Xbox Confirms 3,200 Job Cuts and Five Studio Exits, but Insists No Games Are Being Cancelled
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has confirmed the biggest restructure in the platform's history: 3,200 jobs will go, and Double Fine, Compulsion, Ninja Theory, Undead…
Xbox
Xbox Is Testing Free Cloud Gaming With Ads and One-Hour Sessions
Xbox Insiders can test free cloud game streaming with pre-roll ads and one-hour sessions, without Game Pass, though UAE access is unconfirmed.
Xbox
Xbox Player Loses Thousands in Games After Microsoft Deletes His Account
An Xbox player says Microsoft deleted his hacked 25-year-old account, erasing thousands in digital games and years of OneDrive data.
PC
More Cancelled Doom 4 Concept Art Surfaces Online, Showing Just How Different the Reboot Nearly Was
Fresh concept art and animations from the cancelled Doom 4 have appeared online, offering another look at the darker, Earth-set shooter that was eventually reworked into Doom (2016) — and…
PC
Black Flag Resynced hits 2 million sales in 24 hours despite microtransaction backlash
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced sold 2 million copies on day one with strong reviews, but fans are already unhappy with its microtransactions. UAE pri
Mobile Gaming
Ubisoft Quietly Deletes Its ‘Monetisation Makes Games More Fun’ Claim
Ubisoft's latest annual report has removed the widely mocked line claiming in-game monetisation makes games 'more fun', while adding a new worry: its games are taking too long to come…
PC
Microsoft is quietly dissolving Phone Link into Windows 11 itself, and it’s the right call
Microsoft is prototyping deeper smartphone integration across Windows 11, including a standalone Messages app, cross-device clipboard history, a taskbar phone flyout and a smarter Start menu pane. Here's what's being…
PC
id Software Plays Down Layoffs, Says It Still Has the Team to Build ‘Games and Tech’
After around 100 job cuts and claims the studio was 'nuked into the dirt', id Software says its team is about the same size as when it made Doom 2016…
Xbox
id Software Reportedly Pitched a New Perfect Dark Before Xbox’s Layoffs Gutted the Studio
The Doom studio reportedly pitched a Perfect Dark revival, a John Wick-inspired original called Fury, a Westworld-style robot survival game and a co-op Doom before Xbox's cuts hit 136 staff.…
Xbox
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Named US Federal Reserve Adviser on Jobs and Productivity
Asha Sharma has been appointed to the US Federal Reserve's new Productivity and Jobs task force, which will study AI's economic impact. The timing is striking: the appointment landed the…
PC
Obsidian is reportedly making a new Fallout game, with Josh Sawyer back in the director’s chair
A Bloomberg report claims Obsidian has cancelled its Avowed sequel to build a new Fallout title led by Josh Sawyer, the director behind Fallout: New Vegas and Pentiment. Here's what…
PC
id Software loses 136 staff, and a former dev says the Doom studio is now support-team sized
A Texas WARN notice confirms 136 job cuts at id Software, and a laid-off VFX artist claims the Doom studio has been 'relegated to support studio size', with its engine…
PC
Steam Estimated at 200 Million Monthly Users, Over 50% Larger Than PlayStation
Analyst estimates put Steam at nearly 200 million monthly active users, comfortably ahead of PlayStation Network's official 125 million. The methodology is clever, but there's an important caveat: Valve hasn't…
PlayStation
Sony CEO Sells 56% of His Directly Held Stock Days After PlayStation Disc Announcement
Hiroki Totoki sold 225,000 Sony shares worth around $4.73 million just two days after PlayStation confirmed physical disc production ends in January 2028. Sony's chief strategy officer sold shares the…
Xbox
IO Interactive Confirms Project Fantasy Will Continue Independently After Xbox Split
IO Interactive has regained full ownership of Project Fantasy after Microsoft ended its financial backing, and the Hitman studio says it will fund the online fantasy RPG itself, though the…
Nintendo
Half-Life 2 Now Runs in Your Browser at 100+ FPS — No Download, No Install, No Excuses
A fan-made port built in just three months puts the full Half-Life 2 campaign — plus both episodes — inside your browser tab, complete with save states, console commands and…
Xbox
id Software and ZeniMax Online Reportedly Gutted as Xbox Cuts Around 4,800 Jobs
Reports suggest the majority of id Software and up to half of ZeniMax Online Studios have been laid off as part of roughly 4,800 job cuts across Xbox, with The…
Xbox
State of Decay 3 May Not Launch on Xbox Game Pass After Undead Labs Sale
Xbox is selling Undead Labs, and the new deal removes any obligation for State of Decay 3 to launch on Game Pass. Microsoft will keep funding the game through release,…
PC
Windows 11’s New Cloud Rebuild Recovery Reinstalls the OS and Your Drivers Without a USB Drive
Microsoft's new Cloud Rebuild recovery method lets an unbootable Windows 11 PC download a fresh OS image and all its drivers from Windows Update, with no USB installer needed. It's…
Nintendo
Steam’s 2-Hour Refund Rule Has a Short-Game Problem, and Paddle Paddle Paddle’s Dev Has the Receipts
The solo developer of Paddle Paddle Paddle says over 55,000 players finished his sub-two-hour indie game and refunded it, with some bragging about it in positive reviews. He wants Valve…
PlayStation
‘Don’t Kill the Disc’ Petition Against Sony’s 2028 Digital-Only Plan Passes 100,000 Signatures in Four Days
A Change.org petition demanding Sony keep physical PlayStation games has blown past 100,000 signatures in four days, arguing that a disc is a game you own while a download code…
PlayStation
Xbox Is Using Halo: Campaign Evolved’s Physical Disc as a Selling Point After GTA 6 and Sony Ditched Them
Microsoft is putting 'physical discs' at the top of its Halo: Campaign Evolved marketing, days after Rockstar confirmed GTA 6's boxed edition is code-only and Sony announced PS5 discs end…
Xbox
Xbox too influenced by social media, staff reportedly say
Xbox employees told The Game Business that Asha Sharma’s console-first strategy relies too heavily on social media sentiment over developer
PlayStation
Halo’s future on playStation under review as Xbox evaluates the franchise
Halo: Campaign Evolved hits PS5 on 28 July, but Xbox is reportedly reviewing the franchise’s future — here’s what PS5 owners need to know before
PlayStation
Xbox reportedly building a disc-to-digital system
Xbox Positron would turn physical discs into permanent digital entitlements with Cloud Gaming access — a preservation move PlayStation has no