Microsoft has rather abruptly closed down its Movies & TV app, which is accessible on Xbox and Windows PCs via the Microsoft Store. This allowed people to rent or buy movies or TV shows natively through their console or computer’s storefront, but in a newly updated support page Microsoft said the service has ended.

"Microsoft no longer offers new entertainment content for purchase, including movies and TV shows, on Microsoft.com, Microsoft Store on Windows, and the Microsoft Store on Xbox" the statement reads. "However, you can continue to access your purchased content in the Movies & TV app on Xbox or Windows device."

Microsoft added that downloaded movies and shows will remain in your account and continue to play in their maximum supported resolution, but there’s no way of moving your purchased content to another service. However, you can sign up for Movies Anywhere, a service that lets you register movies that you purchased on different storefronts and sync them to other ones so you aren’t locked into one platform. According to the Microsoft support page, it’s still possible to do this with your Movies & TV purchases if you’re in the US.

You can also continue to install other third-party video streaming and purchasing apps on both the Xbox and Windows stores, including Prime Video and Apple TV, and right now nothing is changing with those. The company does not offer refunds on previous purchases.

Microsoft Movies & TV was first introduced as Xbox Video in 2012, which replaced the Zune Video Marketplace it had been operating since 2006. It was Microsoft’s answer to the likes of Apple’s iTunes Store and Amazon’s various on-demand offerings. Microsoft also made a concerted effort to position the ill-fated Xbox One, which first launched in 2013, as an all-in-one multimedia box, but today’s closure of the Movies & TV app is yet another sign that it has now completely moved on from that era.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/microsoft-unceremoniously-kills-off-the-xbox-movies-tv-store-171554115.html?src=rss

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Xbox's "Stream your own game" feature continues to expand. You can now use your PC to play supported games you own on Xbox. (The games stream from the cloud, not your console.) You'll need to be an Xbox Insider and Game Pass Ultimate subscriber to use it.

The PC launch follows the feature's arrival earlier this year on other devices. Already supported were Xbox consoles, TVs, browser-based devices (including mobile) and Meta Quest headsets.

The idea is the latest chapter in Microsoft's mission to make Xbox software more device-agnostic. Hop on whatever device is available, and start playing without waiting for installations. That makes sense from a business perspective, given Sony's commanding lead in their two-way console race. It's increasingly more about selling Game Pass subscriptions than fighting a losing hardware battle.

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Microsoft lists over 250 supported games. Standouts include Baldur's Gate 3, Star Wars Outlaws, Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy, Balatro and a whole mess of Assassin's Creed entries. Microsoft says it will add more over time.

The company says the collection includes some console-only titles. But you'll be hard-pressed to find many that aren't already available (natively) on PC. On the other hand, this method could free up storage and save you the hassle of downloading them.

There are some caveats. You'll need to own digital copies of those you want to stream to your PC. (Physical copies won't cut it.) The feature is only available in the 28 countries where Xbox Cloud Gaming is supported. You'll also need a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which costs $20 per month. If you're interested, you'll first need to sign up for the Xbox Insider program, which is free.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/xboxs-stream-your-own-game-feature-now-extends-to-pc-204049103.html?src=rss

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In a world of flashy limited-edition video game consoles, the 30th anniversary PS5 hardware Sony released in September 2024 came off as remarkably refined, which might have been why it was so hard to actually buy. If you missed that original drop, you'll have another chance to order it, according to a Facebook post on the official PlayStation Facebook page. Sony is doing a limited restock of the 30th Anniversary Limited Edition DualSense controller on September 5, and you'll be able to preorder one for yourself next week.

Preorders start on July 21 at 10AM ET / 7AM PT for PlayStation Plus subscribers and July 23 at 10AM ET / 7AM PT for the general public. The controller will have to be ordered directly through the PlayStation Store — Sony hasn't said if the restock will extend to other online marketplaces like Amazon or Best Buy. Based on what the company has shared, only the DualSense controller will be restocked in the US, but the PlayStation Store in the UK and Canada will also have restocks of the 30th Anniversary Limited Edition PlayStation 5 Console and the PS Portal, as well.

Sony's 30th Anniversary Limited Edition hardware features the classic PS1 gray, with touches of color to represent the formerly cheery PlayStation logo and face buttons. On the DualSense in particular, the old-school red, green, yellow and blue PlayStation logo replaces the typical black one found on other PS5 controllers.

Limiting one round of preorders to PS Plus subscribers should hopefully make it easier to purchase the DualSense, something Sony didn't bother to do when it first dropped the limited edition hardware last year. Managing online sales and avoiding scalpers has prompted some interesting strategies as of late. With the launch of the Switch 2, for example, Nintendo limited preorders of its new console to customers with a Nintendo Online account that was at least 12 months old and had at least 50 hours of total playtime logged.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/the-30th-anniversary-ps5-controller-will-be-available-again-for-a-limited-time-195731358.html?src=rss

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Helldivers 2, the third-person co-op shooter developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, is finally coming to Xbox on August 26. The sequel to the 2015 top-down shooter was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows in early 2024 and supports cross-platform play.

After launch, Helldivers 2 was a huge success, selling over 15 million copies and reaching 450,000 concurrent players on Steam, the highest number ever among PlayStation games released for the PC. In fact, there were so many players online that Sony briefly attempted to mandate PlayStation Network account linking, which set off a wave of negative reviews from frustrated gamers. The policy was eventually reversed.

In the announcement of the game's Xbox launch, Game Director Mikael Eriksson said, “we know gamers have been asking for this for some time and we are so excited to bring more Helldivers into our game. We have so much more in store for the future months and years – and the more players we have the more stories we can tell! The fight for Super Earth has only just begun.”

This is a rare instance of a Sony-published game coming to Xbox systems, following the MLB: The Show series. Time will tell if this is just another rare exception, or the start of a new trend by Sony allowing their games to reach more players. Players can pre-order digital copies of both the standard edition and the Super Citizen Edition for Helldivers 2 now. It's unclear if a physical copy of the game will be released.

Correction, July 3, 2025, 2:02PM ET: This story originally stated that Helldivers 2 was a first-party PlayStation game. While it was published by Sony Interactive, the company doesn't own Arrowhead.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/helldivers-2-is-coming-to-xbox-on-august-26-172937757.html?src=rss

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The limited-edition, Xbox-branded Meta Quest 3S headset has arrived. Reports over the weekend suggested that this model, which Meta announced a little over a year ago, would become available on June 24 and that turned out to be the case.

This version of the headset comes in Xbox's classic black aesthetic with a green trim, and a matching Xbox Wireless Controller and Touch Plus controllers. You'll be able to connect other controllers to the headset, including the Xbox Wireless Controller, Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 and Xbox Adaptive Controller, as well as third-party gamepads like the Backbone Pro.

The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition has 128GB of storage and comes with an Elite Strap, as well as three months of access to both Meta Horizon+ and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. With the latter, you can play games via the cloud on the Xbox app, including supported games you own that are not part of the Game Pass Ultimate catalog.

At $400, this bundle costs a bit more than the standard $300 Meta Quest 3S. Microsoft says that the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is available now, but "quantities are extremely limited." If you'd like to pick one up, you can do so from Meta's website, Best Buy in the US and Argos and EE in the UK. It's only available in those two countries.

The Xbox app with cloud gaming support has been available on Quest headsets since late 2023. Still, this partnership aligns with Microsoft's push to have Xbox games accessible on as many devices as possible. The company recently announced Xbox-branded ASUS ROG Ally handheld gaming PCs that will be available later this year, and it has hinted at a more open future for the Xbox platform.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/the-meta-quest-3s-xbox-edition-is-out-now-and-it-costs-400-134358869.html?src=rss

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Microsoft is getting ready to make the Xbox PC app your go-to gaming hub, regardless of where you buy your games. The company has announced that Xbox Insiders enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview will get early access to a new aggregated gaming library within the Xbox PC app for Windows 11 PCs as well as handheld devices. The new feature is coming to the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X this holiday season.

Gamers' libraries are often split across different platforms like Steam, Xbox, Epic Games, and others. With this new update, Windows aims to aggregate your gaming library entirely within the Xbox app, allowing your Game Pass titles, as well as titles from Battle.net, to all be launched from one place. The announcement did not call out any other launchers or libraries by name but made references to more storefronts being supported in the future.

“When a player installs a game from a supported PC storefront, it will automatically appear in ‘My library’ within the Xbox PC app, as well as the ‘Most recent’ list of titles in the sidebar—making it easier than ever to jump back into your games,” said Manisha Oza, product manager for Xbox. They added, “And this is just the beginning. We’ll continue rolling out support for additional PC storefronts over time.”

Users will be able to curate these combined libraries, while hiding or excluding particular storefronts and including others. The rollout is exclusive to the Xbox Insider Program for now, which is free to join if you’re curious to try the new PC Gaming Preview. 

Microsoft has been making moves recently to bring its gaming services to par with other major players in the space, including a rumored unification of its console, PC, and handheld platforms. With Microsoft having recently announced its ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, it makes sense to strive for a more seamless player experience where all compatible games can be launched from one environment. We have reached out to Microsoft for clarity on what libraries are being included in this new all-in-one launcher model.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/the-xbox-pc-app-will-soon-integrate-your-various-game-libraries-into-one-place-192452664.html?src=rss

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Xbox has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a chunky console. It's recently taken on the form of an Asus gaming handheld, and it might even be packaged as a VR headset soon. According to an image leaked on X and Game Sandwich, Xbox is reportedly teaming up with Meta to release an Xbox-branded Quest 3S headset in the coming days. The rumored specs show a very similar build to the base model Quest 3S with 128GB of storage, but will reportedly be bundled with an Xbox wireless controller, a Meta Quest Elite strap and three months of Xbox Game Pass.

There's been no official announcement from Xbox or Meta yet, but a blog post from 2024 noted that the two companies were working together to "create a limited-edition Meta Quest, inspired by Xbox." While it's important to take this rumor with a grain of salt, Xbox seems interested in opening up its hardware for collaboration with other companies, as indicated by the recent release of the ROG Xbox Ally.

As for the rumored Xbox version of the Meta Quest 3S, those who already own the base model headset might not be the target demographic since you can already run Xbox Game Pass on it. Instead, this VR headset could be marketed as a convincing entry point for anyone looking to get into VR and is already familiar with the Xbox ecosystem. According to Game Sandwich's sources, this Xbox-branded VR headset will cost $399 and is set to drop on June 24.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/xboxs-vr-headset-with-meta-could-release-sooner-than-we-thought-180512994.html?src=rss

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Microsoft announced an agreement with AMD to co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices, including the next-generation Xbox consoles.Read More

Last week, electronics engineer Lorentio Brodesco announced the completion of a mock-up for nsOne, reportedly the first custom PlayStation 1 motherboard created outside of Sony in the console's 30-year history. The fully functional board accepts original PlayStation 1 chips and fits directly into the original console case, marking a milestone in reverse-engineering for the classic console released in 1994.

Brodesco's motherboard isn't an emulator or FPGA-based re-creation—it's a genuine circuit board designed to work with authentic PlayStation 1 components, including the CPU, GPU, SPU, RAM, oscillators, and voltage regulators. The board represents over a year of reverse-engineering work that began in March 2024 when Brodesco discovered incomplete documentation while repairing a PlayStation 1.

"This isn't an emulator. It's not an FPGA. It's not a modern replica," Brodesco wrote in a Reddit post about the project. "It's a real motherboard, compatible with the original PS1 chips."

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