SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " microsoft " 1,589 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
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.
John Carmack responds to Id Software layoffs, admits Microsoft stewardship claim aging badly
The Doom and Quake programmer is saddened by this week’s news of layoffs…
Microsoft warns customers AI will mean busier Patch Tuesdays
More patches mean more reasons to buy Redmond’s auto-patching tools
Patch for Windows Defender 0-day could allow attackers to fill hard disk
The feud between NightmareEclipse and Microsoft shows no signs of resolving soon.
Microsoft goes all in on new AI-powered Windows security strategy - what it means for you
An elite security team at Microsoft has built an AI-powered pipeline to find vulnerabilities in Windows and get them to engineers to build fixes.
Microsoft expects more Windows security updates from AI-discovered flaws
Microsoft says Windows users should expect to see an increase in security updates as the company increasingly relies on artificial intelligence to discover vulnerabilities in its codebase.
Microsoft’s patch Tuesdays are about to get bigger
Microsoft’s using AI to fix security issues faster.
Microsoft is making Windows 11's search box 4 whole pixels taller for some reason
An upcoming change to Windows 11 will see the default search box in Start and on the Taskbar appear larger as Microsoft increases its height by 4 pixels.
Microsoft Patches RoguePlanet Defender Flaw That Can Grant SYSTEM Privileges
Microsoft Patches RoguePlanet Defender Flaw That Can Grant SYSTEM Privileges | Read more hacking news on The Hacker News cybersecurity news website and learn how to protect against cyberattacks and software vulnerabilities.
Microsoft’s Xbox reset is pivoting Obsidian to make Fallout instead of Avowed
There hasn’t been a new Fallout game since 2018.
Microsoft’s Xbox to Shift Obsidian Studio to New ‘Fallout’ Video Game
The game maker is also canceling a planned sequel to last year’s ‘Avowed’
Microsoft’s Xbox to Shift Obsidian Studio to New ‘Fallout’ Video Game
The game maker is also canceling a planned sequel to last year’s ‘Avowed’
Microsoft is reportedly considering making more of its first-party games exclusive to Xbox
Microsoft is reportedly planning to lean even harder on locking certain games to Xbox as exclusives.
Here's what Microsoft offers in severance in latest layoff plan
Microsoft plans to lay off 4,800 staff, impacting sales and Xbox divisions. It's offering severance up to 39 weeks for most laid-off US employees.
Report: Microsoft will make even more of its games exclusive to Xbox — as multiplatform strategy totally fails. What's going on?
Xbox's loathed "Project Latitude" strategy which saw Microsoft support its biggest rival with content is ending, with CEO Asha Sharma doubling down on exclusives.
Bethesda, id Software reportedly hit hard by Microsoft layoffs
As much as 50 percent of some teams affected by reductions, and more could be coming.
Microsoft fixes storage-hogging Windows 11 folder
A default Windows 11 folder could be taking up storage on your device.
Xbox Game Pass reportedly boasts around 30m subscribers
That is well below the 77m user target that Microsoft apparently had for the subscription service for 2026
Xbox Game Pass subscription numbers are reportedly well below where Microsoft wants them to be
Game Pass was once seen as Xbox's golden goose, but a new report reveals it to be struggling.
Why hyperscalers, Mag 7 are falling behind in the stock market's AI trade
Microsoft and Meta in particular are struggling to keep up with the broader tech sector as investors rebel against spending.
Game over for 20% of Xbox staff as Microsoft hits reset: We ‘didn’t focus on the core business,’ CEO says. ‘We simply spread ourselves too thin.’
Everything you need to know before you reach the office this morning.
Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption is under 4.5% after 3 years, only 1% use it weekly, yet prices went up
Fewer than 4.5% of Microsoft 365 customers pay for Copilot after three years, only 1% use it weekly, and Microsoft raised prices regardless.
Microsoft's Xbox business reset
Microsoft's latest Xbox layoffs show the pressures facing one of gaming's biggest names and how the new CEO plans to change course.
Xbox Lays Off FanFest Creator Three Months After Bringing It Back
Chris Munson was a 15-year veteran of Microsoft
Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs as Xbox studios spin off in gaming reset
The Xbox restructuring will involve divestment of four studios, Xbox's new head, Asha Sharma, said in a note to employees.
Xbox cuts 3,200 jobs as gaming business struggles
As Microsoft continues to invest majorly into AI, it's gaming division, Xbox, is making major cuts to its workforce and selling several of its studios.
‘Our business today is not healthy’: 1,600 Xbox employees among the 4,800 laid off by Microsoft as it looks to ‘reset’ gaming division
A third of Microsoft's global layoffs were Xbox employee as the company reduced its workforce by 2.1% globally.
Ryzen AI Developer Platform: AMD's Own Linux Distribution Built Atop Debian
With the AMD Ryzen AI Halo developer platform there is the option of ordering this Ryzen AI Max+ mini PC with either Microsoft Windows 11 or 'Linux OS'.
Microsoft to cut 3,200 jobs amid Xbox restructuring. 'Our business ... is not healthy.'
Microsoft is cutting 4,800 jobs, including 3,200 in its Xbox division.
Xbox Laying Off 3,200 Staffers, CEO Confirms: "Our Business Today Is Not Healthy"
The CEO of Microsoft's Xbox video game unit has announced "the most significant restructure" in its 25-year history, with 3,200 workers facing layoffs.
Xbox cuts 1,600 employees, with plans to shed 20% of its workforce
Microsoft announced plans to lay off around 4,800 employees on Monday. Of those, 1,600 come from Xbox layoffs and studio spinouts. More will follow.
Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs across sales and Xbox. Read the memo.
Microsoft announced plans to lay off 4,800 employees on Monday, confirming Business Insider's earlier report.
Xbox at a crossroads: 25 years later, Microsoft is done playing around
Microsoft is pressing its Xbox business for growth and stronger profits after 25 years of losses and thin margins. Here's the math and the strategy behind the reset, with Xbox layoffs expected as soon as next week.
Long Reads for the Long Weekend
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Happy Fourth of July weekend! As has been a tradition of mine going back to the beginning of the EntStrategyGuy website, I’m sharing my favorite long reads of the last year, like I did in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, and 2025. Let’s dive right in! Subscribe “Different Prices for the Same Ride: How Uber and Lyft Use AI to Get More Money Out of You“ by Derek Kravitz in Consumer Reports I don’t think surveillance pricing, like the kind described in this brilliant Consumer Reports article, is long for the world—it’s toxically unpopular—but we’ll see if either party takes on this issue. If I ran a political party focused on affordability, I would focus on a few pro-consumer and pro-market policies: Banning non-compete agreements. Ending surveillance pricing Eliminating junk fees (read more here...) Ensuring “right to repair” for consumer (and military!) products Capping excessive app store fees Stopping digital/algorithmic price-fixing tools. Preventing automatic subscription price increases. And more. If you want to fight inflation, there are a lot of great ways to do it quickly. Speaking of higher prices... “Secret Documents Show Pepsi and Walmart Colluded to Raise Food Prices Across the Economy“ by Matt Stoller in BIG Again, I think a political party should focus on lowering prices for consumers. And deals like this—Walmart making a deal/forcing Pepsi to offer the lowest prices at its stores and nowhere else—hypothetically lower prices at Walmart...but raise them everywhere else. “15 DUIs, still driving: California’s failure to take repeat drunk drivers off the road“ by Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler in CalMatters CalMatters does terrific reporting in California, something the Golden State desperately needs more of, and this article is a great example of that. “PugLips: The next insanely popular thing you’ve never heard of…” by Simon Carless in Game Discover Co I thought that this parody article (and yes, it’s a parody, but I was definitely unsure at first) was hilarious and totally nailed how much tech/business journalism feels these days. Actually, three of my favorite articles this year were on hype in the video game industry, including Georg Zoller’s “The Video Game Industries Very Dark Night”—which I linked to recently and wrote a follow-up here—and Owen Mahoney’s “Derek Zoolander, Videogame Exec”. In particular, I like Mahoney’s focus on user experience as a guide to what trends will actually grab hold of customers. “The Matrix Lies“ by Evan Shapiro in Media War & Peace Evan Shapiro’s first person account of his experience with AI was hilarious. I think LLMs capabilities have significantly grown from last summer, and yet...my editor/researcher just had an abysmal experience using an LLM to do a quite basic task (which our LLM normally does each week) and the LLM made a mistake on every single data entry...along with seven different mistakes affecting twelve of the twenty or so entries, including mistakes that are explicitly spelled out in the prompt. That’s a brutal failure rate. Again, if you use AI/LLM for data collection, you need to take a lot of extra steps to verify and check the data. “Ghosts in the Balcony: A Cross-Country Trip to 58 Theaters Fighting to Survive“ by Matthew Frank in The Ankler I thought Matthew Frank’s pitch to head across America to visit theaters sounded insane aggressive at the time—at least it felt that way to someone a decade older than him; man, to be in your twenties again, am I right?—but I knew the result would be great. And it was, a terrific feature by a great young writer. Also, I loved Matthew’s recent article on who’s getting the precious few entry level jobs in Hollywood. (Hint: nepotism.) “Disney erased FiveThirtyEight“ and “Did Las Vegas get too greedy?” by Nate Silver in Silver Bulletin I love media history and analysis, and there’s no one better to get the history of FiveThirtyEight than from Nate Silver, who wrote about his personal experience in one of my favorite pieces from this year. I also loved Nate’s breakdown of what’s causing Vegas’ woes, but I’ll offer one criticism, summarized as “Might I suggest antitrust?” Many centrists/center-right/libertarian thinkers (Nate is self-described as the latter) often don’t consider consolidation or antitrust as factors in policy issues like housing, America’s military readiness, or, in this case, Las Vegas. Even if libertarians want to debunk antitrust/consolidation concerns, I’d love to read that debunking. In this case, Vegas is incredibly consolidated (though it also has been for a long time) and I’d have loved to read Nate at least contending with this factor, since he addresses almost every other potential factor for Vegas’ decline. “Why Microsoft’s Carbon Removal Pullback Is Such a Big Deal“ by Robinson Meyer in Heatmap News I’m a big supporter of carbon removal efforts, but this nascent industry faces a lot of headwinds, including this big move most recently. I think it’s clear that solar panels and batteries should be able to get the world to its carbon footprint goals, but effective carbon renewal remains necessary to prevent the worst impacts of global warming. “AI is killing the cheap smartphone“ by David Oks LLMs and AI will impact the world in ways we’re not ready for, and already, third world countries are seeing the prices of cheap cellphones skyrocket due to the cost of chips skyrocketing. This article by David Oks is a terrific breakdown. “100 Days of Madness: Netflix, Paramount, Warner and the Future of Hollywood“ by Wade Major at Hollywood Heretic Wade Major dove deep into Hollywood/streaming’s financials in this must read piece. Not that I agree with everything in this article (read my take on Warner Bros./Paramount here) but the analysis is top notch. I think many people discount how quality thinking, regardless of the argument/conclusion, will make you a better thinker. “Erased by the UFC: Frank Shamrock, The MMA GOAT of the 20th Century“ by Nate Wilcox in The MMA Draw Newsletter Growing up playing the UFC fighting game on the Dreamcast, Frank Shamrock was my favorite MMA fighter, and this history/tribute to him was great. Other Fun Reads “The Hardest Part Of History To Tell Is How It Felt“ by Craig Fehrman at Defector “Unmasking the Sea Star Killer“ by Craig Welch at bioGraphic “What Could Save the Industry? Fin-Syn“ by Richard Rushfield in The Ankler Alex Rollins Berg in Underexposed on movie bumpers, pillow shots, Disney trash cinema, cult films, and Casablanca. David H. Montgomery in YouGov’s The Surveyor on punctuation marks, condiments, dinosaurs, and comic strips and kids media. “How Medium finally pivoted its way to profitability“ and “Why the best journalists on YouTube are all former Vox employees“ by Simon Owens in Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter “It’s Not Just You, Netflix Shows Have Gotten Slightly Shorter: Here’s What the Data Says“ by Kasey Moore at What’s on Netflix “Numlock Awards: How Diane Warren became the biggest loser in Oscar history“ by Nathaniel Rakich and “Numlock Awards: The Oscar Bait era is over. The Oscar Chum era is here.” by Walt Hickey & Michael Domanico at Numlock Awards
Clarity Narrative Introduces Service to Help Businesses Address the Hidden Cost of AI Misrepresentation
Photo Courtesy of Microsoft EdgeSOUTHINGTON, Conn., July 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Realized Solutions, Inc., the Connecticut technology firm ...
After Sony Kills PS5 Discs and GTA 6 is Just a Code in a Box, Xbox Is Using Halo: Campaign Evolved's Physical Disc as a Selling Point
Microsoft is using the fact that Halo: Campaign Evolved will offer a physical game disc in its box as a selling point.
Microsoft launches AI-focused professional services business with $2.5B investment
Microsoft launches AI-focused professional services business with $2.5B investment - SiliconANGLE
MediaDailyNews: Microsoft Furthers Trend, Invests $2.5B In AI Consulting Business
Microsoft announced the "Microsoft Frontier Company" on Tuesday as a new operating business focused on delivering AI support for its clients through enterprise AI engineering expertise.
Is yet another Microsoft studio, Obsidian, negotiating with Xbox to avoid closure? Conflicting reports emerge
There's "a real sense amongst some teams that they're being punished for the poor performance of Call of Duty".
Obsidian Entertainment is NOT in ‘Deep in Negotiation’ with Microsoft, per new Report *Updated
Update: Everyone’s favourite video game journalist, Bloomberg’s Jason Schrier has shared a brief post on social media that refutes the report detailed below: Despite a report this morning, I can confirm that Obsidian is not in negotiations to avoid shutting down. Plenty of details are still up in the air surrounding the layoffs (picture will […]
Avowed, The Outer Worlds, and Fallout: New Vegas Developer Obsidian Entertainment Reportedly Also at Risk of Closure Amid Xbox 'Reset'
Avowed and The Outer Worlds developer Obsidian is reportedly also at risk of closure amid Microsoft’s “reset” of the Xbox business.
Avowed, The Outer Worlds, and Fallout: New Vegas Developer Obsidian Entertainment Reportedly Also at Risk of Closure Amid Xbox 'Reset'
Avowed and The Outer Worlds developer Obsidian is reportedly also at risk of closure amid Microsoft’s “reset” of the Xbox business.
Manage Your Business Projects Like a Pro With Microsoft Project 2024
This lifetime license to the full Professional version is on sale for a one-time $49.97.
Microsoft Frontier Company: AI engineering that amplifies and protects your intelligence
The pace of AI adoption is moving incredibly fast. Customers have moved well beyond experimentation and understand the importance of adopting AI to transform their business. They are now concentrating on delivering measurable business outcomes and demonstrating a return on their AI investments, while ensuring their intelligence is amplified and their IP is protected. Today...
ConsentFix and ClickFix: How Microsoft 365 Accounts are Hijacked in 3 Seconds
ConsentFix and ClickFix attacks steal Microsoft 365 tokens in seconds using fake prompts and OAuth flows. Learn how these MFA bypass tactics work and how to defend against them.
Report: Xbox Disc-to-Digital Feature in Testing, Microsoft "Likely" to Stop Disc Production Too
Both Sony and Microsoft look ready to drop disc drives from their next-gen consoles.
Xbox reportedly to follow PlayStation's example and ditch discs for next-gen console Project Helix
The next Xbox console may also ship without a built-in disc drive, but Microsoft may have a solution for discs from older generations.
Microsoft stock suffers worst month since 2000
Microsoft's stock price fell by 19% last month, capping off a fiscal year for the company during which it's lost over $800 billion in market value.
New details emerge on Xbox 'Positron', Microsoft's disc-to-digital program — as it seems likely Xbox Helix will drop discs too
Xbox Helix is likely to be joining PlayStation 5 in dropping discs. A new report describes how Microsoft plans to mitigate the issue.
Xbox testing disc-to-digital feature that digitizes a physical game collection
Microsoft’s disc-to-digital feature could be essential for next-gen Xbox consoles.
Meta plots AI cloud business to challenge Amazon, Microsoft and Google
Meta plots AI cloud business to challenge Amazon, Microsoft and Google
Haleon teams up with Microsoft in 5-year AI pact to upgrade consumer health operations
Consumer health giant Haleon has tapped Microsoft to incorporate AI across its operations, joining a growing wave of healthcare and life sciences heavyweights turning to Big Tech to execute enterpr | Consumer health giant Haleon has tapped Microsoft to incorporate AI across its operations, joining a growing wave of healthcare and life sciences heavyweights turning to Big Tech to execute enterprise-wide digital overhauls.
Microsoft to cut 2.5% of its workforce in yet another round of layoffs
More than 5,000 people will likely lose their jobs pretty soon. It seems like Microsoft continues its series of layoffs, with the last one being in July...
Meta Is Building a Cloud Business to Sell Excess AI Compute
Meta Platforms Inc. is developing plans for a cloud infrastructure business that will sell access to AI computing power and models, setting up a new vector of competition with industry leaders like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and those released by third parties. The PlayStation group calls the change “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” according to a PlayStation blog post reviewed by Game File in advance of its publication. As movies, TV and music have shifted from physical media to an age of downloads and streaming, Sony’s move could speed the demise of physical media in a gaming. The industry has offered consumers games via cartridges, cassettes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays across a 50-year stretch. Sony has been reporting to investors in recent years that PlayStation games have been increasingly purchased as downloads, not as discs. The most recent figures show nearly four in five purchases of full games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were purchased digitally in the past year. Stats like that may cause today’s news to carry an air of the inevitable. But Sony’s declaration for 2028 is still likely to produce a shock, as the biggest gaming platform on the planet that uses game discs leaves them behind. Discs going away, but the fate of game boxes is unknown Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028. Just how those games will be sold—in boxes with codes inside, as cards marked with digital redemption codes—is unclear. Digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. New games released for PlayStation consoles prior to January 2028 will be unaffected by the policy change, Sony says. That means the PS5 games of 2027, be they a new Madden, a new God of War, a new Call of Duty, a new Sly Cooper (one can dream?), would still potentially be offered on disc. PlayStation 6 implications Sony’s timeline for a transition to a no-disc era will also spin up more speculation about the timing and configuration of Sony’s next-generation console, the probable PlayStation 6. “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis tells Game File. Harding-Rolls also concludes from today’s news that “the base version of a PS6 will not include a physical media drive,” as Sony looks to keep costs down on the device. Sony itself is saying nothing about the PS6 today: not its timing, nor how it might or might not support internal or external disc drives in order to run disc-based PS4 and PS5 games, should the console be backwards compatible. The many signs this was coming Industry support for games being released on physical media has been waning. As has consumer interest in them. PC games effectively went all-digital years ago, thanks to the popularity of playing games through Steam and other digital storefronts. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that kept much of the global population home helped shift shopping patterns toward downloads. Sony’s own data shows PlayStation game downloads being an uncommon consumer choice a decade ago and now becoming the norm. On consoles, physical media has been in such decline that Sony and Microsoft both launched their current gen Xbox Series and PS5 consoles in 2020 with cheaper versions that lacked disc drives. In early 2024, Phil Spencer, then head of Xbox, told me that ““[w]e ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing.” He added that the game industry had become an outlier in still supporting disc-based entertainment, even as movies and TV have bailed on discs in favor of downloads and steaming: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console—and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers—the cost of the drive does have an impact.” Last year, the Nintendo’s Switch 2, which uses cartridges rather than discs, introduced the concept of game-key cards, which are physical media that contain no game, just a prompt for a download. Even disc-based games aren’t what they once were, now frequently containing just stubs of games rather than the whole thing. The website Does It Play has tested over 3000 games and found that, for example, that the disc version of this year’s hit 007: First Light, only contained the game’s first mission, with the rest needing to be downloaded. Beyond all that, last week brought the news that Grand Theft Auto VI, likely the biggest game launch this decade, will debut for PS5 and Xbox Series without a disc-based version. Today’s big news comes to you for free. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and ensure more of my work is possible, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Discs helped define PlayStation However the trends in entertainment may be going, it is still remarkable to see PlayStation ditch discs given their importance in PlayStation history: In the late 1990s, the first PlayStation’s support for games on relatively cheap CD-ROMs instead of traditional game cartridges allowed the upstart console to outmaneuver cartridge-based systems from Nintendo and Sega, as it drove down game prices down in the process. (The cheaper disc format even prompted Final Fantasy VII maker Square to taunt Nintendo in a magazine ad, saying that if the game was “available on cartridge, it’d retail for around $1200.”) PlayStation devices often doubled as machines for watching movies and TV on the latest disc-based formats. In the late 2000s, for example, Sony’s pricy PS3 gained traction as a go-to device for playing then-novel Blu-Ray discs. In 2013, Sony effectively roasted the digital game-sharing restrictions proposed by rival Microsoft for its upcoming Xbox One console by showing how games could be shared for the then-upcoming PS4. In a 21-second clip that has over 20 million views on YouTube, one PlayStation executive simply handed a game box—presumably with disc inside—to another, who said “thanks.” Sony’s possible motivations The PlayStation announcement today cites “consumer preferences” and a shift away from discs among “the broader entertainment industry,” but does not delve into the decision-making process that brought Sony to this point. Sony is not discussing the economics of this move (I asked!), but there are a number of potential factors: Abandoning discs will spare Sony the cost of manufacturing and shipping them, which analysts and industry veterans I spoke to said could account for $1 or so of a game’s retail price. For first-party games, that’s direct savings for Sony, though the amount is limited by the winnowing percentage of people who were even buying the disc-based versions. For third-party games, Sony could pass the savings on to partners or just retain the better profit margin for themselves. As the 2024 comments from Phil Spencer alluded to, leaving discs behind could mean leaving disc-drives behind, allowing Sony to produce consoles more cheaply. Switching to digital-only for games could diminish the risks of copies of new games leaking. It would also seemingly make second-hand sales of used games impossible, pushing more people to buy their own copies of games. These economic benefits for Sony could be boons for the games industry overall, Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls tells Game File. Among other things, it could free publishers and retailers from having to worry about securing an inventory of game discs when trying to sell games, he noted. “If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example.” Should the industry shift from game boxes that contain discs to smaller, cheaper game cards, Harding-Rolls said, that reduces pressure on publishers and retailers. “The advantage of everything going digital for the industry is that sales can be tracked much more easily and there is less commercial risk for publishers wanting to continue selling via retail,” he said. The shift to no discs will also likely impact game development timelines, as developers will no longer face the same urgency to have a build ready to submit to PlayStation for the production of a disc, as industry experts noted around GTA VI’s no-disc news last week. Instead, projects may gain weeks of development time, in the event delivery deadlines for platform approval move closer to release date. Preservationists’ likely worries While millions of gamers have shifted to digital, there are still people who associate game discs—and only game discs—with actual ownership of PlayStation games. That portion of the gaming community spoke up last week about wanting to buy a version of GTA VI that they could hold in their hands, could lend to a friend and could potentially pop into a well-preserved PS5 console three decades from now and still see it run. Such gamers didn’t want to worry that they’d merely purchased a digital copy that could lose access to the game if, say, the company behind the game someday turns of the servers that transmit downloadable copies. Digital copies of games are inherently less long-lasting, because consumers aren’t actually buying a game (on a disc), just buying access to the game. The fine print in online gaming shops notes this, as does a recent law that went on the books in California in 2025. That lasw requires game publishers doing business in the state to refrain from words like “sell” when offering digital copies of games, unless they explicitly tell consumers that what’s being sold isn’t the game itself but a potentially revocable license to access it. A Sony spokesperson noted to Game File that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.” Regarding the fears of PlayStation games being lost to time in an all-digital era, the rep also noted that Sony remains “committed to delivering experiences from past generations to the new platforms our players are using.” They noted that PlayStation has used emulation and remasters to keep offering its classic games to modern gamers. It’s true that many consumers have become accustomed to not having physical copies of new music albums or movies, but the relative precariousness of digital copies of games is in fact being highlighted today by…. Sony’s other big announcement: the upcoming closure of the PS3 and PS Vita online stores Sony said today that it will be closing the online marketplaces for its PlayStation 3 console and PS Vita handheld in most countries in July 2027 (sooner elsewhere: August 2026 for the PS3 store Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua; late 2026 for PS3 in other Latin American countries and the Middle East). “We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” Sony said in its announcement, saying the move “was not an easy decision for us to make.” Sony said that PS3 and Vita marketplaces “are no longer able” to support modern commerce systems, prompting a “need” to close the shops and focus on more modern PlayStation platform stores. The news may spark some deja vu. Sony announced back in March 2021 that it planned to take the PS3, Vita and PlayStation Portable marketplaces offline that summer. The move would have caused some 2,000 digital-only games to become unavailable for new purchasers, according to a VGC analysis at the time. Fans complained loudly. By April 2021, Sony walked back the PS3 and Vita shop closures, with then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan saying “it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” This time around, Sony is giving a longer notice period in most regions. The closure of those stores is still likely to cut off access to new purchases of digital-only PS3 and Vita games. The current PlayStation 5 marketplace sells PS5 and PS4 games, as well as a selection of PS1 and PS2 games. It does not sell PS3 games, because games for that platform can’t run on the system (some are offered via a PlayStation Plus streaming option). Vita games also aren’t sold via PS5. Sony says digitally purchased PS3 and Vita games will be downloadable after the stores’ shutdowns “for the foreseeable future.” Sony’s move contrasts with Microsoft’s Xbox platform, which continues to sell and support games from all four Xbox console generations. But it puts it in line with Nintendo, which disabled purchases in the marketplace for its Wii console (a contemporary of the PS3) in 2019. Nintendo discontinued purchases in the online shop for its 3DS portable (a contemporary of the Vita) in 2023. The big questions about Sony’s 2028 post-disc era Will Microsoft follow suit, ending support for new disc-based games on Xbox platforms and therefore all game consoles, too? Whether Microsoft does or not, will third-parties that can no longer release games on discs for PlayStation, simply ditch the disc options across the board? Given the GTA VI no-disc experiment launching this November, will more game publishers decide to forgo disc-based offerings even in 2027? How will no-disc PS5/6 games be packaged and sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores? What becomes of game sharing in an all-digital era? Will Sony modify its current set-up, which currently allows some sharing of digital games across a pair of consoles, to allow more casual lending? (See for example, Nintendo’s year-old system of letting players lend a digital game to another player in a “family group” for up to 14 days.) Will there be a version of a PS6 with a disc drive? Or will a drive be offered as an add-on? And how will gamers who want to retain access to PS4/PS5 disc-based games react to whichever configurations Sony chooses to offer? What will the final disc-based PlayStation game be?
Azure CLI Password Spray Hits at Least 78 Microsoft Accounts in 81M+ Attempts
Huntress says attackers made 81M Azure CLI password spray attempts from June 12-26, 2026, using ROPC to bypass weak CAPs.
Servers recalled after glitch results in radiologists reading images for wrong patients
The issue could cause a reader to unintentionally report on the wrong patient when using interactive applications, according to a notice from the FDA.
Microsoft set to cut thousands of jobs next week, spanning Xbox, sales and consulting
Microsoft is preparing another round of layoffs, spanning Xbox, sales and consulting, as it holds down operating costs while pouring more than $100 billion into AI infrastructure.
Microsoft to cut under 2.5% of workforce in latest layoffs, Business Insider reports
Microsoft is planning to cut under 2.5% of its workforce in the latest round of layoffs that could be announced as early as next week, Business Insider reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Microsoft to cut under 2.5% of workforce in latest layoffs, Business Insider reports
At Yahoo Finance, you get free stock quotes, up-to-date news, portfolio management resources, international market data, social interaction and mortgage rates that help you manage your financial life.
Microsoft eyes thousands of new job cuts in coming days
Microsoft is planning job cuts that are expected to affect areas such as sales, consulting, and Xbox as it ramps up AI spending.
Xbox weighs canceling Blade game and shuttering Arkane
Microsoft could shut at least five studios as part of big Xbox layoffs starting next week.
What is a quantum computer good for? Absolutely nothing
The Trump administration wants a useful quantum computer in two years. Microsoft wants one in three. Independent researchers cry hype.
Nokia, SAP and Microsoft Enter Strategic Multi-Year Agreement to Advance Cloud- and AI-Driven Business Transformation
Nokia will accelerate its enterprise transformation using RISE with SAP Methodology, with SAP S/4HANA hosted on Microsoft Azure.
Minecraft servers are apparently "illegal," according to the Vice President of America's biggest gaming association
The Entertainment Software Association's Jennifer Gibbons claimed that Minecraft servers were "illegal" and "not affiliated with Microsoft."
Why Microsoft's stock price has struggled in AI trade, Oracle parallels
Shares are on pace to lose 18% in June, which would be Microsoft's worst month since 2000.
The CWA and 3,500+ Unionized Xbox Employees Are Ready to Fight Back Against Xbox’s Reported Imminent Mass Layoffs
The CWA and over 3,500 unionized Xbox employees are ready to fight against the reported layoffs coming from Microsoft yet again.
As business concerns mount, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson taps Amazon, Microsoft and others to shape economic strategy
The group includes leaders from technology, aerospace, organized labor, higher education, tribal governments, ports and economic development organizations who will advise the governor on policies aimed at strengthening Washington's economy.
Small and medium businesses aren't waiting for an AI invitation—they're already leading
SMBs are using secure AI to build trust, integrate workflows, and turn security into a foundation for scalable growth. Learn more.
Grand Theft Auto VI Rumored to Offer 60 FPS Mode on PS5/Xbox Series X, But Maybe Not at Launch
One of the reasons Grand Theft Auto VI fans are eager to learn the currently missing details on PS5 Pro enhancements is that the most powerful console available on the market is expected to include a performance mode targeting 60 FPS. However, according to a credible source, there's a decent chance that even the base PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's roughly equivalent Xbox Series X will support 60 FPS in Rockstar's massively anticipated game. The rumor comes from the popular Polish gaming podcast Rock and Borys, which features Remigiusz "Rock" Maciaszek and Borys Nieśpielak. It is the latter who shared in […]
Uneven access to radiology AI could deepen healthcare disparities
New Neiman research explores how Medicare's New Technology Add-On Payment has impacted use of an AI triage tool for pinpointing severe strokes.
It’s the End of an Era for Xbox Game Pass, According to a New Report
A new Xbox Game Pass report has warned it is about to be the end of an era for the Microsoft subscription service.
Claims GTA 6 is selling 8 times as many copies on PS5 as Xbox "doesn't represent pre-order data", insists Microsoft
Microsoft has refuted claims that its rival system, the PlayStation 5, is outselling the Xbox edition of Grand Theft Auto 6 by a rate of 8-to-1.
Xbox Pre-Order Sales For GTA 6 Break Records Despite PS5 Blitz
Microsoft says Xbox pre-order sales have broken records
The 10 'Most Wishlisted' Upcoming Xbox Games According To Microsoft
Based on the MS Store's new filter
This Week’s Small Business Tech News: Apple Significantly Raises Their Prices
AI is reshaping small business IT, customer service and marketing. Learn why Microsoft agents, Apple price hikes and AI influencers matter to your business.
Xbox One gets a rare busy month with 12 noteworthy games coming July 2026
Microsoft's Xbox One consoles will enjoy a surprisingly busy month for new releases in July 2026, with 12 noteworthy games confirmed.
Best investments over the past 100 years? Almost all are tech companies
Most of the top performers are tech companies, headed by Apple, Nvidia and Microsoft.
Windows 11 is getting redesigned taskbar settings in new build
Microsoft is giving Windows 11 redesigned taskbar settings, and the changes are already available for testing in the latest build.
MAI-Code-1-Flash for Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise
MAI-Code-1-Flash, Microsoft AI’s in-house coding model, is now generally available for GitHub Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise, building on its recent expansion across Copilot surfaces. Purpose-built for coding and optimized…
Microsoft Responds to Reports of GTA 6 PS5 Pre-Orders Trouncing Xbox
"People should wait for real data"
How to get free Windows 10 security patches until October 2027 - and avoid the $30 fee
Don't want to pay to keep Windows 10 security updates? Microsoft has several workarounds, with the best deal for European users.
Smart voices in business react to Apple and Xbox price hikes
After Apple and Microsoft's Xbox raised prices due to a shortage of memory chips, tech observers are not optimistic about future prices.
It's Xbox's turn (again), as console prices keep going up
Microsoft announced a price hike for the Xbox Series consoles today, the third in little over a year. Effective August 1, the Xbox Series S, which launched in 2020 for $300, will cost $500 in the U.S. The Xbox Series X, which launched in 2020 at $500, will go for $800. This follows a round of PlayStation 5 price increases from Sony this spring, and a slow-motion increase for Nintendo’s Switch 2, which will kick in in the U.S. in September. (Mind you, there were also eight video game industry price hikes in six months of 2025). The chart up top shows the sudden ascent of console prices over the past year, a sudden surge in an already unusual hardware generation. Prices had been flat for years, now “up” is the new “flat.” Game console prices used to go down across the length of a console generation, but not this time around. Microsoft’s explanation for the new price hike today: We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options. Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027. The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles. Unlike phones, computers, speakers, and other consumer devices, consoles are typically not sold at a profit, but instead for less than they cost to make. This is an issue well beyond game consoles. Apple announced price hikes on its computers and tablets today as well. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: Brutal Bungie cuts Bungie laid off “most” of its Destiny development team and some developers who worked on Marathon, the newest game from the struggling Sony-owned studio. A WARN notice issued by Sony to Washington State, where Bungie is based, tallied cuts impacting 292 workers, effective next month. That’s strictly for Bungie/Sony jobs in Washington and wouldn’t account for any elsewhere. The video I clipped below shows the redacted list of Bungie cuts filed to Washington State officials. As you’ll see, I had to scroll for a while… In a note emailed to PlayStation workers and published online, PlayStation game studios chief Hermen Hulst offered the following explanation for these latest cuts at Bungie: This is painful news, especially for talented colleagues whose roles have been eliminated. This decision was made only after extensive discussion and careful consideration, and I want to provide some context on how we arrived here. Over the past several months, together with Bungie leadership, we reviewed the studio’s long-term direction, development priorities, resource needs, and role within our broader portfolio strategy. We explored multiple alternatives before concluding that a reduction was necessary to align the studio’s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals. In 2022, Sony bought Bungie for $3.7 billion. The studio’s marquee game, the multiplayer live service shooter Destiny 2 was losing popularity at the time. Its next game Marathon, released earlier this year, has been well-reviewed but had a slow start. Bungie is renowned for making great shooter games, and Destiny fans have mourned the wind-down of Destiny 2. They’ve also expressed bewilderment over reports that Destiny 3 is not, per Bloomberg, immediately in the cards.
Microsoft adds another year to Windows 10 extended update program
About a quarter of PCs are still running Microsoft's previous operating system.
Microsoft is raising Xbox prices yet again — this time by up to $150
Microsoft said memory and storage prices have increased by "more than 2.5x" and it expects "another doubling by the fall of 2027."
Microsoft Discovery Aims To Advance The Era Of Agentic Science
The cloud-based agentic AI platform aims to help human researchers overcome resource constraints and complex data challenges to accelerate science at scale.
Following Apple, Microsoft Dramatically Hikes Xbox Prices, Again
Just hours after Apple increased its hardware prices across the board, Microsoft is doing the same with its Xbox consoles. For the third time.
Microsoft lifts price of Xbox consoles due to soaring component costs
Microsoft said it's increasing the price of Xbox game consoles after Apple announced price hikes for MacBooks and iPads.
Windows 10 support quietly extended until Oct 2027, as users reject Windows 11
Microsoft extends Windows 10 ESU for home users to October 2027, one year longer than planned. Here's the changes, the cost and how to enroll
Microsoft quietly extends Windows 10's extra security updates program for free: Users can now stay on Windows 10 until October 2027 securely
Windows 10's ESU program has been quietly extended by an extra year, now ending on October 12, 2027 instead of October 2026.
Microsoft introduces cheaper Surface devices with half the memory
The 12-inch Surface Pro now starts at $849, while the 13-inch Surface Laptop costs $949 and up. Both start with 8GB of RAM instead of 16GB.
A new paper argues Microsoft exaggerated its quantum claims a year ago
A peer-reviewed critique of Majorana 1 claims Microsoft did not conclusively demonstrate a working topological qubit. Microsoft disagrees.
Microsoft's quantum computing technology called into question, again
A new critique in the scientific journal Nature is raising fresh questions about Microsoft's claimed quantum computing breakthrough last year, which underpinned the company's announcement this month that it will have a working quantum system by 2029.
Boffin claims Microsoft's supposed quantum leap does not compute due to 'basic Python errors'
Nature paper argues researchers cherry-picked data. Redmond insists its work is sound
Microsoft's claims over its quantum chip questioned in Nature article
The tech giant has consistently stood by its Majorana chip research despite scepticism from some experts in the field.
Microsoft relaunches 2025 Surface Pro and Laptop with half the memory, but at higher prices than original 16GB models
Microsoft is now selling cheaper Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch configurations with 8GB of RAM.
Microsoft confirms Windows 11 version 26H2 is coming soon: Reveals some devices won't be eligible
The next version of Windows 11 is official, and Microsoft has outlined what it is, and who will be eligible to upgrade.