Xbox’s Next-Gen Console to Be Powered by AMD (Gaming News Roundup)
Xbox announced Tuesday a multiyear partnership with tech company AMD to, among other things, power its next generation of gaming consoles.
Per the Microsoft-owned company, “We’ve established a strategic, multi-year agreement with AMD to co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices, including our next-generation Xbox consoles. Together, we’re delivering deeper visual quality, immersive gameplay, and AI-powered experiences – grounded in a platform designed for players, not tied to a single store or device, and fully compatible with your existing Xbox game library.”
“This is all about building you a gaming platform that’s always with you,” Xbox president Sarah Bond said in a video announcing the deal. “So you can play the games you want across devices anywhere you want. Delivering you an Xbox experience not locked to a single store or tied to one device.”
See more gaming news from this week in the roundup below.
Roblox reported that between June 14-15, cozy gardening game “Grow a Garden” set a new world record with 16.5 million concurrent users playing the game. That milestone bested the previous Guinness Book record for the achievement, which was set by “Fortnite” in 2020 with 15.3 million concurrent players.
“Over many years, we have built a unique infrastructure that can scale to support record-breaking experiences with enormous traffic spikes,” Anupam Singh, VP of Engineering, Roblox said in a statement to Variety. “We saw this with Grow a Garden on June 14, when more than 16 million players joined the event on Saturday at 7AM. Dozens of games on Roblox are updating every hour, and our Discovery & Economy systems enable viral growth of experiences like Adopt Me, Dress to Impress, and Grow a Garden. Creators can constantly update their experiences, even hourly, and our Infrastructure innovations will be able to handle traffic with millions of game instances across more than 24 global edge data centers.”
Culinary road trip game “Fruitbus” was released digitally for PlayStation 5 Thursday. Developed by Krillbite Studio and published by Silver Lining Interactive, the game “invites players to explore, cook, and connect in a beautifully vibrant world where food is the ultimate love language, and the road to connection is lined with flavour!”
The game will be released in a physical edition for PS5 at a later date, as well as launched both digitally and physically for Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X and S.
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Sandbox dating simulator “Date Everything!” was released on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S on Tuesday. The game is developed by Team17 Digital and Sassy Chap Games.
Per the developers, “Date Everything! let’s you explore a world where even the most ordinary objects hold romantic potential. Equipped with “Dateviator” glasses, players chat with everything from the laundry basket to the air itself, discovering unique personalities and outcomes. Go enjoy your dates and unlock feelings you never knew you had.”
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“Lego Fortnite Expeditions,” a new PvE experience in the “Lego Fortnite” universe, launched Wednesday.
Per the title’s description, “In ‘Lego Fortnite Expeditions,’ players will enroll at the newly founded Supernova Academy where they will train, team up and unlock their full superhero potential to stop Mask Maker Daigo and his evil forces from causing chaos across this once peaceful world.”
Key features for the experience include:
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“TRON: Catalyst” launched Wednesday on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S and Nintendo Switch. Developed by Big Fan, a Devolver Digital publishing label, and developer Bithell Games in collaboration with Disney and Pixar Games, “TRON: Catalyst” is set within the world of Disney’s “TRON” and blends time-looping mechanics and dynamic combat with an engrossing storyline set in a decaying digital world abandoned by its creator.
The Atlantic announced Tuesday the launch of The Atlantic Games, described as “a new destination for puzzles and play on theatlantic.com and in the app.” Two new daily word games, “Stacks” and “Fluxis,” were available at launch, as well as three existing titles: “Bracket City,” “The Atlantic Crossword,” “Caleb’s Inferno.” These games are available exclusively for Atlantic subscribers, with a full archive to follow.
“Into the Emberlands” will launch on Nintendo Switch July 2.
From Tiny Roar and publisher Daedalic Entertainment, the whimsical roguelite exploration adventure, which is already available on PC, is described as: “Step into the role of the Lightbearer and explore procedurally generated biomes shrouded in mysterious yet dangerous miasma. Rescue the weirdly adorable Knacks, gather precious resources, and rebuild a forgotten world—one glowing lantern at a time. With its soothing soundtrack, unique art style, and accessible gameplay, ‘Into the Emberlands’ is a cozy experience perfect for exploring on the go.”
NetEase Games and 24 Entertainment 临安 (Lin’an) Studio unveiled Thursday “Blood Message,” described as “a cinematic, single-player, linear story-driven action-adventure currently in development for PC and consoles.” Powered by Unreal 5 Engine, “Blood Message” is NetEase Games’ first AAA single-player title, blending brutal survival combat with profound Eastern storytelling.
Per the Microsoft-owned company, “We’ve established a strategic, multi-year agreement with AMD to co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices, including our next-generation Xbox consoles. Together, we’re delivering deeper visual quality, immersive gameplay, and AI-powered experiences – grounded in a platform designed for players, not tied to a single store or device, and fully compatible with your existing Xbox game library.”
“This is all about building you a gaming platform that’s always with you,” Xbox president Sarah Bond said in a video announcing the deal. “So you can play the games you want across devices anywhere you want. Delivering you an Xbox experience not locked to a single store or tied to one device.”
See more gaming news from this week in the roundup below.
Roblox reported that between June 14-15, cozy gardening game “Grow a Garden” set a new world record with 16.5 million concurrent users playing the game. That milestone bested the previous Guinness Book record for the achievement, which was set by “Fortnite” in 2020 with 15.3 million concurrent players.
“Over many years, we have built a unique infrastructure that can scale to support record-breaking experiences with enormous traffic spikes,” Anupam Singh, VP of Engineering, Roblox said in a statement to Variety. “We saw this with Grow a Garden on June 14, when more than 16 million players joined the event on Saturday at 7AM. Dozens of games on Roblox are updating every hour, and our Discovery & Economy systems enable viral growth of experiences like Adopt Me, Dress to Impress, and Grow a Garden. Creators can constantly update their experiences, even hourly, and our Infrastructure innovations will be able to handle traffic with millions of game instances across more than 24 global edge data centers.”
Culinary road trip game “Fruitbus” was released digitally for PlayStation 5 Thursday. Developed by Krillbite Studio and published by Silver Lining Interactive, the game “invites players to explore, cook, and connect in a beautifully vibrant world where food is the ultimate love language, and the road to connection is lined with flavour!”
The game will be released in a physical edition for PS5 at a later date, as well as launched both digitally and physically for Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X and S.
*
Sandbox dating simulator “Date Everything!” was released on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S on Tuesday. The game is developed by Team17 Digital and Sassy Chap Games.
Per the developers, “Date Everything! let’s you explore a world where even the most ordinary objects hold romantic potential. Equipped with “Dateviator” glasses, players chat with everything from the laundry basket to the air itself, discovering unique personalities and outcomes. Go enjoy your dates and unlock feelings you never knew you had.”
*
“Lego Fortnite Expeditions,” a new PvE experience in the “Lego Fortnite” universe, launched Wednesday.
Per the title’s description, “In ‘Lego Fortnite Expeditions,’ players will enroll at the newly founded Supernova Academy where they will train, team up and unlock their full superhero potential to stop Mask Maker Daigo and his evil forces from causing chaos across this once peaceful world.”
Key features for the experience include:
*
“TRON: Catalyst” launched Wednesday on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S and Nintendo Switch. Developed by Big Fan, a Devolver Digital publishing label, and developer Bithell Games in collaboration with Disney and Pixar Games, “TRON: Catalyst” is set within the world of Disney’s “TRON” and blends time-looping mechanics and dynamic combat with an engrossing storyline set in a decaying digital world abandoned by its creator.
The Atlantic announced Tuesday the launch of The Atlantic Games, described as “a new destination for puzzles and play on theatlantic.com and in the app.” Two new daily word games, “Stacks” and “Fluxis,” were available at launch, as well as three existing titles: “Bracket City,” “The Atlantic Crossword,” “Caleb’s Inferno.” These games are available exclusively for Atlantic subscribers, with a full archive to follow.
“Into the Emberlands” will launch on Nintendo Switch July 2.
From Tiny Roar and publisher Daedalic Entertainment, the whimsical roguelite exploration adventure, which is already available on PC, is described as: “Step into the role of the Lightbearer and explore procedurally generated biomes shrouded in mysterious yet dangerous miasma. Rescue the weirdly adorable Knacks, gather precious resources, and rebuild a forgotten world—one glowing lantern at a time. With its soothing soundtrack, unique art style, and accessible gameplay, ‘Into the Emberlands’ is a cozy experience perfect for exploring on the go.”
NetEase Games and 24 Entertainment 临安 (Lin’an) Studio unveiled Thursday “Blood Message,” described as “a cinematic, single-player, linear story-driven action-adventure currently in development for PC and consoles.” Powered by Unreal 5 Engine, “Blood Message” is NetEase Games’ first AAA single-player title, blending brutal survival combat with profound Eastern storytelling.