Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller almost didn’t make the cut into production, but it sounds like teams from across the company intervened to see that the project received its funding.

In an interview with The Verge, Microsoft corporate vice president of Windows and devices Robin Seiler revealed the Xbox Adaptive Controller was once “on the cut list,” and at risk of losing funding. The controller initially began as an employee-driven effort to improve accessibility options, seeing its first iterations at company hack-a-thons.

According to Seiler, employees across the Xbox and Surface teams saved the project, leading to collaboration between global divisions determined to “make it happen.”

Seiler says that when faced with budgeting woes, the teams maintained, “No this is actually important for the world. This isn’t about revenue or brand positioning; it’s just important for people to be able to play games if they want to.”

Microsoft employees go on to describe a culture shift at the company post-Xbox Adaptive Controller launch, prioritizing inclusivity. That message remains consistent and came up as recently as last month at Tokyo Game Show when Xbox boss Phil Spencer and corporate vice president Sarah Bond stressed the importance of eliminating barriers between players. Bond highlighted the Xbox Adaptive Controller, while Spencer described a desire to see everyone play together “no matter your ability.”

Speaking to IGN, Xbox director of accessibility Anita Mortaloni echoed those sentiments and explained how cooperation throughout the industry improves accessibility.

“Yes, we can all totally do a whole lot individually, but when we come together, and partner and share ideas, be it across companies or with the community, we get a lot more done, and we are able to advance the industry a lot farther," Mortaloni said.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller made its debut back in 2018, and Microsoft continues to add more accessibility accessories to its offerings. This year, the company revealed its plans for the Microsoft Adaptive Mouse and Adaptive Keyboard. Other accessibility initiatives at the publisher include game evaluations, a process where developers can review guidelines and seek feedback in collaboration with Xbox’s Gaming & Disability Community.

Andrea Shearon is a freelance writer at IGN

Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller almost didn’t make the cut into production, but it sounds like teams from across the company intervened to see that the project received its funding.

In an interview with The Verge, Microsoft corporate vice president of Windows and devices Robin Seiler revealed the Xbox Adaptive Controller was once “on the cut list,” and at risk of losing funding. The controller initially began as an employee-driven effort to improve accessibility options, seeing its first iterations at company hack-a-thons.

According to Seiler, employees across the Xbox and Surface teams saved the project, leading to collaboration between global divisions determined to “make it happen.”

Seiler says that when faced with budgeting woes, the teams maintained, “No this is actually important for the world. This isn’t about revenue or brand positioning; it’s just important for people to be able to play games if they want to.”

Microsoft employees go on to describe a culture shift at the company post-Xbox Adaptive Controller launch, prioritizing inclusivity. That message remains consistent and came up as recently as last month at Tokyo Game Show when Xbox boss Phil Spencer and corporate vice president Sarah Bond stressed the importance of eliminating barriers between players. Bond highlighted the Xbox Adaptive Controller, while Spencer described a desire to see everyone play together “no matter your ability.”

Speaking to IGN, Xbox director of accessibility Anita Mortaloni echoed those sentiments and explained how cooperation throughout the industry improves accessibility.

“Yes, we can all totally do a whole lot individually, but when we come together, and partner and share ideas, be it across companies or with the community, we get a lot more done, and we are able to advance the industry a lot farther," Mortaloni said.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller made its debut back in 2018, and Microsoft continues to add more accessibility accessories to its offerings. This year, the company revealed its plans for the Microsoft Adaptive Mouse and Adaptive Keyboard. Other accessibility initiatives at the publisher include game evaluations, a process where developers can review guidelines and seek feedback in collaboration with Xbox’s Gaming & Disability Community.

Andrea Shearon is a freelance writer at IGN

Looks like we're getting yet another brand new Quest headset next year, according to Meta itself. And it'll be a new consumer headset, effectively a Meta Quest 3, distinct from the expensive Quest Pro that just launched.

Dropped quietly during today's quarterly earnings report for Meta, the company stated that it's expecting its costs to increase in the near future in part due to "Reality Labs hardware costs driven by the launch of our next generation of our consumer Quest headset later next year."

While Meta still hasn't outright called this consumer Quest headset the Quest 3, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously referred to it that way in interviews, including one where he said that it would be "in the price range of $300, $400, $500, that zone." There have also been a number of leaks and rumors regarding the device, including one that suggested it will be a mixed reality headset sitting somewhere technologically between the Quest Pro and the Quest 2.

Previously, The Information reported that Meta had four VR headsets scheduled to release betwene 2022 and 2024, including two new Meta Quest headsets. One of those turned out to be the Quest Pro, and the same rumors suggested that a budget model of the Quest 3 may be on the horizon for 2024.

It'll be interesting to see ow Meta meaningfully tops the Quest 2 in terms of affordability and utility, as our review of the Quest 2 called it a "killer VR headset" with numerous improvments over its already amazing predecessor.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Looks like we're getting yet another brand new Quest headset next year, according to Meta itself. And it'll be a new consumer headset, effectively a Meta Quest 3, distinct from the expensive Quest Pro that just launched.

Dropped quietly during today's quarterly earnings report for Meta, the company stated that it's expecting its costs to increase in the near future in part due to "Reality Labs hardware costs driven by the launch of our next generation of our consumer Quest headset later next year."

While Meta still hasn't outright called this consumer Quest headset the Quest 3, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously referred to it that way in interviews, including one where he said that it would be "in the price range of $300, $400, $500, that zone." There have also been a number of leaks and rumors regarding the device, including one that suggested it will be a mixed reality headset sitting somewhere technologically between the Quest Pro and the Quest 2.

Previously, The Information reported that Meta had four VR headsets scheduled to release betwene 2022 and 2024, including two new Meta Quest headsets. One of those turned out to be the Quest Pro, and the same rumors suggested that a budget model of the Quest 3 may be on the horizon for 2024.

It'll be interesting to see ow Meta meaningfully tops the Quest 2 in terms of affordability and utility, as our review of the Quest 2 called it a "killer VR headset" with numerous improvments over its already amazing predecessor.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Xbox Game Pass is profitable, Phil Spencer says, comprising rough around "10 to 15 percent" of Microsoft's gaming revenue. However, growth is slowing, and price increases may be on the way.

In a Wall Street Journal Live segment reported on by journalist Tom Warren, Spencer shed more light on the subscription service and said that it is currently profitable. However, Game Pass may be reaching a saturation point with users.

"We're seeing incredibly growth on PC... on console I've seen growth slow down, mainly because at some point you've reached everybody on console that wants to subscribe," Spencer said.

Phil Spencer confirms at WSJ Live that Xbox Game Pass is profitable for Microsoft. It's around 15% of gaming revenues for Microsoft

"I think it will stay in that 10-15% of our overall revenue, and it's profitable for us."

1/2

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 26, 2022

Spencer also hinted at possible price increases, whether on Xbox Game Pass or on the consoles themselves. While Sony recently raised prices on the PS5 in many territories, Xbox has held back from following suit.

"I do think at some point we'll have to raise the prices on certain things, but going into this holiday we thought it was important to maintain the prices," Spencer said. "We've held price on our console, we've held price on games... and our subscription. I don't think we'll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we'll have to raise some prices on certain things..."

Spencer's quotes were part of a wide-ranging discussion, with topics including the future of Call of Duty and the Metaverse. It follows Microsoft's recent earnings report, which saw Xbox report healthy sales despite supply chain issues. Xbox has mostly declined to reveal subscription numbers or revenue from the service, but some outlets have reported that it could be as much as $3 billion.

All of this is against the backdrop of Xbox's ongoing attempt to push its Activision Blizzard deal through various regulatory bodies around the world, most notably the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority [CMA]. If it goes through, it's expected to go through sometime in 2023.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Xbox Game Pass is profitable, Phil Spencer says, comprising rough around "10 to 15 percent" of Microsoft's gaming revenue. However, growth is slowing, and price increases may be on the way.

In a Wall Street Journal Live segment reported on by journalist Tom Warren, Spencer shed more light on the subscription service and said that it is currently profitable. However, Game Pass may be reaching a saturation point with users.

"We're seeing incredibly growth on PC... on console I've seen growth slow down, mainly because at some point you've reached everybody on console that wants to subscribe," Spencer said.

Phil Spencer confirms at WSJ Live that Xbox Game Pass is profitable for Microsoft. It's around 15% of gaming revenues for Microsoft

"I think it will stay in that 10-15% of our overall revenue, and it's profitable for us."

1/2

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 26, 2022

Spencer also hinted at possible price increases, whether on Xbox Game Pass or on the consoles themselves. While Sony recently raised prices on the PS5 in many territories, Xbox has held back from following suit.

"I do think at some point we'll have to raise the prices on certain things, but going into this holiday we thought it was important to maintain the prices," Spencer said. "We've held price on our console, we've held price on games... and our subscription. I don't think we'll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we'll have to raise some prices on certain things..."

Spencer's quotes were part of a wide-ranging discussion, with topics including the future of Call of Duty and the Metaverse. It follows Microsoft's recent earnings report, which saw Xbox report healthy sales despite supply chain issues. Xbox has mostly declined to reveal subscription numbers or revenue from the service, but some outlets have reported that it could be as much as $3 billion.

All of this is against the backdrop of Xbox's ongoing attempt to push its Activision Blizzard deal through various regulatory bodies around the world, most notably the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority [CMA]. If it goes through, it's expected to go through sometime in 2023.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Callisto Protocol director Glen has addressed his tweet where he proudly celebrated his team crunching towards the finish line on The Callisto Protocol. The director now says it was his fault for putting the team through crunch.

In September, Schofield in a now-deleted Tweet said he was proud of his team working "6-7 days a week" and after hours in order to finish The Callisto Protocol, a new survival horror game from the studio.

"The truth is, I messed up," Schofield says in an interview with Inverse. "We're a small-ish team and we were so good about it through the entire development, but at the end I messed up and we worked more than we should have. That one got away from us," Schofield admits.

The director also says that the backlash that followed his September tweet was "educational' and that he hopes it will serve as a "catalyst for change overall."

Much has been written about the practice of crunch in the video game industry. It is typically defined as when developers are asked to work overtime, in excess, for a concentrated period of time. While previously looked at by some in the industry as a rite of passage, the practice has come under intense scrutiny and is said to be a reason for why the video game industry has such a high-turnover rate among employees.

Schofield promises that crunch is "not a thing that happens in our next project or any future project."

The Callisto Protocol is a spiritual successor of sorts to Dead Space, which Scofield also created. It is set to be released on December 2 and you can read our hands-on preview of the survival horror game on IGN.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Callisto Protocol director Glen has addressed his tweet where he proudly celebrated his team crunching towards the finish line on The Callisto Protocol. The director now says it was his fault for putting the team through crunch.

In September, Schofield in a now-deleted Tweet said he was proud of his team working "6-7 days a week" and after hours in order to finish The Callisto Protocol, a new survival horror game from the studio.

"The truth is, I messed up," Schofield says in an interview with Inverse. "We're a small-ish team and we were so good about it through the entire development, but at the end I messed up and we worked more than we should have. That one got away from us," Schofield admits.

The director also says that the backlash that followed his September tweet was "educational' and that he hopes it will serve as a "catalyst for change overall."

Much has been written about the practice of crunch in the video game industry. It is typically defined as when developers are asked to work overtime, in excess, for a concentrated period of time. While previously looked at by some in the industry as a rite of passage, the practice has come under intense scrutiny and is said to be a reason for why the video game industry has such a high-turnover rate among employees.

Schofield promises that crunch is "not a thing that happens in our next project or any future project."

The Callisto Protocol is a spiritual successor of sorts to Dead Space, which Scofield also created. It is set to be released on December 2 and you can read our hands-on preview of the survival horror game on IGN.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

BioWare has confirmed the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf team has completed its Alpha milestone, meaning that, while there’s still a lot of work and polish to go, the upcoming RPG is now playable from start to finish.

In a post on the Electronic Arts website, General Manager Gary McKay explained that this milestone means the studio is now free to iterate on this playable version of Dreadwolf and is focusing its efforts on visual fidelity and iterating on gameplay features in place.

The team is also using the playable build to assess the game’s narrative cohesion, player progression, and the relationships the main character will build with others in the Dragon Age world.

Alongside all of this, McKay says the BioWare team hopes to be more communicative in the coming months now that the game has taken on a definitive shape.

“The Alpha milestone is an extremely important one for us, but there’s more work to be done,” McKay says. “We also want to continue being transparent with you, our community, and keep you up to date on what we’re crafting. Hopefully you’ve been enjoying our development updates on Dreadwolf this year as we’ll be looking to share more in the future.”

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf was first announced in 2018, but wasn’t publicly given a title until earlier this year in June. The title refers to a moniker given to Solas, a party member turned villain from 2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition, whose story was further explored in that game’s final DLC Trespasser.

More recently, BioWare has been teasing the story through written lore-like codex entries that make reference to long-time figures such as Brother Genitivi, who appeared in Dragon Age: Origins.

Kenneth Shepard is a writer covering games, entertainment, and queerness all around the internet. Find him on Twitter at @shepardcdr, and listen to his biweekly video game retrospective podcast Normandy FM, which is currently covering Cyberpunk 2077, and covered the entirety of the Dragon Age series back in 2020. It's like, 47 episodes. Listen to it!

BioWare has confirmed the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf team has completed its Alpha milestone, meaning that, while there’s still a lot of work and polish to go, the upcoming RPG is now playable from start to finish.

In a post on the Electronic Arts website, General Manager Gary McKay explained that this milestone means the studio is now free to iterate on this playable version of Dreadwolf and is focusing its efforts on visual fidelity and iterating on gameplay features in place.

The team is also using the playable build to assess the game’s narrative cohesion, player progression, and the relationships the main character will build with others in the Dragon Age world.

Alongside all of this, McKay says the BioWare team hopes to be more communicative in the coming months now that the game has taken on a definitive shape.

“The Alpha milestone is an extremely important one for us, but there’s more work to be done,” McKay says. “We also want to continue being transparent with you, our community, and keep you up to date on what we’re crafting. Hopefully you’ve been enjoying our development updates on Dreadwolf this year as we’ll be looking to share more in the future.”

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf was first announced in 2018, but wasn’t publicly given a title until earlier this year in June. The title refers to a moniker given to Solas, a party member turned villain from 2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition, whose story was further explored in that game’s final DLC Trespasser.

More recently, BioWare has been teasing the story through written lore-like codex entries that make reference to long-time figures such as Brother Genitivi, who appeared in Dragon Age: Origins.

Kenneth Shepard is a writer covering games, entertainment, and queerness all around the internet. Find him on Twitter at @shepardcdr, and listen to his biweekly video game retrospective podcast Normandy FM, which is currently covering Cyberpunk 2077, and covered the entirety of the Dragon Age series back in 2020. It's like, 47 episodes. Listen to it!