Microsoft is planning major layoffs in its Xbox gaming business as early as next week after its fiscal year ends on June 30. The cuts mark the fourth big round in 18 months as the division faces pressure to improve margins following the $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition.
The layoffs come shortly after new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma admitted the business "isn't particularly healthy."
Sharma emphasized that annual revenue had declined nearly half a billion over the last five years despite more than $20 million in investment.
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The Verge: The Xbox Nano controller will launch tomorrow with an unannounced direct Wi-Fi connection to Xbox Cloud Gaming servers. The feature aims to cut latency and is expected to appear on the Elite 3 controller as well.
Bloomberg reports that Ubisoft and at least two other gaming companies have made offers to buy Arkane Studios from Microsoft's Xbox, which has also weighed a sale to the studio's management. No deal has been agreed.
A union delegate told Le Monde that Arkane Lyon faces closure by November 13 unless a buyer is found, with 217 jobs at risk. Microsoft says it is still exploring options and seeking a partner for the studio's next project.
Microsoft says CVE-2026-124194, a moderate Outlook spoofing flaw, is already exploited and can disclose an NTLMv2 hash if a user opens a crafted file.
Microsoft's November 2026 Security Updates list 1,094 flaws, including 63 rated critical and one Outlook bug already exploited.
