You can play the latest entry in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XVI, on Xbox right now. Shadow dropped during today’s Xbox Games Showcase, players will be able to experience FFXVI’s slick-ass kaiju monster battles, incredible voice acting, and ho-hum story (because, hey, you can’t expect Square Enix to be perfect at everything). In addition to the base game, players will also get access to FFXVI’s two story DLCs The Rising Tide and Echoes of the Fallen which adds more story and a new Eikon (the game’s version of summons) Leviathan.But that’s not all as the partnership between Xbox and Square Enix continues apace. Last year, Xbox brought the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV to the system. Later it was rumored, due to Square Enix’s stated desire to expand their games beyond the PlayStation ecosystem, that it would bring the Final Fantasy VII remake project to Xbox as well. That rumor has been proven true. The absurdly titled Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, which is the first entry in the FF7 reimagination project combined with the Yuffie-centric DLC, is coming to Xbox this winter.

Well, it finally arrived. We've heard whispers of a new Xbox handheld in the works, and the company has just confirmed what we were hoping. During an Xbox Games Showcase, Microsoft revealed that it's partnering with ROG to create the "Xbox Ally," a handheld console for those on Team Green.

Capping off a very busy week in the world of gaming is Microsoft with its annual Xbox Games Showcase, providing “a look at brand-new games and updates from across our first-party studios and our incredible partners across the globe.” It was followed by a segment focused entirely on the sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds 2.The big reveal was portable gaming news, as Microsoft announced the Xbox app, Game Bar, and Windows OS updates that will arrive on two new ROG Xbox Ally handhelds. They’ll have a full-screen Xbox experience that’s supposed to make Windows more friendly to handhelds, and help them compete with the Steam Deck and other SteamOS-powered devices.News for specific game titles included Gears of War: E-Day, Persona 4 Revival, and a surprise drop of Final Fantasy XVI on Xbox.Read on below to find out about everything announced during the Xbox Games Showcase 2025. Final Fantasy XVI is out on Xbox right now, and FF7 Remake is coming too The Outer Worlds 2 will start at $79.99. Double Fine’s next game, Keeper, turns you into a walking lighthouse Did Microsoft just tease a Halo CE remaster? Blops is back. Gears of War: E-Day is coming in 2026 Older Windows handhelds are getting Xbox full-screen upgrades too. Persona 4 is getting a remake Cowabunga. We’ve got Pokémon at home. Life is even stranger in space. Pokémon studio’s action RPG Beast of Reincarnation launches in 2026 Grounded (again). Why did it have to be giants? Turn back the clock. Meaty. A bloody good time. Silksong spotted! Microsoft and Asus announce two Xbox Ally handhelds with new Xbox full-screen experience This is how Microsoft is combining Windows and Xbox for handheld PCs Higher on life. Outerworldly. And another one. Xbox’s next major games showcase streams in June

AMD announced the Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip at the beginning of the year, but up to this point, we've only seen it show up in one device — the new MSI Claw A8, which was shown off at Computex, but isn't available for sale yet. Despite the rollout of AMD's Z2 chips just starting to get underway, Team Red already has two new additions to the lineup. In addition to the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, Ryzen Z2, and Ryzen Z2 Go, AMD just revealed the Ryzen Z2 A at the bottom of the lineup, and the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme at the top.

After nearly a decade of falling for marketing gimmicks and chasing the minute discernible differences in sound, I finally stepped back to look at my obsession with audio gear. Among the realizations that dawned on me, the most profound concern was the amount of waste I was generating by buying new headphones every few months. Now, I'd like to preface that by saying I'm not a rough user or a spendthrift, but headphones mandated replacement because structural bits would fail while the drivers wouldn't. The products often seem designed for replacement rather than repair.

For years, Obsidian has been my digital brain, the central hub for all my notes, thoughts, and research. Its powerful linking capabilities and local-first approach have made it a crucial part of my workflow. While Obsidian comes with robust search, tags, and graph view, it requires manual efforts to extract valuable information from my vaults. Here is where I came across Google’s AI-powered NotebookLM tool and decided to hook it up with Obsidian.

Psychonauts developer Double Fine just announced a new game — and you’ll be able to play it soon. Keeper, a game where you play as a walking lighthouse with a seabird as a buddy, is launching on October 17th, 2025 on Xbox and PC.Here’s a description from an Xbox Wire post about what you can expect from the game:It has stood alone for countless years, but now the Lighthouse finds companionship in a curious and spirited seabird, who encounters the Lighthouse while seeking refuge from a creeping malevolent presence spreading throughout the isle. The Lighthouse discovers that its bright beam of light is able to affect the flora and fauna, and even seems to ward off the withering tendrils spreading throughout the world around it.  Meanwhile the bird proves to be a useful and dextrous ally, able to interact with strange and ancient mechanisms. Together, these two unlikely friends set off together on an epic adventure, an odyssey of mystifying metamorphosis, and a journey that will take them into realms beyond understanding. The art in the trailer is absolutely gorgeous, and it looks like the world will be a beautiful one to explore. The game will be a “story told without words” and is a “strange, otherworldly tale,” according to the post. I’m looking forward to it.

Technology evolves, and Windows has evolved with it — for the most part. As much as Microsoft's operating system has gotten better at multitasking and offering a wide range of features that make my day easier, it's important to note that there are also many things I loved that have been left behind, lost to time, and forgotten. In some ways, these older features can be better or more interesting than what we have today, and it's hard to realize what we've lost.

Microsoft first revealed Gears of War: E-Day during its Xbox Games Showcase last year, and at today’s showcase it’s now putting a 2026 release window on the latest entry in the sci-fi shooter series. Developed by The Coalition, E-Day will release in a year that marks 20 years since the original Gears of War game debuted on the Xbox 360, and 25 years of Xbox.E-Day is set 14 years before the first Gears game, and “tells the story of the first Locust emergence on Sera.” It’s being billed as an origin story, and once again stars Marcus Fenix. E-Day is the first title in the series since Gears 5 debuted in 2019.Last month, Microsoft also announced a Gears of War remaster that also brings the franchise to PlayStation for the first time. Gears of War: Reloaded is launching on August 26th for Xbox Series X / S, PlayStation, and PC for $39.99. The remaster features 4K resolution, 120fps support, and cross-progression and cross-play for all platforms. Gears of War: Reloaded will also have two-player co-op for the campaign and 8-player multiplayer.Xbox chief Phil Spencer confirmed the E-Day release window during the Xbox Games Showcase earlier today, and also revealed “the next Forza” is coming in 2026 too, as well as “the return of a classic that’s been with us since the beginning.” That classic may well be the Halo CE remaster I wrote about last year.

The worst-kept secret in gaming is no longer a secret. At the Xbox Games Showcase, Atlus announced that a full remake of Persona 4 is in development. It’s called Persona 4 Revival, and while there weren’t many details revealed — like when it’ll actually launch — we did get a brief teaser trailer. It’s coming to Xbox, PS5, and PC, and will be available for Game Pass subscribers.While it was just announced, the remake has seemed like a foregone conclusion for some time — and not just because several voice actors leaked its existence. Persona 3 received a similar remake last year with Persona 3 Reload, which was very well received, and in 2023 both Persona 3 and Persona 4 were re-released on modern platforms, introducing them to new audiences.Persona 4 — which added a murder mystery element to the long-running RPG series — was originally released on the PlayStation 2 in 2008, though it received a major boost with the enhanced PS Vita version Persona 4 Golden three years later.As for the next mainline entry in the franchise, Atlus wrote in a statement that “we are actively preparing for the future development of the Persona series as a studio.” So maybe we’ll finally hear about Persona 6 sometime soon.

Oh dear. Well, it's that time again, folks. We've been given the tiniest, slither-iest bit of hope that Silksong (or, if you know it by its pet name, "Skong") will come out soon. No, there's no release date. No, they didn't even give us a month. But by goodness, they gave us a release window for the end of the year, and now I'm donning a clown wig and hoping it comes true.

Game Freak, perhaps best known for its work on the Pokémon franchise, is working on a new action RPG called Beast of Reincarnation that will launch sometime in 2026. It’s coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X / S.In the game, you play as Emma, who will be accompanied by a canine friend. “Survive a journey across an ominous, ever-changing world where dangerous forests can erupt in the wasteland,” according to the description from a new trailer shown at the Xbox Games Showcase 2025. “As Emma and Koo push deeper into the unknown, their bond strengthens—and with it, strange powers bloom.”The description also says the RPG is built around “demanding, technical combat,” and based on the trailer, that sure appears to be the case — it looks thrilling.Beast of Reincarnation was originally announced as Project Bloom, according to an emailed press release. The game was previously set to be published by Take-Two’s Private Division label, but Take-Two sold that label last year. Beast of Reincarnation is now being published by Fictions.Update, June 8th: Added what platforms the game will be available on and confirmation that the game is what was once known as Project Bloom.