Xbox Veteran Who Helped Create Achievements Has Left Microsoft
Xbox’s Chris Novak–a Microsoft veteran who helped create, design, and implement the user experience for iconic Xbox features and programs like Achievements, Game Pass, and Xbox Live–has left the company after nearly 20 years.
Novak was most recently the head of research and design at Xbox. Over the years, he helped design and execute Xbox’s Achievement system and photo modes, which are now popular inside Xbox and among other gaming consoles and companies. Novak remarked to Polygon that one of his biggest challenges was designing things that are both new and better.
“Most people want their gaming experience to be comfortable and familiar and fast. It should be connecting them to the thing they want as fast as possible, and anytime you do something new, you might be…
World of Warcraft Is Celebrating 17 Years With New Anniversary Rewards
World of Warcraft is turning 17 this year, and Blizzard is celebrating with new rewards as part of a special anniversary event.
As detailed by Blizzard, starting November 15 and lasting December 6, players will receive a celebration package in the mail that includes fireworks and an item to increase experience and reputation point gains by 17%. Two daily quests will also be available for completion that involve answering World of Warcraft trivia or battling various world bosses from vanilla WoW in exchange for Timewarped Badges, which can be used to purchase various rewards like toys, pets, and transmogs.
Zelda- Tears Of The Kingdom – How To Repair Weapons
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom brings back Breath of the Wild’s divisive weapon degradation system. If you’re lamenting the return of durability, though, don’t worry. For Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo also sneaked a secret equipment repair method into the game. Here’s how you can easily repair your melee weapons, bows, and shields in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
How to repair weapons in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The key is to find an Octorok, the squid-like enemies that are known for chewing up and then spitting out flaming rocks. These creatures are particularly common in the dry Eldin region near Death Mountain, where the Gorons live. The region is in the northeast portion of your map.
Zenless Zone Zero Pre-Registration Now Open On PS5, PC, And Mobile
Yesterday, the iOS App Store seemingly slipped and revealed the release date for Zenless Zone Zero, the next online action-RPG from Genshin Impact developer Hoyoverse. Today, the company has officially opened pre-registrations for it on all platforms, though none of the official announcement details mention that “leaked” launch date.
Players on iOS and Android mobile devices can go to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store respectively to pre-register now, which will automatically download Zenless Zone Zero to their device on launch day. Those who plan to play on a PlayStation console or on PC via the Epic Games Store can add the game to their wishlist or pre-register on the official ZZZ website with an active Hoyoverse account.
The official …
Xbox's Latest Showcase Was A Big Improvement
Earlier today, Microsoft debuted a new take on the game news livestream format that began with Nintendo Direct over a decade ago. The Xbox Partner Preview featured updates on Alan Wake 2, Metal Gear Solid Delta, and more, but for me, the most notable update did not involve a specific game, but instead the program itself. The Xbox Partner Preview was a major improvement upon previous Xbox showcases, and, for the first time since that first Nintendo Direct in 2012, it feels like we’ve seen an evolution of the format.
QR = quite resourceful
The first addition I noticed were the brief still images that followed every individual announcement. Having covered my fair share of PlayStation State Of Play presentations, the idea of posting blog updates w…
Xbox Streaming Games Coming To Samsung TV App; Console Not Required
Making good on a promise it made in 2021, Microsoft officially announced today that it is partnering with Samsung to create an Xbox App for the company’s smart TVs that will let anyone play Xbox games via the cloud, without the need to own an Xbox console.
Starting June 30, anyone with a “new Samsung 2022 smart TV” in 27 supported countries can download the Xbox App and start playing games via the cloud. Players will seemingly also need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, except in the case of Fortnite. As announced previously, Microsoft and Epic worked out a deal to make Fortnite free to stream for everyone.