Speaking to Rolling Stone, Microsoft’s gaming boss questioned the value of a mid-gen refresh, suggesting it is unnecessary given the diminishing returns developers are seeing with increased horsepower.

“We think about hardware that can create unique value for our players or creators on our platform,” he said.

“We don’t need to do incremental hardware for our own benefit. Does a new device really give you a unique experience on screen in some way? [It’s] less like the old days, going from the original Xbox to 360; that was standard definition to high definition. Now, [it’s] harder to show the benefits.”

This isn’t the first time Spencer has cast doubt on a possible Xbox mid-gen upgrade. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Spencer doubled down on Microsoft’s focus on expanding Xbox’s audience via new devices, saying: “To reach new players, we need to be creative and adaptive of new business models, new devices, new ways of access. We’re not going to grow the market with $1,000 consoles.”

All this doesn’t mean Microsoft is getting out of the console business. In fact, in the Rolling Stone interview Spencer confirmed: “we’ll definitely do more consoles in the future, and other devices.” What form they take, however, remains to be seen.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

For 3,000 COD Points, or around $30, you can buy a bundle that turns Westpoint into a Dragon Knight. Now, it’s worth noting you also get new dragon-themed weapon skins, a new finishing move, emote, and more virtual gubbins with this bundle, but it’s the operator skin that’s of most interest.

As you’d expect, the Dragon Knight stands out on the battlefield, not just because of that garish green but because, well, it’s a Dragon Knight, not a tier one operator trying to do their best to survive. It’s silly, but let’s remember Call of Duty has in the past let you play as a stoned sloth.

The Dragon Knight has rekindled a long-running debate about realism in Call of Duty. There are some players who hate what they call the ‘Fortniteitifcation’ of Call of Duty, and much prefer a more grounded, realistic look to their teammates and opponents. Others aren’t bothered either way. Some love it (you can tell, because lots of players buy this stuff).

“I wish I could just opt out of seeing stupid battle pass skins and kill effects,” redditor TacCoyote declared. “Won’t happen because they want people to see those skins in case they might get tempted to buy them,” GodHand7 replied. “These ridiculous skins and guns are going to have the opposite effect on me and make me not play the game,” added Fraegtgaortd.

“Please let us turn off cosmetics!” redditor TheShadowWanderer pleaded. “If you want that stupid shit, whatever, but let us disable that garbage. I don’t need to see dragons and lasers all over the map. Can’t we just go back to pre-season? At the bare minimum disable all the stupid effects on our end, if you want to have an epileptic fit on your end that should be your problem.”

One redditor, Thelastfate, went as far as to say they would be willing to pay $20 not to see these sorts of cosmetics in-game.

“… hell I’ll even pay $20 for this option to help pay for the reduced sales of cosmetics if it allows me to enjoy the game to the fullest extent and not feel like I wasted $100 on a game that will soon look like every other garbage cosmetic filled game,” they said.

Another concurred. “I‘d pay to not see other players‘ skins / tracer rounds,” aizendoto said. “I don‘t know why the skins in CoD have escalated to this degeneracy, it’s – Oh I know! Because people buy this dogshit for some reason, I thought Nicki Minaj was the peak of dogshit but today I log on and there is a green glowing dragon that has huge wings and shoots light green explosions that literally make you see NOTHING on impact.

“I feel like im playing some asian gacha RPG game when I look at some of these lobbies. Was nice to play a ‘normal‘ CoD for a couple of weeks, seems we are back to the absolute cancer skins / tracers and useless clutter everywhere now. I really thought this was gonna be an enjoyable COD for me again since a long time but wcyd.

“I‘d pay them literal money so I wouldnt have to endure this nonsense.”

Activision won’t stop, of course. Not only is Black Ops 6 a full price game, but it’s a live service designed to swell the company’s coffers with recurring income. I expect the Dragon Knight is certainly doing his part.

Taking on Zombies mode? We’ve got Essential Zombies Tips and Tricks to help you get started, plus a guide on How to Exfil. Both Zombies maps are full of easter eggs and secrets; here’s everything we’ve found in both Terminus and Liberty Falls, including How to Pack-a-Punch in Liberty Falls and How to Get the Meteor Easter Egg in Terminus.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

That hasn’t gone down well with core Xbox fans already dissatisfied with Microsoft’s gaming strategy in recent years. Not only have they seen the Xbox console fade from importance as sales of the Xbox Series X and S collapse, but the Xbox console exclusive become extinct.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer discussed the future of the Xbox brand as well as the advertising campaign. “It’s an interesting topic because as we look at the brand, as we’re changing the brand, [it] means something different,” Spencer said. “It literally was a box when it first launched. It was the Direct X box. What it’s grown into now is more accessibility. Xbox isn’t just one device, Xbox is on your smart TV, Xbox is on your PC, Xbox is on your phone, and we’re in the middle of that transition.”

According to Rolling Stone, Spencer acknowledged that some fans would be turned off by the campaign. Some people “long for the simplicity of a single box, single platform, single game,” he said, before insisting “today’s largest games are bigger than any of the individual platforms.”

That’s a nod to the likes of Fortnite and Roblox, which have become enormous platforms with monthly player counts comparable to the likes of Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo consoles. For Spencer, then, the focus is on the games.

“I think the thing that should really have longevity are the games, characters and world — and the platforms should enable us to experience those games where we want to play,” he said. “That’s how we think about Xbox today.”

Image credit: Microsoft.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.