Microsoft is Dedicated to Bringing xCloud to iPhones

XCloud was going to be one of my most anticipated releases in 2020. But just like the rest of the year, that went down the toilet. Microsoft officially released xCloud to all Xbox Game Pass owners earlier this month, with the caveat being, it can only be played on Android devices. Due to strict App Store policies, iOS users would have to wait. Even though we are still waiting, Microsoft has pledged that it will get its gaming services on iOS devices.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Chief of Xbox Phil Spencer said Microsoft is having "ongoing discussions" on how to improve the situation with apple. Spencer stated: "We're committed to bringing xCloud to all mobile endpoints, including Apple's big ecosystem. For customers out there — and I see it on Twitter all the time, people asking — they can just know we will get there. We remain committed."

Microsoft wasn't the only company to have issues with Apple. Google Stadia and GeForce Now both have not launched on the platform either. Epic has even filed a lawsuit against the company. However, that is another whole can of worms.

Microsoft is missing out on an absolutely gargantuan amount of people with its services not being on iOS devices. I am sure they are making it a priority to do everything it can do to make it happen.

All Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers have access to xCloud right now if they are on an Android device. Also, if you are planning on purchasing an Xbox Series X or Series S, pre-orders go live tomorrow at 8AM ET.

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Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S — Here's Where You Will Be Able to Pre-Order

Xbox Series X

The new Xbox Series X will be making its way to shelves later this holiday, and many of us are ready to put our hard-earned money into Microsoft's pockets. Microsoft has finally confirmed that both the Xbox Series X and Series S will be launching on November 10, and while pre-orders won't be up until September 22, we here at DualShockers are going to make your search simpler once pre-orders appear in hopefully the coming weeks. Similarly to the PlayStation 5, popular retailers have begun putting up placeholder pages for the Xbox Series X and Series S so that they will already be raring to go once Microsoft gives them the go-ahead.

Here are all the sites where you can currently keep in mind for once pre-orders are live.

For those planning on purchasing through the Xbox All Access system here are the links that will take you directly there for each major retailer. Just a reminder that purchasing through Xbox All Access will require a credit check.

If you visit these pages, Microsoft, Amazon, GameStop, and Best Buy all have their own e-mail notifications that you can sign up for to also notify you when pre-orders are available, which will be on Tuesday, September 22. We will update this page once pre-orders go up, so be sure to check back into DualShockers on-site as well as our Twitter page.

For those also interested in the PlayStation 5, check out our pre-order article for the PS5 as well.

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Xbox Series S and Series X Might Be In Limited Supply at GameStop

Gamestop california stores

We've seen and heard reports that console supply chains and manufacturers across the industry have seen setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While rumors suggested that Sony would be suffering more from shortages and limitations than Xbox, reports are coming out that suggest that Microsoft's console would suffer a similar shortage on store shelves this holiday, especially with pre-orders on the horizon.

According to a report from Jeff Grubb at GamesBeat, both the Xbox Series X and the Series S will see supply constraints at GameStop during pre-orders, which officially kick off tomorrow, September 22. According to the report, most stores will see "between 5-to-10 Xbox Series X consoles and only 2-to-4 Xbox Series S systems," which is, based on what we've seen from PlayStation 5 pre-orders, less than the number of consoles that Sony gave to many GameStop locations.

Xbox Series X Xbox Series S

Other sources, like Twitter user Wario64 (@Wario64), are giving different estimates about the amount of Series X consoles available to different GameStop locations. According to sources he's spoken with, GameStop is likely to have between 6 and 12 Series X consoles and 2 to 4 Series S consoles.

Meanwhile, our own reporter, Cameron Hawkins, has spoken with a source at a GameStop who reported only one Series S and nine Series X consoles at a store near him.

To many, this supply ratio could mean trouble for Microsoft. Following mass praise of the low, accessible price point for the Series S, seeing the sought-after device being potentially hard to find is worrying for many. That said, considering this is just a report about GameStop, these numbers could be different in different stores, especially since GameStop is likely to suffer from the rise of all-digital consoles, like the Series S and the all-digital version of the PlayStation 5.

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Pokemon GO Teams up With Longchamp For Paris Fashion Week

Pokemon GO x Longchamp

Pokemon GO has been known to dress up Pokemon for in-game events. There have been tonnes of hats for Pikachu to don, Halloween costumes for the Kanto starters and flower crowns for Eevee. Now, to celebrate Paris Fashion Week, Pokemon GO has teamed up with luxury leather goods company Longchamp to release new in-game cosmetics and new costumes for some different pokemon.

From October 2 to October 8, a brand new free Longchamp avatar backpack item will be added to the game. Not only that but some slightly different Pokemon will be playing dress up. Players will be able to hatch a Smoochum wearing a bow, Kirlia and Shinx will be wearing top hats in raids and a Croagunk wearing a backwards cap will appear when players take a GO Snapshot.

Alongside these "fashionable Pokemon", Niantic has confirmed that some slightly less common monsters will be appearing in the wild, including Blitzle, Cottonee, Minccino, Gothita and Mareep. This event will also be the first time that shiny Kricketot has been available within the game.

Although this is clearly a paid promotion from Longchamp, it's a bizarre one. It's hard to imagine that this crossover appeals to anything larger than a tiny percentage of Pokemon Go's audience.

Niantic recently added Mega Evolutions into the game, however, there was some major discourse on Reddit due to the way in which the release was handled. Players stated that the cost far outweighed the benefit of earning the Mega Evolutions. In order to evolve a Pokemon in this way, players have to spend money on multiple raid passes and complete multiple raids for the right to use the evolutions for only four hours. Niantic has listened to this feedback and has adjusted certain aspects of the feature and have stated that they will continue to do so.

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Freedom Fighters Has Released On PC After Earlier PEGI Rating

Freedom Fighters

The year of leaks continues. Although maybe not as high profile as the Xbox Series S leaks, or the Super Mario 3D All-Stars ones, earlier today a brand new PEGI rating for an unannounced Freedom Fighters rerelease popped up. The rating was for a PC version of the original game, dated for today.

Although initially that date was considered as a potential placeholder, it was in fact true. The game, which was originally released in 2003 for the PS2, Xbox and GameCube, has indeed released on PC via Steam and GOG. Due to "unforeseen circumstances" the game will release on the Epic Games Store at a later date. As was spotted in the PEGI rating, the publisher of the game has changed from EA to developers IO Interactive.

A press release from IO said:

"We're excited to finally make the original 2003 game available digitally and have players re-live their favourite moments from the campaign. If you're completely new to Freedom Fighters, here's what you need to know:

Freedom Fighters is an intense third-person action game set in an alternate history New York during the invasion of a foreign superpower. You'll take on the role of Chris Stone, a hard-working plumber, who must rise through the ranks of the resistance to prove himself as a charismatic leader."

Alongside the game, which is currently 33% off, players will get a couple of nostalgic extras. IO Interactive has once again teamed up with the game's original composer, Jesper Kyd, to offer all 16 tracks in both MP3 and FLAC formats. To replicate the 2003 buying experience, players will also gain access to a complete PC manual from when the game launched.

Freedom Fighters is available now on PC. There's currently no word on if the game will be ported to consoles at any point in the future.

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Bethesda's Catalog of Games are Coming to Xbox Game Pass Soon

There have been a litany of developments this morning in the fallout (pun intended) of Microsoft's purchase of Bethesda. The publisher that is most well-known for titles like The Elder Scrolls and Wolfenstein will be bringing all of its future games to the Xbox family of devices as we move forward, but in the near future, it looks as though some more immediate changes should be coming about.

Much like it does with all other first-party Xbox Game Studios properties, Bethesda's back catalog of games are said to soon be heading to Xbox Game Pass for both console and PC. Xbox head Phil Spencer announced this move earlier today alongside the acquisition reveal, simply saying, "We will be adding Bethesda's iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC." Spencer didn't say when these older titles will be added to the service, but it should be sooner rather than later, you'd imagine.

Obviously, this shouldn't come as a shock whatsoever, but holy cow, it sure makes the value of Game Pass the much more substantial. What remains to be seen, however, is how deep Microsoft will go when it comes to adding older Bethesda titles to Xbox Game Pass. While newer releases of the past few years like DOOM Eternal, Fallout 4, and Prey will surely be hitting the service, Bethesda has a pretty deep lineup to offer, especially on PC, where older games are more accessible. Regardless of what the lineup may look like, now seems to be as good of a time as any to subscribe to Game Pass if you aren't already doing so.

There's still a lot left to learn about how this Bethesda and Microsoft move will shake out, but in the near term, we do know that titles like Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo will still be coming to PS5 in a time capacity. Future titles from the publisher are also said to still fall under the Bethesda brand, but whether or not they come to others platforms outside of Xbox and PC remains to be seen.

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Dirt 5 Developer Says Graphical Scaling for Xbox Series S is "Really Easy"

Dirt 5

As revealed last month, Microsoft is officially planning to release the Xbox Series S alongside the upcoming Series X as a more affordable, lower-spec alternative this November. While the Series S doesn't have all of the technical bells and whistles of the Series X, from what we've seen so far the upcoming console still will offer a capable next-gen experience at a lower price point, as shown by what the developers of Dirt 5 have achieved with the console and developing the racing title.

Speaking in an interview with Digital Foundry, Codemasters technical director David Springate offered some additional details on the upcoming Dirt 5, which will release for both current-gen and next-gen platforms this fall. Specifically, Springate shared some insight on the experience of developing for the Xbox Series S, and how the studio was able to achieve high-end performance on Microsoft's scaled-down console.

Overall, Springate expressed that development on the Series S has been "really easy," and that Microsoft has essentially pitched that on a technical level, the Series S offers a similar level of performance as the Series X, but targeting 1440p instead of 4K. Springate stated that while the Series S has less RAM, he explained that the overall process of scaling the experience back to suit the console (while retaining visual fidelity) has been relatively seamless, such as dialing back resolution and other graphical aspects such as shadow quality, the amount of environmental objects, or the intensity of effects such as weather.

Springate expressed that on a technical level, the team has been optimizing specific builds of the game across each different platform for specific needs, such as tailoring builds that optimize graphical fidelity and performance on each specific platform, whether that is the PS5/Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, or the current-gen platforms. However, in the case of the Series S, Springate's comments emphasize that the Series S seems to be aiming to deliver an experience similar to the Series X, but still retaining peak visuals at a scaled-down level.

Dirt 5 will release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on November 6, 2020, followed by Xbox Series X and Series S on November 10, 2020. The game will launch at a later date on PS5 and Google Stadia.

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BlizzCon Online Is Finally Set For February 19-20, 2021

BlizzCon, Blizzard

Back in May, Activision-Blizzard decided to cancel this year's Blizzcon in light of COVID-19, while teasing that they might bring a digital event in early 2021. Today, the company has officially confirmed that its online version, BlizzConline, is happening next February. While many of the events are still taking shape, Blizzard did reveal some of the community events fans can expect. We should hear more in the coming months, but this at least gives you a date to slap into your PDA. People still have those, right?

Obviously, it's still way too early for Blizzard to reveal all their cards for BlizzCon. That said, there are games we can expect. If they don't bring stuff like Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 to the online event, then there's something up at the studio. They'll also likely have a few surprises. However, they aren't going to even hint at those any time soon. That said, they did dive into the community events they'll have on tap.

There are six different events fans can participate in. The cosplay exhibition is a great place for everyone to hop in and show off their skills. Blizzard is even even accepting submissions for pet cosplay. And, if you have a competitive streak, the cosplay contest will let you go up against the community's best cosplayers in four different categories.

There's also an art contest, a digital storytelling contest, and a talent spotlight. That last one is basically a Blizzard talent show, which frankly sounds like it will be a hoot. Finally, BlizzConline is hosting a virtual March of Murlocs. So, if you want to get your mgrlgrrl on, you can totally do so.

BlizzConline kicks off on February 19, 2021. It's not immediately clear if there will also be a fall BlizzCon next year, but it does seem like this will be an event worth watching.

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Even Obsidian Doesn't Know If It Will Make Fallout: New Vegas 2 After Microsoft Acquisition of Bethesda

Fallout

As the developers behind Fallout: New Vegas, which first released on consoles and PC nearly 10 years ago, Obsidian Entertainment has long had fans clamoring for a sequel to the studio's spin-off take on the Fallout franchise. While the studio released The Outer Worlds last year–a pseudo successor to New Vegas–many have hoped that the studio would one day take up the reigns of the Fallout franchise again. With the recent news that Microsoft is acquiring Bethesda's parent company, those hopes are once again in the spotlight.

Earlier today, Microsoft shared the breaking news that it has entered an agreement to purchase ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion, which would include the sale of publisher Bethesda Softworks and the development studios housed under it, such as Arkane, id Software, and more. Naturally, given Bethesda's pedigree, this is a substantial acquisition and one of the biggest purchases that Microsoft has made yet to strengthen its roster of development studios. However, as fans have noted, this now puts Obsidian Entertainment and Bethesda under the same roof, leading many to wonder whether this opens up the potential for Obsidian to create Fallout: New Vegas 2.

So, is this a possibility? Here was Obsidian's reply on Twitter:

While obviously meant to be tongue-in-cheek, Obsidian's reply makes it clear that it's not known yet whether Fallout: New Vegas 2 may or may not be a possibility. But given that now Bethesda and Obsidian will both be housed by Microsoft, there is likely going to be even more fervor at the prospects of a follow-up to the fan favorite Fallout title.

Obsidian Entertainment was acquired by Microsoft back in 2018, and since then has released The Outer Worlds on consoles and PC. The studio is also currently at work on Grounded, its early access survival title on Xbox consoles and PC, and also recently announced Avowed, a new fantasy RPG that is set in the Pillars of Eternity universe.

The post Even Obsidian Doesn't Know If It Will Make Fallout: New Vegas 2 After Microsoft Acquisition of Bethesda by Ryan Meitzler appeared first on DualShockers.

Former Skullgirls, Indivisible Developers Open New Game Studio, Future Club

Earlier in the year, developer Lab Zero Games–known for titles such as Skullgirls and Indivisible–experienced major shakeups with accusations against its owner, Mike Zaimont, of sexual harassment and creating a toxic work environment at the studio. After several employees resigned in protest of Zaimont's behavior, eventually the entire staff at the studio was laid off a few weeks ago, leaving the studio essentially defunct. In the wake of the events at Lab Zero, the former employees and developers have banded together to create their own studio with an entirely different structure that prioritizes equal opportunity and sustainable development.

The former developers from Lab Zero have announced their new studio called Future Club, which was officially formed this month and has opened a new website to celebrate the announcement. Specifically, the company's announcement detailed that Future Club will specialize in "handcrafted art and traditional 2D animation, engaging and responsive gameplay, and creating unique and memorable worlds," and will develop new IP and projects.

According to the studio's website, Future Club will be an employee-owned co-op that gives its employees equal share of the company. Specifically, in a report by Vice Games, designer Earl Gertwagen explained that "we really want this team to be rewarded for the efforts they're putting in towards the game." He added that the formation of the studio is encouraging all of its team members to feel "invested in the game and the quality of the product and the survival and sustainability of the team itself."

Given the circumstances that transpired at Lab Zero Games, it makes sense that the now developers at Future Club would aim for a more transparent environment at their new studio by sharing responsibility and ownership. While the studio is in its early stages, hopefully we won't have too wait too much longer to see what the devs behind Skullgirls and Indivisible have in store.

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