Some new games have entered the fray as Backward Compatible titles on the Xbox One. This time around, Lego Indiana Jones 2 and Split/Second are joining the Xbox One library, presenting a relatively diverse set of genres for gamers that want a taste of something different.

Split/Second and LEGO Indiana Jones 2 are coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility today https://t.co/qPMRNrLoTQ pic.twitter.com/fZlzmxxCYI

— Larry Hryb ????????☁ (@majornelson) January 25, 2018

As always, the process for Backward Compatible titles is very easy. Just pop in your existing copy of the game, and your Xbox One is going to do the rest of the work for you. If you want a full account of the hundreds of Backward Compatible games, you can check Major Nelson’s handy list right here.

When Microsoft officially unveiled Windows 10 back in September 2014, the company said that it would be “the last version of Windows.” At the time, it wasn’t exactly clear if this meant that there would be no “Windows 11,” or if Microsoft was just referring to Windows as a service.

As it turned out, we saw Microsoft introduce several new Windows 10 SKUs last year: there was Windows 10 S, which can only run Windows Store apps, as well as Windows 10 Pro for workstations. These are just different flavors of Windows 10 for PC, and even the slightly locked down Windows 10 S isn’t really much simpler to use compared to a standard Windows 10 PC, or a Chromebook.

But that doesn’t mean that Microsoft isn’t interested in radically simplifying how Windows 10 works, and get rid of all the legacy stuff that make the OS too complex, too slow, and too battery hungry. Android beat Windows as the dominant OS for Internet usage last year, and Microsoft certainly won’t let Windows 10 sit on the sidelines in the near future.

Last year, we learned that Microsoft was reportedly working hard on making Windows 10 more modular, an effort that has been codenamed “Windows Core OS.” This is a necessary work for creating new form-factors powered by Windows, such as the foldable mobile device that we’ve already seen in many patents.

According to a new report from Windows Central, Windows Core OS could be the base of two new operating systems from Microsoft: Andromeda OS, which will apparently power the company’s rumored foldable mobile device, and Polaris, a streamlined version of Windows 10 for PCs.

According to my sources, Microsoft is building a brand new version of Windows 10 for PC devices like desktops, laptops and 2-in-1’s. This new version is entirely built on UWP, making it Microsoft’s first truly modern Windows OS for the traditional PC form factor. It strips out old legacy components and features in favor of a lighter OS with excellent battery life and performance.

Compared to Windows 10 S, Polaris will reportedly be more lightweight and modern, dropping the current Windows Shell, the legacy Control Panel and more. Polaris will be built entirely on Microsoft’s UWP technology (which also means a UWP-based File Explorer), but Microsoft said to be working on bringing support for legacy Win32 apps “when required.”

Polaris will reportedly coexist with standard Windows 10. “Existing Windows users won’t be able to upgrade or switch to Polaris, nor will eventual Polaris users be able to upgrade to traditional Windows 10 Pro,” the report says. Presumably, Polaris will be able to deliver much better battery life thanks to removal of all legacy features, and it should also be as easy to use as an iPad or a Chromebook.

Microsoft has already tried several times to simplify Windows, starting with Windows 8/RT and now Windows 10 S. But as you know, the company never managed to get rid of all the legacy stuff, including the massive library of Win32 apps. Polaris will apparently be a fresh start that really pushes Microsoft’s UWP platform forward, but could it appeal to consumers?

Most people now associate Windows with a desktop OS that gives you complete freedom: That’s why many people still don’t consider iPads or Chromebooks as “real PCs.” Yes, Windows is complex, but it’s one of the most versatile operating systems in the market, which is one of the reasons why it remains relevant today.

With the rise of Chromebooks and mobile devices though, Microsoft may well not have the choice to not drastically change how Windows works. According to Windows Central, Polaris may not surface until 2019, assuming Microsoft doesn’t cancel it at some point.

There are reports that BioWare’s upcoming Xbox One game, Anthem, will be delayed until a 2019 release. Not great news for Xbox One gamers expecting Anthem’s original Fall 2018 release date, but not entirely unexpected. Anthem was originally announced at E3 2017 and As noted by Gamesindustry.biz report, BioWare insiders mentioned to Kotaku that the original Fall 2018 release date was “never realistic.”

Take a look at Anthem on Xbox One in the video below.

Anthem is set to be released on Xbox One first, no later than March 2019, with versions for Windows 10 PCs and other platforms later in the year. In addition to Anthem, BioWare is working on another installment of Dragon Age, and Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. Electronic Arts (EA), which owns BioWare, is still dealing with the fallout from the Star Wars Battlefront II loot crate fiasco, so the company needs to make sure that it doesn’t further alienate players with a poor game release. BioWare will have to deliver a solid game experience with Anthem or face a possible restructuring by EA.

The AdDuplex report for January 2018 is out, and it shows that the Windows 10 Fall Creators continues its propagation at a steady pace. According to AdDuplex’s latest data collected over the day of January 22, 74.3% of Windows 10 PCs are now running the Fall Creators Update (up 20.7% points). Remember that AdDuplex collects data from apps connected to their ad network, so only PCs with at least one of those apps running is counted.

“Fall Creators Update is growing rapidly and you can see the difference in ascend speed compared to the Creators Update,” highlighted AdDuplex. Indeed, it took six months for the Creators Update to be installed on 3 out of 4 Windows 10 PCs, and the Fall Creators Update achieved this in nearly half the time.

Looking closer at the Fall Creators Update propagation by PC manufacturer, AdDuplex’s data shows that Dell, Asus, Acer, Toshiba and more all surpassed Microsoft this month. 74.2% of Microsoft’s Surface devices are already running the latest Windows 10 version, though it’s worth noting that the Surface Laptop and the older Surface Pro 3 are lagging behind. Speaking about the Laptop, AdDuplex said that “It is unclear if there’s some model-specific issue or if this is somehow related to Windows 10 S.”

Two weeks ago, Microsoft announced that the Fall Creators Update was now “fully available,” meaning that it’s now being pushed to all compatible devices. “The Fall Creators Update was the fastest Windows 10 release to reach 100M devices, all while achieving higher customer satisfaction ratings compared to prior updates,” the company also said at the time.

Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) is currently one of the most popular multiplayer games on Xbox One, but Microsoft may have bigger plans for the title. Indeed, the folks on Reddit recently noticed that a new Xbox One S 1TB PUBG bundle briefly appeared on Amazon.

Xbox One S 1TB Playerunknown's Battlegrounds bundle is coming, listed on Amazon for Feb 20th https://t.co/SQai31ytog pic.twitter.com/EXrtwmOlXG

— Wario64 (@Wario64) January 24, 2018

The bundle was listed for release on February 20th, which at the time of writing is a little over a month away. There’s no telling what the price on the bundle may be as it’s not listed in the screenshot provided above. We’re assuming it may be over the $300 range, which is the pricing on most 1TB Xbox One S bundles.

Definitely interesting to see that Microsoft will be selling a bundle with an unfished game that is still depending on the feedback of those who are playing it. Time will tell what this bundle is all about, so it’s best to keep tuned for more in the days ahead.

Star Wars Battlefront II’s community manager, Sledgehammer70, today shared some data on the video game’s first season and revealed what’s to come over the next few months on Xbox One and other platforms.

A new game mode, Jetpack Cargo, is slated to launch in February. This mode will pit two teams of eight players against each other, all of which must use characters with the jetpack ability. Curiously, this mode will apparently only be playable for a limited time and won’t be a permanent game mode.

Details on the progression system revamp will be revealed in March. Star Wars Battlefront II has been heavily criticised for shifting to the Star Card and loot box system for character progression over actual play experience like was used in the previous game. (I personally don’t mind the current system at all but such a big deal has been made about it that the game developers have been pretty much forced to react to the controversy.)

The war is just beginning. News on what the next few months have in store for #StarWarsBattlefrontII players awaits: https://t.co/1jrpvATcw8 pic.twitter.com/ieHSEpNWRl

— EA Star Wars (@EAStarWars) January 24, 2018

The second season for the game is coming “soon” and it will apparently feature some improvements over the first season. “We’ve learned a lot from the first season of content for Star Wars Battlefront II, and we’re integrating those insights into our plans moving forward,” Sledgehammer70 says. “We know you’re waiting for details on what’s coming in the next season, and we’ll have more to tell you soon.”

No timeframe was given for the second season though it stands to reason that it will likely begin when the progression system update rolls out, possibly in March. Seasons of Star Wars Battlefront typically involve the addition of new locations and characters and it makes sense that they would want to push out all of the big content changes at once.

The post doesn’t reveal how many players actually participated in the first season of Star Wars Battlefront II but it does mentions that players spawned over 156 million times on the new Crait level and over 35 million times on D’Qar.

Are you looking forward to the future changes in Star Wars Battlefront II? What would you like to see in the second season? Let us know in the comments below.

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Microsoft has always been good to its partners. It’s an organization that does a ton of business with other businesses in order to build a foundation for its services – not the least of which is a massive cloud ecosystem. In a new blog post from One Commercial Partner’s Corporate Vice President, Gavriella Schuster, it was explained what kind of opportunities partners are going to have access to in the near future.

Schuster points out that the estimated economic value of digital transformation over the next five years is about $20 trillion, proving that Microsoft partners will have no shortage of lucrative opportunities as the world continues to push the boundaries of what technology can do. The blog post tossed out a few impressive figures – seen below – that showed off just what Microsoft’s partners have meant for the Redmond giant over the past few years.

To help Microsoft’s pitch, the blog post offered a few testimonials from partners. For instance,  DataStax reports that it “has seen a 140 percent increase in pipeline growth,” and Barracuda mentions that its business “has grown by more than 300 percent in large part due to co-selling with Microsoft. ”

The blog was capped off by the Sixth entry in a series of free “playbooks,” designed to help partners take advantage of a certain area of technology in order to improve their business. This one has to do with Artificial Intelligence – something that’s been increasingly on the tip of everyone’s tongue lately, in the tech world.

Over the past couple of weeks, the Windows team has put, what feels like, an inordinate amount of public facing effort behind highlighting their efforts to improve the Windows Shell.

The first highlighted bits first surfaced in the previous Insider build, 17074, with improvements to Quiet Hours that run automated in the background for most users. Here is the quick list as a refresher:

• Quiet Hours will automatically turn on when you are duplicating your display. Never get interrupted during presentations again!
• Quiet Hours will turn on automatically when you are playing a full-screen exclusive DirectX game.
• You can set the schedule that works for you so that Quiet Hours are always on when you want them. Go to Settings > Quiet Hours to configure your schedule.
• Customize your own priority list so that your important people and apps always breakthrough when Quiet Hours are on. People pinned to your taskbar with always break through!
• See a summary of what you missed while you were in Quiet Hours.
• If you’re using Cortana, you can also have Quiet Hours turn on while you’re at home.

In today’s preview build 17083, Windows Shell improvements continue as well as gaining a slick new name, Focus Assist.

Quiet Hours gets a new name and more! With the expanding feature set in this area, we will now be calling it Focus Assist. Speaking of which, you can now also switch between the three Focus Assist modes by right-clicking the Action Center icon in the taskbar.

Build 17083 boast a bevy of new features and updates, but with a emphasis on Shell improvements, it’s becoming clear that the Windows team is finally getting around to more fine tuning of Windows 10 rather than the several years of plumbing work some Insiders have gotten used to.

After a six month period of testing with Windows Insiders and Windows 10 S users, Microsoft has officially released Office 365 to the Windows 10 Microsoft Store (via Neowin.) This is a big moment, and great news for those who own Windows 10 S devices, which only allows users to download programs and apps from the Microsoft Store.

To be clear, there are two current specific store listings, Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home. Both of these listings for Office 365 in the Microsoft Store no longer have “Preview” tag, and several of our writers who were not previously testing Office 365 in the Store can now download the Office 365 programs.

Though there does not appear to be any direct download links, you can also access Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, and Publisher 2016 by searching via the Microsoft Store in Windows 10. OneNote 2016 is not included, and users can instead opt for the OneNote UWP app. Keep in mind, though, that you will need to uninstall pre-existing versions of the Office desktop apps in order to download and use Office 365 from the Microsoft store.

As we previously noted, the experience of these Microsoft Store Office 365 apps is the same as the classic .exe/Win32 desktop applications. The only difference is the added benefits of a smooth update process, and a cleaner uninstall. More Office 365 SKUs are apparently coming soon, including Office 365 business, so you can expect this to be the next big thing for Microsoft.

Microsoft today released Windows 10 Build 17083 to those in Skip Ahead and Fast Ring. This build comes with a laundry list of changes, fixes, and known issues, but it also brings some new options in Windows Settings, and in Windows App Permissions. Here is what you need to know.

Windows App Permissions:

Control access to your pictures, videos, or documents folders: With this build we’re giving you more control so you can now decide which UWP apps can access your pictures, videos, or documents folders. If a UWP app needs access to any of these, a consent dialog will pop up prompting you to accept or deny the request. If at any time you change your mind about the decision, you can go to Settings > Privacy where you’ll find 3 new Settings pages (one for each of the folders). If you deny access to a particular folder, to protect your privacy that UWP app will revert to only being able to access its local app folder.

Windows Settings Improvements:

• See your UWP app version numbers: We’ve heard your feedback, and in addition to the other work we’ve been doing on the UWP app settings pages in Settings we’ve also updated them to include the app version number for easy reference. As a reminder, the easiest way to get to the app settings page for a particular UWP app is to right-click the app in Start and select More > App settings
• New options for sorting your startup apps: Based on your feedback we’ve added a dropdown to the Settings > Apps > Startup settings page so you can choose to sort the apps listed by name, state, or startup impact.
• We’ve heard your feedback and have added a new setting for those who would prefer their scrollbars stay always visible. It’s available under Settings > Ease of Access > Display. Turning this setting off will result in the scroll bars in UWP (XAML) apps persisting as scrollbars in their full expanded size, even when not interacting with them.
• In order to help reduce accidental invocation of this hotkey, we’ve added a new checkbox for this under Settings > Ease of Access > Color filters settings page. The default state is disabled.
• We’ve added Narrator landmarks throughout Settings to quickly move between search, navigation list, and main landmarks. And for Narrator users, the page heading (shown visually at the top of each page) will no longer read out as being at the bottom of each page.

Microsoft is also making a number of changes to Ease of Access in Settings, including adding Narrator landmarks throughout Settings to help users with disabilities quickly move between options. They’ve also shortened the name of the “Cursor, pointer and touch feedback” page to “Cursor & pointer size.” See below for the new Ease of Access improvements in Settings.

• We’ve swapped the positions of Color Filters & High Contrast in the Settings > Ease of Access navigation list.
• In Settings > Ease of Access > High Contrast, we’ve switched the default theme to be “High Contrast Black”.
• We’ve added links to Settings > Ease of Access > Narrator Settings for learning how to use Narrator and for adding more voices. Also the cursor movement mode combo box in the “Use Narrator cursor” sub-section has been removed.
• We’ve updated the Settings > Ease of Access > Speech page to present information & settings about Dictation, Cortana, as well as Windows Speech Recognition.
• We fixed an issue where Settings > Ease of Access > Eye control was a blank page.
• We’ve updated the Ease of Access search terms & results to better align with the available settings.
• Duplicate search results have been removed.
• Throughout Settings > Ease of Access you’ll find new “Related settings” links.

This is shaping up to be a bit of the Privacy Update, so it’s great to see that you can further control the access apps have to photos, on your computer. Definitely a lot to look at in Settings with this latest build. Feel free to look at things yourself, and drop us a comment with your thoughts in the section below.

I suppose it’s hard to miss what you never had and for some Windows 10 Insiders, this latest news will probably be received with a meh and a shrug.

According to a memo that has gone out to the limited number of testers with access, the sought after features of Sets has gone through its testing paces and the Windows group has enough telemetry to shut down the project for now and not bring it back until some later date in the future.

Sets is now offline -> Thank you for your support of the early testing we’ve done with Sets. Your feedback helps us as we continue to develop this feature. Starting with this build, we’re taking Sets offline as we ready RS4 for release. If you have been testing Sets, you will no longer see it – however, Sets will return soon in a post-RS4 flight! Thanks again for feedback, and we look forward to sharing new Sets features with you soon.

For most Insiders, the news lands with a muted response as Sets was released to only a handful of testers and only spanned the length of one preview release (not counting the 2.0 fix release). However, for those Windows 10 Insiders who had access to the feature in the previous 17074 build, this latest news puts them in a bit of a quandary as to whether or not to upgrade to the Sets-less new build. Not having tried it myself, I can’t speak to the additional functionality Sets may have provided but judging from the engineering notes on the latest Windows 10 Insider preview, testers will be missing out on a lot of new features in preview 17083 as they cling to their build with Sets.

Microsoft just released Windows 10 Insider build 17083, and as has been the norm lately, it’s chock full of new goodness, including news of some Timeline improvements, set in motion by Windows Insider user feedback.

One of the most requested changes was for an ability to make it easier to delete multiple activities from the Timeline. In this new build, you’ll now be able to “delete everything from a given hour or day from the context menu”:

When you are in the default view, you will see a new “clear all from day” option when right-clicking on an activity. If you clicked “see all” to see activities for just one day, this option changes to allow you to “clear all from hour” instead. Because this option can clear a lot of activities at once, we will ask you to confirm this choice before deleting the activities.

In addition, and in keeping with this build’s focus on privacy, you’ll now be able to have access to more granular control of the privacy of activities:

A new setting allows you to sync your activities to the cloud for a seamless cross-device experience. You can enable “Let Windows sync my activities from this PC to the cloud” in the settings app, or you can enable it via an option provided at the bottom of Timeline. Until new users enable this setting, Timeline will only show four days of activities. (If you are upgrading from an earlier WIP flight, you may not see this option as the setting is already enabled.)

It’s Wednesday 10 am in Redmond, time to push a big red button and release another Windows Insider build. While Redstone 4 is winding down as we head toward a Spring 2018 release, the company is including one set of new features in this latest build, giving Windows users more control over what data Microsoft collects and what it stores.

The new Diagnostic Data Viewer was spotted earlier this week by Ed Bott over at ZDNet, and this morning Microsoft published a blog post detailing the new privacy controls.

You can download the latest build now if you’re a Windows Insider in the Fast Ring, and we’ll have more on what’s included in this latest build up soon, so stay tuned to OnMSFT.com.

During yesterday’s Windows Insider Webcast, the Windows Insider team mentioned the initial Redstone 4 Windows 10 bug bash will be coming up on February 2nd (via Neowin.) This is the first of what may be many Bug Bashes for this development cycle, perhaps also being one of the first signals that development of new features in Redstone 4 may be winding down soon.

It’s not certain at what time the Bug Bash will kick off, or at what time it will end, but these Bug Bash events usually last a little over a week. You can expect for Microsoft to share the timeline, and the specifics of what bugs they are looking for soon, but for now it’s best to keep those bug reports coming via the Feedback Hub.

Update: Microsoft officially announced the Bug Bash in today’s blog post for Windows 10 Insider Preview build 17083. It will run from February 2nd until February 11th. There will also be a Bug Bash webcast on February 6th on Mixer.

Feb 6th we'll be doing a special bug bash webcast ???????? – pencil it in your calendars now! ???? #WindowsInsiders https://t.co/OUmRvrY1sk

— Jen Gentleman ???? (@JenMsft) January 23, 2018

Bug Bashes also usually come with quests in the Feedback Hub, putting Windows Insiders in charge of trying out specific Windows features and reporting back to the Insider team on how everything works. We last saw a  Bug Bash for Redstone 3, and the Fall Creators Update back July of last year.

Microsoft will also be holding a special bug bash webcast on Mixer, giving Windows Insiders a chance to interact with members of the Windows 10 team. You can expect more details soon, maybe in an upcoming build blog post, so be sure to keep tuned for more in the days ahead.

Noted by ZDNet, Microsoft has hired Annie Parker as a new global head of startups. Parker was previously the interim CEO at Fishburner and is more well known as the co-founder of the startup accelerator, Muru-D.

Super excited to announce that in March I’ll be joining @Microsoft as Global Head of Startups.
It's a wonderful opportunity to work at scale & to make a global impact, I can't wait to get started! So many fab plans to share, more to come soon #startups #microsoft @MSAccel

— ???? Annie Parker ???? #SmashThePatriarchy #teamAZ???? (@annie_parker) January 23, 2018

Annie Parker will be joining Microsoft in March and promises there are many “fabulous plans” to share. She first mentioned the news of joining Microsoft on Twitter, saying that “It’s a wonderful opportunity to work at scale & to make a global impact, I can’t wait to get started!

A Microsoft spokesperson mentioned the pleasure of having Parker join the Microsoft family, saying “We are pleased to confirm that Annie Parker has joined Microsoft to work on our startup programs.”

Parker will be handing over her CEO role at Fishburner to COO Pandora Shelley. We congratulate Annie Parker on her new position at Microsoft and look forward to hearing more from her in the months ahead.

One of Microsoft’s most notable efforts in the past few years has been white space technology – an initiative that involves taking old, unused parts of the broadcast spectrum in order to help rural communities access the internet, where they might otherwise have trouble. With internet access considered a basic human right by the United Nations, Microsoft’s efforts have been a push towards creating a more connected world. They’ve been testing the technology in places like the Philippines for a while, and just registered for a couple of trademarks with the “Airband” name.

Two trademarks were spotted by MSPU: One trademark that covers the “development of computer hardware and software” regarding white spaces, and another trademark that deals with “Providing business information and consulting in the field of white space telecommunications and internet connectivity.” These trademarks were both certified on January 16th, and mark the next push in Microsoft’s attempts to make Airband a big brand.

The Microsoft Airband Initiative Grant Fund supports innovative businesses that help billions of people get access to energy and the internet. pic.twitter.com/zcDrdPb5VF

— Microsoft (@Microsoft) January 5, 2018

Microsoft tweeted about their Airband Initiative Grant Fund just a couple of weeks before the trademarks went through, indicating that the company is making a significant branding push for the Airband name. Keep an eye out in the near future for Microsoft to keep pushing forward with white space technology – likely expanding it out into more regions.

Outlook, a core app in Microsoft’s Office productivity suite is much more than an popular email client. In addition to its calendar, contacts and tasks management capabilities, the app can integrate with various third-party services via Outlook add-ins, which developers can release in the Outlook Store.

Outlook add-ins are currently available with Outlook 2016 or Outlook 2013 for Windows, Outlook 2016 for Mac, Outlook on the web for Office 365 customers or Outlook.com mailboxes. Over the next couple of days, you’ll notice that the add-in store has been updated with a redesigned layout, with the addition of quick start guides explaining how to use the different add-ins.

The search experience has also been improved to give you better search results. “Now, you can quickly search all available add-ins by add-in name or keyword,” the Outlook team explained. “For example, if you type in a keyword like “contact” and the top related add-ins will be available for you at a glance.”

This is a nice update that will likely please Outlook power-users. The Outlook team is also open to hear your feedback on the new store experience on the Outlook Feedback website.

Microsoft is holding a special Back to School sale for Xbox One gamers in Australia. The sale runs until January 29th and features 25-60% discounts on some major titles. Here’s some of the more popular games worth checking out in the sale.

• 25% off: Call of Duty: WWII
• 30% off: Assassin’s Creed Origins
• 60% off: FIFA 18
• 35% off: NBA 2K18
• 35% off: Grand Theft Auto V & Great White Shark Cash Card
• 35% off: Destiny 2
• 45% off: Injustice 2

The full list of discounts is available to view here. Make sure to click on the green button at the bottom of the page to display the entire list.

Are you going to grab any of these video games for your Xbox One? Let us know in the comments below.

Preview Alpha build 1802.180119-1917 has begun to roll out to select Xbox One console owners enrolled in the Xbox Insiders program. This latest build tests a new Xbox Game Pass section in the My games & apps area of the Xbox One dashboard and also gives users the ability to hide Xbox Achievements from the Next Achievement section in addition to a variety of bug fixes and improvements.

Xbox One Insiders – Preview Alpha members with the build today we've added the ability to hide/unhide a specific achievement or entire game from the Next Achievements section!

— Brad Rossetti (@WorkWombatman) January 23, 2018

The ability to hide Achievements is actually not mentioned in the release notes however Microsoft’s Brad Rossetti made a point to mention it in a tweet earlier today so that Xbox Insiders would be aware of the feature. Here’s the full release notes.

NEW FEATURES:

• My Games and Apps Collection – Game Pass
• We have enabled a new feature to show an “Xbox Game Pass” tab within “My games & apps” for users on Preview Alpha with an active Game Pass subscription.
• If someone has an active Game Pass subscription, they will see this tab appear in “My games & apps” and be able to quickly install available games from Game Pass. It works just like ‘Ready to install’ but for Game Pass.
• For users in Preview Alpha who do not have Game Pass, they will see the updated left navigation—section dividers added and Memberships tab has moved.

FIXES:

Profile

• Fixed an issue which caused the incorrect profile color to display after powering on the console.

System Update

• Resolved an issue which sometimes caused the console to get stuck at a loading screen (with a loading spinner only) when downloading a system update.

Party Chat

• Resolved an issue which sometimes caused party chat to crash in the Guide.

KNOWN ISSUES:

• Home
• You may be unable to add/remove/edit content blocks by pressing Y.
• System Setup – Kinect
• When setting up a Kinect during the initial console set-up experience, the setup fails when tuning audio.

Network Transfer

• The network transfer fails when initiated from a console on 1802 (this update).
• Workaround: You can perform a network transfer using an 1802 console as the  source and initiating the network transfer from a 1711 console on the same network.

Pseudo-Localization

• You may notice strange characters which replace normal translated text on the dashboard, Guide, and other areas. Please use Report a problem when you encounter these issues.

Games Installation

• Games that are installed fail to launch.
• Workaround: If the games are installed to an external drive please copy the game to the internal drive or attempt to delete the title and redownload to fix the launch error.

Display

• We are investigating the inaccurate RGB colors that have been reported when displaying in 4K HDR mode when playing a UHD disc.

Tournaments

• The left and right navigation for selecting date and time during Tournament creation is currently reversed when the console language is set to Arabic or Hebrew.
• Left and right navigation in Tournament twists is reversed when the console language is set to Arabic or Hebrew.
• Left and right navigation in the bracket view of Tournaments is reversed when the console language is set to Arabic or Hebrew

Avatars on Home

• Users wishing to represent themselves as an avatar can do so by changing their settings under My profile > Customize profile > Show my avatar.

Have you downloaded the new build yet? Share your thoughts on it with the community in the comments below.

Dragon FigherZ is the next big fighting game to come out of the illustrious Dragon Ball Z franchise, and it has quite a few fans up in a tizzy. The game brings with it an exceptionally colorful art style that’s true to the anime that inspired it, as well as a tight fighting game experience. The game has entered an open beta period, for those who want to try it.

Hi FighterZ! We've made the necessary improvements in order to enable X1 users to experience DRAGON BALL FighterZ in all of its online multiplayer glory; join us for an Xbox One exclusive open beta at the following dates/times – Start: Jan. 23 at 9pm PST / End: Jan. 24 at 9pm PST pic.twitter.com/4SJnc9EV1Q

— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) January 23, 2018

The beta is only going on Xbox One for one day – starting at 9PM on Tuesday, January 23rd, and running for 24 hours, until 9PM the next day. Both times are in PST, so if you’re on the East coast, you’ll be able to begin and end when the clock strikes 12. Enjoy!

The next Windows Insider webcast is today at 10 AM PST, and you don’t want to miss it. As always, the podcast will be held on Mixer, and you can convert the time to your local time zone by checking here.

Next #WindowsInsiders webcast is coming up quick! Jan 23rd @ 10am PST

Webcast will be held on @WatchMixer: https://t.co/SsWON1XGtq

Check here if you need to convert the time to your time zone: https://t.co/SMCBGcZDh2 …

Hope you can make it! ???? pic.twitter.com/KvWLFvFsuN

— Jen Gentleman ???? (@JenMsft) January 19, 2018

We’re hoping to hear more about the next Redstone 4 build during the webcast, but there is no telling what kind of fun you’ll experience while watching. As you may recall, last month’s webcast featured a demo of Windows Timeline, so you might want to watch this month’s webcast as well.

The webcast is also a great way to connect with the Windows Insider team and have them answer your burning questions. And if you happen to miss it live, you always can check later in the day to watch it on demand. Do you think you will be tuning into this month’s podcast? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service has just become much more interesting for gamers. Today, Xbox Head Phil Spencer announced that all future Microsoft Studios titles will be available via Xbox Games Pass on launch day. “This means that when Sea of Thieves launches on March 20, it will be included in Xbox Game Pass to all members,” the exec explained.

Spencer described this news as a “major expansion to Xbox Game Pass that underscores our commitment to deliver our fans the ultimate gaming subscription service.” Indeed, Microsoft is pretty much doing what Netflix and Amazon Video do when they simultaneously release self-produced content in all markets where they operate.

Microsoft has several exclusive first-party games in the pipeline this year including Sea of Thieves, Crackdown 3 and State of Decay 2, and all of them will be available via Xbox Games Pass on launch day. This is pretty great if you don’t want to spend $60 on each of them. Even better, all these games will support Xbox Play Anywhere, which means that Xbox Games Pass is becoming much more interesting for PC gamers this year.

If you’re not very excited by the upcoming games from Microsoft Studios, you may want to reconsider when Microsoft releases new episodes of its biggest franchises such as Halo, Gears of War and Forza. Gears of War 4 and Halo 5: Guardians are already included in the Xbox Games Pass catalog, but it’s still not clear if Forza Horizon 3 and the more recent Forza Motorsport 7 could be added soon.

Last but not least, Spencer announced today that 6-month Xbox Game Pass cards will soon be available to purchase for $59 at select retailers. In the US, GameStop will be one the first retail partners to offer the new cards on March 20. “By working closely with retail partners, Xbox Game Pass will have valuable ambassadors in popular destinations for gamers to discover new and exciting games and enjoy community,” Spencer explained.

Microsoft has released an update for the Xbox One family of systems, focused on fixing issues with Party Chat, Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi, and more. Though it does not bring any new features, this update is the first Xbox One update for all users since November of 2017, and it definitely will help make things much more stable (via Windows Central.)

As always, if you’ve set up your Xbox to run in Instant On mode, the update should have automatically downloaded to your console. If not, you can head to Settings, System, Console Info and Updates, to manually download the update. See the changelog below for more on the fixes in this release.

OS version: 10.0.16299.4055 (rs3_release_xbox_dev_1711.171203-1700) and 10.0.16299.4059 (rs3_release_xbox_dev_1711.180109-1130)

• Store: Resolved an issue that sometimes prevented users from pressing B to go back when navigating the Store.
• Privacy & online safety: Resolved an issue that caused child accounts with family restrictions to retain the restrictions after graduating to an adult account.
• Party chat: Resolved an issue that caused some users to lose party chat audio and voice quality fixes.
• Audio: AVRs with HDMI-passthrough should no longer break Dolby Atmos for home theater if the TV and console are turned on before the AVR.
• Wi-Fi: Resolved an issue that omitted certain wireless networks when scanning for available wireless networks. Resolved an issue that sometimes caused unexpected network disconnections when using a wireless connection.

Microsoft continues to test new Xbox One features with Xbox Insiders, so if you’re eager to try out new Xbox One updates before they hit the public, sign up now to be an Xbox Insider. Let us know your thoughts on this latest update in the comments section below.

Microsoft has been beta testing a new version of Outlook.com since last year, which dropped the previous Skype integration. Accessible via a dedicated button in the top bar, the built-in Skype app allowed Outlook.com users to access all core features of the messaging app including voice and video calls.

Bringing back the Skype integration to Outlook.com beta was one of the top requested items on the Outlook Feedback website, and Microsoft finally delivered this week. The Skype button is back in the top bar, though the built-in app now looks and works differently.

You can only chat with your Skype contacts now, and voice and video calls are no longer available. However, it’s now possible to open multiple chats at the same time, which is pretty useful. We also noticed that it’s not currently possible to change your status to “Absent” or “Invisible,” though this will likely be addressed soon. “More improvements to the Skype integration will come in the future, but for now, “please enjoy the upgraded Skype chat experience,” Microsoft said in a message on the Outlook Feedback website.

The Skype button only shows up in the Mail section of Outlook.com, not in the Calendar section which also received a fresh coat of paint this month. If you didn’t like this Skype integration before, be aware that there is still no way to completely turn it off. However, you can mute all notifications in the Settings panel under General > Skype > Notifications.

Microsoft’s new weekly Deals With Gold discounts are now live and there are some usually pretty expensive games up for grabs with significantly reduced prices.

Star Wars Battlefront II on Xbox One has been reduced by 40% this week while the special Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition is now half price. The Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition contains the main Battlefront II video game plus upgrades for all troopers, exclusive alternate skins for Rey and Kylo Ren, plus a variety of Star Cards which are used to enhance characters’ skills in-game.

Other Xbox One games with big discounts worth mentioning are Battlefield 4 (75% off), NBA LIVE 18: The One Edition (75% off), and Titanfall 2: Ultimate Edition (67% off). On the Xbox 360 console, several Street Fighter video games have been discounts as has the Dark Elves add-on for Blood Bowl (33% off). You can see the full list of discounted games here. Note that Deals With Gold discounts are only available to Xbox Live Gold subscribers.

Are you going to grab any of these discounted games? Let us know in the comments below.

In a press conference in New Delhi today, Microsoft announced the launch of Xbox One X in India. The ‘most powerful gaming console’ – as Microsoft puts it – was launched in November 2017 internationally and is the smallest Xbox console to date.

The Xbox One X is powered by an eight-core custom AMD CPU clocked at 2.3GHz coupled with 8GB flash memory and 12GB of GDDR5 graphics memory. The console packs in 1TB HDD internal storage and comes with a 4K UHD Blu-ray Optical Disc Drive.

We are delighted to offer gamers the world’s most powerful console with access to the largest and most diverse games lineup in Xbox history, including Forza Motorsport 7, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Cuphead and Super Lucky’s Tale, out of more than 1,300 titles and more than 220 exclusives available on the Xbox One X, just a few short months after the device’s global launch. We’ve listened to our community and are excited to be bringing this new console to Indian gamers.

– Priyadarshi Mohapatra – Country General Manager, Consumer & Devices Sales, Microsoft India

The Xbox One X is available starting today across online (Microsoft Store, Amazon, and Flipkart) and offline stores (Landmark, Croma, and over 100 specialty gaming stores) at a price of ₹44,990 ($705).

The price is almost $200 more than the price in the United States which might irk the gaming enthusiasts in the country, but that’s not an aberration in the electronics scene in the country. It’s good to see the device hitting the shores of India much quicker after the global launch than what has been the case before with Xbox in India. Even PlayStation 4 Pro has had supply issues in India since launch.

Are you looking forward to picking an Xbox One X? What are your thoughts on the pricing? Tell us in the comments!

Privacy concerns have been among the many reasons some have stayed away from Windows 10 at all costs. Despite the introduction of a new privacy dashboard last year, many have still claimed that Windows 10 collects too many diagnostics information.

Well, it turns out that you may soon have the ability to view, control and delete diagnostic data in Windows 10 (via ZDNet.) Indeed, there is a new Diagnostic data viewer button in the Diagnostics and feedback settings in Windows 10 Insider Preview build 17063 and 17074. Also in the same area is a button which will presumably give users the ability to delete diagnostic data. Both are just placeholders are at the moment, but you can likely assume the full functionality will come to light soon.

Microsoft has steadily improved on privacy features and options in Windows 10, and the company recently noted that 71% of Windows 10 users share all of their diagnostics data with Microsoft. The company also said last year that new privacy features in the Windows 10 Creators Update have been positively received by users.

Seems as though the tit for tat sanctioning between the United States and Russia may be hurting more than international perceptions of its respective leaders. Thanks in large part to the back and forth posturing of the US and Russia, Microsoft has found itself restricted to whom it can sell its software to in the area.

According to a report from Business Insider citing the Moscow Reuters as a source, Microsoft is now being handed down restrictions from official distributors in Russia as to who and where it can sell its software.

Two of Microsoft’s official distributors in Russia have imposed restrictions on sales of Microsoft software to more than 200 Russian companies following new U.S. sanctions, according to notifications circulated by the distributors.

Not only are there restrictions being placed on who Microsoft can sell its software to in Russia but the restrictions come with their own heavy-handed restrictions about how and deadlines accompanying purchase to make sure Microsoft receives payment.

The notification from Microsoft distributor Merlion dated Nov. 29, the day after the new lending rules come into force, said orders would only be fulfilled for financial sector buyers once it had confirmation full payment had been received.

For the defense sector, it said orders would be fulfilled only if partners confirmed payment would be made within 30 days of the software license being activated. For energy sector clients, confirmation of payment within 60 days was required.

“If we do not receive from you documents confirming payment on orders from the defense and energy sectors, the order could be viewed by the vendor as not complying with the processing procedure and rejected,” Merlion’s notification said.

RRC did not spell out the new restrictions in its notification, sent by email last month to its partners.

“In the event that you have buyers from the following sectors of the economy (financial, defense, energy) and they are in the sanctions list, you are requested IN ADVANCE to contact your RRC manager for further instructions.”

“In connection with this, serious restrictions are being introduced on the placing of, and payment for, orders for Microsoft products … placed by these buyers (and also their subsidiaries and affiliated companies),” the notification said.

With restrictions tightening, now would be a perfect time for Russian companies or municipalities to take advantages in gaps of issuance to willfully forego payment of Microsoft software citing sanctions as a convenient deterrent.

While it’s an unfortunate position to be in, Microsoft appears confident that it is doing everything it can to salvage and maintain a working relationship with its partners and buyers without committing to more blatant impositions such chasing civil penalties.

For what’s worth, it seems a handful of companies are distancing themselves from Russian entities on the US blacklist as many may assume this warring of sanctions is a passing phase.

A couple of months ago, leaked images of an Xbox-branded smart watch from Microsoft leaked online, showing the company’s early interest in wearables. Today, Twitter user Hikari Calyx posted new pictures of a working prototype, giving us a first glance at the different features that Microsoft was developing for the wearable device (via Windows Central).

The Xbox Watch – Pin Diagram
Yes we successfully booted up an Xbox Watch. Video is processing now. pic.twitter.com/qwBtOOf5fs

— Hikari Calyx (@Hikari_Calyx) January 22, 2018

Microsoft’s Xbox smart watch apparently featured a couple of fitness-related apps including an app called “Workouts” as well as a heart sensor. Another picture posted by the leaker shows that the watch had a GPS sensor. Overall, the UI seems to have the same Metro design language that Microsoft was pushing at the time on Windows Phone and Windows 8.

More details. pic.twitter.com/TNKcDeU6IZ

— Hikari Calyx (@Hikari_Calyx) January 22, 2018

Microsoft apparently killed this project years ago, before it was ever close to release. In retrospect, this was probably a good call: while Xbox is a popular brand with consumers, we’re not sure that putting it on a smartwatch makes a lot of sense. Microsoft tried to do it with Zune, its music streaming service which was rebranded to Xbox Music back in 2012, with very little success. Unless Microsoft was working on deep integrations between the watch and Xbox consoles (we doubt it), using the Xbox brand would have probably created unecessary confusion in the minds of consumers.

The Redmond giant did continue to experiment with wearables with the Microsoft Band, but that didn’t go so well either. After releasing a second iteration back in 2015, Microsoft eventually stopped production a year later. Last year, we saw German company Trekstor create a smartwatch running Windows 10 for IoT, but it doesn’t seem that wearables are a big focus for Microsoft these days.

As 2017’s Microsoft EDU event in NYC showed, the Microsoft mission to empower students across the world is very serious. This week at the British Educational Training and Technology Show (BETT,) the company detailed further steps for empowering both students and educators. New Windows 10 devices, new Office 365 for Education features, and new Mixed Reality education and HoloLens incentives highlight the announcements.

On the Windows 10 side, Microsoft unveiled new affordable devices starting at just $189, complete with free professional development with purchase of certain Microsoft 365 Education licenses. The first of the devices is the $189 Lenovo 100e, which is powered by the new Intel Celeron Apollo Lake CPU. There is also the $279 Lenovo 300e, an affordable 2-in-1 convertible PC complete with Windows Ink and pen support.

You can see the other devices from HP and other Microsoft OEMs in the list below:

• Classmate Leap T303 laptop with Windows Hello, starting at $199 USD
• Trigono V401 2-in-1 with pen and touch, starting at $299 USD
• HP ProBook x360 11 EE— $299 USD
• HP Stream 11 Pro G4 EE PC starting at $225 USD

Keep in mind these devices run Windows 10 and Windows 10 S and are meant to entice educators and students away from Chromebooks. They’re rugged, spill proof, and come with long battery life. IT Pros working in schools can also set them up with ease, thanks to Intune for Education, and Microsoft 365 Education

Next up, with Office 365 Education, Microsoft will add new features to further help students and educators use the software. Examples include dications in Office 365, to help students write more easily via voice, and an expanded immersive reader feature for Word for Mac, iPhone, Outlook Desktop, OneNote iPad and OneNote Mac.

See other features coming soon to Office 365 Education below:

• OneNote Class Notebook will now include assignment and grade integration with the most widely used School Information Systems in the UK.
• We are delivering on the number one request from teachers for Class Notebooks, enabling them to lock pages as read-only after giving feedback
• To enable language learners to engage in classroom conversations, our newest updates to Microsoft Teams will also make it easy to translate any conversation or chat into another language.
• PowerPoint will now allow teachers to record their lessons including slides, interactive ink, video, and narrations and publish to their Stream channel in Teams classrooms.

Finally, with Mixed Reality, Microsoft will be working with Pearson to roll out a curriculum that works on both HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality immersive VR headsets. The company is expanding mixed reality curriculum offerings thanks to a new partnership with WGBH’s Bringing the Universe to America’s Classrooms project. Microsoft will also make available a limited-time academic pricing offer for HoloLens.

Other announcements today include new partnerships in STEM learning. Microsoft will be working with LEGO Education and will offer a free online Hacking STEM lesson plan, and also will allow students to build LEGO bricks from the Simple & Powered Machines set or cardboard to create and visualize an initial transportation plan. Definitely some exciting stuff. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Welcome to our weekly Xbox news recap series, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Xbox. Let’s get started.

New leaks suggest Elite Controller v2

A leak on a gaming website named “Reset Era” has leaked out some information regarding the next big piece of Xbox hardware: The Xbox Elite Controller, version 2. The first Xbox Elite controller launched in 2015 and was almost unmatched in quality by all but the most expensive third-party, custom controllers. If the leak is to be believed, this controller will be announced at E3, and feature “Bluetooth for Windows 10”, “3-level Hair Trigger locks”, and “3-Profile Switch”.

Xbox One X on the way to India

If you live in India and want to have the best possible console gaming experience, you’ll get your chance on January 23rd. A few months after its launch stateside, the Xbox One X is releasing in India early next week, at a rather exorbitant price. It’ll be running for ₹44,990 – that’s $700 USD – compared to the $500 USD price point in the States.

BBC America app launches on Xbox One

The BBC America app is available on Xbox One now, for anyone who’s interested. While you’ll need to sign in via your cable provider to watch full episodes on the app, it’ll be the best way to get your fill of The Graham Norton Show, Orphan Black, and more. Like most of these apps, you should be able to watch clips and highlights through the app without a subscription – but that’s what YouTube is for.

Buy 3 months of Gold, get 3 free for a limited time

Up until January 30th, it’s double trouble on Xbox Live Gold. If you choose to pick up a 3 month subscription to the service through the Microsoft Store, you’ll get a code to redeem for an extra 3 months, on top of that. You’ll be free to give this code to a friend, so feel free to share the love with someone you’re planning to squad up with in PUBG.

Don't keep your #PUBG [T] friends waiting. Buy 3 months of #XboxLive Gold and get 3 months free for a limited time: https://t.co/5shu0OLOSr pic.twitter.com/VAUbn8ux0w

— Xbox (@Xbox) January 16, 2018

Thanks for joining us. To keep up to date with all the latest Xbox news, keep a close eye on our Xbox One tag.