenshots. Luckily, that changed today because Gematsu managed to dig up numerous images from the E3 2018 gameplay session.
Tune into Microsoft's E3 2018 press conference for two hours on the future of Xbox.
E3 2018 is officially underway, setting the stage for some of the biggest game announcements of the year. Over the coming days, major publishers and platform holders are scheduled to hold press conferences – kicking off with Microsoft.
Microsoft's E3 briefing will provide details on the future of its gaming efforts, across Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. Games, hardware, and other Xbox-related products are expected too – along with a few surprises.
The Xbox E3 briefing starts at 4 PM EDT / 1 PM PDT / 9 PM BST and is currently expected to last around two hours. The conference will be hosted at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, with a variety of ways to watch from home too.
The prime streaming location is Xbox's Mixer channel, which offers 4K video and digital rewards when signed in. The stream will also be hosted on YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook. For those unable to watch, timely written coverage can also be found at Windows Central.
The first discount from Microsoft.
EA kicked off E3 2018 with an E3-adjacent conference yesterday, but Microsoft's conference is today and there better be a crap-ton of games involved. Microsoft seems pretty sure of itself because it's also hosting a number of exclusive deals to celebrate the event. Right now you can get the Xbox One X 1TB gaming console for $449 on Amazon, the Microsoft Store, and several other retailers. This is the first time since its release that Microsoft has issued a direct discount on the console, although we have seen better deals from others.
This isn't the only deal Microsoft is running right now. Get six months of Game Pass for $30, six months of Xbox Live for $25, $10 off wireless controllers, and more.
Follow all the E3 announcements with Windows Central, and if you're really interested in this console deal keep an eye out for a permanent price drop soon.
What are the best replacement bands for Fitbit Charge 2?
We all know how awesome the Fitbit Charge 2 is, but the bands can be pretty underwhelming — depending on your taste and sense of style.
There are a number of super creative alternatives out there, though, that can really make a statement. Here are some favorites!
If you're looking for a replacement band with minimal, simple yet stylish feel, then check out the Fitbit Charge 2 classic fitness replacement band from HUMENN!
Various U.S. retailers indicate an Xbox One X price cut may be on the horizon – dropping the console to $399.
Microsoft is soon set to host its E3 2018 press conference, where it's expected to debut the biggest games, hardware, and Xbox-related products of the year. Details on the show's contents have been mostly kept locked down, though some major surprises look to be ahead for Xbox One users.
The Xbox One X currently retails for $499 in the U.S. and this price has mostly remained fixed since its debut last year. Although various retailers are offering discounts on Xbox One consoles in tandem with E3 2018, Microsoft is yet to discuss permanent price cuts. But for those in the market for Microsoft's flagship Xbox One X console, you may be in luck – an imminent $100 reduction looks likely.
Here's how to deck out your ship in Sea of Thieves with hulls, figureheads, sails and flags.
Sea of Thieves starts players on equal footing, yet there's still a variety of way to stand out on the seas. With few upgrades and progression beyond your initial skill set, unique cosmetics are the main drive keep climbing to the ranks of Pirate Legend. A vast collection of ship cosmetics is also up for grabs, providing a fresh flair to your galleon or sloop.
We've wrapped up how to obtain and equip Sea of Thieves' ships cosmetics, following its latest update.
See at Amazon See at Microsoft Store
Kingdom Hearts III has been pushed back by a few months.
Kingdom Hearts III is one of the most anticipated titles coming out soon, and gamers have been eagerly anticipating news about the project for months now. Recently, Square Enix invited select outlets to preview the game and the results are rather interesting. According to publications like Tom's Guide, the game runs at 60 FPS on Xbox One X. However, when can gamers actually play it?
EA revealed new gameplay for Anthem and Battlefield V at the event.
Today, EA held its annual E3 press event called EA Play 2018. A lot of new games were announced and we got an in-depth look at Anthem on Xbox One X. You can read about everything the publisher announced at the press event below.
You can be a Jedi once again.
Today, EA Play 2018 took place in Los Angeles and the publisher revealed a lot of new experiences. Even though we didn't see a trailer, Respawn's Vince Zampella announced Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order for Xbox One and PC. This was one of the most surprising interviews because no one was expecting a title or even a tentative release date.