Xbox's cuts over the past week have been brutal; let's not mince words here.

Four studios divested with a possible fifth in progress, over a thousand jobs removed already, with a further 2000 planned. The atmosphere within Xbox right now is dire — a total 180 following the wave of optimism from new CEO Asha Sharma's appointment in spring.

As a result, there are tons of stories coming out about what the fate of Xbox's remaining studios might be. A lot of the discourse has fallen on id Software right now, the beloved maker of DOOM. The studio is an industry staple, and arguably one of the most important and influential brands in the modern gaming canon.

Cuts at id Software have been heavy and painful. Some have claimed the studio's lauded id Tech engine is effectively on ice, and that id is no longer large enough to produce its own games.

What's the truth here? I've been investigating Microsoft's plans for id. Despite the callousness of Microsoft's bean counters, I'm confident the studio will endure.

Microsoft has no plans to shelve id Tech

DOOM and other id Software games have long been powered by the id Tech engine. The engine was designed originally for Quake back in the 90s, and has since powered a huge variety of titles, including open-world games like RAGE, horror games like The Evil Within, Wolfenstein shooters, and, of course, the modern DOOM games. More recently, Machine Games' Indiana Jones and DOOM: The Dark Ages were built on the latest versions of id Tech.

It has a very different feel to Unreal Engine, particularly for first-person games. It's been lauded for its optimization on lower-end hardware stacks, as well as its general versatility.

The cuts to id Software have hit the teams that develop id Tech hard, with decades of expertise wiped out over night. But rumors that there's now virtually nobody working on the engine are false. Sources tell me that there remains a solid stack of expertise for id Tech across id Software itself, and Machine Games. I'm told Microsoft also has no plans to shift either studio forcibly to Unreal Engine, which seems to have become the default for Microsoft and many other core game makers.

Microsoft provided us this statement on the topic: "There are dozens of people working on id Tech across multiple locations. Reports that there’s only one person left in Texas are inaccurate."

In my view, Microsoft would have to be miserably short-sighted to deprecate id Tech. Handing even more power to Unreal Engine opens them up to monopolistic price increases down the line, which would be fiscally irresponsible. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma herself said in her memo to staff that she wants Microsoft to rely less on vendors for things like this. As such, I would argue that Microsoft should invest more in id Tech, not less.

But hey, quarterly thinking is Microsoft's M.O. these days. And it is true that generational talent and knowledge has been carelessly cast aside.

id Software's headcount is now similar to what it was for DOOM (2016)

The other rumor flying around is that id Software has shrunk to a headcount that is untenable for future self-made products, relegating them to "support studio" status. This too, is false.

While the cuts have been alarmingly callous, my understanding is that the remaining id Software core team is roughly the same as it was when DOOM (2016) shipped. DOOM (2016) is arguably the studio's best-ever game in my view, despite the comparatively smaller headcount that produced it. That's not too suggest in any capacity that we should expect the same quality bar without proof ... Microsoft removed mountains of incredible talent from the pool.

Still, I'm not sure exactly what id Software could be making next. There have been reports that id Software had a variety of pitches in the pipeline, including a Perfect Dark reboot and a Western-styled shooter dubbed Ironwood. It's unclear if any of these will be greenlit.

id Software just shipped DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations, a sizeable story expansion for last year's DOOM prequel. What the studio builds next remains to be seen, but Xbox CEO Asha Sharma specifically called out DOOM and Quake as franchises to invest in.

Microsoft wants to grow its most staple and recognizable IP, which at least in the near term, likely excludes "new" franchise ideas. I'd still like to see what a modern Hexen would look like ... perhaps we'll learn more at Quakecon, which is still going ahead.

It's still been a needlessly brutal exercise

While rumors of id Software's demise have been greatly exaggerated, the layoffs have still been callous and brutal. Staffers with decades of expertise and tenure were let go, despite the success of the modern DOOM trilogy.

Microsoft's gaming aspirations have been heavily reduced over the past week, in what CEO Asha Sharma has been describing as a "reset." This has led to sizeable reductions in teams working on a variety of projects, from The Elder Scrolls to Xbox's social media delivery and platform features. Other studios, like Blizzard, seem to have emerged largely unscathed so far. And Xbox's hardware team building Helix has also been left intact.

Xbox has worked hard to save studios like Undead Labs from outright closure. But, it hasn't prevented Microsoft from expunging hundreds of jobs in other areas, inside Xbox and beyond. Microsoft's huge bets on artificial intelligence haven't really delivered meaningful returns, and the vast capital expenditure on data center buildouts is spooking investors.

At Xbox, the layoffs reflect a challenging time in traditional gaming. Core gaming has seen a contraction owing to increased costs and lack of investment in younger cohorts, which dropped consoles in favor of Roblox on mobile devices, alongside non-gaming activities. Microsoft's lack of investment in Xbox's platform and social features have prevented it from finding new users out of the Gen-X and Gen-Y cohorts, many of whom are starting to age out.

Where Xbox goes from here wholly remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: DOOM is eternal, and it will outlive Microsoft's bad decision-making.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

The dust is still settling over Xbox's "big reset" cuts, and will continue to settle for many weeks to come just yet.

Microsoft CFO Amy Hood has led a massive job culling across the firm, with almost 5,000 staffers set to lose their roles over the next fiscal year. 3,200 of those will be in Xbox alone, with some escaping as divestitures. Remaining studios have been "gutted" by some accounts, with massive reductions at Obsidian and id Software, despite success stories in Grounded 2 and DOOM: The Dark Ages.

The silver lining for some is that Xbox execs spent the past few weeks finding buyers for studios Microsoft's CFO lined up to otherwise shut down. One of those is Undead Labs, makers of State of Decay, who have been through hell and back to get to where they are today.

Undead Labs was founded in 2009 and acquired in 2018, as Xbox sought to bolster its exclusive content spread for Xbox. The integration was immediately met with problems.

Undead Labs leader, co-founder, and World of Warcraft alumnus Jeff Strain left the studio in 2019 not long after the acquisition, and then the firm was immediately hit with lockdown regimes heading straight into the Covid-19 pandemic. The disruption was palpable.

Unable to properly incubate State of Decay 3, Undead Labs worked on free updates for State of Decay 2 as Microsoft struggled to properly integrate the studio and teams. Despite State of Decay 3 being announced in 2020, it wouldn't actually enter full development until far later.

These should be mitigating factors when Microsoft's bean counters were looking at ways to reduce costs. But, in Microsoft's typical, disappointingly short-sighted fashion, Microsoft seems oddly unaware of the potential it has in the palm of its hands.

Indeed, as of writing, State of Decay 3 is presently the 28th most wishlisted game on Steam, and comes in higher than Halo Campaign Evolved and Gears of War: E-Day both. As far as Xbox games go, State of Decay 3 is second only behind big-budget blockbuster Fable.

State of Decay 3 was by far my most anticipated Xbox game this side of Clockwork Revolution. The early alpha glimpses we've gotten look incredible, and as an evolving multiplayer title, it has the painfully obvious potential alongside games like Grounded and Sea of Thieves.

It's utterly absurd and frustrating that Microsoft, for whatever reason, weren't able to give them just a bit more time and subsidize their own mistakes. Microsoft banks billions of dollars annually, and there's really no excuse for the disruption and havoc it is imparting onto its teams.

I'm not naïve. I know quite painfully well that in order to get paid, you have to have a business that makes money — at least eventually. But at the same time, Microsoft is also among hyperscalers chasing AI infrastructure expenditure based on theoretical growth, using the models of companies funded entirely by theoretical money.

Of all the cutbacks and nonsensical choices Microsoft has made this week, State of Decay 3 above all, for me, underpins how Microsoft's fiscal management policies all too often make for hasty self-defeating mistakes.

There are arguably projects at Xbox that shouldn't have been greenlit, and there are strategic decisions made that remain utterly questionable for sure — but Microsoft is making so many baffling choices to pay for those mistakes. For me, the fact Xbox has been forced to divest State of Decay 3 really represents the apex of Microsoft's generalized ignorance.

In the future, I look forward to writing about how studios like Undead Labs expanded and became success stories free of Microsoft. But there are many hundreds of developers who might not be so lucky.

Perhaps the thousands of employees that remain at Xbox will benefit from a more focused Xbox managerial structure not spreading themselves so thinly, but it remains to be seen. And perhaps I actually am being naïve here.

Microsoft has created an environment where every FY end in July, we're writing articles like this. Being reminded of missed opportunities, and the human costs of Microsoft's legendarily short-sighted impatience.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Xbox's expected cuts are here, as CEO Asha Sharma delivers on previous warnings that "hard decisions" were on the way.

Microsoft's gaming division is joining broader cuts at the firm, which will see thousands of roles eliminated from across the company in the near to medium term. Preliminary sourcing suggests the initial wave will see 1,500 staffers impacted at Xbox alone, with a total of 3,200 through FY27.

In an email to staff, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma described how Xbox Game Studios are a whole is currently losing 64 cents for every dollar invested in the current climate.

"We are beginning the most significant restructure in XBOX history. After careful consideration, I've made the difficult decision to reduce our team by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27."

As part of the cuts, Microsoft has reached deals with four studios to either go independent or join new management, saving them from closure.

Compulsion, known for South of Midnight, will be acquired by management and go independent again. Double Fine Productions will also go independent, led by Tim Schafer. Undead Labs and Ninja Theory will be acquired by new publishers. Sources told us over the weekend that both Ninja Theory's Senua and Labs' State of Decay 3 will remain fully in production as part of the divestiture deals.

There's a question mark over Arkane and Blade, however. Microsoft is engaging the French government to try and figure out a path forward for the legendary Dishonored maker — with the goal of saving Arkane from closure, and keeping Blade in production. Right now, we can only hope Arkane finds a suitor to help keep the Dishonored and Blade maker afloat.

Beyond that, to meet the reductions Sharma has described every department at Xbox will see some form of layoffs and restructuring. Microsoft's executive layers want to reduce middle management across the board, in attempts to help Xbox move more quickly. Minecraft and Candy Crush's King will begin reporting in to Xbox's c-suite directly, for example, with a view of making them more competitive against incumbents like Roblox and things like Monopoly Go respectively.

There's also an effort to bring some of Xbox's remaining studios into closer collaboration, focusing on some of the firm's bigger franchises and potential. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been transparent about wanting to focus on things like Halo and Fallout. We could see studios like Obsidian dust off their Fallout mantle, for example.

What about Xbox hardware? It has been suggested to me that Xbox's hardware team will see the least amount of reductions, with Microsoft still intent on shipping Xbox hardware and Xbox Helix.

Microsoft's next-gen Xbox Helix console has been in production for some time, although the structural equations have been hit hard by the memory availability crisis gripping all of consumer tech. Regardless, I'm told Microsoft will soldier on with Helix and Xbox hardware in general. Microsoft is still intent on following Xbox CEO Sharma's plan to "rebuild the core," with a focus on Xbox's most profitable users: those on console.

A sad day for Xbox, and the industry in general

It's painful to me that Microsoft's bean counters wouldn't let Xbox hang on just a bit longer with some of these studios. It's hardly Undead Labs' fault that their integrations were defeated by Covid lockdowns and previous management leaving. State of Decay 3 for example has more wishlists on Steam than some of Xbox's other tentpole projects. It easily, in my view, has potential to be even bigger than similar multiplayer titles like Grounded or Sea of Thieves. It has been a long and expensive road to get here for sure ... but the rewards were literally just around the corner. Couldn't Microsoft have stayed the course just a bit longer on some of this stuff? Microsoft's penchant for giving up at the last hurdle is ceaselessly irritating.

Xbox gave some of its studios freedom to explore new IPs and experimental titles, which while virtuous, potentially hurt their capability to return positive news to those higher-ups working the spreadsheets. It's also difficult to argue against Asha Sharma's notes to staff about not wanting to compete with indie developers. It is a strange universe where Microsoft, the juggernaut, is building games that would otherwise be produced by comparatively far, far smaller teams with non-existent marketing budgets.

It's hard to deny that Xbox has massively dropped the ball on things like Fallout and Halo. Hindsight is 20/20, but imagine if the Fallout TV show had a mainline Fallout game to complement its popularity? Cyberpunk 2077 just hit 40 million copies sold, and is seeing another player count bump from integrations in Wuthering Waves and Cyberpunk Edgerunners Season 2 on Netflix.

RELATED: Xbox, please let your studios cook
RELATED: Inside Xbox's margin crush

Some of these plans revolve around laying the ground work to take advantage of these squandered opportunities. It should lead to a stronger Xbox in the years to come. But at the same time, it's staffers paying the price for previous decisions — whether owing to managerial mistakes, evolving user behavior, or macro-economic factors that nobody could really predict. It's not fair, is it? For all those impacted, it's just another round of needless chaos in our cold, AI-funny-money-powered economy.

"These changes are about a bigger future for XBOX, not a smaller one," Asha Sharma noted to employees. "The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we've seen before. This year, we'll invest as much in XBOX as we ever have, but we'll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making XBOX where the world plays and creates."

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Xbox is having major changes, slated to go live in full this Monday from what we've heard.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been signalling for weeks that Xbox's studios need a "reset." As Microsoft's gaming empire has struggled in the new economy, Xbox is pursuing a variety of cuts, sell-offs, and potential team mergers in order to reduce costs. Studios like Undead Labs, Double Fine, Compulsion, and others have reportedly been in negotiations with Xbox about what their futures' look like, and for some, that future might be bleak in the short term.

The Verge reported that one of those studios up for negotiations was Arkane Studios, currently working on Marvel's Blade. Arkane is known for Dishonored and Death Loop, but has struggled to find its footing arguably under Microsoft. Blade was a chance to change that, but The Verge's reporting suggested that Microsoft was actually considering closing the studio.

This latest update suggests that Microsoft may have found an alternative path.

Spotted by Timur222 on X early this morning, it seems that MachineGames co-founder and studio director Jerk Gustafsson has taken over leadership of Arkane Studios. Arkane's president, Leonard Bendel, has resigned. The leadership change over happened a few days ago, on June 30th, according to a legal notice on French enterprise information site Pappers.fr.

Indeed, at least from my end, I've heard there's no plans to actually end development on Blade, although there's clearly some major potential restructuring going on here.

Arkane is based in France, with MachineGames based in Sweden. Microsoft is investing in MachineGames following the success of Indiana Jones, but also on the basis of the popularity of the Wolfenstein franchise. Indeed, Microsoft is actually developing a TV show based on Wolfenstein with the Fallout TV producers for Amazon — which fits heavily into Asha Sharma's trans-media vision for Xbox. Wolfenstein 3 is in production to that end, according to our sources, with the goal of the TV show and game complimenting each other Fallout TV-style.

What this leadership change means for Arkane overall remains to be seen. Xbox is expected to join Microsoft in general with broad cuts from as early as Monday next week. Every studio and team is likely to be impacted in some form, as are teams across Windows, Azure, and so on more broadly.

Could this leadership change signal that Arkane is going to merge with MachineGames to forge a bigger overall studio? Is Jerk Gustafsson being promoted across with the intent of the studios remaining separate? It's hard to say for sure right now. Given the holiday weekend in the United States, I doubt we'll be able to get comment from Microsoft in the near term.

In any case, I'm choosing to take this as a positive sign for Blade and Arkane, despite rumors of its potential closure.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Ah yes, one of Xbox's most acclaimed studios, known for games like Fallout: New Vegas, Grounded and The Outer Worlds, is shutting down... oh wait, never mind. It's just the Xbox rumor mill spinning up another baseless claim.

Forgive the sass, but it's becoming exhausting. Yes, I'm fully aware a major shake-up is underway at Xbox, and we all have every right to be on the edge of our seats. At the same time, though, I'd quite like to enjoy my hobby of gaming without feeling like the entire industry is crumbling around me every other day.

The initial rumor that Obsidian could be facing closure came from The Game Business. The rebuttal, however, came from none other than Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, whose reporting is not something to ever bet against.

Schreier took to BlueSky, stating: "Despite a report this morning, I can confirm that Obsidian is not in negotiations to avoid shutting down. Plenty of details are still up in the air surrounding the layoffs (picture will be clear on Monday), but Xbox is keeping Obsidian, according to people familiar with the situation."

For what it's worth, our sources have not once indicated that Obsidian was part of the cadre of studios facing closure or selling, but Schrier's info is all you need here to know that it's likely bogus info.

It seems we won't have to wait much longer to find out what actually happens at Xbox. On the one hand, I'm relieved that the uncertainty might finally be coming to an end. On the other, I'm already worried for my fingers as I frantically cover whatever unfolds. I might have to invest in one of those finger grip strengtheners in preparation ...

I will say, the fact so many people believed Xbox could potentially close Obsidian speaks volumes about the level of distrust currently surrounding the brand. Clearly something within Xbox needs to change. I just hope those impacted by whatever happens land on their feet, and that the damage isn't as severe as many are fearing.

With that said, do let me know your thoughts in the comments, and as always, be sure to take part in our poll below.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

For fans of the cinematic action-adventure game series Hellblade, one of the most exciting announcements from Microsoft's recent Xbox Games Showcase was the reveal of Senua, a third entry in the franchise set to bring "broader gameplay, more combat depth, and an interconnected world" that's scheduled for a 2027 release.

Just over a week after the show, however, it's now come to light that Hellblade developer Ninja Theory, alongside several other Xbox studios, is "at risk of being shuttered" by the brand's publishing division. Reportedly, Ninja Theory, Double Fine (Keeper, Kiln), Compulsion Games (South of Midnight), and others are in "active negotiations" for the fate of their teams.

That revelation came as a complete surprise to Xbox fans, with the news of Ninja Theory's situation the most shocking of all. Why would Microsoft and Xbox announce a new game from the studio that's set to come out next year if it planned to close it in the coming weeks?

Thanks to a new report from Game File that we've confirmed to be accurate with Windows Central's own sources, we have an answer: Microsoft hoped that the trailer for Senua would help "draw investor interest" to the developer.

"By the time that game was revealed, Microsoft had already planned to sunset or split with the studio," writes Game File's Stephen Totilo. "The thinking was that the promise of a newly announced game would help draw investor interest in the studio."

Separately, according to a source in contact with The Verge, the end of Ninja Theory's time as an Xbox studio is all but confirmed, and its employees are "hoping the studio will find a buyer." It's unknown if the developers were aware of Microsoft's plans at the time of Senua's announcement. The fate of Senua itself is also unclear right now.

News of these planned shutdowns and/or separations from Xbox came mere hours after it was reported that Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan and chief of staff Louise O'Connor quietly stepped down from their positions.

It also arrived soon after it was recently reported that Xbox would be racked by heavy layoffs in July, with the cuts coming as part of a major reorganization of the brand initiated by its new CEO Asha Sharma. Heading into that "Xbox reset," Sharma and chief content officer Matt Booty have said Xbox has "over-extended" and needs to focus on its largest core franchises.

In line with that goal, Microsoft and Xbox reportedly want to "move faster" with new Halo, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls games, with a full restructuring of Xbox also "on the table." Options for that are said to include making Xbox a subsidiary of Microsoft, a joint-venture operation with other business partners, or a wholly independent business separate from the larger firm entirely.

Ultimately, it's unclear where Xbox will go from here. My heart goes out to all the developers at Ninja Theory and workers at other affected Xbox studios, however, and I sincerely hope that they find a viable path forward. Whether as independent teams or as developers supported by other publishers, the creative studios leaving Xbox and the devs making their games deserve to go on.

How do you feel about the reported Microsoft and Xbox studio closures? Do you agree with the decision to focus on Xbox's biggest IPs? Let me know in the comments, and in our poll.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Xbox, and Microsoft in general, really reminds me of this old webcomic called Persistence, depicted above. It shows two dudes mining, as one gives up right before hitting diamonds.

I feel like this mentality has long been the bane of Microsoft all over, and its inability to see things through has led them to miss the boat on various computing paradigms and other types of opportunities.

We're seeing it play out again now with Xbox. New leadership has come in, with a mandate from Microsoft higher-ups to "make Xbox sustainable," whatever that means. This is despite the fact Xbox posted record profits last year. But decisions like this are made on future projections, rather than past wins.

Xbox has a variety of headwinds to contend with, as does the entire gaming industry. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has suggested that Microsoft's gaming division will finish the year with "only" a 3% accountability margin. The lion's share of the blame falls on the ill-fated Xbox Game Pass price hike (now reversed), the memory availability crisis, and a soft year for both Call of Duty and Candy Crush Saga. But all of these things will abate over time.

Microsoft's instinct has long been to cut and run at the wrong time. It's potentially making the same mistake now, too, in my view.

Some of Xbox's teams just haven't delivered profitability Microsoft wants, but that's not all on them

Rumors suggest that studios like Double Fine, Compulsion Games, and Ninja Theory are all being explored for closure right now — with others too likely on the block.

Nothing is set in stone yet, but these talks are happening. CEO Asha Sharma is going over the books and seeing how much has been spent on certain studios, and what their returns have been. It's true that none of these studios have delivered a hit game since joining Microsoft, in terms of retail sales or Xbox Game Pass engagement. It could also be argued that they weren't exactly positioned for massive success stories either.

Ninja Theory, in particular, is a frustrating case. The UK had a particularly aggressive Covid shutdown regime, which Ninja Theory can hardly be blamed for. They also spent a huge chunk of time moving studio locations. Ninja Theory is also based in Cambridge, one of the UK's most expensive regions.

Hellblade won awards for its character acting, technology, atmospherics, and depiction of mental health struggles. But I would argue it was on Microsoft's leadership for not identifying the hard truth: interactive walking simulation games just aren't big sellers. It's particularly true when Hellblade is at least superficially similar in presentation to Sony's God of War, albeit without the gameplay depth to complement it.

I'm not armed with intimate knowledge of how Hellblade 2 was greenlit in this genre, but the solution to its soft sales was readily obvious to me and anyone else watching: it should've been an action-adventure title, meeting the market demand where it is. We've seen a huge variety of superficially similar hack n' slash games absolutely blow up on comparatively smaller budgets. Stellar Blade comes to mind, Lies of P comes to mind as well.

We're finally getting Hellblade in the genre it was always destined to be with Senua, which Microsoft announced at its own Xbox Showcase just a few days ago, only for reports to emerge that Xbox isn't even going to see it through to completion.

As a fan and customer who is tired of Microsoft's "announce first, then cancel" approach to games people have been waiting years for in some cases ... this is an absolutely awful pill to swallow. Again. But it's far worse knowing the human cost of these cancellations. Ninja Theory has never been given the runway to fully spread its wings.

Covid wasn't Ninja Theory's fault. And someone, somewhere along the chain, should've identified that Hellblade 2 wasn't going to be a big game in the genre or budget it had been saddled with. Someone, somewhere along the chain, should've invested in it becoming something more.

Studios eventually have to sell games, but how can they if Microsoft keeps thinking so quarterly about things?

There have been a large variety of projects greenlit under Xbox Game Studios that they had to have known were never going to sell or get any kind of engagement in Xbox Game Pass. Keeper from Double Fine, for example, is a great and fun art project, but in an era of restless non-stop neon lights grabbing our attention-deficient brains at every angle, how can these types of projects cut through the noise?

The pressure Microsoft puts on Xbox to deliver "results; now," betrays the reality of modern game development. Games need to either be turbo-unique, cultural phenomena, or absolute AAA bangers. South of Midnight, Kiln, Keeper, Hellblade 2, and even Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 didn't have the scope, polish, edge, or marketing budget to compete with very similar titles that either do it better or just grabbed more attention.

The studios and teams backing the games ultimately work with what they're given. Those who have been around long enough remember Xbox's anemic Terry Myerson era, where the products being shipped barely even hit AA quality bars. What would Avowed or The Outer Worlds 2 have looked like with a more dynamic world or reactive engine? What would Hellblade look like if it were a wide-linear action-adventure instead of a walking simulation? Do smaller projects like Keeper and Kiln detract development time from a more ambitious project? What if South of Midnight had better combat and a broader scope?

I wish we lived in a world where important and artistic games like Keeper and Hellblade 2 could thrive. Xbox Game Pass funds were supposed to be that. But we don't live in that universe, and likely never will. I would argue it's on Xbox Game Studios to guide and invest in the creativity of its teams, steering them towards the kind of quality bars we know Xbox is capable of. We've seen it emerge with Gears of War: E-Day, Clockwork Revolution, State of Decay 3, Fable, Grounded 2, Sea of Thieves, Forza, and so on.

The talent is clearly there. I know Microsoft isn't going to listen to me or any of us, but I would love to see what would happen if these studios were given a chance at a longer runway. Acknowledge that previous management mistakes were not their fault, and things like Covid surely represent mitigating factors.

RELATED: Xbox fans have run out of trust for Microsoft

Alas. CEO Satya Nadella betrayed his position on a recent interview where he bemoaned the fact "there’s more monetization of Xbox games happening on YouTube than at Microsoft ..." I would argue that it's a privilege that so many millions of people want to talk about, watch, and share content based on those worlds. Perhaps there'd be more video monetization going on at Microsoft if it hadn't bailed out on growing Mixer ... but I digress.

Nadella takes the wrong lesson from gaming's popularity on YouTube. The value and interest are obviously there. It's Microsoft's fault for not unlocking that value properly — and the developers shouldn't be punished for it.

How are you feeling about the state of Xbox? Should Xbox give their studios more time? Let us know your thoughts below.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Hours after it was reported that Xbox's South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games may soon be closed by Microsoft, a new report has come to light that suggests several other Xbox Game Studios developers may be on the chopping block as well.

According to Bloomberg and its sources familiar with Microsoft's plans, both Double Fine Productions and Ninja Theory are, like Compulsion Games, "at risk of being shuttered," and are in "active negotiations to spin off" from Xbox. Reportedly, "several other studios" are in this situation as well.

Double Fine is best known for Psychonauts, Keeper, and its new pottery-based party brawler Kiln, while Ninja Theory is responsible for the dark fantasy action-adventure series Hellblade; just days ago, the latter unveiled a new Hellblade game called Senua during the Xbox Games Showcase.

According to a source that spoke with The Verge, Ninja Theory's closure is happening, though its staff are "hoping the studio will find a buyer."

Also, the studios Microsoft is considering shutting down may have a chance to buy themselves back from Xbox and become independent developers, Bloomberg says, though many employees will still ultimately lose their jobs no matter what. Workers have been informed and have been given leave to look for new opportunities while negotiations continue.

It's worth noting that earlier today, it was reported that both Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan and its chief of staff Louise O'Connor will either soon leave Microsoft or have already.

Reportedly, these upcoming closures and cuts are part of Microsoft's upcoming 100-day "Xbox reset," a major reorganization of Xbox as a business led by its new CEO Asha Sharma. Last week, Bloomberg reported that this turnaround would be accompanied by significant layoffs in July.

Notably, this news also comes just a few short days after it was separately reported that a complete restructuring of Xbox is "on the table," with Microsoft apparently considering making Xbox a subsidiary of the firm while simultaneously focusing on new entries in its biggest franchises like Halo, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls.

All signs point to Sharma and Xbox as a whole making the success of its biggest and most profitable franchises its top priority following its steady business decline, which would explain why these studios specifically are at risk of being cut away from Microsoft; South of Midnight, Keeper, and the Hellblade titles are all critically acclaimed and highly rated, but haven't been the most commercially successful.

In the end, regardless of Microsoft and Xbox's reasoning for these potential shutdowns, it's devastating to know that even more layoffs are likely coming on top of the thousands and thousands that have already racked the industry in recent years. Just last year, Xbox closed The Initiative and canceled Everwild, ZeniMax's new unannounced MMO, and Perfect Dark.

Whether Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Ninja Theory, and others either close or are able to shift to independence, I hope the process goes as smoothly as it possibly can, and that all developers affected are able to find new positions elsewhere as soon as possible.

Are you upset that Microsoft and Xbox may soon close these studios down? How are you feeling about the whole situation? Let me know in the comments.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Just over 18 months after the head of Xbox developer Rare, Craig Duncan, stepped up to lead Microsoft's game publishing wing as head of Xbox Game Studios, he's now stepping down from the position.

The news comes from a new report from The Game Business, which learned of Duncan's departure after getting access to an email sent internally to staff. He plans to leave Xbox Game Studios this week, with Xbox's chief content officer Matt Booty overseeing its developers in the interim while Microsoft searches for a replacement.

Prior to joining Xbox directly in November 2024, Duncan served as Rare's leader for almost 14 years, and helped guide the development of titles like the studio's massive multiplayer hit Sea of Thieves. He's also worked in several other UK-based game teams, including Codemasters, Midway Games, and Sumo Digital.

He then went on to manage and direct the 30+ development teams under Xbox's umbrella, including Halo Studios (Halo), The Coalition (Gears of War), Playground Games (Forza Horizon 6, Fable), InXile Entertainment (Clockwork Revolution), Undead Labs (State of Decay 3), and others.

Notably, it's also been revealed that the publisher's chief of staff, Louise O’Connor, is making an exit from Microsoft and Xbox as well. Like Duncan, she's another veteran of Rare; she worked at the studio from 1999 until 2025 in a wide variety of animation, art, and production roles, though she left it that year to join Xbox Game Studios after Rare's Everwild IP was canceled amid a large wave of layoffs.

In Duncan's internal memo to Xbox Game Studios workers, he wrote the following: "When I stepped into the role of leading XGS 20 months ago, my purpose was to serve our studios, our teams, and the people making our games."

"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 continued. "I’m proud to say we delivered many flawless launches that drove business success for the company."

"Louise has been a thoughtful, creative, and trusted partner who has consistently championed the craft and supported our studios with clarity and care," he added, on O'Connor. "I’m grateful for everything she’s brought to XGS, and I’m sure she’ll be successful in whatever comes next for her."

These departures come shortly after imminent Xbox layoffs were reported to come in July and its new CEO Asha Sharma indicated that an "Xbox reset" is on the way, signaling that many large changes to the business are coming in the next 100 days. It's unclear if Duncan and O'Connor stepping down are related to these plans.

It's also unclear who will move into their positions moving forward, and it may be some time before Microsoft and Xbox make any final decisions on that front. Eventually, though, time will tell.

How do you feel about the departure of Craig Duncan and Louise O'Connor from Xbox Game Studios? Let me know in the comments.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Microsoft's iconic gaming brand Xbox has always existed as a gaming division within the Windows maker since the very first console released 25 years ago. According to a new report, however, we may see Microsoft significantly restructure Xbox into something else in the near future.

That news comes from The Information, which reports that according to three people familiar with ongoing discussions within Microsoft, the firm "hasn't ruled out" reorganizing Xbox into a "wholly-owned subsidiary" or "creating a joint venture with other partners" with it.

Turning Xbox into a subsidiary would transform it into a separate, more independent company, though as its parent company with whole ownership, Microsoft would still ultimately have full control over it (LinkedIn and GitHub are examples). A joint venture, meanwhile, would invite other firms to run and invest in Xbox alongside Microsoft.

"Spinning out Xbox entirely" is also reportedly an option; presumably, this would mean giving Xbox full independence to operate outside of Microsoft's jurisdiction.

It's been noted that "Microsoft doesn't have any imminent restructuring plans, but those options are on the table." CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood would not be opposed to a reorganization "if doing so would make Xbox a more successful business"; notably, Xbox has recently gone through major performance declines.

Additionally, it's also been said that "Xbox will move faster on developing new games from beloved franchises it owns," with the brand and its game publishing wing planning to focus on Halo, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls titles.

Bethesda's Fallout and The Elder Scrolls franchises are "two particular areas of focus" for Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma; there hasn't been a new Fallout game since 2018's Fallout 76, and The Elder Scrolls 6, despite being announced that year, is still in development.

Next month will bring the arrival of Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the original 2001 Halo: Combat Evolved shooter built with Unreal Engine 5. It's scheduled to release on Xbox, PC, and PS5 (a first for the series) on July 28, and will be the first new Halo title since 2021's Halo Infinite.

Starting in July, it's been said that Sharma will begin to execute a plan "to spend more on top-tier games in the coming fiscal year," with both Nadella and Hood reportedly giving that plan the green light. However, the budget allocated for this hasn't been "locked in" and could still be adjusted.

Assuming everything in this report is true, it's interesting to know that Microsoft is floating the idea of a major Xbox restructure as Sharma begins to work towards her goal of making Xbox "where the world plays." Such a move may coincide with layoffs we know are coming in July.

As a massive fan of all three game series mentioned directly, I'm also stoked to learn that Xbox wants to speed up the production of new Halo, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls games. These represent some of Microsoft's biggest gaming IPs, and it's a real shame that there've barely been any new releases for them in the past decade.

How would you feel about Microsoft restructuring Xbox? How would you want it to do so? Let me know in the comments, and in our poll.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

I'd like to say it's a surprise, but it really isn't. Gears of War: E-Day had a fantastic showing during this year's showcase season, and thanks to data provided by LevelUp, a marketing analytics company focused on the gaming industry, we now have a clearer picture of just how much of a splash it made.

Gears of War: E-Day ranked fifth among the best-performing games between June 1, 2026, and June 11, 2026, placing it among the most covered, watched, and discussed titles of the showcase season. It's not the only Xbox game to make the list, either.

Before we jump into what other game made the list, let’s go over how these rankings work. The rankings are based on a combination of trailer performance, press coverage, and community engagement. Each game is scored across those categories, with the results combined into a comparative index that can be compared between each game.

It's great to see Gears of War: E-Day perform so well, too. The game genuinely looks fantastic, and based on the reaction so far, it seems plenty of people agree.

Another game that also looks fantastic is Spyro: A Realm Reborn, which I covered yesterday after its trailer surpassed 10 million views, beating the likes of PlayStation's Wolverine on YouTube. On LevelUp's index, Spyro: A Realm Reborn came in ninth place, which is an impressive result in its own right, showing that there is indeed keen interest for Spyro's return.

As for the rest of the rankings, first place went to God of War: Laufey, followed by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake in second. Resident Evil Veronica took third place, while Wolverine finished fourth, just ahead of Gears of War: E-Day in fifth.

It’s all just data, and honestly, it could not amount to much, but it’s still great to see two Xbox franchises on the list, and with that said, let me know your thoughts on the list in the comments and be sure to take part in our poll!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Ninja Theory, known for the Hellblade series, announced a mysterious horror game in 2020 called Project Mara, which was described as a "real-world and grounded representation of mental terror." The project sounded ambitious, but it has now been revealed that development has been canceled.

In a statement from Ninja Theory while discussing the newly announced Senua, the studio said:

“And with the fact that we have the entire team working on this game, I suspect some people might ask what's happened to Project Mara [a previously announced horror title] - I took the decision to not work on that any further. These decisions are never easy, but I did so to take the opportunity to have all of the talent and expertise in the studio, all 85 creatives, working together to realize the potential of what Senua can be.”

It's hard to say too much given how little we ever saw of Project Mara. Moving on to the new game, Senua, outside of the reveal trailer, we still don't know a great deal about the game, although Xbox Wire did share some additional details about what players can expect.

While Project Mara may be gone, it sounds like Ninja Theory is using that additional development power to make Senua a much more ambitious project than either of the previous Hellblade games.

According to Xbox Wire, Senua is being positioned as a full action-adventure game, with Ninja Theory describing it as "a bold new step for Senua" that expands combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving while retaining the intimate storytelling the series is known for.

It was also revealed that Senua will feature tactical combat with multiple weapons, dual-wielding, stealth options, special abilities, and boss battles. The world itself will be roughly twice the size of Hellblade II's, built as a large interconnected map that rewards exploration without becoming a fully open-world game.

Let me know your thoughts on Project Mara's cancellation as well as Senua in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Halo fans rejoice. Xbox console fans, however, might riot. I'm kidding, of course, but Halo: Campaign Evolved got a new cinematic story trailer today, showcasing what players can expect from the game and giving us our best look yet at the remake.

Honestly, it looks pretty good. I was already impressed by the gameplay trailer shown during Xbox's June showcase yesterday, as were many others, as the game charted on Steam and the Collectors Edition sold out within the first few hours. The game does look great, though, and everything else on display here has only reinforced that feeling. So, let's take a look at what was shown.

Immediately, the trailer opens with text at the bottom of the screen informing fans that the footage was "CAPTURED ON PS5 PRO" and was reportedly meant to be at Sony's State of Play.

Honestly, I thought that would surprise me, but it does make sense to showcase the game on a console that isn't all that much more powerful than an Xbox Series X, even if it comes with a much more ridiculous price tag thanks to current market conditions.

The trailer doesn't waste any time, jumping straight into The Pillar of Autumn at the start of the game, followed by a close-up of Sgt. Avery Johnson, all accompanied by voiceover work from none other than Jen Taylor, the voice of Cortana.

Visually, the game looks great, and I really don't have much to complain about. That said, I do think the Forerunner aesthetics are a little too clean. These are supposed to be ancient structures, yet everything looks almost brand new.

It is nice, however, to see that Halo Studios appears to be keeping The Flood under wraps for now. I'm sure that'll be a great surprise for players who have never experienced the game before, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing their reactions.

With that said, let me know your thoughts on the latest trailer. Are you as excited as I am, or are you still on the fence? Be sure to leave a comment and take part in our poll.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

The annual Summer Game Fest event has, as always, proven to be an exciting celebration of the video game medium, with countless different developers announcing and showing off their latest upcoming titles in shows like the big Summer Game Fest presentation, Day of the Devs, and others.

For Xbox fans, however, the best event of all was Microsoft's Xbox Games Showcase — a livestreamed display of various titles from Xbox Game Studios and others that are coming to players across Xbox consoles, Windows PC, Xbox Game Pass, and other platforms in the coming months. It was then immediately followed by the Gears of War: E-Day Direct, a 30-minute showcase of The Coalition's highly anticipated prequel.

Couldn't watch the show live or just want a recap of all the big news and reveals? I've got you covered here with a full overview of all the major announcements, new trailers, release date drops, and more.

Where and how to watch the Xbox Games Showcase 2026

We have a detailed overview of how to watch the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, but the quick and dirty answer is that you can catch the VOD of it on Xbox's official livestreaming channels across various different platforms. These include YouTube.com/Xbox, Twitch.tv/Xbox, Twitch.tv/XboxASL, and Facebook.com/Xbox.

Everything announced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2026

Below, you'll find my live coverage of everything announced during the Xbox Games Showcase 2026 presentation, including world premieres, new trailers, release date information, and more.

Gears of War: E-Day is an Xbox exclusive!

Ahead of the full Gears of War: E-Day Direct that gave a deeper look at the big Xbox shooter, Microsoft kicked off the Xbox Games Showcase with action-packed gameplay and cinematics from one of the prequel's early missions. Notably, the game's release date was confirmed to be October 6, and it was also confirmed to be an Xbox console exclusive.

Fable

Playground Games' upcoming reboot of Fable got a sweet new trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase that gave fans a closer look at the more serious side of the fantasy RPG. It's coming to Xbox, PC, and PS5 in February 2027 after a recent delay to get its release date away from GTA 6's, and preorders are available now.

Halo: Campaign Evolved's release date confirmed

Halo Studios' Unreal Engine 5-based remake of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo: Campaign Evolved, got its rumored July 28 release date confirmed by a new trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase presentation. The trailer featured a look at the game's three new prequel missions that take place before the main campaign and prominently feature Sergeant Johnson.

The game is headed to Xbox, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Steam, and PS5, with Xbox Game Pass availability and Xbox Play Anywhere.

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

Resonance: A Plague Tale legacy is the next action-adventure game in Asobo Studio's beloved Plague Tale series, and got a new trailer at Xbox Games Showcase 2026 that revealed it's officially coming to Xbox, PC, and Game Pass on August 27 this year.

Persona 4: Revival

Persona 4: Revival, a long-awaited remaster of the fan-favorite JRPG, is coming February 18, 2027 to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Xbox Game Pass with Xbox Play Anywhere support. Notably, preorders are live now for those that want them!

State of Decay 3 is coming next year

We've been waiting for State of Decay 3 for ages now, and the Xbox Games Showcase brought news that it's finally coming to Xbox, PC, Game Pass, and PS5 in 2027. It was delivered alongside a lengthy trailer full of gameplay and cinematics zombie game fans should definitely check out.

Sea of Thieves Season 20 and Custom Seas

Rare's long-running live-service pirate game, Sea of Thieves, got a new trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase for the Season 20 update coming June 18. Among other things, the update will bring Custom Seas that allow players to curate any kind of experience they want in their own special lobbies.

Metro 2039 is headed our way next year

4A Games' big new Metro game, Metro 2039, was first revealed during Xbox First Look and has now gotten a huge gameplay reveal during Xbox Games Showcase as well. The trailer also revealed it's now set to release in February 2027. This was one of the biggest highlights of the show for me; Metro 2039 looks absolutely terrific, and is one of my most highly anticipated games.

Bad Magpie

One of Xbox's world premieres at the show was Bad Magpie, a game in which you play as a mischievous magpie in a charming stylized world. It's giving series Untitled Goose Game vibes, and is coming to Xbox, PC, and Game Pass in 2027.

Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember

One of my favorite Soulslikes in recent years, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, is getting a full sequel with Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember. It's coming to Xbox and Xbox on PC with Xbox Game Pass availability and Xbox Play Anywhere support, with a planned release window of early 2027.

Senua

The third game in the beloved Hellblade saga, Senua, was announced during Xbox Games Showcase with an intense and cinematic trailer that's sure to be one of the show's best. It's coming to Xbox, PC (Xbox and Steam), Game Pass, Cloud Gaming, and PS5 next year, with Play Anywhere support too.

Fallout 76's new Infestations update

Fallout 76's new Infestations update got a trailer at Xbox Games Showcase. For everything you need to know about it, check out our full coverage of the patch's contents.

DOOM: The Dark Ages is getting a "Revelations" DLC

The acclaimed 2025 Xbox shooter DOOM: The Dark Ages is getting a new Revelations DLC expansion this summer. Specifically, it's scheduled to release on all the game's platforms on July 7.

Crazy Taxi: World Tour

The high-octane action-driving series is back with Crazy Taxi: World Tour, a new title headed to Xbox and Xbox on PC coming in 2027. It's not on Game Pass, but will support Xbox Play Anywhere.

Look at this gorgeous Xbox 25th Anniversary Xbox Series X and controller

Microsoft had nothing to share about the upcoming Xbox console Project Helix during the Xbox Games Showcase, but it did announce a beautiful new limited edition Xbox Series X and controller. The 25th Anniversary Collection console and gamepad are coming in November 2026, and sport a translucent green case that harkens back to the limited edition design of the original Xbox console. I can't think of a better design to celebrate Xbox's 25th anniversary with!

Age of Empires: Raiders of the North expansion

The historical RTS Age of Empires IV has a new expansion on the way. Specifically, it's the viking-themed Raiders of the North DLC, which is scheduled to come to the game in Fall 2026.

Minecraft Dungeons 2 gets officially announced

After being leaked and rumored numerous times in the past several weeks, Minecraft Dungeons 2 — a new hack-and-slash ARPG set in Mojang's Minecraft universe — got a formal, official announcement. It's coming to Xbox platforms, PC, Game Pass, PS5, and Switch 2 on September 29, 2026.

Magicians: The Devil's Deal

This dark, magical title challenges you to "become the ultimate trickster" with stage magic-inspired powers and the ability to steal those of rival magicians. It's headed to Xbox and Xbox on PC in 2027, with Xbox Game Pass availability and Xbox Play Anywhere support.

Valor Mortis

This first-person action game is set "in a twisted vision of the Napoleonic Wars" and puts you in the boots of William, a former soldier that rises from the dead and wields supernatural abilities against frightening monstrous entities. It's coming on September 24, 2026 to Xbox, PC, and Cloud Gaming as well as Game Pass and Xbox Play Anywhere.

The Thieves Guild is back in The Elder Scrolls Online

Zenimax Online Studios showed a trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online Season 1 at the Xbox Games Showcase, highlighting how it's going to return to the Thieves Guild for the first time since 2016. Read further details about the update here.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 World Update 22

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will soon gets its World Update 22, bringing over thirty US national parks and monuments to the game for players to fly around and over in their favorite aircraft — including a Goodyear blimp. The update is, fittingly, set to release on July 4.

Where Winds Meet shadow drops on Xbox!

The popular open-world action RPG Where Winds Meet is getting a new Hidden Mountain DLC, with a new trailer at Xbox Games Showcase revealing it officially. The expansion is coming in July this year, with Where Winds Meet itself shadow dropping on Xbox, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, complete with Game Pass availability and Play Anywhere support.

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse

Belmont's Curse, the latest title in the acclaimed Castlevania series, is coming later this year. Specifically, it's set to release on October 15, and will drop on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming, with full support for Xbox Play Anywhere.

Vivarium

This adorable life-sim adventure looks like one of the coziest new games I've seen in ages, and will undoubtedly be perfect for folks looking for a more relaxing experience — though the twist that it takes place within a miniature vivarium is sure to bring plenty of intrigue to the tone. It's coming in 2027 to Xbox, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Game Pass, and will also have Play Anywhere support.

Persona 6

ATLUS had quite a surprise reveal to share at Xbox Games Showcase: the announcement of Persona 6, the next mainline entry in its legendary JRPG series. The tone of the trailer was surprisingly a little dark, which may speak to the overall tone of the game itself.

Spyro: A Realm Beyond is coming in 2027

Spyro returns! The next game in the series, A Realm Beyond, is headed to Xbox, PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, PS5, Switch 2, and both Game Pass and Xbox Play Anywhere in Spring 2027, and follows Spyro as he embarks on "his journey to discover a way home is interrupted by the arrival of a vicious invading force known as the Scavs."

Clockwork Revolution goes Xbox exclusive, coming next year

InXile Entertainment's steampunk time-bending RPG Clockwork Revolution is said to be chock-full of crunch and depth, and it got a lengthy trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase that revealed exciting news for Xbox fans. Not only is it scheduled to come out in 2027, but it's also an Xbox console exclusive. You'll be able to play it on PC as well (and through Game Pass), and it'll have Play Anywhere support.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 shows off its DMZ mode

The Xbox Games Showcase portion of the show closed out with Infinity Ward giving fans a look at DMZ, the new extraction shooter-inspired mode in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, which is coming out on October 23 later this year. It looks to be slower and more tactical than your average Call of Duty multiplayer experience, with a heavy emphasis on teamwork and careful decision making.

Gears of War: E-Day Direct

As expected, Microsoft ended its presentation today with an extended deep dive into Gears of War: E-Day, with various The Coalition developers showing off the game's advanced graphics and world design, new gameplay additions like sliding into low cover, jumping over small gaps, and chipping the top of pieces of cover off with sustained fire that add more depth to the franchise's intense ground combat, and more.

On top of that, The Coalition went into detail about how the game's prequel story will be centered around Marcus, Dom, and the forging of the brotherhood between them we see in the original Gears trilogy, along with the announcement of a 12-player co-op PvE mode and the return of Gears' PvP multiplayer.

To be honest, I'm not even that much of a Gears fan, but even I have to admit that E-Day looks like it's going to be an awesome game, and it's one I'll definitely be playing on day one when it comes out October 6.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Minecraft Dungeons 2 has leaked online, courtesy of Nintendo. The game appeared on the Nintendo eShop yesterday, revealing its release date, price, fresh details, and a selection of new images.

It's a shame these details were revealed ahead of what was likely planned for Xbox's upcoming showcase on June 7, 2026. Still, the information itself is encouraging, including a September 29, 2026 release date and, perhaps more surprisingly, a $29.99 price tag. Personally, I think that's a pretty fair asking price for what already looks like a fun game.

Funnily enough, September is already shaping up to be a packed month. Whether it's Control Resonant, which supports Xbox Play Anywhere, or PlayStation's Wolverine, there's going to be plenty to play. It's likely publishers are looking to get out of the way before the looming release of GTA 6 in November, which I'm sure will steal the spotlight when it releases.

Back to Minecraft Dungeons 2, though. The game had already leaked not long ago, with details including its codename, Project Spidewood. Those leaks came in part from X0X_LEAK on X (formerly Twitter), who shared details about parts of the game and what to expect.

I'm quite surprised we didn't get more on Minecraft Dungeons 2 during the recent Minecraft Live event, which unfortunately only gave us a two-minute video detailing the game. That trailer did reveal a brand-new story, new environments, and a mysterious new portal called the Deep Dark Portal, which appears to house a new boss.

The game also features couch co-op, something I wish more games included these days. Unfortunately, that's about all we know for now. You can brave the internet and look up what else was revealed through the Nintendo eShop listing, but with the page now taken down, I can't imagine Microsoft is too pleased with what was revealed ahead of the Xbox Showcase.

If you're excited for Minecraft Dungeons 2, or even if you aren't, let me know in the comments and be sure to take part in our poll!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Original article: Ever since Microsoft's previous Xbox head Phil Spencer retired earlier this year and Asha Sharma stepped up to become the new Xbox CEO, the change that the brand's community has pushed her the most for — and by quite a large margin — is the return of Xbox-exclusive games.

It's dominating discussion on the new Xbox Player Voice feedback forum, and rapidly became enough of a hot topic that it prompted Sharma to respond on several occasions. At first, she implied change may come when she said "the plan is the plan until it's not the plan," then later stated she'll "make some calls" after careful consideration.

Indeed, as much as players want exclusives back, it's not an easy decision for Microsoft to make; the ongoing RAM shortages due to the rise of AI have severely impacted supply available for systems like gaming consoles, so restricting where players can get their hands on Xbox Game Studios titles is risky in the current climate.

Still, many hoped that Microsoft would at least stop advertising the availability of its titles on competing platforms during its Xbox presentations — which is why the news that it still plans to show when its games are multiplatform during the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7 has proven to be rather controversial.

"Yes, absolutely. We'll be very clear about what platforms a game is coming to, and wanna continue the precedent," said Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty during the latest official Xbox podcast episode when asked if this would be the case. "I think we've got a good system going where we make it clear in Showcase."

Though many see Xbox's commitment to being forthcoming about where its games can be played as commendable, there's also a strong sentiment in the community that Microsoft is kind of shooting itself in the foot here by broadcasting availability on PS5 and other competing platforms during its own presentation.

"I feel like the bare minimum expectation many had was for Xbox to really focus on their own platform at least for the time of the Showcase," said hardcore Xbox fan and prominent community figure Klobrille. "Saying 'It reflects a decision to be deliberate in how we show up for the players who care most about this brand.' while showing competitive platforms at your brand's Anniversary Showcase a week later does not line up to me."

"It’s wierd dude. It’s like Pepsi Max having an advert then at the end saying oh btw you can buy Coke Zero instead," wrote another fan in reply.

Overall, I don't really think this is a big deal — in the end, these games are multiplatform whether Microsoft advertises that fact or not — but I do agree with those that feel this isn't a good marketing strategy, especially since Sony and Nintendo don't mention other platforms the games they show off are coming to in their own showcases.

Asha Sharma's huge plan to make Xbox "where the world plays" isn't going to unfold overnight, and I believe the brand will need major strategic shifts that come in the long-term to work. With that said, I do feel Microsoft would benefit in the short term by putting its own Xbox platforms front and center instead of signaling that you don't need one to play its titles.

How do you feel about Microsoft's decision to advertise availability on other platforms during the Xbox Games Showcase? Let me know in the comments, and in our poll.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

One of the year's most exciting times to be a fan of video games is rapidly approaching, with huge annual presentations like Summer Game Fest and the Xbox Games Showcase now just a week away. These shows serve as a platform for developers to show off the projects they're working on and plan to release later this year and beyond.

The Xbox Games Showcase on June 7 is of particular interest to fans of Microsoft's gaming brand and users of its ecosystem, as it's where we'll see announcements, reveals, and trailers for new and upcoming first-party Xbox titles.

Many are also hoping we'll get new information about the upcoming Project Helix console-PC hybrid system as well — but speaking on the latest episode official Xbox podcast, Xbox's chief content officer Matt Booty made it clear that games were going to be the sole focus of the presentation.

"Another thing about Showcase is that — you know, the focus is going to be on these games, right?" Booty explained. "We really want to focus on the teams, and the games, and this is not gonna be a place where we talk about strategy broadly, right? There are certainly some strategic things that are out there and things we want to bring clarity to, but the focus here is on the games."

Some of the hot topics Booty is mentioning here include the complicated demand for the return of Xbox exclusives, the desire for new backwards compatible Xbox games as the Xbox Backwards Compatibility Program returns in some capacity, and other moves intended to further the stated goal of making Xbox "where the world plays."

Again, though, these subjects and Project Helix are being put on the backburner during the Showcase: "We wanna make — for the long term, we want to make the right decisions, not fast decisions. And I can also say that there won't be Helix news. So Helix will not be in this Showcase," he continued.

"Again, we wanna get everything about that right, so we're really focused on the games now, we've got a great lineup over the next 12 months, that's really what Showcase is gonna focus on. The broader strategic questions and anything to do with Helix will come at a later time," he added.

First rumored earlier this year before Microsoft's official reveal of it soon after, Helix is the next big gaming system from Xbox, and will ambitiously attempt to fuse the simplicity and convenience of console use with the power and versatility of Windows and PC. All signs point to a 2027 release for the console, and Microsoft confirmed we'd see more of it "later this year" back in March.

Nothing Booty said here contradicts that plan, and I suspect Xbox will have more details to share about Project Helix in the coming months. They just won't come at the Xbox Games Showcase since Microsoft wants to keep the focus on the games it's presenting, which is a decision I'm all for.

Said games will include the upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolved remake, Minecraft Dungeons 2, the upcoming Fable RPG (it got a small delay so it's not launching near GTA 6), Gears of War: E-Day, and potentially Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 as well, which just got revealed but may be at the show too.

Are you excited for the Xbox Games Showcase? How do you feel about Xbox saving Project Helix news for a later time so it can focus on games for the presentation? Let me know down below.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Despite numerous affirmations that Fable was indeed coming this year, Matt Booty has unfortunately confirmed in a new Xbox podcast that the game has been delayed.

In the podcast, Booty states:

“We talked about Forza Horizon 6 and how the team at Playground is doing really well. Also doing really well on Fable. 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. And related to Fable, we will be seeing more of it in Showcase. So we're going to have plenty for people to see. It really is coming together well, exciting stuff, and then we're going to move to February.”

It's a shame to see, but with how packed this year already is, I'm sure many fans won't mind giving Fable a bit more time in the oven to ensure it's fully ready.

Alongside this announcement, Xbox also posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter), saying:

“This year is packed with incredible games for XBOX players to enjoy, from Halo: Campaign Evolved, Gears of War: E-Day and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 to Control Resonant, Star Wars: Galactic Racer and Grand Theft Auto VI. 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. 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.”

I'm personally more than happy to give Fable the time it needs, but what about you? Are you gutted, happy to wait, or didn't care much for Fable in the first place? Let me know in the comments and be sure to take part in our poll!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

In a recent interview with popular Halo content creator Mint Blitz, former Bungie level and mission designer Niles Sankey, who worked at Bungie from 2006 to 2015 and also served as Lead Mission Designer for Halo: Reach, had some rather strong words about the current state of the Halo franchise.

First, though, before we dive into all of that, I do recommend giving the full 50-plus-minute interview a watch.

It goes into some genuinely fascinating details about original plans for Halo: Reach, alongside behind-the-scenes insight into Halo 3’s missions that fans like myself will probably love hearing about. So, with that said, let’s jump right in.

Jumping straight into the nitty gritty here, Sankey was asked what he would do if given free rein to do as he pleases with Halo. In response, Sankey said:

Expanding, he continued:

“Microsoft has this great opportunity where they own the Halo franchise and they have this great opportunity to spin up a separate team to just build Halo titles that look like they were built from that era, from the Halo 3 era of gaming”

Honestly, given the current reported ongoings at Halo Studios, I’m all for this. I’ve personally always thought it was a shame that the Halo IP isn’t, at the very least, leased out to other studios to create new and interesting experiences.

Sankey goes on to lament just how expensive modern game development has become, arguing that as studios expand, they often lose the culture that made them successful in the first place. He also reflected on Halo: Campaign Evolved and some of the challenges that come with modernizing older Halo experiences, stating:

“You end up stepping all over the games that the fans like and then you have these unsolvable problems of should we have sprint or should we not have sprint or we need to make it look awesome but it's going to piss off part of the fans because the Forerunner structures are too clean”

To that end, Sankey believes the solution is fairly straightforward: “The obvious answer here is no, roll back to the 2007 era graphics and do it as a separate team.”

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this because, personally, I’d be more than happy with a new Halo game using graphics in the same style as Halo 3 or even Halo: Reach again.

To me, and I imagine many others, Halo was never really about graphics. It was always about the gameplay, sandbox, social features, story, and everything else that made those games special beyond simply “wow, game pretty.”

But those are just my thoughts. Let me know yours in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll below:

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Since the day Microsoft first released its original gaming console alongside Halo: Combat Evolved way back in late 2021, its brand has been known as Xbox — a title that gives the gaming system a short and memorable name that also sounds cool as hell and is fun to say. Indeed, the iconic name is quite beloved, and will likely never change.

What if the way it was presented did, though? I can't imagine the Xbox branding being shown as anything other than, well, Xbox — but according to a new poll that Microsoft's new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma ran this week, quite a few fans would enjoy the title more if it was a little bolder.

On Wednesday, she put up a poll on X (Twitter) that simply asked, "Xbox or XBOX?" As I write this, its 24-hour window has just closed, and according to its results, a full 64.8% of the 19,176 people that voted think Xbox should go all caps and simply become XBOX. That's just shy of two-thirds of all the respondents, which is a sizable majority.

Overall, I do get the appeal of the all caps title. "XBOX" is more of an eye-catcher than the standard case version of the name we've always written it out as, and the logo for all the various Xbox consoles often features an all caps style for the name, too. There's certainly precedent for it appearing that way.

And yet, despite all of that, I just can't help but feel like "XBOX" is a little too loud and out there, in the same way I don't like gaming headsets with neon green accents or gratuitous RGB. I feel like it gives off the vibe of trying really hard to be cool and hip, but ultimately ends up being cheesy instead.

The standard "Xbox" branding just looks cleaner and reads off the page better, at least for me. Thus, I strongly prefer it, and I'm honestly shocked so many others said that they didn't in this poll. But I'm in the minority, so maybe this is an "old man yells at cloud" situation even though I'm still a couple years off 30.

Regardless, I doubt we're going to see Microsoft and Xbox shift how it presents its gaming brand based on one poll, though the poll's very existence suggests the firm may be considering how it can market Xbox different and more effectively moving forward. After all, it's dropped "Microsoft Gaming" in favor of Xbox completely, and has an ambitious plan to strengthen and elevate Xbox's core.

Ultimately, only time will tell if we eventually see Xbox become "XBOX." Personally, I hope it doesn't — but if it's something that benefits the brand as a whole, even a small amount, it's probably for the best that Microsoft goes for it.

Which do you prefer, Xbox or XBOX? Why do you like one over the other? Are you indifferent? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, and also vote in our poll as well.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Developer Halo Studios has fully moved on from Halo Infinite and is now focused on Halo: Campaign Evolved — a full Unreal Engine 5-based remake of the original 2001 game Halo: Combat Evolved. The reimagining of the beloved classic is set to be one of the biggest Xbox releases this year, and according to a recent leak, it's very possible it's got a release date of July 28 across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Xbox Game Pass, and PS5.

A previous report suggested that one of the studio's next big projects after Campaign Evolved might be Project Eker, some sort of potentially standalone Halo multiplayer experience that could be an extraction shooter. Now, another has come to light that claims that on the campaign side of things, we're getting two additional remakes.

That news comes from Rebs Gaming, a well-known Halo insider widely considered to be reputable. In a new report from Mr. Rebs, he says that two sources have confirmed to him that Xbox and Halo Studios are working on remakes for Halo 2 and Halo 3, corroborating an earlier claim from a developer he spoke to that said they were being developed.

Notably, Mr. Rebs says that one source sent him definitive proof that these remakes for the rest of the original Halo trilogy are coming, and that "Active development is underway" — though ultimately, they're still in "early development."

Stop reading here if you'd like to avoid potential spoilers for Campaign Evolved's new missions! If you don't mind, keep scrolling down.

He also noted that his other source is the same one that previously leaked some interesting details about Halo: Campaign Evolved's new prequel missions that precede the events of the main single player story. Notably, they said that one of them is centered around the tense rivalry between the UNSC's Spartan supersoldiers and its elite — but unaugmented — Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs).

It was also stated that another might give a nod of some sort to Halo: Combat Evolved's prequel, Halo: Reach, we'll see Brutes in the levels (these enemies weren't introduced until Halo 2, originally), and that there will be a new Covenant faction that's even more religious than the main empire.

Apparently, things from Halo 2 and 3 like Brutes will be present in Campaign Evolved because of the upcoming work-in-progress remakes for those games. This suggests the future titles will be built with Unreal Engine 5 as well, lining up with Halo Studios' stated plan to use Unreal moving forward when it rebranded from 343 Industries in 2024.

While Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 got "Anniversary" remasters in 2011 and 2014 respectively, Halo 3 didn't end up getting one in 2017, which is something that greatly frustrated fans of what was arguably the Halo game with the franchise's biggest cultural impact.

Thus, it's great news for many that a full-fledged Halo 3 remake is reportedly on the horizon, though only time will tell if the 2007 shooter is remade faithfully. Campaign Evolved has caught some flak for reusing Halo Infinite assets and for some controversial changes like the inclusion of sprinting and major artistic redesigns, after all.

I'm glad to see some positive Halo news after all the negative things we've heard about lately. Assuming Mr. Rebs' report is accurate, are you excited to play remakes of Halo 2 and 3? Let me know in the comments, and in our poll.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Ever since Phil Spencer stepped down in February and Asha Sharma became the Xbox CEO for Microsoft, one of the biggest requests she's been flooded with by the platform's community is the return of exclusive games. In recent years, Microsoft has brought all of its first-party titles to PS5 sooner or later, with some even making their way to Nintendo Switch 2 as well.

Their success overall has been mixed, with some games like Sea of Thieves and Grounded performing very well, and Forza Horizon 5 in particular selling like crazy on PS5. Others, though, seem to have barely found an audience on PlayStation, leaving many with the bitter belief that Xbox is throwing away the value its exclusives bring for mediocre profits.

Indeed, the idea behind exclusive games is that they give users a reason to buy an console instead of one of its rival systems, and elevate the status of a given brand by making it the only place you can access a popular IP. And according to new data, gamers say that exclusives are the biggest factor that drives them to play on consoles like Xbox and PlayStation.

Specifically, that data comes from the industry analysis firm Circana, reported on by Christopher Dring of The Game Business in a new video discussion. According to a Q1 2026 Circana survey, 41% of US gamers say the reason they play on console is because of exclusives.

"According to Circana's Q1 2026 consumer survey, the number one reason US gamers play on a console is because of exclusive games. 41% of respondents cited that as the biggest reason as to why they play on a console," Dring said. "That is actually a drop of eight percentage points [compared to] Q1 last year, but it's still the number one reason."

Notably, "The number two reason, by the way, is because friends and family use the same console — 38% of respondents say that. But regardless, number one reason people play on consoles is because of exclusives. If you look at sales and player data, we can see that exclusives do drive sales," he added.

It's about as direct a confirmation you could ask for regarding the impact of exclusive games on hardware sales, and it couldn't have come at a more relevant time with how hot of a topic that's been for Microsoft and Xbox in recent weeks. It also lines up with a recent poll we conducted in which over 14,000 Xbox gamers said they believe the platform needs some form of exclusivity.

Asha Sharma first hinted at Xbox shifting its position on exclusives when she noted "the plan is the plan until it's not the plan," and later said Xbox leadership will "make some calls" about exclusivity after much careful consideration. Despite how much fans want exclusives to return, though, it's not an easy decision; big multiplatform successes do generate a lot of revenue, and that revenue will help Microsoft contend with rising costs.

Ultimately, I'm in agreement with our executive editor and Xbox expert Jez Corden, who wrote he expects exclusivity to return for high-profile single player franchises like Gears of War and perhaps even Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, with Forza and other multiplayer-driven series that greatly benefit from wider avenues of access still going multiplatform.

In that scenario, I believe Microsoft would be giving itself the best possible chance to benefit from both sides of the equation — raking in profits from PlayStation and Switch with games that have a high chance of selling well on those platforms, while simultaneously releasing desirable narrative-driven single player games that give users a strong reason to buy the upcoming Project Helix console. Of course, though, only time will tell.

How do you feel about Xbox's relationship with exclusive games? Do you think they're important for the brand's success, and do you want to see Microsoft return to them? Share your thoughts below, both in the comments and with a vote in our poll.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

PlayStation players can rejoice. While Xbox players are out there playing PlayStation’s own Marathon more than PlayStation users themselves. PlayStation fans can indulge themselves, as they get a feature exclusive to their console, omitted from Xbox hardware, in a first-party Xbox game no less.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is finally getting PlayStation VR2 support for both PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro today, April 30, 2026, giving virtual pilots full VR support in the title. That alone is enough for PlayStation fans to laugh and maybe even clap back.

I’m being a bit dramatic and sarcastic on purpose, of course, but it’s great for those that enjoy Microsoft Flight Simulator to finally get this feature on PlayStation. PlayStation VR2 has been out for around three years now, and while originally it was stuck to PlayStation’s closed ecosystem, it has since escaped those crutches.

Back in 2024, PlayStation released a PC adapter for the headset, which helped open things up. I’ve always had mixed feelings about virtual reality. It can be genuinely fun, and even a decent workout, but it feels limited when it’s locked to a single platform, or restricted by a cord that needs plugging in.

At least now, with PC support, the PS VR2 isn’t all that bad of a headset. That said, I still lean toward a cordless experience whenever I use virtual reality.

Hopefully, PlayStation users can make the most of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024’s VR support. It’s a well-loved feature on PC, and for good reason, as it adds a strong sense of immersion.

What’s always baffled me, though, is Xbox’s reluctance to embrace virtual reality at all. Whether it was making use of Windows Mixed Reality (which has since shut down) or simply opening the door to third-party headsets, it feels like there were missed opportunities for some sort of virtual reality platform on Xbox.

It could have even positioned Xbox as a more affordable entry point into VR, especially when the Xbox Series S was cheaper.

What do you think? Did Xbox miss an opportunity by skipping virtual reality, or was it smart to avoid a niche that still hasn’t fully taken off? Let me know in the comments and be sure to take part in our poll:

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Double Fine, acquired by Microsoft in June 2019, has maintained its creative independence, recently releasing titles like Keeper and Kiln. The studio has now taken to X (Formerly Twitter) in response to a fan asking for a remake of the game that first put it on the map: Psychonauts.

First released in 2005, Psychonauts has since become closely associated with Xbox following Microsoft’s acquisition of Double Fine and the release of Psychonauts 2 in 2021. On X, a fan reached out asking for a remake in the same artistic style as Psychonauts 2, a game that was well received by critics.

This led Double Fine to respond with a tongue-in-cheek reply, stating on X:
“Day 1 of acknowledging that we agree - this would indeed be amazing, and we'd love to do it... one day.…”

I wish there was more to go on, but in an era that's already full of remakes, it’s not that hard to imagine a future where the team updates Psychonauts for modern audiences. Given the cult following the series has, it would likely perform well, too.

I’ll admit, I only have vague memories of the first game, mostly watching my brother play it, but I do remember enjoying what I saw, so I’d definitely jump into a remake — if my backlog allowed it, that is.

That said, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Would a remake of Psychonauts interest you, or would you rather see Double Fine move forward with Psychonauts 3?

There’s a strong case to be made for both, whether it’s revisiting a cult classic with modern visuals or continuing the story where Psychonauts 2 left off.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Two months after the new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma stepped up as Phil Spencer retired, she's taken some time to reflect on the current state of Microsoft's gaming brand alongside Xbox EVP and chief content officer Matt Booty while also detailing plans for the future. The memo they penned was first sent to Xbox staff globally, and has now been published publicly on Xbox Wire.

One huge piece of news from the letter is that Microsoft is dropping "Microsoft Gaming" completely, and is fully embracing the Xbox branding. Sharma and Booty say the old title "describes our structure but it does not describe our ambition," so "we are going back to where we started."

Alongside that change in team name, though, comes a plan to ensure that "Xbox will be where the world plays." Sharma says that "We will build a global platform that connects players and creators everywhere," and that "Console is at the foundation, delivering a premium experience, and cloud [Xbox Cloud Gaming] brings that experience to any device."

"Xbox will be built to be affordable, personal, and open. We will offer flexible pricing so it’s easy to get started and keep playing. The experience will adapt to you, letting you customize how you play, helping you find what you’ll love, and connecting you with the right people," she continued. "And we will be open to all creators, from individuals to the largest studios, giving anyone the tools to reach a global audience and keep their games growing over time."

Xbox's new guiding "north star" will be daily active players and the goal of growing that number, and it plans to do so through focusing on four priorities: hardware, content, experience, and services.

For hardware, Microsoft wants the upcoming console-PC hybrid system Project Helix, the next big Xbox device, to deliver leading performance. It also aims to lead in the accessories market, and "Build a strong ecosystem that expands choice and reach."

In terms of content, the goal is to "Grow and extend an enduring portfolio of franchises players love," expand into China and other emerging markets, grow strong live-service games, and "Elevate creator-centric platforms like Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls, and Sea of Thieves."

Microsoft also plans to elevate the Xbox experience with new enhancements and a renewed focus on customization and social features, and for its services, it wants to "Fortify Game Pass with clear differentiation and sustainable economics," promote "durable growth," and "Make cloud play feel native, fast, and reliable across TVs and low-cost devices."

Notably, there's one bullet point in particular that shot my eyebrows up: "Use M&A deliberately to accelerate growth where organic paths are too slow." This reveals Microsoft is once again interested in potential mergers and acquisitions for Xbox, which we haven't seen since it acquired Activision Blizzard for $69 billion in 2023 after a lengthy saga of legal disputes with the FTC.

Ultimately, it's a strong vision for Xbox moving forward, and one I have high hopes Microsoft can achieve with Sharma and Booty's leadership — especially since we've already seen an overhaul to Achievements, other major improvements, and a big Game Pass price cut come soon after she assumed her position. Here's hoping the future is bright.

How do you feel about Asha Sharma and Matt Booty's plan for the future of Xbox? Share your thoughts in the comments, and vote in our poll as well.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Over the years, Microsoft has substantially grown the size of its Xbox Game Studios publishing wing, with the firm now overseeing over 30 game development teams as they update existing titles and work on upcoming projects.

Given how many studios there are and how different their specializations are, too, many assume that they operate under Xbox within their own cordoned-off bubbles and don't interact much. According to Xbox's recently promoted chief content officer Matt Booty, however, that's actually not the case at all.

"It is the case that we have got a lot of different kinds of studios, and they've all got their own cultures, so we think of it as a culture of cultures," he said during the latest edition of the Official Xbox Podcast. "I see a big part of my job is to provide just enough connection and just enough structure across those that they can communicate with each other, that they can share things back and forth, but never to the point that we're coming in over the top trying to change who they are."

Booty went on to explain that all across Xbox Game Studios, several teams are collaborating with other developers in order to share helpful technologies or work together on projects where their shared expertise would be beneficial. For example, he revealed that the cinematics team at World of Warcraft and Diablo developer Blizzard is actually contributing to Playground Games' upcoming highly anticipated fantasy RPG Fable.

"We've really seen a lot, once we build those connections, of teams starting to share things with each other. ... There's a lot of examples of that. One, maybe just to sort of show a more complicated round trip, you had State of Decay 2, which had some pretty sophisticated technology for doing saving shared worlds and how you sort of save this persistent state, and the team at Obsidian, which is a really small team that built Grounded, took that tech to use in Grounded, but then the people at Obsidian kind of added to it, and now it's gone first circle back to Undead Labs to be in State of Decay 3," he added. "That's kind of a cool example of how once we build these pathways, there's a lot going on in between the different teams."

Some other examples Booty mentioned include South of Midnight dev Compulsion Games making use of Activision's Mo Cap studio, Sea of Thieves creator Rare helping with Double Fine's imminent pottery brawler Kiln, narrative tools shared between RPG developers, and in-game shop tech coming from Minecraft to Microsoft Flight Simulator to Starfield.

Gears of War's The Coalition is also doing work with the Unreal Engine that's benefitting several Xbox studios, and Booty says those efforts are at the core of the "XGTG" — a team called the Xbox Games Technology Group that "has the center of excellence around Unreal Engine work."

"That is the group that really has the center of excellence around Unreal Engine work and then takes that out and makes it available to the other studios," he explained. "They're not brought in to work on the games and they're not a firefighting team. They are developing the technology but packaging it up in a way that it's very easy to hand off to the other studios."

All in all, it's very cool to hear that Xbox's various development teams are collaborating a lot with one another, and the news that the Blizzard Cinematics department is working on Fable is pretty exciting in particular, given how awesome WoW, Diablo, and Overwatch cinematics are. Here's hoping the "culture of cultures" continues to make development smoother for all of Xbox Game Studios.

Would you like to see Xbox Game Studios developers collaborate on games on a deeper level, and perhaps co-develop projects? Let me know in the comments, and vote in our poll.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Pete Hines is the former Head of Publishing at Bethesda, staying with the company from 1999 through to 2023. He left following Microsoft’s acquisition, and in a recent interview with Firezide Chat, he has some strong words to share.

That said, it is not all negative. Hines also reflects positively on his time at Bethesda, including his long-standing relationship with Todd Howard, who he says remains one of his best friends. However, when the interview turns to the period following the acquisition, the tone becomes noticeably more critical. So let’s jump in.

Pete Hines questions Bethesda’s direction under Microsoft

Pete Hines doesn’t hold back in this interview, but it’s worth being clear about the context. Rather than directly targeting Microsoft, his comments seem to reflect his experience during the period after the acquisition.

So instead of padding this out, let’s go straight to what he said in a recent Firezide Gaming interview.

In the interview, Hines states:

It’s a striking take on Bethesda’s current position. While he doesn’t explicitly mention Microsoft here, the timing and broader discussion suggest he is reflecting on the post-acquisition period.

He also explains why he stayed on for a time after the deal, stating:

That sense of frustration continues as he adds:

"When I couldn't protect it, and I saw how it was getting damaged and broken apart and frankly mistreated, abused, whatever word you want to use, I said I am not going to sit here and watch this happen right in front of me."

Hines also states his “mental health was so deplorable” that he ultimately had to leave.

Taken together, the comments point to a broader shift in environment and responsibilities following the acquisition, alongside his declining mental health, rather than a direct, explicit criticism of Microsoft itself, at least that's how I read it anyway.

Now, these aren't exactly kind words from Hines overall, but they do reflect how strongly he feels about Bethesda and the changes he believes took place.

With all that said, let me know your thoughts on what Hines has said by leaving a comment and taking part in our poll below:

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Today is a big drop of Forza Horizon 6 information, including finally seeing the whole of the map. The gigantic Japan map.

You can check out my full Forza Horizon 6 preview for more on the gameplay and what the setting looks like, but for now, let's just focus on the territory.

Xbox has released a full look at the map in its entirety, but it's small, and we can do better. You can't show off the scale in a single image.

Much focus has been placed on the scale of Tokyo City, and with good reason. Promising to be 5 times larger than the biggest built up area in Forza Horizon 5, it got fans excited.

Tokyo is indeed a massive, sprawling metropolis, but there's so much more to the map than just the city.

The gallery below shows an overview of each region in Forza Horizon 6, or rather, as much of each region as could be squeezed into a single screenshot.

I've had access to almost all of the map, with regions such as Legends Island still locked as they're linked to progression in the game not available during the preview.

The map also, for the first time in a Forza Horizon game, has a fog of war. Instead of just all being revealed from the off and having to squint to see the roads you haven't been down, regions will slowly become fully highlighted as you explore them for the first time.

The map for Forza Horizon 6 is easily the most varied and impressive to date. At one end you have Tokyo, a vast cityscape; at the other you have snowy mountain passes and a full ski resort to drive around. In between you'll find sweeping countryside, and each region has its own unique charm.

Changing weather and time of day adds another dimension to the immersion, and with more than 670 roads to drive down, there's a whole heap of exploration to be done.

Forza Horizon 6 launches on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud on May 19, 2026. Early Access for Ultimate Edition buyers begins on May 15, 2026.

I've been lucky enough to play Forza Horizon 6 early, ahead of its May 19 launch. While it's a mere snapshot of what the final game will contain, I have found some new features that while small on their own, all add up to a bigger impact on the game.

Everything I've seen is still very much a work in progress, so there's still more to come, but overall, it's shaping up to be something special. Check out my full Forza Horizon 6 preview for some more complete thoughts.

But I wanted to take the time to highlight these new features I really enjoyed and how they can change how you're going to play Forza Horizon 6 compared to its predecessors.

1. Regional Mascots give you credits to spend on your cars

We're all familiar with bonus boards in Forza Horizon, with XP gains and reduced cost fast travel to be had in previous games.

I'm still waiting to hear about fast travel in Forza Horizon 6, but new for this year are the Regional Mascots.

Each different region has an adorable set of mascots dotted across the map and smashing them rewards 5,000 credits each. With 200 to crush beneath your wheels, that's a lot of cash to put towards better cars.

In the early game, in particular, this should give you an easy boost to your bank balance.

2. Aftermarket cars can be bought around the map for cheap

I don't know how many of these will be in the final game and where they'll be placed, but the preview build has shown off a selection of aftermarket cars you can by simply by finding and driving up to them.

These are all sold with pre-applied tuning setups and even aftermarket bodykits, saving you the trouble of doing the work yourself.

They're also available at a discounted rate, so you get a better ride and save some credits in the process. What's not to love?

3. Forza Horizon 6 has an auto-drive feature

I've never really used the ANNA satnav in previous Forza Horizon games, but in Forza Horizon 6 it's a little more useful.

Not only can it help you easily hit the next races you need to progress through the Horizon Festival, but it can now drive you to them.

The auto-drive feature will take over and get you safely to your designated destination, albeit significantly slower than you'd get there yourself.

But the icing on the cake is the cinematic mode. Once enabled, the UI disappears, and you're treated to a full cinematic view of your road trip. Making your own Forza Horizon 6 movie has never been easier.

Or, you know, you can leave it on and grab a coffee. Or bathroom break.

4. Drag racing is more realistic than ever

Drag racing has always been a fun, quick hit of Forza Horizon adrenaline, but the Drag Meets in Forza Horizon 6 add a little extra realism.

The game doesn't hold you on the start line; you're responsible for your own launch. Take up your preferred grid slot, and you'll have a realistic lights system counting down to the start.

If you touch the throttle early, you'll move and jump-start. So the timing is all on you.

Fortunately, it's easy enough to get the hang of by holding the e-brake and engaging launch control. But the reaction time is all down to you. A split section too late and the win could get away.

There will be far, far more to come from Forza Horizon 6 in the final release. The preview build was hard locked for progression before you even qualified for the Horizon Festival, and some parts of the map were still off limits.

Nevertheless, it's shaping up to be something quite special, and there's not too much longer to wait for it.

Forza Horizon 6 launches on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud on May 19, 2026. Early Access for Ultimate Edition buyers begins on May 15, 2026.

Forza Horizon 6 is set to launch on Xbox and PC on May 19, and I've finally been able to play it. What I've seen is but a tiny snapshot of what's to come, but it's immediately clear that this is the most grandiose release to date.

Japan has been the most requested destination on the Forza Horizon world tour pretty much forever, and seeing it finally come to light, it's immediately clear as to why.

Every new Forza Horizon is bigger, better, and bolder than the last, but almost five years along from Mexico, the feeling is different. Forza Horizon 6 is going to be the most incredible spectacle, and that's just from the map alone. It's special. It's really special.

This preview was created using a pre-release build of Forza Horizon 6 provided by Microsoft. The company did not see the content before publication nor had any input into its creation. Some aspects of the preview build were not cleared for publication and, as such, do not feature in any written content, video, or imagery. The preview build is locked in quality mode at 30 FPS.

The biggest and most diverse Forza Horizon setting yet

The Forza Horizon series has been to some stunning parts of the world, but nothing like this. Japan has it all, from the mad bustle of a sprawling city to the snowy mountains and just about everything in between. Driving across the Forza Horizon 6 landscape feels like you're experiencing every season in the same drive.

At its heart is Tokyo, but that's not where the Horizon Festival site is. Tokyo sits alone as this gigantic metropolis, packed with tiny side streets, multi-lane roads, and highways, and you can really feel its size.

There were no races in Tokyo (that I'm allowed to show) in the preview build, but the mind boggles at the varied racing we're going to get here.

Outside of the city, you have mile after mile of picturesque scenery and sweeping open roads, dirt tracks, and snow-covered mountain tracks, and of course, you can drive across all of it. As ever in Forza Horizon, if you want to go as the crow flies to get from point A to point B, you can, smashing the trees out of the way as you go.

I've never been to Japan, so I have nothing to compare it to first-hand, but it really does feel authentically Japanese. In Tokyo, for example, you find the famous Shibuya Crossing, albeit without the pedestrian hazards.

Out on the open roads you'll find distinctly Japanese markings, road signs, and sakura hanging from the trees. The game's world is so striking, it's easy to get lost within it.

Cars, cars, and more cars

It wouldn't be a Forza Horizon game without a ludicrous lineup of cars, though since this is a preview, I've not seen all that many. But I have seen a new feature that I'm digging a lot that'll help players fill their garages with faster, better cars, especially in the early game.

New for Forza Horizon 6 is the ability to buy aftermarket cars from spots on the map. They'll show up with their own little icon, but all you need is enough credits to splurge on them, drive up, and buy.

During my time in the preview I bought a VW Golf R, a BMW M3, a Nissan Fairlady Z, a 1997 Honda Civic Type R, a Subaru Impreza WRX STI, a Hammerhead buggy, and a Shelby Mustang. Each with a pre-applied tuning setup, and in some cases, even aftermarket body kits. Each seems to be available at a discount, too, which you can't grumble at.

Oh and Drivatars are still, well, idiotic. I'm not sure what I hoped for, but so far at least, they seem to have exactly as much sense as Drivatars in previous Forza Horizon games. That is to say, not a lot.

Forza Horizon 6 is a familiar experience, but that's not a bad thing

While almost the entire map has been my playground (the Legends island is off-limits), the preview has only shown a brief snapshot of what the final game will contain. It's hard locked at the point you take on the qualifying race for the Horizon Festival, so as to what comes beyond that point, I cannot say.

However, in the early stages at least, it feels familiar, which isn't a bad thing. Why mess with something that isn't broken, after all? Essentially you progress by completing races and PR stunts, the same sort of ladder we've had in previous titles.

Bonus boards are back, too, though I haven't seen any Fast Travel ones. As I write this, I'm still waiting for a reply from Xbox on whether this is only for the preview build or whether or not the system is changing this year. But you can still crank up your XP gains by smashing boards, and this year we're also getting cutesy little Regional Mascots to drive over.

There is a point to it, of course, and in this case you'll be rewarded with 5,000 credits per Mascot. Another neat little touch that will certainly help in the early game when you need money for fresh wheels.

Additionally, you earn XP and credit rewards for simply exploring the map. As you find new regions and areas and then fully explore each, you'll be rewarded, and I'd assume there will be achievements linked to all of these things.

Drag racing is something else synonymous with the Forza Horizon experience, and in the latest game it looks like there's a little change. In the preview build there's a solitary "Drag Meet" but it's a little different from previous releases.

Like a real-life drag race, you have a lights system to start the race, and you're responsible for getting off the line entirely of your own accord. If you touch the throttle, you'll move and jump-start. Timing is everything, or you can hold the e-brake, make sure you have launch control on, hold the throttle, and go on green.

Forza Horizon 6 looks like being the pinnacle of the franchise

Even without playing the raft of content that will come with the full release, it's easy to see that this is the absolute pinnacle of the Forza Horizon series.

The map is absolutely enormous and is the most varied terrain we've seen in any Forza Horizon game to date. One minute you'll be racing on smooth tarmac; the next you're up in the mountains. hurling yourself around a snowy ski resort.

The scale of Tokyo City is unlike any built-up environment the series has produced to date, and its mix of wide roads and narrow side streets will provide countless opportunities for mayhem.

All-in-all, even more than a month out from release, it's clear that Xbox once again has something special on its hands. It's the longest time we've had between any two Forza Horizon games, and it looks to have paid off.

This is a spectacle and a scale we've never seen from the franchise, and this tiny sneak peek means I'll be counting down the days.

Forza Horizon 6 launches on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud on May 19, 2026. Early Access for Ultimate Edition buyers begins on May 15, 2026.

Minecraft recently held its Minecraft Live event, where it unveiled a range of new features, including sulfur caves, sulfur cubes, and more.

If you’re eager to try them out, Mojang says these additions are already available in preview for Bedrock Edition. Java Edition players are not being left behind either, as Mojang is continuing its yearly tradition with a new April Fools snapshot.

Minecraft's sulfur themed update, now in preview

Now available in preview for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition, players can try out the sulfur update firsthand and provide feedback directly to Mojang to help shape the update.

Included in the preview:

• Sulfur cubes
• Sulfur cave biome
• Sulfur springs
• Potent sulfur block

Mojang are directly asking for feedback, explaining that feedback has already helped them iterate and make improvements base off the feedback already provided.

If you wish to take part in the preview, Mojang have put together a handy guide that I'll link here.

Minecraft's annual April Fools update

It wouldn’t be April Fools without a new snapshot full of weird ideas for Minecraft: Java Edition. In previous years, Mojang has released some wild updates, including the 2020 Endless Dimensions snapshot and 2024’s Poisonous Potato update, which even featured a grappling hook, and 2025’s CraftMine update.

This year, it has turned its attention to something called Herdcraft. This update removes the inventory entirely, instead turning the whole world into your inventory. It sounds confusing at first, but it does look like a lot of fun. Mojang explains that instead of swinging your sword at a Creeper, you can command an entire arsenal of weapons to attack it for you.

If you want to try the latest Java Edition snapshot, open the Minecraft Launcher, enable snapshots, and select the “Latest Snapshot” option.

What do you make of Minecraft’s latest updates? I always enjoy when companies have a bit of fun with April Fools, as long as it’s clearly a joke and not teasing features players actually want.

Let me know your thoughts on both the sulfur preview and Herdcraft in the comments, and be sure to take part in the poll below:

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Xbox Games Studio Compulsion Games, known for South of Midnight and We Happy Few, is now hiring to develop a new IP described as “intriguing.”

Compulsion Games released South of Midnight in 2025 to decent reviews from critics, and the game is set to release again in 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 on March 31.

It now appears the studio has set its sights on a new IP, according to its LinkedIn post, so let’s break down what we know.

Compulsion Games outlines new roles for next project

In a new LinkedIn post, Joe Palin, announced that it is hiring for several roles, including:

• Permanent, full-time roles
• Lead Gameplay Programmer
• Engine Programmer

Alongside these roles, the studio is also hiring individuals on a 12-month fixed-term contract for the following roles:

• Gameplay Programmer FTC x2
• Senior Level Designer
• Senior Character Artist

According to the same LinkedIn post, which was also shared by the studio’s official account, Compulsion Games is hiring for “a fascinating, intriguing, brand new IP.”

If you’re interested in applying, I’ll link the LinkedIn post here, from Joe Palin who works at the Founder and Talent Lead at Studiotypes.

Compulsion Games was acquired by Xbox in 2018, alongside Ninja Theory and Playground Games. At the same time, Xbox also formed The Initiative, which has now been shut down, and the Perfect Dark game it was working on has since been canceled.

What do you make of Compulsion Games?

I can’t really speak on them as a studio, as I haven’t actually played its games.

That said, I’ve always liked the look of We Happy Few and South of Midnight, but I just never got around to playing them. I do wish it the best as it moves forward with a new IP.

What are your thoughts on Compulsion Games? Are you excited about the idea of a new IP, or not too interested? Let me know in the comments, and make sure you take part in the poll below:

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Thanks to @redphx over on X (formerly Twitter), we may have an early look at a possible new Game Pass tier.

Redphx regularly digs into Game Pass updates, sharing new additions, updates to “Stream your own game,” and even behind-the-scenes updates. They does this by checking data from Microsoft’s public-facing backend, which can sometimes reveal changes before they appear to the public.

What is Xbox Game Pass “TRITON” and what does it include?

“Triton” is potentially a new Game Pass program. However, unlike Essential, Premium, and Ultimate, it only includes games from Xbox Studios for now.

According to redphx, this includes:

• DOOM Eternal
• DOOM 64
• Dishonored 2
• Fable Anniversary
• Fallout 4
• Fallout 76
• Gears 5
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo Wars 2
• Hellblade
• Ori and the Blind Forest
• Psychonauts
• State of Decay 2
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• Retro Classics

We are recently fresh off the rumors that Asha Sharma is looking at ways to evolve Game Pass. This includes suggestions that Netflix could be bundled in, as well as potential efforts to reduce the cost of the service.

With that in mind, a new tier does not seem out of the question if those rumors are to be believed.

If you like these kinds of updates regarding Xbox Game Pass, be sure to go give @redpx a follow over on X to stay up-to-date with any new codenames or other Game Pass-related details.

Would you be interested in a new Game Pass tier that only includes first party games?

I am not entirely sure how I feel about a new tier like this. Personally, I would prefer options that let me remove things like Fortnite Crew and other additions I do not use from my Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

Paying for features I do not care about can feel frustrating, which leads me to agree with Jen's recent piece on Game Pass, which I highly recommend you give a read and check out.

With that said, let me know your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to take part in the poll below:

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Gone are the days of Xbox sitting in last place, or so I’d like to say if you squint hard enough and ignore hardware sales. Still, a win's a win! And win Xbox has, or rather Microsoft, having been ranked the 5th best game publisher based on Metacritic scores, landing at 305.7 points.

Now, 305.7 points doesn’t mean much on its own, so here’s what that actually represents. Metacritic ranks publishers using a 400-point system based entirely on critic reviews.

The biggest factor is the average Metascore, worth up to 150 points, calculated at 1.5 times the average score. Consistency also plays an important role here, with up to 100 points awarded based on how many games score 75 or higher, and another 100 tied to avoiding low scores below 50.

As well as that, each game scoring 90 or higher adds a small 5-point bonus, rewarding standout hits. Only publishers with at least five releases in the year are included.

Xbox has had a very solid 2025, averaging a Metascore of 80 thanks to releases like Avowed, Hellblade 2, The Outer Worlds 2, Ninja Gaiden 4, and DOOM: The Dark Ages.

However, as Metacritic notes, two of its highest-scoring games came from PlayStation 5 releases. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 both count toward Xbox’s overall score here.

Turning away from Xbox, Nintendo lands in 12th place with a Metascore of 77. That comes from releases like the latest Donkey Kong, though it is dragged down by Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which still feels like it should have been a free pack-in.

Much further down the list is Sony, with an average Metascore of 74. Despite standout releases like Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei, it couldn’t match its previous year’s performance, dropping to 21st place with 268.5 points.

For those wondering, in first place is Square Enix! A surprise for sure and also their first time ever being ranked number 1 on Metacritic's publisher rankings.

Does Xbox deserve 5th place on Metacritic's 2025 list of best publishers?

It’s hard to deny that Xbox has found its stride lately with game releases and overall output, and while arguments can be made that it’s too late, those are questions for another day.

Here, I think Xbox has earned its spot. It had a strong 2025, delivering one solid release after another.

Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment and take part in our poll below:

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Recently, I covered a report from Mr. Rebs, also known as Rebs Gaming, detailing that Halo: Campaign Evolved is being co-developed by Abstraction, a studio that previously worked on Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Baldur’s Gate 3, Mass Effect, and more.

Now, in a follow-up report, Mr. Rebs has shared more details on how Halo Studios, formerly 343 Industries, is approaching outsourcing, what that strategy looks like, and what the studio is still developing in-house.

In the latest follow-up on Abstraction as co-developers for Halo: Campaign Evolved, Mr. Rebs has shared more details on how Halo Studios is handling outsourcing.

As outlined in the earlier report, Abstraction is responsible for major parts of development in Halo: Campaign Evolved, including:

• Concept design for missions
• Level blockout and layout creation
• Polishing and finalizing mission content
• Creating scripted events
• Retuning combat and gameplay
• Adapting gameplay for new mechanics like sprint
• Supporting features such as four player co-op

For context on how Halo Studios is approaching this, it’s important to look at Pierre Hintze, who joined in 2017 while the studio was still known as 343 Industries.

Hintze was involved during the turnaround of Halo: The Master Chief Collection and is often credited for the game’s recovery. However, according to former developers, that effort relied heavily on external partners, with the publishing team overseeing development, leading some to question how much credit Hintze is given.

In September 2022, Hintze became head of studio, and according to the report, this is when that publishing-led approach began shaping wider development decisions, with a stronger focus on working with external partners.

Since then, Hintze appears to have brought a similar approach to the wider studio, with Halo Studios acting more like a publisher in some instances rather than handling all development internally.

It is worth mentioning that Halo Studios is still heavily involved in Halo: Campaign Evolved and continues to handle key areas of development, including:

• User interface design and engineering
• Online services like co-op and voice chat
• Cinematics, led by Josh Daniels

It is worth noting that these details come from two developers’ LinkedIn pages, and Halo Studios itself is likely to be more heavily involved than what is outlined here.

That said, if Mr. Rebs’ report is accurate, the outsourcing at Halo Studios appears to be a deliberate strategy driven by leadership direction rather than necessity.

Of course, this information wouldn't be available without the reporting of Mr. Rebs, so check for more on X and YouTube.

🗨️ What do you think of Halo Studios approach to outsourcing?

Personally, I’m in two minds about it. I want to see Halo succeed in whatever way possible because it’s my favorite franchise, but outsourcing and relying on contractors is something the series has struggled with before, and it can cause issues during development.

With all that said, I’d rather take a glass-half-full approach and hope for the best.

Enough about my thoughts, though. Let me know what you think about how Halo Studios is handling development of Campaign Evolved in the comments, and by taking part in our poll below:

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

It's been nearly five years since Jeff Kaplan, the former game director of Blizzard Entertainment's (and now Xbox's, too) competitive multiplayer hero shooter Overwatch, left the studio in 2021. Very little was known about the reasons for Kaplan's departure then; now, though, he's revealed the catalyst for his exit.

Speaking in a colossal new five-hour-long interview with YouTuber and podcaster Lex Fridman, Kaplan revealed that he ultimately left Blizzard due to extreme demands for Overwatch revenue from the developer's chief financial officer at the time. Specifically, the CFO threatened to lay off 1,000 developers if Overwatch didn't hit certain performance targets, and told Kaplan they'd be blamed on him personally.

"What ultimately broke me and my Blizzard career was, I got called [into] the CFO's office, and he sits me down, and he gives me a date — which at the time was 2020, and was going to slip to 2021, but at the time it was 2020 — and he said, 'Overwatch has to make [this amount of money] in 2020. And then every year after that, it needs a recurring revenue of [this amount of money],'" Kaplan explained.

"And then he says to me, 'If it doesn't [make this amount of money], we're gonna lay off 1,000 people. And that's gonna be on you,'" he continued. "And that was just the biggest 'F*** you' moment I had in my career. It felt surreal to be in that condition ... I had believed I would never work any place but Blizzard."

"I loved it, it was a part of who I was, and I felt I was a part of it, and I literally thought I would retire from that place. I never thought the day would come [that I would leave]. [But] that was it — I was like, 'We're done here.' Luckily, for Blizzard, that CFO is no longer there," Kaplan added.

Kaplan then went on to discuss the presence of profit-first executives in creativity-fueled industries in general, asserting that developers and other creatives give up control of their work too easily when partnering with publishers or bringing financial officers into the fold.

"I think there's a message to creative people out there and people who make stuff — we're so focused on the love of the craft that we get lost in it, and we love doing it, and we're not cutthroat, and we don't have that kind of ambition, we have a different kind of ambition, but there's this whole world, especially as you're lucky enough to have success, that [is] very cutthroat and very ambitious," Kaplan said of the corporate and profit-centered side of the business.

"And for whatever reason, we keep giving ourselves to them. And we need to stop. World of Warcraft, when we made it, there was no CFO at Blizzard. You don't need a CFO to make World of Warcraft. You need artists, engineers, designers, producers, and an audio team," he pointed out.

Thus, he argues, the creative minds behind games should be more guarded with the "golden goose," and shouldn't give it to those who will prioritize chasing potential for maximum profit over doing what's best for their work in the long term.

"I wish developers would understand their own value more, and stop handing the golden goose to people who don't deserve it," Kaplan said.

I'm in full agreement with Kaplan here, personally, and it's tragic to learn that what essentially amounts to corporate blackmail is what drove him to leave Blizzard. I'm glad he still has a place in the industry, though; his new studio Kintsugiyama is working on The Legend of California, an open-world game with an emphasis on crafting.

🗨️ Over to you!

I was honestly pretty shocked to hear that Jeff Kaplan was given this ultimatum by the then-CFO of Blizzard, and it makes his sudden departure from the studio in 2021 all the more disheartening and sad. How do you feel about his rapid exit from the developer, and the reason for it? Let me know in the comments.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 released back in November 2026, and whether you enjoyed it or not, it has consistently performed well on PlayStation and Xbox, according to Circana, which tracks playtime across platforms

The game has faced controversy both before and after launch, especially around its use of generative AI for in-game assets. However, that is not the focus here.

Instead, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has stepped in, claiming an advert for the game, which depicted airport security staff getting “frisky” with a member of the public, was “invasive.”

Why the ASA ruled the advert was irresponsible

Despite the game’s adult age rating, the ASA ruled that one of the “Replacer” adverts, titled Airport Security, depicted inappropriate themes. The campaign features comedian Nikki Glaser alongside Peter Stormare, who reprises his role as The Replacer across these promotions.

Nine viewers complained to the regulator, arguing that the advert trivialized sexual violence. While the authority acknowledged that no explicit imagery was shown, it took issue with the implication that a passenger required a deeper airport security search.

In the trailer, a man was told to remove his clothing while Glasser’s character put on a glove, suggesting an invasive internal search. The regulator concluded the scene portrayed a non-consensual and invasive procedure.

In its ruling, the ASA stated the humor was “generated by the humiliation and implied threat of painful, non-consensual penetration of the man.”

Although the man remained clothed throughout, the authority determined the overall tone trivialized sexual violence. It ruled the advert was “irresponsible and offensive.”

As a result, the advert “must not appear again in its current form.”

Activision’s response and broadcast context

Activision Blizzard UK Ltd defended the advert, arguing that it depicted a deliberately exaggerated scene and made the scenario a parody. It said the airport setting had no resemblance to real airport security procedures.

The company maintained that the humor referred to discomfort. It also argued that the advert did not sexualize the act of performing a search.

Before airing, the advertisement was reviewed and approved by Clearcast, which provides pre-clearance for television advertising. It was given an “ex-kids” timing restriction, meaning it was not broadcast during or near children’s programming.

The spot ran in November 2025 on YouTube and video platforms, as well as including television channels ITV and Channel 5.

According to the BBC, this is not the first time a Call of Duty advert has faced action. In 2012, an advert for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 received a daytime ban for depicting characters firing at a truck.

Two additional complaints were also raised about Black Ops 7, relating to alleged drug use. However, the ASA did not uphold that complaint.

You can still view the advert on YouTube if you so wish.

Over to you

Do you agree with the ASA’s decision to block the advert, or do you think it was clearly intended as parody for an adult audience? Let us know in the comments and make sure to take part in our poll below:

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Xbox has had a tough time lately, just as Microsoft has broadly struggled with public perception, facing criticism over its heavy AI push and what many see as half-baked updates to Windows.

Since acquiring Activision Blizzard and King in 2023, many have wondered how that shift has affected studios like Blizzard. Now, thanks to an exclusive interview by our own Jennifer Young with Blizzard president Johanna Faries, we have a clearer picture of how things are working behind the scenes.

How Blizzard works with Xbox behind the scenes

As many will be relieved to hear, Xbox has not become some all-seeing overlord of Blizzard. Instead, Johanna Faries makes it clear that Xbox’s day-to-day approach is framed around support, often asking, “How can we help?”

Xbox has often been praised, and sometimes criticized, for its hands-off approach with studios. Some believe it needs greater involvement, especially after several game cancellations last year and a perceived lack of updates for certain titles.

Here, though, the situation feels different. Blizzard appears to be firmly in control, and it is a long-standing studio that understands how to manage its own direction.

Recently, Overwatch, one of its flagship IPs, saw a major resurgence. It even surpassed 150,000 concurrent players on Steam alone, highlighting that Blizzard still knows how to drive engagement when it matters. You can read the full interview with juicy details, and I highly recommend you do.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

In a recent interview with Fortune Magazine, Sarah Bond sat down with Katharine Gemmell to discuss the future direction of Xbox and how the platform continues to evolve. The conversation touched on leadership, strategy, and how Xbox is responding to shifting player habits across console, PC, and cloud.

During the interview, Bond pointed to stronger player retention among those using Xbox Play Anywhere (XPA), citing higher engagement. However, at the same time, Bond has avoided directly commenting on questions around the widely reported 30% profit margin target, instead framing Xbox’s priorities around balancing long-term growth, player behavior, and business health.

How Xbox Play Anywhere is shaping player engagement

Xbox Play Anywhere is a core feature of the Xbox ecosystem, allowing players to access supported games across Xbox consoles, PC, and cloud. It is designed to reduce friction, make game ownership more flexible across devices, and it hit a major milestone last summer.

While speaking with Fortune Magazine, Sarah Bond was asked how Xbox works to “separate meaningful feedback from noise.” In response, Bond explained that player sentiment alone is not enough to guide decisions.

Bond then pointed to Xbox Play Anywhere as a clear example of how behavioural data shapes investment decisions.

That increase in engagement is part of why Xbox has continued to push the feature more heavily in recent years. According to Bond, the data suggests XPA does more than offer convenience.

On a personal level, this lines up with how the feature is often used in practice. I regularly use my Xbox Ally X to play at times I normally would not, and that convenience almost always means turning to Xbox Play Anywhere titles.

What Bond did and did not say about 30% profit margins

If you were not already aware, reports in recent months have suggested that Microsoft has set an unusually high profit margin target of 30% for Xbox, well above what is typically seen across the games industry. The topic has been widely discussed, making it a natural point of pressure during the interview.

To her credit, the interviewer does not shy away from the issue, asking Bond directly:

“Microsoft recently set ambitious profit margin targets of 30% for Xbox, well above the industry average. How does that influence its investment, its creative decision-making? Has anything changed in that regard?”

Bond does not directly confirm or deny the reported figure in her response. Instead, she reframes the question around broader priorities and flexibility.

The answer offers little clarity on whether the 30% margin target exists in practice, but it does reinforce Xbox’s public positioning. Bond repeatedly frames profitability as something to be balanced alongside player engagement and long-term growth, rather than as a single driving force behind creative or strategic decisions.

However, the absence of a direct denial does lend some additional weight to the reports around a 30% profit margin target, particularly given how deliberately Bond sidesteps the figure when asked outright.

Regardless, rumors come and go, but engagement data is hard to ignore. If XPA players really are playing 20% more, that tells you exactly why Microsoft keeps doubling down on cross‑platform access, and we're all for that here at Windows Central.

Do you think features like Xbox Play Anywhere should be a bigger priority for Xbox than hitting aggressive profit targets? Let us know in the comments and make sure you take part in our poll below:

In a recent Q&A, Steve Downes, the longtime voice of Master Chief, reflected on Halo 5: Guardians and the disconnect between its marketing and the game players ultimately received.

Halo, first released in 2001 on Xbox, and was for years the face of the platform. While Halo 5 was widely praised for its multiplayer, its campaign proved more divisive, particularly after trailers and promotional material suggested a very different story direction than what shipped in the final game.

Downes addressed that period directly, explaining that recording promotional material for Halo 5 was one of the more challenging stretches of his time with the series. He said the marketing pointed fans toward expectations that the campaign did not fully deliver, creating tension between what was being advertised and how Master Chief was portrayed.

Steve Downes on the challenges of voicing Master Chief during Halo 5

According to Downes, Halo 5 was the most challenging period of his time with the series, largely due to recording promotional material rather than the game itself.

He explained that trailers and other marketing pointed toward a narrative direction that did not reflect the final campaign, which created discomfort during those recording sessions. As Downes put it:

Downes also acknowledged that he was aware, at the time, that the promotional material did not fully align with what players would experience in the finished release.

That disconnect, he said, made it harder to stay true to Master Chief as a character, stating:

It is well documented that Halo 5’s marketing presented a very different experience from the game that ultimately shipped.

The campaign was positioned around the idea that Master Chief had gone rogue, setting up a manhunt led by Spartan Locke and teasing a direct conflict between the two. This was reinforced by the popular Hunt the Truth audio series, which leaned heavily into a darker, conspiratorial tone involving the Office of Naval Intelligence.

While that direction generated a lot of excitement ahead of release, much of what the marketing built up did not fully materialize in the final campaign.

Do you agree with Steve Downes’ take on Halo 5’s marketing, or do you think the final campaign still delivered what fans were promised? Let us know by commenting or taking part in our poll below

Fable shows that Xbox has gotten serious about AAA quality, and I think this could end up being the new normal for Xbox Game Studios.

I don't think it's any secret that over the past decade, Xbox has had a bit of a games problem. Looking back to the past, we have examples like Recore, Redfall, Crackdown 3, among others that had solid concepts but failed to hit the expected quality bar. Times are changing, though.

Microsoft has also had some big wins, of course. Forza Horizon 3, 4, 5, and likely 6 being primary examples. Other games like Microsoft Flight Simulator have become staples in their respective genre. And Microsoft is inarguably a master of service games, turning Minecraft into a global phenomenon, with Sea of Thieves and other home-grown efforts on top. However, Microsoft's big Xbox gaming success stories have something in common ...

For whatever reason, games that are heavy on story content, or "game of the year contender" type depth has eluded Xbox for an incredibly long time.

In recent years, thanks to studios like Obsidian, Rare, The Coalition, Bethesda, and other studios, Microsoft has delivered a strong and consistent cadence of high-quality games — but they've rarely been considered for the biggest accolades the industry has to offer. I've argued in the past that games like Forza Horizon should've at least been nominated, but it stands to reason that those deciding these awards feel more connected with character-driven experiences. Content from Xbox rival platforms like PlayStation's God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, and Death Stranding soak up a lot of the attention, while Nintendo's "fun" gameplay systems-first experiences like Mario and Donkey Kong win on the other end.

My perception is that Xbox's games typically straddle this middle "AA" ground. Gears of War 4 and 5 had some great story telling and decent combat, but arguably lacked the depth of similar titles in the same vein. Gears of War 5 in particular played a lot like Mass Effect 2 and 3, albeit without the RPG depth or breadth, replaced instead with claustrophobic linearity. It was still great, but not exemplary by any means. Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 seem to have suffered the same fate, evaporating from the discourse as fast as they arrived for whatever reason.

While it's too early to say for sure if Fable is going to land as well as it seems it could, it does, to me, seem like something of a new dawn for Xbox. Playground Games are at the apex of the industry, but have often been unfairly overlooked due to their chosen genre. Racing games unfairly don't get the respect they deserve, but I think it's at least partially for subconscious reasons. The emotive experiences offered by The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, Expedition 33, Final Fantasy, and so on, seem to be the types of experiences that players often connect with on a deeper level.

With Fable, it seems that Playground will showcase its adeptness at both types of experiences. The systems-heavy online gameplay of Forza Horizon 6, with the emotional character-led depth of a game like Fable — if it lands, Playground will solidify itself as one of the best studios in the world.

I think there's another story here though, as I outlined in my recent write up of Fable's January Xbox Developer_Direct reveal.

Microsoft has shed exclusivity for Xbox games, which has hurt the Xbox community and robbed the Xbox ecosystem of major hardware selling points. But in a post-Fortnite, post-Roblox world, exclusivity matters less and less to newer customers coming in. Younger cohorts in particular are flooded with content on every platform with the sorts of immediacy that traditional console holders can only dream of.

It's in this universe that I think "AA" just doesn't cut it anymore. When the most popular games in the world are hyper-memeable slop like "Catch a Brainrot" in Roblox or Fortnite with its Kim Kardashian skins, only the most exemplary experiences seem to have a chance to cut through the deluge of smaller, often "free" experiences on offer.

The era of the full price "AA" game seems to be well and truly over, where players really do expect a certain quality bar in exchange for their $70. Xbox Game Pass has probably accelerated this too, as it frees users of paying $70 for games that aren't quite on the same level as the stand outs, like Elden Ring and the like. It's also often the case that lower-priced games beat full-priced games for depth and quality, too.

To Microsoft's credit, it has continued letting developers experiment with smaller titles regardless. Keeper and Double Fine's upcoming game "Kiln" are great examples of this, as well as Obsidian's Pentiment. I've heard that Obsidian has other smaller projects on the way — as well as much more ambitious, complex ones too. Double Fine as well, I'm told, has a bigger project to follow up Kiln. InXile of Wasteland game also said that its upcoming game, Clockwork Revolution, is 10x more ambitious than anything it has done before.

But, now that Microsoft can leverage PlayStation's massive install base (and Nintendo's as well down the line), they can take on the kind of capital risk that big, AAA publishers often do as well — whether it's EA's Battlefield, CD Projekt RED's Cyberpunk 2077, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6, or From Software's Elden Ring. These are projects that simply couldn't exist on the scale and game-of-the-year-grade quality bar without being multiplatform.

I've heard that Gears: E-Day, State of Decay 3, and the next mainline Halo should see similarly ambitious jumps in depth and breadth too. Owing to the fact that they can leverage PlayStation's audience and sales potential, Xbox can offset some of that upfront risk that PC and Xbox exclusivity artificially foists upon Microsoft's developers. It can grow the teams, invest in longer development cycles, and expect more ambitious sales targets as a result.

Where does that leave Xbox hardware?

Well, we know Xbox Series X|S sales have declined almost free-fall style since the pandemic. Thankfully, this hasn't prevented major publishers from continuing support for the Xbox ecosystem. In fact, Xbox's arch rival PlayStation brought Helldivers 2 and is bringing Marathon to Xbox this year, owing to Xbox's disproportionately passionate, spendy, and engaged audience.

The next Xbox will be a Windows PC as I've previously written, but it's still worth being concerned about. Is there a point where Xbox's ecosystem loses enough users to convince developers that it isn't worth it? We've not seen evidence of it so far, but it remains to be seen if features like Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Play Anywhere, and Xbox Cloud Gaming access represent enough of a selling point to beat PlayStation's exclusive games line-up. PlayStation's hardware sales have declined too, though ... despite having a strong exclusive line-up of games.

With competition from TikTok, YouTube, and so on, console platforms have found it more difficult than ever to find users looking for casual entertainment. Going multi-platform was inevitable in that universe, but on the plus side, it looks as though the games we'll get will hit a quality bar previously inaccessible to Xbox's game studios, as it taps into the global gaming audience, rather than its isolated green corner.

But what do you think? Let us know, down below.

Hey, remember State of Decay 3? You could be forgiven for forgetting about it, seeing as it's largely felt like Microsoft and Xbox have since it was announced with a short cinematic trailer six years ago. Save for another brief trailer at 2024's Xbox Games Showcase, we've heard nothing about the zombie survival game sequel, with no release date to look forward to. Not even a release window.

Developer Undead Labs and Xbox have been radio silent for so long that some fear the game has been canceled. Briefly touching on the title in a new interview, though, Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan has confirmed that State of Decay 3 is still in development — and says that what he's seen of it himself is very promising.

"I think the [PR] in this room will murder me if I give you the answer to that," Duncan commented to GamesRadar+ when asked if we'd see more of State of Decay 3 in 2026. "So, here's what I'll say: I have done a number of visits to that studio in the last six to eight months. I have sat and played the game with the team a bunch of times. It's coming on really well. We're very excited about the franchise and its potential. So I will certainly see a lot more of it in the coming year — is that a good answer to your question?"

It's a reassuring statement coming from the head of Xbox publishing, though it's still frustrating that this is one of the only morsels of information we have about State of Decay 3 after six years of development. Still, this should assuage any fears that fans had about the project being axed.

Notably, though, it's hard to blame players for being worried, or annoyed. Xbox has something of a bad reputation for announcing games very early, only to cancel them or leave fans waiting for ages. Microsoft infamously killing Everwild and Perfect Dark last year amid layoffs comes to mind, as does the end of Avalanche Studios' Contraband. And, y'know, the never-ending wait for The Elder Scrolls 6, announced in 2018.

Fortunately, it seems this new State of Decay installment will have a much better fate. But will we actually see more of it later in 2026? Could we even get a surprise 2026 release date for the long-awaited, highly anticipated open-world survival game?

Duncan couldn't give a clear answer to these questions, of course, though the somewhat playful nature of his response to the one he was asked does make me think there's a serious possibility we will, at the very least, get another look at Undead Labs' next game this year.

Something at the Xbox Games Showcase 2026 in the summer is perfectly reasonable to expect and hope for, in fact. A surprise launch or shadow drop in 2026, however, is far less so; I wholeheartedly believe Microsoft would have included State of Decay 3 in the Xbox Developer Direct 2026 show if it was coming this year.

Ultimately, only time will tell if there's more State of Decay 3 in store for us in 2026, and if we'll finally get a release date or window after six long years of waiting. Whenever it does eventually arrive, note that as a first-party Microsoft title, it will be available to play on Xbox Game Pass.

State of Decay 2, the most-recent entry in the series released in 2018, got its final update in late 2024 as the teams at Undead Labs focused wholly on State of Decay 3. The update fixed a huge number of bugs and issues, while also unlocking all previously limited-time content for all players.

Are you excited for State of Decay 3? Do you think Undead Labs is going to deliver an experience worth the six year-long wait we've had to endure for it? Hit me with how you're feeling in the comments.

All four of the games shown during Thursday's Xbox Developer Direct 2026 presentation are coming to PS5 as well as Xbox systems and Windows PC, with three of them — Forza Horizon 6, Fable, and Kiln — being made by first-party Microsoft developers Playground Games and Double Fine. Forza is scheduled to come to Sony's consoles at some point after launch, with both Fable and Kiln hitting PS5 day one.

Another of Xbox's big first-party 2026 titles, Halo: Campaign Evolved, is also coming to PS5; that's a first for (what was once) the brand's flagship exclusive franchise. And while it's unclear if this year's Gears of War: E-Day will launch there, too, the chances of it doing so are high given the multiplatform nature of every other recent Xbox Game Studios title.

Indeed, it appears that Microsoft is ramping up its emphasis on multiplatform Xbox releases after the immense success of games like Forza Horizon 5 and Sea of Thieves on PS5 — and Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan has all-but-confirmed this in a recent interview.

"As the guy that gets to run studios and help our game teams, I take a pretty simple view on this: we want our games to reach the most players that we can," he told GamesRadar+ when asked about figuring out which titles Xbox should bring to other platforms. "That's always our goal. It's rarely more complicated than that. It's like, how can we get this game to as many players as we can?"

This tracks with Microsoft's recent moves away from focusing on its traditional Xbox Series X|S consoles, and it instead "meeting payers where they are." Launching games on other platforms is only one cog in that machine; others include the release of the Xbox Ally handheld, the expansion of Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming, and making more Xbox Game Pass tiers multiplatform.

As for why some games like Forza Horizon 6 are coming to PS5 at some point after launch instead of at release, Duncan explains that various development variables can interfere with plans to bring certain titles to other platforms. "There's always development realities about when these projects start — how big a team is, and what plans we have at the start of development ... when a strategy changes, maybe you've got a plan that exists with a game and maybe you can adopt that, maybe you can't. So that's why."

"Sometimes we are inconsistent. You see some games in one place, some games in multiple places. Just know that we're going to work on that, and we're going to try and be more consistent with what we do," he continued.

Duncan also noted that the Xbox Game Studios team may choose to bring games to a new platform later if they're not going to be "the best that they can be for that platform" sooner, and won't be able to "take advantage of whatever features and nuances that the platform has."

"I think we would have a conversation internally and go, 'Hey, unless we can do it really well and do the right thing by those players, then…' and that's when you get into conversations of, well, maybe we can ship it afterwards," he said. "Because teams are only a set size. We only have a certain amount of — ultimately, it all comes down to resource. Not everything is limitless. So we just want to do the best job, by each platform, by each game. So in that world, sometimes we'll maintain optionality."

In a perfect world, though, it seems clear that Microsoft would bring all of its first-party Xbox games to every platform if it could, and that suggests we may see the end of Xbox Game Studios titles that are permanently exclusive to Xbox and Windows PC. At the very least, that appears to be the direction the publisher is heading in.

How do you feel about Microsoft and Xbox's focus on multiplatform releases, and what may very well be the end of exclusive Xbox games? Let me know in the comments.

Forza Horizon fans won't have to wait long for the next adventure in the franchise. The highly anticipated title has received an official release date for May 19, 2026 during the January Xbox Developer Direct.

The Developer Direct is highlighting games from Xbox-owned Playground Games, Turn 10 Studios, and third-party partner Game Freak. The showcase opened up with a deep dive into Forza Horizon 6, with developers from Playground Games and Turn 10 sharing details on the upcoming racing title's Tokyo setting.

After showing off new features like cooperative building and new accessibility mechanics, the team confirmed the release date for Forza Horizon 6 for this spring. The May 19 release date is only for the Xbox and PC editions of Forza Horizon 6. PlayStation fans who have been taking advantage of Xbox's willingness to forgo console exclusivity for first-party titles will have to wait until later in 2026 to start racing.

Forza Horizon 6 shifts the game's narrative mode to introduce new qualifying races, with players starting off as tourists of Japan that have to prove their mettle before they can dive into the bigger races. Players will have their own home base that can be customized with new buildings that can also be visited by other players, building upon Forza's social gameplay offerings. Car Meets are also coming to Forza Horizon 6, a feature that is grounded in Japanese car culture's Daikoku car meet.

Xbox has confirmed that Forza Horizon 6 will launch with 550 different cars on day one, including the cover cars the 2025 GR GT Prototype and the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser.

Xbox, Playground Games, and Turn 10 studios have not yet confirmed an exact release date for the PlayStation release of the game, though they did confirm that it would be later in 2026.

Minecraft had one heck of a year in 2025, and it shows no signs of slowing down as we progress deeper into the new year. Mojang Studios wasted no time revealing details on the first game drop of 2026 for Minecraft, and it's looking adorable.

There's no name or release date, but we do know that Minecraft's debut update of the year will bring cute new redesigns of many baby mobs, including wolves, cats, cows, pigs, and more. It goes deeper than just the visuals, too.

I'm admittedly a little late to covering this, as I was extremely busy while in Las Vegas for CES 2026, but I want to spread the word and make sure everyone sees just how lovable the new baby mobs are. Oh, and let committed Minecraft players know they can go try out the new features right now via snapshots or previews.

Another Spring update that matches the season

You can watch the developer diary above for a succinct summary of the features confirmed for this update, but I'll give you the quick, written breakdown right here.

• New baby mobs. The headline for this update, at least right now, is the revisit to Minecraft's baby mobs. Mojang Studios has created custom models and textures for baby wolves, cats, chickens, cows, pigs, sheep, rabbits, and ocelots. Yes, that includes all the regional variants for these mobs!
• New sounds and animations. For some of these mobs, the update goes deeper than just a visual refresh for babies. Wolf pups and kittens get all-new sounds, with unique yips, barks, mews, and yowls. Adult rabbits have also been redesigned, and they and their kits benefit from adorable new animations.
• Craftable name tags. Finally, the name tag has joined the saddle by becoming craftable in Minecraft. With a single gold nugget and a scrap of paper, you will now be able to craft name tags. That'll make it a lot easier to name all the pets you won't stop collecting.

If you remember, Minecraft started 2025 with the Spring to Life update, which felt very similar to this upcoming game drop in that it focused on diversity and detail in the Overworld. Mojang's Game Director, Agnes Larsson, also made the same comparison in the developer diary linked above.

As much as I absolutely adore these new baby mobs, I am hopeful that more is planned for this update before it actually rolls out to players, possibly in March of this year.

My favorite part? I'm already seeing the Minecraft community come together with some excellent suggestions for this upcoming update. It's still early days for Minecraft's first update of the year, too, so we have no idea what Mojang is already cooking up (and how it may respond to player feedback).

For example, what if there were a way to permanently preserve baby mobs? Perhaps by adding a "Lil" prefix or "Jr." suffix to name tags, or by feeding a baby mob something like a glistering melon (just to name a couple ideas from comments). New fox variants could also be awesome, especially if they were accompanied by redesigned, fluffier baby foxes.

I've also seen people wish they could properly tame and befriend rabbits like you can cats and dogs, and I fully understand the sentiment. There are plentiful neutral mobs like rabbits that can be bred by players, but bunnies are fairly popular (and very friendly) pets in real life, so why can't the same be said of Minecraft rabbits?

There's still a lot we don't know about this update, of course, so all we can do is keep letting Mojang know what we want and wait for fresh betas and news. While I'm on that topic, you can absolutely go test out the first new features I broke down above in the latest Minecraft: Java Edition snapshots and Minecraft: Bedrock Edition previews.

What do you think about Minecraft's first update of the year? Is there anything you want to see Mojang Studios add to Minecraft in 2026? Let us know in the comments below!

Towerborne developers, Stoic, and Xbox Game Studios have announced that the side-scrolling action RPG is finally ready to graduate from the Game Preview program. Towerborne's full 1.0 launch is currently set for February 26.

The game's full launch plans have undergone significant changes since its initial reveal and early access launch. At the time, Towerborne was planned to go free-to-play at launch and was initially touted as an Xbox console exclusive. The 1.0 update for Towerborne will now launch on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Steam, with a standard edition priced at $ 24.99 and a deluxe edition at $29.99.

The idea behind Towerborne's original free-to-play launch strategy was that the game would be an always-online cooperative multiplayer experience, but that plan has since shifted. The 1.0 launch of Towerborne will transition the game into its 'buy once, play offline' state. Online co-op will still be an option, but Stoic has opted to make Towerborne an experience that players can actually own — a concept that seems almost foreign in today's all-digital and subscription-based landscape.

In a blog post on Xbox Wire, Stoic CEO and President Trisha Stouffer explained that this dramatic pivot in launch plans "required deep structural rebuilding over the past year, transforming systems originally designed around constant connectivity. The result is a stronger, more accessible, and more player-friendly version of Towerborne."

What's new for Towerborne with 1.0?

Towerborne's full premium launch will continue to build upon the foundation for the game's story, providing a complete narrative arc that will culminate in an epic boss battle against the game's major antagonist. Not just one but two new bosses have been added as well as new lieutenants and umbra enemies for players to tackle alone or with friends.

Version 1.0 of Towerborne will also feature a fully reworked world map with a new biome, new combat challenges, and plenty of new encounters. There is also new gear and player abilities, and a forge system for modifying stats.

Stoic has also integrated a brand-new difficulty system into Stoic, rebalancing the game and introducing 'Brutal' difficulty for those who want even more of a challenge.

While there is a plethora of quality of life changes also planned for Towerborne's 1.0 update, one of the most notable changes is a result of the decision to forgo a free-to-play launch model. Towerborne was initially intended to be supported by cosmetic microtransactions, but Stoic has shared on a dedicated FAQ page that player feedback steered the team away from a free-to-play model for a premium launch.

This left the team with the challenge of converting the rewards from the previously available Founders Packs to the new launch plan. Players' Belfry Bucks, the original in-game currency for Towerborne, will now be retired and converted into in-game Writs via a currency transfer Stoic is calling Stepstones. Players will receive one Stepstone for every 500 Belfry Bucks earned during Early Access.

Because Towerborne will no longer rely on cosmetic microtransactions for funding, the in-game premium cosmetics store will retire when Towerborne updates on February 26. Items players purchased during Early Access will remain available, but Stoic will discontinue Founders Packs sales once the game is fully launched.

Towerborne will leave Game Preview and launch on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, PlayStation 5, and Steam on February 26, 2026 for $24.99. The game supports Xbox Play Anywhere and is available for subscribers to Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.

Minecraft has been around for over 15 years now, but it's still showing no signs of slowing down. As 2025 properly ends and we usher in a new year, we're looking back at another year of Minecraft filled with fun, plenty of new updates, and some awfully big numbers that only this community can pull off.

Mojang Studios is joining in on the retrospective with some of those crazy stats, and is also giving away a free Inflatable Chicken Suit Character Creator item to anyone who logs into the Minecraft: Bedrock Edition dressing room right now.

Next year promises to be another big one for one of the world's most successful video games, but that doesn't mean we can't take a look back first. Let's get started.

Keeping track of Minecraft player shenanigans

First, Mojang shared this image at X.com (formerly Twitter), sharing some random stats from the community throughout 2025. Sorry for those of you who love updates on the number of copies Minecraft has sold, how many monthly active players Minecraft has, and other bigger statistics — this end-of-year breakdown doesn't take itself too seriously.

For one, the Minecraft community clearly loved the new copper golem mob added earlier this year, as we've already spawned nearly a billion of the helpful little guys. We're also clearly having a lot of fun with all the new mounts, because we tamed over 270 million of them and traveled over 335 billion combined blocks.

I guess most of us are still finding the saddles we need in treasure chests, though, because we only took advantage of our newfound ability to craft them 16 million times this year.

I would have also enjoyed some stats on how much we modded Minecraft: Java Edition or took advantage of the Minecraft Marketplace, but no such luck on those fronts.

A busy year filled with Minecraft updates

If I tried to recap everything major that happened with Minecraft in 2025, this article would end up looking more like a Wikipedia page than anything you'd actually want to sit and read.

I do want to take a few moments to hit Minecraft's biggest points of the year, though, starting with one of two Minecraft Live events Mojang hosted in 2025. I covered Minecraft Live (Mar. 2025), and it was filled with announcements on the game's first three updates of the year, A Minecraft Movie, and more.

Yes, Minecraft hit the silver screen in 2025, and it broke some records while doing it. I actually spoke with some of the team behind the Minecraft movie as it hit streaming services earlier this year, and Mojang also teased the Minecraft movie sequel coming in 2027.

Back to Minecraft, though, and we started the year with the Spring to Life update, which aimed to make the Overworld feel more diverse (while also adding plenty of quality-of-life improvements). Then, we got two updates in one with Vibrant Visuals and Chase the Skies, with the former finally upgrading Minecraft's iconic graphics and the latter letting us fly with our friends on happy ghasts.

Minecraft Live (Sept. 2025) arrived with a fresh wave of announcements, including all the details on what I consider to be Minecraft's best update of 2025, The Copper Age. Finally, we got a lot of new mobs and a brand-new weapon with Minecraft's final update of the year, Mounts of Mayhem.

That's not everything, of course. Mojang Studios announced a collaboration with Candy Crush's King to develop Minecraft Blast, an upcoming mobile game. Minecraft in 2026 will also look a little different, thanks to the removal of code obfuscation for modders and a change in how version numbers work.

I could say even more, but I'll leave it at this: Minecraft had quite the year. I'm excited to see what 2026 has in store, too. As a quick reminder right here at the end, Minecraft is also discounted across all platforms through the first week of 2026, too.

Minecraft had a big year filled with updates, events, and milestones — and 2026 isn't about to slow things down. What do you think of the state of Minecraft at the end of the year, and are you excited for what's coming next? Let us know in the comments below!

No matter if you're playing a game or watching a movie, a work of art is almost assuredly made better by the presence of strange little dudes. This basic fact is a major part of what powered Star Wars creator George Lucas, who, yes, envisioned wars of light and dark with space wizards clashing across planets, but who also really just wanted as many odd-looking fellows as he could cram into a single frame.

Now, it's become apparent to me that this is also clearly understood by director Lee Petty and the rest of the team at Double Fine Productions, which launched the game Keeper earlier this year.

I was extremely busy in October — at one point, I was actually writing my review of The Outer Worlds 2 while in a hotel room preparing to check out a preview of Halo: Campaign Evolved — and so I did not have time to play Keeper until recently.

As my colleague Zachary Boddy wrote in their review, Keeper is a "work of art" as it tells a gorgeous story of the unlikely bond between a walking lighthouse and a bird. To my delight, it's also stuffed to the brim with more strange little guys than I could've imagined.

Mere minutes after the lighthouse takes its first lumbering steps, I found the first of many, many, many weird little guys. Some of them lounge outside of their tiny houses in the middle of a small island, oversized eyes peeping with curiosity. Others dash around cliffs, look from underneath craggy overhangs, or even dance frenetically as I found ancient ruins off the beaten path.

That would be fun enough if it were all the same type or two, but every new area seemed to also introduce a completely fresh type of strange little guy. Some have a single huge eyeball. Some have no discernible features whatsoever, resembling a pile of rocks imbued with rhythm. Others resemble clockwork critters, rolling around through a town.

I also appreciate their reactivity, as almost every single one of the little guys reacts when the lighthouse shines its light directly down on them and intensifies the beam. Some fall overs, others try to hide; it's a cute way of adding more interactivity to what is a very straightforward game.

Before long, I quickly realized that one of my main goals as I journeyed through this game wasn't just to enjoy the breathtaking artistic design or to try to piece together some idea of the story based on Achievement descriptions. No, I was simply excited to see what other weird little fellas were in store.

More games in general could use strange little folk of a greeble inclination, so I'm happy Keeper overdelivered on this extraordinarily particular point for me.

Double Fine Productions head Tim Schafer stated back at Gamescom 2025 that the studio is working on multiple different games. None of them are Brutal Legend 2 — in fact, all of them are new IPs, so there's no new Psychonauts in development right now either — but the odds are good that they'll have copious amounts of strange little guys.

I look forward to verifying this in the future whenever Double Fine's next project (or projects) come to light.

In the meantime, if you've not played Keeper yet, you absolutely should, as it's a wonderful game that stands out in an impressive year. Keeper is currently available on Xbox Series X|S consoles and Windows PC, and is also included in both Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

What are your favorite strange little guys in video games? Let me know in the comments!

As 2025 closes, the teams at Xbox put out a message looking back over the first-party games that launched throughout the year, with some small tidbits about what's to come in 2026, including with the next Gears of War.

Speaking with Xbox Wire, The Coalition Studio head Mike Crump reflected on the launch of Gears of War: Reloaded, while also providing some comments on the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day.

"This is our most ambitious game yet, entirely built from scratch in Unreal Engine 5 to feel like Gears and play like new," Crump says. "This is a return to our roots as Marcus & Dom face the Locust for the first time ever. It’s the best place to jump into the Gears universe, and we can’t wait to share more next year."

While Gears of War: Reloaded brought a second remaster of the original game to Xbox, PC, and PlayStation back in August, Gears of War: E-Day will be the first new mainline game in the franchise since 2019's Gears 5.

Outside of the game's reveal trailer, nothing else has been shown so far, but Gears of War: E-Day is slated to launch at some point in 2026. The titular event, Emergence Day, is the outbreak of war between humanity and the Locust Horde.

Personally, I'm most curious about how Crump envisions this as the best place for new players to jump in. Obviously, as a prequel, there'll be some new backstory elements, but is there something else in store?

2026 will be a big year for Xbox Game Studios

Gears of War: E-Day is far from the only big Xbox title slated to launch next year. Alongside the new Gears of War game, teams across Xbox Game Studios are working on an array of games pencilled in for 2026.

That includes Halo Studios' Halo: Campaign Evolved, an expanded remake of the original game that is also bringing the franchise to PlayStation for the first time.

Playground Games has a double-feature on deck, with the collection of three U.K. studios working on the Japan-bound open world racer Forza Horizon 6, as well as the long-anticipated reboot of Fable, a role-playing game series that's been dormant for years.

That's in addition to updates and DLC planned for multiple games that launched in 2025, including Obsidian Entertainment's The Outer Worlds 2.

The year isn't quite over, but there's a small shake-up coming to the Xbox division's leadership next year.

Sources tell Windows Central that Tim Stuart, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Microsoft Gaming, will be stepping into a new role as chief operating officer (COO) of ZeniMax Media, the publisher responsible for Bethesda Softworks-published titles such as DOOM, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout.

Replacing Stuart as overall CFO of Microsoft Gaming is Xavier Pokorzynsk, who currently works as corporate vice president of Microsoft Gaming. These changes are expected to be effective starting in January 2026.

This news comes after a strange year for Xbox and Microsoft Gaming as a whole. The company launched numerous critically-acclaimed games, several of which topped the sales charts in the U.S, including Bethesda Softworks' The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered.

At the same time, the company has also seen continued mass layoffs, with multiple games being cancelled and numerous developers being cut.

Earlier this year, a report from Bloomberg revealed that the Xbox division is being asked to hit a 30% "accountability" margin by Microsoft CFO Amy Hood, a number that is well in excess of the gaming industry's standard.

October also saw a number of changes rolled out to the company's Xbox Game Pass subscription service, with some new features being added alongside an eye-watering 50% price hike at the top tier.

Microsoft has also raised the prices on Xbox consoles in the U.S. twice this year, a move that does notably coincide with increasing production costs and uncertainty caused by the U.S. Trump administration's tariffs on many countries where components are sourced.

As a result, an Xbox Series X that cost $500 back in 2020 will now go for $650 at retailers.