All articles tagged with #microsoft
Microsoft is testing a substantial overhaul of Xbox achievements, including new icons, animations, and a redesigned achievements hub that will let players highlight completed games, hide titles, and filter by mastery. The features are being piloted by Xbox Insiders with a broader rollout expected in the coming months, and readers are invited to vote in the poll on whether they like the changes.
Ex-Bethesda head Pete Hines says he watched the studio be damaged and mistreated after Microsoft’s 2021 acquisition, felt unable to protect staff or execute needed changes, and criticized the lack of authenticity in leadership, while noting some Microsoft colleagues he respects and recalling his FTC trial involvement and debates over platform exclusivity around Starfield and other titles.
Microsoft is pulling back Copilot from Windows 11’s core apps, removing the Copilot icon from Notepad and Snipping Tool and rebranding AI features as “Writing tools,” after strong backlash from enthusiasts. The company has paused forced Copilot prompts across apps while continuing other Windows 11 improvements, and it still maintains a sizeable Copilot ecosystem (around 80 apps/services).
Former Bethesda VP Pete Hines, after 24 years at the studio, says Microsoft’s ownership has made Bethesda feel inauthentic and that he was powerless to run the place properly, a critique he voiced after his retirement and amid Starfield delays, Redfall fallout, and Bethesda’s shifting multiplatform strategy discussed during the FTC/Activision Blizzard case.
Microsoft rolled out a Notepad update for Windows Insiders that removes Copilot branding and icon, replaces the Copilot menu with 'writing tools' (still AI-powered), and moves the option to disable AI features into Advanced features, as part of a broader effort to reduce Copilot presence across Windows after criticisms.
Microsoft told Windows Latest that Copilot is for all use cases, not just entertainment, calling the 'entertainment-only' language in an old terms-of-use page legacy and saying it will be updated as Copilot shifts toward productivity features (such as turning documents into engaging outputs, creating podcasts from long texts, and controlling Windows 11). The piece notes Copilot isn’t perfect and that market-share data is incomplete as the AI race continues.
Microsoft’s Copilot is reportedly described in its terms as being for entertainment purposes only, a phrasing Microsoft says is legacy and will be updated; critics warn about reliability and liability as AI tools like Copilot are embedded in Windows apps.
Microsoft trades around $369 with a 12-month price target of $491.47; bulls say Azure’s 39% growth and OpenAI-backed Azure AI spend could lift the stock to about $601 within a year, while a bear case sits near $436.41. Longer-term projections rise to $570 (2027), $650 (2028), $761.92 (2029) and $818.04 (2030) as AI monetization and Azure backlog provide multi-year revenue visibility, though heavy AI-related capex and macro headwinds pose risks.
Windows and Xbox are signaling a consumer‑first reboot by reviving Insider events and pushing user‑requested features (like the vertical taskbar) after a period of AI‑driven controversy. Jez Corden frames the shift as a potentially panic‑driven pivot tied to OpenAI tensions and the profitability challenges of AI within Azure, suggesting Microsoft may rethink or split from OpenAI to refocus on core Windows/Xbox experiences and win back trust from users. The piece situates this as a strategic turn this year, though the author remains skeptical about its durability.
Software stocks slid after fears around Anthropic’s Mythos AI model and related tools; Palantir (PLTR) and Microsoft (MSFT) led declines as Meta unveiled a new AI model and analysts warned of near-term disruption from Mythos.
Microsoft’s results were solid and AI-related revenue remains promising, but investors want clear monetization proof. The company’s $37.5B Q2 capex signals a shift from cloud expansion to AI operating systems, raising risk that AI investments will outpace revenue. Copilot and GitHub Copilot show user traction (15M Copilot users, 4.7M GitHub Copilot subscribers) and Fabric is approaching $2B ARR, yet the stock trades near 22x FY2026 EPS, implying credibility risk unless AI investments translate into sustainable, multi-layer revenue streams.
Tom Warren argues that Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo is pressuring Microsoft to overhaul Windows 11, with planned memory-efficiency gains, faster Start/search, and a lighter, less distracting UX for low‑RAM devices, driven by a new Windows leadership team aiming to counter the Neo and keep Windows competitive.
Microsoft has outlined an 18-feature plan to overhaul Windows 11 in 2026, spanning UI, performance, reliability, and developer tools. Highlights include a customizable taskbar, native Start menu with WinUI, trimmed Copilot usage, redesigned update flow, faster OOBE, faster File Explorer, improved dark mode consistency, Settings app redesign, broader hardware/driver reliability fixes, enhanced Bluetooth/audio, more reliable Windows Hello, better haptic/touchpad support, major WSL developer upgrades, a move to 100% native first‑party apps, a new in-OS Feature Flags system, and upgraded Feedback Hub/Insider experience, with phased rollout starting with Windows Insiders and continuing monthly throughout 2026.
Microsoft (MSFT) shares edged higher after TipRanks reported a new EvilTokens phishing campaign targeting Microsoft businesses, with recommended protections like limiting device-code flows and strengthening anti-ph phishing policies; the piece also notes Xbox sales in February (34.4M units) versus Sony’s PlayStation 5 (about 91M) and cites a Strong Buy consensus with a $581.61 price target, implying roughly 54% upside.
Britain’s CMA has opened a strategic market status investigation into Microsoft’s enterprise software licensing in cloud, aiming to address concerns about licensing practices and preserve competition as AI features are integrated into business tools; the designation signals closer scrutiny without alleging wrongdoing, with Microsoft and AWS already engaging on cloud egress and interoperability.