Microsoft confirmed to Digital Trends that the impending price increase on its first-party games will apply to its PC releases as well. The change will happen in 2023 and affect upcoming titles like Starfield, Redfall, and Forza Motorsport.
This morning, IGN reported that Microsoft will be raising the prices of Xbox Series X|S games from $60 to $70. Digital Trends asked Microsoft if this would also apply to the PC versions of its games. A Microsoft spokesperson said, “Yes, starting in 2023, our new, full-priced games will be $69.99 across console and PC storefronts. This price reflects the content, scale, and complexity of these titles, regardless of platform. These games will also be available on day one with Game Pass.”
Microsoft will be the latest company to join others such as Sony, Activision, and Electronic Arts, which have already been charging $70 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of their games. Xbox chief Phil Spencer told IGN that Microsoft wouldn’t start raising prices on Xbox’s products and services until after the holiday period was over, but it will be in full effect by the time Xbox’s big 2023 releases roll around.
This price hike everywhere makes Xbox Game Pass look like an even more enticing offer, as subscribers only have to pay up to $15 per month for access to a wide variety of titles rather than an upfront cost of $70 for a single first-party Xbox game. Thankfully, Game Pass has not seen a price increase yet, and neither have the Xbox Series X and S consoles. Sony increased the price of the PS5 in markets outside of the U.S. earlier this year.
Imagine tapping a Zelda icon on your iPhone and jumping straight into Hyrule. A new open-source project called nxnative makes that possible by repackaging Switch games you’ve bought into apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with no emulator in the middle.
Why does this run so well on Apple devices?
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”