Microsoft is announcing today that Xbox Party Chat will be free for Xbox owners soon. The software maker has started testing a new Xbox dashboard update with testers today that unlocks Xbox Party Chat, multiplayer in free-to-play games, and the Looking For Groups (LFG) feature.
Xbox Party Chat is a surprise addition to Microsoft’s announced plans to remove the paywall for free-to-play multiplayer games. The removal came after Microsoft was forced to reverse a price hike to its Xbox Live Gold subscriptions earlier this year. Microsoft is also renaming its Xbox Live service to just Xbox network, which is part of dashboard changes the company is currently testing.
Xbox Insiders in Alpha Skip Ahead & Alpha today we are flighting some new features. Multiplayer in Free-to-play games, Looking 4 Groups and Party Chat on Xbox no longer requires an Xbox Live Gold membership as we flight and test these service changes ahead of general availability
— Brad Rossetti (@WorkWombatman) March 24, 2021
Xbox testers can now access multiplayer free-to-play games like Fortnite, without needing an Xbox Live Gold subscription. This puts Xbox in line with Sony and Nintendo’s online services that also don’t require a subscription for free-to-play games.
These changes will appear for all Xbox owners in the coming months, once Microsoft is ready to push this dashboard update out to all users. This latest dashboard update also includes a new firmware update for the Xbox Wireless Headset that will improve mic monitoring levels and lower the volume of status tones.
With cinemas closed, many of us are looking for ways to create a big-screen cinema experience at home. Step forward the Hisense L5F Laser Cinema, a new ultra-short throw projector that can throw a 120-inch 4K image when placed just 14-inches from a vertical surface.
The H5F – the latest addition to the Chinese tech firm’s L5 series of 4K projectors – launched in the US this week and carries an MSRP of $5000 (around £3700, AU$6600). Built-in Android TV brings support for a plethora of popular streaming apps such as Netflix and Hulu, and there’s a voice remote for using Google Assistant.
The DLP projector uses a single X-Fusion blue laser light source and phosphor colour filter for a claimed brightness of almost 2700 lumens and more than a billion colours. Indeed, Hisense claims the the L5F “delivers up to 83% of the DCI-P3 color gamut” – not bad for a projector that can be stowed away neatly between uses.
According to Hisense, the L5F delivers “true-to-life picture quality” with HDR support coming in the form of HDR10 and HLG. The company’s MEMC smooth motion technology should help deliver on the promise of crisp images during fast-moving scenes.
The projector has two 15-watt built-in speakers, so it’s technically an all-in-one entertainment solution. That said, you’d do well to upgrade to a separate soundbar or surround sound speakers if you want an audio experience worthy of the silver screen.
Those with a next-gen gaming console (here’s where to buy a PS5 and Xbox Series X, if you’re struggling to find one) will be pleased to note that you can connect a gaming system via the L5F’s four HDMI ports.
There’s no word on when the L5F will be available in the UK, but last year’s 100-inch L5F launched at AO.com for £5000 (it’s now dropped to £3000).
Looking for a more affordable way to get a big picture without a huge TV cluttering up your living room? Take a spin around our guide to the best projectors.
MORE:
Our pick of the best projectors: Full HD, 4K, portable, short throw
Hisense launches new TriChroma laser TVs at CES 2021
Expert advice: How to set up your projector and get the best picture
Back in September, Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox Series X and Series S would be the first-ever games consoles to support Dolby Vision, and it now seems that some users are now able to play games in the format, Forbes reports.
Series X/S gamers with compatible TVs have noticed that HDR games have started playing in Dolby Vision following the latest software update. The feature is currently available to a few Alpha Ring users, members of Xbox’s ‘invite only’ preview club, and only works with 4:2:2 60Hz game content.
In a statement to Forbes, Microsoft said: “As we announced last year, we’re excited to be bringing Dolby Vision support for gaming to our new Xbox consoles in 2021. The feature is currently in testing, and we’ll have more to announce on general availability timing and functionality soon.”
While many had previously assumed that Dolby Vision HDR would only feature on titles that use the format in their game engines, players are claiming all HDR games are now being shown in the format. Users are claiming the brightness, black levels, and colour saturation of HDR games now appear more refined compared to playing in HDR10.
This would indicate that the Xbox consoles are forcing Dolby Vision to be applied to all HDR-compatible games, instead of making the most out of games designed for Dolby Vision. But, it’s still early days, so we’ll have to see what happens when the feature rolls out to all Xbox Series X/S consoles later this year.
Microsoft is rebranding Xbox Live to Xbox network. Instances of the new branding started appearing in the Xbox dashboard recently for beta testers, with clips being uploaded to “Xbox network” instead of Xbox Live. Microsoft has now confirmed the name change.
“’Xbox network’ refers to the underlying Xbox online service, which was updated in the Microsoft Services Agreement,” says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to The Verge. “The update from ‘Xbox Live’ to ‘Xbox network’ is intended to distinguish the underlying service from Xbox Live Gold memberships.”
Microsoft has used Xbox Live to refer to its underlying Xbox service since its original launch 18 years ago. Larry Hryb, better known as Major Nelson, has been known as “Xbox Live’s Major Nelson” for years, but Hryb now refers to himself as “Xbox’s Major Nelson.”
Hints at a name change originally appeared back in August, after Microsoft updated its Services Agreement. At the time, Microsoft said it wasn’t rebranding the service and had no plans to discontinue Xbox Live Gold. Instead, Microsoft went on to announce a price hike for Xbox Live Gold that the company was forced to quickly reverse.
Microsoft is now planning to drop the subscription requirement for free-to-play games on its Xbox network in the coming months. Games like Fortnite will no longer require Xbox Live Gold as a result, but Microsoft hasn’t yet confirmed exactly when the paywall will be removed.
We already knew that Resident Evil Village will release on a slew of platforms, including the PS5 and Xbox Series X / S. And today, Google announced that the game will also arrive on Stadia. To encourage you to buy this version, Google will throw in a free Stadia Premiere kit to anyone who preorders Resident Evil Village before May 21st. The promotion is available for both the Standard and Deluxe Editions of Resident Evil Village, which cost $60 and $70, respectively.
Normally priced at $100, Google’s Stadia Premiere Edition features a white Stadia controller, a Chromecast Ultra, and, for new users, a one-month trial subscription to Stadia’s Pro-tier service. Stadia Pro includes 4K streaming and a growing collection of free games, similar to Sony’s PlayStation Plus service.
Google had a similar promotion last year when it offered complimentary hardware if you preordered the Stadia version of Cyberpunk 2077. The Resident Evil Village promotion announcement comes at an interesting time as Stadia’s future looks questionable. In February, Google shut down its internal Stadia development studio. That same month, reports from Bloomberg and Wired shed light on some of the tech giant’s failures in building its cloud gaming platform.
Before Resident Evil Village arrives on May 7th, Google also announced today that Stadia Pro members can redeem a free copy of Resident Evil 7 Gold Edition when the game launches on the cloud gaming service on April 1st.
Mustafa Mahmoud 1 day ago Featured Tech News, PC, Software & Gaming
Recently, The Evil Within was added to Xbox Game Pass. In a surprising discovery however, on PC it would appear as though The Evil Within received an entirely new port which includes new features, quality of life updates, and more.
As discovered by YouTuber Jigzaw_Killer, the Game Pass version of The Evil Within appears to be a new PC port, which brings with it a number of improvements over the original release. This new version includes:
First person mode
FOV option
Infinite ammo mode
Icons for lantern/sneaking in first person view
Low/Medium options for Camera Bob
Adjusted stamina where you can now run for 5 seconds at default stamina (as opposed to the original’s 3 seconds)
All DLC Included
Separate Achievement List from Xbox
Less janky and more smooth overall
As can be seen, the changes are not insignificant, and make for a much better playing experience. The Evil Within wasn’t the only game to be improved however. The Game Pass release of NieR: Automata on PC is reportedly also an improved port. While the changes don’t appear to be as significant as The Evil Within’s, many of the PC specific performance problems have seemingly been fixed.
Microsoft’s decision to improve these older Game Pass titles is an interesting one. It will be curious to see whether the console Manufacturer speaks on these improvements and its strategy for future Game Pass games.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this new port? Will you replay The Evil Within? What do you think Microsoft’s strategy is? Let us know down below.
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Mustafa Mahmoud 2 days ago Console, Featured Tech News, Online, Software & Gaming
With video games getting larger and larger in file size, and the industry moving towards an all-digital future, the need for a fast and stable internet connection is becoming more necessary by the day. In order to help this along somewhat, Microsoft has now added an option to increase download speeds of games at the expense of multitasking.
As reported by Eurogamer, the latest update as part of Xbox’s Insider Program has added the option to increase the download speeds of games and updates. The drawback to this increase in speed is that players will not be able to play any games while this is occurring. Fortunately, while you will not be able to play other games, the titles will remain suspended and will not need to be closed down completely – meaning that once the download has ended, you can pick right back up where you left off.
The reason for this trade-off is that “Xbox keeps a portion of your connection reserved for any potential online connectivity, which quitting or suspending games will then unlock”. Xbox has marketed itself on offering as much player choice as possible, and this update just adds another feather to this cap. Hopefully those with slow internet speeds can take advantage of this new feature.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this update? Will you use this feature? Is the trade-off worth it? Let us know down below.
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Mustafa Mahmoud 2 days ago Console, Featured Tech News, Software & Gaming
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was well received by most Star Wars fans following its initial release in 2019. Since then, the game has gone on to sell over 10 million copies. While Respawn Entertainment released a next-gen patch for the game, Jedi Fallen Order may soon receive a bespoke next-gen version.
As discovered by Gematsu, the German USK ratings board recently rated Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. While releasing next-gen versions of older games is not uncommon, this move is interesting as the game was already patched with PS5 and Series X|S improvements back in January.
The patch in question added higher resolutions, improved frame rates, and better post processing. As such, it is curious to see what other improvements Respawn Entertainment would have planned for this native next-gen experience. It is possible that PS5 may benefit from the improved haptics and adaptive triggers, but with no further details currently, it is anyone’s guess.
Of course, while seeing further improvements on PS5 and Series X|S would be welcome, it is also possible that this may simply be a repackaged version of the already ‘enhanced’ Fallen Order with no other improvements. Hopefully this is not the case however. We will have to wait and see.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this new rating? What improvements would you like to see added to the game? Would you be disappointed by a simple repackaging of the same game? Let us know down below.
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Matthew Wilson 2 days ago Featured Tech News, Software & Gaming
One of Microsoft’s big features for backwards compatible games on Xbox Series X/S consoles has been Auto HDR, enabling High Dynamic Range across a number of SDR-only games. Now, PC gamers are also going to benefit, with Microsoft preparing to enable Auto HDR for over 1,000 PC games.
Auto HDR will be enabled in both DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games. DirectX Program Manager, Hannah Fisher, explained the benefits of Auto HDR in a developer blog post:
“While some game studios develop for HDR gaming PCs by mastering their game natively for HDR, Auto HDR for PC will take DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 SDR-only games and intelligently expand the colour/brightness range up to HDR. It’s a seamless platform feature that will give you an amazing new gaming experience that takes full advantage of your HDR monitor’s capabilities.”
In an example image (seen above), we can see how Auto HDR impacts the luminance in a seen from Gears 5. Of course, Gears 5 already has native HDR support, so while Auto HDR doesn’t bring the same level of colour detail, it gets quite close. In games that don’t support HDR at all, Auto HDR can make an impressive difference.
Currently, Auto HDR is in preview, available to Windows Insider build testers. Since the feature is still in testing, there are some bugs to work out and there will be additional optimisation, as Auto HDR does use some GPU compute power. Just a few games support the featue for now, but as testing continues, more games will be added, with plans to enable Auto HDR across the top 1,000 DX 11 and DX 12 titles.
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KitGuru Says: If you have an HDR-capable monitor and happen to be a Windows Insider, then this is worth checking out. Auto HDR works well on the Xbox Series X, so it will be interesting to compare that experience to the same feature on PC.
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It’s hard to believe it’s only been seven months since Apple booted Fortnite off the App Store and Epic Games sprung its antitrust trap, but you won’t have to wait much longer before the behind-the-scenes legal machinations give way to courtroom drama — and, it seems, until Apple and Epic’s top executives take the stand.
In a legal filing Friday evening, Apple revealed that CEO Tim Cook, SVP Craig Federighi, and former marketing chief and current App Store boss Phil Schiller intend to testify live and in person in the courtroom, among many other tentative witnesses. Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney and VP Mark Rein should be there as well, plus Facebook’s VP of gaming, a Microsoft VP of Xbox business development, and quite a number of directors on both sides.
Schiller is expected to spend the most time on the witness stand by far at an estimated 11 hours of examination and cross-examination, which makes sense. Not only has he been in charge of the App Store that’s at the center of the case, but some of his emails and the emails of his subordinates have been under scrutiny — both for this case and in the big tech antitrust hearing last year, one which ended with the House Judiciary Committee concluding that “Apple exerts monopoly power in the mobile app store market.”
Apple says its executives “look forward to sharing with the court”:
Our senior executives look forward to sharing with the court the very positive impact the App Store has had on innovation, economies across the world and the customer experience over the last 12 years. We feel confident the case will prove that Epic purposefully breached its agreement solely to increase its revenues, which is what resulted in their removal from the App Store. By doing that, Epic circumvented the security features of the App Store in a way that would lead to reduced competition and put consumers’ privacy and data security at tremendous risk.
The trial should tentatively begin May 3rd, and is expected to run several weeks.
You can find the full list of tentative witnesses and those who’ll be tentatively deposed below.
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X consoles launched a few months ago, but if you have been keeping up with the news, you know that these consoles are some of the hardest products to buy right now. Those looking for another shot at the $500 Series X can try their luck right now at Best Buy. You will have the option to pay for either console in full or through Xbox All Access, which would allow you to get the console with no upfront cost.
Due to the high demand, the retailer is releasing small waves of inventory for the console every few minutes.
Xbox Series X
$500
Prices taken at time of publishing.
The Xbox Series X is Microsoft’s flagship console, serving as its most powerful (and biggest) option that costs $499.99. While the $299.99 Series S is aimed at smooth 1440p performance, the Series X is focused on fast 4K gameplay.
$500
at Best Buy (Series X)
Once you’ve secured your next-gen Xbox, you might want to buy some additional items, such as games to play on your new console. Several of the most popular games to play on these consoles include third-party titles like Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Additionally, some popular Xbox One titles, such as Forza Horizon 4 and Gears 5, received graphical updates that take advantage of the next-gen hardware.
Of course, if you are unsure what games to buy, you could always subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which gives you access to a slew of first- and third-party titles from various developers and publishers.
A must-have accessory I think is worth buying is an additional Xbox controller if you plan to play couch co-op games with family or friends.
Gotham Knights, the upcoming title by Warner Bros. Games Montreal, has been delayed into 2022, the company announced today. In a statement posted on Twitter, the development team explains that it wants to give the game “more time to deliver the best possible experience for players.”
While not directly stated, the delay is likely COVID-related, as studios continue to adapt to working from home. This is the second highly anticipated title from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment getting pushed back into next year, following the announcement in January that Avalanche Software’s Hogwarts Legacy will not hit its 2021 release window.
Announced during the DC FanDome event in late August, Gotham Knights is an open-world action RPG featuring Batman and some supporting cast such as Batgirl and Robin. While no firm release date has yet been announced, Gotham Knights will release on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X / S, and Xbox One.
OtterBox, the company best known for its ruggedized cases, has developed a $30 clip that can attach your phone to an Xbox controller for playing games. Called the Mobile Gaming Clip, it’s part of a growing trend of accessories for playing cloud-based console games right on your phone. What makes OtterBox’s clip different is it can also work as a phone stand, separate from the controller — although the phone stand feature isn’t quite as robust as what I was hoping for.
OtterBox’s clip is designed specifically for Xbox controllers, and it works with controllers made for the Xbox One, Series X / S, or the Elite Series 2 controller. There’s also a little cutout for the charging port, meaning if you need to connect your Xbox controller to a USB cable, you will not need to remove the clip from the controller. You can also detach the arm from the clip itself and use it as a stand to prop up your smartphone for tabletop gaming, watching movies, or video calls.
With Microsoft rolling out xCloud, it’s partnering with multiple manufacturers to make a variety of mobile gaming accessory companies, including OtterBox, Razer’s Kishi, and 8BitDo’s SN30 Pro for Android, provide different experiences. Microsoft is aiming to ensure there is a big ecosystem of gaming peripherals once its cloud gaming service becomes more widely available.
Setup for the OtterBox Mobile Gaming Clip is straightforward: connect your Xbox controller to your phone, attach the clip to your controller, mount the phone, and start playing. It does require more force than other gaming clips to attach it to the controller. Once you have it properly installed, the clip tightly clasps across the controller, so you don’t have to worry about it getting loose and falling off.
Some mobile gaming clips, like PowerA’s MOGA Mobile Gaming Clip, tend to feel unbalanced, particularly with a big or heavy phone or a phone with a bulkier case. OtterBox’s Mobile Gaming Clip has a better distribution of weight, which made the controller feel a bit more balanced.
One reason for that is OtterBox’s Mobile Gaming Clip has a “rapid adjust feature,” which means you can adjust the angle of your phone when using the clip. The clip’s arm can extend a bit, allowing you to experiment with the angles you prefer. There’s also a latch located on the arm of the Mobile Gaming Clip that allows you to lock it in place so it doesn’t shift around while in use.
There are three claws to keep your phone in place. The bottom claw extends, allowing bigger phones to fit into the accessory by extending a few centimeters. This makes it easy to fit bigger phones into the gaming clip. The claws don’t block me from reaching the volume or power buttons on my iPhone XR, though it is a bit cumbersome to have to unlock my phone while using the mount because it’s sideways in the mount. The design also makes it easy to use a pair of wired earbuds or connect a charger to charge my phone while I continue gaming.
I had to remove a case I was using that had a PopSocket attached in order to securely get my phone in place.
I did have some issues when I tried to mount my phone; the phone case I use primarily has a PopSocket attached in the center, and it added too much thickness and made my phone less secure in the clip, even popping out when I moved the clip even slightly. I ended up having to remove the case from my phone every time I wanted to use the clip. If you don’t have an accessory like a PopSocket on your phone, the clip should work with almost any standard case.
The most interesting feature for OtterBox’s Mobile Gaming Clip is tabletop mode. You can switch from the controller to tabletop mode by detaching the arm to the clip portion of the accessory, allowing you to use the gaming clip as a viewing stand for gaming or even watching movies and TV shows. The tabletop feature is an ambitious idea, but it ends up being more of a kickstand than an actual stand. You have limited ability to adjust the angle of the phone in this mode, and you can’t raise the phone up off the table in any way.
Yet, the option for a tabletop mode does address one of the biggest problems with mobile gaming clips: hand fatigue from the weight of a controller, phone, and clip combined. OtterBox helps solve this problem by allowing you the ability to take a break from the gaming clip but still giving you that freedom to continue gaming on your phone.
Tabletop mode is a great idea that can reduce hand fatigue, but the feature feels mostly like an afterthought.
In the last few years, the cloud and mobile gaming market has become a more exciting space in the industry, with successful free-to-play titles like Call of Duty Mobile and Microsoft truly beginning its push into cloud gaming. As cloud gaming continues to grow, there’s likely going to be a big expansion in the availability and variety of gaming clips like this one. This means if you do not like the current options available on the market, there is a high probability that similar products will be released in the coming months and years.
OtterBox’s Mobile Gaming Clip is not the perfect mobile gaming accessory, but it is one of the better mobile gaming accessories available now. It allows me the option to use a controller I own and not one designed for a specific product (aside from the fact that it has to be an Xbox controller). It’s also a bit more flexible in how to use it when compared to other mobile gaming accessories such as the Razer Kishi, which encloses your phone in a pair of controllers.
At $30, OtterBox’s clip is less expensive than those solutions, but there are still cheaper options if you want to clip your phone to an existing controller. I like how the clip does not feel unbalanced when attached to the controller, and the tabletop mode is interesting. But it ends up feeling like more of an afterthought because of how limited the clip ends up being when used on a table. Yet, the things OtterBox’s Mobile Gaming Clip does right are enough to justify the $5 to $10 price premium compared to other options available on the market.
Among Us’ new Airship map will be available on March 31st as part of a free update coming to the hit social deduction game. Developer InnerSloth says the Airship map is the game’s biggest yet, with new tasks and the ability to pick which room you start in.
You can get a preview of the new map in this trailer, which released during The Game Awards in December.
The new update will also add what InnerSloth is calling a “preliminary” account system to help with moderation. Accounts have been in the works for a while, and InnerSloth wanted to make sure to take the time to implement them thoughtfully, according to a blog post.
“A proper moderation system is one that is extremely difficult and time consuming,” the studio said. “It is not as easy as just having a ‘report’ button and having an algorithm ban someone after a certain number of reports.”
Perhaps most importantly, InnerSloth is also teasing that there will be new free hats in the update. (Though I’m not sure I’ll ever change from the red beanie, my personal favorite.)
Among Us was first released in 2018, but it blew up last year as people turned to the game during the pandemic. (Roughly half a billion people reportedly played it in November.) The game became so popular that InnerSloth even canceled a planned sequel to focus on the original.
The game is currently available for PC, iOS, Android, and Switch, with an Xbox port on the way sometime this year.
During today’s Square Enix Presents live stream, the company announced the next main entry in the Life is Strange series, called True Colors, will arrive on September 10th, 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S, and Stadia.
Life is Strange: True Colors is developed by Deck Nine, a studio that previously worked on Before the Storm. In Life is Strange: True Colors, players control Alex Chen, an Asian American woman who has a supernatural ability to “experience, absorb, and manipulate” the strong emotions other people experience. The story will focus on Alex as she tries to embrace her power to figure out the mystery surrounding her brother’s death.
Unlike previous games in the series, all episodes for Life is Strange:True Colors will be available at launch, meaning you can play the full game on launch day or use chapter breaks to tackle one episode at a time.
Additionally, Square Enix announced the Life is Strange Remastered Collection: a compilation that includes enhanced versions of the original Life is Strange and its prequel, Before the Storm. The remastered collection will feature remastered visuals and improved character animations.
Life is Strange Remastered Collection has no release date yet, but Square Enix is aiming to release the game sometime this fall on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Stadia. Those who purchase Life is Strange: True Colors’ Ultimate Edition will receive a copy of the Remastered Collection, but the game will also be available as a standalone purchase.
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