We've seen a number of classic game consoles get the Lego treatment over the years, including the NES and Atari 2600. You'll soon be able to build a version of the original Xbox as well -- perhaps even while sitting on an Xbox cushion from IKEA. However, this is a model from Mattel rather than Lego. This is a 1:1-scale model of the Xbox. It's a 3,509-piece interactive set with three small modules that reference Halo: Combat Evolved, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Psychonauts (which is slightly awkward, given Psychonauts developer Double Fine only just separated from Xbox).

At a time when the video game industry could use some good news, former Arkane Austin head Harvey Smith and longtime collaborator Ben Horne have formed Black Pony Immersive, a studio focused on building narrative-rich first-person action RPGs. This is the genre Smith is known for, as the designer of the original Deus Ex and co-head of the Dishonored series. Horne has worked with Smith for eight years, recently as production director of Redfall at Arkane Austin. Additionally, Redfall, Prey and Dishonored creative director Ricardo Bare is on board as design director of Black Pony Immersive. The new studio is staffed with veterans from Insomniac, Epic, Avalanche and Volition studios, and it's based in Austin, Texas, with remote workers tagging in from across the United States.

After getting some ideas from The Full Nerd, this week's Boost Mode newsletter is all about Game Pass. How can it stay relevant and valuable, as gamers feel the crunch of higher and higher prices? On last week's episode of The Full Nerd podcast, we talked a lot about Game Pass. It got me thinking: What would Microsoft have to offer to get me to subscribe, regularly, not just in passing to try out an interesting new title? And how long might it stick around if things keep going poorly?

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. The Xbox is sitting in a similar spot now, and Microsoft has big decisions to make. For a year or two in my childhood, the Sega Dreamcast was the future. It had 3D graphics better than anything on the market. It had an internet connection for online gaming.

We're done paying for executives' failures, one Xbox developer said. Rumor has it that Microsoft is preparing to enact mass layoffs across its gaming division this July, following multiple reports out of plus recent comments made by new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Chief Content Officer Matt Booty. The Communications Workers of America Union, which represents thousands of video game employees at Microsoft and beyond, is preparing to negotiate for employee protections, while calling for transparency from executives and demanding basic dignity for developers. Sharma and Booty laid the groundwork for layoffs in early June, with a memo marking the first 100 days of new Xbox leadership. We have found ourselves over-extended as we executed on changing strategies in a landscape of more readily available content, the pair wrote.

For years, buyers of tech could rely on a familiar trend - that older devices would get cheaper over time. That now seems to have stopped, or in some cases, completely reversed. Apple and Microsoft's Xbox have joined the firms hiking prices for devices and games consoles which are years old. They and other tech companies have pointed to the rising cost of crucial components needed to build their machines, laying the blame on AI. Compute-hungry data centres, which power AI, need more and more chips to keep up with demand from AI companies - which means the demand for them is far outstripping supply.

Xbox is ditching Microsoft's Copilot AI Xbox is ditching Microsoft's Copilot AI Microsoft announced plans to start stripping Copilot out of select Windows apps in March after criticism of the company's mishandling of its operating system reached a fever pitch. As it turns out though, Windows isn't the only place where you'll see less Copilot: Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has announced that the AI assistant will also be removed from the gaming brand's mobile app and Xbox consoles. Under previous Xbox leadership, Copilot was introduced as a sort of in-game assistant that would be aware of what you're playing and able to offer contextual advice based on what's on your screen. Microsoft launched a beta version of the experience by adding Copilot to the Xbox mobile app in May 2025, but based on a GDC presentation the company gave in March, the plan was to also bring Copilot to Xbox consoles later this year. Those plans apparently don't align with where Xbox is headed, Sharma said in a post announcing new hires to the Xbox division.

AMD CEO Lisa Su indicated the next Xbox console may launch in 2027, suggesting Microsoft's next-generation gaming platform could arrive sooner than expected. PCWorld reports that AMD and Microsoft are collaborating on a new chip that will power both desktop and portable Xbox devices with advanced AI and machine learning capabilities. The upcoming Xbox is expected to feature a hybrid platform combining local hardware with cloud gaming technology for enhanced gaming experiences. AMD CEO Lisa Su says Microsoft aims to launch its next generation of Xbox in 2027. The information came in connection with AMD's latest quarterly report, in which Su says development of a new Xbox chip with Microsoft is on track for a launch that year, reports Engadget .

PCWorld observes that Xbox appears to be losing ground as gaming shifts toward PC-based living room experiences, with handheld PCs and cloud streaming leading this transformation. Valve's Steam Deck shows 20% of users dock their devices for TV gaming, while rumors suggest Microsoft's next Xbox may actually run Windows rather than proprietary console hardware. This shift matters because it offers superior gaming experiences through services like GeForce Now on smart TVs and versatile handheld PCs that double as home consoles. While wandering the show floor at CES 2026, I was struck by the future of living room gaming. What was once the realm of gaming consoles seems to be turning into PC territory.

Date a vending machine, watch intergalactic television and make the most out of your short existence as a fly. Here are the best games you weren't playing this year The 20 best video games of 2025 More on the best culture of 2025 Have you ever wanted to romance your record player? Date Everything! offers players the chance to develop relationships with everyday objects around your house, in a fully voiced sandbox romp featuring over 100 anthropomorphised characters. Wonderfully meta; you can put the moves on the textbox, or even "Michael Transaction" (microtransaction - get it?) A raucous debut by indie studio à la mode games, Sorry We're Closed is a survival horror where the monster is love and the dungeon is a dingy London neighbourhood.