Engadget

One of the last traces of the early Xbox era is going away. Microsoft has revealed it's replacing Xbox Live Gold with a Game Pass Core tier on September 14th. The $60 per year (or $10 per month) subscription is necessary to play many (but not all) online multiplayer games on consoles, as before, but it also represents a shift in how the company doles out bonus games.

Engadget

Following a bitter, months-long feud over the company's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft and Sony have signed a deal to keep the multi-billion dollar Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation consoles. "We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard," Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer tweeted Sunday morning.

Tech Insider
A collage featuring the Nintendo Switch Rocketfish Power Adapter and the Bionik Power Commuter Travel Bag
The Nintendo Switch is a fantastic portable system, but you’ll need a charger to keep its battery powered up.
Engadget

After debuting on PlayStation 5 and PC last year, Ghostwire: Tokyo is heading to Xbox Series X/S and Game Pass. Developer Tango Gameworks announced Wednesday that the game will arrive on Microsoft’s current generation consoles on April 12th. That same day, the studio will release the free “Spider’s Thread” update for all platforms.

Engadget

Sony has laid out more concerns about Microsoft's planned takeover of Activision Blizzard in its latest response to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Sony has opposed the deal from the start. Now, it's suggesting that Microsoft could (perhaps unintentionally) kneecap the performance and quality of Call of Duty on PlayStation, which might result in fans switching to Xbox. 

Engadget

The PlayStation 5 update that comes with support for Discord voice chats on the console has now made its way out of beta and to all PS5 gamers. Those who've already installed System Update 7.0 can now activate Discord calls on their console, so long as they don't mind setting it up.

Engadget

Nintendo has decided not to take part in this year's E3. "We approach our involvement in any event on a case-by-case basis and are always considering various ways to engage with our fans," Nintendo told Engadget in a statement. "Since this year’s E3 show didn’t fit into our plans, we have made the decision to not participate.