Xbox is testing a new "ad-supported" version of its game streaming service, which will frontload advertisements at the start of a session, folding additional monetization into gaming time.

Microsoft announced the program today, July 23. Xbox Insiders who signed up for the platform's early access features can now test ad-supported streaming for "a limited time."

"During this test period, XBOX Insiders with an XBOX account will be able to stream games they own for free with ads," the company clarifies. "Players will have one hour session limits across supported devices and regions."

Microsoft maintains that "the core game experience is unchanged" once you get through the initial ads. Additionally, this ad tier is "optional" and "players can choose other ways to play at any time."

Some games and gaming services have had ads for many years, and platform holders are increasingly experimenting with more ways to monetize screen time and space.

Microsoft reckons advertising in gaming "hasn’t always been built with the player in mind," but insists that, "when done well, advertising can help lower the cost of access," loosely echoing the ad-supported tiers of TV and movie streaming services.

After this test for streaming, Microsoft says it will "continue to improve it based on how players use it and what they tell us. Our goal is simple. Give more people more affordable ways to play."

The company lays out the core pillars for "ad-supported services across Xbox," indicating that this is not a one-off experiment.

In short, Microsoft says such ads should "not interrupt the flow of gameplay," must be held to "the same quality bar as our content," should be "clear" about what's being advertised, and ought to suit "what players expect on each platform."

In the starchiest bit of corporate speak, Microsoft stresses, "We start with the player. Ads should create value." Players: they love value.

Following eyebrow-raising comments last month, Xbox's new chief strategist Matthew Ball explained that in-game ads that interrupt gameplay would be a bad idea.

Earlier this month, EA advertising VP Alexander Dao argued that in-game advertising is a "huge opportunity" for many developers.

As part of the C-suite house cleaning and ongoing staff bloodletting at Xbox, new CEO Asha Sharma appointed new VP of engineering Jared Palmer on May 5. Just months later, he's already leaving the company.

Palmer shared the news on Twitter today, just over two months since his appointment was made public.

"Personal update: I've joined [Cognition] to lead engineering," he says. "I'm grateful to [Asha Sharma] and everyone at Xbox for an amazing year."

Cognition, if you're unfamiliar, describes itself as the home of "Devin, the first autonomous software engineer" and "a team of interdisciplinary makers who love working on the hardest problems in AI."

In May, Palmer said, "I’ll be focused on building world-class tools, services, and experiences for developers and players across the Xbox ecosystem. Grateful for the opportunity and excited to get to work."

Palmer, like Sharma herself, previously worked at Microsoft's CoreAI. Another May appointee, David Schloss, who's now head of Xbox subscription and cloud work, previously worked at Instacart, also like Sharma, who was once its COO.

Jonathan McKay, Tim Allen, and Evan Chaki were also put to work under Sharma around the same time. Everyone but Palmer seems to still be at Xbox.

At the time, Sharma said, "Our goal with this [leadership] change is simple: build a platform that is affordable, personal, and open by staying close to the work and the people we serve."

Xbox Game Pass isn’t "viable" with so few subscribers, says former Forza lead bracing for more "studios getting shut down."

Alpha Dog Games – a studio shuttered by Microsoft two years ago – has reemerged as an independent studio.

Two years ago – in what was the beginning of Microsoft's apparent new trend of yearly summer layoffs – Microsoft shut down Prey developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, and Mighty Doom developer Alpha Dog Games, as well as folding Roundhouse Games into ZeniMax Online Studios. While Tango Gameworks was eventually revived by PUBG publisher Krafton, the other studios remained closed for the last two years.

However, out of nowhere, the LinkedIn profile (via Vice, spotted by regular LinkedIn sleuth Timur222 on Twitter) of the studio's founder, Shawn Woods was updated with the section under Alpha Dog Games saying "independently owned, again." Bethesda acquired the studio back in 2019, where it was then brought under the Microsoft banner following its purchase of ZeniMax.

While the update was reportedly only added to his profile recently, Woods' profile lists this tenure as "May 2025 – Present" suggesting that the studio actually went independent last year while Phil Spencer was still head of Xbox.

Earlier this month, Microsoft started its fifth batch of layoffs since spending $75 billion on acquiring Activision Blizzard in 2023, which resulted in Compulsion Games and Double Fine both going back to being independent developers, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs being purchased by currently unknown buyers, and Arkane "reviewing potential strategic options." And in 2024 – shortly after being purchased by Microsoft as a part of Activision – Crash Bandicoot and Spyro developer Toys For Bob went independent.

At the time of writing, "Independently owned, again," is the extent of what Woods has had to say about the return of Alpha Dog Games, so it's unclear what the studio is working on. While Microsoft's layoffs have done untold damage with the amount of developers now looking for work and the years of knowledge leaving the industry due to an ever-increasing lack of opportunity, it's a little glimmer of light to see studios retaining their independence.

"Don't fall for it": Union says Fallout 5 and Elder Scrolls 6 news shouldn't distract you from huge Bethesda layoffs as Xbox CEO praises the series' "remarkable" achievements.

I didn't realize I'd stopped playing new releases until my wife pointed it out one day. "You've been playing a lot of super old games lately," she remarked to me, and I didn't think much of it at first. But her words echoed long enough to make me stop and ponder exactly why I'd been snubbing new games in favor of old. I've come to the conclusion that I'm using them as a security blanket of sorts.

Writing about video games for a living in 2026 means generative AI and mass layoffs consume up to 100% of my headspace on any given working day. Whether it's another big company like Xbox announcing hundreds of redundancies or a C-suite executive extolling the dubious virtues of artificial intelligence, I log on for work each morning fully expecting to learn about something terrible to research and communicate to you, dear reader.

Don't get me wrong, the gravity of a story about corporate restructuring is usually offset by something fun, like a Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Balatro crossover. But as upsetting stories continue to take up a greater share of my workload with every passing week, it's no wonder that I'm escaping the horrors of gaming's present by losing myself in its past.

Take the pain away

My recent retro gaming phase came about organically. I hurt my back the other week and spent several days faced with a very physical dilemma. I could stay lying down, or exist in a state of perpetual agony. There's not much you can do in that situation besides watch TV and play video games, and I found myself doing a lot of both.

But what surprised me was my instinct to exclusively play very old games. As in, games that launched at least 15 years ago. In a mild state of sedation from over-the-counter painkillers, I reached for what was most comfortable: games from my childhood, like Pokemon Leaf Green, Diablo 2, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

It feels markedly different from the casual, inconsistent relationship I've had with the best retro games up until recently, fueled by an impulse to comb through my Switch Online subscription a few times a year and play something from the N64 collection. I'm sure many people resort to the same thing out of convenience, boredom, or lazy curiosity. But my current fixation on retro games is borne from something much more intentional, decided by whatever subconscious part of my brain is in charge of protecting my inner peace.

I can't be the only one whose sense of inner peace feels constantly threatened by games news headlines. The industry has always had its ups and downs, but 2026 is proving a uniquely challenging year.

Universally-acclaimed releases like Crimson Desert are weighed down by varying degrees of controversy. Marathon, Bungie's genuinely great new extraction shooter, has been saddled with responsibility for the death of Destiny 2. I had a lot of fun playing Highguard for the 90 minutes it existed before being permanently shut down, and then I just felt bad for the dozens of developers who worked on it that were suddenly out of a job. I was excited about Subnautica 2 for years, but after extensively covering the legal drama between the original developers and publisher Krafton, it became harder and harder to immerse myself in its world.

Old games let me detach from that misery. When I'm playing Dragon Quest 8, I'm not worried about whether that Dancing devil or Fencing fox was conceptualized using AI-generated art. My friends and I can go a few rounds in Halo 2 without worrying about the livelihoods of everyone who made the game. I can save the world as Tidus in Final Fantasy 10 and not even once think about phrases like shareholder value or operating margins.

What's even better is finding old games I'd never played or revisiting those I bounced off years ago, which I'm ashamed to admit was the case with Skyward Sword – a game I now regret ever saying anything bad about when I was young and stupid.

A link to the past

A lot of what bums me out about today's games also existed 10, 20, even 30 years ago (EA has been shutting down beloved studios long before Microsoft) but it wasn't at the forefront of the zeitgeist like today. Circumstances appear so exacerbated right now because seemingly very little has been done to address the industry's fundamental issues.

There are fewer and fewer places for laid-off developers to safely land. Startup studios consistently struggle to establish a footing due to the increasing scale of development. Meanwhile, billion-dollar companies appear slow to learn from their mistakes, buying companies and IP only to cut staff and shutter studios when sales don't measure up to investor expectations.

The games industry feels less sustainable than ever. I don't know how we're going to fix it, but playing older games in 2026 has had the ironic effect of sparking optimism for the future that I haven't felt in a while by reminding me how far we've come.

Real progress has been made for better representation in games. Investigations into workplace toxicity have resulted in high-profile departures and institutional changes. Workers are successfully unionizing at an encouraging scale, and the impact of crunch culture has been put under a spotlight like never before. We've a long way to go in each one of those aspects, but I'm choosing to believe the same collective drive for a better industry will fuel worthwhile movement in areas causing so much strife today.

In the meantime, I'll dutifully continue keeping y'all informed of the latest atrocities in the hopes that one day I'll find myself writing more about BOGO indie RPGs and less about people losing their jobs. But in my free time, you'll find me curled up under a warm, fuzzy mountain of retro games, whisked away to a simpler time.

Check out all the best N64 games to re-explore if you also want to lose yourself in the good old days.

After someone almost lost all their games and everything in their OneDrive due to Microsoft's data protection policies, Xbox is now actively helping others who've had their accounts compromised. The company has put out an open call for anyone who's somehow locked out of their library to reach out for a potential remedy.

Just last week, streamer Joshua Khane found himself in an extremely frustrating position. He contacted Microsoft over unauthorized access to his information, and the official response was to lock him out of his games and whatever he kept on his OneDrive, which included precious family photos.

Angry and desperate, he posted about this on social media, leading to enough uproar that the corporation took another look and was able to restore his access. In the wake of this, Xbox is now dealing with people who had the same problems but never got another look.

"Everyone we responded to should have a DM from us with next steps, just reply there and we'll continue from where we left off," the official Xbox support Twitter account posted. "If you're also dealing with this account recovery issue, our DMs are open, reach out and we'll help as quickly as possible."

I'm going to guess there's now a substantial queue, quite a bit longer than usual, in the green-tinted console's inboxes. What happened to Khane could happen to anyone with a Microsoft account, and where his story got traction, there are likely plenty of others with similar complaints who didn't.

In a follow-up video about his accounts being sorted out, Khane mentions that although the wording for the reply he got made the situation sound definitive, it turns out that wasn't necessarily true.

"What bothers me the most is that they were telling me that it was irreversible," he says. "It's just unfortunate that such a big company can bring back your account if you ask them to. The way it all went is really, to me, it's a little bit shady, because it's not that they can't bring back your account, it's that they won't bring back your account if you're a nobody."

Whether or not the support teams can help each individual person is another question, but at least there's now potential for users to get a better outcome.

"Don't fall for it": Union says Fallout 5 and Elder Scrolls 6 news shouldn't distract you from huge Bethesda layoffs as Xbox CEO praises the series' "remarkable" achievements

Bethesda just announced a whole lot of news about the future of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, and if you find the timing of it all a bit suspicious, you're not alone. United Videogame Workers-CWA says the announcement is an "intentional" distraction from the layoffs happening at Bethesda.

"The timing of this kind of press is intentional," UVW-CWA says in a Bluesky post. "How are they going to make these games when Bethesda and Obsidian collectively laid off hundreds? Don’t fall for it."

UVW-CWA is a direct-join union representing game workers across the industry, but it does not represent any one specific workplace. The CWA part of the name is for the Communications Workers of America, which supports several workplace unions at various Microsoft-owned game studios, including Bethesda.

The timing of this kind of press is intentional. How are they going to make these games when Bethesda and Obsidian collectively laid off hundreds? Don’t fall for it.

— @videogameworkers.bsky.social (@videogameworkers.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-07-17T20:21:37.854Z

Employees across Microsoft's gaming divisions staged protests last week in support of those affected by the Xbox layoffs. Game Developer reports that unions are also taking legal action against Microsoft.

According to CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth, "The unions CWA and CWA Canada have jointly filed unfair labor practice complaints against Microsoft alleging the company has unlawfully fired people without giving notice to or discussing it with the union as the employer is legally obliged to do when we are in the middle of ongoing bargaining [for] a collective agreement."

For her part, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is celebrating the historic success of Bethesda's various franchises on Twitter. "The achievements of these franchises are remarkable: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has crossed 65 million units sold, becoming one of the 10 best-selling games of all time, Fallout 4 has also crossed 35 million units sold, joining the top 25, and Starfield will soon reach over 1 billion hours played," she says.

But at a certain point, you have to start asking whether the developers who actually made those games have actually seen the fruits of their success. Certainly, they're not getting royalties – come on, this is the video game industry – but many aren't even getting to enjoy continued employment. We've only gotten anecdotal details on individuals who have been laid off, but we know their numbers include Christiane Meister, a 27-year veteran of everything from Morrowind to Fallout 4, and Dane Olds, a 20-year vet with a similar list of credits.

But hey, Fallout 5 is coming! And The Elder Scrolls 6! And Obsidian's making a new Fallout game of its own, finally – never mind the reports that Microsoft canceled the studio's Avowed follow-up in order to have it build something for the far more popular franchise. I'm certain that the developers who remain at these studios are putting their all into their work, but it's tough to see today's announcement as much more than Microsoft's attempt at jingling keys in front of the eyes of gamers who've grown increasingly exhausted of the industry's most cynical business practices.

Todd Howard says layoffs at Bethesda were "really tough": "We're going through a change so that we focus best on the franchises."

Bethesda Game Studios has undeniably felt the impact of Microsoft's recent plan to cut over 3,200 employees at Xbox – but according to the company, The Elder Scrolls 6 is still chugging along just fine.

The studio reveals as much in quite a lengthy new post over on Twitter, confirming that The Elder Scrolls 6 is currently Bethesda's primary focus – and the developers feel pretty confident about the new RPG, too. That and the next Fallout game, which we now know is for sure happening.

"Our teams are now developing The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 on Creation Engine 3, a shared technology platform we've been building since Starfield's launch," writes Bethesda. "It allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems that define our games."

This lines up with what we know about Bethesda's in-house engine – Todd Howard said the devs are "very happy where the tech is and where it's going" early this year, describing how Bethesda has "handled" the new Creation Engine "better than we ever have" thanks to lessons learned from Starfield.

The studio's current thread continues, describing where the new Fallout and Elder Scrolls are in terms of development.

"Fallout 5 is currently in preproduction. The Elder Scrolls 6 is our primary development focus today, with the majority of our team currently working on the next chapter of the franchise. With over 65 million copies sold, players are still exploring Skyrim 15 years later, but we know it's been a very long wait for the sequel."

That's an understatement – but Bethesda's words here are reassuring nonetheless. It has been well over a decade since Skyrim changed the RPG genre forever, leaving us all craving the next Elder Scrolls, after all.

But, as the studio confirms, "The next chapter is on the way. We're where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day."

It's bittersweet, with all things considered – especially amid all of the layoffs. The company's union representatives reported a big loss of "dozens of programmers, artists, designers, and testers," which would imply quite the impact on development.

Devs affected by the layoffs also said that making new Fallout and Elder Scrolls games would "be harder than ever now" following Microsoft's Xbox cuts, so... yeah.

Here's hoping Bethesda truly is cooking with The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5, and that former devs land on their feet, too.

Elder Scrolls Online is "not going to be able to put out the amount of content at the speed" it was, former dev says following Xbox layoffs.

Ex-The Elder Scrolls Online senior encounter designer Morgan Goin was one of the devs let go from Zenimax Online Studios and says she can't see how the studio can maintain the same cadence of updates going forward.

Microsoft kicked off its fifth batch of layoffs since spending $75 billion on acquiring Activision Blizzard in 2023. Since then Microsoft has effectively had yearly layoffs each July, with Zenimax Online Studios – which was hit in a major way last year's layoffs, resulting in the cancellation of Project Blackbird and several high-profile departures from the company – being one of the biggest hits for of this year's wave alongside Doom developer id Software, as up to half of the devs behind Bethesda's MMO have reportedly lost their jobs.

While Bethesda did try to damage control this somewhat with a statement saying its team is the same size as in 2015, devs are painting a different story. Speaking to BBC News, Goin says she was "blindsided" by the sheer number of cuts and estimates that some disciplines at the studio have been reduced to a quarter of their pre-layoffs size. Goin adds, "We're not going to be able to put out the amount of content at the speed that we were… or anything approaching that."

Andrew Young, a senior content designer on Elder Scrolls Online from 2012 until 2024, said the MMO "basically funded other failing projects." While nothing specific was mentioned, The Elder Scrolls Blades and Legends didn't exactly light the world on fire, but it could be in reference to any number of underperforming Zenimax titles (two bad Wolfenstein spinoffs releasing on the same day, anyone?).

Like with last year's layoffs, Zenimax Online Studios is losing several high-profile staff as a result of this year's cuts, with studio head Joseph Burba, Elder Scrolls Online executive producer Susan Kath, studio game director Rich Lambert, and production director Ala Diaz all reportedly leaving the company.

Making Fallout and Elder Scrolls games will "be harder than ever now" following Xbox cuts, say laid-off Bethesda devs calling loss of institutional knowledge "staggering"

You should always remember that whatever service you use to back up anything, something could go wrong and your data could be lost. This is what happened to streamer Joshua Khane, who couldn't access years' worth of games and photos of precious memories after Microsoft shut down his OneDrive account.

He posted what was happening on July 14, on Twitter. "Microsoft DELETED my account AND OneDrive!!?? After ACKNOWLEDGING that I’m the owner of the account and that it was compromised???" he says.

"25 fucking years of data, thousands of euros spended [sic] on games??" he adds. "My son’s baby pictures? GONE!"

Included is a screenshot of communication from Microsoft. It opens with confirmation that "unauthorized access occurred" and that "security information on your account" had been changed. As such, the whole thing was "permanently suspended," rendering his OneDrive inaccessible.

That's it - everything, totally unavailable with zero recourse, just like that. Ain't the future grand? Khane's post started to gain traction, and Xbox has since reached out to remedy the situation.

"We’re sorry this happened, it’s not the experience we want anyone to have when their account is compromised," the Xbox Support Twitter account tells him. "We have been working to restore access to your purchases and reached out with the next steps."

So far, this is the last communication between them. These situations are difficult because, on Microsoft's side, defenses are built to protect users and their data, to the point of completely locking down files and information in the event of a hack or unauthorized access.

Anecdotally, I once lost everything on a phone because the pattern was entered incorrectly too many times while it was being jostled in my pocket. Eventually, a wall comes up, because the assumption is someone may be up to no good, and it's better to do a full lockdown than risk letting a bad character in.

On the back of Sony discontinuing physical discs, this is a firm reminder that your digital libraries can be fickle. Circumstances outside of your control can render your collection null and void. A nightmare, but at least Khale's gotten traction on social media, and there may be recourse within the bowels of Microsoft.

Xbox layoffs claim leadership of Elder Scrolls Online studio ZeniMax, including a 14-year veteran who was only appointed to run the studio last July

Bethesda Game Studios – and, in particular, ZeniMax Online Studios – have felt the impact of Microsoft's recent plan to cut over 3,200 employees at Xbox, with the company's union representatives reporting a loss of "dozens of programmers, artists, designers and testers."

It's no secret that the layoffs have torn through Bethesda and its Elder Scrolls Online studio, which has been hit particularly hard.

An MMO team that grew over time to quite mind-boggling figures has now been reduced to the same size it boasted over a decade ago, leaving remaining developers – and fans – concerned about the future. Those affected didn't just include devs, however… leadership has faced the chopping block, too, apparently.

We learn as much from Game File, which reportedly obtained a copy of the official notice from ZeniMax Online Studios regarding its plans to "transition" to new leadership "over the next few months" – leadership that consists of company veterans.

Leads departing include studio head Joseph Burba (who has a 14-year history at the company and was just appointed to his role last July), Elder Scrolls Online executive producer Susan Kath, studio game director Rich Lambert, and production director Ala Diaz.

They "will remain in place during the transition period to help ensure a smooth handoff," however.

As for who will step in to take the helm, head of business operations Joshua Henderson will run ZeniMax Online Studios alongside Nick Giacomini, who was just promoted to Elder Scrolls Online game director last August.

In their statement, the former leaders note that they predict "growth" for the MMO.

"We have tremendous confidence in Josh and Nick," they write, "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."

It's bittersweet – especially after some 200+ losses at the studio.

Here's hoping that the affected developers are able to land on their feet, and ZeniMax Online Studios can pick up the pieces somehow – these certainly aren't easy times in the industry, and the impact is more evident than ever.

Making Fallout and Elder Scrolls games will "be harder than ever now" following Xbox cuts, say laid-off Bethesda devs calling loss of institutional knowledge "staggering"

The past couple of weeks have been undeniably difficult for the video game industry, with Microsoft's plan to cut 3,200 employees at Xbox affecting various in-progress titles and studios – one of which is id Software, the team behind Doom.

In fact, id Software producer Andrew Willis has spoken at length about the layoffs and their impact across the board. A few days ago, he called them "incomprehensible," saying that small worker-owned studios are "the only path forward" from here.

Since then, he's continued to share his thoughts over on LinkedIn, writing, "The games industry must change if it is going to create art and franchises that have long-term sustainable value."

As the producer states, "Right now, it feels like the monopolies that control it are simply trying to extract as much goodwill and value (that took decades to build) as they can with little concern for the diminishing returns it's leading to. This is what happens when the people who control it (most Ivy League MBAs) do not play games, have never shipped a game, and fundamentally do not understand the industry they manage."

Willis then says, "You'll never get another WoW or Morrowind in the current climate" – a statement I can't help but feel rings especially true right now.

It's difficult to imagine such impactful games releasing when so many developers are struggling to mitigate the blow that widespread layoffs are leaving in their wake… and according to the producer, a lot of the issues stem from improper management.

"One thing that drives me nuts while watching the games industry be mismanaged is how everyone is looking for these massive 10x returns but is so focused on short-term growth that they essentially kill the goose before it can start laying eggs," as he explains.

"Disbanding and destroying a team after just one commercial letdown… makes it so you won't ever have a group that learns from their mistakes and perfects their next attempt (see Helldivers 2)."

With such quick trigger-pulling, Willis says studios will "never get that breakout success" they're after.

"These people would've turned down funding for George Lucas, Walt Disney, etc., and they wonder why they can't establish another colossal IP that pays dividends for decades. It's mind-boggling. There is lots wrong with the game industry, but I believe that one of the main things is that the people who manage it today have no idea how it actually works and refuse to learn or listen to the people that do."

The producer cites how wild it is to see spending on hardware and software go up, but layoffs never settling.

"It's really amazing how demand and consumer spending on video games continues to increase year over year, and yet the supply side continues to be extremely volatile for employees," he describes. "The failure to connect these two sides in a way that creates sustainable growth points to a direct failure of executive leadership – the consequences of which are only suffered by workers."

Willis signs off with one final thought: "The more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that the executive management class that controls the video game industry is so severely inept that they have somehow failed everyone all at once in every aspect – the shareholders, the consumers, the employees, and anyone who cares about games. They tried to sacrifice quality for profit, and they didn't even manage to generate the latter. Abysmal choices."

I'm inclined to agree with Willis on his point about a "breakout success" in this climate – it feels near impossible. Here's hoping the industry is able to heal a bit over time, and that we see less news regarding mass layoffs, too.

Layoffs might offer "better short-term financial results," late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted in 2013, but "employees who fear that they may be laid off" will never produce the same results

Following the news of Microsoft's plan to cut 3,200 employees at Xbox, analysts predict that the company's next-generation console won't do as well as PlayStation's – yet again.

The new predictions come straight from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan (as per GamesIndustry.biz), with its analysis first looking back at the past – and current – market.

"For now, the market faces a compounding problem: hardware that is either too old or too expensive for the median consumer, a software slate that is thin outside a handful of tentpole releases, and a macro environment that keeps any meaningful price relief off the table."

That checks out. Between the RAM shortages and Sony's announcement regarding its plan to axe physical discs for all new PlayStation games starting in 2028, it's not looking great for consoles. All of this, coupled with an "unhealthy Xbox," as the Microsoft gaming brand's CEO Asha Sharma dubs it, proves as much.
Nonetheless, S&P's console forecast works out what sales Sony and Xbox might see in the future – even if they're not as impressive.

Starting with Sony, the analysis notes that the PlayStation 5's own sales have dipped, and "S&P expects shipments to decline further" this year. The recent PlayStation 5 price increase, which saw the base console rise to $650 and Pro to a whopping $900, isn't helping.

We are talking about a "six-year-old device," as S&P puts it – and the analysts aren't sure big launches like GTA 6 are enough to make up for this price gap.

"That framing does not inspire confidence for 2027 or beyond."

Still, S&P's "forecast models a potential PlayStation 6 launch in 2028, contributing four million units in its first year and scaling to 17.2 million by 2030." Those figures might not look like all that much, especially when taking the Nintendo Switch 2 and its 17 million sales into account, but they're a whole lot better than what S&P thinks Xbox might see around the same time.

The firm predicts the next Xbox console – codenamed Project Helix – will sell about two million units in its first year post-launch, rising to just 7.3 million by 2030. That's… a lot smaller a figure than the 17.2 million S&P thinks the PlayStation 6 might hit.

But, as the analysis notes, "The actual outcome could look very different. A fully open PC platform with Xbox branding would not really resemble a console and likely not be counted in this model."

It concludes: "Our forecast is functionally splitting the difference between a proper Xbox successor and an Xbox-certification program with PC OEMs, and readers should treat the post-2027 Microsoft trajectory as a range of outcomes contingent on decisions yet to be made or revealed."

That makes sense, I suppose. After all, we don't know too much about Project Helix, and Xbox has been hard on its journey to bridge the gap between console and PC.

Should the new Xbox, whatever it may look like, sell that much less than its PlayStation counterpart, though… I'm not sure how things will play out on either end.

After "incomprehensible" Xbox layoffs, id Software producer says worker-owned studios are "the only path forward."

id Software producer Andrew Willis can only see one way through the Microsoft mess as the company begins executing its plans to bulldoze 3,200 jobs at Xbox: studios owned by workers, rather than executives who don't mind setting fire to, say, 3,200 jobs.

Willis mourned the layoffs – which already impacted 136 of id Software's total 185 staff members – in a LinkedIn post earlier this week, calling the layoffs an "incomprehensible decision," and remarking that "the game industry is being run by people who do not fundamentally understand anything about it, not even how it generates value or profit." He's decided in a new post, then, that "the only way to fix the video game industry at this point is for developer owned studios to start rising from these studio closures and layoffs."

Doom studio id Software, of course, was originally created by Doom's developers in 1991, but Willis also seems in favor of true worker cooperatives where all of a business' employees double as owners who can guide direction. A co-op is not impervious to problems – worker-owned Dead Cells developer Motion Twin had a public falling out with the game's lead dev after a disagreement in 2024, for example – but I think many people would prefer interpersonal drama to receiving an email from a CEO you've never met informing you that something like 3,531,840 more people in your field have just been laid off.

So, Willis, who also helped lead id Software's unionization efforts in 2025, says, "We've got to learn from the past, be fiscally responsibly, and create an environment of sustainable growth (though growth should be a byproduct of success, not a goal in and of itself)."

"Its the only path forward I can see," he reiterates. "These large publishers and monopolies have proven themselves terrible stewards and somehow even worse financial managers." To his point, although Microsoft Gaming had already eliminated 2,500 jobs in 2024, and Microsoft killed about 15,000 more jobs in 2025, Xbox began 2026 with its overall revenue 9% down in a hole.

"If the people who create the value own that value, good things will follow," Willis concludes. Makes sense to me.

Microsoft lays off Bethesda vet behind Todd Howard's "crazy" Fallout 4 idea, "too many Skyrim weapons to count," the Dwemer, and Mudcrabs – and he may leave games altogether.

The Elder Scrolls Online team is unfortunately part of Microsoft's ongoing plan to cut 3,200 employees at Xbox, leaving the developers behind the Bethesda MMO far fewer in number than before.

In fact, the team is apparently as small as it was about a decade ago, when the game only really began to take off after its shaky launch – or, at least, that's what prominent community figure Baratron, who helps run the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages and its Discord, reports.

He reveals as much in a new message, explaining that he learned the news from associate design director Jason Barnes and associate director of community management Jessica Folsom.

It came during the past weekend's Elder Scrolls Online Tavern event in Hesse, Germany, where fans and developers gathered to celebrate the MMO.

"This is important," writes Baratron. "According to both Jason Barnes (Associate Design Director) and Jessica Folsom (Associate Director of Community Management), Zenimax Online Studios is now at the same size as it was when they made both Wrothgar and Summerset."

That's shocking, to say the least – but he doesn't seem to think it's a bad thing. After all, "both are highly acclaimed DLCs," as the UESP admin puts it. "So while the layoffs are extremely upsetting for everyone involved (of course including players), this is not necessarily the end of new content or the game going into maintenance mode."

Baratron assures that there's more reason to think the end of Elder Scrolls Online isn't near, too.

"Also Nick Giacomini (Game Director) and Susan Kath (Studio Executive Producer) are specifically not at the ESO Tavern because they're working on the new Roadmap of when content will be released," he states. "It really is not the end yet."

It's a bit of bittersweet, good-and-bad news, all things considered – the layoffs, obviously, are not nice to hear about… but it's reassuring that they don't spell the demise of the MMO.

Here's hoping any and all affected developers are able to land on their feet, and The Elder Scrolls Online proves to have a brighter future than fans expect following the upsetting news circulating recently.

"There's really no one left": Former Elder Scrolls Online dev says the MMO "basically funded other failing projects" as Microsoft guts the studio

Obsidian Entertainment is one of several prolific studios affected by Xbox's layoffs, with job losses and reportedly substantial changes to its release slate. After taking some time to consider his response, the co-director of The Outer Worlds 2 has publicly commented on what's going on and has some choice words for anyone spreading unsubstantiated rumors.

"This has been an extremely difficult week at Obsidian," Brandon Adler, who's now directing an unannounced project at Obsidian, writes on LinkedIn. "Not only have I had to say goodbye to some amazing game developers, but I've had to say goodbye to some of my best friends. I truly feel for every one of them. Know that if you are looking to hire one of these former Obsidian devs, you are hiring some of the best people around - both professionally and personally."

He then takes aim at the "cold take artists" who've been commenting and speculating about the current landscape and atmosphere at Obsidian. "The number of times I've seen people, with no understanding of who has worked on our previous games or what they contributed, talk about how Obsidian isn't who they used to be... is staggering. Most of the time they are not just wrong, but spreading an enormous amount of misinformation."

He goes on to mention that current higher-ups are people who worked on major Obsidian releases such as Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity and The Outer Worlds. "The through line from Knights of the Old Republic 2 to our current games is pretty clear," he adds.

"Is Obsidian the same as it was 20 years ago? No, of course not. Nothing stays the same," Adler says. "But the DNA at Obsidian is the same as it always was. The same DNA that created Knights of the Old Republic, New Vegas, Neverwinter Nights 2, and South Park: The Stick of Truth."

Two things can be true at once: Obsidian's lost a considerable amount of talent due to changes imposed by Microsoft, and there are still plenty of seasoned devs working away at the studio. The future is uncertain, even with the prospect of a new Fallout, and I believe it's important to acknowledge the real and true difficulties of the current climate for the company and Xbox's development teams as a whole.

"I'm extremely proud of our history and I am also excited for who we have become," Adler says to finish. "Just remember, when you are seeing people spouting off about Obsidian, running their mouths about who we are now vs. what we were then, you are listening to someone crow about something with zero insight into how a game is made and who contributed to our previous games."

Obsidian reportedly safe from Xbox studio closures despite fears the RPG powerhouse was in negotiations to avoid shutdown

Microsoft communications lead Frank Shaw says the 1,600 Xbox employees recently cut at the start of a layoff wave which will hit 3,200 jobs by the end of the fiscal year were not laid off to be replaced with H-1B visa foreign workers.

Seemingly heading off reports that falsely conflated plans for Microsoft to hire H-1B visa employees with the Xbox layoffs, Shaw says in a striking Twitter post, "Lots of bad information out there --let's clear it up."

Echoing Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Shaw reiterates, "Recent workforce changes were made to restructure the XBOX business because it is not healthy." He is quick to stress that, "They were not made to replace employees with foreign workers."

Shaw says "the H-1B figures being referenced are Microsoft-wide visa renewals and new hire applications. They are not specific to XBOX and represent a small percentage of Microsoft's overall workforce. And the majority of roles impacted were not American roles."

These initial Xbox layoffs hit multiple teams and studios around the world, with four studios already shed and Dishonored maker Arkane Lyon in talks over divestment options, and the likes of id Software and Bethesda feeling heavy losses of their own.

The H-1B visa program has faced additional scrutiny under the Trump administration, with AP reporting 2025 plans to overhaul the program. Matthew Tragesser, US Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman, said in December that the program had been "exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers."

Shaw insists, "XBOX is the largest employer of American workers in the gaming industry and the largest American gaming company."

Dismissing apparent criticism of Sharma, who was appointed to a new Federal Reserve job task force the very week she oversaw the dissolution of 3,200 jobs, Shaw adds, "And Asha is an American born, raised, and educated CEO, from Wisconsin."

The Elder Scrolls 6 will be hurt and potentially delayed by Xbox layoffs, Bethesda devs expect: "This has had a crushing effect on morale."

The Xbox reset announced on July 6 is the biggest, most controversial restructure in the Microsoft division's history. The broad strokes are simple: Xbox is cutting 3,200 jobs, 1,600 of them being immediate layoffs, in a spate of studio spin-outs and redundancies off the back of low profit margins. The company has become unhealthy, according to CEO Asha Sharma, with the restructure aimed at "reset[ting] our content portfolio".

Basically, Xbox is paring back its output to its highest-earning franchises and will be rerouting money and people into them. But with each new day bringing more numbers, outrage, and insights into Sharma's "Resetting Xbox" announcement, I can't be the only one who feels the picture is getting foggier by the hour.

Here, I'm going to go through everything we know so far about the Xbox restructure, from the studios being sold back to themselves as independent developers to the layoffs and consultancy periods we know of right now. I'll touch on how Xbox managed to get here in the first place, and what the reset might mean for all the upcoming Xbox Series X games now that development teams have been cut or divested entirely.

Layoffs

Xbox announced 1,600 immediate "role eliminations" in the first stage of its reset, with the majority coming from ZeniMax studios Bethesda, ZeniMax Online, and id Software, with further instant cuts made at Obsidian.

After receiving a notice from the Texan Workforce Committee, Game Developer reported that 136 jobs in total have been cut from id Software, with a further 22 being made at Bethesda Game Works. This brings us to 158 job losses under the ZeniMax umbrella at the time of writing.

Studio exits

As part of the Xbox Reset, CEO Asha Sharma has announced that four Microsoft-owned studios "will leave Xbox to new management," meaning they are to be sold and will no longer be part of Xbox's in-house developer cohort. In addition, Arkane Studios (Dishonored, Deathloop, Redfall) has entered "required consultation" in Lyon, France, to decide the developer's future.

The four Xbox studios being sold as part of the reset are:

1. Compulsion Games (We Happy Few, South of Midnight)
2. Double Fine (Psychonauts, Psychonauts 2)
3. Ninja Theory (Hellblade, Hellblade 2)
4. Undead Labs (State of Decay, State of Decay 2)

What does the reset mean for future Xbox games?

With the Xbox reset impacting multiple studios with games either in active or conceptual development, the severity will depend upon whether the teams have been cut or the studios themselves sold on.

As Compulsion and Double Fine are being sold back to themselves as independent developers, each will leave Xbox with " their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games" intact according to Sharma's announcement.

Compulsion confirmed in a post on Blue Sky that it will keep the rights to games shipped under Xbox, including last year's dreamy South of Midnight, and Double Fine reiterated that it will also regain full rights to its back catalogue too.

Meanwhile, it looks like Ninja Theory and Undead Labs will retain "funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3" after being divested and sold off to new management. Senua was only recently announced at Summer Game Fest 2026, and State of Decay 3 has been in development for six years and is finally slated to launch in February 2027. It also leaves another question in the air: whether State of Decay 3 will launch on Game Pass at all, let alone on day one, now that Undead Labs is splitting from Xbox.

Aside from slashing its workface, another goal of the Xbox reset is to course-correct the division's poor profit margin by reinvesting time and manpower into flagship franchises. This means Obsidian has had to scrap plans for Avowed 2 altogether, allegedly working on a new Fallout game instead. Off the back of that, Bethesda will continue working on The Elder Scrolls 6 as one of the key tentpole franchises remaining under Xbox, while there's been no mention of Fable 4 developer Playground Games in any of the announcements so far.

Most intriguing to me right now is what will become of Marvel's Blade, which is in development at Arkane. Xbox has revealed very little about Arkane's "required consultation" period, including whether it intends to make redundancies or sell the studio off entirely, so I'll have to get back to you on that one.

As for why any of this was necessary in the first place, I've already touched on the lack of profitability Xbox is experiencing at the moment. But according to Reuters, Microsoft is axing 4,800 jobs across the whole company ("more than 2% of their global workforce") to finance its AI spending. It seems Xbox is just bearing the brunt of that figure. AI is one of Microsoft's biggest interests at the moment, and with Xbox boss Sharma announcing her role as an "external advisor" to the US Federal Reserve on "productivity and jobs" in the wake of AI technologies, it's all starting to sound a little circular.

The axe is swinging around Xbox at the moment, as hundreds of jobs have already been cut across Microsoft's game studios. Of the teams impacted, id Software's reportedly been substantially hit, to the point that there's apparently only one single person left working on the id Tech engine.

This comes from a report by Kotaku which goes into the changes at the legendary studio. Sources tell the outlet that id Tech is now a department of one following the latest redundancies. The engine is bespoke technology to the company and has been the backbone of the Quake, Wolfenstein and Doom games since the mid-'90s.

"The institutional knowledge is just not there. id Tech as a technology is probably dead forever," a person familiar with the situation says.

Although the engine was mostly for in-house games, it had been used elsewhere, such as in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from MachineGames, and in both The Evil Within installments from Tango Gameworks. Really, though, it's the implementation in the modern Doom games that garnered the most praise.

The bouncy, punchy power fantasy of Doom 2016, Eternal, and The Dark Ages comes from the engine and how confidently id Software was able to use it. These are all among the finest first-person shooters of the last 20 years, and to see people integral to them be treated this way is just sad.

It's noted that id Software has a European office based in Frankfurt, and there's a chance some people there may be drafted in to help maintain id Tech. But that's speculation for now, as direct communication on these issues remains limited for now as companies reel from the sudden changes.

As of now, Obsidian, id Software, Bethesda and more have reportedly been significantly affected by job losses and other changes. Apparently, no projects are currently greenlit at id Software, leaving the outfit in a state of flux for the time-being.

After 37 years at Microsoft, veteran who led Xbox Backward Compatibility program has been laid off: "I look forward to watching how Xbox evolves going forward."

Xbox's latest wave of mass layoffs has been far-reaching across the company and has even impacted one 37-year Microsoft veteran who served as lead of the Xbox Backward Compatibility program for Xbox 360 games on Xbox One.

Kevin LaChappelle, who joined Microsoft in August 1989 and most recently (in 2023) became vice president of Xbox platform, has taken to LinkedIn to confirm that he was part of the 1,600 roles eliminated this week (itself only half of the planned total of 3,200 layoffs that'll be rolling out across the 2027 fiscal year).

"I will add my name to the list of people who were laid off today at Xbox," LaChappelle's post reads. "This ends my 37 years at Microsoft."

Although LaChappelle, by his own description, has "worked in many different parts of the company," he says his "fondest memories are of leading the team of very talented engineers who built the Xbox Backward Compatibility program. Sitting in the auditorium when Phil [Spencer, former Xbox boss] announced the program at E3 2015 was incredible. The audience's reaction was unbelievable."

He's not exaggerating – you can watch the moment that the crowd erupted with excitement in the video below. As Spencer said at the time, the feature had "been consistently at the top" of fans' "request list," but Xbox hadn't even been sure "it was possible." Lo and behold, though, the team led by LaChappelle pulled it off.

This wasn't LaChappelle's only contribution to Xbox, as he also went on to lead "the team who created our Cloud Gaming product."

Going forward, LaChappelle says, "I am a firm believer that all entertainment will eventually become streamed to you wherever you are. I look forward to watching how Xbox evolves going forward and I wish the team nothing but success."

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says "a healthy Xbox could weather" the current storm, but Microsoft's gaming brand is anything but: "Our core has to be healthy."

Few people are madder at Microsoft for its mishandling of id Software than Michael Maynard, a game developer of over 40 years, and id veteran of 21 years, who was caught up in heavy layoffs which hit the studio as part of widespread Xbox cost-cutting. Maynard's story demonstrates the institutional knowledge that's being sacrificed in the name of spreadsheets, with multiple studios gutted to the point that they're unrecognizable if not outright closed, and his criticism echoes the pain and fury heard around the industry.

"Big day today at Id Software!" begins a LinkedIn post from Maynard (all emphasis caps his). "We produced arguably THE BEST first person action games, in the entire industry. DOOM, DOOM: Eternal, DOOM: The Dark Ages. The [quintessential] modern trilogy of first person action!

"Yet today, Microsoft/XBOX decided half the team was no longer needed and should be let go; despite all the amazing work and effort from every designer, programmer, artist, audio specialist, level designer, fx, tech design, and on and on and on.

"Yes, I was part of the team (roughly 50% of the company) that was let go today," he continues, confirming reports on the scale of layoffs. "(I was there for OVER 20 years! RAGE through DOOM: Dark Ages) Sad but, I've been doing this (video games) for over 40 years so, not a huge surprise to me. Just really sad that this is how Id Software, the PIONEER/INNOVATOR of FPS action games is relegated to just another 'reorganization' of assets."

It really is hard to overstate the fumbling of the bag here. Id is the FPS studio, and the modern Doom trilogy is an exemplar in the genre. In its rush to save money by cutting anyone, irreplaceable knowledge be damned, Microsoft has thrown the treasure overboard just to keep the ship above water for another hour.

Microsoft's mistake in this particular arena is perhaps matched only by Sony and Bungie, which have collectively lost hundreds of the best FPS developers in the business – in their case, by squandering Destiny 2.

Id co-founder and Doom father John Romero addressed the impacted devs online, praising the people who kept the studio's legacy alive and highlighting the "real care, skill, and respect" demonstrated by recent releases.

John Romero has a private collection of "critically important" id Software history "including materials and assets that, as far as I know, id itself no longer has."

Id Software suffered major layoffs under Microsoft's Xbox "reset" plan, which will see 3,200 people cut and multiple studios divested. This sparked commiserations from id co-founder and Doom mastermind John Romero, who also shared that he's personally helped with the studio archival work which he hopes will continue internally.

"A note on digital preservation: id's history is critically important to the history of games," Romero writes on Bluesky. "I've preserved id's complete early history from our start at Softdisk through to August 6, 1996, including materials and assets that, as far as I know, id itself no longer has."

Romero, who was fired from id in 1996, has some experience with the situation now facing many former id employees. He's also plenty familiar with game preservation, dating back to the shareware days of Doom, which laid the bedrock for a game that can now be played on virtually anything with a screen (or, with enough willpower, virtually anything without a screen).

"I hope someone is doing the same for the company's ongoing legacy (the work, code, assets, stories and the people behind them)," Romero adds.

Amid reports that half of the studio was cut, impacted id Software developers have suggested critical disciplines, including the studio's legendary tech team and a platoon of coders, were all but entirely laid off.

Senior gameplay systems programmer Michael Maynard hammered Microsoft in a LinkedIn post.

"Microsoft/XBOX decided half the team was no longer needed and should be let go; despite all the amazing work and effort from every designer, programmer, artist, audio specialist, level designer, fx, tech design, and on and on and on," Maynard says.

Romero's private id archive is a rare blessing. Fallout's Tim Cain said last year that he was "ordered to destroy" his own archive of the formative RPG's development.

Doom legend John Romero says the FPS game's 20 million shareware players "were not 'pirates' by default" and "history is messier than 'pirates killed the companies.'"

The Nintendo Switch is dead; long live Nintendo Switch. As my least-favorite console of the last decade, entombed in its dock until my fiancée decides to finish The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, I'm surprised by how sentimental I feel in the wake of Nintendo's latest announcement. Sales of the original Switch family in the UK and Europe will cease in early 2027, just in time for the last-gen console's 10th anniversary.

It's darkly poetic that a console should die a month out from its birthday. But this is no true death. Rather, I see the end of its reign in EU markets as a step toward a new future – one where the Switch OLED, Lite, and classic editions are forever enshrined among other discontinued consoles that can still be enjoyed today. And yes, that means the OG Switch is officially retro.

Down but not out

Hear me out before you hunt down my email or unload your vitriol in the comments section. We are living in a very strange new world when it comes to gaming trends and markets. What's new is too expensive, and what's old is too viable to dismiss.

The price of a new Nintendo Switch 2 console has risen globally by $30-50 since its launch last summer. Xbox Series X consoles have seen an even steeper price hike in recent months, while a brand new PS5 Pro has risen to almost $1,000 in Sony's latest round of retail refreshes. The global RAM shortage and other side effects of the AI boom are the culprit here. To top it all off, the impending cessation of physical PS5 game discs by 2028 will see Sony embracing a digital-only future that will suck for everyone.

Not only are gamers being priced out of their own hobby, the element of choice in how we collect our games is suddenly being eroded. There's something slightly heartening, then, about Nintendo's decision to sunset its original Switch.

It’s easier to be kinder to discontinued consoles. They shift from being a site of active and ongoing critique, whether it be a price hike or something as industry-quaking as threatening physical ownership altogether, to historical time capsules. It's probably what's making me look upon my own classic Nintendo Switch with a little more softness as I anticipate the fact that this, too, shall pass.

And pass, it must. It's the natural way of things, and it doesn't mean a console is immediately no longer fit for enjoyment. I remember when the Nintendo DS Lite was discontinued. The 3DS had been booming for three years by that point, but instead of demanding a new handheld for my 19th birthday two months before I went to University, I held on to it. Why would I replace something that still worked fine?

My DS Lite – a limited edition silver and black model with the Guitar Hero logo emblazoned on the front – still sits in my bedside drawer. The charger cable is more of a charger tangle at this point, stiff and yellowed with age, though perfectly capable of re-juicing the decades-old handset whenever I please. I break it out for the odd visit to The Sims 2's Strangetown or to feed my Nintendogs from time to time. Someday, I hope to copy my friend: years after receiving a classic DS for Christmas when we were just 11 years old, she passed it down to her son as his one and only device when he turned six. His friends are definitely jealous, even the iPad kids – the dual screens and stylus combo is just as exciting today as it was in 2004, apparently.

Old and still gold

Games consoles as heirlooms sounds like a strange concept. But each and every one is a piece of technological history. The best DS games are just as playable now as they were in 2006. Given the formatting demands of a DS game, many can't be accessed on any other family of consoles. They're windows to the past, allowing us to experience the simplicity of days gone by, and I wouldn't part with my DS Lite or PS2 for anything.

But unlike the DS Lite or PS2, you might not view the Switch as a retro console yet. You'd be right about that in theory. The Switch doesn't quite meet the textbook definition of retro just yet – just like the PS4 or Xbox One, the more appropriate term might be last or past-gen. But with tech specs having always lagged just behind Sony and Microsoft's since it launched in 2017, the line between "retro" and "last-gen" is blurrier than ever. The latter infers an inherently unfavorable comparison to current gen consoles, outdated in the face of modernity. Retro proudly claims neither. It refuses to compete, and therefore becomes cool again.

Maybe it's not time for Switch to be considered retro, but in my mind, it's felt old-school since 2020. As new games get pricier and consoles have fewer marked improvements justifying each generational leap, our notion of retro consoles needs to evolve past the point of "something 15 years old or more". What's so different about my mother's friend's husband gifting my brother his old PS1 back in 2001 and me hoarding my old Nintendos for the kids I don't have yet? Both are examples of video games as precious commodities being passed down to – you guessed it – the next generation. It just so happens that when a console gets discontinued, it only gets more special because of the memories you have attached to it.

Check out the best Switch games to play on your OG console right now in 2026. Who needs new ones, anyway?

Along with the announced cut of 3,200 employees at Xbox, a number of studios like State of Decay 3 creator Undead Labs have either split from the company or gone independent – which also means, in the case of the zombie survival threequel at least, Game Pass might be off the table.

Just yesterday, Asha Sharma revealed the Microsoft layoffs, noting that Xbox sees three to 10 times lower margins than "comparable platform and publishing businesses." This "significant restructure" of the company also means that several studios – one of which is Undead Labs – are officially moving under other brands or going indie, splitting from Xbox. The State of Decay 3 developer itself will see new management, although it's unclear who just yet.

Although we don't yet know who Undead Labs' new owner will be, part of the exit deal between the team and Xbox may mean State of Decay 3 won't have to launch on Game Pass.

As per a recent report from Game File, while the deal does call for the release of the game, as well as the continued funding required up to that point, it doesn't leave State of Decay 3 obligated to Xbox-controlling terms, like being available on Xbox Game Pass. That's certainly interesting.

It's especially eye-catching as State of Decay 3 was just showcased during June's Xbox Games Showcase 2026, where it finally got a 2027 release date – a date fans had waited six long years to hear about.

The supposed continued funding is always nice to read, but I'm admittedly left wondering what other implications this entire situation might have for the third State of Decay entry. It's difficult to tell.

As for the other companies that will no longer be operating under Xbox, there's Psychonauts dev Double Fine, South of Midnight creator Compulsion Games, Senua studio Ninja Theory, and Arkane – a team that is notably currently working on Marvel's Blade. Management at the latter is "beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options," so it's not yet clear exactly what's happening there.

Some of these, like the first two, are independent now. Meanwhile, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs are finding new homes to work within.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says "a healthy Xbox could weather" the current storm, but Microsoft's gaming brand is anything but: "Our core has to be healthy."

As news of Microsoft cutting 3,200 employees at Xbox continues to make headlines, CEO Asha Sharma explains that it's been a long time coming, as the company couldn't weather its growing storm.

In a new statement to Fortune following news of the Xbox layoffs, Sharma provides a bit of insight into what she dubbed "the most significant restructure in Xbox history."

She explains, "In order to grow, we made a bunch of bets… and as we did that, we inherently didn't focus on the core business. The number one measure of your strategy is what you put your resources behind, and we simply spread ourselves too thin."

Part of this new restructuring plan includes Xbox reeling itself back into focusing on its own flagship console – one the company has arguably placed on the sidelines in lieu of Game Pass and other hopeful undertakings – and removing various management layers for more centralized teams.

Overshadowing all this is also the surging cost of hardware – the company announced yet another price hike for its consoles late last month, noting that "console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027." Interestingly, though, Sharma notes that Xbox potentially could've gotten through this rough patch… had it been "healthy" beforehand.

"A healthy Xbox could weather the shock of the hardware crisis," she admits. "With an unhealthy Xbox, it becomes really challenging, and it accelerates a lot of the changes we need to make."

That's understandable – as per her own words, Xbox sees three to 10 times lower margins than "comparable platform and publishing businesses," after all. Those aren't great numbers for what was once a leading name in hardware, to say the least.

Sharma says that turning Xbox back to its former glory will take time, however. According to her, executives are toying with new business models for the company's hardware, too, like expansions to consumer programs that lower financial barriers (think "buy now, pay later") and making Xbox more available on mobile and PC to reach a wider breadth of players.

She concludes, "Our core has to be healthy, and that will be necessary but not sufficient."

Here's hoping Microsoft and Xbox in particular manage to turn things around. Plenty of folks – and studios – depend on it, and it's not difficult to see that Sharma's right about the health of the company.

Xbox parts ways with 4 studios, with South of Midnight and Psychonauts devs going independent as Arkane begins "required consultation" to "review potential strategic options."

Today's Microsoft layoffs jogged the memory of Halo veteran and freshly laid-off Marathon designer Dan Callan, who says former Xbox boss Don Mattrick demonstrated how gaming executives "just live on different planes of reality" compared to people making games.

In a Bluesky post, Callan recalls demoing Halo 4, on which he was a mission designer, to Mattrick. "I was showing off my mission and when the Mantis showed up with its new cool intro vignette he raised his hand and said to the group, 'Has anyone here played... Diablo 3?'"

Perhaps you've guessed where this was going. Mattrick suggested that Halo 4 "should copy their idea of a real money auction house for campaign mech skins," says Callan.

You may recall that Diablo 3's auction house was, ahead of a bird's nest of server issues, the single biggest problem with that game at launch. This invasive form of monetization obliterated all game integrity, invited toxic market manipulation, and was ultimately removed by Blizzard. It is, perhaps, not the best feature to emulate.

After Mattrick's suggestion, Callan says "every single human being around him reacted like this was an amazing groundbreaking idea while simultaneously realizing this was the stupidest shit imaginable since everyone with a brain had seen how hard that blew up in their face and the game was 90% done."

Nevertheless, Callan says "they still had to act like it was a good idea and make the pretense that they were making action items and shit," as if to placate the higher-ups.

Callan concludes: "So yeah game execs remain stupid detached money grubbing idiots."

In a reply, he clarifies, "I just want proper accountability wherever we can get it, and I just don't believe most of the people being laid off were responsible for the decisions that necessitated them." This sentiment has been echoed

In a follow-up post, Callan adds, "This isn't even the dumbest thing that was said that day but I'll let other people tell those stories. But it's so much worse."

Halo seems to be one of the few projects that's at all safe under Xbox, yet it's also emblematic of Microsoft's inconsistent strategy: the next Halo game is coming to PS5 even as new CEO Asha Sharma insists on a return to exclusive games that can prop up the struggling platform.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better summary of today's games industry: a designer, who was just laid off by the company that made Halo after mismanagement buried its flagship game following a $3.6 billion acquisition, alleging executive incompetence, and a proposed repeat of Diablo 3's famously disastrous monetization scheme, at the company which just laid off thousands of people and previously acquired the makers of Diablo in a deal nearing $69 billion.

Xbox parts ways with 4 studios, with South of Midnight and Psychonauts devs going independent as Arkane begins "required consultation" to "review potential strategic options."

Raphael Colantonio, the original founder of Arkane Studios, wants to know how much Xbox might take for the studio as it rushes to shed developers in new cost-cutting measures.

As part of sweeping layoffs and studio spinouts at Xbox, Microsoft has begun talks, as part of required consultation, with leadership of Dishonored maker Arkane Studios about "strategic options" ahead of the studio's expected divestment. If Arkane is divested, it would be the fifth severed studio in this wave of cuts, joining Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs.

A Twitter post from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma shares the statement sent to Xbox employees this morning. In a cheeky reply, Colantonio says, "Regarding Arkane… how much? I’m asking for a friend". A good old-fashioned tongue-out squinting face, the hallowed XP, seals the deal.

We – and by we, I mostly mean the ravenous, understandably hopeful fans replying to Colantonio's post – obviously should not treat this Twitter reply as a serious business proposal, but Colantonio's voice is an interesting one amidst cascading Xbox cuts.

Colantonio was president of Arkane for 18 years but left in 2017 to form WolfeEye Studios, creator of delightful action RPG Weird West. He's been critical of Microsoft's handling of Arkane in the past, calling the decision to shutter Arkane Austin post-Redfall "stupid."

Colantonio has also questioned Xbox's broader gaming strategy. Last year, he argued Xbox Game Pass is an "unsustainable model" that has been "damaging the industry for a decade."

"Subsidized by MS’s 'infinite money', but at some point reality has to hit," he said at the time. "I don’t think GP can co-exist with other models, they’ll either kill everyone else, or give up."

Game Pass deals have enabled, bailed out, or otherwise funded many games, but the service is demonstrably running into issues within Microsoft. In her statement today, Sharma admits bets on Game Pass, multiplatform releases, and "a broader portfolio of content" led to "meaningful value" but those businesses did not "grow at the pace we expected."

Xbox acquisitions have been a disaster: "In a typical year, we lost 64 cents for every dollar we invested."

Consoles are running on adrenaline. Serious damage has been dealt but the pain hasn't fully set in yet, so like an MMA fighter blissfully unaware that their forearm has gained a cool new elbow, manufacturers are staggering through the same old motions. And in today's AI-driven component drought, consoles are hurting. Gaming has never been less affordable. But what actually scares me is the apathy I feel at the thought of another console generation.

We're coming up on the seventh year of the PS5 and Xbox Series X. The same old motions demand a new box be enshrined in the hallowed media center, but many of the factors hurting current-gen consoles will only get worse with a new generation. This leaves me wondering: does anyone actually want new consoles any time soon?

The next generation

The Nintendo Switch 2 just barely made it. Even Nintendo, whose strategy of staying well behind the cutting edge of processors is really paying off today, has marked up prices in response to ballooning production costs (and US tariffs). And Nintendo got lucky, launching its latest handheld just before the landscape soured.

Valve, the latest living room contender, got unlucky, and its Steam Machine's dizzying price offers a glimpse of what is staring down the PS6 and Xbox Project Helix. Nobody is happy with the Steam Machine, least of all Valve. The company wanted, and planned, to price its box significantly lower. Even if you like the Steam Machine – and it has some genuinely solid features and upsides, including a great OS – there's no denying that it costs too much for what it can do. Because of course it does. Everything costs too much right now! And in a world where Valve is selling a weaker PS5 for $1,050 at base, I don't see the PS6 or Xbox Project Helix getting over the price hurdle.

Console gaming faces mounting challenges. First of all, if you hike the price of consoles too high, you risk pricing them out of relevancy altogether. Microsoft just went through this with Xbox Game Pass. It got so expensive that it lost its use case for millions of people. Everything has a price threshold where people stop caring, and that's especially relevant here because affordability and convenience are core selling points for console gaming. You pay $500 for a box that plays games. Oh, how good we had it.

This is an essential part of the console bargain. It's the fast food problem – worse, really, because games aren't a need. But I get fast food because it's cheap. If fast food and sit-down food are the same price, I'm not going to Taco Bell. In this analogy, console platform holders can thank their lucky stars that PC gaming hardware is also on fire and everyone is pawing their way through the smoke.

But games exist elsewhere, too. Free games that run on phones and potatoes alike are already eating a huge chunk of the rapidly aging gaming market, to say nothing of other media in the attention market. Never mind bringing new or younger players into the next generation; an intimidating price could also block existing console gamers from trading up, and consoles have survived this long by remonetizing the same people in a matured market. Underpinning this is the existential threat of a vanishing audience, which is worthy of its own screed.

Your money's worth

Now put two more bricks on the scale. New consoles have to justify themselves with software and hardware. Does this have enough awesome new games to warrant a purchase? Does it run or display my games appreciably better?

Performance gains have gotten smaller and smaller with each passing console generation. Now more than ever, Sony and Microsoft have to deliver big enough upgrades to distinguish new systems without pushing the price so high that people tune out, and I don't know if any architect can do that with the AI monkey on their back. Godspeed, Mark Cerny.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to buy a new console right now anyway, not just because life has gotten more expensive, but also because my PS5 and Xbox Series X still work fine and, frankly, feel untapped. This has not been a great generation for exclusive games, and for many reasons.

A lot of the bids on live service games and studio acquisitions amounted to nothing at best and disaster at worst. Remakes have been injected into release schedules like liquid bandages. As much as a third of developers have been laid off in the past few years. Loads of studios have canceled exciting projects or closed their doors entirely. And bloated production cycles have given us between zero and maybe two games from almost all of the big first-party hitters in the past seven years.

I do not want to minimize the far more important human toll of the games industry's contraction. I just want to also point out that there ain't many system sellers 'round here. (Again, I think Nintendo's strategy of not firing its best people is pulling ahead.) The list of PS5 exclusives could fit on a napkin, or a gum wrapper if you trim it to console exclusives. Xbox is in even worse shape because Microsoft's primary export is layoffs. Sony and Microsoft haven't done a great job securing games for the newest consoles I already have. How are they going to sell me on an even more expensive version?

PlayStation, for one, is transparently charging more for less. In January 2028, PlayStation will end production of all new physical games. The future of the brand is digital-only, and if you think the new consoles won't follow suit, I've got a bridge to sell you. Maybe programs like Microsoft's rumored disc-to-digital library can take the sting off backwards compatibility, and maybe we get another add-on disc drive to bring PS5 games forward. But physical copies are also a major selling point for consoles. Losing discs hurts, and it hurts everyone.

I'm not predicting the end of console gaming, but year after year of unprecedented times has upended the industry's established cycles. Now does not feel like a good time for new consoles. Few seem ready or willing to buy one, and platform holders appear equally incapable of delivering a product people will or should accept. Frankly, as soon as we got consoles with NVMe SSDs, I was basically comfortable for life. I'd be happy to hunker down for several more years, enjoy the consoles I have, let the AI monkey jump into a woodchipper that it hallucinated was a pile of money, and talk about a new console generation when we aren't living through a particularly heavy chapter of future history books. I would like my times to be a little more precedented. And at this point, I'd be happy if the next few years somehow go that smoothly.

On the topic of using what we already have, check out the best PS2 games that made Sony's second-gen console such an icon.

Xbox is reportedly testing a feature that would let users turn their physical game collections into digital game libraries amid a wider industry shift away from video games on disc.

Today, PlayStation became the first of the big three console makers to unveil a plan to completely stop producing disc-based games in 2028, but the writing's been on the wall for many years now as publishers increasingly choose digital-only releases over the hybrid digital/physical launches that have been the norm for several console generations. Meanwhile, Nintendo's shift toward digital releases and embrace of game-key cards, as well as PlayStation's plan to kill discs entirely and Take-Two's decision to make GTA 6 a digital-only release foretell a bleak future for physical game collectors, but Xbox reportedly has a plan which, in theory, could be a genuine boon for players choosing to embrace all-digital consoles in the future.

The Verge reports that an Xbox disc-to-digital feature is in the testing phase weeks after it found references to "enable Disc2Digital" buried in the Xbox PC app's code. The way it works seems pretty simple. If the version in testing is implemented, owners of a compatible physical game will obtain a digital entitlement by inserting the disc into an Xbox console and installing it.

Digital ownership of the game will be tied to the physical disc and will be transferable from one account to another, meaning you'd be able to trade games with friends and switch profiles just like you would with an actual disc. Naturally, you'll need a Microsoft account to register your disc-to-digital games, but there seem to be relatively few caveats to Xbox's disc-to-digital plan from this limited reporting. The Verge reports that Game Pass subscribers will be able to stream their physical-to-digital games as long as those games are available on Xbox Cloud Gaming, and likewise, if a game is supported by Xbox's Play Anywhere deal, physical Xbox games will be playable on PC via this new system.

As manufacturers seemingly move toward discless consoles – although it's currently unconfirmed whether Xbox's next-gen Project Helix will be digital only – and with older generations of hardware succumbing to inevitable decay, there's a real threat that physical games will become harder and harder to actually play on first-party systems. Microsoft's apparent solution, however, is reportedly in the works for Xbox Series X and Xbox One consoles and won't be available for Xbox 360 and original Xbox games, many of which are compatible with current-gen Xbox hardware.

There's a good chance we'll get the full details from Microsoft itself on Xbox's reported disc-to-digital feature shortly, but in the meantime, I'm more curious to hear if PlayStation has a plan in place for physical collectors considering Sony's the only manufacturer to actually confirm it's ditching discs for the next generation.

PlayStation killing discs is bad for everyone, whether you care about physical games or not

Xbox is reportedly considering closing or selling Arkane Studios and canceling the developer's next game, Marvel's Blade, as part of a widely reported, impending tsunami of July layoffs bookending Microsoft's fiscal year.

The Verge reports that Arkane is one of at least five studios on the chopping block. With Marvel's Blade reportedly over budget and unable to meet a planned 2026 release date, it and Arkane may be caught up in Microsoft's extremely aggressive cost-cutting measures.

Arkane's Jean-Luc Monnet said just this month that Marvel's Blade is not canceled, as fears circulated around Summer Game Fest. "Let us cook," he said.

However, just as reports indicated that Xbox studios like Double Fine or Ninja Theory may be spun off or sold to buyers, The Verge reports Microsoft is also "exploring options" to sell Arkane rather than shutter it outright.

Xbox has a history of acquiring and swiftly closing studios, often before they're able to release even two games, which has spoiled attempted rebrands and soured some opinions of the company. This expected July bloodbath comes years after the company's, and the games industry's, biggest-ever acquisition in Activision Blizzard, which has not reversed the struggling Xbox platform's fortunes.

In 2024, Xbox closed Arkane Austin after the predictably disastrous release of live service game Redfall, which Xbox leadership reportedly dumped on the studio despite its history of single-player hits. Arkane founder Raphael Colantonio called the decision "stupid."

Compulsion Games, also part of Xbox and maker of award-winning action game South of Midnight, seems to be struggling to find its own buyer and advised employees to look for work elsewhere.

Amid what new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has called a "reset" for the brand, reports suggest the company's latest attempt at reducing costs may, at the very least, see some studios survive independently or under new owners. Even then, layoffs at the affected studios are likely as they adjust to their new environment and reconfirm funds.

Last week, Xbox announced yet another console price hike, making the disc drive-equipped Xbox Series X an eye-watering $800 at a baseline. Macro economic pressures on the games industry have only compounded rising costs in the space and at Microsoft, which has been forced to rethink its new-gen console Project Helix.

PS5 is reportedly so far ahead of Xbox Series X that it gets up to 80% of launch sales for AAA single-player console games, though Xbox denies a huge split on GTA 6 pre-orders.

We'd all like The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 to come out sooner rather than later. To be honest, I'd settle for proper acknowledgement of either at this point. But a former Bethesda developer believes if the RPGs were to come out too quick, fans would get tired of back-to-back releases.

In light of Xbox reportedly pushing the company for faster turnaround on its major releases, Bruce Nesmith, the lead designer on Skyrim and contributor to Starfield, Oblivion, and more, thinks Bethesda going too hard could "risk fan fatigue." In his mind, the dev team needs to find a middle-ground.

"There is an old adage in software development about the process having three corners: resources, time, and quality,” Nesmith says to FRVR. "The studio decides two of them, which determines the third. If you lock down the resources and the schedule, that decides the quality you will achieve. If you lock down the quality and the schedule, that determines the resources you will need to complete the project."

He hammers in that, "You can't dictate all three, only two," and "over-committing to any one of the corners increases friction and becomes less effective." Making the pipeline too long leads to less productivity, as well. "Allowing ten years for a project creates a cycle of endless reinvention and ultimate failure," Nesmith adds.

Having been involved in Bethesda games from Daggerfall through to Starfield, Nesmith considers the sweet spot for launch dates to be shy of half a decade between big games. "Three years felt like the right amount of time to meet fan expectations," he says, adding that actually figuring out what people want is a "moving target."

But in the case of The Elder Scrolls 6, it's been nearly 10 years since Todd Howard first mentioned it, and the status of Fallout 5 is anyone's guess, some 11 years removed from its predecessor. Other studios seem to have similar project timelines.

Naughty Dog is taking around five to seven years per release now, with The Last of Us 2 having come out six years ago. Santa Monica Studio, home of the God of War games, tends towards four years per release, but that could be getting longer; God of War Laufey doesn't yet have a launch window.

Then, of course, we have GTA 6. Triple-A games are starting to take more time, and the tech and manpower involved are becoming larger and larger. So when the next big sequel you're waiting for comes out, make sure to enjoy it, because it might be a while before you get another.

Analysts expect GTA 6 could sell up to 30 million copies at launch, but are unsure if it can "surpass the incredible longevity and massive sales of 5" in the long run.

Update: Xbox has finalized its decision to close Hellblade and Senua developer Ninja Theory, according to a new report from The Verge. Details are scarce, but staffers were reportedly told about the closure today, and there is apparently still potential for the studio to find a new buyer.

Original story: Following word that South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games is facing closure at Xbox, a new report claims Microsoft is looking to shed even more studios. These studios are reportedly working to negotiate an exit that would let them continue operations independently rather than close their doors outright.

Bloomberg reports that, along with Compulsion Games, who Kotaku has also said is in uncertain talks with Microsoft, Psychonauts dev Double Fine and Hellblade maker Ninja Theory "are in active negotiations to spin off as they try to thwart closure." Additional, unspecified studios are also apparently at risk.

Ninja Theory only just revealed a new game, Senua, during Xbox's Summer Game Fest showing. Since Psychonauts 2, Double Fine has struggled to get anything, now including Kiln and Keeper, to stick. Compulsion, meanwhile, has indicated it was working on a new project, but has only released South of Midnight since being acquired by Microsoft in 2018.

We've already seen employees from developers like Compulsion post online about looking for new jobs. Even if the affected Xbox studios are able to buy their independence, it's expected that they'd still have to lay off staff in order to reach a sustainable headcount at a fraught time for the games industry.

I've reached out to Microsoft for comment but have not heard back.

This reorganization has been overseen by newly appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who said last week that the business "cannot continue" as-is. She and new Xbox CCO Matt Booty released a joint statement pitching an "Xbox reset" which, to the surprise of no one, will seemingly include heavy layoffs.

"Excluding Activision Blizzard King, over the past five years, we have spent over $20 billion on ongoing investments in our content, platform, and hardware subsidy, but our annual revenue has declined nearly half a billion during that time. Going forward, this cannot continue," Sharma and Booty wrote.

In 2024, Xbox infamously closed Hi-Fi Rush maker Tango Gameworks on the heels of a gilded award run, only for PUBG house Krafton to scoop up most of the studio and plans for Hi-Fi Rush 2. Microsoft technically retained The Evil Within and Ghostwire Tokyo, but has not done anything with the IP since.

Last year, Microsoft allegedly backed out of a deal with Romero Games, helmed by John and Brenda Romero, and sent the studio into a tailspin. While not owned by Microsoft, the studio faced a similar predicament: lay off staff and downsize the project to lose weight while you try to build some new wings as the ground gets closer. Thankfully, Romero Games' project survived the drop.

June has been a storm of bad news for people at Xbox, and indeed for anyone hoping to see the games industry stop bleeding. Just today, June 15, Xbox lost its game studios head, Craig Duncan, who'd been in the role for less than two years. Heavy layoffs, evidently including these studio cuts, are expected to officially land in July.

Microsoft CEO admits "there's more monetization of Xbox games happening on YouTube" than the company as it tries to "turn this into a sustainable business".

The upheaval at Xbox continues. In a slightly shocking move, Craig Duncan has announced he's leaving the role of head of Xbox Game Studios, only a little over a year-and-a-half into his tenure in the position.

Duncan revealed the move in a memo to staff across the company, as reported by The Game Business. "When I stepped into the role of leading [Xbox Games Studios] 20 months ago, my purpose was to serve our studios, our teams, and the people making our games," he writes.

"Together, we set out to deliver high-quality games, strengthen the cultural fabric across our studios, and help shape the future of the business," he says. "I'm proud to say we delivered many flawless launches that drove business success for the company."

Although his time in this position was short, it caps off a much longer run within Microsoft's games division. Duncan first joined the wider Xbox landscape in 2011, serving as studio head for Rare from February of that year until November of 2024.

He's joined in his exit by a long-standing colleague, Louise O'Connor, who worked at Rare for over 25 years, starting as an animator in 1999, gradually rising to become a director and executive producer. In August 2025, she became the chief of staff at Xbox Game Studios, a title she's held until now.

"Louise has been a thoughtful, creative, and trusted partner who has consistently championed the craft and supported our studios with clarity and care," Duncan says of his now former co-worker. "I'm grateful for everything she's brought to [Xbox Games Studios], and I’m sure she’ll be successful in whatever comes next for her."

The teams under Duncan's leadership will now report to Xbox CCO Matt Booty until the position is filled again. This is but the latest in a series of changes to the slime-green console, beginning back in February when Phil Spender stepped away from being CEO, to be replaced by Amit Sharma. In ongoing efforts to increase the brand's profitability and general standing, Sharma and Booty have since warned of an "Xbox reset" in the coming months, as rumors swirl of hefty layoffs and a full restructuring.

Microsoft CEO admits "there's more monetization of Xbox games happening on YouTube" than the company as it tries to "turn this into a sustainable business"

There's an air of uncertainty around Xbox at the moment, to put it mildly. Hardware sales are down, iconic series like Halo and Fable are being ported to PlayStation, and earlier this year, we saw longtime face of the brand Phil Spencer step down, with Asha Sharma replacing him.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently spoke about the console, saying the goal now is to make it a steady business again. Nadella was a guest on the Hard Fork podcast for The New York Times, where he commented on what needs to happen for the green-tinted system.

"No one can accuse Microsoft of not having invested for the last 25 years," he says. "And now we have to turn this into a sustainable business."

According to him, Microsoft's been keeping Xbox and the wider game development parts of the business afloat, and the goal is now to monetize the whole venture more. "In fact, there's more monetization of Xbox games happening on YouTube than at Microsoft," he adds.

He goes on to break down Microsoft's challenges here as being on two fronts. The first is the industry-wide rising manufacturing cost associated with shortages in memory and other parts, and the second is the question of what approach Xbox's should take for the foreseeable future. Nadella believes Microsoft can and will weather the first, but the other is a more open-ended predicament.

"We have to find ways to deliver the games in which it's economically relevant for the customer and for us," he said, on what Microsoft's plan is for enticing more people to become Xbox players. There are ongoing reports of restructuring within the games side of the company, as Sharma and Xbox CCO Matt Booty told of an "Xbox reset" in the coming months in an internal memo.

Between the costly acquisitions of Bethesda and Activision-Blizzard and a stagnating user-base, Xbox has lagged behind Sony's PlayStation in recent years. Game Pass isn't moving the needle as hoped, and dwindling exclusives indicates a division in need of some wins. We can only wait and see what's coming for the original home of Master Chief and Marcus Fenix.

"Xbox will dissolve into Windows," ex PlayStation boss says, which is Microsoft's "strength"

As Xbox has declined, with console sales plummeting and Game Pass figures plateauing, many have wondered if Microsoft, which is considerably larger than its gaming business, would lose interest in the struggling brand and just pawn it off. According to a new report, options in this space have been considered.

The Information (via Reuters) reports, citing three people familiar with plans and discussions, that Microsoft considered spinning out Xbox as a separate, wholly owned subsidiary more similar to the likes of LinkedIn in terms of its relationship with the Microsoft mothership.

Other options reportedly included finding an outside business partner for an Xbox overhaul or, perhaps through that aforementioned spinning out, making the whole brand easier to sell to somebody else outright. No potential partners or buyers were reported, seemingly because these possibilities never went beyond an idea floated internally, but one hypothetical certainly comes to mind: the Saudi Arabia-led investors currently in the process of buying EA in the hopes of securing a foothold in the games industry.

I've reached out to Microsoft for comment on the report.

The Information says changes are not coming immediately, but this report follows word of heavy layoffs expected at Xbox in July.

This comes on the heels of a grim letter from new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and chief content officer Matt Booty, who acknowledged that Xbox is not where Microsoft wants it to be and insisted "this cannot continue."

Sharma has pushed for a "brand reset" for Xbox amid a volatile Summer Game Fest, which saw Gears of War: E-Day yanked from PS5 and propped up as a return to Xbox console exclusives, even as Halo, a tentpole Xbox IP, comes to PS5 as previously announced.

Rumors swirl that Xbox pulled a planned Halo: Campaign Evolved trailer from this month's PlayStation showcase at the eleventh hour, irritating the folks at Sony. Nearly every day, some new sign of instability surfaces, supporting claims that Xbox is due for dramatic change.

"Xbox will dissolve into Windows," ex PlayStation boss says, which is Microsoft's "strength."

If you're not having the best week, spare a thought for the devs on Marathon, who're dealing with yet another problem. Bungie's had to disable an entire facet of the futuristic shooter, due to an exploit where players couldn't be brought back after getting knocked out.

The issue stems from the Cryo Archive, a Destiny-like raid built as part of Marathon's endgame for a more intense PvP challenge and extra valuable rewards. Players have found they can't be revived when downed, creating what I can only imagine is a whole lot of frustration, but the devs are aware of the problem and working on a fix.

"As a precaution while we investigate why some players can't be revived, we have disabled access to Cryo Archive," a tweet from the official Marathon Twitter account reads. "We'll do our best to restore access as soon as we can figure out the issue and push out a fix."

Marathon season 2 kicked off just last week, and it's been hard going. Several bugs and glitches emerged soon after players began accessing the latest wave of additions, prompting more hotfixes from Bungie as the developers worked to put out all the fires.

Now, we have this, right in the middle of a central attraction in the neon FPS, amid a free week to tempt new players into the fray. In reaction, players are commiserating the state of the game. "It's impressive how dysfunctional this game has been for season 2," says a commenter on Reddit. "Good lord. This season has been a pre nerf wstr to the foot over and over again," another adds.

Let it not be forgotten, Bungie is juggling this with the demise of Destiny 2, as Monument of Triumph, the final update for the beloved MMO, came out this week. As reports circulate that substantial layoffs are coming for the studio, it appears the former home of Halo is struggling to catch a break right now.

Marathon Season 2 takes Bungie's brutal new shooter one step closer to PvE with a "Sponsored Survival" mode that's "more PVP-lite" and a "low-risk way to play"

All is not well at Xbox, as reports circulate of company-wide layoffs happening toward the end of this month, June 2026. A former higher-up at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Shuhei Yoshida, appears to have commented on this on social media, with a prediction for what's going to happen structurally.

On Twitter, Yoshida, who was president of SIE Worldwide Studios for over a decade, posted a slightly cryptic message about the future of the green-tinted brand. "Xbox will dissolve into Windows, and it's [Microsoft]'s strength…," he says, with a cute little thought bubble.

At first, this seems completely out of the blue, but it comes on the heels of a Bloomberg report on potentially hefty layoffs on the way within Microsoft's console wing. The outlet claims that a relatively high number of job losses are expected are part of restructuring under new CEO Asha Sharma.

To what extent, and which departments will be most impacted, are unknown. But it's not a good omen at a time of uncertainty for PlayStation's long-standing rival. Hardware sales have been going down quarter on quarter for some time now, as Xbox ports more and more of its banner releases, including the upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolve and Fable 4, to PlayStation 5.

Gears of War: E-Day apparently very nearly joined them, too. The timing of Yoshida's tweet makes it seem like a reaction to this news, as he seems to suggest Xbox will be folded into the Windows platform and business overall, as the operating system is Microsoft's greatest asset.

There are recurring rumors that Project Helix, the next generation of Xbox, will use Windows, as opposed to the bespoke Xbox OS the console family's tended toward. The machines have become more Windows-like over the years anyway, and this gen looks set to continue toward being PC-like.

It's an odd time in the history of Xbox. We'll have to see what the lay of the land is in months to come.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation devs were "able to remain true" to the original 1997 JRPG, lead says, even if the story order "might be shifted up a bit."

The mind-melting world of Remedy's Control is back for a sequel with Control Resonant, which is set to launch on September 24, 2026.

Control Resonate pre-orders are now live, and there are a few different versions out there for both the PS5 and Xbox Series X. To start with, there's the traditional standard edition available for $59.99 (Amazon) / £44.99 (Smyths Toys) on the PS5 and $59.99 (Amazon) / £44.99 (Smyths Toys) on the Xbox Series X.

If you care more about cool collectibles than saving cash, the Amazon Exclusive version available for £49.99 (Amazon) in the UK includes an art print in the box, alongside a collectible slip case.

By spending $10 / £10 more at Amazon and a slew of other US and UK retailers, you can alternatively pick up the SteelBook version, which includes not one but three art prints in total, alongside a poster, and a stylish alternative case for the game.

There's no Collector's Edition this time around, so the SteelBook version is as good as it gets for swag-hunters. However, Remedy is known for producing some weird and exclusive merch based on its games. The Alan Wake 2 Thermos, anyone? So it wouldn't be entirely unheard of for the studio to produce some exclusive Control Resonant-themed goodies in the future. If a Collector's Edition is revealed closer to September, I'll be sure to let you know.

Control Resonant pre-orders in the US

Control Resonant pre-orders in the UK

Control Resonant FAQ

Check out our guides to the best PS5 controllers, the best Xbox Series X controllers, and the best PC controllers to grab a new premium pad in time for Control Resonant this September.

It's an odd moment for the industry right now, as we prepare for Halo: Campaign Evolved to launch on not just the Xbox Series X/S, but the PlayStation 5 as well. Master Chief's struggle against the Covenant is not exclusive to the green brand any more, to the point publicity is actively using Sony's hardware.

Summer Game Fest 2026 gave us more footage of the remake of the iconic and genre-defining first-person shooter. Amid all the bullets and explosions, a small boiler-plater sticks out: "Captured on PS5 Pro."

Yes, the latest compendium of the most famous Spartan taking on alien masses to prevent mass genocide wasn't even made using an Xbox system. Instead, the gameplay comes from the latest iteration of Sony's platform.

There are likely two central reasons for this: the first is to play into the game coming out on a Sony system and show how good it looks, and the second is probably because it runs really nicely on the PS5 Pro, providing sharp, smooth clips of the FPS. Either way, it's definitely odd, and onlookers are a bit taken aback.

"Seeing that and Halo together kind of makes my brain fry a little bit. If you showed me this 15 years ago I would have called this an impossibility," says one fan on Bluesky. "On the official Halo channel is insane," another adds.

"Microsoft can't even console war correctly smh," a third player adds. One person makes a bold prediction: "A year. I give E-Day a year."

Funnily enough, Gears of War: E-Day very nearly joined Fable and Halo: Campaign Evolved on PS5, and a port is reportedly almost finished. One year may be right on the money. We'll see how Master Chief does against the Flood, first.

3 years after releasing one of the best indie JRPGs, Sea of Stars devs roll out the "final update" and tease a new game

As Halo: Campaign Evolved and Fable bring those respective series to PlayStation 5 between this year and next, the big hold-out for Xbox exclusives remains Gears of War: E-Day. But apparently, even that almost made the jump before a recent decision prevented the COG soldiers from joining Sony's stable.

So recently, a significant amount of work was already done on a port before plans were changed, according to a report from The Verge. As part of Xbox's offerings at Summer Game Fest 2026, it was revealed that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution represent the exclusives on the green console family.

These are first-party projects, and as E-Day comes out this year and Clockwork next year, they're clearly being positioned as lynchpins of a renewed push towards putting out more Xbox-only games. But going by this report, that's a relatively fresh strategic outlook.

Xbox has undergone some upheaval over the last six months. Longtime boss and face of the brand Phil Spencer retired from his position in February, with Asha Sharma taking over in his stead. Since then, the "This is an Xbox" publicity campaign's been quietly shelved amid acknowledgment that there's a need for course correction due to flagging sales.

During SGF, Xbox CCO Matt Booty went on record about the purview of what'll get ported and what won't. Everything live-service is still going to PlayStation 5, likely due to how difficult it is to make these releases sustainable or profitable long-term, whereas more single-player-centric experiences are decided "case-by-case."

Sony shares some of this mentality, since Bungie's Marathon launched on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, despite the team being acquired back in 2022. But you don't see the likes of God of War or Insomniac's Spider-Man heading to Xbox in the same way the opposite is true.

We'll see what the future has in store for Marcus and Dom. But for now, you'll need a modern equivalent of a Duke in your hands to enjoy guiding them through E-Day.

Bungie vet says OG Halo beats Campaign Evolved and its "modern, AAA, fancy Unreal graphics" because "the constraints actually make it a stronger game"

20 years after the original Gears of War launched on Xbox, the brand-new Gears of War E-Day is coming to the Xbox Series X/S this October 6, 2026.

The game was rated for both the Xbox and the PS5 earlier this week, which is typically a nod that it's coming to both consoles. However, there was no PS5 version mentioned at the Gears of War E-Day Direct showcase, and Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief Joe Skrebels stated that it, alongside the upcoming Clockwork Revolution, will be "XBOX console exclusives" and not timed ones.

While that's a bit of a bummer, Xbox fans can grab the standard edition available for $69 (Walmart) / £59.99 (Amazon) or a digital-only Premium Edition right now. The Premium version includes 5 Days Early Access, alongside a slew of in-game cosmetics, including a Death’s Rendezvous skin for Marcus and a Bravo Squad Signature Weapon Pack to add to your in-game arsenal. But the biggest of Gears fans will want to get their hands on the Collector's Edition.

The Gears of War E-Day Collector's Edition features a 15-inch diorama statue of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago that can be equipped with 3 AAA batteries to turn into a brutal spectacle for the eyes. There's also a 1:1 scale replica of Carlos Santiago’s COG tags and even a thank you note from developers The Coalition thrown in too. The catch? It's out of stock already, though there are Steam versions available for £249.99 (Xbox) for PC players. In case stock makes a comeback, and to find the best Gears of War E-Day pre-order deals, I've gathered all the US and UK pre-order links down below.

Gears of War E-Day Collector's Edition

Gears of War E-Day US pre-orders

Gears of War E-Day UK pre-orders

Gears of War E-Day FAQ

After you've secured your pre-order, check out the best Xbox Series X controllers, the best Xbox Series X hard drives, and the best Xbox Series X headsets that can update your Xbox setup for the best Gears of War E-Day experience.

There was a ton of new games announced during its Xbox Games Showcase 2026 this year, but my nostalgia-loving interest was piqued with the unveiling of the XBOX 25th Anniversary Collection, a brand-new Xbox Series X that harkens back to the early 2000s.

The upcoming limited edition Xbox Series X features a transparent green chassis, much like the original green Xbox, which was everywhere in the early 2000s. It's set to launch in November 2026, alongside a matching X25 Special Edition Xbox controller, to celebrate the brand's big 25th anniversary. Pricing and availability haven't been revealed quite yet, but with hardware prices continuing to climb, I recommend having your expectations in check, as it's likely going to cost far more than the $299 / £299 price of the OG Xbox.

Xbox's next-gen VP Jason Ronald shared on Xbox Wire on June 7 that, "For the first time, we’re bringing a translucent design to XBOX Series X, drawing inspiration from the original XBOX and OG Green so many players remember", and the new limited edition console definitely harkens back to the gorgeous green piece of tech I remember from my childhood.

While I personally owned (and still own) the Crystal LE Xbox, I vividly remember the transparent green version lining the game shop shelves. So much so that I long associate its retro-futuristic chassis with the original console more than the plain all-black equivalent. Back then, though, the original green console launched with just an 8GB hard drive, but this new inspired Series X has 1TB worth of storage, which my teenage self wouldn't have been able to comprehend back in 2001.

While the storage matches up with any old Series X you can find out in the wild right now, Jason Ronald states that the old-school Xbox logo on the console lights up green as a "nod to the original Xbox start up" which sets it apart from the rest. That same logo is also found on the brand-new Xbox Series X controller.

The controller features the old-school logo and even the classic ABXY-style buttons of the original "Duke" controller, but there are more classic callbacks to be found. According to Jason Ronald, the pad also sports the classic white and black bumpers found on the original controller, and the transparent battery pack also showcases the first Xbox logo for another sprinkle of nostalgia.

The X25 Special Edition controller will be available to purchase separately, or part of a bundle with the new limited edition XBOX Series X25 console when pre-orders go live. Talking of which, we only have the vague "November" window to go off of for the time being, as no official pre-order or launch date has been announced. That being said, the original Xbox launched on November 15, 2001, so it's very likely that it'll launch on or around that time if Xbox wants to keep this 25th anniversary and retro-theme going strong.

• View all LE Xbox Series X controllers at Xbox

Check out our guides to the best Xbox Series X headset, the best Xbox Series X hard drive, and the best Xbox Game Pass deals while you wait for this new limited edition console.

The long-awaited reboot of Lionhead Studios Fable has been delayed until February 23, 2027. But while you can't yet make all the best (and wrong) decisions in Albion you can at least secure your pre-order, and the squakingly good Chicken Suit Cosmetic outfit along with it.

Fable pre-orders are available on both the PS5 and Xbox Series X if you prefer to to add a physical copy to your collection. The Standard Edition is currently $69.99 (Best Buy) on both platforms. Meanwhile you can pay £89.99 / $89.99 for the Premium Edition for the digital artbook and soundtrack, access to some exclusive cosmetic outfits, and Order of the Hero post-game DLC. You'll also get 5 days Early Access with the Premium Edition, letting you explore the new Albion before everyone else.

If you have more gold to spare, there's the £189.99 (Xbox) Fable Collector's Edition up for grabs. It features the base game and all the Premium in-game goodies, but adds statuette of iconic series baddie Jack of Blades into the mix. There's more spoils to be had too, including a hardcover art book, a steelbook case, and a Guild Seal pin so you can look at dapper as your champion. No matter which version you grab, your chicken chaser-loving heart will be glad to know the Chicken Cosmetic will also be included.

Fable Collector's Edition

Fable pre-orders in the US

Fable pre-orders in the UK

FAQ

Check out our guides to the best PS5 controllers and the best Xbox Series X controllers if you want dive back into Albion with a champion gamepad.

This is the year Master Chief heads to PlayStation 5 as part of Halo: Campaign Evolved, raising questions about the future of Xbox exclusives on a wider scale. Rest assured, they're still happening, but on a more particular cadence, while multiplayer releases will remain multi-platform for the time-being.

Gamertag Radio asked Matt Booty, the executive vice president and chief content officer at Xbox, about what the strategy here is during Summer Game Fest 2026. "[We] want people to have a reason to get on board with Xbox," he starts.

"We want them to have a reason to buy an Xbox, [a] reason to be an Xbox fan. At the same time, we want to reward all our players that have been with us for a long time," he continues. "We know exclusives are important, that's why we've got [Gears of War: E-Day] coming in 2026, [Clockwork Revolution] in 2027."

Games that aren't as single-player-centric, however, are a different story. "We also want to be clear: our big multiplayer games, live-service games, are going to continue to be multi-platform," he says. "If we've promised something to players already, we're going to honor that promise."

Booty reiterates Xbox's philosophy of, "when we announce a date, we want to announce the platforms." As such, if something is heading over to Sony's system, it's "going to be case-by-case."

One such case is the long-awaited Fable, which will be the first installment of the series to be on PlayStation. The list of releases genuinely particular to Xbox on home consoles is getting leaner and leaner, but given the number of publishers Microsoft now owns, there's scope for more IP to join or rejoin the ranks in the years to come.

That said, don't expect a U-turn on the live-service projects given the investment needed. But if you want to experience E-Day from the frontline, an Xbox Series X/S should be among your hardware.

Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution "are not timed exclusives," Xbox says, but everything "already announced for multiplatform releases will stick to that plan."

Fable has been delayed to 2027, and Xbox had to be sneaky about it. The news came buried in the middle of a tweet, which, despite masquerading a list of how many excellent new games are set to launch in 2026 – only three of the six being Xbox-owned IPs – turned out to be a Trojan horse.

Xbox explains its reasoning as being made with its players in mind. By moving the goalpost to February next year, the delay would help Xbox "plan [its] game launches through the holidays" and give the upcoming RPG "the dedicated moment it deserves". Launching in the shadow of Grand Theft Auto 6 is no developer's idea of a good time, but if this delay is supposed to be a great gift from Microsoft that spares us the ineffable torment of having too many good things to play all at once, it's a pretty strange gift. It has me wondering if the real reason is that Fable needs more time to cook – and if that's true, why not just say so?

War of the words

I really don't mind when games are delayed if it's done for the sake of a better experience. Cyberpunk 2077 has taught us all a lesson, and it's that if something needs more time before it's up to scratch, better it launch late than as a bug-riddled mess.

But Xbox's announcement does not tout game improvements as the reason for Fable's delay. Rather, it cites the existence of six other games, half of which still lack release dates. Something doesn't sit right with me about this: if the game is finished, surely it should just… launch. If it isn't finished, just tell us and I promise you, we will survive the disappointment. And if it's been shifted to avoid launching in the shadow of GTA 6 – which is how I read between the lines of the tweet, personally – Xbox's vague excuses make sense from a business perspective.

From a fan and player's perspective, they don't. True, we still have Gears of War: E-Day, Clockwork Revolution, and O.D. among the biggest upcoming Xbox Series X games in development right now, but only one of those is likely to get a release date in 2026. Fable was supposed to be Xbox's big game of the year for Series X/S and PC players alike, and pushing its one and only Xbox exclusive to 2027 feels strange off the back of Xbox's recent management changes.

There's also the tacit notion that GTA 6 would somehow markedly affect Fable's sale. But would it really? Xbox seems to be making a lot of inferences about its players that make it believe so. For starters, that everyone and their mother is interested in playing GTA 6 (note: personally, I could take or leave it). Secondly, that everyone has a console to play it on. According to Medium, the global number of PC players vastly outstrips that of console owners by hundreds of millions. That's millions of people who will not have access to GTA 6 at launch, not to mention the vast number of open world fantasy RPG nerds who'd rather cause havoc in Albion than rob banks in Vice City.

GTA 6 will be a huge cultural event, but that doesn't mean every single person who plays video games will want to play the exact same video games. Withholding a title just because there's a desire to launch in its own special spot does not feel like a viable way to schedule game launches; if it wasn't for GTA 6, it could be any other game, only Xbox wouldn't have quite as strong a leg to stand on in defending a delay for that specific purpose.

Whether Fable's delay is down to GTA 6 fears or a need for further polish (or a mix of both), we'll be getting a few more answers soon. There's only days to go before the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, and sadly, my top prediction now lies in semi-tatters. No, I don't think we will get a Fable release date after all – the February 2027 window might have to suffice – but we have been promised a sizable glimpse of Fable and a deep-dive into Gears of War: E-Day. It might just be enough to demonstrate why Xbox wants to zero in on Gears and the new Call of Duty game above all else right now. The changing of the guard means that this is a crucial time for Xbox to demonstrate its ability to deliver on promises, and hopefully, my worn-down patience might get a fresh lick of paint as the wait for Fable drags on.

Fable is one of the best fantasy RPG series of all time, and there's plenty more besides.

It's tough to compete with one of the most beloved, influential first-person shooters of all time, but if there's one game that can go toe-to-toe with the original Halo, it's a faithful but spruced-up remake like Halo: Campaign Evolved. That said, according to a veteran of Halo creator Bungie, that sprucing up is precisely what makes the remake inferior to the original.

During an appearance on the Mint Blitz podcast, former Bungie design lead Niles Sankey, who was with the company from 2006 to 2015, shared his impressions of the upcoming Halo remake. Obviously, Sankey has no insight into the production itself, but he's seen the same gameplay footage we all have, and while he's impressed by the visual fidelity, he worries Halo Studios isn't seeing the snowcapped mountains for the trees, prioritizing detail over map readability.

Sankey admits the environments in Halo: Campaign Evolved "look good," but he says he's "just not the biggest fan of modern, AAA, fancy, Unreal graphics" because that level of detail can impair visibility. Some games, like Arc Raiders specifically, are visually "amazing," says Sankey, but in general he prefers landscapes where you can actually see what's going on.

"I do question the readability of some of the battlefield," says Sankey. "I think that one thing that Halo, and Halo 1 especially did a great job of, is, you could read the battlefield. You can clearly see the enemies. You can clearly see your lanes. The constraints actually make it a stronger game in my opinion, cause you don't have all this foliage everywhere.

"It's a game, first and foremost. You need to see where your enemies are. You need to see where your lanes and routes are, and that's what's most fun ... I get the sense that sometimes companies overlook that and instead are just trying to make the best graphics possible without considering the ramifications of what those fancy graphics might mean."

I don't know if it's just my aging, blurry vision talking, but I totally get what Sankey's saying here. I'm sure there's a method to creating modern, high-fidelity games without sacrificing readability, and Sankey says he hopes the "smart people" at Halo Studios will accomplish that in the final product, but I can think of a handful of extremely popular multiplayer games which I've tried playing but found challenging due to there being too much happening, and in too much detail, on screen. As for Halo: Campaign Evolved specifically, I do think enemies blend into environments at least more-so than in the original, and we'll just have to wait and see how readable the maps are at launch.

As Halo and Forza Horizon 6 prepare to jump ship to PS5, Xbox fans use new community voting tool to tell Microsoft they want their exclusives back

Fable will be delayed to February 2027, Xbox has announced. The RPG had previously been set for a fall 2026 launch, and chief content officer Matt Booty insists that it's coming along just fine – the company just wants to be sure that it has the best possible chance to find its audience.

"In order to plan our game launches through the holidays, in a way that works best for players, we're moving Fable to February 2027 so it can have the dedicated moment it deserves," Xbox says in a tweet. "We’re excited to be giving players a major new look at Fable, as well as our broader lineup, at XBOX Games Showcase on June 7."

Playground Games is "doing really well on Fable," Booty says in a podcast accompanying the announcement. "The game is in great shape. The team feels really good. We're excited about where the game is. We want to make sure that that game has a window all to its own, so we are going to move it from this fall to February. And again, we really just want it to have its own moment to shine."

This delay had been rumored for some time, but Xbox had repeatedly reiterated its plans to launch Fable this year. The announcement notes a number of major games scheduled to release this year, including notable Microsoft-published titles ranging from Gears of War: E-Day to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.

But the big name is, of course, GTA 6. As analyst Mat Piscatella reports on Bluesky, 34.7% of US console and PC players intend to buy the next Grand Theft Auto game. By comparison, just 5.5% of them intend to buy Fable. Certainly, there's a massive audience for a long-awaited follow-up to some of the best RPGs of all time, but with the current economy forcing gamers to make hard choices about where to spend their money, it's no surprise that Xbox wants to give Fable some breathing room.

Xbox wants Fable to have Diablo-level cutscenes as Matt Booty casually reveals Blizzard is helping out with the RPG reboot's cinematics.

Last month, Microsoft announced that it was dramatically lowering the price of Xbox Game Pass, as the company's gaming division tries to win back fans under the leadership of new CEO Asha Sharma. It seems the move is already starting to pay off – at least, that's how Sharma herself seems to feel according to a leaked internal memo.

"Growth slowed down and subscriber loss accelerated after the pricing and SKU changes last year," Sharma said in a note to Xbox employees last week, as reported by The Verge (paid article link). That would be when the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate reached a whopping $30 per month, which very much seemed to be the breaking point for many players.

Since then, the price has gone down to $23 per month, though that no longer gets you day one access to new Call of Duty games, and it's still up from the previous $20 monthly fee. Still, Sharma writes that "since our price reduction we have seen acquisitions grow and retention improve, which is a good first step."

Xbox certainly seems keen to improve the general vibe of the brand, which had gotten pretty dismal by the end of the era that Phil Spencer oversaw. Certainly, it doesn't seem to be making any effort to crack down on these internal memo leaks, which largely present a positive – but vague – plan for improvements at the division.

Sharma says in the memo that there's more work to be done, and Xbox will not solve its problems "in one moment or one launch." Instead, the team will "have to outwork the problem in front of us in our path to restore durable growth." Again, if you're looking for concrete plans and details about what that work will look like, well… you won't find it here.

She says that Xbox needs to make "hard choices about what we build, where we invest, and what kind of company we need to be going forward," all of which sounds a little ominous given the 15,000 employees Microsoft laid off over the past year.

For those of us on the outside of Microsoft, our first real look at what Xbox has in store under its new leadership will come as part of the Summer Game Fest schedule, which kicks off next week. Xbox has a lot to prove to win back fans, and I think some impressive looks at new games will do a lot more for the brand than whatever a statement like "outwork the problem" means.

If you're looking for Xbox Game Pass deals, you know where to click.

In an age where Master Chief himself is coming to PlayStation 5 for Halo: Campaign Evolved, it seems like any other Microsoft exclusive could potentially make the jump. There'd been mixed signals on the new Fable from Playground Games, but the studio has since reconfirmed that you can play it on Sony's system.

A fan directly asked about this on Twitter, prompting a firm, clear response from the developer. "Fable will be available at launch on Xbox Series X/S, Game Pass, Steam and PlayStation 5," the post states.

Good news for anyone hoping to return to Albion who only has a PS5, then. There had been some confusion due to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and CCO Matt Booty putting out a joint statement that mentioned they "will reevaluate our approach to exclusivity," perhaps hinting at a rollback on prior plans.

That doesn't seem to be the case for Fable, at least. On the subject of heading back to Briar Hill, Playground Games also assuages rumors of a potential delay out of 2026 in a roundabout way, through a post on LinkedIn advertising open roles on the team.

"With Fable coming later this year, we're continuing to recruit across multiple disciplines to bring more exceptional talent into the team," the post reads. Still on for the back half of 2026, then – that's good to know.

The studio's got Forza Horizon 6 to worry about at the moment, as the new racer's been out for just under a week so far. Once we get a month or two removed, though, I'd expect to start hearing about the legendary action-RPG's grand comeback. There's an Xbox showcase as part of Summer Games Fest on June 7 – an appearance seems likely. Watch this space.

As Red Dead Redemption 2 becomes the third best-selling game ever, actor Roger Clark says "it's the fans that keep it going."

There's something genuinely awe-inspiring about playing a game that vividly recreates a real-life setting. The New York City of Insomniac's recent Spider-Man games is a perfect example, and now we have the Tokyo of Forza Horizon 6, a recreation so good, even locals are astounded.

Not just any local residents, either. You've got game developers, such as Keiichiro Toyama, director of the first Silent Hill and creator of the Siren series. After spending some time in the new racer from Playground Games, he stepped out into Japan's capital and found it was like stepping into Forza Horizon 6 for real.

"I was like whoa, it’s Forza Horizon 6 in real life lol!" he tweeted, as translated by Automaton. He included some pictures taken of Tokyo in the evening time, to demonstrate just how well the developers have captured the lighting and local traffic of the bustling city.

Toyama is part of a growing chorus of Japanese people who're complimenting the game as such. "The mountains, the rice paddies, the utility poles! It's Japan in every sense," a fan posted on Twitter.

"Laughing because they even included those ridiculously spacious convenience parking lots you always see in the countryside," another player states, with an accompanying screenshot. "It's so Japanese, it's almost too Japanese. It feels like everyday life.," a third person adds.

Yuta Horie, an architect from Japan who lectures at Yokohama National University and Tokyo University of Science, provided a deeper analysis on Twitter of how Playground Games has managed to recreate the logic of the country's layout. "The meticulously recreated urban areas, suburbs, and countryside props form recognizable districts," he explains, as translated by Automaton.

"And at intersections in cities, features like chamfered corner buildings packed with small businesses and pedestrian overpasses create nodes," he continues, "while in rural areas wide bypass roads branch into narrow private roads and farm paths, forming another kind of node structure."

The next time you hop into Forza Horizon 6 for a spin, have a think about just how detailed the setting actually is. It's almost enough to inspire an impulsive holiday - almost.

Forza Horizon 6 players waste no time finding a money glitch that lets you unlock all the cars and other rewards in mere hours

We are one day removed from the full launch of Forza Horizon 6, and people have already figured out a way to cheese progression. If you don't fancy grinding too much for funds in the racing sequel, there's a way of earning a lot of extra dosh, and experience along with it, and it's not too complicated either.

There are a couple of ways of getting this Forza Horizon 6 money farm, but they rely on the same fundamental principle. Essentially, you're placing certain cars on tracks designed to provide particularly high amounts of XP points and money, and then putting your vehicle on what mounts to auto-drive, and just watch those numbers go up and up.

The YouTuber XMBWesley demonstrates one way of achieving this. He uses the Impreza 22B-STI Version 1998 Subaru, because it has a number of bonuses that maximize the rewards. Then, you put the driving assists to custom, and have assisted braking, auto-steering and similar for each option.

Once you have those, you can use the code he provides for a custom track that contains a bunch of obstacles that'll rack up your XP. And that's it, in a nutshell - make your car auto-driving, put it on a track that has high amounts of rewards, and just do it over and over until you have what you want.

Streamer Tyler 'Sarthe' Robinson outlines an alternative, using the Forza edition of the Toyota Tacoma. Other than that, it's the same as XMBWesley, just with a different track code, thus slightly different results, but on the same principle.

You can't unlock everything through this method, because certain tracks and such are tied to specific modes and challenges. But you can use this to buy all the cars, and that's incentive enough.

Robinson notes that if you want to make use of this exploit, it's better to try sooner rather than later because it'll get patched. This renders regular progression almost totally perfunctory, and you can bet developer Playground Games will be remedying that. Until then, hit cruise control and relax.

Forza Horizon 6 pokes Nintendo's Pokemon lawyers with a nod to "that Japanese collecting game we're not allowed to name for legal reasons"