Microsoft's Xbox unit announced a new division called XP that will expand its game franchises into film, television, merchandise and live events. The division includes four arms—Xbox Pictures, Xbox Products, Xbox Places and Xbox Partnerships—and will be led by Kayleen Walters, former executive producer of A Minecraft Movie. Maria Angelidou-Smith, previously of Meta and Reddit, was also named the new CEO of Mojang and Minecraft.
Deadline reports Paramount Pictures is developing a live-action movie based on CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077, with the game studio producing alongside veteran action producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. No plot details or casting have been revealed, and it's unclear whether this project is connected to a 2023 production deal involving Anonymous Content.
Playground Games will bring Forza Horizon 6 to PlayStation 5 on January 26, slightly later than its originally planned 2025 window. The PS5 release will include a Premium Edition option with early access, and will launch alongside the game's first expansion.
Atari has reintroduced the 800XL, a hybrid home computer and gaming console from the early 1980s, rebuilt with modern features like HDMI output and USB ports. The $220 unit ships with 25 pre-loaded games, a cartridge slot, a USB-chargeable joystick, and a mechanical keyboard that supports Atari Basic coding and homebrew software. Plaion Replai, the company behind recent Commodore 64 and Neo Geo remakes, designed the hardware, with preorders open now and shipping set for April 23, 2027.
Microsoft has formed a new internal division called Xbox Experiences (XP) to oversee the expansion of its gaming franchises into movies, television shows and physical products like toys. The unit will be led by former Mojang CEO Helen Chiang, who previously worked as an executive producer on A Minecraft Movie.
Retro Games Ltd, working with Atari and Plaion, has opened pre-orders for THE 800XL, a modern remake of the 1983 Atari 8-bit home computer. The unit includes a mechanical keyboard, built-in Atari BASIC, a cartridge slot, 25 built-in games plus two unlockable titles, save states, USB ports and HDMI output, bundled with a CX40-style joystick. Pre-orders cost $219, with shipping not expected until April 23, 2027.
A source identified only as Cyberleek has released a 25-minute gameplay video from Grand Theft Auto VI containing significant story spoilers, as reported by Kotaku. The footage, which also promotes the leaker's memecoin, shows co-protagonist Jason fully nude and appears to suggest the game may be playable in that state. Rockstar has not commented, and the game remains on track for its November 19 release.
Playground Games has delayed the PS5 launch of Forza Horizon 6, originally slated for 2026, to January 26th, 2027. The PS5 debut will now align with the rollout of a new game expansion, which will also arrive on Xbox and PC that same month. A Premium Edition will offer PS5 players up to five days of early access.
Reddit user Fantastic-Author2736 built a virtual reality version of Diablo II using tools called FlatVR and BodyWalk, relocating the map and inventory to the player's hand and belt for a first-person view. The mod, currently at version 0.141, is downloadable on GitHub and includes recent fixes to sky rendering in several zones and a barbarian animation glitch.
A project called AnyPS5 has demonstrated PlayStation 5 exclusive games, including Dead Cells, running natively on standard PCs, according to Ars Technica. Social media videos show the emulator making rapid progress, raising the prospect that current-generation console exclusives could soon be playable outside Sony hardware.
Rockstar Games announced that Grand Theft Auto VI will include at least six in-game radio stations—Cocoteo FM, Back Country Radio, AfroBank FM, The Chamber 106.6, Flash FM, and Dirty South Classics—spanning genres from talk radio to classic rock. The company also confirmed the series' first-ever on-demand podcasts, which players can listen to while moving through the game's fictional Florida setting, Leonida. The game is available for preorder and is set to launch November 19th.
BJ, an independent builder, has created the Retro Song Bird, a device resembling a Game Boy cartridge reader that plays only the music and sound effects stored on Game Boy cartridges rather than the games themselves. It includes a built-in speaker, stereo line-out for external audio equipment, and USB audio streaming of each of the Game Boy's four sound channels, plus the ability to back up ROMs, save data, and export music as WAV files. Only a handful of prototypes exist currently, and the device is not yet for sale.
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