Microsoft has announced that the Xbox Avatar Editor app will be discontinued starting January 9, 2025. The decision comes as a result of low user engagement and a shift in focus towards delivering other player experiences.
This means that players will no longer be able to access the Xbox Avatar Editor app on Xbox consoles or PCs, including their Xbox Avatars and any purchased avatar items.
The Xbox Avatar Editor app was launched in 2018 as part of a redesign of Xbox Avatars, offering more detailed and expressive character customization options compared to the original Xbox 360 avatars.
Despite these enhancements, the app did not gain the same level of popularity as its predecessor.
While the Xbox Avatar Editor app is being discontinued, Microsoft is focusing on other ways to personalize the gaming experience, such as dynamic backgrounds and profile colors on Xbox consoles. Additionally, the company is working on a dedicated handheld device and a next-gen successor.
As expected, the announcement has been met with mixed reactions from the gaming community. Some players are disappointed by the loss of the avatar editor, while others appreciate the refunds and the continued support for Xbox Original Avatars. And for some, yet another end of an Xbox era.
Microsoft has announced a new feature called Edge Game Assist, designed to revolutionize the way PC gamers access in-game information and resources. This innovative tool integrates a browser directly into the gaming interface, allowing players to access guides, tips, and other online resources without ever leaving their game.
What is Edge Game Assist?
Edge Game Assist is a special version of the Microsoft Edge browser optimized for gaming. It can be accessed via the Windows Game Bar, a gaming overlay that provides various tools and widgets. By pinning the browser window to the screen, resizing it, or adjusting its transparency, gamers can multitask seamlessly without losing focus on their game.
Key Features
Game-Aware Browsing: Edge Game Assist suggests curated guides and tips based on the game being played. For example, if you’re playing Baldur’s Gate 3 or Diablo IV, it will offer relevant content to help you progress.
Unified Experience: The browser shares the same profile as Edge on your PC, meaning your favorites, history, cookies, and saved passwords are all accessible while gaming.
Customizable Interface: You can pin the browser window to the top of your game, resize it, or adjust its transparency to minimize distractions.
Support for Popular Titles: Initially, Edge Game Assist supports popular games like Baldur’s Gate 3, Diablo IV, Minecraft, and more. The list of supported games is expected to grow over time.
How to Get Started
To use Edge Game Assist, you’ll need to download and install the Microsoft Edge Beta version 132 or later. Ensure that your Windows and Game Bar are updated to the latest version2. Once set up, you can access Edge Game Assist by pressing Win+G to open the Game Bar and selecting the browser widget.
Future Prospects
While currently in preview mode, Edge Game Assist shows great potential for enhancing the gaming experience. Microsoft is actively seeking user feedback to address any issues and improve the feature. Future updates may include support for gamepads and handheld devices, as well as more advanced browser actions.
Edge Game Assist is a testament to Microsoft’s commitment to creating a unified gaming ecosystem that blends entertainment with productivity. By integrating Edge into the Game Bar, Microsoft aims to provide gamers with a seamless and immersive experience, making it easier to switch between gaming and other activities without losing focus.
While Microsoft Ignite is not necessarily a consumer-focused events, most of the thing presented on this event are going to be indirectly or directly attached on how people in general uses Windows for productivity and mixing with personal and professional work.
Ys, it is an unavoidable thing to do if your work closely with IT or have the privileged to working on a remote friendly environment.
Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?
Teams will translate for you in other languages
Microsoft Teams meetings are getting a new interpreter feature that lets each participant speak or listen in the language of their choosing. Interpreter in Teams uses real-time AI-powered speech-to-speech translation to simulate your speaking voice during meetings.
The new feature will be offered as a preview (be aware on not relying 100% on the feature) by early 2025.
More automation with Copilot for Microsoft 365
Microsoft announced Copilot Actions, designed to help you with repetitive task within your Microsoft 365 environment with things like automating a summary of meeting actions from Teams meetings, generating weekly reports, or even automating meeting prep.
Copilot Actions is designed to be something you set and forget, much like an AI-powered macro that goes off and does its thing based on some fill-in-the-blank prompts.
Hotpatch should reach consumer users of Windows 11
Microsoft announced Windows Hotpatch, which basically is the ability for Windows Update dealing with updates WITHOUT making your system requiring a reboot.
Unfortunately, there is no news if this will be given outside commercial customers, aka us peasants.
Because Microsoft knows that companies are limiting Remote workplace environment
Unfortunately, my workplaces are avoiding as possible remote work opportunity, while understandable, theses past few years proven that remote work shouldn’t be a privileged, but an incentive to do work if of course, your tasks are justified so.
With that in mine, enters Microsoft Places, which uses AI to coordinate in-office days with colleagues, dedicated location plan section where you can set and share the days, you’ll use the office and view which days your co-workers are heading in.
The feature is available now and, in the meantime, Microsoft is working o incorporate as part of Microsoft Copilot.
A Windows 11 Copilot+ PC response to Apple’s Mac Mini
Surprisingly, Microsoft announced a new original hardware and enters the Windows 365 Link PC, which an undisclosed Intel processor, 8GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, USB-A 3.2 port, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 wireless connectivity.
With an introductory MSRP of $349, Microsoft believes that having a Windows-as-a-Services environment, where Windows 11 Weill be served via Cloud computing instead of a locally installed OS, will “makes sense for commercial customers, who have a set of scenarios and workloads that they’re using today [where Microsoft thinks] this is a more compelling alternative”.
Windows 365 Link combined with these AI experiences could be another unique selling point for Windows 365 over similar cloud PC solutions from Citrix and others. Windows 365 Link is now in preview and will become available in select markets for $349 in April 2025.
Copilot+ PC will increment Universal Search power
A new “improved” Windows search will allow you to search for documents, photos, and other files by just describing them — even when you’re not connected to the internet, coming in next year.
The takeaways from the notorious CrowdStrike incident continues
We already know that Microsoft has just enough of developers and companies using indiscreetly software and services that requires access at the kernel level and this year ‘s CrowdStrike incident served as a BIG & GOOD EXMAPLE that this behavior needs to stop or at least or at least heavily check in/
With that, the Windows Resiliency Initiative…
The Windows Resiliency Initiative includes core changes to Windows that will make it easier for Microsoft’s customers to recover Windows-based machines if there’s ever another CrowdStrike-like incident. There are also some new Windows platform improvements to provide stronger controls over what apps and drivers are allowed to run and to help allow antivirus processing outside of kernel mode.
Also, related to security, Microsoft is creating an in-person hacking event, Zero Day Quest, which it says will be the largest of its kind. The event will build upon Microsoft’s existing bug bounty program and incentivize research into high-impact security flaws that can affect the software powering cloud and AI workloads.
Microsoft HoloLens is out, enters more support for Meta Quest 3
Meta and Microsoft announced that the full capabilities of Windows 11 mixed reality for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are coming to the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S in December. You’ll be able to have a large multiple-monitor workstation through Quest 3 headsets in public preview next month.
Windows 11 will have more “companions”
Microsoft is creating a new companions experience for the Windows 11 taskbar that will surface important data with just a click. Microsoft 365 Companions will include contacts and people, files, or calendar appointments integrated into the taskbar of Windows 11.
There has been a talk about Microsoft Gaming and Xbox in general and not for the good in terms on how plausible will be to maintain its position as part of the “big three” along Sony (with PlayStation) and Nintendo and how futures look blurry.
To mitigate this blurriness, Microsoft Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer, took advantage on the proper media tour post-Microsoft earnings to give some visualization on the state of the gaming market for Xbox.
Xbox is NOT quitting hardware business
Hardware historically hasn’t been a great forte in terms of Xbox Earnings, and of course, with the entry of Activision Blizzard as part of the earning has not helped matters at all.
Added to the fact that the current Game Pass Cloud push includes resorting in partners had ware like Amazon’s Fire TV devices.
Burt despite on how the public perception might be, for Phil Spencer, is all part of the plan.
We’ll definitely do more consoles in the future, and other devices.
We think about hardware that can create unique value for our players or creators on our platform. 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. No [it’s] arder ti show té Benefit.
Also, Spencer admitted that Microsoft is working heavily on one of the poor kept-secret, the Xbox device that will challenge the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch in the portable gaming market, but we are still years away from a proper release, so chances about what “Microsoft wants to talk at The Game Awards” in terms of hardware…might be safe to not go high on expectations.
More releases outside Xbox and PC aren’t ruled out
Early this year, Microsoft surprised the gaming world releasing four games of Xbox Game Studios in other platforms, after a big push on exclusivity.
Phil Spencer, this time told Bloomberg that they are not feeling limited on approaching other platforms after being brought the possibility of the next Halo game available on Playstation5.
I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say ‘thou must not.
Also, Spencer said to Bloomberg that Spencer said Xbox is still open to more acquisitions following last year’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard.
Methodical on expansion and debunking an Avowed theory
Finally with Game File, there was an opportunity to have Phil Spencer talk about how Microsoft Gaming and Xbox Game Studios sees the development of expansions for their first party games.
While there is no rulebook and developers are not obligated to add expansions, personally he dislikes “manipulative” expansions in terms of the expansion doesn’t serve the whole experience of the game to the user and for example, it is used to “fill a cliffhanger” technically speaking.
Finally, it was time to acknowledged what happened to Avowed that was delayed until February 2025.
And no, there were not a technical thing or anything, just that this Holiday season will be a busy one with Diablo IV new expansion, Call of Duty Black Ops 6, Indiana Jones & The Great Circle, and Xbox felt that Avowed could just be lost in the “new game” backlog unneedled.
Last week Microsoft Gaming did some announcement to shut up false rumors & engage on what’s true regarding Xbox & Xbox News, including its future. Now I give you the announcement I was expecting that didn’t happened.
After a week filled with speculation about Xbox and its future including Xbox Game Pass and gaming business in general, Microsoft Gaming decided to break the silence with its vision of the future for Xbox and let’s discuss it.
Starfield has been out for a while now, and it’s a safe bet that most players have either finished the story or given up on their first playthrough and today’s quick video is about The Crimson Fleet.
The world of Starfield is one that’s long captured the imaginations of gamers. From Bethesda, the studio behind The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series’, comes a single-player open-world sci-fi RPG where you can explore planets, discover new lifeforms, and even build your own spaceship. It’s an epic game that’ll keep you busy for dozens upon dozens of hours – And this is how the Endgame was for me… Can you top it?
As expected, Starfield will gain a new update and much needed specifically for PC gamers and this video will let you know all the details announced by Bethesda.
There is so much to do on Starfield besides the Constellation or main lore and the Spacefarer can also date and marry other character and in my main gameplay, I have the character paired with Sarah Morgan and this are the subtle “restless nights” references.
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![Can This Starfield ENDGAME Be Topped? [SPOILER]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/goBqPGZQ7WA/hqdefault.jpg)
