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Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions, and Undead Labs have issued public statements about their futures after Microsoft confirmed that all three studios are leaving the Xbox organization. The changes form part of a wider restructuring that will remove around 3,200 roles from Microsoft’s gaming business. Compulsion Games and Double Fine will return to independent operation, while Undead Labs is moving to new ownership. Ninja

id Software has reportedly lost around half of its workforce as part of Microsoft’s wider Xbox restructuring, creating uncertainty around one of the company’s most important development teams. The cuts arrived as DOOM: The Dark Ages received its first major expansion, Revelations, on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, PC, and PlayStation 5. The DLC adds an estimated 10 to 15 hours of

Toys for Bob has expressed interest in creating a new Banjo Kazooie game if Xbox gives the studio an opportunity to work with the classic platforming series. The studio is currently developing Spyro: A Realm Reborn for Xbox, so any Banjo Kazooie project would likely remain several years away. However, comments from studio leadership show that the team has strong interest in the franchise

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has set a long term goal of reaching more than one billion people every day as Microsoft reshapes its gaming business. The target covers the wider Xbox brand rather than console players alone, which means Microsoft is likely counting its presence across PC, mobile, cloud gaming, streaming, television, and other forms of entertainment. Sharma presented the goal while discussing Xbox’s

Microsoft has introduced a new feedback portal for Microsoft Rewards, giving members a direct place to suggest changes and vote on ideas submitted by other people. The system follows the same approach used by Xbox Player Voice. You can submit a proposal, review existing suggestions, and upvote the ideas you believe deserve more attention. Microsoft can then update the portal when a request is

Xbox has detailed a broad restructuring plan that will change how Microsoft manages its gaming studios, platform teams, and investment decisions. The overhaul follows the announcement of 3,200 job cuts over the next 12 months, with around half of the affected employees leaving immediately. At least four studios are also departing the Xbox organization as part of the changes. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma described

Microsoft’s first party gaming division has entered a new phase after four development teams left the Xbox Game Studios group. The changes reduce the number of studios operating directly under the main Xbox banner, although Microsoft still controls a much larger collection of developers through Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and King. Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions are moving forward as independent studios. Ninja Theory

Winds of Arcana: Ruination has joined Xbox Game Pass as a day one console release, giving subscribers another action platformer to explore during July 2026. The game is now playable on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and supported cloud devices. Developed by Indian independent studio Brewed Games, Winds of Arcana: Ruination is a story focused 2.5D action platformer with Metroidvania elements. It

Erling Haaland is already one of the biggest stories of the World Cup, and now his love of Xbox is getting attention as well. The Norway and Manchester City striker has been one of the tournament’s standout players, sitting level with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi among the top scorers while helping Norway reach the quarter final stage. A recent clip of Haaland showing

Xbox appears to be preparing a potentially important console update for Insider members, with the next test build expected to arrive soon after a temporary pause in new flights. The tease came from Brad Rossetti, the lead of the Xbox Insider program, who said console flighting had been paused while the team prepares for something next week that will be “worth the wait.” The

Microsoft already has five Xbox Game Pass additions confirmed for August 2026, giving subscribers an early look at next month’s lineup. More titles are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, but the current list already includes two major releases in Beast of Reincarnation and Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy. The August slate follows a busy July schedule for the service, which still

Microsoft may be seeing an unexpected win from the newly released PlayStation ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2. The two classic entries were recently shadow dropped on PlayStation consoles, and early store activity suggests that players are buying them in large numbers despite the ports offering only limited improvements over the original versions. The situation is unusual because Xbox

The Elder Scrolls Online players have been waiting for clarity after Microsoft’s latest Xbox layoffs, and the development team has now offered a small but important update. While there is no detailed replacement plan yet, the message from ZeniMax Online Studios is that the game is still expected to receive new content. Concern grew after reports that around 200 employees at ZeniMax Online Studios

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 now has 32 DLC packs available to claim for free on Xbox. The change appears to have followed the recent release of Black Ops 1 and Black Ops 2 on PlayStation, although the Xbox versions themselves have not received major gameplay changes. The free content is mainly made up of smaller add ons such as skins, calling cards,

Just Cause 2 has finally become Steam Deck Verified, giving one of the best open world action games from its era a much cleaner path to handheld play. The change is notable because the game was previously marked Unsupported, and that rating made sense for a clear technical reason. On Steam Deck, the game could hang indefinitely on the “Updating Executable” message during launch,

Proton 11 has officially moved from beta to stable, giving Steam Deck and Linux players access to a large set of game compatibility fixes, newly playable titles, and updated core components. After five beta builds, the release is now ready for wider use, which means many of the improvements that were previously limited to testing are now available to everyone. The biggest news is

Valve has released Windows drivers for the Steam Machine, giving owners the option to install Microsoft’s operating system instead of using SteamOS. The move is useful for players who want broader game compatibility, especially for titles that still do not run properly on Linux because of anti cheat systems or launcher restrictions. The driver package currently covers four key hardware areas: graphics, WiFi, Bluetooth,

Valve has released a new Steam Deck Beta Client update with several practical fixes for Remote Play, Steam Input, Desktop Mode, and Steam Controller firmware. The update is not a large feature release, but it includes useful improvements for players who stream games, use external controllers, or switch between Steam Deck’s handheld interface and Big Picture Mode. The most notable addition is a new

Valve has adjusted its Steam Frame verification system for 2D games, making it easier for traditional flat screen titles to receive a Verified rating on the upcoming VR headset. The change was noticed after Portal 2 moved from Playable to Verified, suggesting Valve is refining how it evaluates non VR games before Steam Frame reaches players. The key change is tied to native display

Valve appears to be laying more groundwork for Steam Frame, with a new “Great on Frame” page now live on Steam. The page is designed to highlight games that should work well on Valve’s upcoming VR device, much like the Steam Deck store pages that surface titles rated for handheld play. The page is still early and currently has only a small number of