Aches & Games

A UK Bank Holiday AND a new episode from us? Wow, it really is a good Friday... #Gaming open.spotify.com/episode/0bwwTv…

The claws are coming out. Get a closer look at Marvel's Wolverine during State of Play on June 2! More details: blog.playstation.com/2026/05/20/sta…

Our brand new episode is now live - talking life, games & whatever other nonsense comes to mind. Check us out on Spotify, Apple podcasts YouTube or your usual apps. Thanks! #Gaming

First Friday of the month tomorrow which must mean... well, not quite sadly! Diary issues. But we'll see you next week 😀.

Silver Pines | Gameplay Trailer ▶️ youtube.com/watch?v=V7bsAk… ▪️2D "survival horror metroidvania" inspired by The X-Files and Twin Peaks ▪️Coming to PS5, Xbox, Switch and PC in 2026 ▪️Play as private investigator Red Walker tracking Eddie Velvet, a missing musician in small town America ▪️The case "soon slips into a strange and nightmarish descent beyond his control" ▪️"Love letter to classic survival horror", fight or avoid "nightmarish terrors", scavenge for resources and solve puzzles blocking your way ▪️Locked doors, hidden paths with things to discover, find better tools and weapons to unlock more of the town ▪️Large variety of "challenging monsters and hulking bosses" ▪️Graphic novel style cutscenes, "rotoscope animation"

Aphelion | Gameplay Trailer A mystery-tinged intergalactic action-adventure where you fight to survive on a frozen planet. Coming Day One on Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and Steam on April 28

Xbox Project Helix: Plays your Xbox Console & PC Games Xbox is “committed to keeping games from four generations of Xbox playable for years to come.” The Xbox Play Anywhere game catalog has grown to over 1,500 games, and 500 development teams have already shipped games with Xbox Play Anywhere. Jason Ronald quotes: “Project Helix is designed to play your Xbox console and PC games, delivering high performance and providing the ultimate player-first experience. Project Helix is powered by a custom AMD-based SoC and it's co-designed for the next generation of DirectX.” “We're sending alpha versions of Project Helix to developers starting in 2027” “As part of our 25th anniversary later this year, [the game preservation team] will release some iconic games from the past that are now going to be able to be played in entirely new ways.” “Xbox mode will be coming to Windows 11 in select markets starting in April,” Powered by Custom AMD SOC • Codesigned for Next Generation of DirectX • Next Gen Raytracing Performance & Capabilities • GPU Direct Work Graph Execution • AMD FSR Next & Project Helix Built for Next Generation of Neural Rendering • Next Generation ML Upscaling • New ML Multi-Frame Generation • Next Gen Ray Regeneration for RT and Path Tracing Deep Texture Compression • Neural Texture Compression • DirectStorage & Zstd via @tomwarren, @klobrille Xbox Wire: news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/03/… Verge: theverge.com/games/893119/x… theverge.com/games/892875/m…

A really good summary/primer of what's already out there in a sea of misinformation & unresearched hot takes. It's only a few days until GDC so let's wait and see what comes out of there...

Our brand new episode is now live - on Spotify, YouTube & all your podcast apps. Games, life, other nonsense that comes to mind. (There's a Spotify link in the first comment)

GDC is gonna be interesting next week 🧬

Great news for Xbox (after a looooomg wait). Somewhere Sarah Bond is probably cursing her luck on the timing though!

@DMC_Ryan Topic idea: it's roughly 3 months until the showcase. If you were Asha, what 3 announcements do you make there to change the narrative?

Me trying to find topics for Unlocked this week

Starfield Is Reportedly Launching For PS5 On April 7th, With Pre-Orders Starting This Month. purexbox.com/news/2026/03/s…

Thoughts? What are you other ideas? #Xbox

Your PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for March: 🏌️ PGA Tour 2K25 ⚔️ Monster Hunter Rise 🧑‍🌾 Slime Rancher 2 🐉 The Elder Scrolls Online Full details: play.st/4qZ4AhE

Read a first note from @asha_shar the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming: Dear team,    Today I begin my role as CEO of Microsoft Gaming.   I feel two things at once: humility and urgency.  Humility because this team has built something extraordinary over decades. Urgency because gaming is in a period of rapid change, and we need to move with clarity and conviction.   I am stepping into work shaped by generations of artists, engineers, designers, writers, musicians, operators and more who create worlds that have brought joy and deep personal meaning to hundreds of millions of players. The level of craft here is exceptional, and it is amplified by Xbox, which was founded in the belief that the power of games connect people and push the industry forward.    Thank you to Phil for his leadership, and to every studio, platform, and operations team that built this foundation. We are stewards of some of the most loved stories and characters in entertainment and bring players and creators together around the fun and community of gaming in entirely new ways.   My first job is simple: understand what makes this work and protect it.  That starts with three commitments.  First, great games.      Everything begins here. We must have great games beloved by players before we do anything.  Unforgettable characters, stories that make us feel, innovative game play, and creative excellence. We will empower our studios, invest in iconic franchises, and back bold new ideas. We will take risks. We will enter new categories and markets where we can add real value, grounded in what players care about most.  I promoted Matt Booty in honor of this commitment. He understands the craft and the challenges of building great games, has led teams that deliver award-winning work, and has earned the trust of game developers across the industry.  Second, the return of Xbox.     We will recommit to our core Xbox fans and players, those who have invested with us for the past 25 years, and to the developers who build the expansive universes and experiences that are embraced by players across the world.  We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are. It connects us to the players and fans who invest in Xbox, and to the developers who build ambitious experiences for it.   Gaming now lives across devices, not within the limits of any single piece of hardware. As we expand across PC, mobile, and cloud, Xbox should feel seamless, instant, and worthy of the communities we serve. We will break down barriers so developers can build once and reach players everywhere without compromise.  Third, future of play.  We are witnessing the reinvention of play.  To meet the moment, we will invent new business models and new ways to play by leaning into what we already have: iconic teams, characters, and worlds that people love. But we will not treat those worlds as static IP to milk and monetize. We will build a shared platform and tools that empower developers and players to create and share their own stories.   As monetization and AI evolve and influence this future, we will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Games are and always will be art, crafted by humans, and created with the most innovative technology provided by us.  The next 25 years belong to the teams who dare to build something surprising, something no one else is willing to try, and have the patience to see it through. We have done this before, and I am here to help us do it again. I want to return to the renegade spirit that built Xbox in the first place. It will require us to relentlessly question everything, revisit processes, protect what works, and be brave enough to change what does not.  Thank you for welcoming me into this journey.  Asha

Massive news. Change isn't necessarily bad but losing the boss AND the person who's been positioned as their successor really does sound like all bets are off at Xbox. Intrigued (and rather apprehensive).

Games Coming to Xbox Game Pass Today: • Aerial_Knight’s DropShot (Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass) • Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass) – February 17 • Avowed (Now with Game Pass Premium) Feb 19: • Death Howl Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass) • EA Sports College Football 26 (Game Pass Ultimate) • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition (Game Pass Ultimate, Premium) Feb 24: • TCG Card Shop Simulator (Game Preview) (Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass) Feb 25: • Dice A Million (Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass) Feb 26: Towerborne (Full Game Release) (Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass) Mar 3: • Final Fantasy III (Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass) • Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass) news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/02/…

🚨 THIS JUST IN: Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will land on the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog on February 17! #SpiderMan2PS5