Microsoft is bringing a slew of changes to Xbox in the September update, including a revamped game library, controller color customization, and more.
The revamped game library is the most notable change you’ll see here, as it has been redesigned to streamline access to the games you want to install and play. The All games tab in the Full library shows you all the games you own as games labeled with the logos of streaming services you’re subscribed to, including Xbox Game Pass, EA Play, and claimed Games with Gold. For example, It Takes Two and Rocket Arena are tied to EA Play, while Forza Horizon 5 and Tinykin are linked to Game Pass.
Customizing the color of the Xbox controller is another change Xbox players can expect. Starting today, you can change the color of the Xbox button on your Xbox Elite Series 2 controller with a wide range of colors that combine red, blue and green LEDs to produce over 16 million hues of light. You can do this from the Xbox Accessories app on your Xbox console or Windows PC while your controller is connected, then pick the Color tab to change the color and brightness of the button from an existing or new profile.
You can also choose different default storage locations to install all your games and apps on your Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One systems. You can choose to save those games and apps in the console’s internal storage, your external hard drive, or simply select Let Xbox decide where to put your content in order to save storage space. PC players and Xbox app users also get some helpful features from this update. PC users can now create a shareable link for Captures through the Xbox Game Bar and have access to noise suppression settings in the Xbox app.
Finally, players can now set up and start parties straight from the Xbox app via a Parties option in the Social tab. If your Microsoft device is connected to the internet, you should get these updates today.
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.