From the get go, as soon as I heard that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 would be this year's entry in Microsoft's biggest franchise, my head dropped.

Since Modern Warfare was rebooted, it's been my least favorite. Modern Warfare (2019) was OK, and I played it for a little while but lost interest quicker than in any previous Call of Duty. I barely touched the two that came after it.

I've always preferred Black Ops, and while the last two in that series haven't been perfect by any means, I've really enjoyed playing them. But I've now finally played Modern Warfare 4 for the first time as part of Call of Duty: NEXT, and I'm man enough to admit my initial trepidation may well have been way off base.

I'll preface this by saying I haven't seen much of the game so far. I'll be enjoying the full multiplayer experience, that campaign mission, and the new Warzone map for the first time during the beta like everyone else.

But what I have already experienced has given me hope, because two aspects in particular I was expecting not to enjoy have turned out to be far better than I anticipated: Movement and gunplay.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's movement feels good

I'm no "movement demon" on Black Ops 7, but I do enjoy the fast fluidity to it. I enjoy the pace of Call of Duty when it's flying along, and I appreciate that not everyone does. I don't enjoy slower-paced, more tactical shooters nearly as much.

I just want to run, gun, and then run and gun again. Have some fun.

Modern Warfare 4 is more grounded in that there's no wall jumping, but it still feels fluid. The pace isn't quite at Black Ops 7 level, but it's not slow. Sliding is smooth but doesn't feel ridiculous, and I think the best way I can describe the movement overall is that everything feels deliberate.

You don't feel like a superhero. You feel like you have some weight behind you, like you can't just use movement to get you out of a hole. You actually need to know what you're doing.

I like Modern Warfare 4's gunplay

Again, this is based on only a very brief playtest before the beta opens, but so far I like the gunplay a lot. The way the weapons move as you're running, the way they move when you're firing, and even the way the whole experience looks.

It's pretty satisfying.

Of course, I haven't yet experienced levelling up weapons, strapping on attachments, and such, but I do hope that we don't end up in a position, as we do every year, where there's a single meta that makes every weapon shoot like a laser beam with no recoil.

As it stands out of the gate, I like the recoil, and I like that you actually need to be able to aim a little to hit your shots. I'm not very good, but I like it.

It feels good hitting your shots, especially with a pistol. Call of Duty isn't realistic by any stretch, but Modern Warfare 4 so far seems to be headed in a better direction in this aspect than the last two Black Ops games.

Visually Modern Warfare 4 is the best Call of Duty in a while

Nobody plays Call of Duty because it's a particularly good-looking game, and those who indulge primarily in PvP action on PC always turn the graphics down anyway to get the extra frames. Console players can't do that, so there needs to be a balance.

I've played so far on the Xbox Series X, and I think Modern Warfare 4 looks pretty good. Certainly more like you'd expect a modern shooter to look.

Part of this, I do wonder, is it down to the decision to ditch last-gen consoles? I played Black Ops 7's beta last year on an Xbox One X, and it wasn't great. Visually it looked fine, close enough to the Xbox Series X, but the frame rate was awful. But I also felt like the last-gen consoles were holding back the visuals on the more modern systems.

Everything about the visuals on Modern Warfare 4 so far feels like an upgrade over Black Ops 7. The lighting is nice, textures are decent, and I think the weapons look fantastic. It's just generally all-around nice to look at.

Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 were OK, and I get that Modern Warfare has a whole different aesthetic, but it feels less 'fake' and altogether a more pleasing environment.

That's not to say that there isn't plenty more that needs to be experienced to decide whether Modern Warfare 4 is a "good game" or not. There's still the matchmaking experience, for example, that could make or break things, and plenty of other decisions that could affect the player experience.

But on the face of it, I'm prepared to admit my preconceptions were wrong that I'd immediately dislike this game. The fundamentals of it are a lot better than I expected.

Like everyone else, I'll be really getting to grips with Modern Warfare 4 during this weekend's early access beta. Things kick off today, Friday, August 21, at 9am Pacific for Call of Duty: NEXT, with access for everyone else with a code beginning at 11am Pacific.

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Back in August 2015, Microsoft was working to link console, PC, and mobile gaming into a single network. Coverage at the time framed this "games everywhere" approach as a major shift, with Windows, ironically, serving as the central hub to keep game libraries synced across devices. Phil Spencer was early in his tenure, working through the fallout of the Xbox One's rocky launch and its controversial DRM policies. Industry observers remained skeptical, and players questioned whether Microsoft could actually pull off cross-platform play and cloud integration.

Eleven years later, that initial push sits at the center of Xbox's modern business model. Under Asha Sharma, Microsoft Gaming has pulled back on its controversial "This is an Xbox campaign," trying to reprioritize the console, while deemphasizing Copilot AI. Indeed, there is a big list of things that need fixing. Oh, and apparently it's now XBOX.

The original questions around brand identity and hardware relevance haven't gone away, but their context has completely changed. Looking back at this 2015 report shows that the foundation for today's strategy was already being built, even if the execution took over a decade to solidify (if you can even call it that). — Daniel Rubino, Editor-in-Chief.

The original article below, "The future of Xbox is bright, and it's everywhere," was published on August 13th, 2015, by Richard Devine.

Gamescom 2015 was a blast for Xbox fans. Just as E3 was before it. Microsoft keeps floating the phrase, "the best games line up in Xbox history," and it's probably true. After a flaky launch for the Xbox One by anyone's standards, under Phil Spencer's stewardship things are going in the right direction.

And that direction is out. Xbox is finally becoming something bigger than the box that sits under your television. Gaming is important to Microsoft, and Xbox is its brand. Everywhere.

There have been smatterings of it outside the console for a while, like Xbox Live Achievement support for Windows 8 and Windows Phone games, and the now revoked Xbox branding for Microsoft's music and video services. With the removal of the latter, Xbox is now exactly what it should be for Microsoft. It's all about the games.

The big push really began in January when Spencer appeared at Microsoft's big Windows 10 event. It was the launch of Xbox on Windows 10 and while it all sounded grand, as the months have passed the vision has become so much clearer. Phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, HoloLens, Xbox is going to be everywhere. Cross-buy, cross-play and game streaming are but the beginning.

Take this quote from Spencer in a recent interview with Polygon as an example:

Our recent trip to Cologne for Gamescom helped further put this into perspective. The vast space that was the Xbox booth was lined with both consoles and Windows 10 side-by-side. Windows wasn't shoved away in a corner; it was right there alongside the biggest new titles Microsoft had to show. Games like Fable Legends and Gigantic played together on both platforms. The only difference, your preference for a controller or keyboard and mouse.

Windows 10 is a big step forward for Microsoft in so many spaces. It's allowing the company to do things that it, nor anyone else has done before. Sure, Sony has dabbled with game streaming, but unless you own a PlayStation and at least one other Sony product, it's useless. How many more people already have what they need to stream Xbox One games? A Windows PC. Sony can't boast what Microsoft is able to do with its games on Windows 10. No-one can.

It's also going to become, I believe, less important to focus on how many consoles Microsoft sells versus Sony. And that's because of the platform. In the same way that a smartphone is a way to deliver Microsoft services to your pocket, the Xbox One will be a way to deliver Xbox to your living room. With Xbox as the games platform available here and on hundreds of millions of Windows 10 PCs around the world, who really gets the bigger marketshare?

And let's not forget that as of Windows 10, official Xbox peripherals, including the forthcoming Elite Controller, are compatible out of the box. Just plug 'em in and away you go.

We're only at the beginning. There's so much to look forward to that we do and don't know about. The new Xbox One experience powered by Windows 10, cross-play games like Gigantic, Fable Legends and Killer Instinct, not to mention Halo Wars 2 in 2016. Engineers have told us that yes, they'd love to reverse the Xbox One game streaming feature, but whether it happens or not is still an open question. The Xbox app on Windows 10 will get better every month and we've got things like Crackdown 3, leveraging the power of the Microsoft cloud, to look forward to.

To sum up, I heard this phrase while at Gamescom that I think says everything. What if you could imagine a future where there weren't Xbox One games and Windows games, there were just Xbox games.

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I've always been a fan of physical media, be it movies, music, or games. I'm also old enough that I grew up in a time when it's all we had; there was no Spotify or Netflix.

Slowly I'm working through it all to create digital copies for both archival purposes and convenience since there are plenty of situations where it's not practical to put a disc in a machine and consume its content.

Right now I'm working through a vast stack of CDs acquired from the days when cars had CD players, not just screens connected to your phone or directly to streaming services. But I quickly found that the app I've used for this process in the past, the stock Windows 11 Media Player, nowadays isn't up to scratch.

It will still rip CDs, but it's no good for the metadata anymore. Microsoft turned off the online tool that you could use to grab it, but even then, I figured I could just enter it manually, right?

Seems that doesn't work all the time, either. Even on the few CDs I have that actually have the metadata on them already. It took ripping a few discs for me to realize that information wasn't being applied to some or all tracks, and the artwork wasn't sticking, either. So I needed a replacement, and frankly, I should have just gone for this out of the gate.

Enter Exact Audio Copy (EAC). A free app that is absurdly powerful and does the job right the first time.

Without online metadata the process takes too long anyway

Admittedly, it's been a while since I last digitized a stack of CDs, and it had completely passed me by that Microsoft had turned off the service to get the information online. It's a pretty poor experience for a stock app, even if it's a feature that's increasingly used by fewer people.

A better solution would have been to update the app, allowing its users to find an alternative source of this information. There are options out there, such as MusicBrainz, a free and open-source database of metadata. Maybe I'm asking too much; after all, Microsoft didn't even update the app to remove the option to check for metadata.

It's still there; it just gives you an error if you try and use it. I actually quite like the stock Media Player app, and still use it to play music. It's simple and mostly nice to use. If it's not going to work properly, though, just remove it altogether.

Exact Audio Copy is the perfect solution

Fortunately there is always an alternative, and in this case, it's called Exact Audio Copy (EAC). There will be folks out there that have known of this app for years and are screaming at my incompetence for not going straight to it.

But I didn't know it existed. I'm glad I do now.

This isn't a full tutorial on how to use the app, mostly because I'm doing one specific thing, but it is really powerful. There are plenty of better tutorials out there, such as this one.

All I want is an accurate rip in FLAC, a standardized filename structure, metadata, and album artwork applied. The good news is that if you just want the same thing every time, EAC will run you through a setup wizard when you first use it. From there, you shouldn't need to touch your settings again.

The only thing I did need to change was the metadata provider. The default option is only free for 10 rips, but you can change it within the app to MusicBrainz, which is completely free.

I now know I should have used this all along. AccurateRip will check your CD against a database of other exact rips to ensure yours is as perfect as it can possibly be. It can deal with scratched discs (of which I sadly own several), and it communicates directly with the hardware.

I may be underselling it, but I'm as far from an expert as there is on this stuff. There are plenty of more knowledgeable folks out there, like this post on Flemming's blog that is an excellent resource for getting set up properly.

EAC isn't the only alternative to using Media Player, but it's the one I tried first, and I'm happy. I may try and get in the weeds at some point, but for now it's doing what I need. Archiving my CDs accurately, with good quality, and all the necessary metadata.

If you've any tips or tricks to share on this process, or even an alternative worth trying, be sure to drop them in the comments below.

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I'm a big fan of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) not least because I like Linux, and it means I can run it from the same PC as Windows 11 without the need for virtual machines or dual-booting.

It's been around for quite a while now and is a pretty powerful tool for developers, especially, and it's come to light that for Canonical, at least, WSL might soon be the biggest source of users of Ubuntu.

It comes to light from comments made by Canonical's VP of Engineering, Jon Seagar, actually back in April to The Pragmatic Engineer‘s Gergely Orosz spotted by the team over at Windows Latest.

Not only is Ubuntu growth on WSL continuing to increase, it's actually starting to outpace the desktop. So much so that it's expected that Ubuntu on WSL will soon be bigger than native Ubuntu use.

Obviously Linux is more than just Ubuntu, and its overall use is still dwarfed by Windows 11. But Ubuntu is one of the biggest distros, and this is pretty interesting to hear.

WSL does have GUI support for apps, but it's not the same as running a full desktop, but in most cases, developers and system admins don't need a full desktop. The terminal is just fine, and WSL has seamless integration into Microsoft's VS Code as well.

I've written in the past that WSL is a great tool to use to learn about Linux as a beginner since you can fire it up within the comfortable surroundings of your existing Windows 11 PC. But that same principle can apply for professionals who need access to both.

It's convenient and gives access to the Linux tools needed, including nowadays for AI, and some tools are built specifically for or work best on Linux. But with WSL you have integration with your existing Windows 11 file system.

I use probably 5% of the potential of WSL on my own PC, but it's still one of the first things I set up whenever I'm moving on to a new machine. You're not limited to Ubuntu, either, with Fedora my own distro of preference. But there's plenty to choose from.

Microsoft keeps improving it, too. The most recent development is WSL Containers, and it even has its own version of Linux now for users to deploy in Azure Linux. There are still plenty of cases for having a bare-metal Linux machine, but with Windows 11 and WSL working together, you've got a hybrid that's good enough for many.

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Sim Update 6 for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 was first revealed a couple of months back at the FlightSimExpo. Since then it's had some beta testing, and now, it's ready for prime time.

Sim Update 6 for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is rolling out now, and it's not a huge download, coming in under 4GB on my PC.

There are a few headline features, a ridiculously long list of tweaks and fixes, and something that hasn't made the cut from the beta period.

First up is the bad news, and that's the rolling back from the planned upgrade to FSR 4 with this update. There are some compatibility issues with FSR 4 Frame Gen that the team is currently working through alongside AMD. The FSR version will still be shown, though, according to your GPU's software.

As such, it's back to FSR 3, the same as was present in Sim Update 5.1. There are no such issues for NVIDIA users, though, and DLSS 4.5 has been added as the new default upscaler with Dynamic Frame Generation with in-game VSync support.

One of the big new features is the return of Bush Trips, brought over to Flight Simulator 2024 from Flight Simulator 2020. They're all here, and you'll find them in the Activities menu in the game. Guided tours are now also found here.

There are a host of lighting improvements added with Sim Update 6, too, as well as some bits just for developers, and career mode gets a little attention as well. I've previously covered the headline features coming with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Sim Update 6, so check that out for a summary.

Otherwise, you can dive into the extensive patch notes, but be warned, they'll take longer to read than the update will to install. Definitely grab a beverage!

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If there are two features I'll turn off in every single video game in which they are present, it would be chromatic aberration and film grain.

I get why it exists, but I wish it didn't because it never gives the look (in my opinion anyway) that you think the developers are aiming for.

So, not being able to turn either off in Halo: Campaign Evolved, a shiny futuristic space epic, seems like a misstep.

On PC there were ways around it, but now that won't be necessary, as the next update will allow both to be disabled. As it should have been from the start.

Such is my dislike for both of these graphical 'features' that I haven't even opened Halo: Campaign Evolved yet. I shouldn't need to use config files to turn off something this basic.

The updates to Sgt. Johnson sound pretty important, too, if progression being blocked has been an issue until now.

There isn't much to go on besides the X post shown above, with the update scheduled for some time next week. Full patch notes will be available at that time, and these are just the "highlights," so there'll be a bunch of lower-level stuff as well, it seems.

Crucially, it looks like you'll need to make sure you're at a save point at the end of a mission before the update drops, or else you'll lose some of your progress. The post specifically only mentions mid-mission save points, so everything else will be fine.

In our full review of Halo: Campaign Evolved, my colleague Brendan Lowry said:

"Campaign Evolved ultimately delivers an incredible reimagining of the original Halo, enhancing it with jaw-dropping audiovisual presentation, carefully considered gameplay and level additions, an enjoyable new three-mission story, and a suite of over three dozen collectible Skulls for tons of replay value."

It's not perfect, sure, and it literally is just the campaign with some new missions added, but overall it's pretty well executed. The next update at least will fix some of the irritations.

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Scrolling through social media recently, I stumbled on a Reel (and I'm sorry; I forgot to save it, so my apologies to its creator for not being able to link out) where a dad was explaining how he cancelled Disney+ and saved money in the long run.

But he did it by buying an Xbox One S.

When it first released, one of the killer features beyond being a slimmed-down, brick-less Xbox One was its 4K UHD Blu-Ray drive. We take it for granted now, but the Xbox One S was the first in the family to get that hardware. For $300 you got the ability to play 4K Blu-ray discs, significantly less expensive than most of the dedicated players out there.

Being an affordable 4K Blu-ray player is still one of the strengths of the Xbox One S; only now, it's generally even cheaper. Though yes, let's acknowledge before anyone says it in the comments, obviously you don't get Dolby Vision.

Seeing the aforementioned Reel made the penny drop. It could actually be a viable way to break free of the endless cycle of subscribing to streaming services and buying digital content that we now know for sure could disappear at any time.

The Xbox One S and physical media has always been a winner

The crux of the Reel that inspired this post was that buying a used Xbox One S, plus picking up their kids' favorite movies used on Blu-ray, was cheaper than a year of the Disney+ plan they were paying for.

Obviously on Disney+ there's a ton of content, but the value is only there if you're consuming it. It'd be like paying for Xbox Game Pass for a full year and playing only one game; it doesn't make sense. In this case, most of the content was never being watched, so it worked out cheaper to cancel and just buy the discs.

But Disney+ is just one service. We went from a world where breaking free of cable TV was exciting and a way to save money by only watching what we wanted without the guff. But now we're in a worse position, because the content is locked behind so many paywalls that by the time you add it all up, you may as well have just had cable.

It's frightening, frankly. Looking at my own bills, I'm subscribed to Netflix, Disney+, TNT Sports on HBO Max, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime Video, though the latter I don't really count because Prime is worth it just for the free shipping.

But counting the first five, I'm paying at least what I used to pay for my premium TV package back before I became a 'cordcutter.' And I don't even get everything I want when I want it!

I've always been a fan of physical media. I love my games; I love my movies. Hell, I still have a stack of music cassettes and a Walkman. Today's generation may be finding this stuff for the first time; some of us never let it go.

But depending on how much you spend versus how much you actually watch, maybe it does make sense to buy the physical versions of the stuff you actually care about? At least it won't disappear.

Not owning your content isn't really the answer

If you already have an old Xbox One S spare, or even a One X or your current Xbox Series X (sorry, Series S owners), you're already in a prime position. If you don't, you can pick a used One S up right now at least fairly cheaply. Though as ever, location will have an effect on that.

Xbox also had a leg up on PlayStation, remarkably, which didn't have 4K Blu-ray capabilities on any of the PS4 lineup, despite being able to play games at 4K on the PS4 Pro.

It's a prudent thing to think of, though. There's a whole community out here of folks who like to digitize their own media with a Plex or Jellyfin server, but if you have the discs, this is far simpler.

The argument has been brought to light recently by Sony. First by removing video content from its customers' libraries that they had paid for, and then by deciding to end physical game production from 2028. When you buy digital, you have no ownership of your content.

When you buy a piece of digital content, you're buying a license to consume it. But only for as long as you're allowed to, which apparently isn't forever. At least when it's a physical item in your possession, you have the control.

I'm going to deploy my Xbox One S again

I won't be cancelling the various streaming services I subscribe to anytime soon, more's the pity. When you've got two kids who watch most of them regularly, familial bliss is the price to pay for the, well, price. That and I do enjoy some of the content on them you can't get anywhere else.

But if it's a piece of media I care about and want to truly enjoy for years to come, I already lean towards buying a Blu-ray. The quality is better, it's mine, and I can digitize all of my Blu-Ray discs on my PC and toss a copy onto my NAS.

I have been using my Xbox Series X, but I don't generally keep that in the front room attached to my 4K TV. I'd actually forgotten until thinking about this post that I still have my old Xbox One S stashed away. So it's going to be coming out of retirement to live a second life as a full-time movie box. I think I still even have a PDP Xbox remote control somewhere.

But whether it's to free yourself of the streaming services, throw a middle finger up to the digital future being forced upon us, or you just like to own your stuff, the Xbox One S is still a great value way to enjoy high-quality content. Owned, not rented.

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It's that time in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's seasonal rotation for a Reloaded refresh, and once again the big deal for many is Zombies.

Black Ops 7 Zombies is reaching its narrative conclusion as the Rex Infernus map is open for business when Season 05 Reloaded goes live on August 20 at 9am Pacific.

"As reality stands on the cusp of destruction, the crew face their ultimate challenge. Cleanse the Shadowsmith places of power, find the Warden’s inner sanctum, and put an end to his loathsome existence."

As ever, completing the main quest will bring forth your rewards. If you get it done before Directed Mode launches, you'll get a unique Calling Card that will become unavailable when it does.

Other rewards include the "Bloodthorn" Wonder Weapon skin, calling cards, and 10,000 XP. Collect all the Intel to get another Calling Card and 10,000 XP.

Widow's Wine is also back, complete with new major and minor augments to research, and a new GobbleGum, "Fully Packed," will upgrade your weapon to Pack-a-Punch level 3. So that's definitely going to come in handy.

Two new Ultra-Rarity weapons are being added to the mystery box, too, with the TR2 marksman rifle and the Olympia shotgun joining the ranks of Zombies-based gambling.

It's bittersweet for Zombies players, as this is it. The last new full map content that we're going to see for some time. Modern Warfare 4 doesn't have a Zombies mode, so for now, that's all she wrote.

Naturally Season 05 Reloaded covers all aspects of the game, not just Zombies. The PvE extraction Endgame is about to reach the end of its free-to-play run, as it'll return to being a Black Ops 7-owned (and Game Pass) exclusive when Season 05 comes to a close.

During that time, though, the Burn Run Assignment will continue to appear across Avalon. Keep tabs on your map for the skull icon for a little Forza racing in Call of Duty action. The maximum combat rating you need for any of these is only 45, too, so they're pretty accessible.

Multiplayer will see a new pinball-themed Turbo Tilt map based on Nuketown history, complete with interactive bumpers and ramps. Freerun: Descent is getting a new course, and Cranked Moshpit is back if you like a bit of that.

As for Warzone, Loaded Resurgence will be coming back for another go around. It does also get some new gameplay features, though, with the Quickdrop Kit, which reduces redeploy time in Resurgence, and a Special Delivery Drone you can shoot down in all modes to earn yourself some weapon camos.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Season 05 Reloaded goes live on August 20 at 9am Pacific.

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Euro Truck Simulator 2 is, outside of the well-known titles such as GTA 6, one of the most hyped upcoming console releases. We know it's coming to Xbox Series X|S and PS5, but other than that, nothing.

The lack of information is only adding to the build-up, but now, finally, there's a strong chance it might be ready for people to see for the first time.

Its maker, SCS Software, has announced it is going to Tokyo Game Show for the first time. While it means we're probably not hearing anything at Gamescom a few weeks prior, SCS is hoping to have a playable console version of Euro Truck Simulator 2 on the Tokyo Game Show floor.

"We're also doing everything we can to bring playable demonstrations of our upcoming Road Trip and Coaches projects to Tokyo Game Show, along with a PlayStation 5 version of Euro Truck Simulator 2. While we're not quite ready to make any promises, our teams are working hard behind the scenes, and we hope to give visitors an early hands-on look at these exciting new experiences."

Alright, so first up, it's the PS5 version of Euro Truck Simulator 2. Which, given it's in Tokyo, makes a lot of sense. Xbox will also be at the show, but let's face it, PS5 is the clear king in Japan of the two. There will be more players at that event that are on PS5 than on Xbox.

It's also not a guarantee, but the fact that SCS has even mentioned it at all must mean they're somewhat confident of making it stick. The other content they're hoping to show off we've at least already seen to some degree. The console version is the unicorn right now.

There are so many questions players have over how the experience will translate to console. It has to be flawless on a controller, for example, and I'm confident enough it will be. I play both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator on my Steam Deck regularly with its built-in gamepad.

But a PC game supporting a controller is not the same as a truly controller-native console experience. It's also great news for the development of the game if SCS believes it's in a good enough state to allow members of the public to take a look.

What it very much isn't, though, is any confirmation of imminent release. For one, it's only one of the two games. American Truck Simulator isn't mentioned. Is there a chance we'll hear more about the desired timeframe? Possibly.

Either way, for console players who are waiting impatiently for the insanely popular truck simulators to finally break free of their PC exclusivity, this is the best piece of news since they were first revealed.

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The beauty of a handheld gaming PC is its size and that it's also a full PC. The downside is that, unlike a laptop, you need to accessorize in order to achieve productivity status.

A Nintendo Switch 2 may well have a 'mouse' now, but you're not going to use it to bang out some emails and spreadsheets on the train.

I've had a Steam Deck since the very beginning, and as an open fan of Linux, I'm more than happy using it as a PC as well as a handheld games machine. Razer has now released a new product to go with one of its existing products that's particularly useful for the former.

Unlike everything else Razer makes, it doesn't have some wild monicker. It's simply the Razer Travel Case Folio, and it's designed to transport your favorite portable keyboard and prop up your favorite portable device.

Nothing overly fancy, but in the case of handhelds, it's actually pretty nifty.

The keyboard part is designed primarily around the Razer Joro wireless keyboard, which I have, and is the only keyboard I ever travel with in conjunction with my Steam Deck. The box also says it's a seamless fit with Apple's Magic Keyboard, if you're so inclined.

As yes, one of the reasons you'd want to buy this case is if you're an iPad owner (other tablets are also available). It'll support up to a 13-inch tablet to use with your keyboard, as the back of the case opens up in a manner regulars in these parts will be familiar with.

The Travel Case Folio has a Surface-style kickstand on the back.

I have to say I'm surprised at how sturdy it is. It has zero struggle propping up my hefty Valve handheld, and in the same vein as a Surface kickstand, you can adjust your angle to suit.

The keyboard doesn't lock into place or anything, but it's secure when the case is closed, kept in snug by the magnetic closing flap. I also like that there's a cutout on the case to connect a charger without needing to open it up. One is for the Joro, and one is more centralized for Apple's keyboard.

One small gripe I have though, and it is only small, is that the cutout for Razer's own Joro could have been a little larger or had a secondary one for the power switch. I never remember to turn the keyboard off, and every single time I've pressed something as I've packed it away, and that translates to something happening on the screen.

So I have to get it out again, open up the case, turn off the keyboard, and pack it all back up. And no, after many, many times of doing this, I still haven't remembered.

It's a really nice product though. Spill resistant on the outside, soft and protective on the inside, and it works better than I expected as a kickstand for a handheld. Even with my Steam Deck in a case, it will still stand up just fine. Perfect for those of us who don't have a Legion Go.

At $55.99 from the Razer Store, it's not that expensive, either. Obviously, if you don't have one of the two keyboards it's built for, then it's probably not worth it, but given that the Razer Joro is a $140 portable keyboard, it's worth the investment. I think I'm more surprised it took this long.

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Xbox is legally required in some territories, such as the UK and, more recently, Australia, to verify the age of its users in order to access certain features.

Whether we like it or not, there's no way around it. Governments will always government. But what most of us objected to more was the use of faceless third-parties that were being used to verify some of our most personal information. In Xbox's case, it was Yoti, a company that's found itself in hot water before over its handling of data.

Fortunately, at long, long last, if you've held out on completing Xbox age verification, it looks like you won't have to. A message is hitting the inboxes of those accounts that haven't yet verified their age through other means but have been determined as having an "adult account" through their activity.

Our own Ben Wilson was one such holdout and got the message himself last night. Here's what it says in full:

Due to longstanding account activity, we've estimated your Xbox profile to be an adult account and updated its age verification status to "Verified." You are no longer required to complete full age verification for uninterrupted access to social features on Xbox. While no further action is required, you can update your privacy and safety settings on Xbox at any time. For more information, click "Learn more" below.

Reddit is likewise lighting up with folks who've had the same message and have been released from the requirements to verify their age for full access.

This seems to be taking place predominantly in the UK, with Australian age verification recently hitting the news as frustrated users see what us Brits were faced with at first.

But since Xbox can clearly identify your age effectively using your account data, why isn't it applied automatically to everyone immediately?

I don't personally care whether I have to be verified as an adult or not, but I do care about being asked to hand over biometric data to companies I have no usual business with. I remember many years ago, being told by a local shop they wouldn't photocopy my passport for me because they wouldn't handle personal information such as this.

Now we're being asked to funnel all that into a computer somewhere, trusting that they're going to behave responsibly with it.

But a win's a win. Even if it's a win that took a little long to get here. Hopefully it can roll out quickly in any subsequent markets that require age verification.

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Sony's decision to kill physical games from 2028 is the discussion that won't go away, and we're still waiting to see what the Xbox stance will be.

But wading in today is Strauss Zenick, CEO of Take Two (via IGN), otherwise known as the company that counts Rockstar Games among its portfolio. The same Rockstar Games that recently printed a ridiculous sum of money when GTA 6 pre-orders went live.

Only this time, and for the first time in the franchise, there will be no physical version at all. If you buy it from a retailer, all you get is a download code. Naturally, Zelnick is all for this.

“Our business is well over 90% digitally distributed,” Zelnick said. “It's already a digital business. So in certain instances, especially if it's a big game, discs just — and note I said discs — don't really make sense for the consumer.

Also, most instances you have to register online to play anyhow. So if you're already connected, who cares if you download digitally? It's all the same and it's much more convenient."

Granted, I'll give Rockstar Games specifically a little more slack here. GTA V came on two discs on the Xbox 360 originally because the game was too big for one (PS3 used Blu-Ray and was a single disc). Likewise, even on the larger capacity discs for Xbox One, Red Dead Redemption 2 suffered the same fate.

Nobody wants to get up and have to change discs. Not to mention more raw materials, manufacturing costs, etc. But I take particular exception to the second part of the quote above.

It's not our fault we have to register online to play a game. It's not our fault we need to have a Microsoft or Sony account, probably also a Rockstar Games account created alongside either of those. A subscription to play online. Alongside an account for every other different publisher who says we need to have an account.

Are digital games more convenient? Of course they are. But let's not pretend that this has anything to do with making our lives easier. Without a physical copy of something in our hands, we know that at any point it could just vanish without a trace.

It's not remotely surprising GTA 6 is digital-only. Even ignoring the likely technical issues fitting much of it onto a disc, it kills the resale market stone dead. Used game stores won't have copies of GTA 6 on the shelves after players are done with it. GTA Online is the cash cow, but there are still plenty of us who will play the campaign and call it a day. Those players can't sell on or trade in their copy anymore.

Curiously, Zelnick also said that "It doesn't mean that we won't have physical additions now and then, I'm sure we will in the same way that there’s still vinyl in the recorded music business." I don't even know where he's going with that one.

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As price rises hit everything thanks to the RAMpocalypse, with SSDs, memory, graphics cards, PCs, handhelds, consoles, and literally everything getting more expensive, let's celebrate when someone beats the system.

Sure, it's only one person, but at this point, I'm so utterly depressed with the state of things that I'm ready to buy this person a beer and shake their hand.

You see the doom and gloom everywhere, so when I was browsing Reddit this morning and came across a post where someone had secured an NVIDIA RTX 3050 graphics card for just FIVE DOLLARS, I have to shout it out.

Is it the greatest deal of all time? Honestly, even before the price rises, I'd have grabbed this, thrown down a $5 bill, and run out of the store before anyone realized what they'd done putting that price tag on it.

Is the RTX 3050 a particularly good graphics card? I mean, it depends what you want to do with it. It'd be pretty good as a budget video encoding card for streaming; it'll play games at 1080p fairly well, too. Hell, I'd have absolutely put it into a machine and given it to my son.

For five bucks I would have found something to use it for. Maybe slap it inside the home server I've been wanting to build again for years to handle video transcoding. I don't care; I'd have found something to do with it.

That's assuming it works properly, of course. The post does show a Windows boot screen, so it would appear it at least gives video output, so that's a start. With a used, mystery GPU like this, you'd have to test it properly, and most definitely you'd want to strip it down, clean it up, and give it some new thermal paste.

But for $5, who cares? Worth a go, right? It's just nice to see someone have a win right now. If you were to buy a brand new RTX 3050 right now, you're looking at paying at least $250 if you went to somewhere like Best Buy. Nobody should pay $250 for a two-generation-old budget graphics card.

It also gets me thinking: What's the absolute craziest deal you've ever found on a piece of hardware? I think I've only ever been so lucky once, managing to get a Surface Go 2 LTE with a price mistake once and securing it for essentially free with an inexpensive data SIM contract.

It should have been a couple of hundred British pounds, and I got it for £8. And even though it was a mistake, it was still honored, and I got my Surface Go 2.

So jump into the comments below and let me know your personal craziest deal. Meanwhile, I'm definitely raising a glass to this person. Hopefully it all works well, and if so, you've definitely beaten the system right now.

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Five years ago back in 2021, a game was released with a famous franchise attached that initially slipped me by. I'm talking about Aliens: Fireteam Elite.

I don't really have any affinity for the movie franchise, so that's likely why I didn't even give it a look. But after catching a couple of streamers playing it, I took a punt, and boy was I in for a surprise.

To this day I think Aliens: Fireteam Elite is woefully underrated. I can't speak to whether it's a truly authentic Aliens experience, but it's a fun game with plenty of replayability, without being too serious or requiring all your time. And it's about to leave Xbox Game Pass in 9 days as I write this, so consider this your notice to check it out while you still can.

You've got various classes and loadouts to build out, perks, different weapons, and hidden caches to find to get yourself some of the better loot. It has mild elements of a looter shooter in its mechanics, but it really isn't one.

It's a run-and-gun action game where your objective primarily is slaying alien creatures. Lots and lots of alien creatures. My former colleague, Miles Dompier, summed it up perfectly in our original 2021 review.

"Aliens: Fireteam Elite genuinely caught me off guard. I was excited about the idea of playing another co-op shooter in the Aliens universe, but I wasn't confident it would be a quality title worth spending a great deal of time with. However, my squad and I are already strategizing our loadouts for the more extreme difficulties. Despite my initial reservations, I'm fully expecting to spend the next several weeks playing Aliens: Fireteam Elite with friends."

This is exactly what happened to me, though I played more solo than with others. While it's more fun with friends, it's perfectly playable solo from beginning to end.

Better still, the Pathogen expansion is currently heavily discounted, too, and I'll be honest, that passed me by. I own the game (and it has Xbox Play Anywhere, too), but with Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 coming really soon, it's as good a time as any to revisit this gem.

But seriously, if you're stuck for something to play right now and you have Xbox Game Pass Premium, Ultimate, or PC Game Pass, take it for a spin. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

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I'm just going to say it as plain as I can: Microsoft customer support really needs to improve. We have, of course, had the recent case where someone being locked out of their account went viral on social media, which seemingly magically prompted some action.

Now, over on the Steam Deck subreddit there's an exhausting tale of a player who has been locked out of playing Forza Horizon 6 for 70 days over an issue with cloud sync. And guess what? Xbox support apparently can do nothing to help.

The detailed explanation goes through the entire ordeal, but the problem boils down to an issue with Forza Horizon 6 syncing to Microsoft's servers, not Steam. The game crashed and appears to have created a server-side block on the sync completing, and now leaves the game unplayable as soon as it tries to connect.

I can already hear some that would point at the Steam Deck being the problem. But for starters, the game is Steam Deck verified, and user reports on ProtonDB for the game are pretty good. But games crash on Windows, too.

The alarming part here seems to be that what's happened could, in theory, happen to anyone who bought the game on Steam and doesn't have access to an Xbox to fix it.

Because the short end to the long story is that the final official support 'solution' is to use an Xbox console to delete the cloud save. Which is fine, if you have an Xbox console. Chances are if you bought Forza Horizon 6 on Steam, though, maybe you don't? Either that or you hate money since it's Xbox Play Anywhere through the Xbox App on Windows.

Part of the frustration seems to be that neither the Forza nor Xbox support teams can delete this data on a player's behalf. I find it very hard to believe that a company the size of Microsoft with such an intricate web of servers and cloud support wouldn't be able to do this. It is, however, more convenient to try and pass it down to us to sort out.

It also potentially highlights a weakness within the Xbox cloud system itself, but that's a discussion for another day. But it wouldn't be a stretch to hope that if a sync fails, the system just falls back to the last one that didn't rather than locking up entirely.

Reading this whole drama is just disappointing. Either there are fundamental problems with Microsoft systems that need addressing, or, and I feel like this is probably more likely, customer support just isn't up to scratch.

I've had my own issues over the years with other areas of customer support within Microsoft, so I definitely don't think it's new. And let's be real, the chances of support agents being replaced by AI loom ever larger.

Fortunately, there is a potential way out, but it's not exactly what you'd call a solution. Many on the Reddit thread have suggested signing up for Game Pass and trying to utilize Xbox Cloud Gaming to see if that can help unblock the cloud sync.

Without an Xbox console handy, this is probably the only thing that could be tried, and it sounds like it could work, but the OP hasn't yet come back with an update. Even if it does, it's still some added expense and effort that shouldn't be needed.

Trying to access the cloud storage via the Xbox web app hasn't seemed to work, either, as if the game hasn't been played through cloud streaming in the last 30 days, nothing appears. Likewise, the original poster hasn't had any joy using the Xbox App on Windows 11.

But it's yet another tale after years and years of tales of poor support from Xbox/Microsoft when it comes to technical issues blocking players from their content. It should not take someone going onto the internet and going viral to prompt action.

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The Nintendo Switch 2 is now a little over a year old, but one game that a whole bunch of owners would have been hoping for an upgraded version of hasn't yet materialised. That game is Minecraft.

The good news is that will end fairly soon, as Microsoft's behemoth is almost ready for it. The Nintendo Switch 2 Minecraft upgrade is currently confirmed for October 27, 2026.

Obviously this is good news for Switch 2 owners, which includes my own impatient son. For existing owners a "digital upgrade path" will be available, with more information to come. It also doesn't say this upgrade will be free, and the wording definitely makes me feel like there will be some kind of cost attached. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

The Switch 2 upgrade to Minecraft will bring it more in line with other platforms, with the new Vibrant Visuals experience being enabled as default.

"Let me unfurl this metaphorical scroll a little to remind you why we’re all so excited. First, the Nintendo Switch™ 2 renders the world of Minecraft to lush life with Vibrant Visuals – set as the default visual experience. This means enhanced lighting, shadow effects and more – and you can even enjoy Vibrant Visuals* enabled content across all the supported content in Minecraft Marketplace. "

This also extends to the exclusive Super Mario pack that's only available on the Nintendo version of Minecraft. It, too, will be given some Vibrant Visuals, so have fun with it.

If anything, I'm only surprised it's taken this long. Vibrant Visuals launched around the same time as the Nintendo Switch 2, and it'll be 16 months on when the upgrade is finally made available.

Minecraft has recently been brought directly under Xbox leadership and its CEO, Asha Sharma. It's reported she feels Microsoft has underinvested in Minecraft as a platform and wants to change that in the face of increasing competition from other game-as-a-platform titles such as Roblox.

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GTA 6 + Netflix. Just completely out of nowhere. But it's not a joke.

Announced today by its creator, Rockstar Games, is "Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look" and it will be premiering on Netflix on August 27 at 3pm Eastern.

If you're still at work or you don't subscribe to Netflix, don't panic, it will be added to YouTube later.

Netflix has an exclusive on probably the hottest show of the year, but not for long. Later the very same day, August 27, the same show will be uploaded to the Rockstar YouTube channel and the GTA 6 website at 9pm Eastern.

What are we actually going to see, though? That's still a secret. But since December 2023 we've only had two actual trailers, and neither of those has shown us any gameplay. Both were full cinematics showing off some of the characters and locations we can expect to see in Vice City.

So, surely you'd expect an "extended look" to at least show us some gameplay, right?

At this point, though, any information would be good information. We know nothing official about the story, the size of the map, any online plans, gameplay. It's the most hyped game of all time and we know essentially nothing about it.

We do know that it's currently scheduled to release on November 19, 2026, and that to play at launch you'll need to be on Xbox Series X|S or PS5. And that you can pre-order GTA 6 now.

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One thing we haven't had so much of with the Xbox Series X|S compared to previous generations is limited edition consoles. There have been some, like the Halo Xbox Series X and some competition specials, but compared to the Xbox 360 and Xbox One especially, it's been a pretty dry time.

Some of the older limited editions command a pretty penny on the used market these days, and obviously there's a finite supply of them. But there are some real gems, like the Gears 5 Xbox One X (pictured above) or even the blood red Gears of War 4 Xbox One S. Later this year we'll also see the Xbox Series X25, with its classic translucent green shell. Though unfortunately, a vastly increased price, now.

But over on the Xbox subreddit there's a thread rolling right now where folks are talking about these consoles, so I thought I'd bring it on over here, too. So what's your favorite limited edition Xbox console of all time?

There are some incredible choices on the Reddit thread, from the classic Crystal Green OG Xbox through the Halo 4 Xbox 360, the Titanfall Xbox One, and some others that folks like myself based in the UK might not even have known existed.

I didn't know there was a Taco Bell Xbox One X, for example, nor a green Mountain Dew OG Xbox. Granted, neither of these were actually sold, but they still exist, and I'd definitely go for a Mountain Dew Xbox if I could get my hands on one without selling a kidney.

I've never actually owned a limited edition console myself. The closest I've come so far is the Project Scorpio launch edition Xbox One X, which I still have in my office looking pretty.

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If I had to pick, it'd be between two. The Xbox console I always coveted the most was the Crystal Green first-generation. I wish I'd chopped in my standard black console to get one, but given I'd already spent a whole paycheck from a part-time job on one at the age of 17, I decided against it lest I risk the wrath of the parents.

The other might be one most wouldn't pick given some of the wild designs, but as a massive fan of the franchise, I always wanted the blue Forza Edition Xbox One. It didn't help that a friend of mine actually had one, taunting me every time I went over.

So, those are my picks, but I'm more interested in yours. There's no shortage to choose from, so hit the comments below and share your own favorite limited edition Xbox console design from the last 25 years!

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Players of Dovetail Games' popular train simulator, Train Sim World 6, on Xbox One and PS4 have unfortunate bad news to endure.

Currently the game and all DLC content have been made available on last-gen hardware, but that is now coming to an end.

The announcement was made on the developer's blog, alongside information on exactly what it means for players on Xbox One and PS4.

"Train Sim World titles and new TSW Add-on releases developed from this date onwards will only be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC platforms (Steam, Xbox for PC and Epic Games).

This change is essential for allowing the teams that create TSW content freedom to take advantage of current-gen hardware, prioritising the best performance possible, and improving the visual quality as much as they can."

The good news is that this change doesn't affect content you've already bought up to now. It's still there, it's still playable, and it's still supported. The cancellation only applies to any further DLC content for Train Sim World 6 and for future games in the franchise. To play any of that, you'll need to be on PC, Xbox Series X|S, or PS5.

It's sad news for players still on the last-gen consoles, for sure, but credit to Dovetail Games for holding out as long as it has.

Even Xbox has finally had to take the plunge with Call of Duty, with Modern Warfare 4 not releasing on Xbox One or PS4, either. It's particularly bad timing for those still holding onto their older consoles given that both Xbox and Sony have recently increased prices on the new consoles, too.

If you are on Xbox One with Train Sim World 6, you do at least have options. It supports Xbox Play Anywhere, for one, so if you can move to PC, you can take all of your existing content with you so long as you use the Xbox App. You can't transfer your content to Steam or Epic Games. Content does transfer between Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S as you would expect, and PS4 players can also carry over to PS5.

Train Sim World 6 is also supported by Xbox Cloud Gaming, so even though your console may not be up to scratch going forward, you can still keep playing through the cloud if you're unable to move natively to supported hardware. PS4 owners don't have that luxury, as cloud streaming on PlayStation is limited to owners of the PS5 version.

While the timing might not be great, it's understandable. Games are more demanding than ever, and ultimately no experience at all is better than paying for something and having a bad experience.

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If you use a Steam Deck, then the first thing I would always recommend is to install Decky Loader. From there, one of the first plugins I'd recommend is SteamGridDB, because let's face it, the box art isn't always the best artwork you can have in your games library.

Now, though, SteamGridDB is also on Windows 11. We first covered SteamGridDB for Windows 11 a while ago, but until recently I hadn't really given it much notice.

I've started using the Xbox App on Windows 11 as my go-to launcher since I'm in there a lot for Game Pass games, anyway.

But while it's convenient having the Xbox App launch games also from Steam, Epic Games, Ubisoft, etc., one thing made me twitch; the artwork pulled in was awful. Low-res icons mostly rather than full artwork.

This is where SteamGridDB comes in. Just as on the Steam Deck, you can use it to select custom art for your games, and in this case, bring your non-Xbox titles up to the standard of those you're getting directly through the app.

SteamGridDB is not an app, as such, but instead a Game Bar widget. So to make your changes you have to go through Game Bar, but I actually think I prefer it this way. It can't hook into the Xbox App like it can hook into SteamOS, so it's probably the next best thing this way.

These days you can get it directly from the Microsoft Store, and once it's installed, you may just need to launch it from the Widgets Menu on the Game Bar.

But it's as simple as selecting a game, hitting the search icon, and compatible artwork will show up. The selections in my experience aren't quite as plentiful as they are on SteamOS, but there's not been a game I've come across where there isn't something that's a whole heck of a lot better than a crummy low-res icon.

Once you choose your artwork, the next time you go to your library in the Xbox App, it'll have been applied, and it won't make your eyes bleed any longer.

I'm using it on my desktop PC, but it's particularly useful if you're on a handheld gaming PC such as the Xbox Ally or Lenovo Legion Go series. Clean library, clean mind!

Game Bar is one of those features I use a lot without really exploring what it can do, and SteamGridDB is now a permanently pinned widget. It only takes seconds to make a change, and it's so worth it.

It's a must-have if, like me, you're using the Xbox App to launch games from elsewhere.

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