Games news

• Diablo 4’s Massive Mythic Item Changes Aren’t Finding Many Fans

  06-07-2026 22:08 via gamespot.com
  
  Diablo 4 Season 14 dramatically reworked Mythic items in Blizzard's ARPG going forward, and judging from early feedback, it's a change that isn't going over well.Season of Death Awakening launched on June 30 and introduced what Blizzard coined Mythic Uniques 3.0, a new system where any of the game's hundreds of Unique items could be found (or turned into) even stronger Mythic versions. In theory, it would open up the game's endgame build options and give players more choices when it comes to out
  
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• “Catastrophic Mismanagement” And AI Gambits Led To Mass Xbox Layoffs, Expert Says

  06-07-2026 22:00 via gamespot.com
  
  Microsoft has announced sweeping layoffs and other dramatic changes resulting in 4,800 layoffs across the company, including 3,200 at Xbox specifically. What's led to this? According to one expert, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and his "catastrophic mismanagement" of the company is to blame.Ed Zitron, an author who specializes in covering the technology space and is the CEO of EZ Primary Research, offered a blistering take on Microsoft's management in response to the mass layoffs."Catastrophic mis
  
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• Xbox CEO Reflects On Massive Cuts: “We Simply Spread Ourselves Too Thin”

  06-07-2026 21:24 via gamespot.com
  
  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has shared new details on the significant changes at Xbox, including mass layoffs, studio spinoffs, and more.
  In an interview with Fortune, Sharma said Microsoft undertook "a bunch of bets" years ago to help grow the business, including Game Pass, going multiplatform, and beefing up its studio base. These bets did not pay off, and in the process of pursuing these new ventures, "We inherently didn't focus on the core business," Sharma said.
  "The number one measure of your str
  
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• The Steam Machine’s Red Line Of Death Is Less Scary, And More Useful, Than You Might Think

  06-07-2026 21:01 via gamespot.com
  
  With the Steam Machine starting to land in some lucky buyers hands, a few of the gremlins in Valve's compact living-room PC have started to surface. But while some might remind you of infamous hardware failures of old, many of them are smartly designed errors that you can, for the most part, resolve yourself.Last week, the Steam Machine subreddit was rocked with what the community described as the "Red Line of Death," a reference to the catastrophic Red Ring of Death that plagued early Xbox 360
  
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• World Of Warcraft Just Got A Sequel To Its Most Literally Viral Moment

  06-07-2026 19:47 via gamespot.com
  
  A deadly plague spread through World of Warcraft's Moonguard server over the weekend, making it the second time in WoW history a horrific virus has run uncontrolled through the game's populace.As broken down by Wowhead, the origin of the plague in question comes from a Dragonflight dungeon, Brackenhide Hollow. Within the dungeon, some enemies cast a spell called Withering Contagion, a disease that inflicts heavy nature- damage-over-time and spreads to all players within five yards. Whether
  
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• Here’s What’s Going On With Marvel’s Blade And Its Developer Amid Xbox “Reset”

  06-07-2026 19:23 via gamespot.com
  Microsoft is undergoing a major shakeup that involves mass layoffs, studio sell-offs, and other significant changes as part of a "reset" of the business.
  While we have learned that Ninja Theory and Undead Labs are being sold off and Double Fine and Compulsion are going independent, we don't yet know what the future holds for Arkane Lyon and its long-in-development Blade game.The French studio is undergoing "consultation," but its fate has yet to be determined.There is a lot we still don't know,
  
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• Xbox Layoffs “Heavily Impact” The Accessibility Team, Too

  06-07-2026 18:32 via gamespot.com
  
  As part of the 1,600 people being let go by Xbox during its big reset on July 6, it appears that the company's Accessibility division has been hit pretty heavily as well.According to a July 6 Bluesky post, the senior user researcher for accessibility at ZeniMax Media, Elisabeth Whyte, shared that she was caught in the blast zone, too. Whyte also revealed that the "accessibility staff overall seems heavily impacted," with "multiple people on the Bethesda User Research Team" getting laid off.On Li
  
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• Xbox CEO Admits Game Pass Has Not Worked Out, Reportedly Lost Millions Of Subscribers Since 2024

  06-07-2026 17:59 via gamespot.com
  
  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has outlined her plan to "reset" the Xbox business, and it includes mass layoffs and selling off studios.
  In her memo announcing the dramatic shakeup, Sharma also talked about what led to this moment, and one piece is that the Xbox business is "not healthy" due in part to big bets that have not paid off, like Xbox Game Pass.Xbox is undergoing a strategic "reset."She said Microsoft bet on things like Xbox Game Pass, releasing more titles on competing platforms, and a "broader
  
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• New Xbox CEO Admits Game Pass Bet Has Not Worked Out

  06-07-2026 17:59 via gamespot.com
  
  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has outlined her plan to "reset" the Xbox business, and it includes mass layoffs and selling off studios.
  In her memo announcing the dramatic shakeup, Sharma also talked about what led to this moment, and one piece is that the Xbox business is "not healthy" due in part to big bets that have not paid off, like Xbox Game Pass.Xbox is undergoing a strategic "reset."She said Microsoft bet on things like Xbox Game Pass, releasing more titles on competing platforms, and a "broader
  
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• Xbox Layoffs Hit Id Software And ZeniMax As Focus Shifts To Bigger Franchises

  06-07-2026 17:43 via gamespot.com
  
  It's a bleak Monday for Xbox, as the division is losing five of its studios and approximately 20% of its workforce will be laid off throughout the current fiscal year. These changes, referred to as "the most significant restructure in Xbox history" by Xbox boss Asha Sharma, will impact every corner of the business, including Id Software and ZeniMax Online Studios. While the two developers aren't shutting down, reports claim that they will be losing large portions of their res
  
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• No Announced Xbox Games Are Getting Axed In Microsoft Layoffs, Company Says

  06-07-2026 17:14 via gamespot.com
  
  Microsoft has begun its big reset, cutting 1,600 jobs right now and another 1,600 in the next 12 months. Despite this massive restructuring, the company claimed that these moves don't involve canceling any already announced first-party games.
  In a lengthy Xbox Wire blog post on July 6, Microsoft announced that some studios (such as Ninja Theory and Undead Labs) are being sold while others (like Arkane Studios) are still awaiting their fate. Tucked within the post was a line about the projects cu
  
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• Switch 2 Systems With Swappable Batteries Coming This Year, But Not In The US

  06-07-2026 17:11 via gamespot.com
  
  The Switch 2 is going to get a bit heavier in Europe, thanks to a consumer-friendly change required by European Union regulations. That's because the hybrid system will be sold with a swappable battery starting this fall. Nintendo of Europe has released new specifications on how Switch 2 and various accessories will be updated with user-replaceable batteries over the last half of 2026 and into 2027. Keep in mind that this isn't a recall or safety issue, so won't affect current owners.
  The revise
  
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• State Of Decay And Hellblade Devs Are Being Sold, But Buyers Remain Mysterious For Now

  06-07-2026 16:34 via gamespot.com
  
  As part of Microsoft's restructuring announcement today for Xbox that is resulting in mass layoffs, the company also announced that it is selling off two of its development studios: Undead Labs and Ninja Theory.
  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said those two studios have "entered terms to join new ownership with funding" to help finish Senua (Ninja Theory) and State of Decay 3 (Undead Labs). Microsoft did not name the mystery buyers, however.
  Senua is a brand-new Hellblade action game that was only just an
  
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• Xbox Layoffs, Studio Closures, And Spin-Offs: Everything Announced Today

  06-07-2026 15:45 via gamespot.com
  
  Despite promises of a reset, the unveiling of a fancy new logo, and a charm offensive for its new leadership, the news at Xbox has been getting increasingly worse throughout 2026. Between massive price increases for Xbox hardware--and possibly another one soon--the fluctuating price of Xbox Game Pass, and the cancellation of funding on several collaborative projects, it has been a tough time to be a fan of Xbox. Can the news get any worse? Yes, if you're an employee of the company--or a fan of i
  
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• Xbox Layoffs, Studio Changes, And Spin-Offs: Everything Announced Today

  06-07-2026 15:45 via gamespot.com
  
  Despite promises of a reset, the unveiling of a fancy new logo, and a charm offensive for its new leadership, the news at Xbox has been getting increasingly worse throughout 2026. Between massive price increases for Xbox hardware--and possibly another one soon--the fluctuating price of Xbox Game Pass, and the cancellation of funding on several collaborative projects, it has been a tough time to be a fan of Xbox. Can the news get any worse? Yes, if you're an employee of the company--or a fan of i
  
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• Cyberpunk 2077 Just Hit Another Massive Sales Milestone

  06-07-2026 15:30 via gamespot.com
  
  Sales of CD Projekt Red's 2020 RPG Cyberpunk 2077 continue to grow, as the game has now passed 40 million copies sold.
  This counts copies sold through July 3, including sales of the base game and copies sold through the game's ultimate edition.
  "Thank you all for helping us reach this amazing milestone," the developer said.The big new sales milestone came after Steam's latest sale saw the game's price fall down to $18, representing a discount of 70%. It's on sale for that price until July 9.
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• After PS5 Disc Controversy, Microsoft Confirms Halo: Campaign Evolved Will Come On A Disc

  06-07-2026 15:29 via gamespot.com
  
  Following Sony's announcement that it will no longer support physical game discs starting in 2028, Microsoft has confirmed that Halo: Campaign Evolved's physical editions will include discs, including on PS5. Microsoft's announcement likely doesn't have anything to do with Sony's, however.
  In a Q&A, Microsoft said people who buy a copy of the game will get a physical game case and disc "so that you have tangible items to add to your collection." This applies to the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S ed
  
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