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Xbox outage shouldn’t have affected games on disc, Microsoft confirms
Very reassuring for the future of physical media.
The Science Behind the AI Panic Is Shakier Than You Think
A column by Sascha Lobo Is AI making us dumb? So asked DER SPIEGEL on its cover a while ago. After a few weeks of recovery and a therapeutic intervention with the help of my AI, I feel able to respond. That’s a bit unfair, of course; the article itself is more nuanced than the loud cover, the image of a schoolkid with dull prompt questions, or the subtitle: “AI is conquering the schools, and educators fear a disaster.” The short answer to “Is AI making us dumb?” is: no. The long answer is more interesting, and even carries a preliminary glimmer of the spectacular. Unfortunately, it requires a detour into the sphere of artificial intelligence, into the mogul-field terrain of technology assessment, the attention economy, and the destructive virus of cultural pessimism. Along with narrowing the scope to AI’s effects on education and work rather than on intelligence. Because the honest version of the question would be: Does AI help us learn and work, or not? Generative AI, which set off the still-ongoing hype with ChatGPT, has only existed in relevant distribution since late 2022, early 2023. For a technology-driven transformation of people and society, that is extremely short. For that reason alone, research is still in its infancy. And technology assessment is not a fast discipline anyway. Prominent voices from Elizabeth Eisenstein to RAND to Tom Wheeler say we still cannot conclusively judge the consequences of the printing press. Its invention is a mere 580 years back, and some scholars would rather not circulate assessments that might have to be retracted in two or three hundred years. We’re Going Through Growing Pains A phenomenon that already caused upheaval in social media research makes serious assessment of AI’s consequences even harder: the “moving target” problem of LLM-ology, as the linguist Sean Trott called it in 2025. AI develops so quickly and so unpredictably that researchers often end up studying snapshots of the past. There are concepts, from morphological analysis to anticipatory governance, for keeping research, planning, and regulation halfway meaningful anyway. But even with those, universally valid statements are rare. DER SPIEGEL - The German View is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe We should therefore treat findings about the interplay between humans and AI as far more procedural and situational. Unfortunately, this challenge comes at the worst possible time. We are going through growing pains: AI’s everyday impact has grown very large very fast, and with it the longing for guidance. Annoyingly, the body of solid knowledge has not exploded along with it. Experts cannot be moved to broad consensus on even banal statements about AI. Sascha Lobo, born in 1975, is an author and strategy consultant focusing on the internet and digital technologies. Together with Jule Lobo, he explores the debates of the day in the podcast “Feel the News – Was Deutschland bewegt” (”What Moves Germany”). Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says software developers are dying out. Bill Gates considers coders one of only three professions that will survive the AI tsunami. Top tech economists find virtually irrefutable arguments both for and against an AI bubble. The same naturally applies to the structurally youth-hostile debate over whether AI is good or bad for young people. The gap between the demand for insight and the supply of solid knowledge creates an orientation vacuum. This vacuum of AI cluelessness is filled, as the attention economy described by Georg Franck in 1998 would have it, with half-knowledge (funnily enough, often AI-generated), marketing, and self-marketing. After all, infinite money is at stake, along with academia’s best current shot at global fame. But this iridescent froth of interpretation operates more by the algorithmic principles of the digital public sphere than by seriously earned insight. That is why dramatized, fear-feeding claims about AI are so promising. It tempts parts of academia into distorted drivel, and parts of the media then sensationalize the published drivel once more. Was the Research Aimed at a Desired Result? How badly this can influence academia and public perception is demonstrated by one of the most-discussed studies on AI’s effects: “Your Brain on ChatGPT.” The MIT study by Nataliya Kosmyna also gets plenty of space in the SPIEGEL cover story. What was measured and interpreted: lower brain activity in people who write with AI assistance, compared to people who only google or write without any tools. As is common with preprints, the study has not yet been peer-reviewed, and it contains substantial weaknesses that experts have sharply criticized. The first round had 54 participants in three groups, the second only 18, who reportedly also came from MIT’s own orbit. There was no preregistration (committing in advance to what you want to find out with which data). In their analysis, Stanković et al. even discovered an opposite effect that the study does not further explain. Some measurement data has not (yet) been published. And the EEG analysis method used is considered too imprecise to support such far-reaching conclusions. The biggest criticism, though, is the suspicion of an activism-driven study. In an interview with Time, lead author Kosmyna said she published the study immediately, rather than after full peer review, because she feared politicians might otherwise decide to put ChatGPT in kindergartens. She considers that absolutely harmful. It is legitimate to hold such a view. It just seems unscientific to approach a study with it, and then to design the setup so that the chance of a fitting desired result remains as high as possible. Ideologies Collide It is not easy to separate genuine AI insights from studies that trivialize and weaken well-founded AI criticism. The same goes for the opposing, AI-enthusiastic narratives, because the pro-AI side works against it with billions in resources. Ideologies collide, fed by egos, PR strategies, moral posturing, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Doomsday marketing makes the search even harder: AI companies can profit from warnings about the dangers of AI, whether through the notoriety of apocalypse narratives or because, in some target groups, danger translates into power. Some seemingly negative findings are therefore quite welcome in the AI industry. If you try to get at the findings presumably less influenced by interest groups, the picture in education seems relatively clear: AI can improve educational outcomes when the right AI is used the right way, namely pedagogically. Simply dumping an AI chatbot into a classroom, by contrast, accomplishes little. Huge surprise. But something else is also obvious: whether they are allowed to or not, kids use AI for school, which is why the controlled integration of AI tools into education is, in the medium term, entirely without alternative. In the world of work, the landscape of findings is more complex and requires more differentiation. A series of serious studies points to an AI effect that suits neither the alarmists, regulation fetishists, and AI opponents, nor the trillion-dollar corporations with their armada of paid scientists, PR professionals, and ecosystems: working with AI helps the inexperienced (at least for now) considerably more than it helps the pros, in certain fields of work, and provided they know how to use it correctly. Missing Domain Knowledge Among the experienced, the professionals, and the high flyers, by contrast, despite frequent time savings, partially negative effects and new problems are emerging. Take the jagged frontier problem: AI solves task A brilliantly and fails completely at task B, even though both look similar even to professionals. Or the verification-cost problem, in which AI’s greater productivity gets eaten up by the enormous effort of checking its output. Or the illusion of competence, because AI makes new domains seem easily penetrable, until you painfully discover that deep domain knowledge is missing. Taken as a whole, the effects of working with AI do lean positive. But the promise that AI works as a turbocharger for everyone and boosts practically everything simply refuses to materialize. The AI magic the world has been feeling since ChatGPT arrived in late 2022 has so far barely shown up in most companies’ numbers. The consulting firm McKinsey has coined a term for this, the “gen AI paradox,” and believes that work processes and corporate structures would have to be rebuilt quite fundamentally to realize AI’s benefits at scale. Reuters just reported that only 3.3 percent of Microsoft’s customers have subscribed to the AI package Copilot. That may be down to the product; in other areas we continue to see soaring successes and new AI triumphs. But after the first quarter of 2026, disillusionment is the word for all too many AI projects at traditional companies: because the promised revolution of AI agents has so far failed to arrive or been postponed, and because of the leveling effect that many of the studies cited here suggest. Against Inequality The societal effects, on the other hand, appear rather encouraging. Many previous technologies operated on the Matthew principle, named for the Gospel verse about giving to those who already have: they tended to reward the more competent and more privileged. AI, however, seems more often to have an equalizing effect once a threshold of access and education is crossed. Some anecdotal insights point in this direction, for example, how an unemployed man in Leipzig successfully defended himself in court in 2025 against fraud accusations from Germany’s federal employment agency — without a lawyer, armed only with ChatGPT. The AI made mistakes and cited invented court rulings, but in the end the man walked away unpunished. And a key capability of artificial intelligence is its capacity to learn: set up correctly and fed with data, it can keep getting better. It is a question of time, or more precisely of AI innovations and training data, until even free AI chatbots write better legal briefs than law graduates with perfect exam scores. Whether that will make anyone dumb is something the world’s press will surely inform us of in due time. Subscribe Leave a comment
Windows 11 KB5101684 out with a speed boost, direct download links for offline installer (.msu)
Windows 11 KB5101684 is now rolling out with several quality improvements, particularly performance gains. This update is available via Windows Update and installs only when you tap the ‘Download & Install’ button. In addition, Microsoft has posted direct download links for KB5101684 offline installers (.msu). KB5101684 is an optional update and is internally known as […]
Windows 11’s August Patch Tuesday update brings several important changes, and I break down the biggest ones
Microsoft's August 2026 Patch Tuesday delivers a large batch of improvements across Windows 11.
Microsoft Starts Offering Free PC Versions of Your Ubisoft Games on Xbox
Some restrictions apply, read article for details.
Microsoft is launching its first cybersecurity AI model at half the cost of rivals
MAI-Cyber-1-Flash, paired with GPT-5.4 inside Microsoft's MDASH harness, outperforms models from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI on a key benchmark
Microsoft Says New Cybersecurity AI Model Helps MDASH Hit 95.95% at Half the Cost
Microsoft launches MAI-Cyber-1-Flash inside MDASH, routing up to 90% of tasks to the model while GPT-5.4 handles the hardest 10%.
American College of Radiology outlines 2027 Medicare fee schedule’s impact on imaging pay
ACR said the document compares newly proposed payment amounts against 2026 ones across all individual, radiology- and radiation oncology-related codes.
Microsoft touts cost-saving AI model for cybersecurity
Microsoft says that when integrated with OpenAI's GPT-5.4, its new cybersecurity model can beat Anthropic's new Mythos 5.
Ubisoft Adds Free PC License to Xbox Digital Game Purchases
There has been a lot of talk recently about both the merit of platform exclusive games and digital games, and Microsoft's latest partnership with Ubisoft seems to be a move to support both its Xbox platform on PC and console as well as its digital game sales. The new Xbox × Ubisoft initiative...
Microsoft unveils AI security tools it says outperform competing platforms
Microsoft says tools cost less than competing ones and outperform them, too.
Microsoft launches its first cyber model and a new agentic cybersecurity system
Microsoft bolstered its AI cybersecurity offerings this week with the launch of its first AI security model and a new security platform.
Microsoft Unveils A.I. Cybersecurity Tools
As some executives fret over the safety of new A.I. systems, protecting against them could be a big business for tech companies.
PlayStation makes a mockery of Xbox's multi-plat push by dropping God of War one day before Fable — Microsoft is helping advertise the fact PS5 has more content.
Microsoft's lack of faith in its own platforms gets a shiny new spotlight in February 2027, as Sony confirms a tentpole exclusive will go head to head with Xbox's own contribution to PS5.
Retirees need at least $185K set aside to cover healthcare, even with Medicare, study finds
The figure comes from research by Fidelity Investments. The group said their estimate, updated annually, jumped 7.5% since last year.
Hospital’s rocky radiology transition leaves patients ‘almost rioting in the ER’
A new report from the Fredericksburg Free Times sheds light on the struggles Mary Washington Healthcare has faced during its transition away from Radiologic Associates of Fredericksburg.
Xbox tests smart download client that finds the fastest game server
A new Xbox Insider update changes how consoles download games and patches. Microsoft has not confirmed when the feature will reach public builds.
New ChatGPT Training For Small Businesses And Other Technology News This Week For Your Business
OpenAI launched AI training for small businesses, Microsoft upgraded Excel with AI, Intuit debuted a QuickBooks card, Claude learns workflows, and AI-ready websites are now essential.
Inside Nadella's hardest year
Microsoft bet everything on AI. Is its North Star now a noose?
Xbox's Backward Compatibility On PC Can Run Xbox 360 Games
Turns out that Microsoft's new Xbox emulator is actually an Xbox 360 emulator in disguise
LG users complain about unwanted ads on TVs and gaming monitors
Even Microsoft is irked by LG's advertising.
WV Superintendent of Schools Launches First AI and Digital Science Framework in the Nation
Charleston, W.Va. - West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Michele L. Blatt will share the state’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Science Framework with educators during professional development sessions at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, Monday through Wednesday, July 27-29, 2026. The Framework, the first of its kind in the country, outlines an approach for digital science and AI literacy education that equips students with the knowledge, skills and credentials to succeed in this rapidly evolving workforce. It also offers educators a way to increase efficiencies in their work and better personalize learning for students.Earlier this year, Superintendent Blatt appeared before a U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee to share the state’s strategy on addressing the use of AI while also protecting students, their data and educational integrity. The Framework is the result of years of planning, collaboration and development. Digital science encompasses the evolving fields of computer science, AI literacy, data reasoning, cybersecurity awareness, media literacy and the practical application of digital technologies. The framework equips educators to prepare students with the AI and digital science knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the workforce of the future.The West Virginia AI and Digital Science Framework establishes a statewide structure for sustained success. From policy to educator development and student learning, it defines how the state will implement digital science and AI readiness at scale. It serves two priority goals:Respond to the rapidly changing technology landscapeEstablish best practices as a leader for rural models of AI readiness, workforce development and digital science educationWith three statewide commitments, educators will be equipped with understanding and the tools to support implementation. These commitments are:Student Access - Every student will have access to AI literacy learning experiences and digital science instruction before graduationEducator Capacity - All counties will sustain local AI training capacity through a train-the-trainer modelWorkforce Alignment - Every approved pathway will connect to employer demand, postsecondary alignment, and portable or verified credentialsNext week, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) will launch the framework during three educator and staff development sessions. These sessions include unique opportunities for new county central office hires, the Support, Appreciate, Invest, and Learn (SAIL) Conference, and the West Virginia Middle Schools: Bridging the Future Initiative launch. Each session is designed to meet the needs of K-12 educators, professionals, paraprofessionals, service personnel and others who serve in the education community.West Virginia is a national leader in developing a framework for AI and digital science education. We are determined to elevate our model because it prepares students and educators for the future. Our partners at Prodigy Learning and Microsoft understand this commitment and believe, as do we, that our work has national implications for accessibility and scalability because we are building systems that address learning at all levels that lead to post-graduation success.Michele L. Blatt, State Superintendent of SchoolsAs part of the partnership, Prodigy Learning is providing West Virginia educators, at no additional cost, their in-person and virtual training on all products and the materials required for license renewal.
Microsoft blames massive Microsoft 365 outage on maintenance bug
Microsoft says a bug in its automated network maintenance request system caused Thursday's massive outage by mistakenly removing IP routes from more devices than intended, disrupting Azure and Microsoft 365 services.
LG Promises To Stop McAfee Spam Ads Following Pressure From Microsoft
Following user outcry and pressure from Microsoft, LG has agreed to stop showing McAfee pop-up spam downloaded from its monitors.
Microsoft intervenes after LG gets caught installing McAfee adware onto Windows 11 PCs via their monitors
A popup window from LG that began appearing on PCs with LG monitors connected was showing ads for McAfee, and nobody, not even Microsoft, was impressed.
Microsoft’s PC Xbox Backward Compatibility Hides A 360 Emulator Called XeO3, As Dataminers Crack Open Fuzion Frenzy
Official Xbox Backward Compatibility on PC uses Xbox 360 tech, teasing future support for classic games on PC
Microsoft pressures LG into killing unwanted McAfee ads
LG says it isn’t to blame, however.
Microsoft launches new in-house AI models it says cut costs up to 89% versus OpenAI
Microsoft launched MAI-Image-2.5-Pro and MAI-Voice-2-Flash, new in-house AI models designed to cut GPU costs, power Bing, Excel, Copilot and Dynamics, and reduce reliance on OpenAI.
LG to Remove Unwanted Monitor Pop-Ups, Following Nudge From Microsoft
LG monitors quietly installed an app that showed a pop-up ad for McAfee software, an example of how third-party devices can leverage Windows to install bloatware and adware.
Microsoft responds to LG monitors installing McAfee ads on Windows
App is installed through Windows Update when certain LG monitors connect to a PC.
Microsoft is replacing OpenAI image models in PowerPoint, Bing
The world's largest software maker has been developing artificial intelligence models that can compete with those from OpenAI and Anthropic.
Microsoft Is Replacing OpenAI Image Models in PowerPoint, Bing
Microsoft Corp. is replacing OpenAI’s image-generating models with its own technology in popular products like PowerPoint and Bing.
Microsoft 365 servers down as outage may have hit as Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, and more
Microsoft has confirmed that various M365 services have slowed down as they have been hit by an outage. The company is investigating and has released some preliminary details.
Microsoft outage hits Outlook, Teams, Xbox
Microsoft said Thursday morning that it was investigating issues with its Microsoft 365 services, which includes Outlook and Teams.
Amazon and Microsoft pivot cloud gaming strategies to target different players
Amazon is bringing Luna to the Prime Video streaming service, while Microsoft will test an ad-supported streaming of titles that people own.
Microsoft is testing free, ad-supported cloud gaming for Xbox Insiders
Would you watch ads to stream your games for free?
Microsoft Launches Test for Ad-Supported Xbox Game Streaming, Promises the Ads Will Not 'Interrupt the Flow of Gameplay'
Ad-supported Xbox game streaming is here, Microsoft has said. Here's how it works and how you can try it out.
Microsoft 365 outage affects Teams, SharePoint and other services
Microsoft Teams and several Microsoft 365 services are experiencing an ongoing outage, with users reporting problems accessing Teams, SharePoint, Excel and the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
Can't log in? Microsoft outage hits Teams, Outlook and more
A widespread Microsoft outage is disrupting access to several websites and applications on Thursday morning.
Databricks and Microsoft expand partnership to help enterprises bring business context to enterprise AI
/PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. and Databricks on Wednesday announced an expansion of their decade-long strategic partnership, extending into the 2030s....
Microsoft 2.5: New security business chief Hayete Gallot on the company’s push into the agentic era
Hayete Gallot, who rejoined Microsoft in February to lead its security business, is pushing the company toward "agentic security" — systems that spot threats and act on them without waiting for a human. She's doing it while building a new leadership team in a division where several VPs have exited in recent months.
Microsoft is cracking down on Windows 11 bloatware ads, forces LG to pull McAfee popup
LG has agreed to disable the McAfee popup in its Monitor App Installer, Microsoft's Pavan Davuluri confirms, after weeks of user complaints.
Failure to rescue after TAVR: New study tracks outcomes at high- and low-volume hospitals
High-volume hospitals are often associated with better TAVR outcomes. The team behind this new study wanted to see if a similar trend was seen with FTR rates as well.
Microsoft brings original Xbox backward compatibility to Windows PCs
First four compatible titles can be run with an 11-year-old graphics card.
FDA sees early promise in new gene therapy for BAG3-associated DCM
An investigational drug therapy from Affinia Therapeutics has secured the FDA's orphan drug designation. This means the company now has access to certain benefits, including tax credits and fee exemptions, as it works toward approval.
Microsoft is bringing original Xbox games to PC
Xbox backward compatibility for PC allows original Xbox console games to officially run on Windows.
Powering America's Genesis Mission: Microsoft's commitment to scientific discovery
Today, we’re excited to share a long-term commitment to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Genesis Mission, backed by a $60 million investment designed to accelerate AI for science and the breakthroughs it can deliver for the country. This deepened commitment includes Microsoft’s new Scientific Partnership Advancing Research & Knowledge coordination hub and program office, otherwise...
Asha Sharma-appointed Xbox VP of engineering leaves just three months after moving over from Microsoft's CoreAI team
Xbox engineering boss, who only joined the team three months ago, is leaving for an AI startup.
Only 13% of patients diagnosed with lung cancer met low-dose CT screening criteria
Addressing these gaps will require more inclusive risk prediction models and system-level interventions such as EMR optimization and provider education to improve uptake.
Police Dismantle Kratos Phishing Kit Built to Steal Microsoft 365 Sessions and Bypass MFA
Authorities seize 200 Kratos servers and arrest its alleged developer and operator; investigators estimate 15,000 campaigns ran monthly.
Xbox VP Leaves Just 3 Months After Joining Asha Sharma's Team
Jared Palmer had joined Xbox from Microsoft's CoreAI division
NVIDIA’s first GeForce driver for Windows on Arm confirms RTX Spark N1X with 6,144 or 5,120 CUDA cores
GeForce 616.00 is NVIDIA’s first native Arm64 graphics driver for Windows 11. The developer package currently supports Microsoft’s Surface RTX Spark Dev Box.
How much coffee is safe for the heart? Doctors explore the benefits and risks of caffeine
Drinking multiple cups of coffee each day may decrease a person's risk of heart disease, heart failure and stroke. Too much caffeine can still cause issues, however, when taken as energy drinks.
Windows KB5121767 OOB update fixes shutdowns on some Dell PCs
Microsoft has released emergency updates to fix a known issue causing some Dell PCs to shut down after installing the July 2026 Windows 11 security updates.
Windows 11's big 2026 update is almost here, and these 10 things you need to know before upgrading could save you time and frustration
Windows 11 2026 (26H2) Update looks like a new version, but it follows Microsoft's newer approach of smaller, faster upgrades.
Small Business Technology News Roundup: IBM Shares Crash, ChatGPT To Replace Wall Street Analysts
IBM shares collapse, OpenAI says AI will replace workers, Upwork says AI is reshaping freelancing, Microsoft will let you pause Windows 11 updates, Expensify consolidates travel billing
5 Powerful Laptops Cheaper Than MacBook Air After The Price Hike
With the MacBook Air getting more expensive, a few options from Lenovo, Microsoft Surface, HP, and Asus can offer good power and value for money.
This wild Microsoft tech may solve data storage and backup crisis forever
Future data storage backup crises may become a thing of the past, thanks to Microsoft's groundbreaking technology innovation.
Windows 11’s massive July 2026 update fixes 570 vulnerabilities and shows how AI is quietly reshaping Patch Tuesday itself
Microsoft says AI is reshaping Windows security, and the July 2026 Patch Tuesday update is the first major sign of what's coming.
"There has to be a reason for people to buy an Xbox": Making sense of Microsoft's messy return to console exclusivity
The Saturday Read | Senior leaders across Xbox detail why the platform is returning to console exclusivity, and explain why Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are only the beginning
4 Disadvantages Of Using Microsoft Word Instead Of Google Docs
MS Word's Ribbon interface is not beginner-friendly, there's no free offline version, working in the cloud requires setup, and there are formatting issues.
Irvine video game maker Obsidian Entertainment lays off 52
Irvine-based video game development studio Obsidian Entertainment is laying off 52 workers as part of a larger restructuring to reset Microsoft’s Xbox video game business.
Bethesda teases Fallout 5 soon after Xbox’s mass layoffs
Microsoft’s gaming division attempts to share some good news amid the fallout of its large-scale ‘reset.’
Even Microsoft couldn’t make Windows 11 work well on 8GB of RAM
RAMageddon claims another.
ZeniMax Online Studios leadership to exit as part of Xbox cuts
There are major changes happening atop Maryland-based ZeniMax Online Studios, developer of the Elder Scrolls Online, Game File has learned. Joe Burba, a 14-year veteran of the studio who was appointed to run it last July, is departing, along with ESO executive producer Susan Kath, studio game director Rich Lambert and production director Ala Diaz. Their roles were listed among hundreds of others cut last week from the Maryland offices of ZeniMax, in a WARN letter sent to the state by ZeniMax and obtained today by Game File. Tonight, BUrbam Kath, Lambert and Diaz notified Zenimax Online Studios workers of plans to “transition” to a new leadership team consisting of promoted ZOS veterans. That transition will occur “over the next few months,” they told workers, according to a copy of the notice reviewed by Game File. “We will remain in place during the transition period to help ensure a smooth handoff.” Last week, Microsoft laid off of 1,600 workers across its vast gaming teams in locations around the U.S. and abroad. Just who has been impacted and how hard various studios have been hit has been emerging day by day. Game File reported last week that Microsoft/ZeniMax notified officials in Maryland that 379 gaming jobs were being cut across the state. They tallied cuts in two locations: one for ZeniMax Media Inc. (covering Elder Scrolls/Starfield/Fallout-maker Bethesda Game Studios and central Bethesda game publishing) and one for ZeniMax Online Studios (Elder Scrolls Online). More than 200 jobs were cut at the latter. Last week’s totals did not reveal job titles, nor did Microsoft announce any leadership changes in the ZeniMax group. That has now happened. Earlier today, Game File obtained from Maryland officials a breakdown of the 379 impacted roles, which, extraordinarily, included “studio head.” Microsoft later confirmed to Game File which studio head that referred to: ZeniMax Online Studios’. Microsoft has since has notified studio employees and internally announced new leadership. ZOS will now be run by Josh Henderson, previously head of business operations at the studio, and Nick Giacomini, who was promoted to game director for ESO last August. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Last week’s news of 200+ cuts at ZeniMax Online Studios generated public sympathy for those workers and questions about the long-term viability of the Elder Scrolls Online. ESO is a massively multiplayer online game that inherently persists on the strength of new content being developed for it. Earlier today, fans and workers in Maryland protested the cuts at the ZeniMax teams in a rally organized by the Communication Workers of America, the union that represents many of the impacted employees. Regarding concerns around the game, a community manager stated on Saturday: “The plan is still to deliver great content, and we will hopefully have an update soon.” In their note to the studio today, the outgoing leaders of ZeniMax Online Studios predicted “growth” for the game: We have tremendous confidence in Josh and Nick, the future of this studio, and the continued growth of ESO. With exciting experiences still ahead for our players as we wrap up work for Update 51 and beyond, we believe that your passion, creativity, and commitment to each other and the community will continue serving as the heartbeat of ESO. The list of jobs cut in the ZeniMax WARN notice in Maryland includes several very senior roles, including: Studio Head Studio Operations Director Studio Game Director Studio Audio Director Studio Art Manager Vice President and Controller VP, Global Sales & Business Development While some of those job descriptions match the exiting ZOS leadership team, Game File couldn’t verify if all were from that studio. The full list of cut roles shared by Maryland officials also covers workers at Bethesda Game Studios and its central publishing office. The following is an excerpt: The list of 379 eliminated ZeniMax jobs in Maryland also includes: four animators three bilingual CS (community service) leads for Chinese, Italian, and Japanese a creative director for the Elder Scrolls Online Player Life Cycle two food service workers seven producers more than 60 senior QA testers. and many others The WARN notice states that almost all of the 379 workers were notified of their layoff on July 6. In fine print, it states: “Approximately 9 employees were notified of the elimination of their position prior to July 6, 2026.” A 2021 mega-merger scaled back Microsoft announced in 2020 that it intended to buy ZeniMax and its network of game studios in 2020, and closed the $7.5 billion deal in March 2021. The purchase, which preceded Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, added several award-winning studios to Microsoft’s portfolio, including Bethesda (Elder Scrolls, Fallout), Arkane (Dishonored), and id Software (Doom). The studios’ output since then included a 2024 Game of the Year contented from MachineGames in the form of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle along with Starfield from Bethesda and the poorly-received Redfall from Arkane Austin. In recent years, a Microsoft repeatedly in cutback mode closed ZeniMax’s Tango Gameworks (which was reconstituted by Krafton) and closed Arkane Austin. The Xbox cuts last week have hit the ZeniMax group hard, with 158 jobs eliminated in Texas, many of them at id, and 379 from the ZeniMax teams in Maryland. Xbox also said last week that it would be entering a consultation process around Arkane Lyon, a process expected to end in a sale, shutdown or other form of divestment. The Lyon team has been working on a game tied to Marvel’s Blade vampire-hunting super-hero.
Windows 0-day drops the same day Microsoft releases record number of patches
HiveLegacy is a "powerful primitive" that's likely capable of other nefarious actions.
Microsoft patches bug in video game Age of Empires II
The vulnerability in the decades-old game could have allowed hackers to take over victims’ computers with a malicious game invite.
Microsoft patches record number of security vulnerabilities, citing its use of AI
Microsoft's monthly release of security fixes, dubbed Patch Tuesday, resolved a record 570 security vulnerabilities across the company's product line, thanks to discoveries with AI.
Researcher Drops New Windows Zero-Day PoC Hours After Microsoft Patch Tuesday
LegacyHive is a PoC for a Windows ProfSvc privilege escalation flaw that works after the July 2026 update, but the public build needs extra credential
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse for Switch launches October 15
The Switch version of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse will launch day and date with the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store) versions on October 15, publisher Konami and d…
Microsoft Secure Boot has been broken for most of its existence
Old and forgotten "shims" Microsoft failed to revoke have made Secure Boot bypasses simple.
Microsoft Patches Record 622 Flaws, Including Two Zero-Days Under Active Attack
Microsoft fixes a record 622 CVEs, including two exploited SharePoint and AD FS zero-days, while a Kerberos RC4 change could break service account log
Microsoft July 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes massive 570 flaws, 3 zero-days
Today is Microsoft's July 2026 Patch Tuesday, and with it comes security updates for a record-breaking 570 flaws, including two zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in attacks and one publicly disclosed.
Microsoft keeps proving you own NOTHING with them — it blocks another user's entire Xbox game library, including his OneDrive
Gamer Joshua Khane is yet another victim of Microsoft's apathy towards its customers, in yet another example of it banning a user for the crime of ... being hacked?
Vieu launches AI-ready map of business relationships, challenging sales-tech incumbents
Vieu, a Seattle startup founded by former Microsoft leaders, launched its "Business Graph" — a live map of business relationships built from observed signals like shared work history and board affiliations, rather than the self-reported connections on LinkedIn.
Vieu launches AI-ready map of business relationships, challenging tech incumbents
Vieu, a Seattle startup founded by former Microsoft leaders, launched its "Business Graph" — a live map of business relationships built from observed signals like shared work history and board affiliations, rather than the self-reported connections on LinkedIn.
Xbox Helix May Only Sell 2 Million Consoles In Its Launch Year, Says Analyst
Microsoft has given out perilously few details about Xbox’s Project Helix, its next-generation console which will arrive on the back of a truly dismal period for the brand.
Microsoft Entra ID gets passkeys default authentication starting September
Microsoft has announced that passkeys will become the default authentication method for the Entra ID enterprise identity service starting September 2026.
Microsoft Patches a Record 570 Security Flaws
Microsoft Corp. today released software updates to plug at least 570 security holes in its Windows operating systems and other software, almost triple the number of vulnerabilities the software giant fixed in its record-smashing Patch Tuesday release last month. Microsoft…
Microsoft tests Windows Search without all the ads and fluff
A much cleaner search experience.
Satya Nadella has issued a shocking warning to companies using AI
In a surprising blog post on Monday, Microsoft CEO is warning enterprises of the dangers of using proprietary models like Anthropic's and OpenAI's.
The Metro: Why partisan politics makes it harder to keep the lights on in Michigan
Despite the fact that consumers won’t reap the benefits immediately, residents are having to pay for the upgrades now.
Microsoft announces major Windows 11 search overhaul that prioritizes clearer, local results, and removes ads: Huge effort to fix search on Windows is finally happening
Windows 11's search user experience is getting a big update, with Microsoft moving to prioritize local results, remove promotional content, and much more.
Xbox fan successfully sues Microsoft for blocking his entire digital games library — in what could be a huge win for consumer rights
Brazilian Xbox player, Ordo_Liberal, recently won a court case against Microsoft, proving you can fight for the right to preserve digital ownership of your games and win.
Cut Business Software Costs With This $35 Microsoft Bundle
Upgrade one work PC without adding a monthly bill.
Special Microsoft Flight Simulator controller is coming to Xbox
So far, the Echo Aviation Controller has only been available for PC, where it supports Microsoft Flight Simulator and other titles. It can also be used on Mac for Laminar Research's X-Plane. A new model with console support is expected to follow soon.
Brazilian Courts Force Xbox To Restore Hacked Account
Microsoft reportedly assigned 12 lawyers to argue over $400 and some video games
Xbox Gamer Wins Lawsuit Against Microsoft To Restore Account And Digital Library
Microsoft also has to pay roughly $400 in damages to the user.
Microsoft may make big changes to bring Android and Windows 11 closer together
Microsoft is reportedly working on several major changes to improve and expand upon Phone Link, deepening Android integration.
Microsoft wants to integrate your smartphone more deeply with Windows 11: Plans major UX enhancements that will make your PC and phone more seamlessly connected
Sources say that Microsoft is exploring several ways it can introduce new smartphone integration features across the Windows 11 interface in the coming months.
Small Business Technology News Roundup: Microsoft Makes A Major AI U-Turn
Microsoft gives users more AI control in Teams as AI coding, dictation and actors reshape business, while rising Google Ads costs push SMBs toward new marketing strategies.
Microsoft defends Asha Sharma, says she is an American CEO and Xbox layoff had nothing to do with H-1B
As Asha Sharm, the CEO of Xbox, came under vicious trolling after the gaming division of Microsoft announced the elimination of 3,200 positions, Microsoft came to her rescue and clarified that it had nothing to do with replacing Americans with foreign workers. Frank X Shaw, the lead for the communications for Microsoft, also addressed the 'Indian-origin' angle of the immigration debate and called Asha an American born, educated CEO from Wisconsin.
Microsoft loses Brazilian court case after telling hacked Xbox user to re-purchase games — tech giant ordered to restore Xbox account with all games and pay $400 in damages
A Brazilian gamer who lost his Microsoft account and all his digital games has won a court order requiring the company to return them.
John Carmack responds to Microsoft laying off id Software staff, and his comments hit hard for fans who watched him help build DOOM from the ground up
Carmack speaks out after Microsoft cuts jobs at id Software, raising questions about the studio’s future under Xbox.
XBOX Gamer Wins Digital Library Lawsuit Against Microsoft
In Brazil, one gamer has won their lawsuit against Microsoft over a locked account and blocked digital games library.
Microsoft loses lawsuit after blocking hacked Xbox account with digital games
One gamer took extreme measures to restore access to his compromised Xbox account. The Brazilian user filed a lawsuit against Microsoft after it refused to unfreeze his digital library. A court ruled in the plaintiff’s favor, and the decline of physical games could lead to more legal challenges.
What Xbox's layoffs, massive reboot says about the gaming industry
Microsoft plans to reduce Xbox by 3,200 jobs over the next fiscal year, calling it “the most significant restructuring in Xbox history.” While the gaming industry has seen many boom and bust cycles, experts say this moment is different.
Asha Sharma, the outsider handed the Xbox controls
Elevated to fix Microsoft’s struggling gaming division, she is making tough decisions about its future
"We mean business" - Bethesda union members to march in protest of sweeping Xbox job cuts
In the wake of Microsoft's devastating layoffs, set to impact 3,200 Xbox employees, Bethesda union workers have announced plans to fight back.