microsoft news

New subscribers to Xbox Game Pass may be privy to free three month memberships to Discord Nitro in what would be the latest of many Game Pass promotions.Neowin reports that the latest Discord 9.8.3 be...

Reviewed on PCBalancing the tones of cutesy papercraft aesthetics and horrifying demonic imagery can hardly be a simple task. Witnessing iocent humans being boiled alive in a cooking pot in a virtua...

Jagged Alliance is a well-known series for those who are deeply in love with the tu-based tactics genre. It’s a franchise, like many, that peaked in the late 90s and has seen its fair share of turmo...

Today, Microsoft is releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17723 (RS5) to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring and Build 18204 (19H1) to Windows Insiders who have opted in to Skip Ahead.Going forward...

Update:Telltale has confirmed earlier reports about its partnership with Netflix. Minecraft: Story Mode is coming to Netflix this fall and Telltale will publish a game based on Stranger Things for consoles and PC at a later date.Separately, we're thrilled to confirm that Telltale is developing a game based on Stranger Things that we'll publish to consoles a...

If for some reason you’re still ruing on operating systems well over a decade old, you soon won’t be able to play games on Steam. Valve aounced that starting on January 1, 2019 the Steam client will cease to support Windows XP and Windows Vista.“Starting on January 1 2019, Steam will officially stop supporting the Windows XP and Windows Vista operating s...

Microsoft provides an Advanced Startup options menu in Windows 10, which serves as a central location for all of Windows start up features.Advanced Startup offers the ability for users to Reset their PC, use System Restore, or boot up into Safe Mode among others. It’s a useful tool, especially if you suspect something’s wrong with your PC and you want to fix...

Update: The first batch of April’s original Xbox backward compatible games are now live.Original: Inside Xbox promised news on original Xbox backward compatible games and they sure did not disappoint. Though five titles leaked earlier today before the official aouncement, they weren’t the complete list. A total of 19 original Xbox games will be playable on...

It appears ads, which are becoming increasingly pervasive on Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system, have now reached the Windows 10 Mail app.Users on Reddit are now reporting that a baer has shown up in the Windows 10 Mail app in a space above the Mail, Calendar and People buttons. The baer caot be removed except by closing the menu, and currently ad...

Flying over Hope County on my way to arrest the game’s main antagonist with a U.S. Marshal wasn’t how I expected Far Cry 5 to begin. It sure did lead to a hectic opening mission. Walking into his compound, realizing this was exactly what he had wanted, and seeing the tides tu within a moment was both exhilarating and frightening as I realized just how much...

The new build Windows 10 Preview Insider Build v17112 has been released by Microsoft to the Fast Ring.Rather than new features, the update appears to be bringinga number of fixes, but also known issues, which are enumerated as below:We fixed an issue where selecting a notification after taking a screenshot or game clip opened the Xbox app’s home screen ins...

Microsoft today released Windows 10 SDK Preview Build 17095 to developers. This SDK can be used with Windows 10 Insider Build 17093 or later.And this release includes bug fixes and under development changes to the API surface area. The SDK is supported byVisual Studio 2017 and can work side-by-side with older SDKs.As you might have noticed in the recent SDK preview releases, this release also includes the C++/WinRT headers and cppwinrt compiler (cppwinrt.exe). This compiler comes in handy if you need to consume a third-party WinRT component or if you need to author your own WinRT components with C++/WinRT.The updated Preview SDK can be downloaded here. You can find the list of new API additi...

Microsoft today aounced that they are acquiringChalkup, a classroom collaboration platform. Educators & students from 1 in 3 universities and 1 in 5 high schools in the United States have used the Chalkup Class Collaboration Platform to engage and coect with their classes. As part of this deal, Chalkup’s co-founder Justin Chando is also joining Microsoft.Microsoft is plaing to bring the best of Chalkup including features such as Chalkup’s iovative rubrics system toMicrosoft Teams.“In spending time with the amazing people at Microsoft, it was clear that we were completely aligned in our mission for coecting classrooms, sparking student collaboration, and finding new and iovative ways to work ...

We reported recently that the Bing app on Android now directed users to Google Maps, and speculated that Bing Maps may be next on the chopping block at Microsoft.Today we have another bit of evidence to add to the pile, as it appears Microsoft has withdrawn support for Windows 10 Mobile from theirBing Maps Web Control.This means if you are one of the rare few who use a Windows Phone and you come acrossa website with an embedded Bing Map you will only see a blank page.According toRicky Brundritt, Senior Program Manager at Bing Map “support for Windows Phone as a whole (not just maps) started ending in January” and “Windows Phone was removed to align with Windows Phone as a whole no longer bei...

As the release of Redstone 4 approaches, Microsoft has been gearing up to prepare the first build for Redstone 5. According to Buildfeed, Microsoft has just compiled the first build of Redstone 5. This comes just after Microsoft created a new RS4_release branch which will serve as the official branch for RS4 releases starting next month.If you recall, Microsoft did the same thing as with RS4 last year. Once the Creators Update was almost ready, Microsoft started flighting RS4 builds to selected Insiders in Skip Ahead Ring. We expect the same to happen as Microsoft prepares for a global rollout of Redstone 4 next month.The current compiled build for RS5 branch is17600 and it looks like this w...

We first saw evidence of Microsoft’s app-specific preview program with the Photos app, and now it appears Microsoft is rolling out the feature to other core applications, such as the Camera,Alarm and Clock and other apps.The feature means individual Windows 10 Insiders will be invited to test updated versions of the apps and provide feedback, without a wide semi-public rollout program.“You’ll be one of the first to try out new features in the preview version of Camera, and your feedback will shape the future of the app,” the invitation to the Camera Preview reads.The new phase of the program could mean Microsoft can iterateon applications more rapidly and separate from new builds of Windows,...

Microsoft has pushed out a new build of Windows 10 to PC users on the Insider Fast Ring.Build17093 brings the following improvements:Game bar ImprovementsMicrosft has given Game bar a makeover so it’s even easier to find what you’re looking for.Go to your captures, toggle your microphone and camera, and edit the title of your Mixer stream—all from new buttons on Game bar.Quickly check the time using the new clock.Choose a theme—Dark, Light, or your current Windows theme.Game bar settings are easier to use.Diagnostic Data ImprovementsLast week, Microsoftaounced some new privacy tools as part of Data Privacy Daywhich included the Diagnostic Data Viewer that showed up for Windows Insiders inBui...

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has received its 8th patch in Xbox Game Preview today. While it’s not large and just addresses some minor issues, it’s a step towards further improving and balancing different elements of its gameplay.The last patch issued for PUBG in Xbox Game Preview increased damage done to vehicles, and this latest update tweaks that element a bit more. Over on PUBG’s forums, the patch was detailed and states that the developer has revertedback to increased damage if a player is struck by a vehicle. Full patch notes can be read below.GameplayWe received a lot of great feedback following the changes made to vehicle/player damage. We continue to tune and balance this element o...

Microsoft today released Windows 10 SDK Preview Build 17083 to developers. This SDK can be used with Windows 10 Insider Build 17083 or later.And this release includes bug fixes and under development changes to the API surface area. There’s new TreeView control, new printing APIs, HDR, screen capture APIs and more. The SDK is supported byVisual Studio 2017 and can work side-by-side with older SDKs.As you might have noticed in the recent SDK preview releases, this release also includes the C++/WinRT headers and cppwinrt compiler (cppwinrt.exe). This compiler comes in handy if you need to consume a third-party WinRT component or if you need to author your own WinRT components with C++/WinRT.The...

The Monster Hunter series began its life on PlayStation, but part of what makes Monster Hunter: World special is that it’s the first main game in the franchise to also release on Xbox. Its title is as straight forward as it gets as the series tasks you with hunting monsters, literally. Because the Xbox One seems to be notorious for lacking Easte RPGs, many players may not be familiar with the series and its quirks. This does hurt its accessibility, however Monster Hunter: World’s strength lies in its depth and gameplay, for better or worse.If you’re new to the series, Monster Hunter: World may feature a steep leaing curve. At first all of its menus and loadouts can be intimidating, and it ta...