Battlefield 6's Portal server XP just got a significant nerf
Gaming Some legit custom Portal servers appear to have been hit by the XP nerf, not just bot farms.
Features
Discord's ID verification got hacked — we asked Xbox how it will avoid the same situation
Xbox The UK's age verification law has been an abject failure thus far. But, it *is* the law. So how will Xbox follow it?
5 aspects of Battlefield 6 that still need work
Gaming DICE is releasing Battlefield 6 updates at a frantic pace, and I hope these things get looked at next.
3 reasons Call of Duty is BACK with Black Ops 7
Gaming All the "cool kids" might be ripping on Black Ops 7 and 'jumping ship' to Battlefield 6, but I'm not buying into that. Here's why I'm all-in on this year's Call of Duty.
Xbox Ally: Microsoft’s Windows 11 handheld that finally makes sense
Handhelds The new Xbox Ally handhelds are a clear example of Xbox's changing game strategy, showing a continued expansion into PC gaming.
Windows & Software
User loses 3TB of data to Windows 11's BitLocker issues
Windows 11 A Reddit user runs into some trouble after the security tool reportedly activated itself, locking them out of two storage drives.
Microsoft teases yet another AI announcement for Copilot — who is Mico?
AI Microsoft's social accounts on Instagram have started teasing another Copilot announcement coming this Thursday, seemingly centered around an AI called Mico.
Microsoft has ended support for Windows 10 — here's what to do next
Windows 10 Windows 10 support ended on Tuesday, October 14. That means Windows 10 PCs will no longer receive security updates automatically, and you must take action to ensure these devices remain secure when connected to the internet.
PC Hardware
Finally, a laptop that won’t melt under 20 Chrome tabs — $749 at Best Buy
Deals Users looking for a mid-range laptop to help get through their day-to-day workflows are in luck, as the HP OmniBook X Flip 14 is having a 29% bargain at Best Buy.
40 billion records exposed in 13TB data leak — what you need to know
Security Another day, another data leak. This time it’s 13TB and 40 billion records — courtesy of Netcore.
This Nvidia graphics card is finally below $499 for a limited time
Deals The MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 12G Shadow 2X OC has received its finest discount yet as it's now below $499 on Best Buy and other retailers.
Alienware's 5-star QD-OLED gaming monitor is now $300 cheaper
Deals Dell is hosting an early holiday deals event for a couple more days, and you'll find hundreds of dollars in discounts on some of the best Alienware monitors and Dell laptops.
Handheld Gaming PCs
Xbox Ally roadmap revealed: future updates and features
News Xbox has a plan to keep on improving the Ally, now it just needs to deliver.
Gaming
PlayStation legend Shuhei Yoshida loves Xbox Ally X
Gaming A former PlayStation boss shows that good games matter more than platforms.
New Xbox Game Pass games (Oct. 2025): What's coming, leaving soon
Xbox Game Pass As Xbox Game Pass grows ever bigger, I'm keeping careful track of the best new additions, upcoming arrivals, which games are leaving soon, and much more.
Monster Hunter Stories 3's character creator is making the wait for launch hurt more
Gaming Capcom shares a first look at Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection's character creator.
Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft and OpenAI are "making it work," but for how long?
AI OpenAI and Microsoft don't agree on a lot of things, but the shaky partnership continues. Who does that benefit most?
Anthropic's Claude AI can now integrate with Microsoft 365
Microsoft Announced today is a new integration featuring Anthropic's Claude AI and Microsoft 365 apps, including SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, and Teams. Here's how it works and how you can give it a shot.
5 things I learned after using the two top AI gaming assistants
PC gaming Hallucinations, ignorance, usage spikes, and more — here's what I learned after testing the two major AI gaming assistants.
Chrome might soon browse for you — Gemini’s got tabs to open
News Google’s AI is learning to automate everyday browsing — and it’s already hiding in Canary builds.
Microsoft
Surface production moves from China, Xbox encouraged too
News As trade tensions heat up between the U.S. and China, Microsoft is reportedly shifting Surface production overseas and encouraging Xbox manufacturing abroad in a move that could reshape its hardware future.
OneDrive's AI face scanning feature comes under fire for not being always disable-able
OneDrive Microsoft is slowly rolling out a new feature in OneDrive that allows the app to identify common faces in photos using AI, and people have noticed its support webpage suggests the feature can only be disabled up to three times a year.
Rishi Sunak’s next job? Not politics—he’s advising Microsoft and Anthropic
News Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has joined Microsoft and Anthropic as a senior advisor on a part-time basis, and pledges to donate all earnings to his math charity, The Richmond Project.
Say goodbye to “save as”—Word wants all your docs in OneDrive now
Office A new update for Word has changed how the app handles new documents. Going forward, the app will automatically save everything to OneDrive with autosave enabled.
Peripherals & Accessories
The king of value-for-money gaming mice just got 37% cheaper
Deals The Razer Viper V3 HyperSpeed is an affordable, high-performance wireless gaming mouse that PC gamers on a budget will love, especially now that it's on sale.
Deals
You can't go wrong with the official Xbox controller, now 23% off
Deal It may not have gimmicks or special 3rd-party builds, but the official Xbox Wireless controller is still one of the best, tried-and-true controllers for Xbox and PC titles.
The best alternative series to Pokémon is now on sale for 58% less
Deals Monster Hunter Stories 1 and 2 are fantastic JRPGs that combine the addicting creature-capturing nature of Pokémon with the monster-slaying action of Monster Hunter
Finally, a laptop that won’t melt under 20 Chrome tabs — $749 at Best Buy
Deals Users looking for a mid-range laptop to help get through their day-to-day workflows are in luck, as the HP OmniBook X Flip 14 is having a 29% bargain at Best Buy.
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is having a 'breathtaking' 49% discount
Deals Loaded is offering a 49% discount for the Ultimate Edition of Cyberpunk 2077, compiling the critically-acclaimed RPG's base game with its Phantom Liberty expansion into one 'ultimate' bundle.
