Gaming

Microsoft will stream its big Xbox Games Showcase in 4K resolution and 60fps on Sunday. The stream, which will include a Starfield Direct after the main event, will kick off at 1PM ET / 10AM PT / 6PM UK on Sunday June 11th. Expect to see the latest from Xbox Game Studios and a big update on Starfield ahead of its September 6th release date.

It’s doubling down on the web app for the almost 3-year-old Luna game streaming service, as previously mentioned by AFTVnews. Here’s part of the company’s statement to 9to5Google:

We saw customers were spending significantly more time playing games on Luna using their web browsers than on native PC and Mac apps.

That leaves the streaming box app for Fire TV, Android TV, and Google TV as the only native app for the platform. Luna recently expanded to three new countries despite layoffs and disappearing games.

The Verge’s Monica Chin sat in it at Computex, and says the Orb X is ideal if you love gaming and hate other people. It’s covered in the requisite RGB lights, while a reclining chair, 34-inch curved gaming monitor and “freaking dope” sound system rounds it out.

I haven’t asked, but I’m guessing she means that sci-fi villain. Would try.

Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida hinted to the Financial Times that it’s still in the studying phase re: cloud gaming, due to the “technical difficulties” of streaming games over the internet.

Wait, doesn’t Sony already have a cloud gaming service? Kinda, but I suspect he’s talking about this new one!

This new falling block game from an indie developer called M.slivo that asks you the question: what if the blocks were made of sand (via Hacker News)?

Instead of rigidly fitting together, the blocks fall apart when they land, their pixels tumbling down the slopes. You clear “lines” by creating contiguous colored stripes that span the playfield. It breaks your brain in the most delightful way.

It’s for Windows and Linux only, unfortunately.

Because it sure was a packed week in the world of entertainment. We’ve got the excellent sequel to Into the Spider-Verse; a brilliant revival of Street Fighter; remakes of the classics games System Shock and Etrian Odyssey; and the season finales for Yellowjackets and Ted Lasso. Oh, and if you pre-ordered Diablo IV, you can dig in a little early.

If you haven’t already got all the controllers you could possibly need for the six year-old Switch (or if you’ve lost any of them to Joy-Con drift), Nintendo has some new controller colors for you. One set comes in pink and yellow, the other comes in purple and green. Both cost $79.99 per pair, which is the same price the controllers launched at back in 2017.

KFC, eat your heart out.

Many people (including yours truly) are having problems with Chromium browsers and other apps flickering after installing the 535.98 driver released May 30th.

The problem seems linked to multiple monitor setups and having G-Sync enabled. A post to Nvidia’s forums says they’ve identified a fix, but until it’s rolled out, you can try an earlier driver or disable hardware acceleration in any apps that are having problems.

You know Myst, but do you remember the CD-ROM’s other killer app? The 7th Guest is now 30 years old, and it’s getting remade in 3D for the first time to sell you on Meta’s Quest 2 (and just-announced Quest 3) headsets. It’ll still have something akin to full-motion video for its actors, too: volumetric video capture.

Timely, given the upcoming launch of Street Fighter 6. Razer hasn’t said how much it will cost or when it will come out, but if you want a new arcade-style fighting game controller for PC or PS5, the Kitsune seems like a promising option.

The pre-show kicks off at 12:45PM ET, with the main show starting at 1PM ET. You can watch it here on YouTube. Here’s hoping Meta sneaks in another look at the just-announced Quest 3 VR headset.

You can hear and watch a recording of the soundtrack on YouTube. This song in particular sounds like something you’d hear in a fantasy movie — which is fitting, given the DLC’s fantasy theme.

The game just came out on Mac, already supports VR, and he tweeted about a surprise in the “VERY near future” and what appears to be a picture of the game’s Steam page with the Windows logo, Apple logo, and the words “VR Supported.”

With Apple’s WWDC keynote in the very near future, it looks like we might see No Man’s Sky as a featured game during the show.

A new report from Bloomberg has dug into what went wrong with Arkane Studios’ Redfall, which is currently one of the worst-reviewed games of the year. It’s a significant failure after Microsoft acquired Arkane’s parent company for $7.5 billion.

“To the makers of Redfall, the mediocre reception was no big surprise,” Bloomberg writes. “The project suffered from unclear direction, frequent attrition and a perennial lack of staff.”

Yuji Naka, a former Sega and Square Enix developer best known for co-creating Sonic the Hedgehog, could be sentenced to over two years in prison following his arrest for insider trading.

Prosecutors in Tokyo District Court also want to fine Naka ¥170 million (around $1.2 million). I doubt they’ll accept gold rings as payment.

The original $80 Leap gesture controller debuted so long ago that we compared it to the Kinect. However, unlike Microsoft’s Xbox accessory, Leap is still kicking.

Now known as Ultraleap after a 2019 merger, it’s showing off the Leap Motion Control 2 (via RoadtoVR) and retiring the old device. The new $139 unit will begin shipping this summer, and new Gemini software for it is coming to macOS — and with its positioning as a VR accessory, you can probably guess why that’s suddenly a priority.

Ultraleap:

Key improvements over the original Leap Motion Controller include higher resolution cameras, an increased field of view, and 25% lower power consumption, all in a 30% smaller package for optimum placement and convenience.

It is the most flexible camera ever developed by Ultraleap and is compatible across platforms and complimentary hardware including VR/MR/AR headsets, PCs, and holographic displays.

If you’re interested in attending Nintendo’s Live event in Seattle this September, now you can register for a chance to get free tickets through a randomly selected drawing.

You can register as an individual or group for any of the four days the event will take place. Just make sure you do so within the next month, as registration closes on June 22nd.