All articles tagged with #xbox
A Brazilian gamer named Ordo_Liberal won a court case against Microsoft, ordering the reopening of a blocked Xbox account and granting access to his digital game library, plus $400 in damages, highlighting consumer-law protections and the risk to personal game libraries when online accounts are restricted.
A Brazilian small-claims court ordered Microsoft to restore a suspended Xbox account and all its games after the company told the hacked user to repurchase the library; Microsoft must pay about $400 (R$2,000) in damages and could face further penalties if it fails to comply within 15 days. The case, which centers on digital ownership of game accounts and related data, is a first‑instance decision and not a nationwide precedent.
John Carmack responded to Microsoft's layoffs at id Software with sadness but no anger, noting the brutal economics of the industry and suggesting id Software may have been marginal from Microsoft's view; he questioned what could have been done differently but remained hopeful the studio can rebound, while Microsoft stressed that id Tech is still developed across multiple locations and layoffs won’t end the studio's projects.
Microsoft defended Xbox CEO Asha Sharma amid backlash over 3,200 Xbox layoffs, saying the reductions are a restructuring of the Xbox business and not a move to replace American workers with foreign hires. The company clarified that H-1B figures cited refer to Microsoft-wide renewals and new hires and that most affected roles were not American. Sharma, described as American-born from Wisconsin, was also noted for being named to lead a Fed Reserve task force on productivity and employment.
Microsoft refuted claims that H-1B visas drove its Xbox layoffs, saying visa workers are a small share company-wide and the cuts are part of a broader Xbox restructuring. The plan includes separating from five studios (Double Fine and Compulsion Games becoming independent; Ninja Theory and Undead Labs being sold; Arkane under review) while id Software lost about half its headcount; 1,600 layoffs are immediate with total impacts projected around 3,200 over the next year.
After Microsoft’s mass layoffs hit Obsidian, studio director Brandon Adler pushes back on critics, saying the studio’s DNA remains intact and that Avowed is still in development while leadership pivots toward a new Fallout project.
A Brazilian court ruled in favor of a gamer whose hacked Xbox account was blocked by Microsoft, ordering the company to unfreeze the account and paying about $400 in moral damages, highlighting Brazil’s consumer-friendly stance on digital purchases amid ongoing concerns about ownership of digital libraries.
Unionized Bethesda Game Studios workers plan protests outside studios in Montreal, Austin, Dallas, and Rockville after layoffs of about 440 employees across BGS and ZeniMax; the CWA-affiliated Bethesda Game Studios Union says Microsoft must negotiate through effects bargaining and will push for preferential transfers to open Xbox/Microsoft roles, extended severance and healthcare, and recall rights to rehire laid-off staff when projects expand; protests scheduled for July 15.
Bethesda Game Studios’ union members are organizing a ‘Save Our Devs’ protest across ZeniMax offices in Rockville, Austin, Dallas, and Montreal on July 15 in response to Microsoft/Xbox’s announced 3,200 layoffs (1,600 immediate). Union leaders say about 440 positions across Bethesda Game Studios, ZeniMax Online, id Software, ZeniMax Workers United, and ZeniMax corporate are affected and insist they must bargain over the reductions, seeking preferential transfers, stronger severance, extended healthcare, and recall rights. The move comes amid morale declines and concerns for projects like The Elder Scrolls VI, with Xbox CEO Asha Sharma also co-leading a U.S. Fed productivity task force on employment.
Xbox hints at a major reveal next week tied to a rumored disc-to-digital feature for its next-gen efforts (Project Helix), with insiders pausing updates for a larger rollout. The chatter references a debut nicknamed 'positron cometh' as the industry trends favor digital sales, while Sony plans a disc-less PS6 by 2028 and publishers increasingly rely on digital formats.
The upcoming Xbox Insider Update is rumored to feature Project Positron—a disc-to-digital system that would convert supported Xbox One/Series discs into permanent digital licenses linked to a Microsoft account, enabling lending and resale via license transfers. The update was delayed but expected soon, with additional Insider tweaks already being tested, including longer Gamertags and cloud gaming during downloads.
Microsoft is cutting about 3,200 Xbox jobs—the largest restructuring in the division's history—as part of a broader reset of its gaming unit amid weaker player engagement, rising hardware costs, and AI-driven market pressure, with experts noting this could herald a spin-out or breakup of Xbox in the next two years.
Palworld’s 1.0 update adds 18 new Xbox achievements worth 435 Gamerscore, including three hidden, with most tied to finding Effigies across regions and milestones for mutating Pals, awakening, arena rank, bosses, and entering the World Tree. The update is available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC, and is playable via Xbox Game Pass (Premium, Ultimate, and PC Game Pass).
Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations showcases id Software’s signature fast, brutal Doom gameplay, underscoring why the studio remains influential even as Xbox layoffs shrink its staff and cast uncertainty on its future.
Despite broad layoffs at multiple Xbox studios and a company-wide reset, Windows Central’s Jez Corden says id Software and its id Tech engine aren’t going away. Microsoft reportedly has no plan to drop id Tech or move teams to Unreal, and the core id Software staff remains intact. DOOM and Quake are still seen as franchises to invest in, with pitches like Perfect Dark or Ironwood in consideration, but the near-term focus remains on existing IP and the engine powering them. In short, the DOOM studio and its tech are expected to endure despite the layoffs.