If you watched any of Microsoft’s press conference at E3 — or if you took the time to watch any of the game trailers they debuted during the show — you might have seen the phrase “Xbox Play Anywhere” being thrown around quite often. Play Anywhere is a new initiative that promises to bring dozens of forthcoming Xbox One games to Windows 10. The program allows consumers to buy a game on either platform and receive the digital rights to play it on both their Xbox and their PC, at no extra cost.
Players who have purchased an Xbox Play Anywhere game and own both an Xbox One and a Windows 10 PC will also find that their saved game data will immediately transfer between devices, ensuring smooth transitions back and forth between platforms. Given that today’s Xbox One is actually running a modified version of Windows 10 anyway, it’s not much of a reach for Microsoft.
Xbox Play Anywhere titles also feature cross-platform gameplay. Therefore, if you have an Xbox One — but no computer — and your friend has a PC running Windows 10 — but no Xbox — you can play together online if you’ve both bought a game that’s part of the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative.
An Xbox Live Gold subscription will not be required to take advantage of Play Anywhere, and Windows 10 gamers will not be required to purchase Gold in order to access online multiplayer features. The type of control input required to play a game on Windows 10 — i.e. an Xbox controller vs. a mouse and keyboard — will be up to the individual game developer. Some titles, like Forza Horizon 3, will allow players to choose the type of control input that they feel most comfortable with.
Keep in mind that only digitally purchased games qualify — that means game discs you buy won’t unlock cross-platform rights and will be restricted to whichever platform you buy the disc for. Game owners will also not be able to play the game on both platforms simultaneously. Purchasing a digital Play Anywhere title will automatically add the game to your list of available downloads on both Xbox One and Windows 10, as long as you’re logged in to the account used to buy the game.
Below, check out a full list of games that have been confirmed as Xbox Play Anywhere titles. Keep in mind that Xbox division head Phil Spencer has all but confirmed the next installment in the Halo franchise as a Play Anywhere title, but there has been no official announcement as of yet. For a full list of confirmed Xbox Play Anywhere titles and FAQ support, check out the official page here.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.