Starting today, a new Home experience is rolling out to all Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles. This update is designed from player feedback and makes it easier to discover new games, rediscover games you already love, connect with communities, and create a more personalized experience.

We're excited to share more about the journey that led us here, and what you can expect with this new update.

Microsoft is preparing to refresh its Xbox Series X/S console lineup in 2023 with a faster processor. Dubbed the Xbox Series X Elite, the console is expected to feature a refreshed semi-custom SoC built on the 6 nm silicon fabrication process, with higher clock speeds. The console itself is expected to undergo a design change to look more cuboidal, similar to the Xbox One X, departing from the tower-type design. A design concept of the console was put out by Let's Go Digital, with a sleek body and cooling that's optimized for the updated SoC. There are also some LED lighting elements. We should hear more about the console throughout 2022.

As pressure mounts over Sony and Microsoft's (in)ability to deliver their current-gen PS5 and Xbox Series S|X consoles at a fast enough pace to satisfy demand, it seems that users now have yet another reason to throw their gamer hands up in the air in frustration. Stocks of new PS4 / PS4 Pro and Xbox One S|X have been increasingly harder to come by in recent times, and especially in the US, stock of the last-gen consoles on Amazon, Target, Walmart and GameStop is virtually non-existent. The only choice prospective gamers have is to find a second-hand last-gen console - and pricing on those seems to be (predictably) going up.

When one looks at it, it does make sense that last-gen consoles are also becoming hard to find, despite the fact that they haven't been discontinued yet. It all pertains to the finite resources at manufacturers' disposal. Even if there are no common components between last and current-gen consoles, the difficulties faced by the supply chain in procuring even raw materials for fabrication means that manufacturers have to prioritize resource allocation - and it seems obvious that both Sony and Microsoft would prioritize current-gen consoles over the alternative. The stock issues even extend to peripherals - controllers for Sony's PS4 are also out of stock, and while the PS5's Dual Sense sees healthy stock levels, that controller has no backwards compatibility, meaning that users looking for a replacement or additional PS4 controller have to make do with either used ones or third-party alternatives. As for Xbox controllers, fear not - they're in stock, for both current and last-gen systems.

In the latest episode of "next-generation gaming issues", the Xbox Series X console pre-order has also seen its stock depleted from all online merchants. Following issues with both the RTX 3080 and PS5 supplies, now it's the time for Microsoft to be in the spotlight, as the question of low stock or fundamentally impressive demand arises once again. This is likely an answer we won't ever have; however, it also has to be said that there is plenty of time for stocks to be replenished for both Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Sony's PlayStation 5 before their respective launches. I wouldn't worry too much for now.

At the same time as Xbox Series X pre-orders made stock go the way of the dodo, the usual scalpers have already surfaced on the common secondhand marketplaces, looking to sell their "pre-order" confirmed consoles for prices that usually sit around at double the MSRP (set at $499 by Microsoft). Remember to not let yourself be a part of this chain; save yourself money, and be part of the solution to scalpers by not engaging with their offerings. You still have time to secure your console.

Today, HP debuted new OMEN accessories featuring Warp Wireless Technology with OMEN Command Center integration to offer a wireless ecosystem that transforms gaming experiences. The company also adds NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series GPUs to its OMEN 30L Desktop empowering users with the freedom and flexibility they need for top-notch gaming experiences. The wireless accessories will be showcased during OMEN Underground, featuring world renowned skater Tony Hawk co-hosting an 8 person Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 tournament, starting at 1:00 p.m. PDT today on the official PAX Arena Twitch channel.

During these unprecedented times, gaming benefits are being unlocked as people spend more time at home exploring new ways to be entertained and find mental well-being. PC gamers are spending an average of four additional hours or more a week gaming. This is driving today's gamers to look for new, powerful accessories that unclutter play spaces while offering the power to play all day with pristine latency. Cable management is a serious issue for most gamers, as they want a clean desk. HP designed a new wireless accessories portfolio - OMEN Frequency Wireless Headset, OMEN Vector Wireless Mouse, and OMEN Spacer Wireless TKL Keyboard - featuring Warp Wireless Technology - for flawless audio, wire power without the wire, and long-lasting game play. Leveraging Warp Wireless Technology with its 2.4 GHz connection technology, gamers get a secure, flexible, and immersive wireless experiences within the OMEN ecosystem. Pairing the new wireless accessories with an OMEN 30L Desktop featuring an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series GPU, wireless and powerful gaming takes on the next level of play.

It's time for players of all skill levels to lace up their boots and step into the ring: WWE 2K Battlegrounds is here! Developed by Saber Interactive and available now for the PlayStation 4 system, the Xbox One family of devices, including the Xbox One X and Windows PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch system and Stadia for $39.99, WWE 2K Battlegrounds brings fast-paced action and an assortment of power-ups, special moves, unconventional melee items and interactive environments to take the brawl to the next level. Players can take on the challenges alone or compete with friends and family on the couch or online in cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes.

"We're excited to add WWE 2K Battlegrounds to 2K's growing portfolio of WWE and licensed sports properties, and to offer yet another way for gamers to enjoy WWE video game action," said David Ismailer, President at 2K. "This arcade-style brawler offers a completely different experience from our WWE 2K simulation franchise and WWE SuperCard collectible card battling game, that we're confident fans will enjoy."

Activision today announced the worldwide launch of its much-anticipated Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2, a remaster of the first two successful titles in the iconic, billion-dollar Tony Hawk video game franchise. In one game package, players will experience all the levels, tricks, and pro-skater characters from the original blockbuster hits from 1999 and 2000, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, fully remastered in 4K resolution and bolstered with new ways to play, new pro-skaters to choose from and new music. In addition, the game includes features that allow players to customize their own skate parks and outfits and share them with friends.

"I'm thankful for the quality and care that Activision and Vicarious Visions have put into the remaster to revive the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series in the best way possible," said Tony Hawk. "For years, fans have asked me about bringing these games back, and I'm proud to say that we finally have a game that delivers on the expectations that nostalgic fans want, while inspiring a new generation to pick up a controller, and perhaps even a real skateboard."

Warner Bros. Games and DC today announced Gotham Knights, a brand-new open-world, third-person action RPG videogame in development from Warner Bros. Games Montréal. Gotham Knights features the Batman Family as players step into the roles of Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin, a new guard of trained DC Super Heroes who must rise up as the protectors of Gotham City in the wake of Batman's death.

Introducing an original story set in DC's Batman Universe, Gotham Knights offers a dynamic and interactive Gotham City where an exploding criminal element has swept through the streets. With the Belfry as their base of operations, this new era of heroes will solve mysteries that connect the darkest chapters in the city's history and must defeat notorious villains in epic confrontations. Players must save Gotham from a descent into chaos and reinvent themselves into their own version of the Dark Knight.

The "Gaming Accessories Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2020-2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global gaming accessories market is expected to reach a CAGR of 9.5% during the forecast period of 2020-2025. Increasing adoption of smartphones, rapidly evolving technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are fueling the growth of the market across the globe.

Major gaming console manufacturers like Nintendo and Microsoft have realized the potentiality of AR and are leading the charge. AR can free gamers from their world' and usher them into the real world to play. For instance, Human Pac-Man is a game that allows the users to wear goggles and chase each other in real life, just resembling the characters in Pac-Man. Such developments are aiding the development of gaming accessories to provide enhanced gaming experience to gamers.

Microsoft in a statement announced they have halted production of the Xbox One S and Xbox One X, the current-generation consoles that are currently being sold under the Xbox brand. The move comes in preparation for the "Holiday 2020" release of the Xbox Series X and its badly-kept secret sister, the (likely?) Xbox Series S. This will allow the retail channel to digest available inventory and open up space for the impending consoles' release.

This move by Microsoft all but confirms that the company will be launching a companion, lower-priced, lower-performing console alongside the Xbox Series X. Microsoft knows that launching the most powerful console also means (most likely) launching the most expensive one, and the company knows they must cater to more budget-conscious consumers as well. Check after the break for the complete Microsoft statement.

2K today announced that WWE 2K Battlegrounds, the arcade-style brawler that will bring over-the-top WWE action to a new level of intensity, will release worldwide on September 18, 2020 for the PlayStation 4 system, the Xbox One family of devices, including the Xbox One X and Windows PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch system and Stadia. Featuring a roster of more than 70 WWE Superstars and Legends at launch, with additional Superstars to be released thereafter, WWE 2K Battlegrounds is now available for pre-order in digital formats and at participating retailers.

Eight unique Battlegrounds environments play a major role in the action, many of them featuring interactive elements adding to the mayhem alongside a variety of outrageous melee weapons players can use to pummel opponents. Soar from military helicopters, smash opponents with cars in an auto shop and toss them into the jaws of a hungry alligator in the swamp. Bombastic play-by-play is provided by WWE commentators Mauro Ranallo and Jerry "The King" Lawler to complete the mood.

The genre-defining Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise made its mark on videogames in the '90s touting the top names in skateboarding at the time. With the launch of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 on September 4, 2020, the legacy continues with some of the most preeminent pro skaters in the world today -- Nyjah Huston, Leo Baker, Leticia Bufoni, Aori Nishimura, Lizzie Armanto, Shane O'Neill, Riley Hawk and Tyshawn Jones -- joining the lineup of OGs in the remaster.

"Modern-day skateboarding originated from a generation of skaters who grew up playing the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games," said Michelle Bresaw, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Activision. "The world-class pro skaters we're adding to this remaster took the tricks and combos from the videogame and made them possible in real life. We're proud that the remaster will represent the skate culture landscape today with a diverse roster of skaters that will appeal to any gamer."

Bandicoots get ready fur it, Crash is moving 4-ward into 2020 with a brand-new game that's built from the ground up and "It's About Time." No, literally! Activision Blizzard, Inc., and developer Toys for Bob, are giving fans the true sequel to the original trilogy with Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. Our lovingly absurd marsupials are back and putting a fresh spin, jump and wump on conflicts of cosmic proportions, discovering expansive new worlds, unexpected allies, larger-than-life boss battles and powerful new Quantum Masks that must be united to restore order to the multiverse. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One and Xbox One X on October 2, 2020. Pre-orders are available now.

SteelSeries today introduced the Arctis 1 Wireless for Xbox gaming headset. The headset uses a USB type-C 2.4 GHz wireless dongle, and a lossless audio format between the dongle and the headset. A type-C to type-A cable is included, as is a 4-pole male-to-male 3.5 mm cable for analog mode. The headset supports Xbox One, Xbox One X, and PlayStation 4, and SteelSeries claims it should work with the upcoming Xbox Series X. The wireless setup has a range of 9 m, and the headset has a battery life of up to 20 hours of use on a full charge.

As for its key specs, the headphones portion uses 40 mm drivers, offers 98 dB (SPL) sensitivity, 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response, and 32 Ω impedance, with under 3% THD. The microphone, which is suspended on a detachable stock, responds to 100 Hz to 6.5 kHz, and -38 dBV/Pa sensitivity, offering bi-directional noise-cancellation (for the microphone). Available now, the Arctis 1 Wireless for Xbox is priced at USD $119.99.

The videogame that transformed the skateboarding world is back! The original birdman Tony Hawk, and Vicarious Visions, the studio that reinvigorated Crash with the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, have teamed up to bring fans remastered versions of the first two badass games in the critically acclaimed Tony Hawk franchise -- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2. To provide players with breathtaking gameplay experiences, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 will blend all the original levels, pro-skaters, old-school tricks and more that gamers remember from the '90s and '2000s with new, beautifully recreated levels. This faithful remaster will also include blockbuster songs from the original franchise. Dropping in on September 4, 2020, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 will return remastered in one awesome package for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, the family of Xbox One devices from Microsoft, including the Xbox One X, and on PC through the Epic platform.

"The original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series is a big factor in the evolution of modern skateboarding tricks and inspiring many of the pro skaters you know and love today," said Tony Hawk. "I'm excited to help inspire a new generation of skateboarders and gamers - and existing fans - to grow the sport even further."

PATRIOT, a global leader in performance memory, SSDs, gaming peripherals, and flash storage solutions, today is proud to announce the launch of the PATRIOT PXD M.2 PCIe Type-C External SSD, the next generation of portable storage solutions. Featured with the latest PCIe Gen3 x4 controller series controller, bus speed up to 10Gbit/sec, and the latest USB 3.2 Type-C interface, the PXD is available in capacities from 512 GB to 2 TB. At just 4.05" (L) x 1.24" (W) x 0.38" (H), and lightweight at 1.23 oz, the PXD is the perfect solution for those who need large superfast storage in a compact design.

External storage has been plagued with performance issues making external hard drives and traditional flash drives virtually unusable for large data transfers. Video content producers and IT professionals are demanding faster and more efficient storage solutions. The PATRIOT PXD M.2 PCIe Type-C External SSD is bridging the gap between internal and external SSDs by combining the latest PCIe Gen3 x4 controller with the USB 3.2 interface to build the best external drive for the media professionals. The PXD is protected by an industrial-grade aluminium chassis offering extra durability and supports the SuperSpeed USB 10Gpbs transfer over the USB 3.2 Type-C interface.

Microsoft has pulled the curtains on a limited edition Xbox One X console, which will feature a customized color scheme to go in hand with the highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077. Inspired by the cyberpunk aesthetic and neon lights of Night City, the new Xbox One X console sports a mainly gunmetal gray and yellow color scheme. The console also features a blue LED status light, glow-in-the dark decals, laser etchings to the chassis, and customized panels. The controller has also seen a change in coloring and decals, and is customized according to the in-game color scheme that best characterizes the iconic Johnny Silverhand, aka Keanu Reeves in-game.

Microsoft just put out of the complete hardware specs-sheet of its next-generation Xbox Series X entertainment system. The list of hardware can go toe to toe with any modern gaming desktop, and even at its production scale, we're not sure if Microsoft can break-even at around $500, possibly counting on game and DLC sales to recover some of the costs and turn a profit. To begin with the semi-custom SoC at the heart of the beast, Microsoft partnered with AMD to deploy its current-generation "Zen 2" x86-64 CPU cores. Microsoft confirmed that the SoC will be built on the 7 nm "enhanced" process (very likely TSMC N7P). Its die-size is 360.45 mm².

The chip packs 8 "Zen 2" cores, with SMT enabling 16 logical processors, a humongous step up from the 8-core "Jaguar enhanced" CPU driving the Xbox One X. CPU clock speeds are somewhat vague. It points to 3.80 GHz nominal and 3.66 GHz with SMT enabled. Perhaps the console can toggle SMT somehow (possibly depending on whether a game requests it). There's no word on the CPU's cache sizes.

ORIGIN PC is celebrating its 10th anniversary of building world class high-performance custom PCs for gamers, enthusiasts, and professionals with a one-of-a-kind gaming system showcasing the best of PC gaming and console gaming. The system is called Big O, which combines a high-powered gaming PC with an Xbox One X, PlayStation 4 Pro, and Nintendo Switch inside a modified ORIGIN PC GENESIS chassis. This build is a throwback to the original award-winning Big O system built in the early years of ORIGIN PC's history that at the time combined a powerful gaming PC with an Xbox 360.

By using their case modding and PC building expertise, the ORIGIN PC team spent countless hours testing, designing, and building the modern Big O as a stunning technical showpiece. With inspiration from previous custom builds, the Big O offers an incredible hardline liquid cooling solution for the Intel Core i9-9900K CPU and NVIDIA TITAN RTX GPU, which also extends to the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro. As for the Nintendo Switch, the team built a custom dock in the front panel of the Big O using the original hardware in order to retain the complete "docking" capabilities of the system. Thus the Nintendo Switch can be docked for full screen gameplay or removed to take gaming on the go.

Today, Ubisoft announced Gods & MonstersTM, an all-new action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Quebec, the team behind Assassin's Creed Odyssey, will launch worldwide on February 25th, 2020. This open world fantasy adventure features a beautiful art style, and engages players in a fantastical world as they use godlike abilities to defeat famed mythological beasts and save the Greek gods in a heroic journey for the ages.

In Gods & Monsters players embody Fenyx, a forgotten hero on a quest to restore power to the Greek gods after it was stolen by Typhon, the deadliest creature in Greek mythology. Players will explore the Isle of the Blessed and prove their heroism as they face dangerous mythological creatures, including fearsome Gorgons, Harpies and mighty Cyclopes. Gifted with special powers from the gods of Olympus, players must overcome treacherous dungeons, challenging trials and perform heroic feats on their journey to save the gods.

Microsoft at its E3 2019 keynote dropped a huge teaser of its next-generation gaming console development, codenamed "Project Scarlett." The console is expected to pack some serious hardware that powers gaming at 8K resolution (that's four times 4K, sixteen times Full HD). That's not all, it will also feature real-time ray-tracing. Microsoft's performance target for the console is to be 4 times higher than that of the Xbox One X. The company is also giving the console its first major storage sub-system performance update in years.

At its heart is a new 7 nm semi-custom SoC by AMD and a high degree of customization by Microsoft. This chip features CPU cores based on the "Zen 2" microarchitecture, which provide a massive leap in CPU performance over the current Scorpio Engine SoC that uses low-power "Jaguar Enhanced" cores. At the helm of graphics is a new iGPU based on the RDNA architecture that powers AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 5000 "Navi" graphics cards. It's interesting here to note that Microsoft talks about real-time ray-tracing while we're yet to see evidence of any specialized ray-tracing hardware on "Navi." In its teaser, however, Microsoft stressed on the ray-tracing feature being "hardware-accelerated."

The Wheel of Rumors turns, and assumptions come and pass, sometimes leaving unfulfilled hopes and dreams. In this case, the rumor mill, in what seems like a push from sweclockers, places Navi not as a "built from the ground-up" architecture, but rather as a highly customized iteration of GCN - iterated in the parts that it actually implements AMD's RDNA architecture, to be exact. And this makes sense from a number of reasons - it's certainly not anything to cry wolf about.

For one, AMD's GCN has been a mainstay in the graphics computing world since it was first introduced back in 2012, succeeding the company's TeraScale architecture. Game engines and assorted software have been well optimized already to take advantage of AMD's design - even with its two ISAs and assorted improvements over the years. One of the most important arguments is derived from this optimization effort: AMD's custom designs for the console market employ architectures that are GCN-based, and thus, any new architecture that would be used by both Microsoft and Sony for their next-generation consoles would have to be strictly backwards compatible.

While developers have become more and more focused on actually taking advantage of the PC platform's performance - and particularly graphical technologies - advantages over consoles, the truth remains that games are being optimized for the lowest common denominator first. Consoles also share a much more user-friendly approach to gaming - there's no need for hardware updates or software configuration, mostly - it's just a sit on the couch and leave it affair, which can't really be said for gaming PCs. And the console market, due to its needs for cheap hardware that still offers performance levels that can currently fill a 4K resolution screen, are the most important playground for companies to thrive. Enter AMD, with its almost 100% stake in the console market, and Variable Rate Shading.

As we've seen with NVIDIA's Turing implementation for Variable Rate Shading, this performance-enhancing technique works in two ways: motion adaptive shading and content adaptive shading. Motion adaptive shading basically takes input from previous frames in order to calculate which pixels are moving fast across the screen, such as with a racing perspective - fast-flying detail doesn't stay focused in our vision so much that we can discern a relative loss in shading detail, whilst stationary objects, such as the focused hypercar you're driving, are rendered in all their glory. Valuable compute time can be gained by rendering a coarse approximation of the pixels that should be in that place, and upscaling them as needed according to the relative speed they are moving across the frame. Content adaptive shading, on the other hand, analyzes detail across a scene, and by reducing shading work to be done across colors and detail that hasn't had much movement in the previous frame and frames - saves frame time.

Jim Cramer of CNBC Mad Money interviewed AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su on the floor of the NYSE remarking her company as the year's biggest tech turnaround stories. The two spoke a variety of topics, including how the company went from a single-digit stock and a loss-making entity to one of the hottest tech-stocks, which threatens both Intel and NVIDIA. Dr. Su placed emphasis on taking long term strategic decisions that bear fruit years down the line.

"We decided to make the right investments. Technology is all about making the right choices, where we're going to invest, and where we're not going to invest...three or four years ago, it was mobile phones, tablets, and IoT that were the sexy things, and we were like 'hey we know that those are good markets, but those are not AMD.' We focused on what we thought the future would hold for us," said Dr. Su. "We are making decisions now that you won't see the outcome of for the next 3-5 years. We're making some good decisions," she added.

Publisher THQ has just announced that the sequel to the well-received This is the Police, This is the Police 2, has now been released - for early parole! The previous August 2nd release date has been superseded by a sudden influx of criminality in Sharpwood - and gamers will now have the privilege of partaking in the crime-fighting brigade and become the new Sheriff in town.

This is the Police 2 improves on its 2016 predecessor in every which way, and it seems it's off to a good start, as reviews have already come out praisingly. A mixture of adventure and management, This is the Police II puts you in the boots of a Sheriff in Sharpwood, and you'll have to manage your retinue of police enforcers, their personal needs, their weakneses and their strenghts... much like in the real world. This editor enjoyed the easy-going nature of the first game, but it hits a little too close to home. The revamped This is the Police 2 now is saddled with much better code, deeper mechanics, and difficult moral choices as in the first game, and is now available on Steam, with Autumn availability for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X. Head on after the break for the game trailer.