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• Latest news New Xbox and PC Game Pass titles confirmed for late August

  A new batch of games for Xbox and PC Game Pass has been announced for the latter part of August. The announcement lists which titles will join the Xbox console and PC libraries and their arrival timing. This expands the selection available to Game Pass subscribers and affects what games are playable without additional purchase.

• Latest news Xbox Game Pass wave 2 adds Vapor World, Blood Dungeon and more in August

  Xbox Game Pass has added a second wave of August games, bringing new releases for Ultimate subscribers and several additions to the Premium tier. Ultimate members can download Vapor World: Over the Mind (arriving in Game Preview), Blood Dungeon, and Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy. Xbox Game Pass Premium gains Egging On immediately and will receive BlazBlue Entropy Effect X, Relooted, Starsand Island, Aerial Knight's Dropshot, and Young Guns later in August. These additions include day-one releases and expand the library available to Premium and Ultimate subscribers.

• Latest news Compulsion listed as Steam publisher for South of Midnight, signaling Xbox split

  The Steam store now lists Compulsion Games as the publisher of South of Midnight, a musical action-adventure title. The change replaces the previous publisher credit on Steam and suggests the studio has completed its detachment from Microsoft's Xbox division amid recent major restructuring. This shifts publishing credit for the PC release away from Xbox and toward Compulsion itself.

• Latest news GameSir T7 Pro Sugar Whirl: Xbox‑compatible wireless controller with TMR sticks and dock

  GameSir's T7 Pro Sugar Whirl is a wireless controller featuring TMR analog sticks and Hall-effect triggers for precise input, plus a distinctive pink/blue/purple colorway. It supports untethered play with Xbox consoles and ships with a dedicated charging dock that simplifies keeping the pad charged. The companion software offers deadzone and motion-control tuning but limited RGB options; ergonomics can strain users with small hands and the controller costs $90/£100, leaving value open compared with cheaper alternatives.

• Latest news Stirling Castle skeleton identified as likely first confirmed trebuchet casualty

  Archaeologists identified 'Skeleton 150,' excavated beneath Stirling Castle's chapel in 1997, as a likely first archaeological case of a person killed by a trebuchet. The skeleton dates to the early 1300s and shows more than 160 fractures plus cut marks, puncture wounds and blunt-force trauma. Burial beneath the chapel and the injury pattern link the death to the sieges of Stirling Castle, which fell to Edward I in 1304, providing direct physical evidence of siege-weapon casualties.

• Latest news Xbox CEO's 'The Elder Scrolls VI: ********' comment sparks fan theory

  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma watched a live playthrough of The Elder Scrolls VI and praised the game's “scale and grandeur” and its story. Sharma referred to the project as “The Elder Scrolls VI: ********,” using eight asterisks where a subtitle would appear. That wording prompted fans to develop a detailed theory about the obscured subtitle, renewing attention and speculation around Bethesda’s next RPG.

• Latest news Xbox CEO hints 8-character subtitle for Elder Scrolls 6; fans point to 'Sentinel'

  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma viewed a demo of The Elder Scrolls 6 and posted a cryptic hint implying the game's subtitle will be eight characters long. Fans proposed candidates including Sentinel, Dominion, Starfall, Orsinium, and Covenant, with renewed attention on 'Sentinel' because it is a city in Hammerfell and can be decoded from a 16-digit Starfield character-creator number. Theories have spread online even as Xbox-wide layoffs that affected Bethesda have raised concerns about development delays and studio morale.

• Latest news Fans find possible Elder Scrolls 6 subtitle hidden in Bethesda's Starfield

  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma posted a redacted tease this week that appeared to reveal a subtitle for the long-awaited Elder Scrolls 6. Community members identified the same words or elements inside Bethesda's most recent release, Starfield, suggesting the full title may have been embedded there. The connection has become the first concrete lead fans point to about the game's subtitle and has intensified speculation about Bethesda using cross-game Easter eggs in its marketing.

• Latest news Apparent Xbox Elite Series 3 controller surfaces after $200 OfferUp purchase

  A Reddit user posted photos of what appears to be a prototype Xbox Elite Series 3 controller after buying it on OfferUp for $200 in Seattle; the Reddit account later disappeared and the thread was partially removed. The images show hardware changes including trigger locks, rear paddle mounting, a battery bay, larger ABXY buttons, and a small top display showing an aka.ms URL and a simple game. The design matches an earlier May leak and resembles the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro, indicating Microsoft is likely preparing a successor to the Elite Series 2 nearly seven years after its release.

• Latest news Xbox players can try co-op RPG Sunderfolk for a limited time

  Xbox players can play the cooperative RPG Sunderfolk for a limited period. Tabletop role‑playing games typically require a group of willing players, a person to run the game, a working knowledge of many rules, and a night when everyone is free. Those scheduling and coordination demands help explain why a time-limited digital co‑op release is notable for players who struggle to organize physical sessions.

• Latest news Giant inflatable rat greets Xbox CEO at The Elder Scrolls 6 preview at Bethesda

  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma attended an internal playthrough of The Elder Scrolls 6 at Bethesda's Rockville, Maryland offices. Bethesda union members placed a large inflatable rat outside the building to protest recent staff cuts while Sharma was inside. The demonstration publicly highlighted active labor disputes at Bethesda during development of a major franchise.

• Latest news Xbox CEO posts masked subtitle for The Elder Scrolls VI and praises scale

  On Aug. 11 Xbox CEO Asha Sharma posted on X that she watched a "Live playthrough of The Elder Scrolls VI : ********" and called the game's scale, grandeur and story "incredible" and "even greater." The line of asterisks in her message provides a new clue to the game's full title after years of vague commentary from Todd Howard. The post is a rare, high-profile update from an Xbox executive highlighting the game's scope and narrative direction.

• Latest news Xbox CEO Asha Sharma watches Elder Scrolls VI playthrough, praises story and scale

  Asha Sharma, CEO of Xbox, attended a live playthrough of The Elder Scrolls VI on August 11, 2026 and called the demo "incredible," praising its "scale and grandeur" and saying "the story is even greater." Her tweet included eight asterisks after the game's name, prompting speculation the subtitle could be eight letters long. Xbox CCO Matt Booty previously said the game "looks amazing." Sharma did not comment on hundreds of flags placed outside Bethesda's office by the Bethesda Game Studios union representing laid-off workers.

• Latest news Xbox CEO Asha Sharma plays live build of The Elder Scrolls VI, censors subtitle

  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma played a live build of The Elder Scrolls VI this morning and posted about it on X. She praised the game's scale, grandeur and story while censoring the subtitle in the message. The public playthrough offers a rare indication of development progress for Bethesda's long‑awaited RPG.

• Latest news Xbox CEO teases eight-character subtitle after viewing The Elder Scrolls 6 playthrough

  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said she watched a "live playthrough" of The Elder Scrolls 6 and posted eight asterisks that imply an eight-character subtitle. The game was announced more than eight years ago but remains largely unseen publicly. Bethesda says development is progressing — "where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day" — even as mass layoffs at Xbox have affected Bethesda staff and raised concerns about delays and morale.

• Latest news id Software programmer: Microsoft's mass layoffs are eroding studio quality

  Chris Hayes, id Software's lead services programmer and a Microsoft employee, criticized Microsoft's repeated mass layoffs in a recent YouTube interview, arguing they strip studios of the experience and motivation needed to make high-quality games. Hayes warned that cutting experienced teams and prioritizing short-term cost savings produces mediocre titles, damages long-term value in major IPs and prevents learning from failure.

• Latest news Blizzard emerges as Microsoft's top studio amid Xbox cuts and spin-offs

  Microsoft's Xbox division is undergoing a major reset that includes cutting more than 3,000 jobs and spinning off several studios. Despite the turmoil, Blizzard delivered very strong results and has become the company's top-performing studio. That performance creates a clear contrast within Microsoft's gaming portfolio during the restructuring.

• Latest news Firewatch leaving Xbox Game Pass on Aug. 15

  Firewatch, the 2016 narrative adventure from Campo Santo, will be removed from Xbox Game Pass on Aug. 15. The game takes roughly four to six hours to complete and earned five Game Awards nominations. Its short runtime and critical acclaim make it a high-priority play for subscribers before it leaves the service.

• Latest news Quarantine Zone: The Last Check arrives on Xbox Game Pass — a checkpoint horror sim

  Quarantine Zone: The Last Check, developed by Brigada Games and published by Devolver Digital, was added to Xbox Game Pass after releasing on Steam several months earlier. Players act as checkpoint staff inspecting jittery survivors for symptoms to decide who can be evacuated, combining survival-horror tension with bureaucratic inspection mechanics. The game flips the usual zombie-apocalypse hero role by focusing on moral and procedural choices at a quarantine checkpoint, making it notable for fans of both horror and simulation games.

• Latest news EA goes private under Saudi PIF; $18B debt triggers $700M cost-cutting plan

  Electronic Arts was bought by the Saudi Public Investment Fund alongside Silver Lake and Affinity Partners and has been delisted from the NASDAQ after 36 years. Shareholders received $210 per share and EA assumed $18 billion of debt, creating roughly $1.8 billion in annual interest obligations. The company reports about $1.5 billion in annual EBITDA and has told debt investors it will cut $700 million in yearly costs, including $170 million labeled as 'organizational efficiencies.' Large acquisitions and heavy debt burdens in the industry have previously coincided with widespread studio layoffs and closures, making these cuts significant for EA's workforce and operations.

• Latest news Xbox announces early-August Game Pass arrivals, including a risqué furniture dating sim

  Xbox revealed the next batch of games arriving on Xbox Game Pass during the first few weeks of August. The slate includes unexpected picks, notably a furniture-themed dating simulator that mixes sexual content and comedy. The additions broaden the variety of titles available to Game Pass subscribers in early August.

• Latest news Four games to leave Xbox Game Pass on Aug 15, including Aliens: Fireteam Elite

  Xbox Game Pass will remove four titles on August 15: Menace (PC Game Preview), Atlas Fallen, Aliens: Fireteam Elite, and Firewatch. Subscribers can buy those games at a 20% discount before they leave. Aliens: Fireteam Elite fans have a sequel arriving on August 25, and Game Pass is adding new arrivals such as Beast of Reincarnation and an early Gears of War: E-Day beta for Ultimate members on August 6. This August wave is much smaller than July’s removal of 20 games.

• Latest news Xbox Game Pass adds Heretic + Hexen, Beast of Reincarnation and Gears E‑Day beta

  Xbox Game Pass published its first wave of August 2026 additions, with Heretic + Hexen and the day‑one release of Beast of Reincarnation available immediately. Several new arrivals are staggered through August 6–13, including Monsters Are Coming and PowerWash Simulator, plus early access to the Gears of War: E‑Day beta. Some titles are restricted to Xbox Game Pass Premium, while the Gears beta early access requires a preorder or an Ultimate/PC Game Pass subscription; the open beta begins August 13. These additions expand Game Pass’s mix of classic remasters, day‑one indie releases and early access multiplayer content.

• Latest news Xbox will run global FanFest tour despite layoffs that included its creator

  Xbox is moving forward with its global FanFest tour even after a recent round of layoffs that affected thousands of employees. The person who originally pitched and created FanFest was among those let go. The continuation of a major public-facing event while cutting large numbers of staff highlights a striking contrast in company priorities.

• Latest news Microsoft plans to allow Xbox 360 games on Windows PC

  A leaked developer-facing Microsoft document says developers will be able to bring their Xbox 360 games to Windows PC. The document was recently distributed to developers and sets out Microsoft's intention to make Xbox 360-era titles playable on PC. That change would expand the Windows game library and alter backward-compatibility access and monetization for Microsoft and third-party developers.

• Latest news ZeniMax Online posts extensive Elder Scrolls Online roadmap, vows MMO will continue

  ZeniMax Online Studios published an extensive public roadmap for The Elder Scrolls Online and reiterated that the MMO is "here to stay." The update followed sweeping Xbox layoffs and an organizational 'reset' overseen by Asha Sharma that had raised doubts about the game's future. The roadmap and statement are intended to reassure the ESO playerbase that development and support will continue.

• Latest news Double Fine lays off 23 staff weeks after Xbox spun studio out

  Double Fine Productions cut 23 employees less than a month after Xbox transitioned the studio to independence. The studio said the layoffs were needed to reach a sustainable size and to ensure "the survival of our studio," and it acknowledged the departing staff "made an impact" and "will be missed." The studio had about 90 employees before the cuts, and the spin-off followed Microsoft's July restructuring that eliminated roughly 3,200 gaming jobs.

• Latest news GOG bundles NewDark and gamepad support into Thief as stopgap before Nightdive remaster

  GOG released a 'dolled-up' package of Thief: The Dark Project and Thief Gold that bundles fan patches and controller support to run cleanly on modern systems. The package includes the NewDark widescreen/compatibility patch and Peter Wright's Gamepad Mod, adding integrated Xbox One controller support with radial equipment menus. This is a curated, non-official refresh intended to make the 1998 game immediately playable on TVs and modern displays ahead of Nightdive's official remaster arriving this winter.

• Latest news Bethesda says The Elder Scrolls 6 development unaffected by Xbox layoffs

  Bethesda has stated that work on The Elder Scrolls 6 will not be impacted by recent Xbox layoffs. Microsoft announced 3,200 job cuts, about half of which have already occurred. Bethesda's comment aims to reassure fans after earlier reports suggested potential effects. The studio says the game's roadmap remains unchanged.

• Latest news Microsoft reinstates previously cancelled Age of Empires 3 DLC, due September

  Microsoft has reversed a prior cancellation of Age of Empires 3 DLC. Eurogamer reports the add-on is now scheduled to arrive in September. The decision follows an earlier abandonment and comes amid recent changes at Xbox.