game pass

Microsoft’s Windows 11 reveal marked a clear stylistic and strategic pivot: a softer, more mobile‑friendly desktop that folds touch, cloud, and cross‑platform access into the classic PC ecosystem, anchored by a redesigned, centered taskbar and an app store renewed with developer‑friendly...

Microsoft has quietly unlocked one of the most consequential features Windows on Arm owners have been waiting for: the Xbox PC app can now — in preview — download and run compatible games locally on Arm-based Windows 11 devices. Background Windows on Arm has long been pitched as the...

The current surge in PC-style gaming handhelds looks strikingly familiar: a democratic, low-cost champion (Valve’s Steam Deck) sparks a boom, long-established OEMs pile in with premium alternatives, and suddenly the market is crowded with devices trying to one-up each other on raw performance...

Microsoft’s Xbox PC app is beginning to let Windows on Arm devices do something they’ve long been denied: download and run select PC games locally instead of being forced to stream everything from Xbox Cloud Gaming — a staged Insider preview that signals a practical shift in Microsoft’s approach...

Microsoft’s surprise removal of a briefly live Amazon product page for the Asus ROG Xbox Ally has ratcheted up the heat on one of this year’s most talked-about handhelds, and the incident offers a revealing snapshot of how leaks, retailer metadata, and platform partnerships now shape major...

Microsoft’s Xbox app is shedding a major limitation for Arm-powered Windows PCs: Insiders can now download and run selected ARM64-compatible games locally, moving Windows on Arm from “cloud-only” convenience closer to legitimate local gaming capability for the first time in years. Background...

Microsoft’s latest move to let Arm-based Windows machines download and run compatible PC games locally marks a meaningful shift for Windows on Arm gaming — not a revolution, but an important, practical step that widens the gap between cloud-only play and a genuinely usable native gaming...

Microsoft is rolling out a targeted update that begins to change how the Xbox PC app behaves on Arm®-based Windows 11 devices, and for the first time Microsoft is letting Insiders download and run more PC titles locally on ARM hardware rather than relying solely on cloud streaming. This shift —...

Arkane Studios’ Lyon-based union has publicly joined calls for Microsoft to sever ties with the Israeli military, putting one of the games industry’s most respected studios at the center of a widening debate about cloud providers, AI, corporate responsibility, and the ethics of doing business in...

The week of August 11–17 delivers a crowded roster of new Xbox releases, headlined by EA Sports’ long-awaited Madden NFL 26 and punctuated by a surprise QuakeCon shadowdrop: the remastered Heretic + Hexen pack, now available on Xbox Game Pass. For players still holding onto Xbox One hardware...

Microsoft's July 2025 Xbox update introduces significant enhancements across PC gaming, cloud services, and the overall Xbox ecosystem. These updates aim to provide a more integrated and flexible gaming experience for users. Stream Your Own Games on PC A standout feature of this update is the...

Microsoft's recent enhancements to the Xbox ecosystem are significantly narrowing the distinctions between console, PC, and cloud gaming. These developments aim to provide a seamless gaming experience across various platforms, reflecting the company's commitment to accessibility and integration...

A quiet storm is brewing in the world of cloud gaming. Over the past few days, sharp-eyed observers within the Xbox community have noticed something curious buried within Microsoft’s public APIs: four previously unseen xCloud program codenames—Callisto, Dia, Europa, and Ferdinand. First brought...

As the dog days of summer bring a fresh wave of tech news, this week’s Windows Weekly episode fueled fierce debate and unveiled new surprises across the Microsoft ecosystem. Leo Laporte, Richard Campbell, and Paul Thurrott—fixtures of the Windows enthusiast circuit—dug into a mixed bag of...

For years, the dream of a true “Windows gaming handheld” has remained tantalizingly out of reach for many enthusiasts—haunted by clunky interfaces, touch-unfriendly controls, and a software landscape built almost exclusively for big-screen desktop monitors. Yet, recent revelations suggest a...

As the latest Patch Tuesday rolls out across the Windows ecosystem, a sense of transformation hangs thick in the air—a feeling that’s not only shaped by new updates but also by an era-defining shift in PC usage, AI integration, and the restless, sometimes fractious, loyalty of the Windows and...

Call of Duty: WWII, a World War II-themed first-person shooter released in 2017, enjoyed a renaissance in player numbers this July as it landed on PC Game Pass for the first time, drawing in a vast new wave of players lured by nostalgia and the allure of a “new” classic. But in what is now a...

The recent closure of Arkane Austin, the studio behind titles like Prey and Redfall, has ignited a heated debate within the gaming industry. At the heart of this discourse is Raphael Colantonio, the founder of Arkane Studios, who has been vocal about his concerns regarding Microsoft's strategic...

The steady transformation of the Xbox brand from a traditional console-centric model into a cross-platform ecosystem is perhaps the most consequential story in modern gaming, and Microsoft’s recent partnership with Asus to launch the Xbox ROG Ally handheld further highlights the seismic shifts...

When Wi-Fi drops out and the world shrinks to the space around your laptop, it’s easy to feel stranded in a hyper-connected society. Windows 11, however, quietly equips users with a rich toolkit of offline features that make life considerably easier away from the internet’s reach. Many people...