Xbox Game Pass has lost 4 million subscribers since its price hike backfired
Microsoft reports 30 million members, far below its internal target of 77 million by this July
Microsoft confirms Windows 11 bug can steal over 500GB of storage – here's how to check and fix it
The bug causes a hidden Windows system file to keep growing, making some SSDs look mysteriously full
Microsoft is cutting 3,200 Xbox jobs and spinning off four game studios
Cutting corners: The first wave of massive layoffs that Microsoft teased several weeks ago has arrived. Most of the losses will hit the Xbox division over the next year as the company consolidates its gaming strategy. Microsoft will spin off Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs, while Arkane enters labor negotiations. Bethesda, ZeniMax, id Software, Activision, Obsidian, and Microsoft's accessibility team will all see deep cuts.
Microsoft has a hidden Windows 11 edition that supports 6TB of RAM and 256 CPU cores
Windows 11 Pro for Workstations costs $309 and most people have never heard of it
TL;DR: Microsoft released a little-known Windows edition called Windows 11 Pro for Workstations in 2021. It's a client operating system built for high-end PCs and workstations, offering support for more memory and CPU sockets than Windows 11 Pro, along with ReFS storage features, SMB Direct networking, and persistent-memory workloads.
One of Windows' most hated features just helped catch a 19-year-old hacker
Using a VPN couldn't save him
The big picture: People have grumbled about Windows telemetry for years, to the point that an entire cottage industry of tools that clean up the OS now exists just to strip the tracking bits out. While there are privacy concerns with the feature, in this particular case, it led to federal agents dropping a hacker into a Chicago courtroom.
Microsoft's new EU disclosure shows exactly how tech giants separate profits from where the work happens
Microsoft booked 40% of its profits in Ireland, where only 3% of its employees work
Microsoft reverses stance and adds Google account sign-in to Edge browser
The feature enables faster sign-ins and data syncing across devices for users of Google's ecosystem
A leaked Microsoft experiment reveals a new OS built entirely around Copilot and AI agents
Project Aion imagines a lightweight, web-based Windows shell where Copilot replaces the Start Menu and Taskbar
As Sony exits physical media, Microsoft is testing a way to link your Xbox discs to digital licenses
Microsoft's leaked "Positron" feature could let your old Xbox discs unlock digital versions of the same games
A Microsoft Defender flaw is now being linked to ransomware attacks
A researcher published 'BlueHammer' exploit details before Microsoft had a patch ready
Call of Duty's latest ad loudly reminds everyone it's not coming to Game Pass
Microsoft is now advertising the fact that players will need to buy Modern Warfare 4 at launch
Microsoft's own Azure CTO is still annoyed by Windows' "file in use" error
Mark Russinovich is still explaining why Windows blocks file deletion
Microsoft's Windows Secure Boot certificates just expired – here's what you need to do
Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, and Acer have all published guides and are pushing BIOS updates
Xbox is pushing back on claims that PS5 is outselling it 8-to-1 in GTA VI pre-orders
Did Rockstar price GTA VI appropriately?
European Commission moves to designate Amazon and Microsoft as cloud gatekeepers
Cloudy Europe: After a relatively brief investigation, the European Commission reached a preliminary conclusion regarding Amazon's and Microsoft's cloud businesses. The executive body believes the two US companies should also be designated as "gatekeepers" for their cloud services, though both will have an opportunity to respond before a final decision is made.
The third Xbox price hike in 15 months raises all models by at least $100
Xbox Series S rises to $499 and Series X to $799 on August 1
Windows 10's free security updates now extend to October 2027
Because hundreds of millions of users still won't upgrade
Recap: Windows 10 technically reached end-of-life last October, and analysts say users have been migrating to Windows 11 in large numbers – but potentially millions are stubbornly holding on to the older OS. Microsoft appears to have quietly acknowledged that reality by tacking on another year to Windows 10's critical security support window.
The Halo remake launches July 28 with new missions, four-player co-op, and Unreal Engine 5 visuals
RTX 2060 Super for 1080p 60fps, while native 4K at high settings demands an RTX 3080 Ti or RX 9070
The latest Microsoft Office 2024 Pro suite is now $55 in this limited-time deal
Unlock your productivity with the latest versions of Word, Excel, and Outlook
Microsoft is selling new 8GB Surface laptops that don't qualify as Copilot+ PCs
At $849, the budget Surface Pro undercuts the flagship by $650
Microsoft researcher builds a working neural network in Age of Empires II using goats
The study is focused on stripping the perceived human-like nature off LLMs
Ori director says Game Pass needs "smash hits," not studios slopping out mediocre content
Thomas Mahler compared Game Pass incentives to communism
A hot potato: Things aren't going well for Xbox right now. With the massive changes, studios closing, and the future of the brand itself being questioned, Game Pass has also found itself under the spotlight. According to the director of the Ori games, the subscription service would be much more successful if studios weren't incentivized to "slop out mediocre content like a factory."
Windows 11 26H2 continues Microsoft's shift to smaller and faster updates
Support extends to October 2028, no new hardware requirements, no new features either
This month's Windows 11 update broke the Recycle Bin, OneDrive, and possibly your PC's stability
Bugs remain a major problem despite Microsoft's emphasis on improving the user experience