To anyone listening closely to what Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been saying over the past couple of years, this week felt like the clearest sign yet that AI is about to fundamentally change the size of Microsoft's workforce. Microsoft is now offering voluntary buyouts to around 60,000 employees across the US, UK, Canada, and India.

It's the first time the company has presented such an offer to so many employees, expanding greatly upon the retirement offer that was limited to around 9,000 employees earlier this year. It's all part of an ongoing effort to avoid reducing investment in AI infrastructure by lowering Microsoft's operating cos …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Xbox players have 50 game releases to look forward to this week, including a handful of new Game Pass additions. From Mouthwashing to The Wolf Among Us Remastered, here is the full list of games arriving from October 26 through October 30, 2026.

xbox fifty new games release This week

Over fifty new Xbox games are releasing across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC according to Xbox Wire starting October 26. However, the lineup also includes remasters, ports, and expanded editions, so some of these games may already look familiar to some players.

For your convenience, here is the full list of fifty new Xbox games organized by release date. Game Pass additions are marked in bold.

Monday, October 26

Game
Ayasa: Shadows of Silence
PAO PAO (Game Preview)
Scramble Knights Online (Game Preview) — Game Pass

Tuesday, October 27

Game
Bao Bao’s Cozy Cleaning Services
Bloom Busters
Cozy Radiation Cleaner
Dog Man: Bark in Action
Farming Simulator 25: Beans & Alpacas Edition
Remothered: Red Nun’s Legacy
Sneaky Purr
The Séance of Blake Manor — Game Pass
Treasure Tiger

Wednesday, October 28

Game
Fall Adventure
Fallen City Brawl
Gennady
House Builder 2
Karate Survivor
The Last Case
Platypus Steps
Primal Planet
SULFUR

Thursday, October 29

Game
Beyond The Evil
Candy Shop Simulator
The Cat in the Hat: Rainy Day Mayhem
Choice of Life: Floors
Choice of Life: Samosbor
Croc 2 Kingdom of the Gobbos
Curse of Resthaven
HELLBOUND INC
Hunting Simulator 3
HYPERVIOLENT
Joe & Mac Retro Collection
Love: Fall in Death
Mouthwashing
My Life: Zoo Vet
Planted!
Terrible Lizards — Game Pass
The Transference
Train Yard Builder
The Wolf Among Us Remastered
The Zibbo Show

Friday, October 30

Game
The Abjuration Stand
Cat Pipes: More Meow
Corner Shop: NightShift
Ex-Master, Zombie
Love Love Mystery Club
The Night of the Exorcism
Pinballoid Crush
Queen’s Domain
Space Rock Breaker

Which New Xbox Games Are Coming to Game Pass?

To be clear, all 50 releases are not coming to Xbox Game Pass. Three games from the weekly lineup are listed as subscription additions: Scramble Knights Online on October 26, The Séance of Blake Manor on October 27, and Terrible Lizards on October 29.

If you want something spooky ahead of Halloween, The Séance of Blake Manor is a supernatural detective mystery, while Terrible Lizards takes players to a dinosaur attraction where the staff have disappeared. For something a little different, Scramble Knights Online features cooperative adventures and Zelda-inspired quests.

On a personal note, I can’t recommend Mouthwashing and The Wolf Among Us enough. Both are some of the best narrative games I’ve played in years and are definitely worth checking out when they release on Xbox this week.

The post 50 New Xbox Games Release This Week – Full List and Game Pass Additions appeared first on vice.

Xbox's first chief operating officer (COO) is leaving after the new role was created just a few months ago. Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today, according to an internal Xbox memo seen by The Verge. Chiang has been at Microsoft for 21 years, serving as the head of Minecraft before being promoted to Xbox chief operating officer in July.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced Chiang's departure in a surprisingly short memo today. "Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today. I'm grateful for her years of service and wish her well," said Sharma. As Chiang is departing today, her immediate responsibilities are being split up between other Xbox leaders …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Fortune dropped a bombshell report on the future of gaming this week. According to the publication's Microsoft insiders, the next Xbox is projected to cost between $1,200 and $1,800 when it arrives in 2028.

My first reaction: The next Xbox is dead on arrival. It's DOA.

My second thought: Microsoft knows people won't pay that much. It couldn't possibly charge that much money if it wants next gen to be a success. "I wouldn't release it at all," former Microsoft exec Mike Ybarra recently said.

My third thought: Didn't Microsoft already say out loud that it knows people won't pay that much?

• Didn't old Xbox boss Phil Spencer say "We're no …

Read the full story at The Verge.