Microsoft’s latest Xbox One exclusive is the game that keeps on giving for early adopters. State of Decay 2, has just released its Update 4.0 to the general masses and brings another helping of new gameplay tweaks and fixes for players.

Patch 4.0 Highlights

General Issues

• Fixed an exploit involving buying and selling stackable items with traders to earn massive amounts of Influence.
• Removed an apparent soft-lock caused by the death of a leader.
• Removed some locks and crashes associated with pop-up boxes.
• Fixed a handful of buildings that were inaccessible due to collision.
• Fixed a number of localization issues.

Characters and Communities

• Random “resource loss” events are now dependent on morale and traits. If you recruit carefully and keep everyone happy, then random resource losses should be a thing of the past.
• Characters who incur “resource loss” events because of low morale will now receive a temporary morale benefit for doing so. IE, they binged on a bunch of food, but at least it made them feel better.
• Skilled characters will now sometimes provide the community with new free items in place of the “resource loss” events.
• Exiles should now always count towards exile-related achievements.
• Characters from other enclaves will no longer receive the large-scale death-banner treatment when they die.

Bases and Facilities

• Fixed an issue where facilities would sometimes stop building when the main menu was opened.
• Fixed an issue where weapons would be repaired for free.
• Fixed collision on the Sniper Tower to allow it to be scaled.
• Fixed a case where the old Rally Point bases could still be claimed.
• Extended the new resource-counting prompt for depositing rucksacks in the generic Storage facility to apply to specialized Storage facilities as well.

Missions

• Fixed an issue where some missions would provide deceptively large piles of resources.
• Fixed many cases where critical NPCs would not show up for missions (or in one case, would attack you for no reason).
• Fixed an issue with the Warlord: The Informantmission, which was not counting vehicle kills.
• Fixed an issue with the Builder: The Call Is Answeredmission, in which some enclaves would flee the player’s home site.

Gameplay

• Armored zombies are no longer killed by flames. Instead, they catch fire and become scarier, like a juggernaut;)
• Zombie kills with vehicles should now count towards zombie-killing achievements.
• Fixed some issues where zombies would spawn trapped in geometry.
• Fixed an exploit that allowed some clients to easily blow up the host’s vehicles.
• Fixed an issue with indefinitely persistent C4 charges left by dead characters.

In addition to receiving Update 4.0 this month, SoD2 players should also be on the look out for a new game mode dropping September 12, 2018 called Daybreak. According to the developers, “Daybreak is a session-based co-op game mode for State of Decay 2. It also includes a wealth of new weapons and equipment useful both in Daybreak and in your home community.” The new game mode will be available for purchase next week.

For more information or to stay up to date on the latest SoD2 news, players can sign up for a newsletter here.

Microsoft India has announced the availability of Microsoft Indian language Speech Corpus to help researchers and academia build Indian language speech recognition for all applications where speech is used.

Available for Telugu, Tamil, and Gujarati, this is the largest publicly available Indian language speech dataset and includes audio and corresponding transcripts.

The Speech Corpus content is provided as part of Microsoft Research Open Data initiative, a collection of free datasets from Microsoft Research to advance state-of-the-art research in areas such as natural language processing, computer vision, and domain-specific sciences.

Microsoft Indian Language Speech Corpus was launched to address the scarcity of adequate digital data for text, speech, and linguistic resources – which are imperative in building large machine learning models for many vernacular languages across the world. The development of accurate digital tools in Indian languages has been slow owing to subtle differences in enunciation, accent, diction, and slang across various regions in India.

Microsoft’s Indian Language Speech Corpus was tested at Interspeech 2018, the world’s largest and most comprehensive conference on the science and technology of spoken language processing, and was used to create high-quality speech recognition models, thus validating the efficacy of the Corpus.

It is imperative that India’s increasing digital literacy is supported by a multi-lingual digital world and initiatives like these for researchers and academia will help accelerate innovation in voice-based computing for India.

LEGO Harry Potter Collection was announced today for Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles and the game is already available for digital pre-order.

This latest LEGO video game is a bundling of the two Xbox 360 titles; LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7. All of the content has been remastered and will play in 4K resolution on the Xbox One X console. It’s unclear how much other reworking of the visuals has been done but the teaser trailer for LEGO Harry Potter Collection gives the impression that the remastering has more to do with resolution than actual improving of the Xbox 360 graphics.

Here’s the official game description and teaser for LEGO Harry Potter Collection:

The LEGO Harry Potter Collection brings LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 remastered! This compilation unites the creative prowess of LEGO and the expansive world of Harry Potter, with an exciting journey full of spell-casting, potion-making, puzzle-solving, lessons, dueling and much more for players of all ages to enjoy.

LEGO Harry Potter Collection is due for release on the Xbox One on October 30th, just over two years since its release on Sony’s PlayStation 4 console.

Are you going to pre-order LEGO Harry Potter Collection? Let us know in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter for more video game news.

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LEGO® Harry Potter™ Collection

Developer:
Warner Bros. Games

Price:
$5.99

The Xbox One video game, Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved, has been removed from the digital storefront on Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles.

Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved was a music creation video game that let players compose their own mixes of modern and classical music by using their hands via the Kinect sensor. With Microsoft’s recent decision to move away from the Kinect and the newer Xbox One S and Xbox One X consoles not supporting native Kinect functionality, sales of this Kinect-only video game likely slowed and this could explain why Harmonix, the studio behind it, decided to take it down.

Digital versions of video games are occasionally removed from online storefronts, often due to the expiration of rights. This could also be a potential reason for Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved being removed. No official announcement has been made.

Those who already have Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved installed on their Xbox One consoles will still be able to play it however it will now be impossible to re-download it if it’s ever uninstalled.

Are you a fan of Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved and have you been affected by this delisting? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Xbox One content.

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Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved

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Disney Interactive

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Free

The PC market showed new sign of growth in Q2 2018, and this is apparently all thanks to increased demand in both the business and education markets. According to Futuresource’s new quarterly report, PC shipments in the EDU market showed a 4.6% YoY growth in 2Q18, and this benefited both Chromebooks and Windows PCs.

If the US market remains the largest K-12 Education market worldwide by a large margin, you may be aware that it has been a Chromebook territory for some time now. In the first half of 2018, Chromebooks accounted for 58% of mobile PC shipments in the country, compared to 20.4% for Windows devices. However, Futuresource noted that Windows PCs have been recently gaining share in the sub $300 market segment:

Microsoft, especially, has been working hard to close the price gap between Windows and Chromebook by promoting partner devices on the Windows platform, priced as low as $189. Globally, Windows share in sub $300 category grew by 11% year-on-year in Q2 2018, with shipments of Windows devices in the category growing 75%.

It’s a much different story outside of the US, with Windows PCs accounting for 62.2% of all mobile PC shipments in the first half of 2018 (+0.5% points YoY). Despite Chrome OS having a tiny 9.2% share in the rest of the world during the same period, Futuresource said that Chromebooks have been consistently gaining share in Europe and Latin America:

Whilst 89% of Chromebook global sales remain in the US, Chromebook international sales are steadily increasing in certain territories. In Northern Europe particularly, Chromebooks have been consistently gaining share. Shipments of Chromebooks servicing schools in the European market grew more than 50% year-on-year during Q2 2018. In addition, Chrome OS is gaining traction in the Latin American market, with Mexico and Brazil as early adopters

Microsoft is definitely taking the Chromebook threat seriously, which is why the company launched InTune for Education and the streamlined Windows 10 S last year. The Redmond giant has also been leveraging other assets such as Minecraft for Education, Microsoft Teams for Education and Learning Tools for OneNote, but Chromebooks remain very competitive as they’re very affordable, easy to manage and support. And after Google recently brought support for Android apps on Chrome OS, Chromebooks are no longer cheap laptops focused on web apps and with limited offline capabilities.

Xbox One owners can take advantage of four different sales on the Microsoft Store this week. In addition to the usual Deals with Gold, there is also a Bandai Namco Publisher Sale featuring Dragon Ball FighterZ and Dark Souls III, a Spotlight Sale featuring Conan Exiles and The Sims 4 plus a massive sale on Xbox One Backward Compatible titles.

Here are this week’s Deals With Gold and Spotlight Sale offers plus a sale on a number of games published by @BandaiNamcoUS and a big sale on Xbox One Backward Compatibility titles https://t.co/B7mpjHjvDy pic.twitter.com/cQoNVPjm4T

— Larry Hryb ????????☁ (@majornelson) September 4, 2018

If you’re willing to scratch that old-school games itch, there are quite a lot of old gems in the list: We’re talking about Rockstar Games classics GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption, Street Fighter IV, Mirror’s Edge, Mass Effect 2 and 3, Borderlands 1 and 2, the Dead Space and BioShock trilogies, and much more. Overall, you can save up to 75% off over 100 backward compatible games, and it’s also worth mentioning that the recently-added Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is also 25% off.

This big Backward Compatibility Sale doesn’t require you have an Xbox Live Gold subscription, and all discounts will be available through Monday, September 10. Let us know in the comments if found some interesting games to purchase in the list.

The Forsaken expansion is now live for Destiny 2 gamers on Xbox One. This new expansion for the popular Destiny 2 video game adds new story content, new regions to play in, and new weapons to use.

Existing Destiny 2 players are encouraged to purchase the Forsaken upgrade from within the Destiny 2 in-game menu while new players can purchase either the new Destiny 2: Forsaken: Complete Collection or Destiny 2: Forsaken: Legendary Collection both of which come with the full Destiny 2 game and the new Forsaken content.

Here’s the full details on each version:

• Destiny 2: Forsaken: Complete Collection: Destiny 2, Expansion I: Curse of Osiris, Expansion II: Warmind, Destiny 2: Forsaken, Forsaken Annual Pass, The Awoken Legend Set, Wrath Majestic Legendary Bow Ornament, Dirge Paladin Emblem, Vestian Ghost Shell, and Includes 1000 Bonus Destiny 2 Silver.
• Destiny 2: Forsaken: Legendary Collection: Destiny 2, Expansion I: Curse of Osiris, Expansion II: Warmind, and Destiny 2: Forsaken.

Do you play Destiny 2 on your Xbox One console? Share your thoughts on the new Forsaken content with the community in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Xbox One video game content.

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Destiny 2: Forsaken – Complete Collection

Developer:
Bungie

Price:
Free

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Destiny 2: Forsaken – Legendary Collection

Developer:
Bungie

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Microsoft announced today new user experience updates for Outlook on the web and Outlook for Windows that are now rolling out to select users. First of all, Outlook on the web is getting the same facelift that Outlook.com received earlier this year, with some tweaks for Office 365 users.

In addition to intelligent search, suggested replies and simplified event creation, the new web app also makes it easier to use Office 365 Group right in your inbox. “We received a lot of valuable feedback on groups in the past and based on that we are excited to announce we have improved existing features such as faster and simpler group creation, richer group card, more efficient group email triage, and we are also introducing new features such as group Files view that focuses on the latest file activity and group management in the People module,” the company explained

Just like Microsoft did in Outlook.com, select Office 365 users will see a new “Try the new Outlook” toggle on the top right corner of Outlook on the web, making it easy to turn the new experience on and off. For now, though, only organizations in Targeted Release will be able to enable the opt-in toggle for their users.

As for Outlook for Windows, the desktop app is getting a similar “Coming Soon” toggle that will allow users to try new features and provide feedback. Microsoft is currently testing a simplified ribbon, a modern calendar view and other improvements to get things done faster.

These improvements for Outlook on Windows will be coming coming first to customers in the Monthly Channel (Targeted) and Targeted Release program in the next few weeks. You can learn more about to join the latter on this page.

Noted by Thurrott.com, Microsoft To-Do on Windows 10 is picking up support for inking, now letting users write-out their lists by hand with a pen or stylus on touchscreen devices. The inking support is currently being tested with Windows Insiders and will likely roll out to everyone soon.

As you can expect, the inking support is just as natural and intuitive as it is elsewhere in Windows 10. Simply grab your pen or stylus and ink right inside of the Microsoft-To-Do app in whatever line you’d like to write out a task.

Ink support is now available to #WindowsInsiders! Become an Insider to try it out and let us know what you think! https://t.co/Jvkj6hXIeW pic.twitter.com/8DERbhDJdN

— Microsoft To Do (@MicrosoftToDo) September 4, 2018

This addition of this feature makes much sense, as Microsoft really has been pushing Windows Ink into more stock Windows 10 Apps. We previously saw the addition of the ability to write emails with ink in the Mail and Calendar App, and even several new inking inspired user interface features and changes for Sticky Notes on Windows 10.

Update: We’ve clarified from an earlier version of this article, adding in a tweet from the Microsoft To-Do team.

While some Windows enthusiasts wait for the tidal wave of PWAs to come flowing in to the Windows Store from like-minded developers, there’s still a lot of native application development going for the platform.

The Windows 10 Facebook app just received a new update bringing the app to version 171.1861.39959.0.

While it’s not as feature heavy as some may want to bring the experience up to par with other platforms, today’s update does offer some UI parity.

Today’s changelog includes the following highlighted tweaks:

• Renewed search bar (no more borders)
• New notification icon (now bell-shaped)
• All users can now send reactions to comments in the home (just hold on the comment to bring up the reactions)
• The stickers section has been translated into all languages
• It is now possible to add a biography from your profile
• The profile icon in comments and groups is now spherical
• Renewed the profiles page of their friends
• Corrections and minor improvements

It should be noted that the update was first spotted by the Microsoft-centric Italian Aggiornamentilumia.it., and that the update may or may not have been rolled out in completion yet. Check the Microsoft Store beforehand to confirm.

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Developer:
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Back in May, Microsoft took the wraps off the Xbox Adaptive Controller, a new accessory to make gaming more inclusive for those with disabilities. We’ve since seen the company highlight the accessible packaging for the controller, and today, it has been announced that the Xbox Adaptive Controller is officially available for purchase.

You can find the Xbox Adaptive Controller for $99.99 at both the Microsoft Store and GameStop Online. The controller feature 19 3.5 mm jacks for plugging external switches, buttons, mounts, and joysticks. The most prominent feature, though, is its two giant programmable buttons, and symbols along the top side to help gamers with disabilities find the right ports.

Other features on the controller include USB ports on the right and left sides for thumbsticks, and USB C and DC power ports. It is those features and design which makes the controller special, as explained by Gabi Michel, Xbox Adaptive Controller Program Manager.

“The Xbox Adaptive Controller is a product that was ideated and pioneered with inclusivity at its heart. We iterated on and refined it through close partnership with gamers with limited mobility and fan feedback, as well as guidance and creativity from accessibility experts, advocates and partners…”

You can learn more about the peripherals and other hardware available for the Xbox Adaptive Controller by visiting this link here. You also can check that same link for more general information about the new controller and the story behind its creation.

Sony’s refusal to enable crossplay with other platforms on games like Fortnite and Minecraft is continuing to receive some heavy criticism from video games industry execs. This time, it’s Mike Ybarra, Corporate Vice President of Xbox Program Management at Microsoft, who just blamed Sony today for not “listening to gamers.”

Still isn’t listening to gamers. All games should be cross play and progression with the right input flexibility and gamer options. —-> Sony boss dismisses Fortnite cross-play controversy – The Verge https://t.co/NDJgET0M8t

— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) September 3, 2018

In case you missed it, Ybarra was referring to recent interview of Sony’s CEO Kenichiro Yoshida with the Press Association, where the exec explained the company’s stance on crossplay:

On cross-platform, our way of thinking is always that PlayStation is the best place to play. Fortnite, I believe, partnered with PlayStation 4 is the best experience for users, that’s our belief. But actually, we already opened some games as cross-platform with PC and some others, so we decide based on what is the best user experience. That is our way of thinking for cross-platform.”

With the Playstation 4 remaining the leading 8th gen gaming console by a wide margin, Sony has no reason not to protect its walled garden. Still, like Ybarra said, the push for crossplay multiplayer across platforms is definitely happening. Back in July, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said that the company was thinking about enabling crossplay for its own games, which include the popular FIFA and Madden series. More recently, Pete Hines, Bethesda’s senior vice president of global marketing and communications explicitely said that the publisher wouldn’t allow Sony to block crossplay on The Elder Scrolls: Legend, Bethesda’s upcoming collectible card game.

So far, it seems that Sony isn’t really suffering from its gamer-hostile policy, and to be fair the company does support crossplay with PC and mobile devices on Fortnite (just not with gamers on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch). If the voices of video games industry exec isn’t enough to make the company change its mind about crossplay, it will ultimately be up to gamers to vote with their wallets and support the most gamer-friendly platforms out there.

After Microsoft shipped a major update for its Sticky Notes app last week, it seems that this UWP app may well become a very important app for the company. Indeed, the new cloud syncing feature introduced in Sticky Notes 3.0 means that notes not only sync across Windows 10 PCs, but they now also sync with Microsoft’s Outlook desktop app.

The synergy with Outlook on the desktop was discovered by OneWindows.es (via MSPoweruser), and this pretty much makes Sticky Notes a modern, task-focused app for managing Outlook notes. There is definitely some similarity with Microsoft To-Do, which has also recently become a modern client for managing Outlook Tasks.

For those unfamiliar, the Outlook desktop app has dedicated sections for Notes and Tasks (Tasks are basically notes with optional reminders), and those can sync to the cloud if you use an Outlook.com or Office 365 account. For most users though, using Outlook on the desktop to take notes is probably overkill, and Microsoft has already has more lightweight and elegant solutions including OneNote or even the legacy Notepad app.

The truth is, some consumers love the versatility of all-in-one apps like Outlook on the desktop, while others prefer lightweigtht and task-focused apps like the ones they use on their smartphone or tablet. And compared to OneNote, Sticky Notes does have some real advantages, including the fact that you can stick notes on your desktop. It’s also worth noting that OneNote for Windows 10 dropped support for local notebooks, and you also can’t use it without a Microsoft account.

In the end, it seems that Microsoft has created new modern apps for all the core features of Outlook on desktop: To-Do and Sticky Notes now complement People, Mail and Calendar, and all of these apps except To-Do come pre-installed on Windows 10. For now, Sticky Notes 3.0 is still only available for Skip Ahead Insiders, but we expect Microsoft to get serious about promoting this app once it becomes generally available.

Welcome back to our Windows 10 news recap, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

Amazon could be bringing an Alexa UWP app to the Windows 10 Microsoft Store

A new report claims that Amazon is currently working on creating a UWP Alexa app and may bring it to the Microsoft Store on Windows 10. While Amazon has a Win32 version of Alexa, it’s yet to release any UWP version.

Microsoft mistakenly sends notification of a new Windows 10 Insider build to non-Insiders

After releasing a new Windows 10 Insider build to Fast ring Insiders, Microsoft began mistakenly notifying non-Insiders that a new update was available for their Windows 10 devices. The issue was later resolved following user reports and it didn’t become widespread.

Microsoft is no longer accepting new enrollments into Surface Plus financing program

Microsoft’s Surface financing program, Surface Plus, is no longer accepting enrolments. No reason was given as to why the company has chosen to end its financing program.

Disgruntled user exposes unpatched Windows zero-day exploit via Twitter

A disgruntled user has exposed a zero-day Windows exploit that is unpatched, via Twitter. The exploit is local and uses the Windows task scheduler to elevate a program’s system privileges. Microsoft has acknowledged the exploit but has not yet released a patch.

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with more Windows 10 news!

Microsoft news recap is a weekly feature highlighting the top Microsoft news stories of the past week. Sit back, grab some coffee, and enjoy the read!

Office 365 Home and Personal about to get better with new device limits

Microsoft’s Office 365 subscription service currently has limits on the number of devices and users that can make use of the software per subscription. This week Microsoft announced that it is changing the limits, allowing installation on unlimited devices but only 5 users can be using it at any one time. Prices will remain the same at this time.

Microsoft’s SharePoint app gets revamped on iOS and Android

SharePoint has seen a large design and feature revamp on iOS and Android. The main changes have taken place in the way a search is performed, adding a new Find tab that combines searching for Links, People, Sites and Search. In addition, AI is being used to improve the search results experience and provide quick results.

Microsoft to require US suppliers to provide 12 weeks of paid parental leave

Microsoft is setting new requirements on its US suppliers. The new requirements will make it mandatory for them to provide at least 12 weeks of paid parental leave. The requirements are there to ensure its suppliers uphold Microsoft’s ethics. Microsoft admits that this may increase its costs as a result of suppliers seeing increased costs for paying 12 weeks of parental leave.

Chinese spies are “super aggressive” trying to recruit Americans on LinkedIn, says US intel chief

Business social network LinkedIn is reportedly being used in a “super aggressive” manner by Chinese spies to recruit Americans. The spies use fake profiles on LinkedIn. This report comes from a US intelligence chief.

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with more Microsoft news.

For a while, it was quite the game: follow @DonaSarkar on Twitter, decipher the sometimes exceedingly cryptic hints, and learn the build number for a new incoming Windows Insider build. With RS5, the Windows Insider program moved away from the shenanigans, instead choosing to just drop builds, at sometimes seemingly random hours and days.

However, it looks like at least one Windows Insider team member has some nostalgia for the old ways, as today Jason Howard certainly appears to be teasing a new build on the way:

I was trying to take an photo for all the #WindowsInsiders out there, but #NinjaCat got in the way! pic.twitter.com/9WHPaVkHmU

— Jason Howard (@NorthFaceHiker) August 31, 2018

Recently Jason has been active on Discord as well, yesterday announcing the new Slow Ring build a few minutes before the blog post went up, so the era of the big tease may be back upon us once again.

Stay tuned, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the usual channels and will have the latest on a new Insider build as soon as it happens.

This Fall, the Windows 10 October 2018 update will succeed to the Windows 10 April 2018 update, the company announced today. “With this update, we’ll be bringing new features and enhancements to the nearly 700 million devices running Windows 10 that help people make the most of their time”, wrote Roannes Sones, Corporate Vice President leading the platforms team at Microsoft.

Microsoft has apparently abandoned for good more creative names like “Creators Update” for a simpler naming convention, and this is probably for the better. The “October 2018 update” is easy to remember for everyone, and hopefully Microsoft will stick with this formula for all major updates going forward.

The Windows 10 October 2018 (aka Redstone 5) is currently in the polishing stage, and it won’t bring a lot of new features to the table. The main highlights are probably related to Microsoft Edge (which only gets new features twice a year), including a handy option for disabling autoplay videos on the web, but there is also the new Cloud Clipboard for copy/pasting content across Windows 10 devices. Microsoft has also updated legacy components such as NotePad and the File Explorer, adding a dark theme option for the latter.

As usual, not all Windows 10 users will receive the October 2018 update at the same time, and Microsoft said earlier this year that it has started using artificial intelligence to “greatly improve the quality and reliability of the Windows 10 April 2018 Update rollout.” To avoid update fatigue, the October 2018 update will also leverage a new predictive model to avoid rebooting your PC to install updates when you’re busy.

Microsoft is currently in a legal fight regarding a potential class action lawsuit regarding its handling of sexual harassment, discriminatory practices and handling of unpaid leave situations.

Perhaps, in a preemptive move to mitigate further outstanding employee criticism as the company navigates choppy legal waters, Microsoft is looking to build on its 2015 announcement of expanding its parental leave policies.

Announced yesterday, Microsoft will require its US suppliers to implement new paid parental leave policies.

It will require that suppliers offer their employees a minimum of 12 weeks paid parental leave, up to $1,000 per week. This change applies to all parents employed by our suppliers who take time off for the birth or adoption of a child. The new policy applies to suppliers with more than 50 employees and covers supplier employees who perform substantial work for Microsoft. This minimum threshold applies to all of our suppliers across the U.S. and is not intended to supplant a state law that is more generous. Many of our suppliers already offer strong benefits packages to their employees, and suppliers are of course welcome to offer more expansive leave benefits to their employees.

In a blog post on Microsoft On the Issues, the company goes into further detail on the importance of its suppliers following this referendum and some other statistical support for the extension of paid parental leave.

Three years ago, Microsoft made the announcement that it was expanding its campaign for paid leave to its suppliers but yesterday’s announcement now extends to the employees of those suppliers as well.

A move to umbrella paid leave for employees of suppliers is not without its costs. Microsoft is aware that requiring suppliers to abide by its new policy could be a potential strain on its working relationships and is looking for ways the company can help support the change.

Microsoft will work with our suppliers to understand the impacts of this change, and we will make these changes in a thoughtful way. We appreciate that this may ultimately result in increased costs for Microsoft, and we’ll put a process in place for addressing these issues with our suppliers. Our first step will be reaching out to our suppliers to discuss the impact of this policy change.

Ultimately, Microsoft’s new supplier-paid leave policy could become the minimum modus operandum for other tech business, and in the end, a good thing for all workers.

Starting today, Microsoft has begun testing Dolby Vison functionality on its Xbox One S and Xbox One X video game consoles.

The testing of the feature has started with Xbox Insiders in the Alpha Skip Ahead and Alpha rings but will gradually roll out to other Insiders and, eventually, the general public in the near future.

Dolby Vision is essentially a technology that allows TVs to present media with brighter colors, darker blacks, and stronger contrast than usual. It doesn’t increase the image resolution but enhances the use of color to make what’s seen on screen more realistic and vivid.

To experience Dolby Vision content, a compatible television is needed as is media that actually supports the technology. Currently a variety of programs on Netflix support Dolby Vision such as Stranger Things and Altered Carbon.

Microsoft has provided detailed instructions for how to setup Dolby Vision on Xbox One S and Xbox One X consoles here.

Are you excited for Dolby Vison content on your TV? Let us know in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter for more Xbox news.

Prison Architect: Xbox One Edition is now free for a limited time for Xbox One console owners with Xbox Live Gold.

The game is an action strategy title that tasks the player with building and managing their own prison while making decisions that could define the prison as a place for rehabilitation or intense cruelty.

Here’s the official game description for Prison Architect: Xbox One Edition:

Take control of the building and running of a maximum security prison as the critically acclaimed lock-em-up arrives on Xbox One! Your Design, Their Fate. Will you build and manage a prison to create social order where it’s failed in the past, offering rehabilitation and peaceful coexistence amongst inmates? Will your prison disregard human rights, impose intentional harshness and be devoid of any notions of wellbeing and freedom? The choice is yours.

In Prison Architect you will see the impact of your grand design on the lives of your inmates; be it a utopic center for rehabilitation, a brutal Super Max Prison or anything in between. Even when all of your prisoners’ needs are met, remember one thing – it’s still a prison and no one really wants to be there.

The Xbox 360 video game, LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, is also expected to free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers within the next 24 hours but the discount hasn’t been activated as of the time of this writing.

The decision to give away LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars could be tied to a bigger promotional strategy from Disney and Lucasfilm for The Clone Wars cartoon series which was recently given a renewal announcement. Star Wars Battlefront II has also begun promoting Clone Wars content with new Clone Trooper skins and the upcoming addition of Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker who will be voiced by the same actors that voiced them in The Clone Wars series.

Which video game are you most-excited to play for free this month? Share your thoughts with the community below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Xbox video game content.

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Prison Architect: Xbox One Edition

Developer:
Double Eleven Limited

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LEGO Star Wars III

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$19.99

When Microsoft announced the Always Connected PC (also known by us tech pundits as Windows 10 on ARM) Lenovo came on board the initiative with their Miix 630 convertible. That device received some mixed reviews, but many have also since complained about the overall instability and limitations of Windows 10 on ARM processors. Well, one year later, Lenovo is back at it again and is going all in on Windows 10 on ARM with the new Snapdragon 850 powered Yoga C630 all-in-one convertible.

The Snapdragon 850 was announced about three months ago at Computex in Taiwan. Compared to the last generation Snapdragon 835, this 8-core processor comes with 30 percent increase in performance, three times the AI performance, and a 20 percent increase in battery life and Gigabit LTE speed. This all will now get ported over into the Yoga C630 convertible— the industry’s first Windows 10 device to be powered by the Snapdragon 850. Specs are listed below.

• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 850
• OS: Windows 10S
• Dimension: 12.08” x 8.52” x 0.49” (306.8 x 216.9 x 12.5 mm)
• Weight: Starting at 2.6lbs (1.2 kg)
• Display: 13.3” FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Touchscreen
• Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno 630
• Memory: 4 GB LPDDR4X | 8 GB LPDDR4X
• Storage: 256 GB UFC 2.1| 128 GB UFC 2.1
• Audio: Stereo speaker
• Battery: Up to 25+ Hours Based on local video playback
• IO ports: 2 x USB Type-C | Left port supports: USB 3.0/PD | Right port supports: USB 3.0/PD/DisplayPort| Audio Jack, 1 | Sim card holder
• Features: Fanless design, Optional Lenovo Active Pen, Integrated FingerPrint Reader

All in all, this device is pretty promising, and it likely shows that Windows 10 on ARM is here to stay and give Intel a run for its money. Not only does the device look appealing with a thin and light soft touch polished metal design, but it also comes packed with plenty of power under the hood. Users should be able to enjoy the bump in processing power and battery life, and the convenience of being always connected with 4G LTE.

If you’re an Office 365 subscriber, you’re about to get a lot more out of your subscription. Indeed, Microsoft has just announced big changes for Office 365 Home and Personal, one of which involves an increase in the device limits (via ZDNet.)

The changes were initially noted in a post to the Microsoft Tech Community Blog. Microsoft details that starting on October 2nd, Office 365 Home and Personal subscribers will be able to install Office on an unlimited number of devices. Subscribers also can be signed into their accounts on up to five of those devices at the same time.

This is a big change over the current system where Home subscribers can install only on 10 devices across five users, and Personal subscribers on one device across PC, Mac, and Tablet. There is no word yet on if this will impact Office 365 commercial subscriptions.

Microsoft is also changing up Office 365 Home, so that starting on October 2, the number of licenses will change from 5 to 6, with a Personal Office 365 subscription remaining at one license (but now across unlimited devices, signed into any 5 at a time). The price will still stay the same at $99.99 for Home and $69.99 for Personal, and you’ll get the same access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote and 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage.

To simplify account and subscription management, Microsoft is making it so that you can access your Office 365 subscription from the Microsoft Account home page. These changes will be rolling out automatically, so feel free to subscribe to Office 365 now if you’re not already up and running with the service. Office 365 Home retails for $99.99, Office 365 Personal for $69.99, and an Office Home and Student one-time purchase is $149.99.

It looks like EA is pushing back the release of Battlefield V by a month to November 20, 2018. As noted by a MarketWatch post, EA is pushing some of its “net bookings” earnings from the Xbox One game to fiscal year 2020 instead of fiscal year 2019.

“Videogame companies use net bookings in lieu of net sales because it accounts for digital sales and in-store physical sales, among other things. EA is now expecting fiscal 2019 net bookings of $5.2 billion, down from prior guidance of $5.5 billion. About $115 million of that sum is driven by currency movements, which are also driving operating costs down. EA said it is backing its second-quarter operating guidance but is still evaluating the impact on fiscal year GAAP guidance. That information will be provided on the company’s next earnings call slated for Oct. 30. Shares were halted for the news, but have gained 22% in 2018, while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.23% has gained 9%.”

EA has not made an official comment on the reason why Battlefield V was delayed specifically. However, after looking at early pre-order numbers and receiving feedback from the Battlefield community, EA decided to move to the November release date. The move will help Battlefield V better compete with two other blockbuster games set to release in October 2018; Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2.

Battlefield V is available for pre-order now, starting at $59.99 and will be released on November 20, 2018 on Xbox One.

Microsoft has just kicked off a new Free Play Days session for Xbox Live Gold members today, and for the first time ever Forza Motorsport 7 and Warhammer: Vermintide II will free too play through Sunday, September 2. Forza Motorsport 7 was released almost a year ago on Xbox and Windows 10, and it’s enhanced for the Xbox One X and also supports Xbox Play Anywhere.

As for Warhammer: Vermintide II, it was released on July 11 on the Xbox One and it’s currently free to play with Xbox Game Pass. Both games are currently on sale on the Microsoft Store for a limited time, with Forza Motorsport 7 Standard Edition being available for just $29.99.

In case you don’t have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription, we remind you can get 2 months of Xbox Live Gold for just $2 before the end of the month. Once you’re set up, you can start downloading both games on your Xbox One today and even try Forza Motorsport 7 on your Windows 10 PC, since that game also supports Xbox Play Anywhere.

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Warhammer: Vermintide 2

Developer:
Fatshark

Price:
$29.99⁺

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Forza Motorsport 7 Standard Edition

Developer:
Microsoft Studios

Price:
Free

There are three different promotional campaigns happening right now in the Microsoft Store for Xbox One and Xbox 360 video games.

The first campaign is the regular Deals With Gold sale for Xbox Live Gold Subscribers. Savings to look out for in the Deals With Gold titles are Aaero (now 60% off), Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition (60%), the Forza Horizon 3 Hot Wheels add-on (75%), Overwatch Legendary Edition (50%), and Soul Axiom (70%).

The second sale is the Spotlight Sale for all Xbox One owners. Deals to keep an eye on are Forza Motorsport 7 Standard Edition (40% off), R.B.I. Baseball 18 (30%), and FIFA 18 (80%).

The third sale is a Publisher Sale that sees a variety of titles discounted. Dead Rising 4 Deluxe Edition (40% off), Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition (70%), DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition (67%), Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (60%), Resident Evil 6 (60%), Strider (80%), and Darksiders II on Xbox 360 (90%).

Are you planning to pick up any of these titles this month? Let us know in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter for more Xbox One news.

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Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite – Deluxe Edition

Developer:
株式会社 カプコン

Price:
$59.99

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DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition

Developer:
Capcom

Price:
$29.99

The PAX West gaming culture festival is coming back to the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington this week, and Microsoft will be here in full force with two separate booths for Xbox and Mixer. At the Xbox booth, attendees will be able to check out a cool lineup of upcoming games including The Division 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Devil May Cry 5, NBA 2k19, as well the Xbox/Windows 10 exclusive Forza Horizon 4.

The Xbox team will also hold a Tomb Raider-themed scavenger hunt, bring an Xbox Games Pass vending machine an even have some exclusive Xbox Official Gear up for sale. You may also want to check out the PUBG Bus designed by West Coast Customs, and get the chance to win it or a variety of other prizes.

On the Mixer booth, you’ll be able to meet with some of the most popular Mixer streamers and partners, and win some exclusive swag by winning Fortnite matches on the HypeZone LIVE stage. Don’t worry, all the festivities including two panels about the Xbox Adaptative Controller and Mixer community building will be live streamed on Mixer.com/HypeZoneLIVE and Mixer.com/Mixer.

Pax West will kick off on Friday, August 31 and last through September 3, and you can still get Monday Only badges on the official website. Make sure to follow Xbox and Mixer on Twitter if you don’t want miss any of the action.