XBOX Project Helix LIVE: New feature key for next gen fully launches

ICYMI: New feature key for XBOX Project Helix fully launches

XBOX's disc-to-digital programme has fully rolled out after successful initial tests.

XBOX Series X and XBOX One owners can now insert physical copies of their games into their console's disc drive to obtain a digital license for that game.

That means players will be able to play the game they own physically across multiple different platforms and not be tied to having to insert their disc into the console each time they want to play it.

This is a key feature ahead of XBOX Project Helix releasing as it means players will be able to access games they own physical copies of much more easily on the new hardware.

Gears of War: E-Day campaign review

Gears of War is synonymous with XBOX and the original trilogy, which released between 2006 and 2011, features some of the very best and defining XBOX 360 games ever made. It also represents a time when Microsoft's gaming division was at its peak.

Everything that's been released in the Gears of War series since then arguably hasn't come close to living up to the original three games. Trying to recapture the magic of what made a game or series so great in the first place is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, a breath of life can turn into something new and returning fans can't get enough of – but on the other, it can be deadly, completely extinguishing the fading sparkle that held that greatness.

But Gears of War: E-Day is the breath of life hoped to scale those heights the series reached more than 15 years ago.

The original duo of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago are back, there's a much darker and grittier tone the series is renowned for, and classic fan favourite features such as the active reload mechanic return too. While Gears of War: E-Day's campaign does indeed feel like the closest we've had to that original trilogy, it does take a few tumbles along the way.

Read the full review on The Independent at the link here.

XBOX CEO Asha Sharma's firm stance on if it's up for sale

XBOX CEO Asha Sharma has given a firm stance on reports Microsoft's gaming division is up for sale.

Speaking to the New York Times, Sharma said: "XBOX is not for sale.

"We will do whatever it takes to set the company up for success and we will look at the right partnerships, the right operating model and everything needed to achieve that."

XBOX and Take-Two Interactive new agreement

Take-Two Interactive, the company which owns Rockstar Games and 2K, has confirmed in a report it has reached a publishing deal with XBOX.

"The agreement grants the company the right to develop, publish, have manufactured, market, advertise, distribute and sell XBOX compatible products for all XBOX devices," said the report.

It's basically an updated agreement for Take-Two to continue releasing games across XBOX hardware, including any new upcoming consoles like the Project Helix family.

New feature key for XBOX Project Helix fully launches

XBOX's disc-to-digital programme has fully rolled out after successful initial tests.

XBOX Series X and XBOX One owners can now insert physical copies of their games into their console's disc drive to obtain a digital license for that game.

That means players will be able to play the game they own physically across multiple different platforms and not be tied to having to insert their disc into the console each time they want to play it.

This is a key feature ahead of XBOX Project Helix releasing as it means players will be able to access games they own physical copies of much more easily on the new hardware.

XBOX Project Helix could be 40 per cent faster than PS6

A renowned hardware insider has made claims online about potential XBOX Project Helix specs which also point to when the hybrid console may release.

KeplerL2 posted on the NeoGAF forum: "PS6 will be 40TF (teraflops), [XBOX Project] Helix will be 56TF. Both chips are taped out."

Teraflops is a measure of computer processing speed and chips being taped out means the final design blueprint of an integrated circuit has been completed, verified and sent for production.

If this proves to be the case, XBOX Project Helix would be 40 per cent faster in terms of raw processing speed than the PS6.

Claims the chips being taped out has swelled speculation XBOX Project Helix, along with the PS6, could release late in 2027.

To be clear, none of this has been officially confirmed.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella very happy with XBOX 'streamlining'

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said XBOX's "streamlining", or "reset", has so far been "great" and he "feels fantastic" about the IP the company is currently working on.

Speaking on Sources Podcast, Nadella said: "I feel fantastic about the IP we have right now.

"If I look at the studios, the IP portfolio we have and our ability to then take that and produce great games going forward, I feel fantastic.

"There's some amount of streamlining the team is doing and Asha [Sharma, XBOX CEO] is doing which is great to see and then we have to invent the right sustainable business model that allows us to deliver gaming to more and more people.

"That has always been the goal, which is to be a great publisher and great platform provider for games, across both PCs and XBOXs."

This comes after 268 employees across XBOX Game Studios were laid off with a number of projects and studios shuffling around, including Activision working on the next Halo game and Bethesda expanding to include Obsidian which will continue work on its current projects including the new Fallout "project" and Grounded.