Starting today, a new Home experience is rolling out to all Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles. This update is designed from player feedback and makes it easier to discover new games, rediscover games you already love, connect with communities, and create a more personalized experience.

We're excited to share more about the journey that led us here, and what you can expect with this new update.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:

• Revenue was $56.2 billion and increased 8% (up 10% in constant currency)
• Operating income was $24.3 billion and increased 18% (up 21% in constant currency)
• Net income was $20.1 billion and increased 20% (up 23% in constant currency)
• Diluted earnings per share was $2.69 and increased 21% (up 23% in constant currency)

"Organizations are asking not only how - but how fast - they can apply this next generation of AI to address the biggest opportunities and challenges they face - safely and responsibly," said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. "We remain focused on leading the new AI platform shift, helping customers use the Microsoft Cloud to get the most value out of their digital spend, and driving operating leverage."

Attacking the massive Juggernaut mech's exposed engine manifold was proving to be an impossible task. It wasn't that the Reverse Joint Legs I equipped weren't nimble enough to glide away from their flurry of missiles; they were more than capable. And it wasn't that my dual machineguns and missile launchers were a poor choice heading into this boss battle—they certainly helped me carve a path through the enemy-filled fortress earlier. But its pairing was not the most efficient mixture to hit the Juggernaut where it hurt: from behind.

Despite its colossal size and massive tank-like treads, the "Jug" could turn on a dime while keeping its armored chest between my weapons and its weak spot. It wasn't long until the battle turned into an effort in futility. With my ammunition depleted, I was forced to retreat to the mech Assembly and build a new Armored Core to try again. Despite this challenge during a recent hands-on session with FromSoftware's upcoming Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon, the boss battle was a perfect showcase of the game's captivating and inherent difficulty - you'll be given all the tools to succeed, but it'll be up to you to find the best combination of weapons to components that match your style of play and crack the obstacle(s) that stands in your way.

Bethesda Game Studios' upcoming RPG Starfield imagines a world where humanity inhabits the vastness of space. These stunning animated stories offer a glimpse into three of the major cities in the Settled Systems. Follow a delivery pilot in New Atlantis seeking the exciting life of the elite; a stranded orphan looking for a way out of Akila City; and two street rats struggling to survive in the underbelly of Neon.

SUPRA ET ULTRA
In the city of New Atlantis, capital of the United Colonies, Kent, a courier pilot, aspires to live in the most desirable part of the settled systems. After joining the UC Vanguard and working his way up to the Capital's elite, Kent quickly realizes the adventures waiting for him off-planet are what he truly longed for.

It's been a little over a month since fans around the world enjoyed the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct and we're delighted to say that, within seven days of the broadcast, we saw over 92 million views across our first ever double feature, trailers, and segments from the shows - a 38% rise in viewership over last year's show. It's become the highest rated and most-viewed show for Xbox, ever! We can't thank you enough for being a part of that, and we hope you're as excited as we are for Xbox's future.

From our own games - like Starfield, Forza Motorsport, Hellblade II: Senua's Saga, Fable, South of Midnight, Avowed, Clockwork Revolution, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Towerborne, and more - to those coming to Xbox from our partners around the world - Star Wars Outlaws, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Cities: Skylines 2, 33 Immortals, and more - our show aimed to bring something for every kind of player. Whether you're an RPG obsessive, an indie curio collector, a PC player, a console owner, or even brand-new to gaming, we like to think there was something that piqued your interest.

There are many opportunities to brush up on our real-life skills through gaming this month, including puzzle solving, cooking, building a settlement on the back of a giant wandering creature to survive a post-apocalyptic world, and even photography! Let's get to the games.

Available Today:
Techtonica (Game Preview) (Cloud, Console, and PC) - Available on day one with Game Pass: Dig into the sub-surface, bioluminescent world of a rogue alien planet as you explore and construct sprawling factories in Techtonica. Work alone or in co-op to master automation, gather resources, research new technologies, mold the destructible terrain, establish a base of operations, and uncover long-forgotten secrets.

Microsoft and Xbox leaders have declared that the Call of Duty series will remain on PlayStation systems for the next ten years, following a possible successful acquisition of the (current owners of the IP) Activision Blizzard video game holding company. Phil Spencer, the outspoken head of Xbox stated via Twitter: "We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games."

His superior, Brad Smith (vice chair and president of Microsoft) added: "From Day One of this acquisition, we've been committed to addressing the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers. Even after we cross the finish line for this deal's approval, we will remain focused on ensuring that Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before." The silence on Sony/PlayStation's part is very telling, they are perhaps resigned to the merger becoming concrete this summer. Fans of the series (who favor Sony systems) will be relieved to know that PlayStation 5 and its possible successor are covered for another decade—it will be interesting to see how Sony's planned cloud gaming service will operate with the CoD franchise in mind. Microsoft has been presenting ten-year deals to a variety of rivals over the past year, with Sony and Nintendo courted alongside a number of different organizations. NVIDIA and Nintendo agreed on 10-year partnerships with Xbox earlier this year.

Today, we're continuing our commitment to give players more choice and value by introducing Xbox Game Pass Core, launching on September 14. Game Pass Core is the evolution of Xbox Live Gold. Game Pass Core will give players access to our advanced multiplayer network, a select collection of over 25 games to play with friends around the world, and exclusive member deals, all for $9.99 USD per month or $59.99 USD per year.

For over twenty years, Xbox players have been connecting via Xbox Live to compete, cooperate, and experience the world's biggest online multiplayer games. In 2017, we introduced Xbox Game Pass which provided a curated library of games. Game Pass Core brings online play together with Game Pass in a new offering for gamers around the world.

Players come to Xbox to build friendships, be competitive, and to experience incredible games - and they expect to be treated fairly, for interactions to be free of hate or harassment. Our investments in safety have helped players feel safer across text, video, and image - and our new voice reporting experience is the latest addition to our robust suite of family and online safety features.

Starting this week, we are releasing a new platform-wide voice reporting feature to Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead Xbox Insiders, that gives players the option to capture and report inappropriate in-game voice chats. More specifically, this feature equips Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One players with the ability to capture a 60-second video clip of an in-game voice incident that they believe violates our Community Standards and submit it as evidence to our Xbox Safety Team for review. This feature is purpose-built to support the broadest arena of in-game interactions between players and works across thousands of games that offer in-game multiplayer voice chat, including Xbox 360 backward-compatible titles.

Designed for Xbox premiered its first collection with a variety of gaming accessories in playful pastel tones last spring. This year, it's time to sparkle and shine for Designed for Xbox's second collection! The new Designed for Xbox Summer Collection 2023 will include 7 shimmery, glimmery accessories for every Xbox player wanting to outsparkle the competition. Designed especially for you and crafted by our amazing partners, each product brings a unique flare that will surely brighten up any gaming session.

PowerA Advantage Wired Controller for Xbox Series X|S - Sparkle
Add some stellar style and performance to your game with the PowerA Advantage Wired Controller for Xbox Series X|S in an all-new purple sparkle design. With glittering swirls of purple and gold, this one-of-a-kind controller looks like it was sent from a deep-space nebula. Licensed by Xbox, this controller features two mappable Advanced Gaming Buttons you can program on-the-fly, and 3-Way Trigger Locks for game-specific trigger depth. Works great on Windows 10/11 too. Quality backed with a 2-year limited warranty.

Audeze, the leading premium headphone manufacturer, today announced the release of a limited edition gaming headset developed in partnership with Microsoft, for their Designed for Xbox Summer product collection. This stylish, limited edition "Ultraviolet" version of their highly lauded Maxwell gaming headset features a new finish that adds a head-turning and unique look to one of the best gaming headsets on the market. The Ultraviolet edition of the Maxwell headphone is available on the Audeze website for pre-order in limited quantities.

The partnership between Audeze and Microsoft which began in 2021 with the Microsoft certification of Audeze's Penrose gaming headset, and continued recently with Microsoft's certification of our new Maxwell gaming headset. This partnership has expanded access to Audeze's industry-leading planar magnetic headsets to Microsoft's vast audience of console users. Epic life-like audio quality as delivered by Audeze's legendary planar magnetic drivers are a powerful tool for gamers, and now with the Ultraviolet limited edition of Maxwell, they can use their sonic advantage in style.

Microsoft last week quietly reintroduced its $1 first month promotion for new subscribers on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass. This offer was retired back in March of this year, with the company announcing that it would be "evaluating different marketing promotions for new members in the future." Their research has clearly brought them back to square one—it is possible that the Xbox Games division is already reacting to negative feedback following an announcement regarding ongoing subscription and hardware price increases, as well as a decline in new player sign-ups since Spring time.

It should be noted that the console-only Game Pass tier ($11 per month) is not available as part of this 30-day starter promotion. The more expensive Game Pass Ultimate ($17 per month) is the only entry point on Xbox systems—customers are paying for a service that encompasses both console and PC platforms. PC Game Pass defaults to $10 a month, post the $1 introductory period. Microsoft has revised the conversion ratios for upgrades of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions to Game Pass Ultimate—from (the more favorable) 1:1 to 3:2. As an example—according to the new terms—90 remaining days of Xbox Live Gold/PC Game Pass converts to 60 days of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Today, 2K unveiled that 18-time All-Star, five-time NBA Champion, two-time Finals MVP, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, all-time leading scorer for the Los Angeles Lakers and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, Kobe Bryant will be featured as the NBA 2K24 Kobe Bryant Edition and Black Mamba Edition cover athlete. NBA 2K24 will release worldwide on September 8 on all platforms and feature crossplay compatibility for PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Xbox Series X|S.

"As we celebrate 25 years of NBA 2K with Kobe Bryant, we commemorate his legacy and the generational impact he has had on the game of basketball," said Greg Thomas, President at Visual Concepts. "While we mark the history of the franchise, NBA 2K24 also looks ahead to the future to bring an innovative leap in technology and the introduction of community-requested features like crossplay."

We're back! What's summer without new game demos to entertain you during those hot days and nights? Starting July 11 and running until July 17, you'll be able to experience over 40 game demos on your Xbox console.

A few things to keep in mind—these demos will only be up on the Xbox Dashboard for a week. Some might be re-published to the Demo channel later, but many will simply disappear at the end of the week, so check them out while you can! The developers would love to hear what you think. Hit them up on social media or through their websites. If you like the game - tell them! If you have constructive criticism, they would love to hear that too.

This July, as part of Disability Pride Month, Team Xbox proudly celebrates players, creators, and community members with disabilities. More than 400 million video game players have disabilities worldwide, and we recognize the incredible contributions the gaming and disability community has made in making Team Xbox, and the broader gaming industry, more inclusive and welcoming for everyone.

Disability Pride holds a special place in my heart, as I am not only a Program Manager on our Gaming Accessibility Team, but also a person with disabilities. Most people wouldn't think of me as having a disability at first glance. In fact, I didn't know I had disabilities until I was in my 20's when I was diagnosed as being neurodiverse. Now I know that I have had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder since I was a young child. And, as the years have gone by, I've acquired new disabilities due to illness, injury, and trauma. Chronic pain is now part of my life, as is hearing loss, and anxiety and depression related to complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

What do heists, dinosaurs falling out of the skies, and puzzles all have in common? If it is anything other than "games coming to Xbox Game Pass", I would very much like to know! We have games coming soon that we announced during the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase (looking at you, Exoprimal), and we even have a surprise return today with Grand Theft Auto V. Let's get to the games!

Available Today: Grand Theft Auto V (Cloud and Console)
When a young street hustler, a retired bank robber, and a terrifying psychopath find themselves entangled with some of the most frightening and deranged elements of the criminal underworld, the U.S. government, and the entertainment industry, they must pull off a series of dangerous heists to survive in a ruthless city in which they can trust nobody—least of all each other. Includes both the Xbox One and the Xbox Series X|S versions of Grand Theft Auto V.

Microsoft has normally kept its Xbox console sales figures out of public view—many industry experts reckon that this is due to the One and Series generations consistently lagging behind Sony's equivalent PlayStation offerings—but attendees of the BIG Festival in Brazil last week were surprised by "player count" data appearing during an official presentation. An interesting slide was put on display as part of an ID@Xbox Developer Accelerator Program segment—it revealed that the Series X|S consoles have an accumulated userbase of around 21 million, since launching back in November of 2020. Microsoft also emphasized that 48% of its Series S customers are new to the ecosystem.

The older generation also got a mention—with some subtraction (from their grand total of One + Series) the technology giant has divulged that its entire Xbox One lineup (consisting of the original model and S plus X variants) has sold roughly 58 million units since the late 2013. Microsoft has been fairly transparent about its Xbox One generation losing out to Sony's PlayStation 4—the latter has done business in the region of 117.2 million units, and the latest data (again) reaffirms that the PS4 outsold Xbox One by a 2:1 margin. Sales figures for Series X|S seem to be quite healthy—so far—when compared to the predecessor, but PlayStation 5 is still ahead (38.4 million units sold as of March 2023) and Sony is confident that it will sell close to 20 million consoles this fiscal year. Shortages are said to be a thing of the past—production and distribution issues have been resolved and the PS5 can be pumped out at an admirable rate.

This Barbie is a gamer! Together with Warner Bros. Pictures and Mattel, Xbox is excited to invite fans on a fun, fashionable, and inspirational ride this summer to celebrate the much-anticipated release of the new movie "Barbie," premiering in theaters on July 21. Bringing Barbie's signature flair to our gaming platform, we're honoring all that there is to love about this iconic role model: her persevering optimism, wide-ranging career journey and never-ending capacity for self-discovery. Audiences of "Barbie" will follow the heroine to the furthest reaches of Barbie Land and beyond, and now fans can follow in her high-heeled footsteps with exclusive Forza Horizon 5 in-game content, an inspiring video about careers in gaming with a Barbie touch, the first ever Xbox Barbie dolls, and our most stylish custom Xbox hardware yet.

The highly anticipated film of the summer, BARBIE, comes to the big screen taking audiences to the vibrant world of Barbie Land - where every day is the best day ever! Now, the Horizon Festival will celebrate by giving Forza Horizon 5 players the keys to two stunning cars featured in this bold movie adaptation. Starting June 26, all players will receive the Barbie iconic 1956 Chevrolet Corvette EV and the Ken 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Pickup in their Forza Horizon 5 Message Center. We're also hosting an in-game UGC contest themed around the joy, wonder and adventures of Barbie. Be it a photo, EventLab, or another type of UGC, share your BARBIE content on Twitter or Instagram before July 14, 2023, and include the hashtag #FH5BarbieMovie to be entered for a chance to win an unmissable BARBIE prize pack.

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced the next step in device customization - Razer Skins. Offered in a range of designs and precision cuts for a factory-like fit, Razer Skins are easy to apply and safe to remove, making them the ultimate way for users to personalize and accessorize their devices. "Unleashing personal style and increasing the device's defense - that's the game-changing combination that Razer Skins bring to the table," said Travis Furst, Head of Laptop Division at Razer. " We're enabling gamers to put a unique stamp on their tech tools, all while giving their high-value gear the protection it deserves."

Made with premium 3M vinyl materials, Razer Skins protect against scuffs and scratches and can withstand rigorous temperatures. Thorough testing ensures each skin offers a seamless fit and finish to maintain full device functionality. Designed and manufactured by Razer in the USA, Razer Skins feature a toolless design that can be applied effortlessly without a heat gun or blow dryer and are easily removed, leaving no residue or damage to the device surface. Razer Skins are currently available for an extensive range of Razer-made devices, including the Blade gaming laptops, Razer Edge, and the Razer Kishi line. Compatibility extends to popular devices such as the Valve Steam Deck, Sony PlayStation 5, Microsoft Xbox Series X|S consoles, and select Apple MacBooks. Nintendo Switch owners will soon have the opportunity to customize their consoles with Razer Skins, with more devices joining the lineup in the future.

Jump into the managerial hotseat this weekend with Football Manager 2023 now available to play for free. PC and Mac users will be able to try out FM23 on Steam completely free until 13:00 EST / 18:00pm BST on Monday, June 26th. Xbox Live Gold subscribers can access FM23 Console at no cost before 9:00am BST on June 26th. To continue your journey to footballing glory after the free play period, take advantage of both titles being available at 50% off until mid-July.

Football Manager 2023 provides you with the closest thing to being a real manager, delivering unmatched levels of detail and drama as you write your own headlines and dominate the competition. If you already have a Steam account, getting access to FM23 is straightforward. On Steam, head to the Football Manager 2023 page. Instead of there being a button labelled "Add to Cart," the game will be marked as "Free to Play" and the button will read 'Play Game'. Clicking "Play Game" will add FM23 to your library and it will remain playable until the free access period ends.

According to the Verge, Microsoft is getting ready to hike up the price of its Xbox Series X console come August, but apparently only in some parts of the world. However, the company is also readying a small price increase in its Game Pass pricing as well, that will take effect globally. The Game Pass pricing increase in the US will be a mere US$1 from US$9.99 to US$10.99 a month, whereas the Game Pass Ultimate will see an increase of US$2, from US$14.99 to US$16.99 a month, with European countries seeing the same kind of increase in cost, but in Euro instead of Dollars. The Verge has a list of other regional price increases for the Game Pass for those interested.

As for the Xbox Series X, Europe, Canada and Australia are said to see a hike in pricing, whereas the US, Japan and some South American nations are apparently avoiding a price hike for now. The new pricing will be £479.99 in the UK, €549.99 in most EU countries, C$649.99 in Canada and AU$799.99 in Australia. The new pricing is said to take effect on the first of August. The Xbox Series S will apparently avoid a price hike for now.

Matt Booty - the Head of Microsoft Studios - has been doing a lot of press lately, following the recent Xbox Games Showcase. Previous headlines focused on his declaration that first party development for Xbox One had ceased. The Hollywood Reporter has now cornered him on the subject of a possible Xbox augmented/virtual reality headset, although the interview did begin with a discussion about the company's Starfield IP being a good candidate for a movie or TV series adaptation. Booty swiftly shifted the focus onto current projects: "I don't have anything to share around there on Starfield, but I love your point that the worlds that we create in games, the characters that we create … people build entire digital hobbies around and invest hundreds of hours in (them), so it's cool to see linear media, as we call it, recognize that. We have our Halo TV series with Paramount; we have season one and we're shooting season two now. We've got the Minecraft movie coming up with Jason Momoa. We just recently announced that we've got the Gears of War franchise with Netflix."

Arch rival Sony is already two generations deep into gaming AR/VR headsets, and Microsoft has not produced an answer to PlayStation VR. Things have also gone quiet on the business-focused HoloLens product front. Phil Spencer did hint that the Xbox One X console was powerful enough to run a VR headset, but that was many years ago and he has since stated that leadership is not interested in exploring that market. Booty's response to the Hollywood Reporter's query also repeats his colleague's view: "I think for us, it's just a bit of wait until there's an audience there. We're very fortunate that we have got these big IPs that have turned into ongoing franchises with big communities. We have 10 games that have achieved over 10 million players life-to-date, which is a pretty big accomplishment, but that's the kind of scale that we need to see success for the game and it's just, it's not quite there yet with AR, VR." He claimed that their traditional model has "150 million active players across first-party (titles) every month," with cloud gaming contributing very little to that population: "For us, to be clear, it is a very, very small market. I'm not even sure you would call it a market yet, in fact." This tidbit is very intriguing given the big marketing push behind Xbox Cloud Gaming, and certain regulators deeming Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard a threat to competition within that market.

Microsoft has revealed the next set of titles that will be coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC, Cloud, and Xbox Series X/S. The list includes Need for Speed Unbound, The Bookwalker, Bramble: The Mountain King and FIST: Forged in Shadow Torch, and several other titles.

Xbox Game Pass will also be getting new DLCs and game updates, new Ultimate Perks, and new Xbox Game Pass Quests. There is also a list of games that will be leaving the Xbox Game Pass on June 30th.

Celebrate French Aviation with new Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) cities and the Latécoère 631 The Microsoft Flight Simulator team is delighted to introduce the free City Update II: France, which captures five beautiful cities: Amiens, Angers, Nantes, Nîmes, and Reims; and to celebrate the Paris Air Show, the update also includes the famed Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LFPB) in both standard and festival configurations.

City Update II: France is now available free to all owners of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Ensure that your simulator is updated to version 1.32.7.0, download City Update II, and experience some of the very best sights that France has to offer.

Polish development studio, People Can Fly, announced yesterday that it has signed a production and publishing agreement with Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios. The teased future title goes under the moniker "Project Maverick," and the company press release reveals a "total production budget for the Game" of $30-50 million. The terms agreed upon include: "The development of the Game by the Company will be performed under the work for hire model, based on the intellectual property rights owned by the Publisher and will be entirely financed by the Publisher when advancing by the Company of the development works under the milestones." Industry insiders reckon there is a good chance that People Can Fly are set to work on Microsoft's Gears IP. The Coalition, an Xbox first party studio (located in Vancouver, Canada) is said to be working on the next mainline Gears title, but a diversified lineup could include more side projects. Splash Damage's Gears Tactics was a previous example of this—a turn-based title that arrived on PC in April 2020, followed by Xbox console versions later that year.

The team has prior experience of developing older Gears of War series entries on Unreal Engine 3—the PC port of the original 2007 game and 2013's spin-off GoW: Judgement (an Xbox 360 exclusive). People Can Fly has had a difficult time lately with the release and support of its online-only cooperative action role-player "Outriders" (with Square Enix), and a terminated Take-Two Interactive publishing deal. Company investor information has recently revealed that Outriders (2021) has not yet become a profitable property for the independent studio: "The Group received no royalties from the publisher (Square Enix) for the period to March 31st 2023, which means that as at the reporting date net proceeds from the sale of Outriders were insufficient to recover the costs and expenses incurred by the publisher to develop, distribute and promote the title." People Can Fly confirms elsewhere in the investment document that Gearbox Publishing holds an exclusive license for Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition (a 2019 remaster of the original 2011 base game).