Microsoft confirmed Monday it is offering voluntary buyouts to roughly a quarter of its workforce, around 60,000 employees at level 70 or below in the US, Canada, India and the UK, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by CNBC. The offer follows a fiscal 2026 in which Microsoft spent about $116 billion on property and equipment, mostly cloud and AI data-center capacity, up roughly $50 billion from the prior year, while operating income rose about $30 billion.
cnet.com
· 2026-10-26
PCWorld built a PC matching the Xbox Series X's specs and priced it at roughly $1,200 including Windows and a controller, or about $730 for core components alone. That's down sharply from the $1,559 PCWorld found necessary to match the console at its 2020 launch, when the gap versus the console's price was about $1,060.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-26
Asus has released the ROG Xbox Ally X20, a 20th-anniversary revision of its ROG Xbox Ally X gaming handheld, priced at $1,299.99 (or $2,499.99 bundled with XR glasses and accessory cases). The device keeps the same internal performance as the $999.99 Ally X but adds an OLED display, TMR joysticks, rubberized grips, a transparent case design, a transforming D-pad, and a screenshot button in place of the library button.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-26
Microsoft is giving as many as 60,000 employees across the US, UK, Canada, and India the option to take a voluntary exit package that includes financial support and career planning help, chief people officer Amy Coleman said in a staff memo. Eligible groups include AI experiences, Copilot, CoreAI, Windows and Devices, Xbox, finance, and HR, while marketing, commercial sales, security, and some other teams are excluded or only partially included.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-26
ASUS and Microsoft have released the ROG Xbox Ally X20, a higher-end version of last year's ROG Xbox Ally X gaming handheld. It keeps the same AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip and 24GB of LPDDR5X memory, but adds an OLED display, TMR joysticks, an adjustable D-pad, and a transparent plastic shell, priced at $1,300.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-26
T-Mobile has introduced three new "T-Mix" wireless plans—Standard, More, and Loaded—that let customers bundle service with subscriptions such as Netflix, Apple TV, YouTube Premium, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Pricing starts at $55/month for Standard with one swappable perk, rising to $95/month for Loaded, which allows up to three perks per line across the first three lines, capped at 11 total. Subscribers can change their chosen "Picks" up to four times a year without affecting the plan's cost.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-26
Netflix reportedly offered Microsoft $500 million for a seven-year deal to adapt Xbox franchises into shows and films, but Microsoft countered at $800 million, and the deal collapsed, according to Puck. Xbox said it has received 'record-breaking interest' in its IP and remains excited about existing projects with Netflix, including animated Minecraft and Diablo series.
darkhorizons.com
· 2026-10-25
According to a Fortune report, Microsoft is developing a revamped Game Pass structure that would let subscribers choose individual features—such as console game access, cloud gaming, and multiplayer—as separate add-ons under a tiered system. The plan follows earlier reporting from Windows Central in April that suggested Xbox wanted to let users customize which bundled content, like Fortnite Crew, they pay for.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-24
A new how-to guide recommends disabling Xbox Game Bar, switching Windows Search back to Classic indexing, and pausing OneDrive sync to free up system resources during PC gaming. The guide explains step-by-step navigation through Windows Settings to turn off these background features, arguing that tools like Steam already cover most gaming needs that Game Bar provides.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-24
Microsoft's Xbox division confirmed that Helen Chiang, its first-ever chief operating officer, left the company effective immediately, just months after being promoted into the newly created role in July. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced the exit in a brief internal memo, saying Chiang's responsibilities would be temporarily divided among other Xbox leaders while plans for the COO position are finalized. Microsoft declined to comment on the circumstances of her departure, citing a policy against discussing personnel matters.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-23
Microsoft has introduced pay-as-you-go packages for Xbox Cloud Gaming priced at $3.99 for 10 hours, $7.99 for 25 hours, and $11.99 for 50 hours. Beginning in November, Game Pass subscribers will only get 5 to 15 included cloud-streaming hours per month depending on their subscription tier, after which they must purchase additional hours to continue streaming, including games they already own. Microsoft says purchased hours do not expire and remain usable until spent.
games.slashdot.org
· 2026-10-23
A commentary piece argues that Microsoft's forthcoming Xbox handheld device deserves more attention than the next-generation Xbox console, which could reportedly cost more than $1,200. The analysis frames the handheld as the more consequential product line for Xbox's future, even as the high price of the flagship console draws headlines.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-23
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