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Microsoft Game Studios has rebranded as Xbox Game Studios, a change that corporate vice president Matt Booty says reflects the company’s evolution. “As we’ve expanded our focus beyond the console, the Xbox brand has also evolved from its original roots,” he explained.

“Xbox is our gaming brand across all devices, no matter how or where you want to play, or who you want to play with. In that spirit, I’m pleased to share that we are changing the name of our game development organization from Microsoft Studios to Xbox Game Studios.”

Xbox Game Studios is comprised of 13 teams including “343 Industries, The Coalition, Compulsion Games, The Initiative, InXile Entertainment, Minecraft (Mojang), Ninja Theory, Obsidian Entertainment, Playground Games, Rare, Turn 10 Studios, Undead Labs, and [Xbox’s] Global Publishing Group.”

According to Booty, these teams are “working hard to deliver incredible exclusives, original IP, and all-new chapters from your favorite franchises.” Looking ahead, he noted that 2019 will offer Xbox owners Crackdown 3 (coming later this month), Gears 5, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, all of which will be available on both Xbox One and PC and through Game Pass.

In 2018, Microsoft went on an acquisition spree, adding seven new game studios to its roster. While the new games these teams are working on haven’t been revealed, Booty said, “as a gaming organization, [Xbox has] never been in a better position to deliver a diverse line-up of exclusive games for Xbox fans now, and in the future.”

Of course, the projects these new studios are working on may not be targeting Xbox One as, at E3 2018, Microsoft confirmed work on new Xbox hardware was underway. Whatever the case, we might learn more in June, as Microsoft has teased big E3 plans.

Microsoft and 343 have announced a traveling Halo event filled with in-universe activities and games, panels with the Halo creators, and more. The weekend-long Halo Outpost Discovery will kick off this summer and visit five major cities across the United States.

The announcement promises you can explore a Halo Ring, see a real Warthog, play Halo-themed laser tag, and take part in VR simulations of Halo adventures. You can also attend a panel to hear the creators talk about their work building the Halo universe, or take part in one of the community themed panels revolving around livestreaming or cosplay. Finally, hundreds of game stations will let you kick back and just play some Halo.

Halo Outpost Discovery boasts a 300,000 foot area, and will debut in 2019 with stops in Orlando, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, and Anaheim. Check below for the full schedule and read more details at the official site.

It’s been quite a while since 343 has brought out a major Halo release. Halo 5 Guardians released in 2015, and since then the only hint at something new that we’ve seen has been teases for Halo Infinite. The studio has clarified that Infinite is Halo 6, but we still have no idea when to expect it. The Outpost Discovery does begin after E3, though, and Microsoft has promised it’s “going big” this year, so the event may boast some Infinite content.

Halo Outpost Discovery:

• July 5-7 – Orlando
• July 19-21 – Philadelphia
• August 2-4 – Chicago
• August 16-18 – Houston
• August 30-September 1 – Anaheim

Another new Shiny Pokemon has arrived in Pokemon Go. Beginning today, February 5, players will have a chance of encountering the Shiny form of the series’ newest Mythical Pokemon, Meltan, but it’ll only be around for a limited time.

Meltan is unique among Pokemon in that its appearance is tied to the Mystery Box–a special item you’ll receive in Go when you transfer a Pokemon over to either Let’s Go Pikachu or Eevee on Nintendo Switch. Once the Mystery Box has been opened, Meltan will spawn in the wild for 30 minutes. After that time has elapsed, the Mystery Box will close, and you’ll need to wait seven days before you can transfer another Pokemon to Let’s Go and open the item again.

Thanks to this new event, any time you open the Mystery Box through March 4, you’ll now have a chance of finding a Shiny Meltan in the wild. You can tell the Shiny variant apart from a typical Meltan by its slightly darker head and blue (rather than red) tail. Moreover, Niantic has reduced the time you need to wait to open the Mystery Box by three days, allowing you to find Meltan much more quickly than before.

Unlike other Mythical Pokemon, Meltan is capable of evolving, which means this is also your first opportunity to get a Shiny Melmetal. You can read more on how to catch the Mythical Pokemon in our Meltan and Melmetal guide. Additional details about the Meltan event can be found on the Pokemon Go website.

In addition to Shiny Meltan, Pokemon Go players have their first chance to catch Shiny Spoink as part of the game’s Lunar New Year event, which runs until February 13. As part of the event, players will also receive twice the normal amount of XP for catching and evolving Pokemon, and certain monsters such as Dratini, Electabuzz, and Torchic will appear more frequently in the wild.

Electronic Arts announced earnings results for the all-important holiday season, and it wasn’t the kind of performance the company wanted to see. Amid a “tumultuous” year, EA said the company overall did not perform up to expectations. One title that failed to hit targets was the World War II shooter Battlefield 5.

The game sold a massive 7.3 million units in the time between launch in November and the end of the year, but this was 1 million short of what EA had projected. As for why the game struggled, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said the marketing campaign failed to capture the attention of players. The campaign lacked a “creative center,” the company said, though it shared no other details.

Wilson added that the game’s delay from October to November hurt Battlefield 5 because it meant that the game was going up against titles already discounted for the holiday season. Not only that, but Battlefield 5 struggled because of “unprecedented competition,” Wilson said. He mentioned Fortnite, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Red Dead Redemption 2 as titles that ate away at Battlefield 5’s sales to some degree.

Not only that, but Wilson suggested that EA’s decision to prioritise Battlefield 5’s single-player over the new battle royale mode, Firestorm, hurt Battlefield 5’s sales. Firestorm is launching in March, and it won’t be the first battle royale game from EA, as it just recently launched Apex Legends from Titanfall studio Respawn Entertainment.

Overall, Battlefield 5’s launch failed to catch on with players and it never caught up, Wilson said. Despite Battlefield 5’s commercial underperformance, the game was generally well-liked by critics, and the franchise remains strong, Wilson said. As such, the focus for EA and developer DICE now is on bringing new players into the title going ahead.

EA has many months of new content planned for Battlefield 5 over time, including new maps, customisation items, the battle royale mode, and more. Despite all the new content coming, EA said it only has “modest expectations” for Battlefield 5’s live service revenue. The same can be said for Anthem, EA said, and this is because both titles have yet to prove themselves.

Overall, EA generated $1.29 billion during the quarter ended December 31 and profit of $262 million. Keep checking back with GameSpot soon for more from EA’s earnings report.