Microsoft

Microsoft Celebrates 20 Years of Xbox and Halo

2021 marks 20 years of Xbox and Halo, as the original Xbox and Halo: Combat Evolved launched in North America on November 15, 2001. Microsoft is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Xbox and Halo starting today and through November 15, 2021. The company wants fans to use #Xbox20 on social media to share their favorite…

Published 5 years ago in
Microsoft Celebrates 20 Years of Xbox and Halo

2021 marks 20 years of Xbox and Halo, as the original Xbox and Halo: Combat Evolved launched in North America on November 15, 2001.
Microsoft is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Xbox and Halo starting today and through November 15, 2021. The company wants fans to use #Xbox20 on social media to share their favorite Xbox moments, stories, friendships, prized possessions, achievements, and more. 
The first wave of 20th anniversary Xbox merchandise is available on the Xbox Gear Shop, as well as free anniversary-themed wallpapers. You can register for  Xbox FanFest to participate in 20th anniversary FanFest activities. Xbox Series X|S owners can use a new dynamic theme based on the original Xbox main menu.

Read the Xbox Wire post below:
Do you remember where you were when you played your first Xbox game?
It may be hard to believe, but this year will mark the 20th anniversary of Xbox. I’m proud to have been a member of Team Xbox for 17 of those 20 years!  The original Xbox console was released in North America on November 15, 2001, followed by many more launches all around the world including Japan, Australia, Europe, Latin America, China, and more! 
Twenty years ago, playing on Xbox meant hooking up your console with three (or more!) cables to a standard definition CRT TV.  You had to pre-order the hottest new games and stand in line at your favorite retail shop to pick them up. Games were played in 640×480 resolution, and you only had 8GB of storage and 64MB of memory to enjoy them with. And you either played alone or with a friend sitting next to you on the couch.
Two Decades of Gaming
The Xbox experience today, as shaped by you, is wildly different. You can now jump into your favorite games on your Xbox Series X|S console (imagine showing your past self a 4K HDR game!), on PC, or on mobile*. You and your friends can play with and against the more than 100 million players who log into Xbox every month from around the world. And there’s no more convincing every person in the group to go out and buy a big game. If you all have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can pick the destination from a variety of games in the catalog and just start playing. We love this gaming future.
Thanks to game creators and players like you, we have a greater variety of games and diverse characters  – with more worlds to explore, stories to tell, heroes and villains to meet, and achievements to unlock – in the 7 thousand games that have been released across the Xbox platform. Do you remember unlocking your first Xbox achievement? To-date, you and the Xbox community together have racked up nearly 1 trillion total Gamerscore. Most importantly, you’ve worked together to change the face of gaming by welcoming players from all walks of life, everywhere in the world. 

The Game That Started It All
This year not only commemorates 20 years of Xbox, but it also marks the 20th anniversary of the Halo franchise. That magical moment when the Master Chief first stepped on to a mysterious ringworld has long been a hallmark of the Xbox experience, and over the last 20 years, Halo has become deeply embedded into the Xbox DNA. We’re thrilled to celebrate this milestone, as well as the launch of Halo Infinite, with our players this Fall.
Celebrating Together
As we approach the 20-Year mark, it has never been clearer that the heart of Xbox is you. And we are excited to celebrate this milestone together. 

The celebration starts today and continues through November 15, 2021. 

#Xbox20: This celebration is all about you, and we want to hear what Xbox means to you. Use #Xbox20 on social media to share your favorite Xbox moments, stories, friendships, prized possessions, achievements… anything! We’ll be asking loads of questions on Xbox social channels and spotlighting your answers through November 15, so keep an eye out.
Check out the Xbox Gear Shop for the first wave of Xbox 20th Anniversary official gear.
Show off your Xbox and Halo love with free anniversary-themed wallpapers.
Register today for Xbox FanFest to participate in 20th Anniversary FanFest activities including exclusive sweepstakes, FanFest gear, and digital experiences.
Personalize your Xbox experience: check out the new 20-Year gamerpic and “The Original” profile theme in your “Customize Profile” menu.  For Xbox Series X|S owners, “The Original” dynamic background is available in the Personalization menu. 
Looking for something new to play? Check out this collection featuring some of the greatest games that have marked Xbox history. You can also find the game collection on your Xbox console by searching for “Xbox Anniversary” in the Store.
Join us today at Twitch.tv/Xbox at 11am PT / 2pm ET to kick off the celebration with our livestreaming hosts as they reminisce about two decades of gaming while playing the game that started it all – Halo: Combat Evolved via the Halo: Master Chief Collection.
We’ll keep the fun going through November with more announcements, activities, and ways to celebrate.  Visit xbox.com/20Years for up-to-date details on anniversary activities throughout the year.

We’ll have more fun to share as we get closer to the November 15th anniversary date. Keep an eye out here on Xbox Wire or at xbox.com/20years for the latest updates.
Looking Ahead
Whether you have been an Xbox fan since day one or joined Xbox for the first time this week, we are humbled and excited to be a part of the Xbox community with you. As we reminisce together about the memories we’ve shared over 20 years, we also can’t help but be excited about what’s next for Xbox. Imagine what we will do together over the next 20 years! 

*Where available, requires Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let’s Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.Full Article – https://www.vgchartz.com/article/448764/microsoft-celebrates-20-years-of-xbox-and-halo/
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Microsoft

GTA 6 Leaker Releases More Gameplay Videos Despite Rockstar Owner Take-Two’s Microsoft and Discord Subpoenas

UPDATE AUGUST 24, 2026: The GTA 6 leaker has continued to release new gameplay clips, and is even running a poll to decide which video to leak next despite Rockstar parent company Take-Two’s ongoing hunt for people responsible. A tenth leaked GTA 6 video was released last night, this time showing plane at night gameplay.

Published 4 hours ago in
GTA 6 Leaker Releases More Gameplay Videos Despite Rockstar Owner Take-Two’s Microsoft and Discord Subpoenas

UPDATE AUGUST 24, 2026: The GTA 6 leaker has continued to release new gameplay clips, and is even running a poll to decide which video to leak next despite Rockstar parent company Take-Two’s ongoing hunt for people responsible.

A tenth leaked GTA 6 video was released last night, this time showing plane at night gameplay. There is no cutscene footage this time.

The watermarks are the same as those on the previous video, advertising the ‘CyberLeek’ token at the heart of the cryptocurrency scheme that is believed to be the motivating factor behind all this. Another watermark doubles down on the anti-all-digital future manifesto that formed part of the initial CyberLeek website. It reads: “They want to take your right to resell. The peaceful route got us nowhere. This was plotted by them for years. It is time to fight now or never.”

Meanwhile, CyberLeek has a new poll available on its website with a number of gameplay video choices people can vote on by sending tokens. People are currently spending hundreds of dollars’ worth of the token to vote.

This poll ends today, August 24, which suggests the leaker or leakers intend to continue to release gameplay videos even in the face of Take-Two’s subpoenas of Microsoft, Discord, and X / Twitter as part of the company’s hunt for identifying information.

We are now into the sixth consecutive day of CyberLeek releases in what has been one of the most remarkable video game leaks of all time. It is now just a few days until Rockstar’s official GTA 6 reveal, exclusive to Netflix for six hours.

UPDATE AUGUST 23, 2026: The GTA 6 leaks have stretched into a sixth consecutive day, as the person or group responsible shows no sign of slowing down even in the face of court action from Rockstar parent company Take-Two.

The latest leak is the ninth GTA 6 gameplay video to emerge this week from the ‘CyberLeek’ persona. It shows one of the two protagonists, Jason, driving to a gas station to cause havoc. There he steals a pickup truck from a conspiracy theorist. The video ends with another brief look at the same cutscene shown in the gameplay videos that were leaked yesterday.

And, as with all the leaked GTA 6 videos, this “gas” clip advertises the ‘CyberLeek’ token at the heart of the cryptocurrency scheme that is believed to be the motivating factor behind all this. A new watermark doubles down on the anti-all-digital future manifesto that formed part of the initial CyberLeek website. It reads: “They want to take your right to resell. The peaceful route got us nowhere. This was plotted by them for years. It is time to fight now or never.”

In other related news. Take-Two lawyers have issued a subpoena to X / Twitter to identify the person or persons behind three accounts that contain ‘CyberLeak’ within them. This subpoena follows two filed earlier this week requesting information from Microsoft and Discord.

ORIGINAL STORY AUGUST 22, 2026: The alleged GTA 6 leaker has released two further gameplay videos despite Rockstar owner Take-Two’s subpoenas requesting identifying information from Microsoft and Discord.

The ‘CyberLeek’ person or group released two new videos today, August 22, one showing more supercar gameplay and an armed robbery, the other strip club gameplay. The latter appears to taunt Take-Two and Rockstar by showing a snippet of a cutscene in which a character says they need to take “a leak.” This is the second cutscene to emerge this week, and there is growing concern that the leaker has access to a build of the game and may post significant story spoilers.

These new videos are the seventh and eighth to leak this week. And, like all the others, they advertise the ‘CyberLeek’ memecoin as part of what is widely considered to be a crypto scheme.

Every Detail in the GTA 6 Cover Art Explained

On August 20, Take-Two issued Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) subpoenas in a federal court requesting information from both Microsoft and Discord as part of its hunt for the leaker or leakers behind the recent spate of GTA 6 gameplay videos. Take-Two wants identifying information associated with user accounts that were members of a number of Discord servers, including one relating to Australian GTA content cr

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Microsoft

Microsoft and Valve sued, PlayStation’s first party downturn, and could a UK social media ban impact games? – Patch Notes #55

Plus: Atari acquires Hipster Whale and Mina the Hollower hits 300,000 sales…

Published 1 month ago in
Microsoft and Valve sued, PlayStation’s first party downturn, and could a UK social media ban impact games? – Patch Notes #55

Plus: Atari acquires Hipster Whale and Mina the Hollower hits 300,000 sales…
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Microsoft

Nvidia and Microsoft drop cryptic coordinates pointing to an ARM powered PC revolution at GTC Taipei 2026

This morning I woke to social media teasers from both Nvidia and Microsoft, which seen many on social media speculating about it’s meaning. The identical posts feature a simple message – a new era of PC is coming. This isn’t jsut a new generation of an existing architecture…

Published 1 month ago in
Nvidia and Microsoft drop cryptic coordinates pointing to an ARM powered PC revolution at GTC Taipei 2026

This morning I woke to social media teasers from both Nvidia and Microsoft, which seen many on social media speculating about it’s meaning. The identical posts feature a simple message – a new era of PC is coming. This isn’t jsut a new generation of an existing architecture…
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Microsoft

Exclusive: Microsoft is building a super app that combines coding, chat, and other Copilot AI tools

Microsoft needs to solve a nagging problem: It has various Copilot AI assistants throughout its portfolio of products, irking customers who seek a single destination. The company is planning to solve that by creating a super app for its most popular AI tools.  Recommended Video The software giant is working on a one-stop shop that

Published 2 months ago in
Exclusive: Microsoft is building a super app that combines coding, chat, and other Copilot AI tools

Microsoft needs to solve a nagging problem: It has various Copilot AI assistants throughout its portfolio of products, irking customers who seek a single destination. The company is planning to solve that by creating a super app for its most popular AI tools. 

The software giant is working on a one-stop shop that would connect its GitHub Copilot coding assistant, Copilot chat function, Copilot Cowork tool, and a new agentic workflow capability internally named Autopilot into a single app, according to two sources familiar with the project, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a platform that hasn’t yet been released. The project is being spearheaded by Jacob Andreou, Microsoft’s recently appointed head of Copilot. One of Andreou’s primary tasks has been to unite the consumer and enterprise sides of Copilot into a cohesive product. 

Some elements of the app, which is being developed internally with the slogan “Delivering one Copilot,” could be referenced at Microsoft’s Build developer conference next week in San Francisco, though there are no plans to showcase the app itself. The company plans to launch the super app by the end of summer. The plans for the super app could evolve and are not yet final, the sources said, but the idea is to be able to combine a user’s Copilots into one central interface, including accounts from the productivity-focused Microsoft 365 Copilot.

There may also be a toggle function for a user to go back and forth between their personal and enterprise 365 Copilots. A user will still be able to access their Copilots outside of the super app. Microsoft declined to comment.

Microsoft isn’t alone in attempting to create a super app. Its partner-rival OpenAI has had plans to combine its ChatGPT app and its Codex coding tool with its web browser into a single destination. Elon Musk has long held an ambition to make the X social media app into a super app for communication, media, and commerce. Uber and Meta have also increasingly put services under a single app. 

Microsoft has found that customers dislike shifting between its Copilot tools, and the company also seeks for people to see more value from Copilot, the sources familiar with the plans said.

The stakes are high for Microsoft, which was one of the first tech companies to make a big bet on AI, through a $13 billion partnership with OpenAI, but then lost its early lead as various rivals joined the race. The Copilot brand has struggled as a result of several issues. It has had a historic reliance on OpenAI’s AI models, which have at times lagged behind rivals in benchmarks and made Microsoft late to create its own models. Microsoft also launched several versions of Copilot, confusing customers. Until recently, Microsoft employees were split into distinct consumer and commercial Copilot teams, which made it difficult to have a unified AI vision. 

The various Copilots have existed as both free consumer versions, as well as paid enterprise options. Less than 4.5% of the 450 million customers of its Microsoft 365 office suite currently pay for Copilot features. GitHub Copilot, which uses AI f

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