Organization

Microsoft

9 stories across 6 editions.

September 8, 2026View edition →

OpenAI and Microsoft book copyright litigationDefendant

Authors ask the court to rule against OpenAI and Microsoft before trial in consolidated book-copyright litigation

The Authors Guild and co-plaintiffs filed a summary-judgment motion September 4 asking Judge Sidney H. Stein to find copyright infringement and reject the defendants' fair-use defense; OpenAI and Microsoft filed their own motions. Summary judgment permits a ruling without trial only where the court finds no material factual dispute requiring one. Opposition briefs are due in early October and replies in early November. The filings state competing legal positions and do not establish that infringement occurred or that either side will win.

Read this story →

Minecraft Dungeons IIFranchise owner

Minecraft consumer-products director positions Dungeons II for toys, collectibles, apparel and role play

Microsoft consumer-products director Shabnam Elmi told License Global that Dungeons II's new mobs, biomes and adventures create licensing opportunities across toys, collectibles, apparel, role play and promotions. She said Minecraft works with more than 250 active licensees and will seek partners at Brand Licensing Europe in those and other categories. The interview announces a strategy, not a newly signed partner, product line or release schedule.

Read this story →

September 6, 2026View edition →

ZeniMax Maryland layoffsParent company

Maryland notices set 379 no-recall ZeniMax layoffs effective September 4

Maryland’s official WARN log lists 213 affected workers at ZeniMax Online Studios in Cockeysville and 166 at ZeniMax Media in Rockville. Both notices were filed July 6, classify the action as a mass layoff with no recall and give September 4 as the effective date. The log establishes the planned scope and date, but does not verify every separation or identify teams, individuals, remaining headcount or project effects.

Read this story →

September 5, 2026View edition →

Xbox Cloud GamingPlatform owner

Xbox Game Pass will cap included cloud gaming at 5, 10 or 15 hours per month in November

Starting in November, Game Pass Essential, Premium and Ultimate will include five, ten and fifteen cloud-gaming hours per month respectively. Xbox says subscribers will be able to buy extra hours, while non-members will be able to purchase streaming hours for eligible games they own; prices, the exact rollout date and regional details remain unannounced.

Read this story →

September 4, 2026View edition →

Tomb Raider Legend trilogy cloud accessCloud platform operator

Tomb Raider Legend, Anniversary and Underworld gain Xbox cloud streaming for digital owners in September

Tomb Raider Chronicles reports that Microsoft added Legend, Anniversary and Underworld to its September 2026 cloud expansion. Streaming requires ownership of a digital copy, an eligible Game Pass subscription and a supported region. Xbox metadata checked upstream did not expose one consistent rollout day for every territory, so the change is dated to the September announcement rather than a universal launch hour.

Read this story →

August 30, 2026View edition →

Minecraft Dungeons IIPublisher

Minecraft Dungeons II adds upgradable favorite gear and simultaneous quick inventories for couch co-op

An Xbox Wire hands-on says Brave Haven's Blacksmith can raise any owned item's power and reroll a buff, while the Enchantsmith applies effects from found books. Minecarts connect the hub to the world, and each local player can open a miniature inventory simultaneously instead of stopping the whole group.

Read this story →

Xbox Project HelixPlatform owner

Xbox CEO calls Project Helix a next-generation family of devices built for console and PC games

On August 29, Sharma said Microsoft is building a family of Helix devices and reiterated that the hardware is intended to play both console and PC games. She also said the industry must improve affordability and efficiency as component supply comes under pressure, but disclosed no device count, form factors, price, disc policy or launch date.

Read this story →

Xbox film and television adaptation packageReported rights package seller

Xbox reportedly shops a film-and-TV package of more than a dozen games including Halo, World of Warcraft, Elder Scrolls and Diablo

Puck reported August 28 that Microsoft is pitching one studio or streamer a long-term package covering more than a dozen Xbox properties for film and television. Halo, World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls and Diablo are specifically named, and Netflix, Paramount and Universal have reportedly examined the offer. One unnamed source put the asking price above US$300 million and said at least one prospective partner balked. Microsoft and the three named companies declined to comment; there is no signed buyer, confirmed price, final property list or production order.

Read this story →

August 25, 2026View edition →

Bethesda labor and layoffsParent company

Bethesda workers say yearly Microsoft layoffs are erasing production knowledge and a union cut proposal went unanswered

In direct interviews with Kotaku, lead character artist Alex Nguyen described recurring layoffs and lost institutional knowledge. Technical producer Nathan Hahn said workers submitted a reduction-in-force proposal in February and received no response before later cuts; these are named employee accounts, not a Microsoft admission.

Read this story →

Never miss a briefing.