Electronic Arts today announced an all-new next-generation engine called Ignite that will power upcoming EA Sports titles for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Gamers will get a first glimpse at what the Ignite engine is capable of when Madden NFL 25, FIFA 14, NBA Live 14, and EA Sports UFC all ship within the next 12 months.

The all-new Ignite engine boasts improvements to rendering, run-time physics, animation, intelligence, locomotion, and online systems. EA says the engine is capable of portraying athletes with "human-like intelligence," as well as "living worlds" for stadiums and arenas.

"Athletes in EA Sports next-gen games will be able to make intelligent decisions with human-like reaction times," EA said in a statement. "EA Sports Ignite computes four times more calculations per second than previous consoles, unlocking nearly infinite potential for how players think, and enabling them to make more difficult decisions faster.

"Players are alive with contextual awareness and instincts--thinking, anticipating, and reacting--just like real athletes, and players are conscious of their environment," the statement goes on. "In FIFA 14, for example, a player’s sense of urgency increases as the match draws on and a goal is needed, rushing to take a free kick, corner, or goal-kick if time is running down."

Alan Wake and Max Payne developer Remedy Entertainment today announced Quantum Break, an all-new game that will be exclusive to Microsoft's just-announced Xbox One system.

According to its announcement, Quantum Break "blurs the line between television and gameplay, integrating the two into one seamless, uniquely immersive experience."

Remedy Entertainment has been hiring for next-generation game development since March 2012. The studio's most recent project was last year's Alan Wake's American Nightmare.

Microsoft will release 15 Xbox One-exclusives during the platform's first year. Of the 15 new games, 8 will be all-new franchises.

Battlefield 4 will be released on October 29, EA and DICE have confirmed.

EA also confirmed that the game will be released for Xbox One, hours after Microsoft finished announcing the next-gen Xbox at its Redmond campus in Washington. EA announced a partnership with Microsoft at the unveiling.

The publisher also confirmed that DICE would be bringing Battlefield 4's multiplayer mode to E3 2013. A Battlefield 4 multiplayer beta will be available later this year.

DICE also confirmed that customers who preorder Battlefield 4 will gain access to Battlefield 4's China Rising DLC, which is set in the Chinese mainland and offers four additional maps and new vehicles. The developer offered a similar inventive with its Back to Karkand DLC for Battlefield 3, which was later offered for sale individually and as part of Battlefield Premium.

Battlefield 4 will also be released for PlayStation 4, PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The game will not be coming to Wii U.

To keep up with the latest on Microsoft's next-gen unveiling, check GameSpot's Xbox One hub.

Sony's shares jumped up 8 percent immediately after rival hardware maker Microsoft formally unveiled its next-generation Xbox One console.

At time of writing, Sony shares on the New York Stock Exchange are up 8.35 percent on where they were before Microsoft took to its custom-built stage at its Redmond campus to announce the successor to the Xbox 360. Sony shares are currently trading at $22.72.

Sony, which announced its own next-generation PlayStation 4 back in February, has recently been on the offensive. It teased the first shots of its still-unseen PlayStation 4 hardware yesterday, and took to Twitter today to jest that the day of Microsoft's Xbox One announcement was a slow news day.

Microsoft calls its Xbox One an "all-in-one" experience designed to function as the heart of a user's living room. The new hardware, which will launch worldwide in 2013, features 8GB of RAM, a Blu-ray drive, an x64 processor, and USB 3.0.

To keep up with the latest on Microsoft's next-gen unveiling, check GameSpot's Xbox One hub.

Following Microsoft's next-generation reveal event today, Bungie Studios confirmed its all-new shared-world shooter Destiny will ship for the Xbox One.

"Destiny will absolutely be shipping on four platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the newly announced Xbox One," the developer said on Twitter.

Other titles to be confirmed for Xbox One today include Ubisoft titles Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

CD Projekt Red has yet to say if The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming to the Xbox One.

Activision has confirmed Call of Duty: Ghosts for Microsoft's next-gen Xbox One, adding that the DLC for this year's Call of Duty title will launch first on the new console.

Call of Duty: Ghosts features new characters and a new storyline, set a decade after America has been hobbled by a currently unnamed superpower.

Traffic and Syriana writer Stephen Gaghan is penning the script for Call of Duty: Ghosts.

The game features a new engine and new technology, although the series' use of 60fps will still persist.

Multiplayer maps will feature dynamic elements, such as earthquakes and floods. Player actions will reportedly affect the outcomes of these events. The game's multiplayer mode will also feature a detailed character customisation system, according to Activision.

Call of Duty: Ghosts is being developed by Infinity Ward and will be released on November 5.

Microsoft today confirmed with Wired that all Xbox One game discs must be installed to the HDD to play and that while installs to other hard drives are allowed, users will need to pay an unspecified fee to do so.

This fee was not specified.

In the just-published Xbox One FAQ Microsoft addresses the preowned market with the following statement:

"We are designing Xbox One to enable customers to trade in and resell games. We'll have more details to share later," the statement reads.

The Xbox One will not require a constant Internet connection to function, though Microsoft said those who are constantly synced up will see various benefits.

"No, it does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet," Microsoft said. "We're designing Xbox One to be your all-in-one entertainment system that is connected to the cloud and always ready. We are also designing it so you can play games and watch Blu-ray movies and live TV if you lose your connection.

The next-generation Xbox One won't be able to play old Xbox 360 games, Microsoft has confirmed.

Speaking to The Verge, Microsoft Xbox Live vice president Marc Whitten said that the architecture between the two machines is too different to allow for backwards compatibility. "The system is based on a different core architecture, so back-compat doesn't really work from that perspective," he said.

Microsoft's new Xbox One uses an new x64 processor, as opposed to the PowerPC core of the Xbox 360.

The Xbox 360 supported backwards compatibility of over 400 original Xbox titles.

Sony is in a similar position with its upcoming PlayStation 4, although the company has said it hopes to one day make its PlayStation 3 catalogue available on its next-generation console via cloud streaming technology.

Microsoft officially announced the Xbox One today at its Redmond campus in Washington.

Microsoft's next-generation Xbox--the Xbox One--will not require a constant Internet connection to function, the company confirmed today following its reveal event.

"No, you don't always have to be connected," Xbox boss Don Mattrick said on Spike TV. "Gamers can calm down; we've got you covered."

Prior to today's announcement, numerous reports claimed that Microsoft's next-generation Xbox would work only if users remained connected to the Internet. However, a leaked internal memo that surfaced earlier this month was the first to say this speculation was wrong.

Microsoft today announced that it will produce a live-action television series based on its billion-dollar Halo series. It will be available only through Xbox One, Microsoft's just-announced next-generation platform.

Series developer 343 Industries will oversee development on the show, with Hollywood director Steven Spielberg also attached to the project.

It is unclear what role the Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List director will play in the production of the Halo TV show.

Microsoft has announced that it intends to release 15 exclusive titles for the next-gen Xbox One within its first year.

Speaking during the console's unveiling at Microsoft's Redmond campus in Washington, Microsoft corporate vice president Phil Spencer added that eight of those 15 titles would be brand-new IPs.

During the unveiling, Microsoft showed off Forza Motorsport 5 and Quantum Break, a new title from Alan Wake and Max Payne creator Remedy.

The company said that some of its new titles will be shown at E3 2013.

Microsoft will release the Xbox One worldwide later in 2013.

Microsoft's next-generation Xbox One console will come with the next version of its Kinect motion sensing device, the console maker has confirmed.

The new Kinect comes with a wide-angle 1080p camera that can capture RGB video at 30 frames per second.

Microsoft says the new Kinect can recognise wrists, shoulders, balance, and the transfer of weight in its user. The device is also reportedly able to read a user's heartbeat.

The new Kinect will automatically recognise its users, logging them into a customised home screen and allowing them to navigate through the grab, pan, pinch, and swipe across the games.

Microsoft today revealed an all-new controller for the Xbox One. The redesigned input boasts an integrated battery compartment, "impulse triggers," an updated D-pad, and Wi-Fi direct.

Unlike the PlayStation 4's DualShock 4 controller, the Xbox One's new input does not feature touch support.

The news comes as part of Microsoft's next-generation reveal event, where the company took the lid off the Xbox One. GameSpot will have more from the presentation in the time ahead.

Microsoft has announced Forza Motorsport 5 for the Xbox One.

Forza Motorsport 4, released for the Xbox 360 in 2011.

Speaking at the announcement of Microsoft's next-generation Xbox, Microsoft Game Studios head Phil Spencer confirmed the next entry in the long-running racing franchise.

The game is being developed by longtime series steward Turn 10 and will be released at the launch of the next-generation Xbox One.

Turn 10 released a new trailer for the game and promised that more information would be made available at E3 2013 in June.

More to follow.

[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Ubisoft also confirmed that Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag will launch for the Xbox One.

The original story follows below

Ubisoft has confirmed that its upcoming open-world action game Watch Dogs is coming to Microsoft's Xbox One.

"You've inquired about the presence of #WatchDogs on the new @Xbox One. The answer is affirmative," Ubisoft said over Twitter.

A launch date was not revealed, though other versions of the title will be released beginning in November.

Set in Chicago, Watch Dogs puts players in the shoes of Aiden Pearce, a hacker who uses his smartphone to break into the city's central operating system to control things like security cameras and also to obtain personal information.

Multiplayer in Watch Dogs will reportedly blend "seamlessly" with single-player.

It's finally official. Microsoft formally announced the next Xbox today during a media briefing at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. The next-generation platform is called Xbox One and will launch later this year alongside the PlayStation 4.

The Xbox One is said to boast an "all-in-one experience" and to that end, the platform will allow users to stream live television. Microsoft executive Yusuf Mehdi gave a live demo of the technology, which uses Kinect voice and gesture controls to manipulate onscreen actions.

In addition, Mehdi confirmed that the Xbox One will support Skype video calling.

The Xbox One boasts a 500GB hard drive, 8GB of RAM, a Blu-ray drive, 64-bit architecture, Wi-Fi, and USB 3.0, and is said to be "nearly silent."

Microsoft has also confirmed that players' current Xbox Live Gamertags, complete with all earned achievements, will transfer to the Xbox One.

GameSpot is in attendance at the presentation and will have more details on the next Xbox as information becomes available.

Nintendo has released a new minor system update for the Wii U.

The 3.0.1 update for the Wii U offers an "improvement to system stability" alongside "improved compatibility with certain software."

Nintendo did not detail the affected software.

Nintendo released the 3.0.0 update for the Wii U at the end of April, which shortened the loading times between games and the system menu. Nintendo is promising another speed-boosting update for the console later in the year.

Wii U owners can update the console by connecting it to the Internet and selecting System Update from the System Settings option in the main menu. Nintendo warns that the update may take up to an hour to install on some systems.

Nintendo said this week that it would be showing off its new 3D Mario, Mario Kart, and Smash Bros games before E3 begins on June 11.

Electronic Arts has teased that one of its multiple in-development Star Wars titles is an all-new Battlefront game. Speaking today during the Stifel 2013 Technology Conference, CFO Blake Jorgensen offered the hint.

"The opportunity to do a new Battlefront, for example, which is one of the very popular Star Wars games, or some of the other traditional games that were made, is very exciting."

Star Wars: Battlefront III, despite never actually being announced, was reportedly 99 percent complete, though this claim was contested.

Jorgensen further explained that its new Star Wars games stand to benefit from the marketing potential at Disney, a company that owns many consumer-focused enterprises like amusement parks, film studios, cruise lines, and media outlets.

He also reiterated that EA's new Star Wars games will not be based specifically on any of the upcoming Star Wars films, though they may be released near them to leverage the marketing opportunity.

"These aren't movie games, per se; these are stand-alone games," Jorgensen said. "But obviously they would come out near the movies and be able to tailgate off of some of the buzz that will be created around the new Star Wars movies."

Elsewhere during the presentation, Jorgensen confirmed that NBA Live 14 will be released on next-generation platforms and that EA will continue to publish games for current-generation consoles through at least 2017.

Sony has confirmed that its Panopticon trailer from last week is actually for a PlayStation Vita exclusive called Freedom Wars.

Panopticon is the name of the region where Freedom Wars takes place. It's a penal colony set 100,000 years in the future, where everything is constantly monitored by almost 13 million security cameras.

Sony's Japan Studio describes the game as a rescue multiplayer action game, though does not give any additional information about how the game will play.

A new three-minute trailer reveals more about the game's setting and context, though reuses much of the footage seen in last week's teaser.

The game's official website suggests more information about the game will be made available on May 30.

Freedom Wars is due out in Japan sometime in 2014.

Sony's Japan Studio is also currently at work on the PlayStation 4 platformer Knack, which was announced along with the console back in February.

Just hours before Microsoft will unveil its next-generation Xbox, Sony has directed its Twitter followers to watch the new PlayStation 4 teaser video because "it's a slow news day."

Also - If you haven't seen our #PS4 teaser video, where have you been?! As it's a slow news day’ here it is: bit.ly/12oYGG7

— PlayStation Europe (@PlayStationEU) May 21, 2013

When Sony announced the PS4 in February, Microsoft's director of Xbox Live programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb took a shot at the company, saying, "Announce a console without actually showing a console? That's one approach."

Microsoft's next-generation reveal event begins at 10 a.m. PDT. GameSpot is in attendance at the presentation and will host a live stream of the event beginning at 9 a.m. EDT.