Microsoft is rolling out a number of Xbox Series X|S updates to those on its Xbox Insiders program, and one of them has been requested by the community for years. You’ll soon be able to disable the Quick Resume feature for specific games, meaning they'll boot up fresh each time you launch them.

As a reminder, Quick Resume is a feature that Microsoft introduced with its current generation of consoles. It lets you suspend a number of games simultaneously so they’re running in the background even when the console is turned off. When you want to return to a game that supports Quick Resume, it'll drop you back in exactly where you left it within a few seconds, often even when it’s been months since you last played that game. It’s a pretty neat feature, and still impressive more than five years since the Series X|S launched.

But over the years, players have discovered that Quick Resume isn’t ideal for every title, particularly always-online games. When you take these out of their suspended state, they’ll often shout at you for letting them disconnect, forcing you to manually close the game down properly and then relaunch it. Other games just don't seem to get on with it for a variety of other reasons. You can manually close any game you want at any time, but it takes a few more button presses than Quick Resume, so it’s easy to forget.

The latest Xbox update finally addresses this, letting you turn off the feature on a game-by-game basis by selecting "More Options" and then "Manage Quick Resume" on a game tile. That way you can ensure it’s only enabled for single-player titles in which the ability to instantly pick up where you left off is very appealing. It’s a change that has gone down well with ex-Xbox icon Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, who said on X that he first requested it five years ago when still employed by Microsoft.

Microsoft is also adding more customization options to the Xbox dashboard in the upcoming update. You’ll be able to create custom background colors, rather than having to select one of the existing color options, while the amount of Groups you can add to your Home screen has been increased from two to 10. These can be reordered in the same way you reorder individual game tiles.

Select Xbox Insiders can start using the new features now, before they’re eventually made available to everyone.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-will-finally-let-you-turn-off-quick-resume-for-individual-games-174639730.html?src=rss

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Double Fine is following up on Keeper — one of our favorite games of 2025 — with Kiln, a “multiplayer online pottery party brawler.” The game was showcased during Xbox’s Developer Direct stream in January and now it has a release date. It’s coming to Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, PlayStation 5 and Steam on April 23. Xbox said Kiln will be Handheld Optimized from the jump. 

In Kiln, you'll use a virtual pottery wheel to shape a piece of clay into a vessel and then decorate it. The size and shape will determine how much health you have, the water capacity of your vessel and your speed. For instance, smaller pots will be able to attack faster, while a larger, slower pot might be more powerful. The shape you opt for (bowl, bottle, chalice and so on) determines which special ability you have. The decorations are purely cosmetic.

In the main Quench mode, the aim is to gather water and be the first team of four to put out the other side's kiln three times (which sounds a bit like a MOBA to me). Doing so won't exactly be straightforward, of course. When you run into an enemy vessel, you can try to smash it, and they'll probably attempt to do the same to you.

In one map, you'll be able to pour water onto sponges to create barriers. In another, there's a "disco dance floor that compels players to dance on the flashing squares for a short while." There's no in-game voice chat, but players could easily get around that using their console's built-in party features or the likes of Discord.

An open beta will take place on Steam from April 9 to 11. Pre-orders will go live at that time as well. The base version of the game is $20. A $30 "Fired Up" edition includes premium cosmetic options as well as extra chips, the in-game currency that's used to unlock customizations. Otherwise, chips can only be earned through gameplay.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/double-fines-kiln-pops-out-of-the-oven-and-onto-pc-xbox-and-ps5-on-april-23-171433966.html?src=rss

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Ever since making the jump to the Nintendo Switch, there's something that's bugged me about practically every modern Pokémon game, a feeling that has only intensified after spending countless hours in Pokopia. For titles based in big, open worlds and filled with adorable polygonal characters and lovely music, why is nearly every pokémon still saddled with a call that sounds like a dial-up internet connection? 

As someone who played Pokémon Red and Blue at launch, I'm very aware that the origin of these sounds is tied directly back to those original titles on Game Boy, which was powered by an 8-bit SM83 processor from Sharp. Back then, it was a herculean challenge to fit the entire game into a single 512KB cartridge. So as a way to save space, the voice (or cry as they are more commonly known) of each of the original 151 Pokémon came from just 38 base cries, which then had their pitch or duration modified to create more unique sounds. 

Naturally, this tradition of lo-fi cries continued throughout Pokémon's run on the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance and onto the Nintendo DS and 3DS. And despite the higher-res graphics we got in subsequent titles, the use of sprite-based icons and other nostalgic touches made those bitcrushed calls sound right at home. However, when the series moved to the Switch and Switch 2 and embraced larger 3D worlds, those cries began to feel disconnected, especially for newer players without years of nostalgia to draw from. 

The first issue is one of identifiability. They all kind of sound the same, especially in earlier titles like Red and Blue or Gold and Silver, where around one hundred new Pokémon are represented by just 30 base cries. Ideally, a monster's voice would be just as recognizable as its silhouette. Unfortunately, the current lo-fi cries just don't fit the bill. 

The second problem is that the continued use of the old-school cries feels out of place in the grand scheme of Pokémon. When you watch the Pokémon anime, monsters don't use the same crunchy screams. Same goes for the movies, including big theatrical releases like Detective Pikachu. At this point, pretty much every new piece of Pokémon media except the games (and the TCG for obvious reasons) features proper voice acting, which sort of brings us to the biggest reasons to ditch the audio clips from the Game Boy era: Pokémon that actually say their name is just super fun and easy to understand. 

Sure, it's a bit of a gimmick, but it works. Plus, it kind of resonates with the philosophy that many vexillologists hold that says flags should be simple enough for a child to draw. Kids can say "Charmander," "Greninja" and even "Alomolola." But there ain't no way they are pronouncing this. For a game that's intended to be played by younger audiences, having the reinforcement of hearing a pokémon say its name while also seeing it written out in text isn't just easier to comprehend, it can also be a learning exercise. Also, just ask yourself, when you think of Squirtle, what do you hear in your head: this or this? 

Now, there are several reasons why Game Freak hasn't made this leap already. The first is obviously money. Granted, localization costs only make up a fraction of the budget for a Pokémon game, but it's still a lot of work to translate things for various regions across the world, especially with modern titles available in at least nine different languages. This includes adjusting the names of specific monsters to better suit a specific market. For example, in Japanese, Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee are named Ebiwalar and Sawamular as a tribute to some of the country's most famous boxers. So when you consider the need to get different voice actors across the world to perform all of these variations, things get expensive. 

Furthermore, there's an argument that creating a canonical voice for a main character like Victor or Gloria from Sword and Shield takes away from players' ability to imagine their own. Pokémon is an RPG after all. However, I don't think that reasoning flies when it comes to each monster's individual cry, even though many of them have been upgraded or refined in recent years. Same goes for the idea that a Pokémon that says its name sounds less natural than whatever this is. At the end of the day, these monster calls are iconic, and the Pokémon devs know this, because they've given proper cries to characters like Pikachu and Eevee in certain situations.

Regardless, for a franchise that's one of, if not the most valuable media property on the planet, I really hope that one day we can get proper vocal performances in Pokémon games, even if it costs Game Freak and Nintendo a little extra money. To be clear, I don't hate the old 8-bit cries and I don't think Game Freak needs to delete them entirely. They can simply be an alternate choice for anyone who prefers them over their actual voices. I just feel like after recently celebrating its 30th birthday, it's time for Pokémon to move on and celebrate some of the voice acting that helped make the franchise so popular in the first place.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/its-time-for-game-freak-to-finally-give-pokemon-some-proper-voice-acting-130000851.html?src=rss

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MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy (BARB) has gone through serious drama recently including layoffs and accusations of sabotage. Now, the company is parting ways with its MindsEye co-publisher IOI Partners (the company behind Hitman publisher IO Interactive) and assuming sole publishing responsibilities going forward. It also means that a planned MindsEye and Hitman collaboration will be cancelled, the companies announced in a press release. 

"IOI Partners’ involvement with MindsEye comes to an end, except for any essential transitional functions required to transfer publisher-of-record status to Build A Rocket Boy," the companies stated. "In light of this separation, the Hitman mission announced in June 2025, planned as a crossover event within MindsEye, will no longer be released." They acknowledged that the announcement is likely to spur disappointment among funs and thanked the community for its support. 

The publishing deal was a first for IOI partners and looked promising, considering the pedigree of BARB's co-CEO Leslie Benzies as a former Rockstar North president and GTA producer. However, MindsEye was widely criticized upon release due to bugs, a lackluster story and mediocre gameplay. 

At the same time, employees penned an open letter accusing Benzies of mismanaging the game and bungling layoffs. In response, Benzies and co-CEO Mark Gerhard said that negative pre-release feedback came about to due internal and external sabotage, a claim that employees reportedly doubted. In any case, BARB is now on its own and has a tall order to save MindsEye, particularly after recent layoffs. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/io-interactive-splits-with-mindseye-developer-and-ends-hitman-collab-110028292.html?src=rss

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Subnautica 2 has weathered the storm and has rescheduled its early access release. IGN reported today that the sequel to the underwater survival game will begin early access on PC and Xbox in May, although a more specific date was not provided. 

The news comes a day after a judge ruled that former Unknown Worlds Entertainment CEO Ted Gill should be rehired at the game studio. That decision capped off a dramatic year for the team behind Subnautica, which was acquired by Krafton in 2021. The studio and its new owners entered a legal battle because the purchase of Unknown Worlds included a promise of an up to $250 million payout from Krafton if the team met certain performance goals by the end of 2025. In July of that year, however, Krafton fired several studio leaders and then delayed the sequel's early access launch. The court case has raised questions about which side was trying to either secure or avoid making that multi-million payment. 

With yesterday's ruling, a rep from Krafton said that "we are evaluating our options as we determine our path forward." It's unclear if that path, or the other litigation still underway over the project, will create further delays to the planned early access date.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/subnautica-2-might-finally-be-entering-early-access-in-may-223747369.html?src=rss

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What a short, strange journey it's been for FBC: Firebreak; Remedy announced that the final update for the online multiplayer game is available today. But while this Open House update will be the end of new content, the studio said it plans to keep the game available.

"FBC: Firebreak will stay online and continue to be playable for years to come," Remedy said. "We have done engineering work to ensure we can sustain the upkeep of the relay servers when the player volume is lower."

Remedy has won lots of fans for creating the eerie, surreal world where its hits Control and Alan Wake are set. FBC: Firebreak, which was released last year, is also based in that universe. However, this multiplayer game took a beating in reviews, largely due to its poorly received onboarding experience and Remedy shared plans to improve the first few hours of the game. Its CEO also left the company last year and sparked a shakeup in the leadership at the studio. 

The Open House update will add some new in-game content, but the more interesting changes seem aimed at making FBC: Firebreak more accessible. The base price has been dropped to $20, and the game has added a feature called Friend's Pass that will allow people who don't own the game to accept match invites from players who do own it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/remedy-releases-its-final-content-update-for-fbc-firebreak-212000463.html?src=rss

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