Indies will "find Xbox One to be a fantastic platform", argues Microsoft.
Speaking to OXM in our new issue, on sale now, Xbox director of development Boyd Multerer has spoken at length about why Xbox One is a "fantastic" choice for an independent studio. Any registered ID@Xbox developers want to chime in on that?
I'm on a boat!.
EA has confirmed that its third expansion, Naval Strike, will be released on 25th March to Battlefield 4 Premium subscribers, before going on release to us other mere mortals a little later on 8th April.
"I sincerely hope that you are ready for that challenge, because I sure as hell am!".
During an hour-long impassioned speech at GDC this week (via Polygon), Manveer Heir, a gameplay designer for the Mass Effect series, urged listeners to push back against what he called the social injustices present in modern games whilst proposing new ways to work against them as a community.
Manufacturer wants to "actively encourage them to be better".
Xbox Live users may soon be automatically handed unspecified gifts in return for good behaviour, as well as being penalised when they bother other people. It's a mixture of carrot and stick. Hmm, come to think of it - an appropriately sized carrot actually makes for a pretty decent stick.
The chances of a sequel are based on the sales performance of the original.
The rights to a Titanfall sequel is with EA, sources close to Gamespot have claimed.
Onslaught pack yours for 72 hours.
Activision has announced that Onslaught, the first DLC pack for Call of Duty: Ghosts, will be free to try later this week for both Xbox One and Xbox 360. Of course, you'll need a copy of the game to play it.
Two Assassin's Creed games to release this year, claims report.
Ubisoft will release two new Assassin's Creed games this year, code-named "Unity" and "Comet", one of which is set partly or entirely in 18th century Paris. That's according to a report over at Kotaku, which also contains a selection of work-in-progress screenshots.
Ubisoft takes GDC 2014 by (Snow)storm.
Were I a disciple of PlayStation, I might be tempted to describe Tom Clancy's The Division as a Last of Us MMO. There's the same bleak beauty to the world you find in Naughty Dog's game, whether you zoom to inspect the flies buzzing around a burger box, or pull back to a shot of a suspension bridge.
Screens and a video captured by previewers.
New info on the next Xbox One system update has surfaced, care of the Xbox Live users lucky enough to get preview access. To start with the itty-bitty stuff, the patch adds a couple of new icons to the dashboard - the first indicates when you can join a friend's game, the second indicates that a game has been updated recently, perhaps in your absence.
Will offer "the same 6v6 gameplay, maps, modes, weapons and Burn Cards" as the Xbox One version.
The Xbox 360 version of Respawn's Titanfall has been delayed a second time - it'll now release on 8th April in North America and 11th April in Europe, rather than 25th and 28th March, so that port developer Bluepoint can do a little eleventh hour polishing.
Expect "fairly large improvements" to graphics as devs master the GPU and ESRAM.
Xbox director of development Boyd Multerer "fully expects" more game developers to achieve native 1080p on Xbox One as time goes by - it's a question of tweaking performance to suit the console's GPU and ESRAM setup in particular.
Another morsel of info about the next update.
The long wait continues for the next Minecraft Xbox 360 update - a wait punctured by surgical teasers on the part of 4J Studios, according to whom the list of bugs "is getting shorter every day".
You'll have to pay for extra upload slots, however.
Team Dakota has fiddled around with Project Spark's mildly controversial, somewhat confusing microtransaction system in response to beta player misgivings.
Let's have a "bring your controller" party.
Among last night's crop of new ID@Xbox titles is Riptide GP 2, created by Vector Unit, developer of the ancient Hydro Thunder Hurricane for Xbox 360. It's a good-looking sci-fi racer with realistic water physics and lots of lovely, futuristic track furniture, that puts me immediately in mind of Wipeout.
"A game is constantly being balanced".
Dark Souls II launched to near universal critical acclaim, but that hasn't stopped some quarters from rallying against it for a perceived dip in visual quality in the final game when compared to earlier footage of the game in action.
Twenty five indie titles for Xbox One.
Microsoft has confirmed die games to be released for Xbox One under the ID@Xbox label. Twenty five games from nine countries around the world, some you know about - such as Nutjitsu and Roundabout - while many more are brand new.
Or get up to 45% off a subscription to one of our sister magazines.
Spring! 'Tis the season of bounty, beauty, botany and some other word that begins with "b", and which stands for "cheaper magazines". Beginning today you can pick up a subscription to a Future mag for up to 45 per cent off, as part of our publisher's latest seasonal sale. The cheapest of the lot are a mere #163;13.49, including delivery charges, and overseas delivery is available.
Various Rockstar hits reduced in latest Deal of the Week.
This week's Deals of the Week are rather triumphant - four classic Rockstar titles (plus a Season Pass) for 75 per cent off. You may be able to find some of the older games for less at an online retailer, but I suspect it'll be a struggle: the ancient Midnight Club: Los Angeles is now a piffling #163;2.99 or $3.74, for instance.
No beta code needed - let your imagination run riot.
Microsoft has thrown open the Project Spark Xbox One beta to all Xbox Live users. Fancy living the giddy life of a game developer? Now's your chance.
If you can see it, you can drive there.
So it turns out Ubisoft has been sneakily releasing screenshots for open world racer The Crew via social media - and here's me sitting by the side of the road, watching them go past like the proverbial bloody chicken. Time to make good on those missed opportunities. To the Gallery Mobile, my friends!
