Xbox’s ‘reset’: all the news about Microsoft’s looming layoffs and studio closures
Xbox is making some big changes — again. On June 10th, a few months after Asha Sharma took over as CEO, she and newly-promoted chief content officer Matt Booty sent a memo to staff warning of an “Xbox reset.” The business, they said, is facing significant challenges, including a 3 percent “accountability margin,” massively higher component prices for consoles due to the memory and storage shortage, and an “over extended” studio system.
That same day, The Verge and Bloomberg reported that the Xbox division was planning layoffs in July. The cuts, expected to be announced on July 6th, could include studio closures or spinoffs. The Verge‘s Tom Warren reported on June 30th that Microsoft is looking at closing at least five studios and potentially canceling games like Blade.
Under Sharma’s leadership, Xbox has already made some other major changes, including upcoming price hikes for Xbox consoles, lowering Game Pass prices but cutting out new Call of Duty games, rebranding Xbox to XBOX, and making both Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution Xbox console exclusives.
Read on for all of our coverage of the shifts at Xbox.
- Xbox will reportedly still publish Hideo Kojima’s OD.
- 007 First Light’s developer lays off staff but claims its next franchise will continue
- Xbox weighs canceling Blade game and shuttering Arkane
- Xbox prices spike another $100 or more
- Xbox is closing down Hellblade creator Ninja Theory
- Xbox turmoil continues with a studio closure and executive departures
- Microsoft hasn’t ruled out spinning off Xbox
- Xbox warns of a ‘reset’ as it prepares for layoffs
- Xbox exploring ‘radically different’ console business models
- RAMaggedon’s making Xbox “rethink” its Helix console.
- Xbox exclusives are back and more complicated than ever
- Xbox hires game industry analyst Matthew Ball to lead strategy
- Xbox fans want exclusives, more backward compatibility, and free online multiplayer
- Xbox is now XBOX
- Inside the return of Xbox
Elon Musk denies a report about SpaceX’s AI phone prototype
Elon Musk says a report about a SpaceX AI phone prototype is "utterly false." The report, published on Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal, says SpaceX showed off a "handset-like prototype" to some investors before launching its record-breaking initial public offering in June.
The device was "slimmer than an iPhone," and they were told it would run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, according to the WSJ. It would also reportedly use its own AI-enabled operating system with features powered by the SpaceX-owned xAI.
Last week, the Financial Times reported that SpaceX chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell told investors that the company is con …
Krafton settles with Subnautica 2 developer after drawn-out dispute over $250 million
After a lengthy legal dispute, Krafton has settled with its subsidiary Unknown Worlds Entertainment, which is developing Subnautica 2, and will pay bonuses to the studio's staff, Bloomberg reports.
The dispute began last year after Krafton pushed out Unknown Worlds' cofounders, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, and its CEO, Ted Gill, ahead of a potential $250 million bonus for hitting certain financial goals that would have been shared with the studio. After the executives sued, a judge reinstated Gill as CEO in March, and Subnautica 2 finally launched in early access in May. The game passed four million copies sold in five days.
Details …
Xbox testing disc-to-digital feature that digitizes a physical game collection
Microsoft will likely soon follow Sony and stop the production of physical discs for Xbox games. But instead of leaving physical discs behind entirely, sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell me the company has quietly been working on a disc-to-digital feature that will allow Xbox owners to digitize their existing physical game collections.
Xbox employees recently started testing this new feature, after references to "enable Disc2Digital" appeared in the Xbox PC app code in May. I'm told that Microsoft's disc-to-digital feature will work on Xbox One and Xbox Series X discs only, and not those for the Xbox 360 or original Xbox console.
…My favorite Kindle alternative is $30 off after a recent price increase
Kobo recently raised the price of its Libra Colour e-reader to $259.99, but today’s deal effectively erases that hike. The company, Best Buy, and Target, are all selling it for its old $229.99 price as part of broader sales, making now one of the best times to grab my favorite alternative to Amazon’s Kindle.
Kobo Libra Colour
Where to Buy:
If you’re not heavily invested in Amazon’s ecosystem, I think the Kobo Libra Colour is a better buy than its closest Amazon rival, the $249.99 Kindle Colorsoft. It offers many of the same core features, including a sharp seven-inch color display that makes book covers, comics, and highlights pop with only slightly less vibrancy than the color Kindle. It’s also waterproof so you can rest easy at the beach, and features adjustable warm lighting for more comfortable nighttime reading.
The Kobo also has a few advantages over Amazon’s e-reader. It supports EPUB and a broader range of file formats, making it easier to read books from a variety of sources, while offering twice as much storage (32GB). Unlike the Colorsoft, the Libra Colour includes physical page-turning buttons, which I find make for a more intuitive reading experience. It also supports Kobo’s optional Stylus 2, letting you annotate ebooks, jot down handwritten notes, use built-in notebook templates, and even convert your handwriting into typed text. Due to its size, I wouldn’t recommend it as a dedicated digital notebook over something bigger like the Kobo Elipsa 2E or Kindle Scribe, but it’s far more practical for quick notes than using your phone. It also works with Instapaper, making it easy to save web articles for offline reading.
Read our Kobo Libra Colour review.
Comcast’s split could make or break Peacock
NBCUniversal executives are about to find out whether Peacock will sink or swim in the streaming industry. Now that Comcast is planning to split NBCUniversal, Peacock, and Sky from its broadband and wireless businesses, Peacock will be forced to stand on its own - without the backing of a combined company that pulled in more than $123 billion last year.
In the years following its launch in 2020, Peacock was treated as an accessory to an Xfinity subscription. But once Comcast stopped offering it as a free perk to Xfinity X1 and Flex subscribers and axed its free membership tier in 2023, it was a sign that Comcast believed Peacock had somethi …
The best Switch 2 case I’ve tried is cheaper than usual
Dbrand apparently knows how to really whiff a product launch, as we recently saw with the Steam Machine Companion Cube shell. But it also makes the best case out there for the Nintendo Switch 2, which happens to be discounted right now. The Killswitch 2 is versatile, with better build quality than other similar models, snapping around the back and the edges of the console, with Joy-Con slip covers that add a bulkier, more ergonomically-friendly feel to the controllers. The “Travel” bundle that also includes a hard bungee strap-secured cover to protect the screen (that can hold 10 cartridges) plus stick grips is $69.99 at Dbrand, or $71.99 at Best Buy (usually $80).
Dbrand Killswitch – Switch 2
Where to Buy:
The Killswitch 2 is a great pick if you want to retain the console’s hybrid use cases, swapping with ease between handheld to docked mode. The case includes a USB-C dock adapter to let you beam the console’s video feed to a TV; it’s a slightly cumbersome solution if you’re aiming to have a tidy entertainment center, but I haven’t seen other brands achieve a more elegant adapter solution yet.
Read my review of the Killswitch 2.
Other good deals to consider
- Walmart is offering a fantastic deal on Acer’s 27-inch 1440p QD-OLED gaming monitor. Originally $549.99, it’s down to $314.99 online, which was the same price we saw during Amazon Prime Day last week. It’s tough to beat the value here. For one, OLEDs offer unparalleled contrast compared to other panel types, not to mention the fastest response time around. The Predator X27U here has a 240Hz refresh rate, two DisplayPort 1.4 ports, and two HDMI 2.1 ports. It includes a heigh-adjustable stand that supports swiveling and pivoting, and the monitor has built-in speakers, though they likely aren’t all that good. Importantly, the monitor is covered by Acer’s three-year warranty that protects against burn-in under normal circumstances. Acer’s monitor has similar specs to the $349.99 Alienware AW2726DM I bought, though I prefer the Alienware’s slimmer design.
- Movies that are part of the Criterion Collection are half off at Barnes and Noble as well as Amazon, ending July 26th according to Barnes and Noble. That means 4K Blu-rays are down to $24.99, excluding box sets and some releases (like Seven Samurai, which is still a phenomenal deal at $29.99). Several preorders are eligible for half off discounts, too, but not the upcoming K-Pop Demon Hunters that’s releasing in December. Blu-rays are down to $19.98, though some similar exclusions apply there, too. Big discounts like these come just a handful of times each year, and you don’t need me to tell you they’re a great opportunity to load up your shelves.
- If you’re like me and occasionally order groceries for delivery with same-day service, you might appreciate Best Buy’s small, but welcome discount on Instacart gift cards. It’s offering $50 gift cards for $45, putting some money back in your pocket for tipping your delivery person. Regardless of which local retailer you plan to order deliveries from (Costco is a personal favorite), make sure to add the gift card credit through the Instacart site, then do your shopping from there. It seems like Best Buy limits customers to a single gift card per account at this price.
Sony is killing discs — and showing us why it’s a terrible idea
The future of video game preservation just took a major hit. This morning, Sony announced that, starting in January 2028, the company will no longer produce physical PlayStation discs, which means that from that moment on you can only purchase new PS5 games digitally. At the same time, Sony also announced that it's going to start winding down the digital stores for both the PS3 and PS Vita, helpfully illustrating one of the most pertinent issues with a digital-only future for gaming: Once the stores are gone, so are the games. It's a terrible blow for preservation of the medium.
In a lot of ways, both announcements seemed inevitable. It's c …
Sony is closing the PS3 and Vita digital stores
It's the end of an era for the PlayStation store on PS3 and PS Vita, with Sony now planning to shut down its digital distribution service on both consoles. The PlayStation store on PS3 will close in select markets later this year, including Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua starting in August, with "additional Latin American and Middle Eastern countries" to follow in late 2026.
The shutdown across both PS3 and PS Vita "in all other countries" will take effect in July 2027. After this date, Sony says that console owners will be unable to purchase new content, but can continue downloading games they've previously purchased "for the foreseeable …
Sony is killing all physical PlayStation game discs
Sony has announced that from January 2028 it will entirely stop the production of physical discs for new PlayStation games. From that point onwards, new releases will only be available in digital versions from the PlayStation Store and other retailers. Games released before January 2028 will still be available on disc.
"This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs," Sony said in its announcement. "This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games to …