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Sensor Tower estimates Rockstar had pre-sold about 6.45 million copies of Grand Theft Auto VI as of October 20, generating roughly $630 million in revenue. PlayStation 5 accounts for about 74% of pre-orders (4.8 million units) versus 1.66 million on Xbox Series X|S, ahead of the game's November 19 release.
AMD is expanding its FSR 4.1 upscaling technology beyond the Radeon RX 9000 series, rolling it out today to RX 6000-series GPUs and Ryzen AI Max/9 300 and 400 series devices via the Adrenalin Edition 26.10.1 drivers. The company also confirmed FSR 4.1 is coming to Xbox Series S and X consoles and handhelds like the Xbox Ally X, though no release date was given beyond 'coming soon.' FSR 4.1 supports over 300 games including Cyberpunk 2077, Battlefield 6, and Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Microsoft has made its Disc to Digital tool available to all Xbox users after a month of Insider beta testing, letting players convert physical Xbox One and Series X game discs into digital licenses tied to their account rather than their console. The feature does not require an Xbox Game Pass subscription and is triggered manually by selecting 'Claim Digital License' from a game's menu rather than automatically on disc insertion.
A project called diorama64, published on GitHub by developer Michael Steil, turns Super Mario 64 into a tabletop-scale diorama viewable through Apple Vision Pro. Players use a game controller while moving around a physical space to view levels like Bob-omb Battlefield and Big Boo's Haunt from any angle, built on existing decompilation work of the original game.
A new emulator called PS5X lets Xbox Series X hardware run PlayStation 5 games, but only through Microsoft's Developer Mode, which restricts games to 5GB of memory versus the 13.5GB available to retail Xbox titles. The cap only lifts when software runs via the Visual Studio debugger, a developer-testing setup, and consoles in Developer Mode cannot load retail games until switched back. Microsoft banned emulators from retail Xbox mode in 2023 and has reportedly suspended players for 15 days for circumventing that policy.
Best Buy is selling the SteamOS version of Lenovo's Legion Go S handheld for $999.99, a discount off its original price. This configuration pairs the Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, running the same SteamOS as Valve's Steam Deck OLED but with an eight-inch 1080p, 120Hz display and two-stage triggers.
Scottish modder Joshua Kennedy has completed a nine-year effort to pull off the Xbox 360's CPU reset-glitch hack using a $4 Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller instead of costly specialized glitching hardware. The exploit sends a precisely timed signal to the CPU's reset pin, causing it to misexecute instructions in a way that lets arbitrary code run, bypassing Microsoft's console security.
Asus has introduced the ROG Xbox Ally X20, a handheld gaming device built in partnership with Microsoft's Xbox brand. The standout feature highlighted is its OLED screen, positioning the device as a premium option in the handheld PC gaming market.
Rockstar Games published the launch trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 on Thursday, featuring a new track from Justice with Tame Impala, SZA and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. The trailer introduces protagonists Jason, a former soldier with a troubled past, and Lucia, whose phone call sets the story in motion. The game is set to launch Nov. 19 on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.
Asus's ROG Xbox Ally X20, the higher-end handheld built with an OLED screen and Xbox-branded software, has been reviewed as the most visually appealing and comfortable device in its category. The review notes that despite its premium build and display, the device's raw performance does not match its design quality.
Microsoft has introduced the Xbox Nano Controller, a compact, 3.5-ounce gamepad priced at $49.99 that retains all 18 standard Xbox inputs despite shrinking the overall size. It's just over 5 inches long, charges via USB-C, includes a customizable Action Button, and supports Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth for use with PCs, phones, and smart TVs. Pre-orders are open now ahead of a November 4 release, with purchases capped at five per account.
The makers of multiplayer game Big Walk announced they deliberately excluded an Xbox release as part of a boycott targeting Microsoft, citing the company's involvement with Israel. The developers said they are following the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement's designation of Microsoft and Xbox as boycott targets, and will not bring the game to the platform until that designation is lifted.