A new report has shed light on the goings on at Microsoft, which has allegedly pushed Xbox studios to deliver a 30% profit margin — much higher than the industry average. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported that Microsoft’s 30% profit margin goal had led to the gaming division’s huge layoffs, canceled projects, controversial price rises, and multiplatform push. The cuts to Xbox have been deep. Thousands of staff have lost their jobs over several rounds of layoffs. Games such as Rare’s Everwild and The Initiative’s Perfect Dark reboot were canceled after years of development. ZeniMax Online Studios game Project Blackbird was canned, leading to mass layoffs. The Initiative was also shut down. Last year, Microsoft closed Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi rush developer Tango Gameworks. Meanwhile, Microsoft has increased the price of the Xbox Series X and S consoles, and the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $29.99 a month — the latter of which was a hugely controversial move. Microsoft tried to make the jump to $80 video games, but ended up reverting to $70 after fans pushed back on the idea of paying $10 more for Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds 2. Most expect Microsoft to go to $80 at some point next year. Bloomberg said the average profit margin in the video game industry is 17-22%. Over the past six years, Xbox has hit 10-20%. To put that 30% target into more context, Sony's PlayStation division achieved a 16% profit margin in Q1 FY25. Bloomberg said Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood enforced the new target in fall 2023 — amid Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard. The upshot now is, according to Bloomberg, that games that are cheap to make or considered more likely to make lots of money may take priority over riskier projects. Xbox’s “floundering” hardware division, meanwhile, may face “a significant rethinking.” IGN has reported on recent comments from Xbox president Sarah Bond, who said the next-gen Xbox console will be “a very premium, very high-end curated experience.” Bond has also called the idea of exclusive games “antiquated.” Nowadays, Xbox Game Studios is one of the most prolific and successful publishers on PlayStation. Microsoft issued Bloomberg a statement that suggested its Xbox profit margin target isn’t the same across every project. “We look at the business as a whole, balancing creativity, innovation, and sustainability across a diverse portfolio of offerings. As with any creative business, sometimes that means making hard decisions and stopping work on things that are no longer working for a variety of reasons, and shifting resources toward the projects that are more aligned with our direction and priorities.” Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article
Archon Studio has revealed the full first wave of releases for the Starcraft Tabletop Miniature Game at Spiel Essen, Europe's largest tabletop gaming festival. Not only is there a full army of miniatures already on show for the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg factions, but when I interviewed Archon's CEO Jarek Ewertowski about the game, he had some very exciting news - "the roadmap is for about nine years, minimum". Archon is in it for the long haul. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: The Starcraft Miniatures Game ports the best bits of the RTS games into tabletop wargaming, Archon Studio CEO tells us Model reveals for the Starcraft miniature wargame start with a Zerg rush! Official Starcraft board games are coming - here's where to watch live reveals View the full article
RV There Yet? is Steam's latest physics-based co-op game, topping the charts with over 30,000 players in its first 24 hours. Co-op games have grown extremely popular in recent years, with dozens released on Steam each month. View the full article
Even after a couple of hours with Full Metal Schoolgirl, I'm not entirely sure what it wants to be: a shooter, a roguelite, a campy yet lewd robo-corpo hack-and-slash? It's a little bit of everything, and doesn't particularly excel in any aspect. Yet I'm weirdly endeared to its bizarre late 2000s jankiness... Read more.View the full article
Now Playing | Returning to Swansong has revealed it an underrated social RPG gem that lets the fangs do the talking, and the perfect cure for Bloodlines 2View the full article
When it comes to navigating the vast expanse of space, few games do it quite like Stellaris. One of the best 4X games to ever grace our screens, the depth and complexity of Paradox Interactive's engaging strategy masterpiece allow for playthrough after playthrough. Although Shadows of the Shroud was a bit of a disappointment when it released last month, we've been looking forward to more additions as a part of the game's ninth season. That time is nearly upon us, as Paradox reveals the release date for the game's next species pack, which brings a fiery flavor to the universe. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Stellaris dev says performance is its "highest priority," but fixes aren't fast Put on your tinfoil hats, as Stellaris' psionic new DLC is available now The Stellaris Endbringers turn 4X norms on their head and embrace your downfall View the full article
Much has happened in the world since Fallout: New Vegas came out. Trump has been president twice, two wars fought in Ukraine, an economic recession, and a global pandemic. And Obsidian, too, has kept busy all these years, putting out all sorts of games, great and otherwise, largely RPGs. But at no point did the company launch a game as good as The Outer Worlds 2, especially when it comes to the quality of the writing. Enamored as I am, allow me to regale you how the game has completely taken over my life. Here's our full review. Even in Arcadia Arcadia is not a friendly place. Screenshot by Destructoid The Outer Worlds 2 places you in the shoes of an Earth Directorate Commander, tasked with infiltrating a base held by the dictatorial Protectorate. You are to retrieve a skip drive, a rare and powerful technology, from the Protectorate. One thing follows another and you're suspended in space, later pursuing those involved in the incident and stopping a looming calamity. I won't reveal a lot about the story itself, since this game puts so much emphasis on narratives, which are certainly its strongest point. What I will say, however, is that the world of Arcadia is absolutely awesome. Split between three factions—the Order, the Protectorate, and Auntie's Choice (this last being a new form of Spacer's Choice and its Moon Man)—Arcadia is a war-torn system, with each corner of its vast expanse caught in a power struggle between the trio. Auntie wants more money, as corporatists are wont to; the Protectorate is crumbling and wishes to uphold its stranglehold on the colony; the Order and its mathematically-bound Grand Plan have their own vision for the place. Every faction has its own aims and goals, which they'll stop at nothing to fulfill (unless, of course, you end up bridging the gaps between them and... steer things to a desirable outcome). Arcadia is massive, but you only get to explore bits and pieces. Which is, by no means, a bad thing. Screenshot by Destructoid The sole flaw of this setting is it sort of forsakes the narrative uniformity of space, maintaining little commonalities between the various levels. Of course, each stage, and particular sections within the zones, is constructed in the image of its respective owner, but I couldn't help but feel transposed from one world to another. Which, I guess, is true to some extent. There are a multitude of open zones to explore in Arcadia, with several moons, space stations, space ships, and so on. Every zone is filled with content, side quests, and interesting narrative threads to follow, which I wholeheartedly recommend you do. This game truly shines in its dialogues and stories, great and small, making the world of Arcadia feel eerily realistic. The zones also aren't all too big, with space between each subregion being relatively short, cutting down on open-world emptiness we've come to expect from most games of the type. But loading screens are present, and quite a lot, but thanks to modern tech you shouldn't feel any issues or lose much time waiting for stages to load (these loading screens are, by the way, not like Bethesda's, as individual structures and buildings can be accessed without them, unless they're a massive level on their own). Choices, consequences The world of Arcadia, and of The Outer Worlds 2, is predicated upon your decision-making skills. Whatever you do in this place will reflect, sooner or later, on either yourself or the broader world. This game is one of the most reactive I have ever played, with even your companions seamlessly integrating themselves into conversations when it's relevant, giving a lot of flavor and variety between each player's experience. Speaking of companions, they're quite similar to what Obsidian did in Avowed, so if you've played that game all should be familiar to you. They have their own quests, stories, and narratives that are woven into your own character's arc, and you can decide to take up some shady friendships, quid-pro-quo relationships, or just form deep bonds. The sole number of choices, some of which have significant consequences, allows for near-infinite replayability. Each character background opens up a new narrative and role-playing option, with innumerable dialogue choices tailored specifically to your person. You can, to a significant degree, immerse yourself in the character you've created, with their feeling like a proper part of a virtual reality, rather than as an observer. I've noted this in my preview already, but having the chance to see how things unfold in the actual game apart from the intro cements the idea. What's more, The Outer Worlds 2 goes a step beyond what most RPGs do. Instead of just providing you with extra stats and levels that give flat or percentage-based increases to whatever part of your character, you're rewarded with so-called Flaws, which are a unique set of perks akin to, well, the perks of New Vegas. If you do certain actions a lot, the Earth Directorate gives you a Flaw, which you can accept or reject; Flaws grant one bonus positive effect, but place a detrimental effect on you as well. For example, if you eat a lot of food all the time, you can become gluttonous, able to heal more from food, but moving slowly in combat. Or, say, by crouching everywhere all the time, you can get quicker crouching speed, but your knees crack and alert nearby enemies. It's a fun and outright hilarious system, though the fact that you can reject flaws does end up kind of helping you to skip the "bad" ones. Even so, it's a detailed, reactive, responsive, and rewarding perk system that I haven't seen since New Vegas, which lends itself to role-playing to an immense degree. Additionally, all regular perks and stat upgrades you go for unlock an ocean of role-playing and gameplay options as any part of this game, and I mean any, can be tackled in multiple ways. All this depends on your RP and choice of stats, with the game significantly advising you to lean into a certain playstyle for your current character. Furthermore, the game almost lets you talk your way out of every situation, which is something modern RPGs simply do not get. Yes we've had a few that dabbled with the idea, Baldur's Gate 3 being the best recent example, but The Outer Worlds 2 firmly stands as a close second. It encourages storytelling and your building a true-to-life person and following their exploits. If at some point you want another, alternate story, make a new character and do it all again, but differently. Speaking to any character is a joy ride. Screenshot by Destructoid This is also a good moment to reflect on the combat, which in many ways is reminiscent of Cyberpunk 2077. There are tons of guns in the game, each manufactured by a certain brand, with the shooting feeling weighted, grounded, and having that "oomph" I'm always emphasizing in these reviews. Depending on your playstyle, the gunplay may be more complex and dynamic, or it can be a complete afterthought; you can be a massive tank in melee, a sneaky ninja, a gunblazing maniac. You choose, it's your story, after all. The companions also help out in battles, though I did notice them go down more than I would've liked, as the enemies far outscale them and their upgrades. Still, their stories are good enough and they can and will provide some cannon fodder while you do the actual grunt work. Enemies can be a bit bullet spongy sometimes. Their damage also sometimes feels overtuned and too high, but since this is a numbers issue I'm confident it'll be ironed out by its full launch. The build I played was fine, and there's even a story mode that essentially disables enemy damage, allowing you to skip past combat almost entirely, if that's your purview. Overall, the game is heavy on choices, decisions, and options, of which you'll have countless in just about every situation. Unreal Engine used correctly Just look at this place. Screenshot by Destructoid The Outer Worlds 2 is, hands down, the prettiest game I have played in 2025. The Unreal Engine 5 gets criticized all the time. I should know, I always do it. But in this case, and I hope in many cases to follow, UE5 is used to its absolute maximum potential, allowing for breathtaking scenes, set-pieces, and locations that would otherwise be impossible to make. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of awe I constantly experienced from one location to the next. No matter if it were a massive monastery and temple built within and on top a mountain, a colossal array and factory, a big, wide, open field, the game always maintained a level of impeccable beauty, making it difficult to look away. And it doesn't even come in exchange for much performance, either. On a power-limited Acer laptop (4060, 7735HS) I used the High preset with no upscaling, maintaining 30 to 45 fps constantly. This is by no means great, but I attribute most of the failings to my laptop itself, rather than the game. In truth, with desktop equivalents of this hardware, and even just better laptops, the game should run fine and up to 60 fps at medium-high without upscaling, which is more than I could ask for given how it looks. Magnificence manifest. Screenshot by Destructoid The art direction in general is just off the charts. Obsidian outdid itself in more ways than one, taking inspiration from the steampunk genre and elevating it to a higher degree. The colors, the assets, the sheer artistry involved in creating every nook and cranny of this game, from loading screens and icons to the biggest locations, is out of this world, and I have to commend the team for what they've done here. I don't recall the last time I've pressed F12 as many times, to be completely frank, and I do hope the devs introduce a photo mode eventually, as this game is ripe with screenshot opportunities. So, as things stand, The Outer Worlds 2 is Obsidian's best game since Fallout: New Vegas, offering infinite replayability, tough moral dilemmas, interesting stories, and a chance to truly become your character and traverse the stars. Or, well, moons, but that's close enough. The post The Outer Worlds 2 review – Obsidian at its best since New Vegas appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
The Magic: The Gathering card Claws of Gix is seeing a price movement right now. The Timespiral Timeshifted version of this card, with its purple rarity symbol, was selling for $1.30 around the last MTG set release, but now copies are going for $3.40. It seems pretty volatile, however, as according to MTG Goldfish, this artifact cost $4.80 at the start of the week. Since then it's dropped and then rebounded. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Is MTG x KPop ****** Hunters inevitable, thanks to Hasbro's new brand deal? MTG Avatar The Last Airbender release date and latest news Brandon Sanderson shows up at Wizards HQ, provoking cries for MTG Cosmere View the full article
A new Dungeons and Dragons supplement offers rules for a swashbuckling space fantasy, and it looks like it could fix all the problems we had with Spelljammer 5e. Produced by The Dragons Vault, Lodestar takes heavy inspiration from sci-fi pirate romps like Treasure Planet. The book promises streamlined ship combat rules, a treasure trove of new player options, and outlandish monsters - like a Mimic that's an entire planet. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Lords of Waterdeep, one of the few D&D board games worth playing, gets a reprint All DnD classes explained How star D&D player Whitney Moore went from being cast in the worst movie ever made to a lead seat at Critical Role View the full article
Amazon have today relaunched Amazon Luna, their cloud gaming service and it also merges in Prime Gaming with the monthly game giveaways too. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article
Why are we so obsessed with space? Whether it's sending robots singing happy birthday to themselves on the surface of Mars or Tim Curry corpsing as he delivers a melodramatic line in Red Alert 3, we as a species have been obsessed with our place in the universe since we first looked up at the stars at night. That goes for games, too, and while nearly every genre has ventured into the far reaches of our solar system, 4X games do it best for me. Stellaris is the obvious measuring stick, but newcomer to the scene Stellar Reach might just become my latest obsession. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Sunderfolk is one of the few games I've played that feels like actual DnD, and its new, free update just added one shots Free Wolfenstein-inspired boomer shooter lets you obliterate the Nazis who stole your dog New No Man's Sky update makes the most of its brilliant ship overhaul, giving you more reasons to explore the stars View the full article
If there's one thing I immediately turn off in videogames, it's motion blur. As someone who gets headaches far too regularly, the melding of colours immediately begins to mess with my head, so while I like the fast-paced feel it adds, I'm very quick to yeet it into the sun. That, however, isn't an option in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, which, given the speed at which my Toreador moves, doesn't help me fend off the migraines. It's a feature that a lot of players have been asking for in the past 24 hours, and while The ******** Room has offered a workaround, there's no immediate fix. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: After 21 years of waiting, Bloodlines 2's Steam reviews are exactly what I expected Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 missions list - all main and side quests Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 guides, gameplay, and more View the full article
The Outer Worlds 2 review: "The Fallout New Vegas creators have crafted a masterful space age RPG that's willing to play game master to my silliest decisions"View the full article
It’s hard to classify a game like The Outer Worlds 2. Developer Obsidian is once again presenting the series as an RPG. On paper, it ticks enough boxes to earn the category — you gain experience, level up, upgrade your stats, gain perks, and get to pick between dialogue options that can ramificate into different outcomes. After hitting the end credits, however, I can’t shake off the feeling that my trip to the Arcadia star system didn’t leave much of an impact on it, and vice versa. The premise of the sequel plays a similar tune to its predecessor. You’re thrust into a space colony overtaken by a megacorporation, working under the banner of the Earth Directorate. This entity is meant to bring a semblance of order amid clashing factions, tyrannies, and corporate greed. After an important mission goes awry, you’re tasked with assembling a crew to hunt down a specific target, while also examining the presence of rifts, which are anomalies that are appearing everywhere in the solar system, threatening their surroundings. Read More... View the full article
Well, damn. The novelty of a brand new Star Trek: Voyager game tricked me into setting aside my natural cynicism, and I got burned. Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown, I'm sad to report, is about as tasty as Neelix's cooking. A budget survival game that commits the worst sin: it's just so bloody dull... Read more.View the full article
The October Inzoi modding update is almost upon us, but its developer is making some adjustments to what will be included in an attempt to make its lifestyle sim more accessible. Recent updates such as Cahaya's resort destination have started to move Inzoi in the right direction along the road to challenging the best life games on PC, and delivering comprehensive mod tools will be a big part of that journey. However, its highly anticipated script mods, which should open the door to the best Inzoi mods yet, have just been pushed back in service of making them more "feature complete." Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: InZOI roadmap - all updates arriving in 2025 and beyond The best InZOI mods All Inzoi cheats - free money, relationship cheats, and more View the full article
The Haunted Floating Island Festival features all kinds of strange items you need to track down in Disney Dreamlight Valley. One of the trickier ones you'll be tasked with finding is Bony Fish. You're only given this vague name as a clue and not much else to figure out what's needed. This is a key quest item for the Terror-rific Tree puzzle, so solving it is crucial if you want to earn all event prizes. Here's where to find Bony Fish in Disney Dreamlight Valley. Table of contentsWhat are Bony Fish in Disney Dreamlight Valley?Bony Fish location in Disney Dreamlight ValleyHow often do Haunted Skeleton Fish respawn in Disney Dreamlight Valley?What are Bony Fish in Disney Dreamlight Valley? Screenshot by Destructoid Bony Fish refers to Haunted Skeleton Fish in DDV. This one is extra tricky to work through, especially if you've already tackled the Ghostly Fox Critter puzzle, as you likely won't expect to need the same item for the Terror-rific Tree. The tree does want to consume the same food as the Ghostly Zero Fox, though, so you need to get some Haunted Skeleton Fish for it. Bony Fish location in Disney Dreamlight Valley You can find Bony Fish on the ground all around Zero's grave on The Haunted Floating Festival island. This special grave is tucked away in a corner near the Halloween Town Hall and the iconic spiral hill from The Nightmare Before Christmas. It's decently tough to locate, so here's a full breakdown of how to find it. Start at the Coco wishing well, which can be found in the very center of The Haunted Floating Festival island. Turn around until you spot the creepy grey statues spitting up green water. Walk down the wooden plank path right in between the two statues. At the end of the path, turn left, walking right past the spiral hill. Continue straight until you reach Zero's grave.Pick up the sparkling Haunted Skeleton Fish from around the grave. If you have the A Rift in Time DLC, you might be tempted to head over to Eternity Isle to fish up some regular Skeleton Fish. They don't count for the event puzzles, though, as the Haunted Skeleton Fish is tagged as a completely separate item despite having the same appearance. The only spot you can visit to find them is Zero's grave. How often do Haunted Skeleton Fish respawn in Disney Dreamlight Valley? Screenshot by Destructoid There can be up to three Haunted Skeleton Fish present at any given time, and more spawn in about every 10 minutes. The respawn timer doesn't start until there are fewer than three present, so you must pick them up often to make room for more to appear. Haunted Skeleton Fish is required to solve two event puzzles, so it's the most important resource to stock up on regularly. When you're done working on gathering it, you might tackle other key event missions like solving the Combination Pillar tile puzzle, getting ****** Feathers from fearless birds, and finding Pale Blooms. Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches! The post Where to find Bony Fish in Disney Dreamlight Valley appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
Krafton, the publisher of the likes of: PUBG, Subnautica, inZOI and Dinkum, have just put out a press release talking about a major investment into AI. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article
God, I'm kind of in love with Screamer's whole vibe. No, not the 1995 PC racer. This is a whole new hotrod deal courtesy of Milestone—the same developer behind MotoGP and Hot Wheels Unleashed—trading out the old game's Daytona and Ridger Racer vibes for that chillwave anime aesthetic you see all over Wallpaper Engine and YouTube playlists... Read more.View the full article
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The CLVX 1 perfectly blends a touchpad with a keyboard, offering a surprisingly intuitive best of both worlds approach.View the full article