Xbox Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Xbox‘s principal product manager Harrison Hoffman has said that streaming games on a TV should be just as easy as watching a Netflix film.During a discussion with GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom 2022 yesterday (August 24), Hoffman spoke about Xbox’s recent partnership with Samsung which will bring Xbox Game Pass to its Smart TVs without the need for a console.The product manager explained that while bringing Microsoft‘s games to mobile devices is still a focal point for the company, putting emphasis on the fact that cloud gaming is “a core part of our long-term gaming strategy,” TV is just as important.“Different people have different types of behaviour, certain games lend themselves to quick gaming sessions or gaming on a smaller screen,” Hoffman explained.“But one of the reasons I’m particularly excited about the TV app is that our games really shine on the big screen, they’re made for the big screen, so this seems like such a logical next step for us.”Hoffman added that he thinks streaming and playing games through a TV should be just as simple as watching a film through a streaming service.“People have really gotten used to streaming their movies and TV through the Netflix app or Disney+ app. We want to make it as easy for people to stream a game as it is to stream a movie from Netflix.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Morty Smith, the easily distressed teen from hit animated show “Rick and Morty,” has joined Warner Bros. Games’ “MultiVersus” mashup fighting title as a new playable character. Morty — the teenage grandson of a mega-genius scientist Rick Sanchez — arrives as part of “MultiVersus” Season 1 and is a Bruiser-class character with more than a few tricks up his sleeve. According to WB Games, Rick will also be joining “MultiVersus” in the coming months. Morty’s moveset (which you can see in the newly revealed gameplay trailer, below) features a mix of skills and attacks, from his muscle-enhanced left arm Armothy and Plumbus (an all-purpose alien device) to his ability to whip himself at opponents and use various projectiles. “MultiVersus” also features the President Morty character variant, which is available as an in-game purchase.

Brittany Vincent If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Getting your hands on one of the new Xbox Series X consoles can feel like winning the lottery.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWarner Bros. Games’ “MultiVersus” — the free-to-play platform fighter that brings together a bevy of characters from across the WB portfolio — has surpassed over 20 million players less than a month after it launched in open beta, according to the company.“MultiVersus” kicked off the open beta on July 26 and Season 1 launched Aug. 15 with a new Battle Pass for players to earn in-game rewards.The game lets players team up in two-on-two fights and pick from a range of Warner Bros.

Bethesda games have been added to PC Game Pass, including older titles from the studio’s Elder Scrolls, Wolfenstein and Quake franchises.As of yesterday (August 18), the following six games are available to PC Game Pass subscribers:Additionally, anyone who pays for the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription tier will have every champion unlocked in Quake Champions.Back in April, Redguard and Battlespire arrived on Steam for the first time, along with several other older titles.Six legendary Bethesda games are available today on @XboxGamePassPC:

Microsoft has alleged that Sony has a practice of paying developers “blocking rights” to stop games from being launched on Xbox Game Pass.The statement has been filed in response to Sony’s recent comments on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Speaking to a Brazilian regulatory body, Sony claimed  Microsoft acquiring Call Of Duty would make it challenging to rival; which would in turn have an effect on what console gamers chose to play their titles on.Now (via The Verge), Microsoft has argued that Sony is still large enough to rival the company, and claims ongoing business practices show Sony is actively doing so.“Microsoft’s ability to continue expanding Game Pass has been hampered by Sony’s desire to inhibit such growth,” claimed the company, explaining that “Sony pays for ‘blocking rights’ to prevent developers from adding content to Game Pass and other competing subscription services.”Microsoft went on to say that Sony’s concerns over the acquisition are “incoherent,” and says it reveals “a fear about an innovative business model that offers high-quality content at low costs to gamers.”How Microsoft’s ongoing acquisition of Activision Blizzard will affect the games industry has been under scrutiny since it was announced.

Bandai Namco has announced that Dragon Ball FighterZ will be coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles alongside a rollback netcode update.Announced during the annual fighting game tournament Evo 2022 (August 5 to 7), it was confirmed that alongside a current-gen release which is now in development, Dragon Ball FighterZ, as well as Samurai Shodown, will be getting rollback netcode.Rollback netcode is pretty important in online fighting games and is a frequently requested feature to be added. Most fighting games feature delay-based netcode, meaning when players hit buttons they aren’t acted on or seen immediately by either player.

Xbox has revealed itself as the latest corporate entity to be recruited into the BTS Army, unveiling a special edition controller that “sings” their new joint with Benny Blanco and Snoop Dogg, ‘Bad Decisions’.The controller – which is fully compatible with the Xbox suite of consoles, but is “intended for display use only” – comes in a bold red and white colourway, with the faceplate sporting the ‘Bad Decisions’ title and the names of the song’s three creators. The back of the controller is embedded with a speaker, which plays a snippet of the song when a button is pressed. Fans hoping to buy one of the controllers are out of luck, though: only 30 of them have been made, and all of them will be available exclusively through a Twitter competition.

Brittany Vincent If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Looking to add a new gaming console to your collection? It can be difficult to choose between what’s currently on the market. Are you looking to play the buzziest games of the year with the best hardware possible? Or would you prefer to take all of your games on the go with you? Whatever you’re looking to do, there’s a console that fits your needs perfectly.

Microsoft has announced a new wave of games coming to the Xbox Game Pass service over the next couple of weeks.As always, games both enter and leave Game Pass every month. These are the games that will be coming to Xbox Game Pass at the beginning of August:Ghost Recon: Wildlands, the open-world third-person shooter co-developed by Ubisoft Paris and Ubisoft Milan, will be available on Xbox Game pass today.

Xbox creator and Jurassic Park: Trespasser designer Seamus Blackley has outlined how a game pitch to director Stephen Spielberg eventually morphed into the Jurassic World movies.Blackley mentioned the story in brief on his Twitter last week (July 23), writing: “I wrote a story and design, and made a trailer. The management at Universal changed, and the project became a film.”In the ‘90s, Blackley worked at DreamWorks on locomotion physics, and the only way the company would fund a game that used them was if it was a Jurassic Park title.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorFire up your high-end home entertainment rigs: HBO Max next month will unleash all eight seasons of “Game of Thrones” in 4K Ultra HD, HDR 10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, promising richly detailed video and cinema-like sound.HBO Max has not provided an exact date yet for when the 4K versions of “GOT” will be available — however, according to Warner Bros. Discovery, they will be available only to customers on the ad-free tier ($14.99/month), not the ad-supported plan ($9.99/month).In addition to all past episodes of “Game of Thrones” in the enhanced formats, HBO Max will debut prequel series “House of the Dragon” on Aug.

Kate Upton and daughter Genevieve are stepping out to support to Justin Verlander!

was first revealed in January.“Mortal Kombat” marked McQuoid’s feature directorial debut, and the film ended with a clear path forward for the franchise as the titular challenge does not occur within the events of the first movie. A post-credits scene also teased the inclusion of the character Johnny Cage in a sequel.The cast included Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica MacNamee as Sonya Blade and Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion.“Mortal Kombat” (2021) was produced by Atomic Monster’s James Wan, Broken Road Production’s Todd Garner, Simon McQuoid and E.

EXCLUSIVE: Grounded is the latest videogame that is being adapted as a TV series.

Xbox and was the former head of design on Halo Infinite, has founded his own studio, called Jar Of Sparks.In a recent IGN interview, Hook explained that Jar Of Sparks will focus on creating AAA action-adventure games and aims to “create a new generation of narrative-driven action games” with “immersive worlds.”Alongside Hook, other founding members include the lead narrative designer of the Batman: Arkham trilogy, Paul Crocker, as well as Doom producer Greg Stone, and Steve Dyck, who helped create the Halo series and NBA Street. Jar Of Sparks has also been formed in conjunction with NetEase.Although in the early stages of forming its core team, Hook estimated that Jar Of Sparks’ first game will arrive in three to four years.

Michael Nordine author If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. It isn’t just prestige television series that want to be thought of as “like a 10-hour movie.” For years now, video games have sought to become more cinematic by focusing as much on narrative as they do on interactivity.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorBritain’s antitrust regulatory body has launched a probe into whether Microsoft’s mega-deal for Activision Blizzard would reduce competition in the U.K.Microsoft announced its $69 billion bid for Activision Blizzard in January, which would be the biggest-ever acquisition in the video-game business. The companies have said they expect the deal to close by mid-2023.On Wednesday, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority said it investigating whether Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger “may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.”The CMA’s deadline for public comment on the matter is July 20.

Microsoft’s record-breaking acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The report comes from business news publication CNBC, which notes that this is one of the first probes of the acquisition by a major antitrust enforcer. It’s stated the investigation will “consider whether the deal could harm competition and lead to worse outcomes for consumers – for example, through higher prices, lower quality, or reduced choice.”The Competition And Markets Authority has a September 1 deadline set for its initial decision, with a consultation lasting until July 20, 2022 while it takes feedback from third parties.The deal was announced back in January of this year for £58billion ($69billion), and is currently by far the most expensive acquisition in industry history.

Kaare Eriksen Information EditorOphir Lupu has exited UTA after more than 10 years as a partner and the agency’s head of video games.The split is said to be amicable. When reached by Variety, Lupu declined to comment.

Xbox Games with Gold service will no longer be offering Xbox 360 games starting in October.Games with Gold is a service available to subscribers of Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. It’s essentially a few freely downloadable games that Microsoft chooses every month.

Yakuza franchise is currently on Xbox Game Pass as three titles have made a return to the service.All of the games from the main series – not including spin-offs like Judgment – are currently on Game Pass, from the remake of the original Yakuza in 2005 to 2019’s Like A Dragon.The three titles that have been reintroduced to Game Pass are 0, Kiwami and Kiwami 2 (via Wario64).All of the franchisetitles on Game Pass are listed below:Whilst some of these are technically prequels or remakes of classictitles, it now means that as of publication every entry in the main franchise is on Game Pass, and this goes for all versions including PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.Back in Februaryfranchise creator Toshihiro Nagoshi explained how his new team at Nagoshi Studio wants to approach making video games.“Well, when the team and I decided to start a new studio, we knew we’d be leaving the content we had previously been working on behind,” Nagoshi said.“But I also have a strong mental attitude and a lot of ideas I would like to try, which could even surpass my previous work, so I was confident that leaving the old series behind will afford the chance to try new things.”There’s still no confirmation as to what Nagoshi Studio’s first game will be, but Nagoshi himself said it will include “a high level of human drama.”In other news, it’s been confirmed that a remake of 2012 cult-classic Lollipop Chainsaw is on the way next year.

Xbox and Bethesda showcase this summer we got a good look at Redfall from Arkane Studios. The new open world co-op shooter kicked the show off and since then we’ve been given more details on the game’s story.

The F1 22 driver ratings at launch have been revealed, with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton sharing top spot with an overall ranking of 94. Codemasters have been working on an all-new algorithm to produce the initial driver ratings for F1 2022, which will be released on PS4, PS5, Xbox X, S, and One plus PC on July 1.

A man accused of murdering a 15-year-old boy and attempting to murder the child's mother in could go on trial in December. Suleman Altaf, 44, has been charged with the murder of Jakub Szymanski, the attempted murder of his mother, 40-year-old Katarzyna Bastek, and possession of a knife in a public place.

Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty spoke about how existing multiplatform Activision Blizzard titles will be handled once the Microsoft acquisition goes through.Booty stated during the briefing (via IGN): “If we acquire a game that comes with a big community across a number of platforms the last thing we want to do is take something away.” He continues: “If anything, we feel that it’s our job to be caretakers, to be shepherds, to continue to build and nurture that community, not to cut it up into pieces and try to take some of it away.”GM for Programming and Events Tina Summerford used Microsoft’s acquisition of Minecraft as an example of the company’s philosophy, with that title continuing to receive support on all platforms as opposed to new updates being locked down to Xbox.So, this seems to imply that ongoing titles such as Overwatch (and its upcoming sequel), Call Of Duty: Warzone, and perhaps even future Call Of Duty titles will remain multiplatform. Summerford noted that while they’ll support existing titles, there will still be some games that will be made exclusive.

Microsoft has announced a new program designed to bring demos to Xbox Game Pass, and it’s called Project Moorcroft.The early game demos intended for the Project Moorcroft initiative are meant to replicate the demos played during gaming conferences such as E3 or PAX.“We were sitting around as a team thinking, you remember it used to be you go to E3, you go to PAX, and you would go visit some of your favourite creators and they would have a piece or a level of a game that you could sit there and play, and there would be someone from the studio like right next to you in your ear being like: ‘press that button, go under there, do that stuff,'” said Sarah Bond, corporate vice president of game creator experience and ecosystem at Microsoft Gaming, speaking to press.“And you would get to experience the game, and they would get to generate excitement about what they’re building and what’s coming next.“So we said you know what?” Bond explained, “Why don’t we take Game Pass and make it like the show floor? Why don’t we make it possible for a developer to take a piece, a level of their game, release it into Game Pass, generate excitement for what’s coming, and also get that really valuable feedback as they are tuning and preparing their game for launch?”Bond also added that Microsoft set up the program to not just benefit the player, but it benefits the developers as well by giving them financial compensation for the game. It will also allow developers to receive feedback as well.Project Moorcroft is set to release within the next year and will begin by focusing on indie games.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV’s streaming wars aren’t just about TV.Microsoft’s Xbox will bring cloud gaming to Samsung 2022 smart TVs starting June 30 — in a bid to bring videogaming to a broader audience, who won’t have to rely on a console — and eke out share in the battle for consumer attention on the connected TV screen. The company expects the Xbox app on Samsung Gaming Hub will be available in 27 countries.“We are bringing the Xbox app to Samsung Smart TVs first, and our intent is to explore other TV partnerships as part of the next evolution in our vision,” Ashley McKissick, corporate vice president, gaming experiences and platforms for Xbox, said in a statement.Announced ahead of CES 2022, Samsung Gaming Hub includes partnerships with game streaming services including Google Stadia, Nvidia GeForce Now and Utomik.

Xbox consoles has changed secret achievements, and it’s quite a handy change for any hunters out there.Xbox users can now view secret achievements natively, as announced via an Xbox Wire post. On how to access the information, the post reads: “From within a game, open the guide and go to Game activity > Achievements.

The Sims 4 developer Maxis has given the game’s Goth family a visual update, though fans are divided on whether the new look works.Yesterday (May 25), Maxis shared a before-and-after clip to reveal a makeover for The Sims 4‘s Goth family.“Grab the fruitcake & welcome wagon  – the new & improved Goth family is available now in every new game start in The Sims 4,” announced Maxis.Grab the fruitcake & welcome wagon

BT are offering customers a limited number of Xbox Series X consoles in a new sale which has launched today. The telecoms company has a select amount of stock of the Microsoft console which is proving difficult to buy among gamers.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout would branch out to other platforms, and although we knew it was coming to Nintendo Switch and the Xbox family of consoles, we now have a date, and it’s June 21st.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The Nintendo Switch has seen its first significant price drop since it first released in 2017.

Crystal Dynamics will still work on the Perfect Dark reboot with The Initiative following news that the former studio will be acquired by Embracer Group.Earlier today (May 2) it was announced that Square Enix has decided to sell much of its western development arm for around £240million ($300million USD), with that including Tomb Raider and Marvel’s Avengers developer Crystal Dynamics.Since then, Xbox-owned studio The Initiative has quote tweeted Crystal Dynamics statement concerning the acquisition, confirming that the studio is still working on the upcoming Perfect Dark game.“We’re excited to see Crystal Dynamics take these next steps with their studio. Our teams have made great progress in building Perfect Dark together as co-development partners, and we will be continuing this work with them in their next chapter.”The deal is also set to include Square Enix Montréal, Eidos-Montréal and the Thief and Legacy Of Kain franchises.The upcoming Perfect Dark game appears to be undergoing development troubles, as director Dan Neuburger left the studio in February and “fast and furious” losses were reported to be taking place there as well.This news means that at present, Crystal Dynamics is supporting Marvel’s Avengers, co-developing Perfect Dark and in the early stages of a new Tomb Raider title.As confirmed in April, the next Tomb Raider game will run on Unreal Engine 5 as Crystal Dynamics wants to “push the envelope of fidelity”.“This new engine translates into next-level storytelling and gameplay experiences,” said franchise general manager Dallas Dickinson.

The highly anticipated sequel to Overwatch has announced a beta testing event will soon be taking place.

A convicted paedophile is back behind bars after he was caught engaging in online chats about child abuse weeks after his release from jail. Brett Harriss, 28, had been locked up for 27 months after he ignored a court order and used an Xbox to trawl the internet for child pornography.