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Games You Only Need One Copy Of To Play With Others

Games You Only Need One Copy Of To Play With Others https://ift.tt/VjqflAv Gaming has never been more expensive. We're here to investigate why, and help you play more while spending less. Welcome to GameSpot Cheap Week . Fewer and fewer games emphasize couch co-op these days, as we've moved to an increasingly online world that often assumes if you're playing video games with your friend, you're doing it in two different locations over the internet. That's all well and good, but it also means that in most cases, you and your friend both need to own a copy of a game in order to play it together. Yes, most of the time this is true, but a number of games have released over the last several years that support cooperative play without everyone needing to own a copy. This is usually accomplished via a digital item called a Friend's Pass, which lets someone without the game access it as long as they're playing with someone who does own the game.  Infla...

Xbox Reportedly Planning Big Layoffs For Next Month

Xbox Reportedly Planning Big Layoffs For Next Month https://ift.tt/ylVeSpE

Microsoft is reportedly planning major layoffs at its Xbox division next month--a move that comes shortly after new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma admitted its business "isn't particularly healthy."

According to sources speaking to Bloomberg, the layoffs will come sometime after June 30, which is when Microsoft's fiscal year ends. In an email sent to employees on Wednesday, Sharma emphasized that annual revenue had declined "nearly half a billion" over the last five years despite more than $20 million in investments across the Xbox brand, excluding Activision Blizzard King.

"We expanded our studio system when we needed a pipeline of content to meet multiple strategies across subscription, streaming, and devices," Sharma said. "In the process, we found ourselves overextended as we executed on changing strategies in a landscape of more readily available content."

Sharma also emphasized that Microsoft is in a "hardware component crisis," facing issues that have plagued much of the tech industry as more and more hardware is used for AI.

"When I joined as CEO in February, the price we paid for console storage components was over 2x as high as we paid last fall," Sharma said. "These costs have since doubled again. And as we plan for the 2027 holiday season, we expect another significant increase, taking us over 5x the prices we paid only two years earlier."

It remains to be seen exactly how drastic the steps will be, but Sharma's words suggest studio closures aren't out of the realm of possibility. Microsoft drastically increased its number of studios under previous Xbox boss Phil Spencer, acquiring developers like Compulsion Games, Undead Labs, and Ninja Theory alongside the behemoths Bethesda and Activision Blizzard.

The upcoming layoffs, if accurate, are unfortunately not shocking. In late May, Sharma reportedly told staff that "hard choices" were coming as the Xbox brand attempts a resurgence.

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