Microsofts

Microsoft has been gradually moving Xbox away from the idea of a single piece of hardware in recent years, with ambitions to reach billions of gamers across consoles, PCs, and mobile devices. Now it’s officially bringing four Xbox-exclusive games to PS5 and Nintendo Switch amid an “Xbox Everywhere” effort inside Microsoft that will likely see even more games arriving on rival consoles. It’s a seismic strategy shift that the company is downplaying publicly, so I sat down with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer to get some…

It’s the first time Microsoft has disclosed fresh Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers since announcing its Activision Blizzard acquisition in January 2022.Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer previously admitting he had been seeing growth slow on Xbox Game Pass for consoles. “We’re seeing incredible growth on PC ... On console, I’ve seen growth slow down, mainly because at some point you’ve reached everybody on console that wants to subscribe,” said Spencer in a Wall Street Journal interview in October 2022.It’s clear that…

After weeks of rumors of Xbox exclusives coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch, Microsoft is now planning to discuss its vision for the future of Xbox at an event later this week. Microsoft’s Xbox business update event will take place on Thursday, February 15th at 12PM PT / 3PM ET.Weeks of rumors suggest that Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, and even Bethesda titles like Starfield and Indiana Jones could appear on non-Xbox platforms. Microsoft hasn’t addressed these rumors directly, but Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer didn’t…

The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) entered into force back in August with the goal of more transparent regulations over large companies like Apple and Microsoft and their core platform services. The EU initially considered Apple’s iMessage and Microsoft’s Edge, Bing and Microsoft Advertising as gatekeepers - large digital platforms with over 45 million active users in the EU and €7.5 billion annual revenue but Apple and Microsoft have appealed the EU Commission's preliminary assessments and are now clear of any…

If you needed more evidence that GenAI is prone to making stuff up, Google’s Gemini chatbot, formerly Bard, thinks that the 2024 Super Bowl already happened. It even has the (fictional) statistics to back it up. Per a Reddit thread, Gemini, powered by Google’s GenAI models of the same name, is answering questions about Super Bowl LVIII as if the game wrapped up yesterday — or weeks before. Like many bookmakers, it seems to favor the Chiefs over the 49ers (sorry, San Francisco fans). Gemini…

Microsoft’s post-acquisition layoffs at Activision Blizzard have already caught the FTC’s eye. Now we know more about which subsidiary studios will take the hit. First reported by the San Francisco Chronicle (via Eurogamer), California WARN notices list 86 upcoming scheduled layoffs at Skylanders maker Toys for Bob and 76 cuts at Call of Duty: Vanguard developer Sledgehammer Games.California requires companies to notify the state of upcoming layoffs, thanks to a 1988 law mandating 60 days’ notice about staffing cuts (if…

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETSince its launch of Copilot (formerly Bing Chat) in February last year, Microsoft has gone full-on artificial intelligence (AI). The company has infused AI across all parts of the tech stack, including enterprise, security, cloud, hardware, and more -- it seems to be paying off. On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled its second-quarter earnings. The revenue and earnings not only exceeded estimates but also significantly surpassed the numbers from the year before, with AI being a star of the growth. Also:…

Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard seems to be paying off, as the latest financial report now shows gaming revenue ($7.11 billion) has overtaken Windows ($5.26 billion) as the company’s third largest revenue stream. Microsoft reported $62 billion in revenue for the quarter ending on December 31, 2023 (up 18%) and $21.9 billion net income (up 33%). Productivity and business which includes Microsoft Office, Office 365, LinkedIn and Dynamics 365 was valued at $19.2 billion while cloud services contributed…

Microsoft posted another blowout earnings report for Q2 of the 2024 fiscal year, with revenues of $62 billion (up 18 percent from last year) and profits of $21.9 billion (a 33 increase). But really, the most interesting thing about this quarter is that we finally get to see how the $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition affects the $3 trillion company. While Microsoft isn't breaking out specific numbers, it says that its overall gaming revenue increased by 49 percent, 44 points of which came from the "net impact"…

A Microsoft manager claims OpenAI’s DALL-E 3 has security vulnerabilities that could allow users to generate violent or explicit images (similar to those that recently targeted Taylor Swift). GeekWire reported Tuesday the company’s legal team blocked Microsoft engineering leader Shane Jones’ attempts to alert the public about the exploit. The self-described whistleblower is now taking his message to Capitol Hill.“I reached the conclusion that DALL·E 3 posed a public safety risk and should be removed from public use until…