Game Pass
The latest Game Pass coverage — news, analysis, and updates from the WindowsNews.AI desk.
Xbox Game Pass Overhauled: Core Dies, Essential and Premium Rise, Cloud Streaming Now Plays Your Games
{ "title": "Xbox Game Pass Overhauled: Core Dies, Essential and Premium Rise, Cloud Streaming Now Plays Your Games", "content": "Microsoft just put Xbox Game Pass through its most radical...
Microsoft Opens Xbox App on PC to Steam and Other Stores in Major Platform Shift
The Xbox app on PC is no longer a walled garden. Microsoft has begun integrating Steam and other third-party storefronts directly into the Xbox app, transforming it from a closed Game Pass launcher...
ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X Debuts with AMD Z2 Extreme NPU and Xbox Shell on October 16
ASUS and Microsoft have drawn a line in the sand for portable PC gaming. On October 16, 2025, the ROG Xbox Ally family—two Windows 11 handhelds with an Xbox-first interface and AMD’s latest Ryzen...
Xbox Cloud Gaming Beta Now Available to Game Pass Core and Standard Insiders with PC Support
For the first time, Xbox Insiders on the budget-friendly Game Pass Core and Standard plans can stream a selection of games over the cloud, including some PC titles—a privilege once reserved...
Gears of War Reloaded, Helldivers 2, and Metal Gear Solid Δ Land on Xbox This Week—But Can Servers Hold?
{ "title": "Gears of War Reloaded, Helldivers 2, and Metal Gear Solid Δ Land on Xbox This Week—But Can Servers Hold?", "content": "The final week of August 2025 isn't just another page on the...
ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X Bring Consolized Windows 11 to Handhelds on October 16
The ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X will arrive in stores on October 16, 2025, marking the first large-scale partnership between ASUS and Microsoft to deliver a consolized Windows 11 experience on...
Microsoft’s AI-First Windows Pitch: Screen-Reading Copilot, Arm Gaming, and GeForce NOW’s Blackwell Upgrade
Microsoft is betting big that the next major Windows release won’t just run AI apps — it will be an AI. In a rare public roadmap reveal, Windows chief Pavan Davuluri described an operating system...
Microsoft’s Xbox Handheld Dream: ROG Ally and Ally X Launch October 16 with Full-Screen Windows Shell
Microsoft and ASUS have locked in October 16, 2025, as the global retail launch date for the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, a pair of co‑developed handhelds that don’t just run Windows...
Pavan Davuluri's Unified Windows-Surface Mandate Fast-Tracks Microsoft's Ambient AI Future
Microsoft has handed the reins of both Windows and Surface to a single executive, consolidating control under Pavan Davuluri in a move that signals a deep integration of hardware, software, and AI....
Xbox Game Pass Members Get Three Pac-Man Games Free This Weekend in 45th Anniversary Blowout
Starting Thursday, August 21, through Sunday, August 24, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard, and Core subscribers can play three distinct Pac-Man titles for free as part of a Free Play Days promotion...
Windows 11’s Handheld Mode Brings Console-Style Xbox Launcher to ASUS ROG Ally on October 16
Microsoft’s long-awaited handheld gaming mode for Windows 11 is no longer a prototype. On October 16, 2025, the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X will become the first devices to ship with a...
ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X Ship on October 16, 2025: What We Know
October 16, 2025. That is the date ASUS and Microsoft have locked in for the global launch of the ROG Xbox Ally family—a pair of Windows 11 handhelds designed to deliver a console-like Xbox...