Old Archives

Search Results: 200 results in 0.0238 seconds.

Half of id Software Laid Off Including 'Most Coders' (Updated)

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 07-08-2026, 03:36 PM

3 comments
in News
Half of id Software Laid Off Including 'Most Coders' (Updated)

Laid off a day before the new DLC released.

Update as of July 8, 2026: According to updated reporting, the number of employees laid off from id Software has now hit at least 136.

A WARN Notice filed in Texas confirms that 158 people were laid off from ZeniMax just within the state of Texas. The notice was sent to Gamedeveloper.com after a request was made by the Texas Workforce Commission.

Of those 158 employees that were laid off, 136 come from id Software....

Go to post
Roughly 25% of Obsidian Entertainment Impacted by Layoffs

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 07-07-2026, 03:15 PM

0 comments
in News
Roughly 25% of Obsidian Entertainment Impacted by Layoffs

No department was spared.

One of the biggest workhorses for XBOX was Obsidian Entertainment. The studio somehow managed to release three titles in 2025 alone: Avowed, Grounded 2 (in Early Access), and The Outer Worlds 2. Yet even Obsidian was not spared from the recent layoffs across all of XBOX.

According to sources speaking with Kotaku, somewhere between 60 and 70 employees were laid off. The layoffs include producers, artists, designers, programmers, QA testers, writers,...

Go to post
XBOX: 1,600 Layoffs Today, Another 1,600 Over the Next Year, Four Studios Now Independent or Sold, Arkane in Limbo

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 07-06-2026, 02:13 PM

1 comment
in News
XBOX: 1,600 Layoffs Today, Another 1,600 Over the Next Year, Four Studios Now Independent or Sold, Arkane in Limbo

More broadly, Microsoft is cutting 4,800 jobs.

Today, Microsoft is laying off 2.1% of its workforce. This equates to 4,800 people that are being let go. The company's XBOX division is cutting about 20% of its entire workforce. All of this is being done in an effort to cut costs due to rising prices and expenses brought about by artificial intelligence (AI).

As a quick reminder: Microsoft plans to spend $190 billion on AI in 2026. In 2025, the company spent $80 billion...

Go to post
Arkane May be Shuttered by Microsoft

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 06-30-2026, 07:01 PM

1 comment
in News
Arkane May be Shuttered by Microsoft

And obviously the Blade game might get canceled.

Arkane Studios joins four other XBOX owned studios that are being put on the chopping block. According to "sources familiar with Microsoft's plans" talking to The Verge, Microsoft is "currently weighing closing at least five studios, including the developers behind Marvel's Blade."

Those sources tell The Verge that Microsoft has plans to cancel Blade as part of their monumental cost cutting measures...

Go to post
Prices of XBOX Consoles Just Went Up By Another $100 to $150

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 06-25-2026, 01:37 PM

0 comments
in News
Prices of XBOX Consoles Just Went Up By Another $100 to $150

And RIP the 2TB model.

Everything continues to be on fire both literally and figuratively. Microsoft just announced that they are increasing the prices of their XBOX consoles by upwards of $150.

The 512GB XBOX models are increasing by $100, while the 1TB models are increasing by $150. Additionally, all 2TB models are being discontinued. These price increases follow a separate batch of price increases in October 2025 when prices increased by $20 to $70 for XBOX hardware....

Go to post
Mass Layoffs Expected at XBOX Yet Again

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 06-10-2026, 08:23 PM

3 comments
in News
Mass Layoffs Expected at XBOX Yet Again

July will be brutal.

Once again, XBOX is planning to carry out another round of mass layoffs across their various studios and divisions. This is according to a new report from Bloomberg, and anybody capable of seeing the writing on the walls since Asha Sharma took over as head of XBOX.

Bloomberg, citing multiple anonymous sources, say that layoffs will arrive after the end of Microsoft's current fiscal year. The end of the fiscal year is June 30th for Microsoft. These...

Go to post
Game Pass Ultimate Just Got a Price... Drop?!

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 04-21-2026, 12:42 PM

1 comment
in News
Game Pass Ultimate Just Got a Price... Drop?!

Pick your jaw up off the floor.

In an unusual move, Microsoft just announced a price drop for Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions. Yes, something is actually getting cheaper in 2026. Starting today, Game Pass Ultimate drops from $29.99 per month to $22.99 per month. At the same time, PC Game Pass drops from $16.49 per month to $13.99 per month.

No, this price reduction doesn't quite get it down to the $19.99 per month Game Pass Ultimate was from its inception in 2019 through...

Go to post
Your Windows 11 PC Will Become an Xbox When Xbox Mode Drops in April

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 03-11-2026, 08:06 PM

2 comments
in News
Your Windows 11 PC Will Become an Xbox When Xbox Mode Drops in April

Are they even still doing that weird campaign about how everything is an Xbox?

As part of their Xbox Developer Summit keynote at GDC this week, Microsoft shared that a new and refined Xbox mode will soon begin rolling out to Windows 11 users "in select markets." Starting at some point this April, Microsoft will start to release a new "Xbox mode" for Windows 11 that will make the Xbox experience more "consistent across screens."

An early version...

Go to post
Well, the Next Xbox Was Announced... Sort of

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 03-06-2026, 01:25 AM

0 comments
in News
Well, the Next Xbox Was Announced... Sort of

It's a PC.

Xbox announced the next-generation Xbox on February 5, 2026. Well, they kind of announced the new Xbox. They just released a brief teaser for the new Xbox that is currently codenamed Project Helix.

A teaser video was shared on Twitter, so I won't be linking to that. God forbid they put that announcement literally anywhere else. You aren't missing much though. If you really want to see the teaser video, which is basically just 7 seconds of the image attached...

Go to post
Don't Worry, New Microsoft Gaming CEO Promises Not to Use "Bad" AI at Xbox

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 02-23-2026, 04:52 PM

0 comments
in News
Don't Worry, New Microsoft Gaming CEO Promises Not to Use "Bad" AI at Xbox

Just a shame that there's no "good" AI.

All of your fears and worries about the future of Xbox should be put at ease. Asha Sharma, the newly appointed CEO of Microsoft Gaming, promises that she has "no tolerance for bad AI."

Sharma took over as the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming today following the double retirement of Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond from Microsoft. Sharma was previously in charge of Microsoft's CoreAI platform. CoreAI being both a platform...

Go to post
Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond Retiring from Xbox, Replaced by President of Microsoft's AI Group

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 02-20-2026, 04:12 PM

0 comments
in News
Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond Retiring from Xbox, Replaced by President of Microsoft's AI Group

The monkey paw curls another finger.

IGN has an exclusive report that says Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer will retire on Monday, February 23. This is according to "sources familiar with the matter who are not authorized to speak publicly." IGN has obtained emails announcing Spencer's retirement along with several other key changes about to hit Microsoft's Xbox division.

Sarah Bond, the current president of Xbox, has also resigned. Bond was "long thought...

Go to post
Fallout 3 Remaster Still in Development as Xbox Readies Forza, Halo, Fable, and Gears of War for 2026

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 02-05-2026, 05:50 PM

0 comments
in News
Fallout 3 Remaster Still in Development as Xbox Readies Forza, Halo, Fable, and Gears of War for 2026

Plus a big Starfield update is coming.

According to reporting from The Verge, Xbox is looking to have a rather big year in 2026. Citing confidential sources, The Verge says that the Xbox division at Microsoft will release a new Forza game, a new Halo, a new Fable, and a new Gears of War title this year.

Of course, all of these were already known to be coming. Forza Horizon 6 will be the first of these four to be released, with a release date set for May 19th.
...

Go to post
Head of Windows Really Wants to Make Windows 11 Suck Less in 2026

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 01-30-2026, 06:53 PM

6 comments
in News
Head of Windows Really Wants to Make Windows 11 Suck Less in 2026

At long last, 2026 is the year of ~~Linux~~ Windows!

Hey, how's it going. How's Windows 11 been treating you? Yeah? That bad, eh? Yeah. I hear you. So apparently does Microsoft because according to president of Windows and devices, Pavan Davuluri, 2026 is the year in which Microsoft makes Windows 11 suck a little less.

Speaking with The Verge, Davuluri says that Microsoft needs to "improve Windows in ways that are meaningful to people. This year you will see us focus...

Go to post
Two Minutes of Cancelled 'Project Blackbird' Surfaces Online

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 01-19-2026, 08:14 PM

0 comments
in News
Two Minutes of Cancelled 'Project Blackbird' Surfaces Online

Microsoft taketh and they taketh some more.

Roughly two minutes of in-engine footage for the cancelled "Project Blackbird" from ZeniMax Online Studios has made its way online. The footage was shared by leaker eXtas1s and verified by another leaker, Tom Henderson, as the real deal. This footage was used internally within ZeniMax to showcase the game's lighting within Unreal Engine 4. The footage can be seen below by way of a Streamable embed. Should the embed no longer show up bel...

Go to post
Peddler of AI Slop, Satya Nadella, Wants World to Stop Saying AI Slop

Created by: Shawn Zipay

Published: 01-02-2026, 04:48 PM

4 comments
in News
Peddler of AI Slop, Satya Nadella, Wants World to Stop Saying AI Slop

How's about no?

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella doesn't seem to like that fans are being super mean to generative AI. Nadella took to his new website, sn scratchpad, to talk about artificial intelligence, how 2026 will be a "pivotal year for AI," and how people should stop saying AI "slop."

It should come as no surprise to anybody that Nadella is upset when people rightfully call the output from generative AI "slop." Microsoft is one of the...

Go to post