Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox One will allow users to have up to 1000 friends on their Xbox Live account.

Microsoft has confirmed that while the Xbox One requires an Internet connection, it does not have to be always connected to play single-player games and watch Blu-ray movies and live TV.

The Xbox One will use Blu-ray discs for games and will require them to be installed to the Xbox One’s hard drive to play. This fueled speculation that a fee will be charged for any game disc to be tied to a second Xbox Live account after its initial installation, limiting the market for second-hand games.

Microsoft has since responded by stating that the Xbox One is being designed to “enable customers to trade in and resell games. We’ll have more details to share later.”

In an interview with The Verge, Microsoft’s Marc Whitten said the Xbox One won’t play any existing Xbox 360 games.

The lack of backward compatibility results from the new console’s hardware architecture, which is a significant departure from that of the Xbox 360.

Whitten also confirmed that, as of now, Microsoft has no plans to make this content available via streaming or download.

Microsoft today unveiled Xbox One. The company showcased how Xbox One puts you at the center of all your games, TV, movies, music, sports and Skype.

Introducing Xbox One

With Xbox One, games push the boundaries of realism, and TV obeys your commands. Say “Xbox On” to launch your personalized Xbox One Home screen, discover what is popular on TV or see friends’ latest gaming achievements all using the most natural interface — your voice. The more you interact with Xbox One, the more it gets to know you and learns what you like. Some of the Xbox One features include the following:

• TV on Xbox One – Navigate and watch live TV from your cable, telco or satellite set-top box through your Xbox One. Microsoft is committed to bringing live TV through various solutions to all the markets where Xbox One will be available.
• Home – Turn on your entertainment system with two words, “Xbox On,” and a custom-tailored Home dashboard welcomes you with your favorite games, TV and entertainment.
• Snap – Do two things at once on the biggest screen in your home. Use Snap to jump into a multiplayer battle while watching your favorite movie, talk with friends on Skype while watching live TV, or track your fantasy team on TV as you watch the big game and more.
• Skype for Xbox One – Specially designed for Xbox One, talk with friends on your TV in HD, or for the first time ever, hold group Skype calls on your TV.
• Trending – Stay on top of what is hot on TV by discovering the entertainment that is popular among your friends, and see what is trending within the Xbox community.
• OneGuide – Find your favorite entertainment easily, searching by network, name or time, all with the sound of your voice and presented in a tailored program guide.

To create the most advanced Xbox system ever designed for games, TV and entertainment, Microsoft created a state-of-the-art gaming operating system and fused it with an equally state-of-the-art entertainment platform, so you will not have to switch inputs to watch TV or play a game. An eight-core, x86 processor and more than 5 billion transistors helps make lag and load times a thing of the past, so you can instantly jump between a game and your entertainment at lightning speed or run a host of apps right alongside your game with no loss in performance.

Introducing Xbox One titles and exclusives

AAA blockbuster titles unveiled for Xbox One include the following:

• Forza Motorsport 5 from Turn 10 Studios is the latest edition of the racing franchise. Built from the ground up to take advantage of Xbox One and the infinite power of the cloud, Forza Motorsport 5 sets a new bar for racing games and will be available exclusively for Xbox One at launch.

• Call of Duty: Ghosts is the next generation of Call of Duty and a leap forward for the franchise. It delivers an all-new world, an all-new cast of characters and an all-new story, built on a new, next-generation engine. Activision and Microsoft also announced the renewal of their close partnership that will see both the return of the Call of Duty Championship, presented by Xbox, as well as all-new DLC debuting first and exclusively on the Xbox platform.
• FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, NBA Live 14, and EA Sports UFC from EA Sports will change the way consumers experience and play sports games. Driven by the new EA Sports Ignite engine, these new EA Sports games will deliver innovations in human intelligence, true player motion and living worlds. Adding to its commitment to Xbox One, EA Sports also announced the promise of exclusive content to be revealed in the coming months.
• Quantum Break from Remedy Entertainment is an entertainment experience from the creators of Max Payne and Alan Wake that blurs the line between gaming and TV by integrating drama and gameplay into one seamless, uniquely immersive experience. How you play the game impacts the show, and the show informs how you play the game.

In addition to the lineup of games coming to Xbox One, Microsoft unveiled exclusive content partnerships with some of the top names in TV, sports and entertainment.

• Halo television series – Award-winning filmmaker, director and producer, Steven Spielberg will executive-produce an original Halo live-action television series with exclusive interactive Xbox One content, created in partnership with 343 Industries and Xbox Entertainment Studios.
• National Football League – A multiyear partnership will deliver the ultimate interactive NFL television experiences for the next-generation Xbox One and leverage Microsoft devices and services to evolve both in-game and on the sideline. The NFL on Xbox will redefine broadcast experiences through innovations around Skype, Xbox SmartGlass and player-worn technology; add an all-new fantasy football solution for the biggest screen in the house; and create a personalized NFL destination only available on Xbox One.

Introducing a new generation of Xbox Live

Xbox One is built to amplify an all-new generation of Xbox Live that is more powerful, more personal and more intelligent. Unleashing the virtually unlimited power of the cloud makes everything more convenient and accessible, from allowing games to be installed in segments so that gameplay can start quickly to updates downloading in the background. Save and store your personalized profile, games and entertainment in the cloud to access them anytime, from any Xbox One console. In addition, existing Xbox Live Gold Membership for Xbox 360 will seamlessly carry over to Xbox One.

Xbox Live takes you deeper into the games with all-new features:

• Smart Match – A new Smart Match matchmaking system virtually eliminates waiting in lobbies by estimating wait times and finding people you want to play with while you are enjoying other activities — reputation fundamentally matters and helps find best matches.
• Game DVR – A dedicated Game DVR captures and accesses your magic moments, all saved to the cloud. Along with sharing tools, you will have the most amazing bragging rights with Xbox Live.
• Living Games – Dynamic, living worlds evolve and improve the more you play, and advanced artificial intelligence can learn to play like you, so friends can play against your shadow.
• Expanded achievements – A new and expanded achievements system captures video of your epic moments, continues to grow a game’s achievements over time and rewards you in new ways, and your Gamerscore carries over from Xbox 360.
• Xbox SmartGlass – Xbox SmartGlass is natively part of the Xbox One platform, built in from the beginning with the ability to quickly render content directly onto your device, and now more devices can connect at one time for multiplayer and shared entertainment.

Introducing the Xbox One look and feel

New Xbox One hardware is sleek and modern and complements any décor. The console is shaped in the 16:9 aspect ratio and employs a horizontal orientation optimized for its high-speed Blu-ray disc player. It is molded in a liquid black color and includes a distinctive beveled edge.

The completely redesigned, 1080p Kinect is more precise, more responsive and more intuitive. Its vision, motion and voice technology let you reach into games and entertainment like never before by dramatically expanding its field of view and fidelity. It works in nearly any lighting condition, recognizes precise motion control from a slight wrist rotation, and distinguishes your voice even in a noisy room using advanced noise isolation.

The Xbox controller is refreshed with more than 40 technical and design innovations. Updated directional pad, thumb stick and ergonomic fit immerse all gamers in ways that are uniquely Xbox, and precision and control have been dramatically increased with all new vibrating impulse triggers. The Xbox One Wireless Controller is designed to work in concert with the new Kinect, allowing the two to be paired automatically to create seamless player syncing.

Xbox One will launch in markets around the world later this year. More details about Xbox One and games will be explored at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June.

Activison has released the Call of Duty: Ghosts reveal trailer. Call of Duty: Ghosts will be available on November 5th for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, and for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 at a date to be revealed. As with recent installments, DLC for Call of Duty: Ghosts will be available first exclusively for Xbox One.

DICE today announced that Battlefield 4 will be available this holiday for early adopters of Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Battlefield 4 will be available on October 29th for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, and for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 at a date to be revealed.

Players that pre-order Battlefield 4 will receive the Battlefield 4 China Rising premium digital expansion pack at no additional cost. In this expansion, players fight for dominance across the vast and majestic Chinese mainland in four multiplayer maps, using all-new vehicles and high-tech military equipment. Separately, players that pre-order the Battlefield 4 Digital Deluxe exclusively on Origin will receive the base game, bonus in-game digital items, the Battlefield 4 China Rising digital expansion pack and access to the exclusive Battlefield 4 multiplayer beta.

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), DICE will be unveiling Battlefield 4 multiplayer with a live demo at “The Download: EA 2013 Preview” press conference taking place at 4:00 pm EST on June 10th on Spike TV and at http://www.ea.com/e3. DICE will also be live streaming their entire E3 booth experience including multiplayer matches complete with commentary.

Electronic Arts announced today that it has developed EA Sports Ignite, a new game engine that will power EA Sports games on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Created with the Ignite engine, Madden NFL 25, FIFA 14, NBA Live 14, and EA Sports UFC will each launch within the next 12 months.

EA Sports Ignite blends new technology with the best rendering, run-time physics, animation, intelligence, locomotion, and online systems from across EA into one powerful, new engine. Athletes will possess human-like intelligence for advanced decision-making, players will have the agility required to change speeds and directions with true athletic motion, and living worlds will make the game experience as rich and dynamic as real-world stadiums and arenas.

Today, following the announcement of Xbox One, Ubisoft revealed that Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Watch Dogs will be available on the platform later this year. Ubisoft also announced that these titles will be among at least six next-gen games released for Xbox One in the system’s first year.

In addition to Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Watch Dogs, Ubisoft will deliver a mix of new episodes of existing franchises, new IPs and digital titles for Xbox One within the system’s first 12 months on the market. More information about the lineup of games planned for the new system will be available during Ubisoft’s press conference at E3.

Square Enix and Eidos-Montréal today announced that Thief is being developed for Xbox One. Thief will be available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in 2014.