Name: Xbox Series X
Brand: Microsoft
Price: 487 USD

Xbox says it is aware of "major outages" that are affecting some console users, which are preventing players from sending game invites, messages, and managing party groups. Thankfully, users on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One can still jump into multiplayer and single-player titles, as the outages only appear to be affecting the consoles' party functionality.

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The outage has come at the worst possible time for many gamers, as EA has just kicked off its second open beta weekend for Battlefield 6. After a hugely successful first playtest last week, fans have been patiently waiting to jump back in for the second weekend. Although the outage isn't preventing players from jumping into the beta, those who were looking to party up with friends on Xbox Series X/S are likely going to encounter some issues until Microsoft addresses the problem. The good news is that the beta is available until August 17, so those who are looking to play with their Xbox friends will have plenty of time to check it out.

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By Michael Llewellyn

Xbox Reports 'Major Outages' for Some Users

On August 14, the official Xbox Support Twitter account confirmed that the studio is aware of users experiencing issues with creating or receiving party and game invites and messages. As spotted by VGC, the official Xbox support page has a total of five different services currently experiencing a "major outage." While it's not ideal, the good news is that these outages seem to be tied to the console's party services and are not preventing players from purchasing games on the Xbox Store, jumping into multiplayer matches, or streaming titles via Xbox Game Pass. Xbox says its engineers are currently working on restoring services for players.

Xbox did not explain what was causing the sudden outages, but it's likely nothing to be concerned about. With both PlayStation and Xbox dominating the gaming scene, occasional outages are to be expected. Those who have been around long enough will remember the huge PlayStation outage in 2011 that saw the service completely unavailable for nearly an entire month. This was during the days of the PlayStation 3, which was the beginning of multiplayer titles such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, FIFA 11, Killzone 3, and many more. The outage sent shockwaves through the gaming world, as fans were left unable to sign in to PSN and access their favorite multiplayer titles.

Thankfully, this outage won't prevent fans from checking out the latest Xbox Game Pass titles. Last week, Xbox added Assassin's Creed Mirage to its lineup of Game Pass titles, with Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Enhanced following just a few days later, on August 12. If that wasn't enough, there's still plenty to look forward to for the rest of the month, with Gears of War: Reloaded joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC on August 26.

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