
Michael Hoglund
Michael has been gaming since he was five when his mother first bought a Super Nintendo from Blockbuster. Having written for a now-defunct website in the past, he's joined Windows Central as a contributor to spreading his 30+ years of love for gaming with everyone he can. His favorites include Red Dead Redemption, all the way to the controversial Dark Souls 2.
Latest articles by Michael Hoglund

7 best game deals at CDKeys Christmas Sale
By Michael Hoglund, Rebecca Spear published
Gaming You can get a ton of PC games on sale for less than you can get them at Steam during the CDKeys Christmas Sale. Here are our seven top deals.

Satya "We're redefining what it means to be an Xbox fan" to Microsoft shareholders
By Michael Hoglund published
Xbox Whether you're a fan of the strategy or not, the definition of what it means to be an Xbox fan is changing.

A massive Helldivers 2 update just dropped during The Game Awards show
By Michael Hoglund published
Gaming Get ready to light worlds on fire as you take on the Illuminate in the latest Helldivers 2 update.

Dishonored meets PvP in this new high stakes thievery game
By Michael Hoglund published
Gaming If you miss thief sim games like myself, then get ready for Thick as Thieves as it looks to bring the genre into the world of PvP.

Path of Exile 2 team addresses early access feedback
By Michael Hoglund published
Listening Path of Exile 2 has had an eventful launch, and its developers are updating the players on what's next.

[UPDATE] Path of Exile 2's early access period servers now seem stable
By Michael Hoglund last updated
Error Path of Exile 2 is down for everyone right now as the developers tackle a much-needed upgrade before launch. Here's when to expect the game to go live!

Fortnite's new game mode "Ballistic" takes on Valorant and Counter-Strike. Here's what you need to know.
By Michael Hoglund published
Bomb Planted Epic Games looks to tackle Counter-Strike with Fortnite Ballistic, a new dedicated first-person mode that takes everything Counter-Striker and puts it in the world of Fortnite.

"This console saved my life guys." An Xbox Series S goes full Nokia to save a man's life — Microsoft responds.
By Michael Hoglund published
"S" for Safe A man on reddit shared how Microsoft's pint-sized Xbox Series S actually saved his life, complete with pictures.

The best Starfield Xbox mods so far: Performance, gameplay, cheats, and more
By Michael Hoglund last updated
Modding Existence With the Creation Club having been out for only a few weeks, here's some of the best mods available for Xbox so far.

The best Starfield PC mods so far: Graphics, gameplay, DLSS, and more
By Brendan Lowry, Michael Hoglund last updated
Modding the Stars Even though it's only a few weeks old, there are already tons of amazing Starfield mods.

What exactly is Once Human? Whatever it is, it's really good
By Michael Hoglund published
Preview Buckle up for a ride in the Mystery Machine while you try to solve this crazy story.

The First Descendant FAQ: Release date, cross-play, microtransactions, and other questions answered
By Michael Hoglund published
FAQ The First Descendant is the latest free-to-play game developed by NEXON. A third-person looter-shooter that looks to take on the titans of Destiny 2 and Warframe. Here's everything we know.

The latest free-to-play looter shooter will start preloading early on Xbox and PC
By Michael Hoglund published
F2P looter The First Descendant, an upcoming free-to-play third-person looter-shooter, will launch on July 2. Preloading will start early, presumably to help alleviate server launch issues.

Elden Ring's DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, surpasses 5 million tarnished in less than a week
By Michael Hoglund published
5 million The Elden Ring train has no stops. The new DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, just surpassed 5 million sales. What's the next milestone?

This 'Elden Ring' edition Xbox controller might not be enough to make you git gud, but it sure is pretty (and pricey)
By Michael Hoglund published
Elden Ring Thrustmaster has a new variant of its popular eSwap X2 Pro controller. For $199, you can have a dope-looking controller that literally performs better than its competitors.

Elden Ring DLC: Don't miss this secret new spell you can get early in Shadow of the Erdtree
By Michael Hoglund published
Watchful Spirit Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has dropped and it's full of items to discover! Here's how to grab an early incantation that you won't want to miss!

The best weekly deals and sales for Steam
By Michael Hoglund published
Steam Sales Come check out our curated list of Steam deals. Each and every week, we curate a select list of games that are either topical or unmissable due to their price!

A single Dune: Awakening map will be almost ten times the size of Conan Exiles, where you can "meet hundreds of players"
By Michael Hoglund published
Huge map In an interview published on their YouTube page, Funcom announced some rather big news that was previously unknown. The game will feature a PvP zone almost ten times the size of Conan Exiles.

You can now play Starfield at 120 frames per second on Xbox Series S, with a small sacrifice
By Michael Hoglund published
120Hz Series S Through the use of mods, gamers can now get Starfield to run at or near 120 frames per second on Xbox Series S. Here's how it's done!

Elden Ring best talismans: Best for mages, melee, and more in 1.12
By Brendan Lowry, Michael Hoglund last updated
Builds Perfected There are tons of talismans in Elden Ring, but which ones are the best? Here's a list of our favorites, as well as a breakdown of where you can find each one.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard director says, "you can play this game entirely offline," and there won't be any microtransactions or battle passes
By Michael Hoglund published
Offline Alert! A really good dedicated single-player game might be on the way!

Seven of the top ten most wishlisted games from Not-E3 are coming to Game Pass on Xbox and PC
By Michael Hoglund published
Game Pass Rules Gamesindustry.biz reports that seven of the top ten most wishlisted games are coming to Game Pass, here's what that list entails!

Best Enshrouded builds: For Wizard, melee Barbarian, Warrior tank, and Ranger for Melodies of the Mire update
By Brendan Lowry, Michael Hoglund last updated
Built Different Here are the best builds you can put together with Enshrouded's many different skills, weapons, and armors.
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