Photos of the venue for the Xbox reveal event have been posted online.

Microsoft’s venue construction plans for the May 21 Xbox event are well underway, according to tweets from staff.

The Xbox event will be hosted in Redmond, Washington.

Microsoft chief of staff for interactive entertainment business Aaron Greenberg posted a picture of the venue still under construction to social networking site Twitter. Similarly, Xbox Live director of programming Larry Hryb tweeted a photo of what he referred to as “the briefing space”.

The event will be hosted at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Microsoft has promised to unveil a “real taste of the future” at the press conference. Following the announcement of the event, several rumours have circulated over the past few months regarding the console’s name, mandatory internet connectivity, and a set-top streaming device.

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After going through several design iterations, Xbox maker reportedly uncertain if it will ship rumored streaming device.

Microsoft’s rumored plans for an “Xbox TV” set-top streaming device are reportedly in question.

Sources speaking with The Wall Street Journal (via Polygon) have indicated that the Xbox maker has created designs for a “simple” non-gaming set-top device that will stream video and “other entertainment options.”

However, Microsoft is reportedly not sure how or if it will move forward with the device.

The unnamed sources said the Xbox TV device has gone through “several” design iterations, including “recent” prototypes that operated with Microsoft’s Kinect technology.

A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment to The Wall Street Journal and to GameSpot.

Microsoft’s overall ambition is to create “common experiences” between multiple products, the sources said, similar to the ecosystem in which Apple’s various products exist.

The company has begun to lay the groundwork for this initiative by telling its development teams to write applications using recently developed coding standards. The goal of this effort is to simplify the process by which developers can create programs for various devices, whether it be an Xbox, a smartphone, or a PC, the sources said.

The supposed Xbox TV device was first spoken of last year, when multiple sources told The Verge that this Xbox-branded set-top box would release in 2013 running on a modified version of Windows 8. It is rumored to being a “low cost” alternative to the next Xbox and will support casual games, but not “full” Xbox titles.

Microsoft is widely believed to formally unveil its next Xbox during an intimate event at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington on May 21.

This announcement will “mark the beginning of a new generation of games, TV, and entertainment.” The event will be streamed through Xbox.com, Xbox Live, and Spike TV in the United States and Canada.

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Pre-release trial for upcoming shooter launches next week on Xbox Live, eShop, Steam, and PSN.

A Resident Evil: Revelations demo will launch May 14 on Xbox Live, eShop, Steam, and PlayStation Network, Capcom announced today. PSN users in Europe will get the demo May 15.

Capcom did not provide any details regarding what will be featured in the demo outside of giving players a sample of the “claustrophobic hallways of the Queen Zenobia.”

Resident Evil: Revelations launches May 21 and is expected to sell 1.2 million copies worldwide by the end of March 2014. The game originally launched as a 3DS-exclusive in February 2012.

For more on Resident Evil: Revelations, check out GameSpot’s review of the 3DS version.

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Epic Games vice president Mark Rein says next-gen platforms will “fully” embrace new business models.

Microsoft and Sony are “heavily” investing in free-to-play business models for their next-generation platforms, Epic Games vice president Mark Rein asserted today.

As reported by Joystiq, the executive said today during a roundtable discussion at the Game Horizon conference that both platform holders see the opportunity in such models for the PlayStation 4 and next Xbox.

“The next-gen consoles are going to be fully embracing the free-to-play and these [In-App Purchase-type] business models,” Rein said. “So in case you don’t know that I’m putting that out there. Sony and Microsoft are both going heavily in that area.”

Xbox Live’s first free-to-play game Happy Wars launched in October and has attracted 2 million players. It is the first free game on Xbox Live, but it won’t be the last.

Signal Studios’ third-person role-playing game Ascend: New Gods will also be available through the platform for free when it launches in “several months.”

As for Sony, the PlayStation maker announced in March that free-to-play shooter Blacklight: Retribution is coming to the PlayStation 4. It is the first game from Sony’s Pub Fund for the PS4.

Not all in the industry are bullish on free-to-play. During a post-earnings financial call last night, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said the Call of Duty company is not expecting to see a significant shift in the way it monetizes its console business.

“And then with respect to new business models, I can’t comment specifically on the next-generation consoles. But our general view is we approach new business models skeptically,” Kotick said (via Seeking Alpha). “And we take our time. And we look for those that will turn out to be something that is sustainable for a long term.”

“I think we’re seeing there are a lot of exciting new ways to allow customers to pay for their experiences, there are a lot of new ways for us to monetize our content,” he added. “But I can’t say that you’re going to see any dramatic shifts in the way that we monetize on the console.”

Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry publisher Ubisoft believes free-to-play business models, as well as microtransactions, are essential to the future of AAA games.

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Chronicles of Mystara collection heads to consoles and PC next month

Capcom’s collection of two classic D&D arcade beat ‘em ups, Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, heads to PSN, Xbox Live, Wii U eShop, and PC in June. Character class rollouts are building up to the release, similar to Dragon’s Crown, and this time the Elf is in the spotlight. Check her out after the jump.

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Xbox maker returning to Cologne, Germany trade show in August after skipping last year’s event

Microsoft will show off the “next chapter” of Xbox when it returns to Gamescom this August, the company announced today.

“Xbox will be back at gamescom this August,” wrote Microsoft social marketing manager Graeme Boyd on Twitter. “Next chapter of Xbox gaming experiences on show.”

Microsoft did not attend last year’s Gamescom (or the Tokyo Game Show), saying it would instead focus on smaller events.

Gamescom 2013 takes place in Cologne, Germany August 22-25. Nintendo also skipped last year’s show but will attend this summer.

Microsoft did not give any specifics regarding what it will show at Gamescom, but the company is widely believed to formally unveil its next Xbox during an intimate event at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington on May 21.

This announcement will “mark the beginning of a new generation of games, TV, and entertainment.” The event will be streamed through Xbox.com, Xbox Live, and Spike TV in the United States and Canada.

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PopCap confirms launch month for sequel to tower defense-style game.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 will launch in July, PopCap confirmed today. Previously, the game was slated to arrive sometime this summer.

The original Plants vs. Zombies launched in 2009 for PC and Mac and later spread to a number of platforms, including Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo DS.

The tower defense-style Plants vs. Zombies series has players use a number of varied plants to protect their homes from zombie masses.

PopCap also released a tongue-in-cheek trailer for Plants vs. Zombies 2 today, though it does not include any gameplay footage.

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All Xbox Live accounts get Gold features from May 3 to May 5.

Xbox Live Gold will be free this weekend in the UK, Microsoft has announced.

The promotional period will run from 12:00 on Friday, May 3 to 23:59 on Sunday, May 5, allowing free Xbox Live account owners to access online multiplayer and the service’s other premium features.

Double XP weekends will also be running on the multiplayer modes of Gears of War: Judgment, Assassin’s Creed III, and Far Cry 3.

Apps like Netflix and Lovefilm will also be enabled for non-paying Xbox Live customers; these subscription services are normally available to Gold account holders only.

In January, Microsoft announced that it was investing more into advertising on Xbox Live.

A recent rumour also suggested that Microsoft was looking into creating its own original programming for Xbox, including a revival of the sci-fi drama Heroes.

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Now you don’t even need to leave your console to order

Regret, thy name is Meat Lover’s. At least that’s probably how I’ll feel the morning after I make my first pizza order via Pizza Hut’s new Xbox Live app. Hey, sometimes you just can’t put down the game long enough to pick up the phone, and that’s where Pizza Hut’s app comes in. Read on for more.

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The 21st of May is when Microsoft look set reveal their next console. The following invites are being sent out to major media outlets:

The reveal will be streamed live on Xbox.com, Xbox Live, Spike TV, GT, and no doubt plenty of websites to boot. It looks like we’ll finally be able to stop speculating about Microsoft’s intentions towards online-only and used games in just under a month’s time. Major Nelson posted the following on his blog:

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here – Next Xbox Reveal Date Set – 21 May – News

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