Xbox Exclusivity Chaos, Suicide Squad Leaks, And More Of The Week's Biggest Gaming News

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It’s been a particularly notable week for gaming news, as reports indicated that Xbox exclusives like Starfield may be making their way to other platforms soon. That in and of itself generated enough rumors and speculation to fuel a week’s worth of news cycles, and we’ve gathered the details and the reactions here. But that’s hardly all this week brought us; we’ve also got stories on the promising start of Halo’s second season (the TV show, that is), a Suicide Squad leak from an unlikely source, and some buyers of the new Apple Vision Pro headset feeling that it lacks one essential feature, among other things. Read on for the most important gaming stories of the week.

Indiana Jones facing away from camera in jungle setting, Indian Jones and the Great Circle

After a number of high-profile leaks suggesting Xbox is looking into porting a number of first-party titles to other platforms, Phil Spencer has taken to Twitter to clear the air. The head of Xbox tells fans that they should look forward to a “business update event” next week, though he did not provide details on exact timing or the nature of the updates. Considering the widespread coverage the rumors of Xbox games going to other platforms have gotten, it’s likely that this event will officially announce the news. - Willa Rowe Read More

Two bodies wearing thongs are on the vision pro with a big "no" symbol over it.

Apple Vision Pro, the massive tech company’s foray into the VR headset space that hit stores just a few days ago, is very expensive. It’s an impressive piece of tech (hence the price tag) that you can use for working from home (by virtually pinning windows all over your house—take that, return-to-office mandates!), going in-depth into the hottest VR-capable games like Resident Evil 4, or watching sports games complete with real-time stat updates. But one thing you can’t do with the Apple Vision Pro is watch VR porn, and fans of scintillating smut are not happy about that. - Alyssa Mercante Read More

Image: Xbox / Kotaku / lassedesignen (Shutterstock)

A GameStop tweet promoting a demo day when folks can come in and play some games on Xbox consoles using “Microsoft Game Pass” has injected more chaos and controversy into the ongoing, apocalyptic Xbox drama—set off by reports of exclusive games like Starfield coming to PS5—currently affecting console warriors and devoted fans. And while the tweet and its promo image likely mean nothing, the reaction shows how jumpy some Xbox fans currently are. - Zack Zwiezen Read More

The SAG-AFTRA strike this summer was huge and important and powerful, but there was one thing we kind of missed during those long, quiet months: deeply unhinged press tours. Luckily, the actors have really delivered on this front in the time they’ve been back. Hugh Grant compared his oompa-loompa mocap suit for Wonka to a “crown of thorns.” Reneé Rapp cussed out a random, misogynist bus company owner! It’s been awesome. But no one has fed the people quite like Dakota Johnson while promoting her upcoming Madame Web, a movie she seems to simply despise. Please, join us on this journey. - Emma Keates Read More

Spartan Silver Team stands on a rocky outcropping.

A Starfield character stands in front of a rocket launch.

A number of leaks happened over the weekend that seem to have big implications for Microsoft’s Xbox plans moving forward. Reports from The Verge and XboxEra claim that two major Bethesda releases, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Starfield, could both come to PlayStation 5, adding to the pile of Xbox multiplatform rumors that have been piling up over the past few months. - Kenneth Shepard Read More

An astronaut sits in the cockpit of a spaceship.

Recently, the games industry has been shaken by news that could change the dynamic between console giants Xbox and PlayStation. A number of recent leaks suggested that Microsoft may be planning to put aside exclusivity and bring its catalog of titles like Halo to rival platforms…even to the PS5 This fans of this rumor flame were stoked even further by a recent GameStop ad that referred to Game Pass as “Microsoft Game Pass” The internet was so aflame, Xbox head Phil Spencer had to break his silence and reveal a “business update event” coming on an undisclosed day the week of February 12 that should debunk (or perhaps confirm) the rumors. Either you are excited about the prospect of playing more Xbox titles on any platform you want, or you are lamenting the end of an era for team green. Although it seems like most die-hard Xbox fans are decidedly not OK at the moment. - Willa Rowe Read More

Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the third movie in the live-action adaptations, recently announced a slew of casting updates from confirming Jim Carrey’s return as villain Dr. Robotnik, to Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter joining the cast. I simply cannot die before seeing the blue blur’s angsty rival, Shadow the Hedgehog, on a giant theater screen. But bringing Shadow to the big screen means someSonic fans are preparing to watch a character die—and it’s a child, no less. I’m talking about Maria Robotnik, a major character in Shadow’s backstory. Now that Paramount has announced Alyla Browne, a blonde child actor, has joined the cast, fans are convinced we’re going to get to watch her tragic story unfold in a movie series primarily aimed at families and their young children. - Kenneth Shepard Read More

An image shows Harley Quinn looking nervous.

While playing WB Games’ new co-op shooter, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, a player was knocked down by enemies mid-fight. They then heard something that they were probably not meant to hear: the name of the game’s next playable character. And you can’t blame dataminers or leakers for this slip-up. Instead, it’s all villain Brainiac’s fault. - Zack Zwiezen Read More

Denis Villeneuve got deadly serious when io9 mentioned the Dune Lego set to him. “I’ll be honest with you,” the director of Dune: Part Two said. “Probably I’m making movies because first I was a hardcore Lego player. I’m from that first generation where it was just bricks, right? I went to a lot of places with those Lego spaceships, boats, or whatever. And when I learned that Lego was doing an Ornithopter, I was like, ‘Wow.’ That blew my mind.” - Germain Lussier Read More