Technology

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• Microsoft has announced Xbox Insiders with Game Pass Ultimate can now test the "Stream your own game" feature on console
• Testers can now preview the feature on Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S, and Xbox One
• The feature will be released to all players next year

Xbox Insiders with Game Pass Ultimate can now stream select games on console.

Last month, Microsoft announced that members subscribed to the Ultimate tier were able to stream select games through TVs and other supported devices like smartphones, PCs, and tablets.

The "Stream your own game" feature, which allows users to play "select" games they own via the cloud, was also announced to be coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S next year.

However, starting today, Xbox Insiders in the Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha rings can preview this feature as long as they have an Ultimate subscription, and stream select games they own beyond the Game Pass catalog on their consoles.

It's now available in 28 countries where Cloud Gaming is available and Microsoft confirmed that testers won't need to install these games, saving time and hard drive space.

To start streaming, Insiders will need to navigate to My Games & Apps > Full Library > Owned Games.

If the player owns a cloud playable game, they'll see a cloud badge next to it, and to find a game quickly they can Choose Filter > Ready to play > Cloud Gaming.

The company has previously released a list of 50 games that are available to stream, which includes some of the biggest releases, like Baldur's Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Balatro, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and more.

The list is also expected to grow as Microsoft works with more studios, it confirmed.

Players eager to take part in the testing can join the Xbox Insider Program and download the Xbox Insider Hub for Xbox consoles and Windows PC.

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• The great Google Maps Timeline switch deadline has been extended
• It keeps Timeline data exclusively on your smartphone
• Google gives you control over how long your data is saved for

Earlier this year Google announced that its Google Maps Timeline feature – which tracks where you go, over time – would be only available on phones in the future, with the web portal scheduled to be shut down near the end of 2024. Now it seems you've got a bit longer to switch over, if you want to keep your data.

As spotted by 9to5Google, Android Police, and others, a significant number of users are getting emails and on-screen alerts mentioning a deadline of June 9, 2025. If you want to keep the Timeline data you've got stored in the cloud after that date, you need to move it to your Android or iOS phone before the deadline.

However, that revised date may not be the same for everyone: on my phone, I'm getting a message that sets a deadline of April 6, 2025. Previously, Google has said that users get "approximately six months" from their first notification about this to move over, so it may depend on if you've already been warned.

To be sure, load up Google Maps on your phone, tap your account picture (top right), then choose Your Timeline. If you do want to keep your data on your phone going forward, you'll be taken step-by-step through the process. At the same time, you can select how long Timeline data is saved for.

What's going on?

Look out for an alert like this on your phone (Image credit: Future)

For years, Google has offered an optional Location History feature that tracks your comings and goings via your phone. The Timeline – available via the Google Maps apps and website – has been the user-facing part of Location History, letting you go back in time to see visited places and trips taken for any specific day, week, or month.

While some users are understandably reticent to let Google keep that much information, Timeline appears to be pretty popular: people use it to relive vacations and road trips, find that coffee shop they really liked that they visited two years ago, and to make sure their travel expenses are in order, for example.

The changes now underway mean Timeline data won't be stored in the cloud or available on the web any more – it'll just be on your phone. Google hasn't said too much about the reasons why, but presumably privacy and data security are the main ones. In addition, Location History (including settings for deleting older data) is fully folding into Timeline.

While encrypted backups will still enable users to move Timeline data between devices in the future (for new phone upgrades, for example), the shift will be inconvenient for those who liked to explore their travel history through Google Maps on the web, or who had several different devices contributing to it.

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If the Yellowstone prequel series 1883 and 1923 weren't enough, then you're in luck as the Paramount Plus hit show is getting another spin-off.

Ahead of the Yellowstone season 5 finale on December 15 (which airs on the Paramount Network and Peacock in the US, Paramount Plus in the UK and Stan in Australia), Deadline has reported that a deal has been closed for another new spin-off series, with fan-favorites Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser reprising their roles as Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, who will lead the new show.

Taylor Sheridan, the creative mastermind behind the epic Western series and other gritty dramas like Landman and Tulsa King, is reportedly "working on the creative" for the upcoming spin-off. It's also believed to feature other cast members from the original series.

Thanks to Sheridan, Paramount Plus has become the home of neo-Western dramas and its extensive library is set to expand with another Yellowstone spin-off called The Madison, which is set to air sometime in 2025, led by Michelle Pfeiffer. That's not all as other spin-offs that have been greenlit include the limited series Lawmen: Bass Reeves, 6666 and 1944 - I'm struggling to keep up!

What do we know about the Yellowstone spin-off so far?

Right now, there is currently very limited information regarding the spin-off. According to Deadline, all we know is that the spin-off will be set in the same present-day time frame and will be the most similar to its original predecessor, with Yellowstone featuring in the title.

Yellowstone producers had been in talks with Reilly and Hauser for months after being eyed for a spin-off. It came out over the summer that the pair would potentially come back as leads of Yellowstone season 6 following the death of the series' lead character John Dutton as Kevin Costner decided not to return to the best Paramount Plus show's final part of season 5.

This news comes just before the season 5 finale, which left many fans wondering what happens next for the characters who are still alive at the end of the upcoming episode. But, now fans can rest easy with the announcement of a new spin-off, which means that this isn't the end for their favorite characters.

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• Sony doesn't see a "major risk" of PS5 users moving over to PC
• The company has found that players are purchasing more software after moving from PS4 to PS5
• The transition of players from PS4 to PS5 is "trending well"

Sony has said it doesn't see a "major risk" of its PlayStation players moving over to PC.

The comment was made in a shareholder's Q&A that took place earlier this month (via GamesRadar), where Sony discussed the current console cycle and the successful transition from PS4 to PS5.

"We are in the latter half of the console cycle for the PS5, and the number of PS5 titles has been increasing," Sony said. "We have also confirmed internally that the transition of users from the PS4 to the PS5 is trending well."

The PlayStation company also revealed that players are purchasing more games after switching to PS5, "which we see as a positive". However, despite increasing the price of the console in Japan and releasing the more pricey PS5 Pro in November, Sony said there's no current concern with users moving from PS5 to PC.

"In terms of losing users to PCs, we have neither confirmed that any such trend is underway, nor do we see it as a major risk, so far," it said.

Sony revised the retail price of the PS5 and related peripherals in September, citing "the recent challenging external environment, including the current fluctuations in the global economic situation" that will impact the business.

Now, the PS5 is priced at 79,980 yen ($552.39 / £417.98) while the PS5 Digital Edition costs 72,980 yen ($504.05 / £381.39), an additional 13,000 yen (around $90) since its last price hike.

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