Games

During the Xbox One generation, Avatars took a backseat, which may be why Microsoft revamped them significantly on November 12, 2015 with the “New Xbox One Experience” update. They updated Avatars again in 2018, but these improvements didn’t reinvigorate their popularity. In just 10 years, Avatars transitioned from a crucial aspect of the Xbox experience to being largely overlooked. Consequently, Microsoft has decided to phase out Avatars, at least to some extent.

According to a video by producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, during the second beta phase, you’ll have the opportunity to engage in combat with the recurring Gypceros monster. Additionally, all content from the initial pre-launch test will be accessible. Furthermore, your custom character can be moved over too and retained for the final game as well.

As a gamer, I’m excited to share that we’ll have access to the character creation tool, and any characters crafted will transfer seamlessly into the game. Plus, if you played during the last open beta, your character data can be carried over to this one!

Another cool feature is cross-platform play, meaning gamers on different platforms can join forces. And here’s a sweet bonus: all participants will receive an item pack and a decorative weapon or Seikret charm for use in the game!

As a fellow enthusiast, if that moment left you feeling slightly bewildered, rest assured, you aren’t the only one. Reddit user RoboPup has been meticulously tracking the days and reports it as 2,403, to be precise, since Todd Howard unveiled The Elder Scrolls VI in his signature style. That equates to six years, seven months, and three days, for those keeping score (and I’m grateful to IGN for that).

At its CES 2025 press event this week, high-ranking executive Asad Qizilbash from PS Productions announced that they are collaborating with Columbia Pictures to bring the character Aloy onto the big screen. Earlier plans for a TV series adaptation with Netflix appear to have been abandoned following the termination of that project.