Tag:

letting

Hands-on with an ROG Xbox Ally handheld gaming PC

Good news for Windows handhelds: Microsoft is now letting you launch installed Steam, Battle.net, and other storefront games from the Xbox app

by admin September 17, 2025

Xbox on PC is now officially rolling out a feature that might have it become a single stop for all your games. As Xbox’s VP of Experiences Jason Beaumont explains, in addition to “updated app functionality”, one new feature currently rolling out on Windows is an “aggregated gaming library”. Beaumont has also announced that “cross-device play history” will be coming, but that will be later this month.

The main library aggregation update rolled out to Insiders a few months ago, but it looks like it’s now being released to non-Insiders in regular updates.

Those considering using aggregator apps like Playnite, in other words, might not need to do so anymore because they’ll be able to use the Xbox app to view their entire game library, not just games bought on the Xbox app itself. This will “show your installed games from multiple PC storefronts, including your Xbox library, Xbox Game Pass, Battle.net and other leading PC storefronts.”

Getting to those storefronts should be easier, too, as you can use the new ‘My Apps’ tab in your library to house Battle.net and so on.

It’s worth noting, though, that third-party apps like Playnite and other aggregators might not be rendered completely redundant by this new Xbox feature. That’s because the new feature is only for installed games, whereas Playnite (for example) also acts as a home for owned but uninstalled games.

This also seems like more of a move for Windows handhelds—especially the Asus ROG Xbox Ally—than PCs, which explains why all the promo pics are all of the Xbox Ally. Although it’s nice to have all games from different platforms in one place on a desktop or laptop, it makes most sense for a handheld device where you’re expected to stay within the confines of the Xbox app, in the ‘full screen experience’.

(Image credit: Microsoft Xbox @ Xbox Wire)

It also fits in with Microsoft’s seeming push towards an all-encompassing platform.

I’ve come up with a new term for the Microsoft Xbox platform: ‘Gloop’. The Gloop is a globby mass of various features and services all schlopped together into an increasingly large ball of putty. At least, that’s how my peculiarly abstract brain likes to think about it.

Microsoft is even claiming that game streaming inside a car ‘is an Xbox’. With it seeming like the ROG Xbox Ally handheld ‘console’ is, well, just a Windows handheld with some optimisations, and with Xbox expanding and pushing its cloud gaming services across various devices, Xbox is starting to become synonymous as just ‘whatever runs on the Xbox app.’

Thus: Gloop. I’m not complaining, it’s just a metaphor. You’re welcome. It only makes sense to throw our mutli-platform game libraries into that mix, I suppose.

Best handheld PC 2025

All our current recommendations

Source link

September 17, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

TikTok is now letting everyone DM each other with voice memos and pictures

by admin August 30, 2025

Every platform wants to be the place you hang with friends — even Spotify as of this week — so it’s apparently time for TikTok to shore up its direct messaging feature! It told TechCrunch that over the next few weeks, all users should see voice messages and image sharing options arrive in their DMs.

(They won’t show up for accounts that can’t DM to begin with, of course — “Direct Messaging is only available to accounts 16 years and older which means these features are only available to those accounts,” TikTok spokesperson JaShel Jones clarifies to The Verge.)

I checked, and sure enough, I can send both, as well as videos up to one minute long (though that last has been possible for a while). Beware that if you hold down on the microphone button to start a recording, you’ll automatically send that recording as soon as you let go, so be sure to drag it up or left if you want a chance to cancel!

You’re limited to sending up to nine images (and videos) at a time, and both voice memos and videos can’t be more than a minute long.

Update, August 29th: Added TikTok clarification about who can DM and who cannot.

Source link

August 30, 2025 0 comments

Esports

Less than 4 years after a $3.5bn evaluation, Rec Room is letting “roughly half” its team go

by admin August 28, 2025

“Roughly half” of the team at social gaming platform Rec Room has been laid off.

CCO Cameron Brown said he and co-founder and CEO Nick Fajt had “made the difficult decision to lay off roughly half the Rec Room team,” stressing the layoffs were no reflection on the work of those individuals – described as “amongst the most talented people we’ve worked with in the industry” – and that they were “looking after those impacted as best we can.”

“Today Nick and I had to make one of the toughest choices in Rec Room history: We’re saying goodbye to about half the Rec Room team,” Brown wrote in a statement posted to the company’s blog (thanks, GameDeveloper).

“These are incredible people who have poured their talent, heart, and creativity into this company. They shaped our culture, built features loved by millions, and made Rec Room better in so many ways it’s impossible to count. We are heartbroken to see them go – this is a painful day for a lot of people.

“Rec Room is more than a game, and more than a company. It’s a community, and it’s one of the best teams we’ve ever had the privilege to work with. That only makes this moment harder. This is not a reflection on the talent or dedication of those departing – we wish we could keep every one of them. I’m gonna say that again, to make it clear this isn’t just ‘one of those things you say in a layoff message.’ We TRULY wish we could keep every one of these people on the team. But we can’t. This is a reflection of the tough reality we face as a business and the change needed to give Rec Room a chance to thrive in the years ahead.”

The statement adds that “this decision affects people we consider colleagues and friends,” people who “built Rec Room line-by-line, asset-by-asset, test-by-test.”

“This is not the outcome any of us hoped for, and Nick and I take full responsibility for the position we’re in.” The statement then details that affected staff will be paid for the next three months, and provided with health benefits for the next six months. They will also get to keep their laptop or desktops as “a computer is an important tool to find new work.”

“We invested heavily in creation tools across PC, VR, consoles, and mobile,” the statement added. “But the reality has been harsh. The most impactful creation comes almost entirely from creators on PC (using mouse and keyboard, and Studio) and VR.

“The reality is that what we’ve been doing these past few years wasn’t working for the team, for the company or for our players. That’s on Nick and me. It’s our job to align those needs, and we failed. This change, however imperfect, and however shocking, gives a chance to reset and correct our course.

“Today sucks. For Nick and myself. For everyone who remains at Rec Room. And especially for those we are parting ways with. We hate that it came to this. We hate letting go of so many talented people who worked so hard. And we hate stepping away from a huge vision we strongly believed in.”

Rec Room Inc. was founded in Seattle, Washington, in April 2016 by “a small team with a shared passion for VR, AR, social, and multiplayer experiences.” In December 2021, Rec Room raised $145 million in a funding round, bringing its total valuation to $3.5 billion, and, as spotted by Game Developer, Fajt announced that Rec Room hit a “record-breaking month.”

Source link

August 28, 2025 0 comments