Thank You Xbox For 2o Years Of Gaming

2021 marks the 20th Anniversary of Xbox and I wanted to celebrate it, in a way that brings the greatest community together.

I reached out to a ton of creators from around the globe to ask them all the same questions and here's how they responded:

Gamertag: HelloGhostly

Preferred Social Media: instagram.com/HelloGhostly

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Gears Of War

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Yakuza Like A Dragon

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: All The Gears Xbox Consoles

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you to all the fantastically talented people who have given us some of the most important gaming memories like meeting A fuzzy Kitty on Halo 3. Killed By A Fuzzy Kitty still makes my friend laugh to this day.

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Gamertag: Jobster

Preferred Social Media: instagram.com/Jobsterplaysxbox

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Forza Horizon 5

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Homemade X019 Shirt Signed By Phil Spencer

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you for the past 20 years of countless memories,games, and worlds to explore To change the gaming world with Xbox Game Pass and all the exciting new hardware and controller designs. Here’s to another 20 years of gaming.

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Gamertag: angelofdeathWHV

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/angelofdeathWHV

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Gears Of War

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Shadow Warrior 2

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Xbox LED

Dear Team Xbox: Congratulations and all the best for the 20th anniversary. Looking forward to the next 20 years of great games, with many beautiful stories and a lot of great hours of fun with wonderful games.

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Gamertag: gamermombie

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/gamermombie

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: A Plague Tale: Innocence

Any Treasured Xbox Memory: reaching over 200K gamerscore was a milestone for me but also all the fun Halo multiplayer game nights with friends.

Dear Team Xbox: Congratulations to 20 years of Xbox! After all these years, it is still my favorite console to play on, and I look forward to another 20 years of awesome content. Greeting from Germany

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Gamertag: XboxBoycie

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/Xboxboycie

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Forza Horizon And Forza Motorsports

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Gears Of War 4 Elite v2 Controller

Dear Team Xbox: I've been there from the very beginning and I'm still here today. I've had some of the greatest times with both friends and my sons who grew up playing Xbox. You've made some of the hardest times easier and the good times better. Thank you for the last 20 years, keep up the amazing work!

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Gamertag: Ferntendo64

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/ferntendo64

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Sea Of Thieves

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Stardew Valley

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Design Lab Controller

Dear Team Xbox: Will there be an Everwild controller and if not. Can you make an Everwild controller?

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Gamertag: Shadow Elites

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/shadoweliteryze

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: A Plague’s Tale

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Halo 3 Limited Edition Helmet

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Gamertag: Marcusoft365

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/marcusoft365

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Gears Of War

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Hades

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Halo 3 Legendary Edition Master Chief Helmet

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Gamertag: xBRASKOx

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/gamingwithbrasko

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo/Gears/Ori

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: The Artful Escape, Echo Generation and 12 Minutes

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Gears Of War Marcus Fenix CE Statue

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Gamertag: xeneriith

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/xeneriith

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Gears Of War

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Gears Of War 3 And Forza Horizon 5

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Gears Of War 4 Xbox One S

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you for all the gaming memories you’ve given me and for the best subscription service ever!

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Gamertag: I Faction I

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/xbox_faction

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Gears Of War

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Maneater

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Xbox Fanfest Merch from Cologne Germany

Dear Team Xbox: Love you all but please figure a solution to stop scalpers

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Gamertag: MysticalDoom

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/mystical_doom

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Gears Of War

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Moonglow Bay

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Xbox Design Labs Controller

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Gamertag: Swoosh 117

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/swoosh_tech

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Forza Horizon 5

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Halo Master Chief Helmet

Dear Team Xbox: Keep up the momentum and i look forward to what Xbox Game Studio has in store for us next year.

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Gamertag: ChillLikeMe

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/unboxedwithjosh

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Halo Master Chief Collection

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Xbox Fanfest dpad and Coin from 2019

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Gamertag: Frankauss

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/oldnorton

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Fable

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: The Artful Escape

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Sealed Copy Of Mass Effect

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you for putting players first!

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Gamertag: GothamGames

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/gotham.games

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Sea Of Thieves

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Forza Horizon 5 And Sea Of Thieves

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: All The Limited Edition Controllers

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you for two decades of the most amazing memories. Not only have I’ve met new people, we.ve gained friendships along the way. Explored endless worlds and battled to be the best we can. Here’s to plenty more to come, as you’ve rightly said before “ When everybody plays, we all win.”

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Gamertag: Hatouma23

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/xbox.collector

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Forza and Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Flight Simulator, Sea Of Thieves and Forza.

Any Treasured Xbox Memories: Halo Lan Parties, 4 player local was so fun. I miss it a ton

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you for such a fantastic start to this generation of consoles, please can you do more split-screen games in the future. Nothing beats playing a game with a friend right next to you. I can’t wait for all the amazing games coming in the future!

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Gamertag: ImThimble

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/im_thimble

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Fable

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Fable 2

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Gold plated Xbox360 from Swedish launch

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Gamertag: Chantor x

Preferred Social Media: Instagram.com/chantor

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Fable (But I’m hopeful Avowed will join it)

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Deep Rock Galactic is fantastic and it has accessbility options to reduce flashing images for epiletic players. Back 4 Blood is really good too

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: I lost my OG Xbox console in a house fire but i still have my women in gaming controller and a neon green light that was sent to me directly from Xbox.

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you for fostering such a beautiful community of collectors and passionate people.I’ve made lifelong friends due to Xbox and i can’t thank you enough for the ability you provide to connect people.Thank you for also being the most accessible platform, it means the world to the disabled community!

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Gamertag: Ratastrophe24

Preferred Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/the_gaming_anthologist

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Carrion

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Hyperspace Controller

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you for all the invaluable work over the past twenty years, I can’t wait to see what the next twenty bring. Happy Anniversary!

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Gamertag: SegaManAU

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/retrogamerx1987

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Psychonaunts 2

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Dark Knight Xbox360 Console

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you for 20 years of amazing memories, I’m looking forward to the next 20!

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Gamertag: TheBigRogueBear

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/thebigroguebear

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Forza Horizon 5

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: My OG Xbox Console

Dear Team Xbox: I love all the amazing work you do at Xbox, keep crushing goals and reaching the highest of heights!

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Gamertag: kimibombonica

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/kimi.bombonica

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Sea Of Thieves

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Xbox Shoe Laces

Dear Team Xbox: In a world where many things are possible, you have made it even more possible. Apart from the great consoles and games that you share with us, I think it's important to express my thanks to other aspects, such as acceptance, tolerance, diversity, and freedom. For me, it is always particularly important that a company represents certain values and that it accepts outwardly, which you do. Thanks for 20 years and i look forward to more. Happy Birthday, Xbox!

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Gamertag: x MonstaZicke x

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/roberta_x143

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Destiny 2/ Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order/ Halo Master Chief Collection

Any Treasured Xbox Memory: Metting Master Chief at Gamescom

Dear Team Xbox: Congratulations on 20 years of Xbox, you are awesome, and please keep up the great work! I am happy to be a part of this great community and I wish you all the best!

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Gamertag: LoyalRex

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/loyalrex

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo and Fable

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Forza Horizon 5, Hellblade and Control

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Xbox Controllers

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Gamertag: CocoFatale

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/cocofatale

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Dragon Age Inquisition, A Plagues Tale Innocence, Fable 2, and Halo. I could keep going

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: My special edition Xbox Controllers

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you so much for all that you do and for providing so much happiness in my life! You are paving the way for the future of gaming and I am so happy I get to be apart of it.

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Gamertag: fozzdike

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/fozzdikes.world

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Hellblade

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: It Takes Two, Bioshock and Hellblade

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Bioshock Statue

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you for working so hard to make xbox games so accessivle to everyone. Even without a console, players can now enjoy the games whether it's on there phone or computer.

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Gamertag: BravoSIX2020

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/bravosix2020

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Forza

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Forza Horizon 5

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: The OG Xbox console

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you for everything you've achieved in the past 20 years, I have enjoyed every second of it and I can't wait for what's coming. You've truly created a platform not just for gaming but for making friendships too. Here's to many more years and Thank You Again Team Xbox.

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Gamertag: Eightbitbeanzie

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/eightbitbeanzie

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Age Of Empire 4, Sea Of Thieves, and Forza Horizon 5

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: The OG Xbox console

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you so much to the Xbox team for providing us with such amazing times. You do such fantastic things for the community and I can't wait to see what the future holds for Xbox.

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Gamertag: M3lzii6

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/m3lzii6

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Age Of Empire 4 and Forza Horizon 5

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: The OG Xbox console and Halo 3 Legendary Edition Helmet

Dear Team Xbox: Continue being amazing Team Xbox. Every year they just keep surprising us with awesome additions to Xbox and Game Pass. They are always very interactive with their community and care about everyone in the Xbox family.

Proud to be apart of Team Xbox.

Gamertag: FurySevenSix

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/furysevensix

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo or Forza, Can’t pick

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Fallout 76, Forza Horizon 5, Skyrim, Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Star Wars Console signed by Carrie Fisher, Merch from Xbox 360 Biggest Water Balloon Fight or “I Made This” Launch Team E3 Xbox 360 Face plate.

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you, thank you so much for helping me connect with so many other people and make some incredible friends around the globe.

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Gamertag: Albahaaa182

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/_albahaaa_

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo or Gears Of War

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Dishonored, Mirror’s Edge, Fable or A Plague Tales: Innocence

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Halo 3 and Halo 4 limited Edition Consoles

Dear Team Xbox: Looking forward to more BIG exclusives :)

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Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/dasretromaedel

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Gears Of War and Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Battlefield V, DOOM, Jurrasic World Evolution and so many more

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Xbox Series X

Dear Team Xbox: Thanks for making our lives more fun with plenty of games and adventures to experience

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Gamertag: YTGEEKSTREET

Preferred Social Media: www.youtube.com/c/GeekStreet

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Forza

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Forza

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Razer Xbox Controller

Dear Team Xbox: 💚

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Gamertag: ReadyorNot

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/fledermausexpress

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Halo

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: All the Final Fantasy Games

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Xbox Controllers

Dear Team Xbox: Keep making such great games that we will have so much fun with. Looking forward to the next 20 years of great gaming experiences.

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Gamertag: Doomcut1e

Preferred Social Media: www.instagram.com/doomcutie

What's your favorite Xbox Franchise: Forza Horizon

Xbox Game Pass Recommendation: Forza Horizon 5

Any Treasured Xbox Memorabilia: Xbox T-Shirt

Dear Team Xbox: Thank you for always doing better than you have before. That’s the true meaning of winning!

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Thank you so much to everyone who sent their responses in for this, it was a metric ton of work to create but i'm exetremely happy with how it's turned out and i hope you like it just much as i do. Xbox has fostered one of the most loving communities on the internet and for that i want to not just thank you the community but all the hard working developers, studios and Xbox themselves.

Thank you for 20 years of gaming memories and friendships.

Happy 20th Anniversary Team Xbox!

Dolby Vision For Gaming Available On Xbox Series X|S Now

Microsoft continues to break ground when it comes to incorporating new technology into its platforms with the addition of Dolby Vision on the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series, It's also the first console this tech has come to.

The new feature will be available for over 100 next-gen titles, with it boosting visual enhancements on thousands of classic HDR10 and Auto HDR games.

Players will see an improvement with "incredible brightness, color, contrast, and detail" for applicable TVs. It will also work in unison with current Xbox Series X|S features, such as "DirectX raytracing, automatic low-latency mode, variable refresh rate, and up to 120FPS".

Here's a quote regarding the addition:

"Starting today, gamers with compatible Dolby Vision-enabled TVs will be able to enjoy full-spectrum visuals with the rollout of Dolby Vision gaming on Xbox Series X|S. With Dolby Vision, epic worlds – such as lush rainforests or neon futuristic cities – are brought to life in more vivid color.

Dolby Vision deepens your immersion into the experience by enabling you to see an enemy hiding in the shadows or spot hidden clues through expanded contrast and better clarity in both bright and dark scenes."

The easiest way to check if your setup is compatible is by doing the following steps on your Xbox:

Go to Settings

Select General

Select TV & Display Options

Select 4K TV Details.

From there, you'll be able to see if you can tick the option to enable Dolby Vision on your console.

This isn't something I've personally experienced myself but i don't have a huge infinity for Dolby products, specifically, I'm not a fan of Dolby Atmos for gaming. I personally prefer Stereo for competitive games such as Apex Legends or Halo Infinite but i know that's more down to a preference rather than the software not being very good.

Marvel's Avengers Coming To Xbox Game Pass

Xbox has announced that Marvel's Avengers is coming to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC on September 30.

The Xbox Game Pass version is described as the "complete Marvel’s Avengers experience", including all previously released free content which includes the recent War for Wakanda expansion which launched in August.

Depending on which platform you play on, you'll get access to the appropriate version, for example, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will get the benefits of the next generation upgrade such as improved visuals, frame rates, and load times.

Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics had the following to say:

"We just launched our biggest expansion to date for Marvel’s Avengers – Black Panther: War for Wakanda. We’ve loved seeing your reactions to the new campaign, and today we’re excited to announce that we’re making the complete Marvel’s Avengers experience, including all previously released free content, available with Xbox Game Pass for PC, Console, and Cloud on September 30."

Lastly, the fine people at Square Enix will be holding a Quad XP event from September 30 to October 4 to help new players level up quicker.

I personally haven't played the game as I'm really not a fan of making Spider-Man an exclusive character from a third-party standpoint. I will be giving this game a chance when it launches on Game Pass but i will be playing with a heavy dose of skepitise as the addition is clearly due to the lack of playerbase and sales.

Persona Teases Seven Announcements To Celebrate 25th Anniversary

Atlus has revealed some plans to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Persona series with seven announcements over the course of the coming year.

The company announced a new website dedicated solely to the celebrations and the upcoming announcements where they thanked fans for their support in pushing the series to sell more than 15 million copies. The website continued on to promise that there will be seven announcements that will include “25th commemorative goods, various events, collaborations, and of course game information.” The celebrations will kick off in September and will run until Autumn 2022.

That's pretty much all the details they revealed on it but let's speculate a little on what they could possibly show.

I think it's highly likely we'll see Persona 5 Royal or Persona 4: Golden come to other platforms either this year or early next year. At least I could see P5R coming to PC with a possibility of it also hitting Xbox consoles or Nintendo Switch, look I've played Persona 5 three times so I'll probably play it again if it came to Xbox. Lastly, I could see them teasing a Persona 6 with a short trailer similar to how they originally teased Persona 5, so a non-discript trailer basically tells us nothing. Hopefully, they'll finally have some big game news to share with Persona and not just look here buy some merchandise.

Psychonauts 2 Will Feature An Invincibility Mode

Psychonauts 2 is taking steps to make the upcoming squeal more accessible to all types of players.

The discussion kicked off with Xbox tweeting the following: "Beating the game on the lowest difficulty is still beating the game". As you could probably tell, the discussion of difficulty exploded and Double Fine decided to jump in and add the following: "if you beat Psychonauts 2 with the invincibility toggle on, you still beat [the game]"

They elaborated further by saying:

"uh, excuse me I beat Sword Guy Serious Time on a no hit hard mode and if didn't do that I don't respect you. and like, can you even comment on things if you're not diamond six rank in shooty mcBlam? I don't think so

cool bud. you're soooo cool! 🙃"

They added: "All people should be able to enjoy games. All ages, all possible needs. It's an ongoing and important process for our industry and a challenge we need to met.

End of the day? We want you to have fun, to laugh, to experience a story that affects you. On whatever terms you want."

I honestly love seeing the addition of mechanics that make games accessible to more players, i totally understand the discussion of wanting creators to make the games they want and playing them in those types of ways. However, I also find that extremely counterintuitive to what games are about, which is fun. As a disabled gamer who loves to play, Thank you Double FIne and Thank you to any studio that believes that games are for everyone regardless of what barriers a player may face. My life is already set to Hard Mode with modifiers, I'm gonna stick to keeping my gaming to Normal difficulty thanks.

Lost Judgment Could Reportedly Be The Last Entry In The Series

Lost Judgment, the upcoming squeal to Judgment could be the end of the series before it even launches according to recent reports.

A new report from Japanese website Nikkan Taishu, the site has apparently heard about ongoing disputes between SEGA and actor Takuya Kimura’s talent agency, Johnny & Associates. The issue seemed to stem from the agency not wanting Kimura to be in a PC version of the game.

the agency supposedly "has strict control over the [likeness] rights of its talent, and the use of their image online is still limited to a few". It's not clear why the company wants to block the titles from PC specifically but my guess would be due to the openness of the platform. Sadly due to the dispute, future installments of the game are said to possibly never be released.

The reason behind this, according to the report, is if they can't "distribute the game on Steam, it would be very difficult from a business standpoint, and the series will end with the second game, Lost Judgment.”

There's no official word of this yet, so take everything as a rumor but this could cause problems with the future of the Yakuza series too. SEGA recently confirmed that the beat-em-up style of gameplay would live on in Judgment while Yakuza would be making the switch to turn based combat after Yakuza Like A Dragon. This whole ordeal if true would kinda mess up those plans, however it's also possible that they just end up switching up the protagnist for future Judgment games which would be a shame as i love Tak as a character and can't wait to experinece more of his story but i'd rather that than see this series go away.

PlayStation's Next State Of Play Announced

Sony has announced the new State Of Play for July 8th that will feature 9 minutes of gameplay for Deathloop as well as some info for upcoming Indie titles.

The Deathloop gameplay will apparently feature one of the main characters Cole showcasing his abilities in both stealth moments and all-out guns-blazing combat. The show will also show updates on some exciting indie and third-party games which kinda feels like a reaction to the recent discussion around PlayStation's lack of support of indie game developers and the PlayStation storefront.

They also confirmed some games and hardware that won't be at the showcase which go as followed:

the next God of War

Horizon Forbidden West

next generation of PlayStation VR

I don't understand why PlayStation isn't showing what we'll have to play this year on PS5, the obvious conclusion is that they don't have anything. Most of the gaming companies have seemingly revealed there hand of what's coming this year and EA is planning to over the course of the next month. But PlayStation, one of the biggest platforms in the space hasn't shown anything, i really hope they have something but if your a PlayStation player i wouldn't get your hopes up.

If you wanna check out the 30-minute show, it will kick off at 2 pm Pacific / 5 pm Eastern / 11 pm CEST and will be viewable on both Twitch and YouTube.

Nintendo Switch OLED model is official and coming October

Nintendo has finally revealed a brand new version of the Nintendo Switch which is called the Nintendo Switch OLED Model and it's releasing this October.

The new version includes a 7-inch OLED screen, which Nintendo promises will have more vivid colors and a higher contrast than the original model.

The Nintendo Switch OLED version will also include 64GB of storage which can be easily expanded with a memory card similar to the older models. It also will come with a wider adjustable stand which will provide more viewing angles than before while the device is in tabletop mode. Sadly the new dock is very similar to the older model with the only improvement being the addition of a LAN Port, it'll still only play in 1080P. Lastly, the new model promises to have “enhanced audio” through improved onboard speakers

The Nintendo Switch OLED Model will come in the two stunning colors that include the usual Neon blue/Neon red Joycon or my favorite of two which is a more sleek white version that includes white Joycons and a white dock. Almost all existing Nintendo Switch accessories should work fine with the new hardware, with the exception of some like Nintendo Labo kits which might not work due to the changes in size of the new model.

The Nintendo Switch OLED Model will launch on October 8 and will be priced at $349.99 in the US and it'll equate to around £250 in the UK.

Casey Hudson forms Humanoid Studios

Casey Hudson who previously worked on Mass Effect is now forming a brand new independent studio called Humanoid Studios.

Hudson announced the studio on Twitter by saying the following:#Today we are announcing a new independent videogame company built to unleash the creative freedom of developers – bringing innovation and artistry to players through an all-new IP.”

Little is known on what the new studio will be creating but the website states that the studio is still searching for key development roles such as Senior Gameplay & Level Designers, Environment Artists, and a Senior Creative Director.

It's always exciting to see a new studio’s form of known talent from the industry and I can't wait to see what the folks at Humanoid end up making.

id Software Unknown Project Rated By Aussie Classification Board

A rating has appeared online for an untitled project by id Software which was on the Australian Classification Board yesterday.

It was registered under the codenamed 'Project 2021B' but it's currently unknown what this game could possibly be. The code name is similar to a prior 'Project 2021A' which ended up being DOOM 3 for PSVR.

The listing was rated 'M' for Mature, has online interactivity, and is down as a multiplatform release. This is significantly different from Project 2021A which was rated as R18+ and was classified as a Virtual Reality game.

I personally don't think it's another DOOM game as I think it would have gotten the same rating as prior games. It's more than likely related to Quake, especially with QuakeCon being in August this year. Maybe it's along the lines of a collection of older games remastered or maybe a brand new reimagining of Quake. They did it for DOOM, so I trust them to be able to do the say for Quake. Either way, we'll probably find out more in the coming months.

Xbox Cloud Gaming Is Now Available on PC and Apple devices

Xbox has confirmed that Xbox Cloud Gaming is now available on PC and Apple devices via web browser for all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.

Announced via the Xbox Wire, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers in 22 countries can now access the service by going to Xbox.com/play on the compatible browsers that include Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Chrome with a connected controller. Then you'll be able to access the library of cloud-compatible games like Yakuza Like A Dragon, Minecraft Dungeons, and much more.

Lastly, the company has also confirmed it’s made improvements to the Xbox Cloud Gaming servers which are now powered by custom Xbox Series X hardware. Sadly due to bandwidth constraints, streaming-only goes up to 1080p and 60FPS. However, Xbox promise “going forward we’ll continue to innovate and add more features to enhance your cloud gaming experience.”

I've yet to use the service but plan to in the near future when it's possible to travel, I spend a lot of time at home as of late and i own an Xbox Series X. So it's not something I currently use but it'll definitely will bea service i'll use eventually.

Next Batch Of Games Coming To Xbox Game Pass In Late June

Microsoft has announced the next batch of games coming to Xbox Game Pass for the next two weeks, it's a bit of an odd list though.

The full list of games goes as followed:

Worms Rumble (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – Available Today

Iron Harvest (PC) – June 24

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered (Console and PC) EA Play – June 24

Prodeus (Game Preview) (PC) ID@Xbox – June 24

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Cloud) – July 1

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – July 1

Gang Beasts (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – July 1

Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars (Cloud, Console, and PC) – July 1

Limbo (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – July 1

There's also one other game that will available earlier for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members via the perks section in the form of Space Jam: A New Legacy – The Game available on July 1st. However it will be free for everyone on the 15th, so it's kinda early access.

This batch of games is just okay in my opinion, Gangbeasts is great but that's about it. They did just add Yakuza Like A Dragon though and that game is absolutely fantastic, so go play that instead.

In other news, the Xbox Game Pass Twitter is seemingly hinting at the possible addition of Judgment to Xbox Game Pass in the near future. Judgment is a spin-off of the Yakuza series so it would make sense to drop in the game into the service before the launch of the squeal Lost Judgment in September. I personally think August would be a great time to add that game as it would give ample time to play through the 80 hours of amazingness.

Blizzard's Cross-Play Update Has Arrived In Overwatch

Blizzard has announced that the cross-play update is now available on Overwatch for all platforms.

To play with other platforms, you’ll need to link your console to your Battle.net account. Crossplay is sadly not available in the Competitive mode. it is however in Quick Play, Arcade, and Custom. All players that log in during 2021 will be gifted with a Golden Loot Box, which as you would guess gave me a skin I already own. Thanks for the currency I can't use until the next event.

Lastly, the update came with a new limited-time Ashe’s Deadlock Challenge event but they've made unlocking the skin take longer with it now being 27 played matches with a win counting as 2. Players can earn rewards such as player icons, sprays, and a Legendary Deadlock Ashe skin before the event ends on July 5.

The cross-play update is for Overwatch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Kim Swift joins Xbox Game Studios Publishing

Xbox Game Studios Publishing has announced that the creator of Portal Kim Swift will be joining the team.

Announced via Twitter, they said the following “Our team focuses on three pillars in our games: Community, Innovation and Inclusivity. Today, @K2TheSwift joins us in XGS Publishing to accelerate our Innovation and collaborate with independent studios to build games for the cloud.”

There’s no word on what specific games Kim Swift might be working on at Xbox Game Studios Publishing, but the focus of XGS Publishing includes games such as Microsoft Flight Simulator, Contraband and Tell Me Why.

All of the above-mentioned games have something in common, they're all third-party deals with other developers. Hopefully, this means that there will be a continued focus on making deals to get more game pass exclusives for Xbox.

Either way, the future of Xbox is looking super interesting and I can't wait to see how it all plays out.

Cyberpunk 2077 returns to the PlayStation Store

CD Projekt Red has announced that Cyberpunk 2077 has finally returned to the PlayStation Store after a newly launched patch.

In the announcement tweet, the studio confirmed that the game is playable on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 and that a free next-gen upgrade is still coming towards the second half of 2021. However, they also warned players that they “may continue to experience some performance issues with the PS4 edition while we continue to improve stability across all platforms.”

Both the Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter page and PlayStation's Twitter account have encouraged players to play on either a PlayStation 4 Pro or PlayStation 5 console to get the best possible experience.

I personally played the game at launch on the Xbox Series X and I did have an okay time with the game but I also ran into a ton of bugs throughout. I can comment on the state of the game today but some of the standout issues I had with the game was missing out on important story points due to a cut scene bug. Overall I still went to get the full 100% of the achievements but I can't see myself returning until a substantial DLC is launched.

The Switch Pro Is Reported To Launch In September

The Nintendo Switch Pro rumors have been swirling around for a while now but according to a new report, we could hear about the upgraded console soon.

The report comes from Bloomberg, who said that the assembly of a new Nintendo Switch model is to begin in July, with the new console arriving on shelves by September or October.

According to Bloomberg's sources who have asked not to be named, the new console will likely be priced higher than the RRP of the standard Nintendo Switch with the dock, but will also replace that model as the older machine is phased out.

Eurogamer went on to say they've corroborating Bloomberg's report their own sources and added that

an announcement is expected before E3, to give third-party developers and publishers currently working on games for the new hardware the ability to announce their games at the event.

As usual, take the report with a grain of salt as Nintendo has yet to comment on the report. It would make a ton of sense though, especially since Xbox has been teasing a possibility of the two companies working together. This new hardware could be capable of you know, running Xbox Game Pass. That's all speculation on my part but i think Xbox has to do something BIG for E3 2021 and this would be a gigantic move for both companies.

PlayStation Plus Games For June Announced

PlayStation has announced three upcoming games that will be available to PlayStation Plus subscribers during the month of June.

Here's the list of games:

Operation Tango (PS5)

Star Wars: Squadrons (PS4)

Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (PS4)

All three games will be available on PlayStation Plus from June 1, and Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown will be redeemable for the next two months. However, Operation Tango and Star Wars: Squadrons will both leave the service on July 5.

Xbox And Bethesda Announce Joint E3 Games Showcase

Xbox and Bethesda have finally confirmed their plans for E3 2021, where they'll be holding a joint Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on Sunday, June 13.

The announcement from Xbox Wire revealed that the broadcast will kick off at 6 PM GMT and promises a 90-minute show "packed with everything you want to know about the epic gaming lineup coming out of this partnership, the incredible games coming to Xbox this holiday, upcoming releases on Xbox Game Pass and more."

What we'll see at the show is currently unknown but Halo characters, Starfield, and some numbers were shown on the image announcing the date.

We can always speculate what will show up, which I'd assume a release date and multiplayer gameplay for Halo Infinite, Starfield finally showing some gameplay and I'd guess a new Forza of some sorts. (most likely the rumored Forza Horizon 5 set in Mexico)

I also think it's a safe bet to say that Psychonauts 2 will show up and might get a release date. There's a possibility we'll get some updates on Fable and Perfect Dark but I think that's dependent on how far those games are in development.

Lastly there’s a ton of studios that have been quiet for some time like Complusion games, Machine Games etc so we could get some surpise announcements like Wolfenstein 3.

I'm pretty excited for the show and think this is the time for Xbox to finally take their shot, i'm worried that they may miss the mark though.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl and Pokémon Legends: Arceus Release Dates Announced

The Pokémon Company and Nintendo have announced the release dates for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes and Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

Let's kicks things off with Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes, which will be launching this year on November 19, 2021, for Nintendo Switch. It's a pretty predictable release date but I'm excited to return the diamond and pearl games.

When it comes to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, That game will release on January 28, 2022, on the Nintendo Switch. I'm not entirely sure if this game will hit this date, it seems a little too soon in my opinion. I could be completely wrong and maybe the scale of the game is smaller than I have in mind. regardless I can't wait to have more Pokemon games in my life.

Techland Teases Dying Light 2 Online Stream

Techland has announced that more info for Dying Light 2 will be revealed on a Twitch stream on May 27 at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET.

No details on what will be shown were given, However recently the developer has been hyping up the Livestream on Twitter with some cryptic videos that show off the text saying, "Are You Dying 2 Know More?" with the date of the stream appearing.

I loved the original Dying Light and I can't wait to play the new game when it drops but I do wish that Techland would stop talking about the game until it's ready. They clearly announced the title a little too early and have had problems with development along the way. Techland has done these teases before that basically lead to practically nothing, The tagline Are you dying to know points to what fans want and that's a release date. If it ends up just being the developers answering some questions, then I think I'm out.