Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the critically-acclaimed action-adventure game from Respawn Entertainment is getting a free next-gen upgrade for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 consoles today. The game will leverage Microsoft’s Smart Delivery system on Xbox Series X|S consoles, which means that all game saves and unlocked achievements will carry over to the next-gen version of the game once it’s installed.

As you may know, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order received a previous update to improve backwards compatibility performance on next-gen consoles, but this new native port goes the extra mile. “This next-gen release provides the best possible way to experience Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order on consoles, bringing the following technical improvements: higher resolution textures & assets, 4K/HDR Resolution, improved 60 FPS performance, significantly faster loading times,” Respawn explained

We're proud to announce that the next-gen upgrade of #StarWarsJediFallenOrder is available starting today.

Get it now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Already own a copy of the game on console? Your next-gen upgrade is free.

Full details: https://t.co/5dr52XgSvO pic.twitter.com/sTRJGy2zu9

— Respawn (@Respawn) June 11, 2021

On Xbox Series X and PS5, players can choose between a 1440p/60FPS Performance mode and a 4K/30FPS “Normal” Mode. Even with improved backward compatibility, the last-gen version of the game used a dynamic resolution that could drop to 1512p on Series X in “Normal Mode,” so the push to native 4K in the next-gen version should make a big difference.

There is no graphical setting on Xbox Series S, as performance is locked at 1080p/60FPS. However, the less powerful Xbox console will also benefit from the improved textures and faster loading times thanks to its modern components. The digital version of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is 50% off during Microsoft’s Deals Unlocked Sale, which also offers big discounts on other cross-gen games optimized for Xbox Series X|S consoles.

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Microsoft has decided to not only to shake up the way it’ll present the next iteration of Windows, but also how the OS will look and feel going forward.

Over the last five years, Windows 10 has seemingly been leaped frog in mindshare as the company seeded the operating development spotlight to competitors while it chased the future-forward pivot of cloud computing.

In that time, Apple took the wraps off its decade-long macOS refresh called Big Sur and Google’s cloud-powered browser-focused ChromeOS chomped away at Microsoft’s education market share.

Perhaps, as a result of visually cohesive designs and the modernization of legacy workflows presented in Big Sur and ChromeOS, for the first time in a decade, Windows market share dipped below its hallmark 80 percent marker worldwide.

In the last five years, Apple’s macOS has reached a new peak of 15 percent and ChromeOS exited its traditional rounding error percentage to 2.29 percent worldwide.

When looking at things from a North American lens, things look a bit more turbulent for Microsoft’s aging operating systems market and mindshare with macOS accounting for 25.49 percent and ChromeOS at 6.43 percent, leaving Windows with a declining majority share of 62.7 percent.

Source: StatCounter Global Stats – OS Market Share

I note all this to put Microsoft’s upcoming June 24, 2021, “What’s Next for Windows” event, into perspective. Microsoft has chosen, for the first time to pull apart the symbiotic relationship its developer conference BUILD had with its 40-year-old operating system Windows and this move feels indicative of the importance of the moment.

While Microsoft’s future is undoubtedly in the cloud, it seems it took the company sometime to begrudgingly acknowledge that its Windows operating system is still a pivotal springboard to said future and needs some sprucing up.

With that in mind, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and head of Windows development Panos Panay are about to shoulder five years of rumors and expectations to not only stem its market share bleed but miraculously increase its mindshare in the industry.

What we know

Let’s start with what we know about the June 24th event and that is to say, not much. Both Nadella and Panay have spoken to a notable change coming to Windows but used rather vague marketing speak to outline what’s planned.

Thanks to leaked documentation we do know there is a UI refresh effort for Windows 10 with the code name ‘Sun Valley’ being internally testing.

In addition to leaks, both Nadella and Panay have acknowledged the upcoming changes to Windows. Nadella has gone as far as expressing that he is currently running this new version of Windows as his daily driver (in testing) and Panay during a fireside chat reiterated his ‘pumpediness’ for the changes in store.

Windows 10 Insiders have seen bits and pieces of the proposed UI efforts of Sun Valley come in updates to select core-apps and Windows Explorer settings. However, as June 24th quickly approaches, there has been little to no actual testing of Microsoft’s grandiose design overhaul of Windows 10; this should worry some people.

The other thing we know is that whatever is discussed during the June 24th event will not be competing for the spotlight as previously reported. Until about four weeks ago, it was becoming common place for journalists to put into context both Microsoft’s Sun Valley update and the unveiling of a new variant of Windows dubbed Windows 10X, together.

Instead of Microsoft having to explain both a refreshed UI and possible UX in its next version of Windows and its weird ChromeOS competitor later this fall, the company can now pour its efforts into a single focus now that Windows 10X is dead.

Despite its untimely demise, Windows 10 engineers have vowed to bring Windows 10 X features, designs and workflows to Windows 10. The fruits of those secretive labors could be showcased as soon as June 24, 2021.

Another thing we know is that Android is coming to Windows 10. Its appearance isn’t as straightforward as going to the Microsoft Store and downloading your favorite Android app, but more of embedding the framework for Android app development on Windows.

Despite Windows 10 Your Phone app mirroring Android app usage through some slick trickery with selected Samsung devices, the operating system isn’t yet designed to host full Android app emulation.

However, three days ago, the Microsoft/wslg repository on GitHub posted Linux GUI support 1.0.23 was in active development. The Linux GUI was something Microsoft championed during its BUILD conference a few weeks ago and paves the way for easier Android development via the Windows 10 operating system.

Some are speculating that this could be a precursor to Android apps being coalesced in the Microsoft Store, and with enough time and personal ingenuity I’m sure some overzealous developer will probably make it a reality. However, the reality, as it stands today, is that Microsoft is at least making Windows 10 a more viable multiplatform development operating system that can cater to Android developers who may have been previously using Linux distros to get work done.

The Uknown

Moving on to the larger unknown about Microsoft’s “What’s Next with Window” event, we’re still in the dark about the name of the next version of Windows.

Many have speculated that Microsoft could win an award of simplicity by just calling the operating platform Windows or Windows 11. Quickly after Microsoft released a teaser GIF of its June 24th invite, the internet took to tea-leaf-reading and many claimed to have found visual clues hinting towards 11 being the follow up to Windows 10.

As light shifts through the Windows logo, the middle crossbar appears to be omitted, leaving two straight bars that resemble the number 11.

I personally don’t take much stock in the image as a prophetical foretelling of Windows 11, but as an amateur graphic designer myself, the omission of the crossbar shadow is glaring perspective misstep.

In the grand scheme of things, the name is least of the operating systems issues, but does carry weight on how Microsoft approaches the operating system and the proposal of a steady flow of future updates.

The naming scheme plays into a much larger conversation about how and where a Windows 11 could be distributed. Microsoft’s marketing and sales team will need to be ready with answers to questions such availability and support.

Other unknowns include pricing and release dates for this potentially new operating system. Executives within Microsoft have made some lofty claims about Windows 10 being ‘the last ‘version’ of Windows leading many to conceptualize Windows pivoting towards a Windows-as-A-Service Platform.

Even though Windows 10 came as an apologetic free upgrade from Windows 8, there exists a possibility that Windows 11 returns to the glory days of figurative box purchasing.

As a way to parse feature development from standard operating feature support, Microsoft could charge its standard tiered Windows pricing of $119 to $200 for Home, Pro and Enterprise editions of this latest operating system.

Or, more likely, Microsoft could stick to the current free structure to increase adoption, but allow IT Admins to opt out of any of the new features. A last possibility is that Microsoft evolves Windows 10/11 into a Microsoft 365 subscription model that operates similarly to Office 365. Windows 10/11 can serve as the free standard edition of the latest (non-enterprise destructive) features coming to the platform while a subscription version ensures those who seek that model get monthly updates and features.

It’s also unclear when the next version of Windows will ship. Microsoft has worked on a Spring/Fall cadence of software rollouts, with the Fall being reserved for the more substantial releases. Most presume the next version of Windows will appear in the Fall, alongside new hardware, especially with the head of Surface hardware Panos Panay being in charge of both the operating system and the hardware it’ll run on.

Windows could learn from others

Perhaps, the biggest unknown is what’s coming to the next version of Windows. As previously discussed, we know Linux GUI is coming, we know there are going to be a certain level of UI tweaks, but beyond that, the rest of Windows 10/11 is a mystery.

Based on what Microsoft has revealed about it plans for the now defunct Windows 10 X, there was supposed to be adjustments to the way the Action Center, Taskbar and Start Menu behaved, and now some of that will be worked into the next version of Windows. To what extent we see Windows 10 X worked into Windows 10/11 this year remains unclear.

Aside from shuffling the deck chairs with some UI tweaks, there have been some intuitive innovations that have been created on competing operating systems that the next version of Windows could be inspired by.

Following the demos done by Apple during its WWDC conference earlier this week, Microsoft’s Windows engineers could take inspiration from the way Windows works with touch.

Since the rollback of Windows 8’s touch-first focus, Windows 10’s touch experience has been lacking, to put it euphemistically. Yes, Microsoft may be the only well know Windows tablet maker in the market right now with its Surface Pro 2-in-1 but there have been some solid efforts by its partners in Lenovo, Dell and HP this year that could help push the needle on greater adoption.

Paired with an equally impressive consumption interface in touch, Windows powered 2-in-1 could see offshoots that compete directly with the iPad in terms of engineering. As it stands, the Windows 10 interface is a productivity heavy experience with lackluster touch UI tacked on to justify selling touch panels.

Hopefully, Microsoft focuses on intuitive gesture-based UIs that incorporate accessibility scenarios with as much care as the team takes in rendering new fonts for operating system.

Next up is cloud sync. For a company as heavily invested in cloud computing and security, it’s a shame that cloud settings were pared back as much as it was in Windows 10. To compete with Chromebooks without rehashing another failed operating attempt, Microsoft could simply invest in its cloud profile and settings sync.

Aside from the impressive educational tools Google provides for ChromeOS in education, it’s the company’s ability to transfer personal data and settings across the cloud.

Microsoft could focus on cloud-based user profiles that allow customers to bring all their previously used apps, themes, desktop setups and preferences to new devices with a simple 2FA login. The two-fold enforcement of 2FA and cloud sync would help Microsoft secure more data as well as push OneDrive adoption as well as subsequent storage subscriptions.

The laundry list of wish list items for the next version of Windows could go on for a while as many users have longed waited for a significant update to the operating system for years.

But if Microsoft took the lead on the simply extending its theming platform to older menus and settings panes as well as created a universal DPI setting for text and images in older UI elements, that may be all the company needs to do to make June 24th’s event a hit.

Microsoft has kicked off today its massive Xbox Deals Unlocked Sale, offering up to 75% discounts on digital Xbox games on other gaming accessories through Thursday, June 17. The sale goes live right ahead of Microsoft’s Xbox & Bethesda games showcase on Sunday, June 13, where we should see images of Halo Infinite and many other titles in the Xbox Game Studios pipeline.

Many cross-gen games that have now been optimized for Xbox Series X|S consoles are currently on sale. Some of the most interesting discounted titles include Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Borderlands 3, Control Ultimate Edition, Cyberpunk 2077, Destiny 2: Legendary Edition, Dirt 5, Halo: MCC, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, It Takes Two, Watch Dogs: Legion, and more.

The full list of deals is available on Major Nelson’s blog. You can also check out the Microsoft Store where the company is offering up to 25% discounts on select gaming accessories including external drives, gaming headsets, or mobile game controllers. The online store also offers a selection of gaming PC or laptops from Lenovo, Asus, and more manufacturers starting at $699.

In March, Microsoft Teams launched a new live transcription with speaker attribution feature for scheduled meetings. The AI-powered live transcription support is currently available for select enterprise subscribers, but this capability will expand to more customers later this month.

The live transcription with speaker attribution feature identifies each speaker and delivers real-time transcriptions of the conversation during a Teams meeting. As of now, Live transcription in Microsoft Teams is only available for enterprise customers with licenses for Microsoft 365 E3/E5, Business Standard, and Business Premium SKUs.

The company has recently added a new update to its Microsoft 365 roadmap to indicate that it’s making the transcription service available to additional SKUs to make meeting content more accessible to people challenged by hearing issues. The feature is currently being developed and will be rolled out on the Teams desktop clients globally later this month.

With this update, Live transcription with speaker attribution will be supported on the app in English (US) for scheduled Microsoft Teams meetings under the following licenses:

• Office 365 E1
• Office 365 A1
• Office 365/Microsoft 365 A3
• Office 365/Microsoft 365 A5
• Microsoft 365 F1
• Office 365/Microsoft 365 F3
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic SKUs

The live transcription experience in Teams should help to improve the accessibility of the app and the productivity of meeting participants. It also enables people to join a meeting in noisy environments. In case you missed it, Microsoft is also planning to expand live transcription support to unscheduled and channel meetings in Teams in July.

Microsoft has continued to fuel the Windows 11 rumors with the publication of an 11-minute video of remixed Windows Startup Sounds. The Slo-fi Remix video features the Windows 95, XP, and 7 startup sounds slowed down to “a meditative 4,000% reduced speed,” with some beautiful background images of clouds and landscapes to match the default wallpaper for each OS. ​

The software giant sees this video as a must-watch in case you’re “Having trouble relaxing because you’re too excited for the June 24th Microsoft Event.” This is a pretty funny way to tease some upcoming big Windows news, and a nice way to pay homage to popular versions of the OS.

Microsoft will reveal the next generation of Windows on June 24, and there are already several things hinting at a Windows 11 announcement. The event will kick off at 11AM ET, and the imagery Microsoft used in the event invite includes what looks like the reflection of a “11” symbol below the Microsoft logo.

The company will likely keep teasing us in the days leading to the event, and we’ll need to keep an eye out for more Windows 11 clues on the company’s various communications channels. We still have a lot of unanswered questions about what Windows 11 could be, especially what this would mean for the future of Windows 10, but we won’t have to wait much longer to see what the big “Sun Valley” redesign effort will lead to.

The investments being made by Microsoft to enhance the tooling and improve the experience for its developers keep on coming this year. Just when you think they’ve put the lid on Visual Studio 2019 and shift their focus to the new version they surprise us with numerous new features and enhancements.

The .NET Productivity team (aka. Roslyn) continues to enhance your developer productivity with the latest tooling updates in Visual Studio 2019.

Mika Dumont, Product Manager for .NET productivity

In this article we are going to cover what I consider to be the most impactful to the developer community and frankly features that should have been in the IDE years ago.

Removing Unused References

As projects grow and direction changes, many unused and forgotten project or package references are left scattered throughout your code. In the past, developers were left to remove these references manually as they ran into them. That is no more, now we are given the ability to remove unused references across entire projects with a single click. Doing so helps reclaim wasted space, as well as improve the overall performance of the resultant application as well as the project itself within Visual Studio.

Automatically Added Using Directives

We undoubtedly reuse code in our work, whether from our own previous work or from help we got from others on the internet. Pasting code is a very real part of the development process. Now Visual Studio will automatically add any missing using directives when code is pasted into your files. Previously a missing using directive error would be displayed and it was up to developers to add the missing references manually, now that is a thing of the past. This feature is not turned on by default, but taking advantage of it is very easy! You can enable it by opening Visual Studio then going to Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# or Basic > Advanced and select Add missing using directives on paste.

Blazor Improvements

As Blazor becomes a first class citizen in the .NET ecosystem, so does the functionality of the Visual Studio when it comes to MVC, Razor Pages and Blazor. Improvements to IntelliSense for MVC and Razor Pages had improved through out the years, but the arrival of Blazor has really pushed Razor forward. Now developers are getting support for Find All References even in closed Razor files. Razor intrinsic completions along with various improvements to stability and performance when working with large MVC, Razor or Blazor projects.

I have personally suffered from Visual Studio unreliability issues when working on large MVC projects. Broken IntelliSense across views, crashed instances and random slow downs both while coding and debugging. To enable this new feature you must go to Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features  > select Enable experimental Razor editor, followed by a restart of Visual Studio.

For a complete list of bug fixes and improvements check out the release notes for the latest version of Visual Studio 2019 or check out this amazing blog post by Mika Dumont.

The first trailer for the highly-anticipated Elden Ring video game finally dropped this morning during the Summer Game Fest 2021 online event.

The trailer, which can be watched below, showcases a surprising amount of the title’s world, creatures, characters, and gameplay and even gives a fairly solid glimpse at the story Elden Ring players can expect to unravel.

Arguably an even bigger surprise than the trailer drop was the mention of Elden Ring’s release date at the end of it, January 21st 2022. It’s now also been confirmed to be launching on the Xbox Series X console generation in addition to Microsoft’s Xbox One family of consoles though it’s still unclear at this point if this means that there’ll be two separate versions of Elden Ring or just the one for Xbox One that will be playable on the Xbox Series X with some enhancements.

While digital pre-orders have yet to go live, an official game page is now online on the official Xbox website along with a new description for the title.

Elden Ring developed by FromSoftware, Inc. and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki – creator of the influential Dark Souls video game series; and George R.R. Martin – author of The New York Times best-selling fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to-date.

Elden Ring was first announced back during 2019’s E3 and is a collaboration between George R. R. Martin, the creator of the popular Game of Thrones franchise, and Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the Dark Souls video game series.

Are you excited for Elden Ring? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more Xbox news.

For all those times when you’re offline and without internet, you’ll now be able to have more fun in Edge, but better! Microsoft has rolled out some improvements to the Edge Surf game in the Edge Canary channel. At the same time, the company also launched a new podcast themed towards Microsoft Edge.

According to William Devereux, a senior program manager on the Edge team, there are a couple of different improvements here, mainly focused on gameplay. In Edge Canary when doing to edge://surf, you should now see some new obstacles, a simpler character selection menu, and an easier way to share with friends. Of course, also new are the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.

As for the news about the podcast, Microsoft is planning to use its new Edge podcast to talk about how people are using the web to innovate. Episode 1 talked about using Bitcoin for good, and features Jordan Harbinger, and Alex Gladstein. Episode 2 is all about NFTs, featuring Jordan again, and  Cassius Marsh. If you’re interested, you can check out the podcast here.

In other Edge news, the latest Dev Channel update is bringing improvements to fingerprint authentication on MacOS. Check out the full changelog for that release here. Also feel free to let us know how you’re liking the improved Edge surf game by dropping us a comment in the section below.

Following the release of Windows 10 Dev Channel build 21390.1000 (KB5004071) on June 7, Microsoft is yet again pushing out another similar update. That means this build is minor once again, and doesn’t include anything new, rather being designed for testing Microsoft’s servicing pipeline instead.

When you download this update, you should see it under Windows Update as Cumulative Update Build 21390.1010 (KB5004092). Reaction to this build has been mixed, since Microsoft confirmed that builds will be smaller in scope over the next few weeks while the pipeline is tested. We remind you of Microsoft’s explanation for this below.

“We have been testing our servicing pipeline with Cumulative Updates to the builds released to the Dev Channel. Each week, we would release a new build and then follow up with a Cumulative Update on top of that build before moving to the next build. However, we need to test the process of releasing multiple Cumulative Updates on top of each other on top of the same build. As a result of this, over the course of the next several weeks, our focus will be on releasing multiple Cumulative Updates on top of Build 21390. Having Insiders in the Dev Channel test this will be immensely helpful, and we’ll be back to flighting normally again soon.”

Since the June 24 “what’s next for Windows” event is now on the horizon, it won’t be too long until Insiders get to test new builds packed with features. Until then, Microsoft looks to be keeping things secret, and you’ll have to be patient and enjoy smaller builds for the next few weeks to keep your Insider machines active.

Microsoft is adding a new feature in Word for Windows that will bring the ability to proof selected text in documents. The company has announced that this update is currently available for Office 365 subscribers enrolled in the Insider program.

“When you work in a large document in Word, you may want to focus on revising or finalizing a specific section before getting input and feedback from others. In cases like this, you’ll often want to use Editor to check the grammar and spelling, and to make refinements to ensure clarity and conciseness for just that part of the document. Word now makes it easy for you to do so,” the Office Insider team explained.

To use this feature, users will need to open the Word document and select the text they want to proof. Once done, right-click the selected text, and then choose the “Review selection in Editor” option from the context menu. Finally, follow the suggestions provided by the Editor in the right pane to review and address all the issues in the selected text.

The new proof selected text feature is gradually rolling out to Office Insiders running Current Channel (Preview) Build 13929.20216 or later of Word for Windows, so it may not show up on your PC right away. The software gaint noted that it’s one of the most requested features from the community, and the team will continue to gather feedback to finetune the changes.

Mice come in all shapes and sizes, but all are not created equal. Some are wireless, some need batteries, some are big, some are small, some need dongles and some do not.

But what if you’re looking to a mouse that can do it all, yet still stay compact? That’s where the Dell Premier Rechargeable Wireless Mouse, MS7421W, can help you out. We were provided one for review, and here’s a look at why it is a comfy mouse for all your devices.

Design

If you’re spending $70 on a mouse as you are with this one, then the design should be quite unique. That’s why you won’t be disappointed here. This mouse looks a lot like a XPS laptop, with a soft woven platinum-colored silver grip on the outside and silver-colored top for the buttons. Even the weight is slim like a XPS would be, coming in at 0.18 pounds, and just 1.4 inches thick.

Cool as that is, it is what is on the inside that matters. Instead of having to remove the bottom of this mouse, to get inside this one, you pull the top off from the sides. Once you do, you get in to find the USB-dongle. Everything is held in place magnetically, and it is a strong hold as the cover never fell off during my regular usage. Having room for a dongle inside the mouse is important, too, as it means you won’t lose it easily.

It should also be noted that this mouse features USB-C on board for recharging. It is nice to see USB-C as this type of port is becoming more common over micro USB. You’ll also find USB-C on rechargeable mice from Logitech, like the Logitech MX Master 3. And, since this is USB-C, you end up 6 months of battery life, with a full charge in just 3 hours.

Dell includes a USB-C to USB-C cable in the box for you, but you’ll need to supply your own charger brick to charge things up. Just note that only charging happens via USB-C. It won’t carry data via the USB-C port, as this is what the dongle is needed for.

Dell says a two-minute charge can get you through a days work. In my time with the mouse, I haven’t experienced any battery issues, and a full charge has lasted me more than two weeks thus far.

Tracking, buttons & connectivity

There’s more to a mouse than just the design, and tracking and connectivity are also important. Here, Dell has you covered. The mouse offers up to 4,000 DPI, and it is adjustable at three other levels: 1,000, 1,600, and 2,400. You can change the DPI from within Dell’s Peripheral Manager App, which installs once you plug the dongle into your PC. The app also lets you program shortcut buttons, check the battery life, and get firmware updates, too.

As far as tracking performance goes, I was able to use the mouse on many surfaces without a mouse mat. It worked on a wooden table, a glass table, a plastic table, and even tracked on the leather of my jeans. That’s all thanks to the optical LED tracker.

But what really makes this mouse cool is it’s ability to connect to different devices at the same time. You can connect and switch across three different devices at once. One connection happens via the 2.4 GHz wireless dongle, and two are reserved for Bluetooth. You can switch between them with a click of a button at the top of the mouse. No need to flip the mouse over, like on a Logitech MX Master 3.

Another thing that’s great about this Dell mouse is the scroll wheel in the middle. Not only does it let you scroll up and down, but the wheel also tilts to the left and the right, allowing you to move left and right in webpages when you have windows open side by side. Paired with the side buttons, this makes navigating the web so easy.

Note that this mouse is certified to work on Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Mac, Linux, Chrome, Android and iOS. Basically, take it anywhere you go.

A nice mouse to buy

If you need a premium mouse, then the Dell Premier Rechargeable Wireless Mouse is one to buy. The comfy design of this mouse is quite unique, and USB-C connectivity makes it easy to charge. Bluetooth and the USB dongle also means that you can use it no matter where you go. You can buy it today from Dell for $70, but it is usually on sale for around $60.

Microsoft is going all-in on Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming this year, as CEO Satya Nadella and Xbox head Phil Spencer have just announced some pretty exciting news this morning. Microsoft’s cloud gaming service is coming soon to TVs, PCs, and iOS devices, and the Xbox Cloud Gaming servers are also being upgraded with Xbox Series X hardware, a process that’s now almost complete.

As for Xbox Game Pass, the company didn’t share an update on its 18 million subscribers number from January, but the company is planning to grow its subscription service by releasing new first-party exclusive games on Xbox Game Pass more regularly going forward. “With more than 23 studios worldwide creating games for Xbox, our goal is to release at least one new, first party game into Game Pass every quarter. Role playing games, shooters, strategy titles, adventure games, and more are all being built by our first party teams to ensure that there is a steady stream of compelling exclusive content to explore,” the company said today.

To grow the number of Xbox Game Pass subscribers, Microsoft is also working on new tiers that could make the service even more accessible for gamers. “Xbox is exploring new subscription offerings for Xbox Game Pass so more players around the world can experience the most immersive and fun games across devices, geographies, and financial realities,” the company said today, without sharing further details.

Microsoft is also teaming up with telecommunications companies to create new offerings similar to Xbox All Access, which currently allow consumers to get an Xbox console and an Xbox Game Pass subscription for a low monthly price. “I think we are going to get to a point where the majority of Xbox users are signing up for Game Pass,” Xbox head of game creator experiences Sarah Bond told Axios.

If gaming subscription services like Xbox Game Pass are still pretty new, Microsoft has new data to show that it can be a great opportunity for game developers and publishers. “Whether it’s purchasing games inside or outside of what’s available in the library, or purchasing additional content for the games they like, members spend 50% more than non-members,” the Xbox team explained today.

Microsoft also confirmed today that Xbox Game Pass members play 30% more genres and play 40% more games, and publishers willing to launch their new games on day one on Xbox Game Pass can really benefit from the bigger exposure. There are two recent examples with Square Enix’s Outriders, which was the #1 selling digital game on Xbox during its launch week and a top 10 selling digital game on Xbox in the month of April. MLB: The Show 21 was also the #1 selling paid game on Xbox in April, and the second biggest sports game of all time on Xbox.

Battlefield 2042 was officially unveiled earlier this week and digital pre-orders for the upcoming first-person shooter are now live in the Microsoft Store for Xbox consoles.

The game is currently set for release on October 22nd later this year and will come in completely separate versions for the last-gen Xbox One family of consoles and the current-gen Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.

While in-game content will be fairly similar between the two versions, the current-gen (Xbox Series X) version will support online multiplayer matches with up to 128 players while the last-gen (Xbox One) version will be limited to 64-player matches.

The Xbox One version of Battlefield 2042 is currently priced at $59.99 while the Xbox Series X version is $69.99. Gold and Ultimate Edition bundles containing both versions and some additional content are also up for pre-order at $99.99 and $119.99 respectively.

It’s important to emphasise that, while the Xbox One version is playable on the Xbox Series S and X consoles, doing so won’t unlock the higher player count. Nor will playing the Xbox One version on an Xbox Series X unlock the current-gen version for free. The two versions are completely separate products.

More details on Battlefield 2042 will be revealed on June 13th with the title expected to be featured in Microsoft’s E3 Xbox and Bethesda-themed presentation.

Are you hyped for Battlefield 2042? Which version are you going to pre-order? Sign off in the comments below and then follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more Xbox gaming news.

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Battlefield™ 2042 Xbox One

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Battlefield™ 2042 Gold Edition Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S

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Battlefield™ 2042 Ultimate Edition Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S

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Three Xbox video games will be free to play this weekend beginning today. Ark: Survival Evolved and Football Manager 2021 Xbox Edition will both be playable from today until Sunday, June 13th at 11:59PM PDT while Fallout 76 will unlock today at 9AM PDT and remain playable for free until Wednesday, June 16th at 9:00AM PDT.

The Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase is currently scheduled for June 13th so it’s likely that, with Fallout 76 being a Bethesda title, some new content will be announced (or launched) next week and the ongoing free play promotional period will be used to help build hype for whatever is revealed.

As with previous free play promotions, each title will be available to play in full on Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles as if they were owned outright and all progress will be saved to the cloud for continuing at a later date.

Which Xbox game will you play this weekend? Let us know in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more Xbox gaming news.

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ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition

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Football Manager 2021 Xbox Edition

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Microsoft has announced that it is launching a lightweight Visio web app for Microsoft 365 commercial customers. As of today, the professional diagramming tool is only available as a standalone application, but the company plans to begin rolling out a lightweight version of the app in July.

“Visio has long been available only as a standalone app for purchase for people with specialized diagramming needs. But this is changing. We are recognizing an increasing need for a diagramming solution for everyone to convey information more effectively, which is why we’re excited to announce that we’ll be bringing core Visio capabilities to Microsoft 365 for all commercial license subscribers,” explained Seth Patton, GM, Microsoft 365 at Microsoft.

Microsoft Visio allows users to create professional Visio diagrams effortlessly, and it includes several popular diagram templates such as process diagrams and basic flowcharts. The online tool provides seamless integration with other Microsoft 365 products, including Microsoft Teams.

The new web-based Visio application will be accessible from Office Online, and it will offer a collaborative diagramming experience by allowing business users to create, edit and share diagrams with their colleagues. The app will be available for all business users with Microsoft 365 Business/Office 365 E1/E3/E5, F3, A1, A3, A5 licenses at no additional cost, and you can find the full list here.

Microsoft noted that only a limited number of Microsoft 365 commercial customers would get early access to this new lightweight Visio web app, and it is not yet available in the E.U. The company plans to expand its availability to more users gradually. If you’re interested, we invite you to check out the “Visio for everyone” podcast to learn more about the Visio web app in Microsoft 365.

Prior to the pandemic, Microsoft had already begun shuttering its physical retail presence as it conceded hosting an in-store experience to competitors such as Apple and Samsung, however, it seems the company may be ready to re-enter the fray.

After accelerating the closure of its physical retail presence by liquidating its locked stock and writing off the leasing contracts for physical stores last year amid the heights of COVID-19 infections and the uncertain future of in-person gatherings, Microsoft’s retail experience appeared shackled to online indefinitely.

However, The Verge is reporting that Microsoft will dip its toes back into retail efforts with its hyper curated experiences at its ‘Experience Centers’. The Microsoft ECs differ from their former retail experiences in that they are further limited in their physical presence across the globe but increases the interactivity with guest and the locations features. The now shuttered Microsoft Store retail experience was a 2/3 purchasing experience and 1/3 interactive meeting hub where coding classes, gaming events, demos and seasonal celebrations were hosted, and there were over 100 locations throughout North America, Canada, Europe and Australia.

Microsoft Experience Centers are flipping that dynamic to cater primarily to hosting of business customers and events, more so than selling Surface devices between the three locations in New York, Sydney, and London.

Microsoft’s reported goal is reopening its ECs as early as July 1, 2021, where it will showcase select Microsoft products excluding Xbox Series X/S consoles due to chip shortages.

Our Microsoft Experience Centers were created to provide customers a way to experience our products in person. We use these spaces to test and experiment, and continue to evolve the experience based on customer feedback. Starting July 1st, customers will be able to purchase select Microsoft products at the New York, London and Sydney locations.

-Travis Walter, Microsoft’s head of retail stores