Microsoft clarifies which games work on Xbox Series S and X on day one

Microsoft has given a bit more clarity on how backwards compatibility will work on Xbox Series X and Series S. Nearly every game that runs on Xbox One — including Xbox and Xbox 360 titles — will work on the new consoles on launch day, Xbox’s director...

Microsoft was right in 2013: This is the always-on generation

Microsoft lost its goddamn mind in 2013. It revealed the Xbox One on May 21st in a livestreamed press conference dedicated to its goals for gaming's long-awaited eighth generation. A lineup of executives in blazers hit the stage, punctuated by Micros...

‘GTA: San Andreas’ gets Xbox One backwards compatibility

If your Xbox copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is stashed away on a shelf somewhere, you might want to pull it out as you'll have some use for it again next week. Starting next Thursday, Rockstar Games is adding backwards compatibility for the ga...

Microsoft now lets you gift PC games from its digital store

Microsoft's Xbox gifting feature was a big hit with players last fall. Now, the company has expanded digital gifting to include PC games and PC downloadable content (so things like map packs and skins). It's also made all Xbox One games eligible for...

Microsoft’s AI future is rooted in its gaming past

The Kinect will never die. Microsoft debuted its motion-sensing camera on June 1st, 2009, showing off a handful of gimmicky applications for the Xbox 360; it promised easy, controller-free gaming for the whole family. Back then, Kinect was called Pr...

Xbox One X enhancements come to ‘Red Dead Redemption’ and ‘Portal 2’

Red Dead Redemption 2 might not launch for several months, but Microsoft is giving you the next best thing. The company has added Xbox One X visual enhancements to six classic Xbox 360 games, including the original Red Dead Redemption. If you've want...

The story of the Duke, the Xbox pad that existed because it had to

Denise Chaudhari had never touched a gamepad before stepping onto Microsoft's campus as a contractor. The first woman to join the Xbox team, Chaudhari had studied ergonomics and industrial design at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design but d...

The best Xbox One games

The Xbox One has come a long way since its 2013 debut. Microsoft has fixed the console's hardware flaws with the One S and the recently released One X, but now it has a different problem to address: a dearth of compelling games you can't play anywher...

Kinect: Seven years of strange experiments

Kinect is dead. The writing has been on the wall for years, at least since Microsoft de-bundled the motion-tracking system from the Xbox One in 2014, knocking $100 off the price tag and making the system more competitive with the PlayStation 4. The...