Sea of Thieves, the pirate adventure from Rare Studios is one of the most anticipated Xbox exclusives Microsoft has in the pipeline for 2018. Back at E3 2017, the company revelead that the game would be optimized for the Xbox One X with support for 4K graphics and HDR, something that should be standard for all Microsoft Studios titles going forward.

In a new behind the scenes video published yesterday, Rare’s Engineering team shared more details about enhancing Sea of Thieves for Xbox One X (via Windows Central). Good news, the game will run in native 4K on the new console, with no dynamic scaling like on some other Xbox One X enhanced titles. “For the most part, it should be on par with our ultra specs PC settings,” the team shared.

The developers didn’t say if Xbox One X owners will be able to test the 4K graphics during an upcoming Technical Alpha play session, though we hope that it will be the case. The game is still expected to be released in early 2018, and it will also support cross-play multiplayer between Xbox One and Windows 10.

A little more than two months after its initial release on 8th gen consoles, Destiny 2 will will soon receive 4K updates for the Xbox One X and Playstation 4 Pro. “On December 5, along with the launch of Curse of Osiris and Season Two, we’ll be deploying an update to Destiny 2 that will deliver stunning gameplay with high dynamic range (HDR) lighting to these new consoles,” developer Bungie recently announced. “You’ll also see adaptive 4K resolution on the PlayStation 4 Pro and 4K on the Xbox One X.”

It great to see that one of the biggest games of the year will support true 4K graphics and HDR on the freshly released Xbox One X. The fact that the PS4 Pro version of the game will only support adaptive 4K resolution also proves that Microsoft’s new console can really deliver the best console versions of multiplatform games.

Sony does have marketing deals with publisher Activision for Destiny 2 and Call of Duty: WWII this year, with exclusive PS4 content for each game. But as both titles will soon be Xbox One X enhanced, players will have the choice between the best-looking versions (on Xbox One X) or the most complete versions (on Playstation 4) of these games.

Need for Speed Payback is now available to play for all Xbox One players after its three-day advance access for Deluxe Edition buyers wraps up.

This latest game in the Need for Speed franchise continues the series’ tradition of blending racing and story and sports a wider variety of vehicles and locations to explore than its predecessors.

Here’s some of its features.

• Scrap to Stock to Supercar: Your car is at the centre of everything you do in Need for Speed Payback. Endlessly fine-tune your performance through each of the five distinct car classes: Race, Drift, Off-Road, Drag, and Runner, to turn the tables on the competition in any race, mission, or challenge. Find abandoned derelict cars scattered throughout the world to build your perfect car from the ground up. Collect, win, or buy the hottest after-market parts and craft multiple cars into the perfect driving machines.
• Live out an action-driving fantasy: Play through an explosive, action-packed adventure as three distinct playable characters united by one common goal: revenge. Tyler, Mac and Jess team up to even the score against all odds, and enter the ultimate race to take down The House. Battle cops with ever-increasing intensity, race against rivals across the city, and drive on and off-road through mountains, canyons, and desert.
• High stakes competition: Get on a roll and win big with all-new Risk vs Reward gameplay. The return of intense cop chases means the stakes have never been higher. Put your reputation on the line and challenge your friends or potential rivals via Autolog recommendations throughout the campaign events or go head-to-head in classic online leaderboards.

Have you had a chance to play Need for Speed Payback yet? Let us know if you think it’s better than previous games in the comments below.

Download
QR-Code

Need for Speed™ Payback

Developer:
Electronic Arts

Price:
Free

Stephanie Tarling’s covers of Pure Imagination, The One That I Want, and Fly Me To The Moon, which were featured in Microsoft’s Surface Studio, Surface Laptop and Surface Book 2 reveal videos, are now available to listen to on Spotify.

All three songs garnered a significant positive reaction from users on social media after each video was released with many immediately asking who sang the songs. Tarling announced the songs’ addition to Spotify earlier today via her official Twitter account and specifically referred to them as the songs from Microsoft’s Surface ads.

Hey Hi everyone, guess what?!
All the songs are now available on #Spotify from the #microsoft #surface spots!!!
Hope you enjoy,
– S ✌????✨ pic.twitter.com/sdIN6wV6Ht

— Stephanie Tarling (@DarlingTarlingg) November 9, 2017

Are you a fan of these covers? Let us know which one is your favorite in the comments below.

Xbox has launched a ton of weird campaigns to help advertise their products, from creating the Xbox Onesie to launching an Xbox themed hotel experience. This latest one from Xbox Nordic might just take the cake, though. The new program, called Butlerservice, has you sign up for a chance to win – what else – a butler of your very own! It’s exactly what it sounds like. If you win the contest, you’ll get a butler to take care of your household chores while you chill out with your Xbox One X.

No more shall a lovely Forza race be interrupted by a stinking pile of laundry, a wonderful game of Shadow of War be ruined by a sink full of dishes or an amazing mission in Assassin’s Creed be pushed aside by dirty windows.

There will be four butlers being sent out across the participating countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland) that can take care of whatever household tasks you’re trying to weasel out of. Among the listed tasks are picking up take-out, walking your dog, doing laundry, and of course, gaming. We’re extremely excited to see what kind of stories come out of this giveaway.

Microsoft released a video on YouTube celebrating the release of the Xbox One X worldwide. The video features many celebrities, here’s a list of all of them (in order of appearance):

Conan O’Brien
Chris Evans
Shaquille O’Neal
Odell Beckham, Jr.
Rhonda Rousey
Lauren Cohan
Dwayne Johnson

Here’s the Xbox One X launch celebration video to see for yourself.

The Xbox One X was created directly from feedback from the Xbox community and in the video, the Xbox team describes what the Xbox fans loyalty means to Microsoft:

“There is no way to overstate just how important the fans are for Xbox, and everything we do today, and everything we are going to do in the future.”

Microsoft also included vignettes of Xbox One X launch parties in New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Germany, UK, Paris, Mexico, Canada, and culminating with the big Xbox One X launch event at the Microsoft Store in New York City.

About half a month ago, Microsoft began testing game gifting with Xbox Insiders. Today Microsoft’s Brad Rossetti has revealed that game gifting is now available for all Xbox Insiders.

Xbox One Insiders – Preview Omega users we have just enabled Game Gifting for you all!

— Brad Rossetti (@WorkWombatman) November 8, 2017

More specifically, the game gifting feature has been opened up to the Preview Omega ring, the lowest and least risky ring of the Xbox Insider Program. This is also the ring that any average Xbox user can join, allowing them to test minor changes made to previously released monthly updates.

Given the timing, it also can be assumed that Microsoft may be pushing out the final update including game gifting to all Xbox users soon. The Omega group has been known to get early access to an upcoming update shortly before it goes to General Availability.

Game gifting works just as one can expect. All you need to do is to find the listing in the store, press on “buy as a gift,” and then enter in an email address or choose from a list of friends. The recipient should then receive a message from Xbox Live with a redemption code for the game.

A little more than a year after Sony launched its Playstation 4 Pro, Microsoft released its new Xbox One X earlier this week, continuing this somewhat unusual trend of mid-cycle upgrades. Both consoles are being marketed as 4K-ready, even though only the Xbox One X with its 6 teraflops of computing powers can truly deliver native 4K gaming.

Since the Playstation 4 Pro and the Xbox One X are still 8th gen consoles, everyone is now wondering if this console generation will last longer thanks to these mid-cycle releases. According to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, that probably won’t be the case.

“As Sony launched PlayStation 4 Pro last year and Microsoft Xbox One X this year, we think we still have a minimum of two years in front of us before something new is coming,” Guillemot said in an investor’s call (via GameSpot). “But that’s our perception, we don’t have any confidential information on that front.”

It remains to be seen if a Playstation 5 and a new Xbox console could launch in 2019 at the earliest, but in the meantime the Ubisoft CEO says that these mid-cycle upgrades are a good thing for developers and the video games industry in general. “That is going in the right direction rather than trying to do accessories or other things,” he explained. “That is going to help the industry a lot because the games will be really beautiful on those machines.”

These days, Microsoft is marketing the Xbox One X as the best console to play games of the past, present and future, and this is a pretty good tagline. The new console seems pretty much future-proof, it you don’t take into account the fact that most Xbox One X enhanced games won’t run at 60 FPS. Maybe 9th gen consoles will finally deliver true 4K gaming at a consistent 60 FPS, and even more than that.

Do you really believe that 9th gen consoles could be just two years away, or do you expect the current console generation to last longer thanks to the Playstation 4 Pro and the Xbox One X? Let us know below.

The first wave of Windows Mixed Reality headsets should become much more fun to use next week. Indeed, Rolling Stone revealed yesterday that Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform will get access to Steam’s VR games on November 15. The open beta will welcome everyone owning one of the headsets from Acer, Asus, HP Lenovo, Dell and Samsung and a PC running the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

As there are currently only around 60 VR apps and games available on Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform, opening access to Steam VR games should be a boon for users and developers. Rolling Stone had the chance to try out SteamVR with the freshly released Samsung Odyssey HMD, and here is how it will work:

The SteamVR bridge essentially shuttles people from Windows 10’s virtual reality Cliff House to Steam’s own virtual reality home. Once there, players can try out any of the SteamVR games they own with mostly good, but occasionally mixed results. The goal is to eventually make all games behave as they should, but Microsoft is still working through the occasional issue, so this is essentially an open beta.

The Steam VR catalog already includes high-profile titles such as Superhot VR, Batman: Arkham VR and Fallout 4 VR (to be released in December), and it’s great to see that all this content will soon be available with a Windows Mixed Reality headset. With their inside-out tracking technology, these headsets are also much easier to set up and use compared to the HTC Vive, the VR headset that the Taiwanese company co-developed with Valve.

Battlefield 1 latest Xbox One update is a big one and in addition to adding Dolby Vision HDR colors and brightness to its visual presentation, players will also gain a new map to play in, improved player progression, a revamped UI & HUD, and a huge number of smaller fixes and improvements.

This update will also introduce new operation campaigns. “When we’re running an active campaign, you’ll be greeted by a slightly different user interface on the Operation globe screen. The Operation Campaign tracker, located at the bottom right corner of the screen, will indicate which Operations are part of the active campaign, the necessary cumulative score you need to unlock your reward, and the amount of time remaining before the active campaign ends,” the official blog post reads. “You’ll also notice a small star on particular Operation icons, signifying that it is part of the active campaign. Participate in these Operations and your end of round score will be applied toward the progress of unlocking a Battlepack reward. PTFO to maximize your score, but be sure to stick around until the end of the match to have it applied toward your progress. Try to unlock as many rewards as you can before the active campaign expires.”

This update can be installed right now. Have you checked it out yet? Let us know if you like these changes in the comments below.

Download
QR-Code

Battlefield™ 1 Revolution

Developer:
Electronic Arts

Price:
Free

World of Tanks X Edition is now available to play on all of Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles and is currently free to own until January 2018.

This version of World of Tanks has been optimized for the new Xbox One X and will play in 4K when played on that console. Here’s the official description, trailer, and link.

World of Tanks is the global online multiplayer phenomenon dedicated to tank warfare in the mid-20th Century on Xbox 360, Xbox One S, and in glorious 4K Native HD on the new Xbox One X! Kick start your career with the T1E6-X1 – American Tier II Light Tank plus 3 Days of Premium Time. This is the perfect boost to earn more experience and Silver per battle plus research new tanks and upgrade packages at an accelerated pace. Download and play for free today!

Are you a World of Tanks fan and have you played this new version yet? Share your impressions with the community in the comments below.

Download
QR-Code

World of Tanks X Edition

Developer:
Wargaming.net

Price:
Free

While part of the tech industry fawns over the latest shiny new smartphone and debates whether or not the next crop of handhelds will embrace face recognition as a standard biometric security barrier, another larger portion of the community watches as Microsoft, Amazon and Google play for much higher stakes in a kind of Game of Thrones posturing for cloud dominance.

As Amazon continues to grow and encroach on other competitive ventures, Microsoft and Google are find themselves the recent benefactors of Amazon-scorned businesses looking to alleviate their dependency on a direct competitors solution.

The American retail chain Kroger has recently decided to move its cloud business away from AWS and instead, split its dependency between Microsoft and Google going forward. According to a report from CNBC, Kroger isn’t an outlier in wanting to move its business away from Amazon as the online retail giant continues to gobble up mindshare across several verticals.

Kroger, which exist primarily as a grocery store justifies the move as such, “For obvious reasons competitively, it doesn’t make sense for us to do a ton to help grow that business for them,” Chris Hjelm, Kroger’s chief information officer, told CNBC in an interview. With Amazon’s recent purchase of Whole Foods, the company now finds itself at odds with business partners who are in the same sector.

Wal-Mart and Target have also joined the mass exodus away from AWS and to other cloud solutions which now include infrastructure-runner up Microsoft Azure.

Hjelm said the company started investing heavily with Microsoft Azure and the Google Cloud late last year. With Azure, the grocer is rolling out digital shelf technology to combine the use of sensors and smartphones to alert customers about relevant deals. For e-commerce, delivery and data-focused initiatives such as smart pricing, Kroger is turning to Google. The company also uses infrastructure technology from Pivotal.

Kroger will not be completely extricated from AWS as it will still have some projects that remain, but as far as growth efforts, Kroger plans to continue to invest in Microsoft and Google.

Judging by Microsoft’s recent quarterly results, the company’s pivot to the cloud and aggressive partnership efforts have seen it continually gaining ground on the industry leader in AWS. With the company squarely focused on the cloud, the next few quarters will be an observation test to see if the company can continue its momentum and capitalizes on any other Amazon missteps.

Microsoft pushed out Windows 10 Insider build 17035 this afternoon, and it’s packed with a lot of new features, enhancements, and fixes. Those with PCs with AMD Processors, though, should be aware that they will not be seeing this build due to a bugcheck issue when upgrading to new builds.

Microsoft made note of the AMD issue at the start of today’s blog post for build 17035. Brandon LeBlanc, a senior program manager on the Windows Insider team notes:

Due to a bug that causes PCs with AMD processors to bugcheck during upgrading to current builds, we are blocking PCs with AMD processors from receiving this build. We are investigating and working to fix so we can remove this block.

While a bit frustrating, you can expect Microsoft to work hard to find a resolution to this problem soon. For now, you can catch up and add to the anticipation of a fix coming soon to your AMD-powered PC by checking out our coverage of this build here.

Ever since Microsoft introduced the new Skype, the company has been adding new features to the experience of the application across iOS, Android, and Windows 10. Today, the company is highlighting one of these new aspects, a new Snapchat-like photo effects component for the Skype Highlights feature.

Microsoft is calling photo effects “smart, whimsical effects, like quirky face stickers and witty captions.” The photo effects work with both the selfie camera and the world camera, allowing a user to see customized smart effects based on what Skype sees in a picture.  Effects are powered by Sprinkles by Microsoft, an app which also allows a user to make photos fun in 2 seconds.

With photo effects on Skype, you can easily add a dash of wit and creativity to your everyday moments. Share decorated photos with your friends and family via chat or on your Highlights. We’re excited to see how you use photo effects to add more fun to your conversations, photos, and Highlights!

To use the new feature, a user needs to swipe right from the home screen on Skype for iOS or Android to get to the camera. After that, the user can take a photo and add the photo effects by pressing on the magic wand button in the top portion of the screen. Just like with Snapchat filters, the photo effects can be browsed by swiping right.

We’ve included a collection of the effects above, such as a witty auto-suggested caption, a beach and wave themed effect, and the location and temperature. Microsoft is saying that Photo effects will always change, so its best to check on them on different days of the week and during holidays.

Microsoft is making its Word Office app a better tool to create your resume with a little help from artificial intelligence. The company announced today Resume Assistant, a new feature powered by LinkedIn that can help Office 365 subscribers create a compelling resume by using insights from the professional social network.

“With over 80 percent of resumes updated in Word, Resume Assistant helps job seekers showcase accomplishments, be more easily discovered by recruiters, and find their ideal job,” explained Bryan Goode, general manager for Office 365. Resume Assistant can help you find inspiration from other LinkedIn professionals, identify top skills needed for the job you’re seeking and more. You can see how it works in the video below.

Following Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn last year, Microsoft has been working hard to create synergies between its productivity offerings and the professional social network. Last month, LinkedIn gained direct integration into Office 365, giving subscribers personalized LinkedIn insights in Outlook and other Office 365 apps and services.

Resume Assistant in Microsoft Word will roll out this week to Office Insiders on Windows using English display language. The new feature will be generally available on more platforms and markets over the coming months, Microsoft said.

With many gamers complaining about Amazon failing to deliver Xbox One X pre-orders in the U.K. eager Xbox fans might want to try their luck at scoring the console by eating some Doritos instead. Indeed, Microsoft and Doritos have teamed up in the United Kingdom to give away an Xbox One X every day until the end of the year.

All it takes to try the luck of a winning the Xbox One X in the U.K. is to buy promotional packs of Doritos and enter some personal details and the unique code on the pack at doritos.co.uk/xbox. There are also tons of other prizes that can be won as part of the promotion, including digital game downloads, Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, and Game Pass memberships.

In the words of  Jack White, Xbox and New Devices Partnerships and Events Manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa:

“The campaign is an amazing opportunity for Doritos and Xbox fans to get their hands on the world’s most powerful console, the Xbox One X… It’s great to be working with Doritos in this way, and we’re really pleased to be able to offer such a fantastic set of prizes every day.”

Doritos also worked with Microsoft to film a series of interactive videos as part of a #PlayBold campaign. The videos can be found via the Xbox dashboard, and star famous YouTubers, including Ali A, Jelly, and AlphaSniper  A similar Doritos themed promotion was announced in the United States well before yesterday’s launch of the Xbox One X.

If you thought the Xbox One X Project Scorpio Edition was pretty unique, think again. Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One X and Curry 4 “More Power” VIP Kit, created in collaboration with Under Armour, Stance, V-Moda and Incase. The kit includes a custom-designed Xbox One X console, a pair of customized Under Armour Curry 4 sneakers and many more cool accessories to make your gaming life even more awesome.

“The Xbox One X ‘More Power‘ VIP Kit is a dream for sneakerheads, gamers, entertainment enthusiasts, and lifestyle aficionados,” said Aaron Greenberg, GM Xbox Marketing. “We have the custom Curry 4 “More Power” colorway inspired by the world’s most powerful console, Xbox One X, paired with the console itself, the super-premium Xbox One Elite controllers and the best products in their respective categories from Stance, V-MODA, and Incase in a single package.”

Here is the list of everything that’s included in the Xbox One X ‘More Power‘ VIP Kit:

• A custom-designed Xbox One X Console with 2 Xbox One Elite controllers, select Xbox One games and 12 months of both Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass
• Under Armour Curry 4 “More Power” custom colorway
• Stance Athletic limited edition socks featuring the Xbox logo
• V-MODA Crossfade 2 Wireless Headphones customized with Xbox logo
• Incase NoviConnected 4 Wheel Hubless Travel Roller, which includes high power charging for all your mobile devices

“While the kit is intended for select press and influencers, fans should keep their eyes on all partner social channels for a chance to get their hands on one,” explained the Xbox team. Let us know in the comments if you think this is a cool partnership to celebrate the launch of Xbox One X.

The big Xbox One X update for the Hitman video game is now available. This update adds loads of improvements and additional in-game content and also adds 4K graphics for when it’s played on the Xbox One X console.

To get this update, current owners of the game can buy the Hitman Game of the Year Edition Upgrade pack while those who have never played the game can buy the Hitman Game of the Year Edition which includes the update and the original base game. Here’s the official description:

Experiment and have fun in the ultimate playground as Agent 47 to become the master assassin. Travel around the globe to exotic locations and eliminate your targets with everything from a katana or a sniper rifle to an exploding golf ball or some expired spaghetti sauce.

Are you going to upgrade or buy the full game. Do you think the upgrade should be free? Let us know in the comments below.

Download
QR-Code

HITMAN™ – Game of the Year Edition Upgrade

Developer:
Square Enix Ltd

Price:
Free

Download
QR-Code

HITMAN™ – Game of the Year Edition

Developer:
Square Enix LTD

Price:
Free

The Need for Speed Payback: Deluxe Edition is now playable on the Xbox One. This version of Need for Speed Payback lets owners play the game three days before the official launch of the regular edition and also comes with a variety of mission packs, cars, and other digital items. Here’s the official list of additional content gamers can expect.

• Upcoming Story Mission Pack
• Exclusive Deluxe Edition NOS color (Can be applied to 5 cars)
• Exclusive Deluxe Edition License Plate
• Exclusive Deluxe Edition Leaderboard icon
• 5 Shipments
• 5% Rep Bonus
• 10% Discount on in-game content using earned in-game currency
• Exclusive Platinum Blue Underglow & Tire Smoke Vanity Items†
• Nissan 350Z 2008
• Chevrolet Camaro SS 1967
• Dodge Charger R/T 1969
• Ford F-150 Raptor 2016
• Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport 2016

Did you pre-order this Deluxe Edition or are you waiting for the launch of the regular version of Need For Speed Payback? Let us know in the comments.

Download
QR-Code

Need for Speed™ Payback – Deluxe Edition

Developer:
Electronic Arts

Price:
$4.49

Not one to be left out, Halo is celebrating the Xbox One X launch by looking back at all things Halo, including the Xbox One X enhancements that came for Halo 3, Halo Wars 2, and Halo 5: Guardians. Playing all these Halo games on the Xbox One X bring faster load times, 4K Ultra HD, and 60 FPS for a smoother Halo gaming experience. Halo WayPoint did a quick recap of the enhancements coming to Halo games.

Here’s the trailer of all the enhancements coming to Halo 5 on Xbox One X.

Halo Wars 2 was the highly-anticipated sequel to Halo Wars on Xbox 360 (later coming to Xbox One). Of course, Halo Wars 2 will be getting an Xbox One X update soon to take advantage of the all of the power of the new console. The new Halo Wars 2 update will also enable cross-platform play between Xbox One and Windows 10 gamers.

Halo 3 is another popular game in the series that got an Xbox One X update recently. It’s also exciting news that all Halo games that were available on Xbox 360 are now available to play on all consoles in the Xbox One family via Backward Compatibility.

There is more exciting news to come for all things Halo. The Halo 5: Guardians Overtime content update is coming soon and we should see more of the top players compete in the Halo World Championship 2018! Maybe we’ll see a new Halo game in 2018? Stay tuned!

Microsoft employees were treated with special Project Scorpio Xbox Live badges today to celebrate the launch of Xbox One X. Redditor Spoon06 posted a grainy photo of one of the badges, said to be worn by Microsoft employees who helped with the Xbox One X launch.

Insanely proud to add this to my #xbox profile. #XboxOneX #FeelTruePower #ProjectScorpio pic.twitter.com/st7pxpMBpC

— Jordan Silverthorne (@JordanMSFT) November 6, 2017

Senior Product Marketing Manager at Xbox, Jordan Silverthorne, originally posted the picture of the badge on Twitter. The full Microsoft employee badge is not displayed, so it is hard to guess what else is included on the Microsoft employee-exclusive badge. Silvertone posted a clearer picture of the Project Scorpio Xbox Live emblem in a separate Tweet.

#NewProfilePic in honor of #XboxOneX launch day pic.twitter.com/wGTmxoUwnp

— Jordan Silverthorne (@JordanMSFT) November 7, 2017

Microsoft Stores around the world received other goodies, including a special bag of swag, and other special Xbox events celebrating the Xbox One X launch. Receiving this Project Scorpio Xbox Live badge would have been a great gift for gamers that got an Xbox One X on launch day. Microsoft was looking to make the Xbox One X launch a big event and Microsoft has certainly delivered.

Microsoft is teaming up with Indian transportation network company Ola to build a new connected car platform powered by the Microsoft Cloud. India’s Uber rival has chosen Microsoft Azure to improve Ola Play, the connected car platform for ride sharing that the company launched in late 2016.

From the start, Ola Play has been designed to improve the in-car experience for Ola customers with connected services accessible from smartphones and tablets. The new partnership with Microsoft will benefit both drivers and Ola Play customers:

Ola Play customers will be able to use productivity tools such as Office 365 and Skype for Business, as well as voice-assisted controls built using Microsoft Cognitive Services and Bot framework, in-car during their rides. The advanced telematics platform will transform the car into a high-performing, intelligent vehicle, capable of assessing fuel efficiency, engine performance, and driver performance. It will also enable smarter navigation and predict breakdowns, enhancing safety and security while creating new business models and opportunities.

Microsoft and Ola also announced today that the Azure-powered Olay Play plaftorm will be offered to all car manufacturers interested in integrating it with their vehicle systems. “Today’s car is quickly becoming the ultimate computing device and together with Ola, we’re focused on providing more intelligent, connected and productive experiences to our customers,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “The combination of Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and our AI platform with Ola Play will deliver new customer experiences and business opportunities across the automotive ecosystem.”

After a full year of anticipation, Microsoft’s most powerful Xbox console finally launched worldwide in 35 markets today, November 7th, 2017. The tech giant was holding launch events across the world, so here is a look at how Xbox gamers across our great planet were celebrating the release of the newest member of the Xbox family.

New York City:

In New York City, Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg was hanging out with Conan O Brien at the Flagship Microsoft Store, and an Xbox fan was really hyped to pick up the Xbox One X. Just as with other Microsoft Stores across the world, eager fans lined up a day before the Xbox One X launched to be one of the first to get their hands on the new Xbox One X. Of course, there were other celebrity appearances as well, including Shaquille O’Neal, Liam Payne, Ronda Rousey, Odell Beckham Jr., and Caleb McLaughlin.

The excitement is high here as midnight rings @MicrosoftStore NYC #XboxOneX pic.twitter.com/2n4iZbyTVp

— Aaron Greenberg ????????‍♂️????U (@aarongreenberg) November 7, 2017

Lucky fans who participated in Trivia and giveaways at the launch event at the NYC Microsoft Flagship Store also scored some free swag. Redditor jerm2z shared a picture his loot with the world, including some cool Xbox One X themed hats, shirts, buttons, and more.

This is why I love Xbox. They take care of their fans. Here are all the FREE items I got at the NYC Xbox One X Launch Event. from xboxone

Australia:

In Australia, the launch of the Xbox One X was celebrated with the opening of the Xbox Stay N’ Play. The Stay N’ Play is a gaming-themed experience situated in front of the iconic Sydney skyline in Pirrama Park. Reservations were handed out for free on a first come, first serve basis, and there are rooms themed towards Xbox games like Forza 7, Minecraft, and more.

The Xbox Stay N' Play is now open for business! Come down to Pirrama Park, Pyrmont between 8am-8pm this today until Sunday! #XboxOneX pic.twitter.com/Dw8mt9DSSO

— Xbox ANZ (@XboxANZ) November 3, 2017

France:

In France, Xbox gamers had the chance to tune into a special eight-hour long Mixer livestream themed towards the Xbox One X launch events happening in Paris. Just as in NY, there was a midnight opening at the Fnac Champs Elysées, allowing French Xbox fans to get their hands on the Xbox One X the minute the clock hit 12:00 AM November 7th.

C'est la fin du #XboxOneXLive !!! Pfiou 8H de live, on s'est bien marré ???? Merci à tous c'était le ???? ! pic.twitter.com/Y0DNaZ5J73

— Xbox FR (@XboxFR) November 7, 2017

United Kingdom:

In the United Kingdom, Microsoft hosted an extended 14-hour live stream from the Xbox One X Apartment in London. The livestream event featured some of the biggest British content creators and special guests.

The Xbox One X is now officially available in the UK! Thanks to everyone who joined our #CountdownToX livestream ???? pic.twitter.com/fiNUYBbkIr

— Xbox UK (@xboxuk) November 7, 2017

The above-seen locations are just a few places where special Xbox One X launches were happening. In a post to the Xbox Wire, Microsoft highlighted some of the other launch day activities:

• Inspired by the new Xbox racing game “Forza Motorsport 7,” the world’s first Xbox One X was hand-delivered in New Zealand via the fastest supercar in the country.
• In Germany, Xbox set a new world record for the “World’s Largest Unboxing” after unboxing a giant Xbox One X in the Munich International Airport, and celebrated the launch with more than 700 fans in front of Berlin’s largest 4K theater screen.
• In Mexico City, hundreds of fans attended an Xbox One X midnight madness event hosted with Game Planet to celebrate the official launch of the highly anticipated console in Mexico.
• In collaboration with Canadian designer and artist Brian Espiritu, Xbox designed custom Xbox One X consoles inspired by the city of Toronto to give away to five lucky Xbox fans.

Xbox One X is launching with the largest games lineup in Xbox history, with more than 50 titles available on launch day and 70 Xbox One X Enhanced titles coming in the first week. With features such as support for 4K gaming, HDR, and Supersampling, the most powerful Xbox console ever launched in 35 markets worldwide, making for the biggest global launch in Xbox history. We built Xbox One X to give game creators the most powerful platform to bring their visions to life and to give gamers the best console to play the games of the past, present, and future…We’re excited to offer gamers the world’s most powerful console with access to the largest games lineup in Xbox history,” said Phil Spencer, head of gaming, Microsoft Corp.

The Xbox One X is without a doubt the most powerful Xbox console ever, and Microsoft wants gamers who are unsure to see the true power of the system for themselves. Indeed, Microsoft recently released a free Xbox One tool that allows gamers to test out 4K, UHD, and many more aspects of the Xbox One X.

Originally developed by the Xbox Advanced Technology Group, the demo known as “Insects” is an interactive Ultra HD, HDR experience. It was meant to be a tool for developers, but the Xbox team realized the potential fun and decided to make it publicly available via the Microsoft Store on Xbox on the same day that Xbox One X launched.

Using the tool, gamers can toggle between the various formats and settings including 4K, HDR, and Spatial audio. For extra realism, gamers can even pause the experience, switch the time of day, highlight pixels, and zoom in on elements to see the extra attention to detail. The ultimate goal, though, is to see and hear the difference that these new technologies can make in the world of gaming.

Those with an Xbox One X can find the link for this demo below. Gamers without an Xbox One X, however, can feel free to check out the video above for a preview of the experience.

Download
QR-Code

Insects: An Xbox One X Enhanced Experience

Developer:
Microsoft Corporation

Price:
Free

Many buyers of Microsoft’s new Xbox One X console wanting to use the Kinect for basic “Xbox” voice commands, Cortana interactions, Skype video-calls, or the numerous Kinect-enabled video games have been out of luck this month as the Xbox Kinect Adapter, which is needed to connect the Kinect to an Xbox One S or Xbox One X console, has been sold out on Amazon, Microsoft Store, and most other retailers.

Thankfully it appears that Microsoft is making more Kinect Adapters to meet demand as the official Amazon product page now states that more would be arriving on November 10th. Interested gamers can order one today and it should ship on or around the release date.

Have you managed to buy a Kinect Adapter yet or have you been waiting for them to come back in stock? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below.

Game studio, Virtual Air Guitar Company, have just announced that they’re working on two new Kinect video games for Microsoft’s Xbox One family of consoles.

The first game, Boom Ball 3 for Kinect, is due for release in December and is a sequel to the first two Boom Ball video games. This latest entry in the series features a different art style though and takes the players around a digital world as they encounter a wider variety of locations and creatures. Players will also be able to customize aspects of the game by taking photos of real-world objects with the Kinect camera and using those photos in-game.

The other title announced is called, Kinect Funhouse, and while no information on it was provided, it is expected to launch in spring 2018.

“Even though manufacturing has stopped, that doesn’t mean all the Kinects out there have suddenly stopped existing,” Virtual Air Guitar Company’s Aki Kanerva said in a statement. “We continue to support Kinect, and we’ll keep making Kinect games for as long as enough people keep buying them.”

Kanerva makes a very valid point about the Kinect and its continue relevance to Xbox One gamers. While Microsoft did announce that they would no longer be making the accessory, a large number of Xbox One console owners do own a Kinect and continue to use it whether it’s just for the genuinely convenient voice commands or motion games like the Just Dance series, Dance Central Spotlight, or the numerous Kinect games made by Virtual Air Guitar Company. Microsoft also just released three new Kinect games themselves this past week; Disneyland Adventures, Rush: A DisneyPixar Adventure, and Zoo Tycoon.

Are you excited for more Kinect video games on the Xbox One or do you just use the voice commands? Let us know in the comments below.

It may feel like the Internet is crumbling a little bit today. Major ISPs in the United States, namely Comcast, Verizon and Spectrum are experiencing severe network issues, with states across the US suffering from internet outages.

In addition to many of the major ISPs, Microsoft’s Azure and Snapchat are also experiencing issues, with users unable to access hosted websites, virtual machines, and others losing their Snap streaks, unable to send Snap’s or view stories.

Microsoft’s Azure status pages shows an ongoing network infrastructure issue for North Central US, adding that South Central US may also be affected. Reports are showing that these services are slowly returning to normal.

Some Snapchatters are having trouble with the app ???? We're looking into it!

— Snapchat Support (@snapchatsupport) November 6, 2017

Meanwhile, other services continue to experience problems. Snapchat has said it is aware of an ongoing issue, but there’s been no improvement thus far.

Some claim this is an attack on Level 3, however, these reports are, as yet, unconfirmed. Level 3 tweeted that there was a configuration error on their end, but that the issue has since been resolve – despite this, services appear to remain affected by issues.

https://twitter.com/Level3NOC/status/927633534424141824

Are you facing issues with specific services or the internet overall? Let us know in the comments below!